Sermon for 3/2/2003
The Living Water
John 4:10-14
Introduction:
A. "Cool Water" - Sons of the Pioneers
"All day I face the barren waste
Without the taste of water, cool water.
Old Dan and I with throats burned dry
And souls that cry for water, cool, clear, water."
B. Water is essential for life. A human can survive almost two months without food, but he will not survive a week without water.
C. J. Norfleete Day- When I was a child, my dad often took me to a neighborhood county to visit the place where he grew up. One particularly hot day we were on our way home from such an outing when dad suddenly pulled off the road at a small outcropping of rock. Getting out of the car, we saw that a small stream of water was pouring from an opening among the rocks. Dad caught some of the water in his hand and invited me to drink. I was unprepared for how cool and refreshing the water was, even without ice to chill it. It tasted immensely better than the water that came from the faucet at home. Dad explained that the water at home was held in storage tanks and treated with chemicals to ensure its safety for drinking. This water, by contrast, was flowing from a natural spring up in the hills and had not been treated with any chemicals. It tasted better because it was pure. This lesson, which was new to me, was common knowledge among people in Palestine around the time of Jesus. Because of the extremely dry conditions of the land of Palestine, water was a precious commodity, available in plentiful supply only during the rainy season of the year. During that time, the Hebrews would collect water in cisterns, large vats carved into the rocks, so that when the rainy season ended, they would still have water. While they were probably grateful for the stagnant cistern water during times of drought, the Hebrews knew the superiority of “living” or running water.
D. We don’t know the condition of the well at Sychar, but it probably was better than cistern water but not as good as water from a fresh spring.
E. The church in the 2nd and 3rd centuries believed that they needed to baptize people in “living” or running water. Baptisteries were not common until after this time.
F. Where did they get this idea? From the words of Jesus.
1. John 4:10-14- Already read this.
2. John 6:35- I did a sermon on the bread of life. Jesus is the bread of life and he supplies the water of life. Without water, fish die and all living things eventually die.
3. John 7:37-39
G. Nice to have living water to baptize people but if they would have looked at the text, especially from the conversation of the woman at the well they would have known that Jesus just wasn’t talking about different forms of water. Drink of earthly living water we will thirst again.
H. Three symbols for water:
1. Cleansing of the soul, baptism.
2. (Eph 5:26 NIV) to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,
3. The Holy Spirit
I. Talk about the last two today.
J. With this woman, Jesus is not talking about earthly water. That is why this woman is surprised and sarcastic. If you have living water, why do you ask me for a drink?
K. He is talking about a fountain that bubbles up and overflows. A spring.
L. Look at Vs. 14 of John 4- The gift of God is Jesus Christ, His Son, the Savior of the world.
Thesis: We are going to talk about Christ’s gift as a fountain within; Christ’s gift as a fountain springing up by its own power; Christ’s gift as a fountain springing up into everlasting life.
For instances
I. Christ’s gift as a fountain within
A. Most people survive on external supplies. They are rich, happy and strong only when outward circumstances make them strong, happy and rich. If they are physically weak, they are not strong. If things are not going their way, they are not happy. If their money leaves them, then they are poor.
B. Earthly fountain satisfy temporarily. We may drink of the fountain of wealth as deeply as we may, but it will not satisfy long. We shall thirst again. We may drink of the fountain of fame as deeply as any man ever drank, but the satisfaction is but for an hour. We may drink of the fountain of worldly pleasure, of human science and philosophy and of earthly learning; we may even drink of the fountain of human love, but none will satisfy long. We shall thirst again.
C. Many times earthly fountains only make things worse. It is like drinking ocean water. The thirst is quenched for a few seconds but comes back with a bigger thirst than before. Many times earthly fountains only stir up our thirst instead of quench it. Never enough!!!
D. Our appetite grows by what it feeds on, and a little drink from the earthly fountain today leads to a bigger appetite tomorrow. Much like a person who is an alcoholic. A little taste today leads to a big drinking binge tomorrow.
E. (Phil 4:12 NIV) I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
F. How do we learn this secret? It is no secret what God can do. Drink from the spring of living water and you will never thirst again.
G. My sufficiency is from God. To Paul- My grace is sufficient for you.
H. We will always be tied to external circumstances unless we are dependent upon Jesus Christ.
I. If we have Christ in our heart then life is possible, peace is possible, joy is possible, under any circumstances and in all places. Everything which the soul can desire, it possesses.
J. I think of Corrie Ten Boon. How did she survive the concentration camps? If she depended on favorable circumstances, she would have died. No, her life came from within.
K. If Christ lives within us, then we will be like a fortress which has in its courtyard a fountain, fed from some source high up in the mountains, and finds its way into the fortress by underground rivers which no one can ever touch. It does not matter who surrounds such a fortress, those who are inside can survive for years with abundant water.
