1 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:10,360 Pastor Kevin, I'm speaking about the woman at 2 00:00:10,360 --> 00:00:14,080 the well. This is a bottle of water. It's 3 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:14,560 my prop. 4 00:00:20,480 --> 00:00:21,200 Here we go. 5 00:00:26,330 --> 00:00:30,170 Yeah. On a more serious note, when 6 00:00:30,250 --> 00:00:33,690 David was sharing, you know, your wife gets a 7 00:00:33,850 --> 00:00:37,490 diagnosis of cancer and go through six 8 00:00:37,490 --> 00:00:39,930 surgeries, and here she is. You can trust him. 9 00:00:41,370 --> 00:00:44,490 Michelle and I looked at each other because we both experienced this 10 00:00:45,450 --> 00:00:49,290 and said, and when he takes them home, you can 11 00:00:49,290 --> 00:00:52,340 still trust him. Because you can. 12 00:00:53,220 --> 00:00:57,020 You can. Yeah. The last time 13 00:00:57,020 --> 00:01:00,340 I was up, six, seven weeks ago, something, whatever it was 14 00:01:00,740 --> 00:01:03,860 I was speaking, I had been assigned 15 00:01:05,940 --> 00:01:09,500 Ezekiel in the Valley of Dry Bones. And I got up and I 16 00:01:09,500 --> 00:01:13,060 complained about that assignment. I, you know, I said this, you know, 17 00:01:13,140 --> 00:01:15,700 once I found out that was what I was going to be speaking about, I 18 00:01:15,700 --> 00:01:19,290 was going, oh, yeah, great. But. And I started a 19 00:01:19,290 --> 00:01:22,130 trend because the next two or three people who were up 20 00:01:23,330 --> 00:01:26,530 kind of followed suit. I, I need to 21 00:01:27,010 --> 00:01:30,690 somewhat make amends this morning and say, I love 22 00:01:30,690 --> 00:01:33,650 this story. I, I, 23 00:01:34,050 --> 00:01:37,570 Kevin had asked us, Pastor Kevin had asked us last year 24 00:01:37,650 --> 00:01:41,490 for some topics that we would like to cover under 25 00:01:41,490 --> 00:01:45,030 Greatest Stories Ever Told. And I think I 26 00:01:45,030 --> 00:01:48,870 sent him five, four, five, six, something like that. I got one, 27 00:01:49,910 --> 00:01:53,350 but it was the one I really wanted. And it's, 28 00:01:53,670 --> 00:01:57,030 and it's this one, the story of Jesus coming to the woman in 29 00:01:57,030 --> 00:02:00,350 Samaria. And I love the fact that it 30 00:02:00,350 --> 00:02:03,910 happens one chapter after another 31 00:02:03,990 --> 00:02:07,430 encounter over in John chapter 3, that 32 00:02:07,430 --> 00:02:10,630 Jesus has with a prominent Jewish leader 33 00:02:11,879 --> 00:02:15,559 named Nicodemus. Last week, Pastor Justin, 34 00:02:17,079 --> 00:02:20,599 where is he? He baptized somebody. Oh, there he is. Okay, over there. I just 35 00:02:20,599 --> 00:02:24,159 wanted to be sure you hadn't snuck out on me. Now, last 36 00:02:24,159 --> 00:02:27,999 week he brought a terrific sermon about the 37 00:02:27,999 --> 00:02:31,679 wedding of Cana, turning the water into wine. And he started 38 00:02:31,679 --> 00:02:34,879 out by, I want to give you some context. So he went back and he 39 00:02:34,879 --> 00:02:38,720 preached through chapter one as well. And I went, you don't have enough 40 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:42,520 to say about turning the water into wine, do you? So that's why you went 41 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:46,080 back and did that. But it turned out that he had 42 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:49,840 plenty to say about both of them, and he, and he melded them together 43 00:02:50,240 --> 00:02:54,080 beautifully. So this week I thought, well, I'll go 44 00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:57,920 back and do chapter three as well. Well, I'm not going 45 00:02:57,920 --> 00:02:58,960 to, but, 46 00:03:02,720 --> 00:03:06,560 But I love the juxtaposition. I'll talk about it a couple of times. 47 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:10,290 The juxtaposition of this prominent 48 00:03:10,290 --> 00:03:13,770 religious Jewish leader coming to Jesus and the way 49 00:03:13,770 --> 00:03:17,130 Jesus shared with him and ministered to him, and then 50 00:03:17,290 --> 00:03:21,050 this Samaritan woman and Jesus coming to her 51 00:03:21,050 --> 00:03:23,690 in the way that he ministered to Her. 52 00:03:25,050 --> 00:03:25,770 I love the 53 00:03:28,410 --> 00:03:30,170 juxtaposition there. 54 00:03:32,250 --> 00:03:35,850 Jesus left an area of fruitful 55 00:03:35,850 --> 00:03:39,530 ministry. In fact, it says, we're going to read it here 56 00:03:39,530 --> 00:03:42,890 in just a minute, that he was making and baptizing more 57 00:03:42,890 --> 00:03:46,570 disciples than John, than John the Baptist was. He left an 58 00:03:46,570 --> 00:03:49,650 area of fruitful ministry, not because of opposition, 59 00:03:51,810 --> 00:03:54,850 but because he had a divine appointment 60 00:03:56,450 --> 00:04:00,090 in a little town called Sychar. It's the only time it's ever mentioned in 61 00:04:00,090 --> 00:04:03,490 scripture, and it may still exist, but it 62 00:04:03,870 --> 00:04:05,950 not Sychar anymore. That's lost to history. 63 00:04:07,710 --> 00:04:11,550 With an unnamed woman. And we 64 00:04:11,550 --> 00:04:14,430 don't know her name, but God does. 65 00:04:17,310 --> 00:04:20,990 Jesus wasn't just telling a parable. 