II. Christ’s gift is a springing fountain.
A. Water moves mainly by gravity. It slides down a river bed by gravity. It can be pumped and lifted by man’s engines. It might be driven by winds or affected by the moon. The ocean has currents that are driven along by wind and by heat and cold.
B. But a fountain rises by energy within itself. It is the symbol of joyous and free activity.
C. We see a promise of two things here:
1. Activity.
a. More activity. Oh, no! It is true that much of the work that is done is dreary, hard and dull.
b. However, we are not talking about back breaking labor. We are talking about using our very beings to their fullest potential.
c. Some of us are miserable because the many parts of our nature have never been used.
d. When Christ is in our hearts, he fills us with a joyous energy that makes it a delight to live and to work.
e. We want to do more; indeed, we have to do more because we have energy within us.
f. Work that is more in line with how the Lord made us.
2. An activity or energy that springs from within of God’s power.
a. We are not driven by commandments or by someone who is over us with a whip. If we do not follow the law or someone then we are punished and so we must work because of our boss.
1) (Rom 8:2 NIV) through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
2) We do not have to do certain things, we get to do them. We rejoice in them. There is a difference. In school it is difficult to study certain things, we have to do it. When we study something that is not required it is much more enjoyable. However, with Christ, we do not have to, we get to do it.
b. We are not slaves to external circumstances.
1) Our lives should not be determined by our environment.
2) Oh yes, a great deal of our makeup comes from our environment. However, to have our environment completely control us is not the will of God.
3) How do some people who live in the ghettos and slums rise above their environment and make something better out of themselves?
4) A thought in some people’s minds is that our environment completely determines our destiny. No, No, No!
5) I cannot do this or I cannot do that because I was raised in unfavorable circumstances is garbage. I was born in a family of devils and so I am destined to be a devil.
6) God wants something better for us and it is available through Jesus Christ. If he is in our hearts and lives, we cannot help but have something different from the world.
7) Young people, do not let the world mold you and make you after its will, but let Jesus Christ mold you and make you after His will. Be God’s masterpiece, not a product of this corrupt world.
8) Children’s song- Put your faith in action, wear a great big smile, put your faith in action, wear a great big smile. The world will see, the world will know, the love within your heart will bubble up and overflow, put your faith in action, wear a great big smile.
9) (John 16:22 NIV) no one will take away your joy.
III. Christ’s gift is a fountain “springing up into everlasting life.”
A. A fountain rises and then falls because gravity brings it back down.
B. This fountain rises higher and higher and one day will finally reach its goal. It will reach its source. I’m climbing higher and higher and I can’t come down.
C. Implies two things:
1. It is eternal in length.
a. Water of this world perishes.
b. This gift springs into everlasting life, and when we go it goes with us.
c. You can’t take it with you. What is done for the world will perish, what is done for Christ last forever.
d. May we not be like some rivers that run and never go anywhere. There are rivers that go through deserts and then evaporate away. The river perishes. However, if we have Christ’s gift within us, the river never runs dry.
2. The fountain aims and reaches everlasting life.
a. We are getting ready for heaven.
b. In sports it is good to take an athlete and subject him to the worst conditions, so that when he gets into the game, the conditions will be better and so he will play better.
c. Weights on bats in baseball. Run for miles, do suicides and then play a scrimmage.
d. Maybe the Lord is subjecting us to unfavorable circumstances so that we will appreciate and love heaven. I’m getting ready to leave this world.
e. The lives of many men go creeping along the surface when they might spring up to heaven. What are we aiming for? We are destined to reach it.
Conclusion:
A. Adapted from John Gillmartin- My wife and I are involved in foster care; we’ve had a foster child with us for over 6 years. From time to time we must take certification classes. In our most recent session, the instructor was explaining how some children are abused by depravation. She told us of three siblings who had been deprived of water. In their real family, many times they would not have water because they didn’t pay the bill. When they did have water, a common punishment the parents used was to withhold water. As you can imagine their health was poor because of dehydration.
B. When they arrived at their foster home they were fascinated by the availability of water… they ran around turning on every faucet, inside and outside. But what fascinated them most were the toilets, they flushed them again and again.
C. A negative side to these discoveries was a sense of desperation when leaving home; their new mom solved the problem by getting each of them a mini-water bottle.
D. When people are deprived of a thing they “want,” they generally get along pretty well without it; however, when it’s something they “need,” or require, they suffer horribly in its absence. These little boys didn’t consciously know they were suffering from a lack of water, but they were… so too is man as he is deprived of God’s living water! Just as he thirst for physical water, so too he thirst for spiritual water. Only One can satisfy that thirst: The Living Water of Life!
E. Isaiah 12:3.
F. Jesus is the one who supplies the water. He paid for it with his life. Will you take a drink and let the fountain of God’s grace bubble up and overflow in your life?
G. Don’t be a fish out of water, take hold of Jesus!