66 00:04:21,070 --> 00:04:24,750 He wasn't just blowing smoke when he talked about 67 00:04:24,990 --> 00:04:28,750 leaving the 99 and going after the 1. He did 68 00:04:28,750 --> 00:04:32,520 it, and he's still doing it. He still 69 00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:36,360 does it. Okay, I want you to stand with me. It's going to be kind 70 00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:39,920 of a long reading, but it's a good story. It's really 71 00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:40,280 good. 72 00:04:43,880 --> 00:04:47,680 Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that 73 00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:51,400 he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John, 74 00:04:52,040 --> 00:04:55,640 although in fact, it was not Jesus who baptized, 75 00:04:56,160 --> 00:04:59,800 but his disciples. So he left Judea and went 76 00:04:59,800 --> 00:05:03,520 back once more to Galilee. Now he had to go 77 00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:07,200 through Samaria. So he came to a town in 78 00:05:07,200 --> 00:05:10,960 Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground 79 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:14,920 Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's 80 00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:18,760 well was there. Jesus, tired as he was from 81 00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:22,500 the journey, sat down by the well. It was about 82 00:05:22,660 --> 00:05:26,340 noon when a Samaritan woman came to draw water. 83 00:05:26,740 --> 00:05:30,020 Jesus said to her, will you give me a drink? 84 00:05:30,420 --> 00:05:34,180 The Samaritan woman said to him, you are a Jew 85 00:05:34,500 --> 00:05:38,300 and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me 86 00:05:38,300 --> 00:05:41,820 for a drink? For Jews do not associate with 87 00:05:41,820 --> 00:05:45,620 Samaritans. Jesus answered her, if you knew 88 00:05:45,620 --> 00:05:49,320 the gift of God and. And who it is that asks you for a 89 00:05:49,320 --> 00:05:52,920 drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given 90 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:56,680 you living water. Sir, the woman said, 91 00:05:57,000 --> 00:06:00,520 you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. 92 00:06:00,840 --> 00:06:04,600 Where can you get this living water? Are you greater 93 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:08,200 than our Father Jacob, who gave us the well and 94 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:11,960 drank from it himself, as did also his sons 95 00:06:11,960 --> 00:06:15,720 and his livestock? Jesus answered, everyone 96 00:06:15,800 --> 00:06:18,920 who drinks this water will be thirsty again. 97 00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:23,000 Whoever drinks the water I give them will never 98 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:26,760 thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will 99 00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:30,520 become in them a spring of water welling up to 100 00:06:30,520 --> 00:06:34,360 eternal life. The woman said to him, sir, 101 00:06:34,600 --> 00:06:38,400 give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and 102 00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:42,030 have to keep coming here to draw water. He told 103 00:06:42,030 --> 00:06:45,590 her, go Call your husband and come back. 104 00:06:46,150 --> 00:06:49,870 I have no husband, she replied. Jesus said 105 00:06:49,870 --> 00:06:53,310 to her, you are right when you say you have no 106 00:06:53,310 --> 00:06:56,670 husband. The fact is you have had five 107 00:06:56,670 --> 00:07:00,270 husbands and the man you now have is not your 108 00:07:00,270 --> 00:07:04,070 husband. What you have just said is quite true, 109 00:07:04,630 --> 00:07:08,160 sir. The woman said, I can see that you 110 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:11,800 are prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on 111 00:07:11,800 --> 00:07:15,400 this mountain. But you Jews claim that the place 112 00:07:15,400 --> 00:07:19,240 where we must worship is in Jerusalem. Woman 113 00:07:19,400 --> 00:07:23,080 Jesus replied, believe me, a time is 114 00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:26,920 coming when you will worship the Father. Neither on this 115 00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:29,880 mountain nor in Jerusalem. You 116 00:07:29,880 --> 00:07:33,500 Samaritans worship what you do not know. We 117 00:07:33,500 --> 00:07:37,340 worship what we do know. For salvation is from the 118 00:07:37,340 --> 00:07:41,180 Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now 119 00:07:41,180 --> 00:07:44,940 come when the true worshipers will worship the Father 120 00:07:45,020 --> 00:07:48,620 in the spirit and in truth. For they are the kind of 121 00:07:48,620 --> 00:07:52,460 worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, 122 00:07:52,540 --> 00:07:56,220 and his worshipers must worship in the spirit. And 123 00:07:56,220 --> 00:07:59,740 in truth. The woman said, I know 124 00:07:59,740 --> 00:08:03,560 that Messiah called, called Christ is coming. When 125 00:08:03,560 --> 00:08:06,920 he comes, he will explain everything to us. 126 00:08:07,320 --> 00:08:10,920 Then Jesus declared, I the one speaking 127 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:14,640 to you. I am he. Father, I thank you for your 128 00:08:14,640 --> 00:08:18,200 word. I pray for the presence of the Holy 129 00:08:18,200 --> 00:08:22,000 Spirit. I pray, Father, that the Spirit would be 130 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:25,760 manifest in each person here, giving us ears to 131 00:08:25,760 --> 00:08:29,400 hear, hearts to understand. And I pray, Father, that you would filter 132 00:08:29,610 --> 00:08:33,040 the things that. That come out of me and that 133 00:08:33,040 --> 00:08:36,560 truth would go forth in Jesus name. Amen. 134 00:08:39,040 --> 00:08:42,720 This last week for me has 135 00:08:42,720 --> 00:08:44,240 sort of been a Wayne Berry week. 136 00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:50,720 Yeah. First of all, we 137 00:08:50,720 --> 00:08:54,440 had lunch together. I am a name dropper. I 138 00:08:54,440 --> 00:08:58,260 had lunch when we married. And then 139 00:08:58,260 --> 00:09:01,980 secondly, while we were there, he had a cassette tape that he 140 00:09:02,060 --> 00:09:05,580 wanted me to hear. And in fact, he wanted me to hear this cassette 141 00:09:05,580 --> 00:09:09,300 tape so much, he brought a cassette player to 142 00:09:09,300 --> 00:09:12,820 the. To load it to me just in 143 00:09:12,820 --> 00:09:15,660 case. And it's a good thing he did. 144 00:09:17,100 --> 00:09:20,900 I was listening to it and I'd heard really everything on 145 00:09:20,900 --> 00:09:23,370 it. And a lot of it, I had 146 00:09:25,770 --> 00:09:29,610 a lot of it. I already had recorded in other forms and could 147 00:09:29,610 --> 00:09:33,170 hear it. But one of the songs really 148 00:09:33,170 --> 00:09:37,010 caught me. And it was a song that Wayne wrote 149 00:09:37,010 --> 00:09:40,810 called Word about Jesus. And great 150 00:09:40,810 --> 00:09:44,250 song. It's a terrific song. The full title of it is probably 151 00:09:44,810 --> 00:09:47,450 how come you never say a word about Jesus? 152 00:09:48,980 --> 00:09:52,660 But what really got me was the introduction to the song, 153 00:09:52,980 --> 00:09:54,420 which I will never forget. 154 00:09:56,660 --> 00:09:59,220 I did the introduction. It was not one of my better moments. 155 00:10:00,580 --> 00:10:02,420 And it went on for about two minutes. 156 00:10:04,180 --> 00:10:06,900 I opened up by saying, this song's about witnessing 157 00:10:08,580 --> 00:10:11,300 and I'm the world's worst, 158 00:10:12,980 --> 00:10:14,840 you know, I mean. 159 00:10:17,560 --> 00:10:21,160 And I spent the next Two minutes, just kind of stuttering and 160 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:25,120 saying, you know and I know and you know, about 161 00:10:25,120 --> 00:10:28,840 50 times. And I finally ended up with, 162 00:10:29,240 --> 00:10:33,000 there's this guy at work and he comes in 163 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:36,840 almost every day and says, what do you know? And I 164 00:10:37,080 --> 00:10:40,370 hate it when he says, what you know, because 165 00:10:41,170 --> 00:10:45,010 I know what I know. And I don't, you 166 00:10:45,010 --> 00:10:47,090 know, and 167 00:10:48,930 --> 00:10:52,770 I don't. I don't shout out something really great like Jesus 168 00:10:52,770 --> 00:10:55,729 is Lord or Jesus loves you, Bill. 169 00:10:57,250 --> 00:10:58,850 Instead I usually say, 170 00:11:04,940 --> 00:11:08,700 you know, don't you see, I was brought up in a. 171 00:11:08,940 --> 00:11:12,540 In a church culture that was very much about witnessing and 172 00:11:12,780 --> 00:11:16,140 testifying. And, you know, you're supposed to go out there and you're supposed to just 173 00:11:16,140 --> 00:11:17,580 lay it on the line with them. 174 00:11:20,140 --> 00:11:23,500 And it did. It bothered me every day when Bill would say, 175 00:11:23,740 --> 00:11:27,420 what you know. Now, it probably would not have been a very 176 00:11:27,420 --> 00:11:31,100 good idea to stand up in the middle of the Social Security 177 00:11:31,100 --> 00:11:34,390 office and yell, jesus is Lord maybe once. 178 00:11:34,950 --> 00:11:38,630 But he says this every day. And 179 00:11:39,110 --> 00:11:41,910 it probably would have been a pretty good idea 180 00:11:42,790 --> 00:11:45,190 to say, jesus loves you, Bill. 181 00:11:46,390 --> 00:11:49,190 Only I would not have said, jesus loves you, Bill. 182 00:11:50,390 --> 00:11:53,510 I would have said, jesus loves you, Bill. And you need to get that through 183 00:11:53,510 --> 00:11:57,190 your reprobate skull before you split hell wide open 184 00:11:57,430 --> 00:11:59,190 and fry for eternity. 185 00:12:02,670 --> 00:12:03,310 Amen. 186 00:12:09,470 --> 00:12:12,750 This passage that we have read 187 00:12:13,870 --> 00:12:17,550 is how Jesus does it. Perfect 188 00:12:17,550 --> 00:12:19,550 example of 189 00:12:21,310 --> 00:12:25,030 how to witness. The first thing that 190 00:12:25,030 --> 00:12:28,830 he does is he empowers this woman by asking her 191 00:12:28,830 --> 00:12:32,680 for help. You 192 00:12:32,680 --> 00:12:36,440 give me a drink. Kind of dry. I could 193 00:12:36,440 --> 00:12:40,200 use a drink here. We tend to 194 00:12:40,200 --> 00:12:43,960 start off by letting them know that they need our help because 195 00:12:43,960 --> 00:12:47,760 we know what's wrong with them and we can tell them what's wrong with them 196 00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:52,000 and we got the answer. And eventually 197 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:55,760 we might actually get around talking about Jesus. But first of all, let's fix you. 198 00:12:58,630 --> 00:13:02,430 We need to flip that mentality. We need to turn it on 199 00:13:02,430 --> 00:13:04,150 its absolute head. 200 00:13:06,150 --> 00:13:09,950 News flash. With the way the church acts 201 00:13:09,950 --> 00:13:12,550 in our culture, also known as 202 00:13:13,110 --> 00:13:16,950 arrogance, the last thing 203 00:13:16,950 --> 00:13:20,750 the world is going to respond to is us telling, as 204 00:13:20,750 --> 00:13:23,480 a know it all attitude. Really, 205 00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:31,520 I'm going to say this in this service, too. I bet some of you got 206 00:13:31,520 --> 00:13:35,080 it. But I'm not talking to you. So, Holy Spirit, if you hear, 207 00:13:35,720 --> 00:13:39,440 you know, I'll drive down the road, sometimes I'll see a bumper sticker or 208 00:13:39,440 --> 00:13:43,280 I'll see a, you know, license plate. Sometimes I don't know. In 209 00:13:43,280 --> 00:13:47,040 fact, there was a guy in the first service, had the tattoo. It says, 210 00:13:47,040 --> 00:13:50,770 don't tread on me. And you know, 211 00:13:50,770 --> 00:13:54,250 and I know what they're Saying is, get out of my way 212 00:13:55,370 --> 00:13:59,130 and don't mess with me and everything. There was a guy, 213 00:13:59,130 --> 00:14:01,530 I saw this last week who had taken it up a notch. 214 00:14:02,890 --> 00:14:06,370 He had a bumper sticker and had a snake on it that kind of had 215 00:14:06,370 --> 00:14:10,170 a, you know, a sort of grin on it. And it said, 216 00:14:10,170 --> 00:14:14,010 tread on me, come on, make 217 00:14:14,010 --> 00:14:17,560 my day kind of thing. That's our mentality, 218 00:14:19,240 --> 00:14:22,840 you know, we tend to go out with, okay, yeah, come on, 219 00:14:22,840 --> 00:14:26,600 bring it, big boy. Hey, you got Satan, I got God. Bring it, come 220 00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:30,200 on. Humility is 221 00:14:30,200 --> 00:14:31,320 so disarming 222 00:14:33,880 --> 00:14:35,720 because as soon as we come with, 223 00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:38,760 guess what they come with. 224 00:14:42,610 --> 00:14:45,890 But when you come with humility, like, can you help me? 225 00:14:47,170 --> 00:14:49,650 I need your help. Let's start at that point. 226 00:14:53,970 --> 00:14:57,650 Jesus with this woman uses the metaphor of living 227 00:14:57,650 --> 00:15:00,130 water to draw deeper into the conversation. 228 00:15:01,410 --> 00:15:04,930 He used a metaphor with Nicodemus. Does anybody know what it was? 229 00:15:07,340 --> 00:15:10,540 Born again. That's right. Have to be born again. 230 00:15:12,460 --> 00:15:16,220 Draw Nicodemus deeper because that's, that's what 231 00:15:16,220 --> 00:15:19,340 each have their, each has their own path. And 232 00:15:19,580 --> 00:15:22,700 Nicodemus walked an intellectual path which, 233 00:15:23,180 --> 00:15:26,980 you know, some might deride. I know I was kind of brought 234 00:15:26,980 --> 00:15:30,220 up in the culture that, you know, if you, if you had more than an 235 00:15:30,220 --> 00:15:33,860 eighth grade education, you were kind of suspicious. We were, we were sort of suspicious 236 00:15:33,860 --> 00:15:37,680 of you. But I'm glad, 237 00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:41,440 I'm glad that that's a legitimate path. If it weren't a legitimate path, 238 00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:44,880 we'd all have to learn Greek and Hebrew to read the Bible. But 239 00:15:44,960 --> 00:15:48,800 God, you know, has brought people in who have the ability to 240 00:15:48,880 --> 00:15:52,560 translate and do things for us. And had Nicodemus 241 00:15:52,960 --> 00:15:55,600 not come this way, and Jesus went, 242 00:15:56,400 --> 00:16:00,080 finally said Nicodemus, let me explain it to you plainly, 243 00:16:02,190 --> 00:16:06,030 intellectually, but plainly, if we had not had him there, 244 00:16:06,030 --> 00:16:09,310 we would not have. This is the intellectual 245 00:16:09,390 --> 00:16:13,070 explanation. Plainly. God loves the world 246 00:16:13,230 --> 00:16:16,669 so much that he gave his one and only 247 00:16:16,750 --> 00:16:20,510 son that whoever believes on it would 248 00:16:20,510 --> 00:16:23,710 not die, but have everlasting life. 249 00:16:24,270 --> 00:16:27,240 So, you know, I'm glad that way. 250 00:16:28,920 --> 00:16:31,400 This woman just simply wanted something to drink. 251 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:36,040 This woman was simply interested in getting some water. 252 00:16:37,400 --> 00:16:40,520 And so that's how Jesus came with her. 253 00:16:42,280 --> 00:16:46,040 What, what you're interested in, what your needs are, the way that you're going, 254 00:16:46,440 --> 00:16:49,440 that's the way we're going to, that's where we're going to start. Because you can 255 00:16:49,440 --> 00:16:53,250 start from anywhere to get to God. 256 00:16:55,570 --> 00:16:58,850 She was simply interested. There is no one size fits all. 257 00:16:59,330 --> 00:17:02,210 So that's the first thing we need to know. You know, somebody. 258 00:17:03,010 --> 00:17:05,970 It may have been, and I don't Think it was the case. In fact, I 259 00:17:05,970 --> 00:17:09,410 think Bill was a Christian. But now that I look back on it. But, 260 00:17:09,570 --> 00:17:13,010 you know, some. It may have worked with some people to go, 261 00:17:13,650 --> 00:17:17,050 jesus loves you, and you need to get that through your thick skull before, because 262 00:17:17,050 --> 00:17:20,650 you're going to hell. Otherwise. That may be what works with some people. That's not 263 00:17:20,650 --> 00:17:24,430 what's going to work with a lot of people. And it's not size fits 264 00:17:24,430 --> 00:17:28,070 all. There's no script except the 265 00:17:28,070 --> 00:17:31,630 Holy Spirit. And we may not have 266 00:17:31,630 --> 00:17:34,870 the perfect metaphor to bring to the 267 00:17:34,870 --> 00:17:38,670 conversation, but living water should flow, not 268 00:17:38,670 --> 00:17:39,310 vinegar. 269 00:17:42,270 --> 00:17:46,070 Jesus said, the water that I give them will become 270 00:17:46,070 --> 00:17:49,710 in them a spring of water welling up into eternal life. 271 00:17:52,950 --> 00:17:56,310 And that's. I don't know about you, 272 00:17:56,630 --> 00:17:59,030 I don't like the smell of vinegar, 273 00:18:02,150 --> 00:18:03,990 but if it's around, I can smell it. 274 00:18:05,990 --> 00:18:09,430 And when it's coming forth, they can smell it. 275 00:18:13,670 --> 00:18:17,110 And then the woman says something that always brings a smile to my face. 276 00:18:17,350 --> 00:18:20,070 I mean, I just have to kind of go, oh, yeah, right. 277 00:18:21,620 --> 00:18:23,620 Are you greater than our Father Jacob? 278 00:18:25,540 --> 00:18:29,260 I mean, think about that for a second. She's talking 279 00:18:29,260 --> 00:18:32,860 to God and going, are you greater than 280 00:18:32,860 --> 00:18:36,180 Jacob? You know, and it would have been. It would have been 281 00:18:36,500 --> 00:18:40,180 easy. Jesus was not offended 282 00:18:40,340 --> 00:18:44,060 nor distracted by that comment. And we 283 00:18:44,060 --> 00:18:47,540 often get so easily offended, so easily distracted. 284 00:18:47,620 --> 00:18:51,220 All it takes is just, you know, a little and we're 285 00:18:51,220 --> 00:18:54,910 gone. Not in the moment anymore. We've 286 00:18:54,910 --> 00:18:57,670 lost point on where we're going. 287 00:19:01,830 --> 00:19:05,630 And it's because we tend to come with an attitude of war rather than an 288 00:19:05,630 --> 00:19:08,870 attitude of humility. We somehow think that the 289 00:19:09,030 --> 00:19:12,590 disastrous approach of the Crusades will somehow work this 290 00:19:12,590 --> 00:19:16,150 time. I think this time it'll turn out good 291 00:19:16,870 --> 00:19:18,070 if we do it that way. 292 00:19:21,660 --> 00:19:25,420 Jesus comes with love. I mean, 293 00:19:27,260 --> 00:19:29,900 who doesn't love love? 294 00:19:31,180 --> 00:19:34,300 In fact, it's what everybody's searching for. 295 00:19:35,420 --> 00:19:39,060 And we know where it is. And the term may be born again, 296 00:19:39,060 --> 00:19:42,780 or the term may be living water, but what it is, is 297 00:19:42,780 --> 00:19:46,050 it's Jesus and it's love. 298 00:19:46,450 --> 00:19:49,170 And he was. He was a revolutionary. He was 299 00:19:50,770 --> 00:19:52,850 a radical revolutionary. 300 00:19:54,850 --> 00:19:58,610 Jesus was not intimidated by social norms. 301 00:19:59,810 --> 00:20:03,650 He was talking with a woman who did not know him. 302 00:20:03,650 --> 00:20:07,410 Now, in our culture, that's not a big deal. Guys do it all the time 303 00:20:07,410 --> 00:20:10,850 or try to do it. You know, if the woman's got any set, she just 304 00:20:10,850 --> 00:20:14,610 kind of goes, yeah, whatever. But you know that. 305 00:20:14,770 --> 00:20:18,610 But there are cultures, and not just. Not just the culture of Jesus today, 306 00:20:18,690 --> 00:20:22,410 there are cultures in the world right now where that's a big, big no, 307 00:20:22,410 --> 00:20:24,450 no. And yet 308 00:20:25,970 --> 00:20:29,490 Jesus wasn't. He was totally 309 00:20:29,490 --> 00:20:33,250 disregarding or disrespectful of the cultural norms because 310 00:20:33,410 --> 00:20:36,650 I'm sure this was not something he did all the time, but God had told 311 00:20:36,650 --> 00:20:39,820 him something and that that's more important 312 00:20:41,900 --> 00:20:45,700 than what the culture around us tells us to do. But 313 00:20:45,700 --> 00:20:49,540 it's not just the world that intimidates with social norms. The church 314 00:20:49,540 --> 00:20:53,100 does as well. I 315 00:20:53,100 --> 00:20:55,820 wonder. I wonder if God 316 00:20:56,620 --> 00:21:00,460 had pause when giving the law or having. 317 00:21:03,430 --> 00:21:07,230 What's that guy's name? Paul. Having Paul write some 318 00:21:07,230 --> 00:21:10,950 of the things that he wrote. I wonder if God stopped 319 00:21:10,950 --> 00:21:13,830 and thought, they need to know this, 320 00:21:15,190 --> 00:21:18,550 but they're going to turn it into something it was never intended to be. 321 00:21:21,670 --> 00:21:25,350 Think about that for a second, because that's what we do with it. 322 00:21:27,510 --> 00:21:30,410 The scripture does not instruct us to. To 323 00:21:30,410 --> 00:21:34,010 confront the lost with. To convict the lost 324 00:21:34,010 --> 00:21:37,730 of their sin. That's the job of the Holy Spirit. Jesus 325 00:21:37,730 --> 00:21:41,050 says when he comes, he will convict the world of sin and 326 00:21:41,050 --> 00:21:44,810 righteousness and judgment. That's his job. 327 00:21:45,290 --> 00:21:49,090 Our job, actually. How many of you like to bring bad 328 00:21:49,090 --> 00:21:52,890 news? How many of you like to 329 00:21:52,890 --> 00:21:56,700 bring good news? How many of you just don't give 330 00:21:56,700 --> 00:22:00,540 a flip? I'd always 331 00:22:00,540 --> 00:22:04,340 rather bring good news than bad news. 332 00:22:05,380 --> 00:22:08,340 And we're called to share the gospel of the kingdom, 333 00:22:09,300 --> 00:22:12,580 so. Well, now we're also called to tell people to repent. 334 00:22:13,620 --> 00:22:17,380 To repent means to change your mind, change your 335 00:22:17,380 --> 00:22:20,820 mind about something. And yes, there are things that. 336 00:22:21,560 --> 00:22:25,240 That the world needs to change their mind about in terms 337 00:22:25,240 --> 00:22:28,840 of morals and 338 00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:33,640 other stuff. There are things that I need to change my mind about. 339 00:22:35,080 --> 00:22:37,480 There are things that you need to change your mind about, 340 00:22:39,720 --> 00:22:41,080 but those are just things. 341 00:22:43,560 --> 00:22:47,400 The thing that they really need to change their mind about is how they 342 00:22:47,400 --> 00:22:51,170 think about God. Not sure 343 00:22:51,170 --> 00:22:53,690 if he's there or not. No, I. He is there. 344 00:22:55,050 --> 00:22:58,490 I don't know that he loves. He does love me. 345 00:22:59,610 --> 00:23:03,370 Well, I don't know how Jesus fits all the. Jesus came 346 00:23:03,370 --> 00:23:06,570 and gave his life for me. That's. 347 00:23:06,970 --> 00:23:10,410 That's repentance. That's. That's changing our mind 348 00:23:10,810 --> 00:23:14,550 about things. When I was a. When I was. When 349 00:23:14,550 --> 00:23:18,310 I was a pastor. Yeah, when I was a pastor. Kevin's in charge 350 00:23:18,310 --> 00:23:21,670 now, and if you got a problem, talk to him. If you're a woman, talk 351 00:23:21,670 --> 00:23:24,670 to Barbie. It's that cut and dried. 352 00:23:25,710 --> 00:23:27,390 My number's now unlisted. 353 00:23:32,510 --> 00:23:36,110 But I would try to travel. I traveled incognito 354 00:23:36,510 --> 00:23:40,110 as a pastor. And nothing 355 00:23:40,110 --> 00:23:43,390 against those who. That's not what they're called to. Do, 356 00:23:43,860 --> 00:23:47,700 you know, those who. Because of the structure 357 00:23:47,700 --> 00:23:51,340 that they're in are required to wear a collar. Or those who 358 00:23:51,340 --> 00:23:54,500 feel like they're supposed to dress in a certain way that kind of says, 359 00:23:54,980 --> 00:23:58,620 you know, man of God, woman of God. You know, because there are places, there 360 00:23:58,620 --> 00:24:02,220 are times where people go, man, I really need a man. Oh, there's 361 00:24:02,220 --> 00:24:05,860 one, you know, and that's okay. There's times to be 362 00:24:06,100 --> 00:24:09,620 identified. But I would travel incognito because as soon as 363 00:24:09,620 --> 00:24:13,360 somebody found out I was a pastor, you 364 00:24:13,360 --> 00:24:16,520 could see. You could see them rifling the files and go, what have I said 365 00:24:16,520 --> 00:24:20,360 to this guy? You know, what am I not going to say to this guy 366 00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:24,520 in the future? And the wall's there. You 367 00:24:24,520 --> 00:24:28,200 can't. You can't really get through it that way. 368 00:24:31,720 --> 00:24:35,160 Jesus was not intimidated by social norms. 369 00:24:35,160 --> 00:24:38,420 Jesus was also not concerned with race or ethnicity. 370 00:24:40,740 --> 00:24:43,140 Back in the 80s. A lot of you already know this. 371 00:24:44,260 --> 00:24:47,900 I lived for a while in Zimbabwe, which was just 372 00:24:47,900 --> 00:24:50,660 north of it. Borders South Africa. 373 00:24:51,620 --> 00:24:55,420 South Africa's south, obviously. Zimbabwe is just to the 374 00:24:55,420 --> 00:24:59,060 north of it. And it was a period of apartheid. 375 00:25:00,580 --> 00:25:04,300 And for those of you who don't know what apartheid is, it 376 00:25:04,300 --> 00:25:07,940 was a political system that separated the races from each other 377 00:25:09,850 --> 00:25:13,490 legally. You know, if you're this race, this is what you'll do. And if 378 00:25:13,490 --> 00:25:17,330 you're this race, this is what you'll do. And it was a big deal as 379 00:25:17,330 --> 00:25:19,930 far as the world was concerned. A lot of countries were 380 00:25:20,570 --> 00:25:24,250 boycotting South Africa and all kinds of things. 381 00:25:24,890 --> 00:25:28,650 In fact, interestingly enough, it occurred to me in the first service 382 00:25:28,650 --> 00:25:32,450 that the one country that 383 00:25:32,450 --> 00:25:36,010 was the major trading party was South Africa. So they could get around things 384 00:25:36,090 --> 00:25:39,680 was Israel, which is where Jesus is at this 385 00:25:39,680 --> 00:25:40,880 moment right now. 386 00:25:43,360 --> 00:25:46,800 And they had. They had racial classifications in South Africa, 387 00:25:47,440 --> 00:25:51,200 but probably the most despised were those of 388 00:25:51,280 --> 00:25:54,080 mixed race, as they called them. 389 00:25:54,880 --> 00:25:57,600 That's who the Samaritans were to the Jews. 390 00:25:58,560 --> 00:26:02,000 See, interesting enough, most of the Samaritans were Jews, 391 00:26:02,960 --> 00:26:05,920 but they were not able to trace their ancestry back 392 00:26:07,150 --> 00:26:10,270 the pure line of those returning from 393 00:26:11,070 --> 00:26:14,710 Babylon. It astounds 394 00:26:14,710 --> 00:26:18,350 me that some who 395 00:26:18,350 --> 00:26:20,990 claim to be Christians can make an issue of race. 396 00:26:23,470 --> 00:26:27,070 First of all, if you believe in Adam and Eve, 397 00:26:28,990 --> 00:26:32,800 then we're all mixed race. We all came, we 398 00:26:32,800 --> 00:26:36,360 all got the same daddy, the same mommy back 399 00:26:36,360 --> 00:26:39,960 there somewhere. And also, 400 00:26:39,960 --> 00:26:43,640 Jesus died for all over. In 401 00:26:43,640 --> 00:26:47,240 Revelation, chapter five, there's this scroll, and 402 00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:50,880 it's got seals on it. And no one's found who's 403 00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:54,560 worthy to open the seals. And John is weeping because the 404 00:26:54,560 --> 00:26:58,120 seals can't be opened. And then he's told, don't weep 405 00:26:58,120 --> 00:27:01,880 anymore. The lion of the tribe of Judah, the Lamb of God, 406 00:27:01,880 --> 00:27:05,570 has been found worthy. And a song breaks 407 00:27:05,570 --> 00:27:09,330 out in heaven. You are worthy to take the scroll 408 00:27:09,330 --> 00:27:12,770 and open its seals because you were slain. And with your 409 00:27:12,770 --> 00:27:15,690 blood you purchased for God persons from 410 00:27:17,050 --> 00:27:20,570 every tribe and language 411 00:27:21,450 --> 00:27:24,010 and people and nation. 412 00:27:25,690 --> 00:27:29,130 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God. 413 00:27:30,870 --> 00:27:34,150 And they will reign on the earth from every tribe 414 00:27:35,990 --> 00:27:39,790 and language, people and nation. And then 415 00:27:39,790 --> 00:27:43,270 there's, you know, there's Galatians 3. 28. In Christ, 416 00:27:43,750 --> 00:27:47,590 there's neither Jew nor Greek. There's neither slave nor free. There's neither 417 00:27:47,830 --> 00:27:51,390 male nor female. You're all one in 418 00:27:51,390 --> 00:27:51,750 Christ. 419 00:27:55,920 --> 00:27:59,760 And yet some of 420 00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:00,720 us don't feel that way. 421 00:28:03,600 --> 00:28:06,720 I was at least 30 years ago. It was more than that. 422 00:28:07,120 --> 00:28:10,920 I remember bringing a sermon over in the old 423 00:28:10,920 --> 00:28:12,560 sanctuary about 424 00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:18,000 race. Had 425 00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:20,810 several people leave the church after it. 426 00:28:23,520 --> 00:28:27,360 What you're saying it's okay 427 00:28:27,360 --> 00:28:30,480 for us to be together? Can't be. 428 00:28:31,280 --> 00:28:34,720 Jesus was not put off by any of this. 429 00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:39,760 The Samaritans were despised. And even she 430 00:28:39,760 --> 00:28:43,080 said, you know, you're a Jew, I'm a Samaritan. You guys don't have anything to 431 00:28:43,080 --> 00:28:46,720 do with us. Jesus didn't fall for it. 432 00:28:46,990 --> 00:28:50,710 He didn't get into a discussion. He didn't talk about, oh, well, let 433 00:28:50,710 --> 00:28:53,310 me tell you why I'm talking. No, he just said, 434 00:28:54,430 --> 00:28:57,390 if you knew who you were talking to, you'd ask me and I'd give you 435 00:28:57,390 --> 00:29:01,190 living water. Is that even on the subject? Yes, it is on 436 00:29:01,190 --> 00:29:01,870 the subject. 437 00:29:05,150 --> 00:29:08,430 Okay, let's get into the good ones. Now, there's two more. 438 00:29:10,110 --> 00:29:12,270 He was not put off by her morals. 439 00:29:17,270 --> 00:29:21,110 There's a reason why she was coming in the heat of the day 440 00:29:21,110 --> 00:29:24,950 to draw water. All the other women came early in 441 00:29:24,950 --> 00:29:28,230 the morning when it was cool. She came in the heat of the day. 442 00:29:30,070 --> 00:29:33,830 I have learned, as I've gotten older, 443 00:29:34,790 --> 00:29:35,990 some things about women. 444 00:29:41,610 --> 00:29:45,290 Yeah, See, the early service crowd was a lot older, so 445 00:29:45,290 --> 00:29:48,970 a lot more of the guys went, yeah, yeah, you know, 446 00:29:49,050 --> 00:29:51,850 But I've learned some things about women, actually. 447 00:29:52,650 --> 00:29:56,330 And one of the things that I've learned about women is 448 00:29:57,770 --> 00:29:58,570 they're mean. 449 00:30:02,570 --> 00:30:06,420 They have a tendency to be mean. Michelle 450 00:30:06,420 --> 00:30:10,100 is the exception. Just 451 00:30:10,260 --> 00:30:13,940 wanted to say, but they're mean. They hold a grudge 452 00:30:14,020 --> 00:30:16,420 sometimes. You know, they can be ra. 453 00:30:19,380 --> 00:30:22,500 And so this woman had a reputation. 454 00:30:24,340 --> 00:30:27,300 And so when it came time to go to the well, all the other women 455 00:30:27,300 --> 00:30:30,020 are going to the well. And there's a reason why she didn't Go with them. 456 00:30:32,310 --> 00:30:34,390 Keep from getting her face scratched. 457 00:30:37,670 --> 00:30:40,150 And she's finally intrigued enough. 458 00:30:42,390 --> 00:30:46,150 She still doesn't get it, but she's finally intrigued enough. Go, yeah, I want 459 00:30:46,150 --> 00:30:49,750 some of this. I want some water. You know, you don't have to understand everything 460 00:30:49,750 --> 00:30:53,350 about God to want God. You don't have to understand 461 00:30:53,430 --> 00:30:57,270 everything about Jesus to want Jesus. The important thing is that 462 00:30:57,350 --> 00:31:01,120 you want him. And so she says, yes, 463 00:31:01,120 --> 00:31:04,840 I'm in. Give me this water so that I won't have 464 00:31:04,840 --> 00:31:07,360 to keep coming here to draw water. 465 00:31:09,520 --> 00:31:13,360 And when she does, he 466 00:31:13,360 --> 00:31:17,160 shines a light on her morals. He doesn't condemn them, he just shines a 467 00:31:17,160 --> 00:31:20,800 light on them because they're 468 00:31:20,800 --> 00:31:23,680 not what this conversation is about. 469 00:31:26,580 --> 00:31:30,220 Had he began going, yeah, you know, well, let's talk about 470 00:31:30,220 --> 00:31:34,060 that here for a minute, then the conversation would 471 00:31:34,060 --> 00:31:37,540 have never gone where it was supposed to ultimately end up. 472 00:31:40,820 --> 00:31:44,620 You're right. When you say you have no husband, go and call your husband. 473 00:31:44,620 --> 00:31:47,900 Come back, oh, you don't have a. Well, you know, you're right. The fact is 474 00:31:47,900 --> 00:31:51,530 you've had five husbands, and the man that you're. You're with right 475 00:31:51,530 --> 00:31:55,170 now, he's not your husband. Even what you have just said is 476 00:31:55,170 --> 00:31:58,930 quite true. In fact, 477 00:31:58,930 --> 00:32:02,730 rather than going, and so, yeah, we need to talk about this because, yeah, 478 00:32:02,730 --> 00:32:06,290 I bet somebody, he goes, I commend your truth. 479 00:32:08,050 --> 00:32:11,770 I commend your truthfulness. I just want 480 00:32:11,770 --> 00:32:13,650 to note that it's true. 481 00:32:17,820 --> 00:32:21,420 God hasn't told me to give you all the details 482 00:32:22,620 --> 00:32:26,300 about what a sinner I am, but 483 00:32:26,300 --> 00:32:29,820 take my word for it, I am. 484 00:32:31,660 --> 00:32:35,180 Paul writes in Romans, chapter seven, 485 00:32:36,220 --> 00:32:40,060 the things that I want to do, the 486 00:32:40,060 --> 00:32:42,300 things that I know to do, I don't always do them. 487 00:32:44,110 --> 00:32:46,710 And the things that I don't want to do, the things I know I shouldn't 488 00:32:46,710 --> 00:32:50,470 do, every now and then I. 489 00:32:50,470 --> 00:32:53,790 Yeah, I do. Am I right, Justin? Yeah. 490 00:32:54,670 --> 00:32:58,470 Every now and then I do those. What a wretched man I 491 00:32:58,470 --> 00:33:02,030 am. Who can possibly save me from this? 492 00:33:02,030 --> 00:33:05,630 Well, actually, I do know who. That's what he says. 493 00:33:05,790 --> 00:33:09,230 When I came back to the lord in the 70s, 494 00:33:11,700 --> 00:33:15,380 there were quite a few. There were a lot of people who would kind of 495 00:33:15,380 --> 00:33:19,180 say, well, now, that was before Paul was saved. After 496 00:33:19,180 --> 00:33:22,180 Paul was saved, that wasn't his condition anymore. 497 00:33:23,940 --> 00:33:24,900 They lied. 498 00:33:33,540 --> 00:33:37,220 Jesus tells the woman, you know, yeah, you. You 499 00:33:37,220 --> 00:33:40,300 don't have a husband right now. You've had five, and you got a guy, but 500 00:33:40,300 --> 00:33:43,700 he's not your husband. That's a word of 501 00:33:43,700 --> 00:33:46,140 knowledge, and that is a 502 00:33:46,780 --> 00:33:50,300 supernaturally revealed piece of knowledge. 503 00:33:51,180 --> 00:33:54,700 According to First Corinthians 12, 8. It's available to all 504 00:33:54,700 --> 00:33:58,420 believers. And 505 00:33:58,420 --> 00:34:01,900 when I say supernatural revealed, it's not like, you know, a parent and a child. 506 00:34:02,060 --> 00:34:05,720 You know, when you were a little child, you do something, and you. 507 00:34:05,720 --> 00:34:09,360 And how your mom knew, how your dad knew 508 00:34:09,920 --> 00:34:13,720 it was just a mystery. And they say, well, I have eyes in the 509 00:34:13,720 --> 00:34:17,280 back of my head. Well, you know, that was not true 510 00:34:17,280 --> 00:34:21,120 either. What they were actually saying is, you're 511 00:34:21,120 --> 00:34:24,760 just not very good at it. You know, I can 512 00:34:24,760 --> 00:34:28,560 catch you pretty easily. And besides, I've already been there and done that. 513 00:34:32,410 --> 00:34:35,810 But God gives sometimes a supernatural 514 00:34:35,810 --> 00:34:39,290 word that's kind of like, oh, my 515 00:34:39,290 --> 00:34:43,130 goodness, you know, the Lord just. Just read my mail. And it's 516 00:34:43,130 --> 00:34:45,529 never given for a floor show. 517 00:34:47,210 --> 00:34:50,970 It's never given for a performance. Lots of maze people here. 518 00:34:51,130 --> 00:34:54,970 Yes. The amazing ministry of Mr. Amaze, 519 00:34:55,290 --> 00:34:58,940 you know, can tell you these things. He gives it 520 00:34:59,500 --> 00:35:03,060 for a purpose, and he gave it here 521 00:35:03,060 --> 00:35:05,740 for a purpose, a godly purpose. 522 00:35:06,860 --> 00:35:09,100 So he's not sidetracked by her 523 00:35:10,300 --> 00:35:14,020 morality. That's not the issue right 524 00:35:14,020 --> 00:35:17,420 now. It's not where he's taking her. And then 525 00:35:18,300 --> 00:35:21,820 here's a pretty big one. He's not put off by her 526 00:35:21,820 --> 00:35:25,260 religion. He's not sidetracked by her religion. 527 00:35:25,660 --> 00:35:28,780 And this is where most of us, we run off the rails. 528 00:35:29,570 --> 00:35:33,250 Yeah. As soon as she realized 529 00:35:33,250 --> 00:35:36,770 that she was speaking to a prophet, she had a question about 530 00:35:37,410 --> 00:35:38,130 religion. 531 00:35:41,170 --> 00:35:44,570 And I believe there was a measure of sincerity in her question. For years, I 532 00:35:44,570 --> 00:35:48,410 kind of could hear her saying it. Our fathers worshiped here. You Jews 533 00:35:48,410 --> 00:35:51,890 say we're supposed to worship over there. Which is it? You know, But I don't 534 00:35:51,890 --> 00:35:55,720 think she said it that way. I think there was some sincerity there. I 535 00:35:55,720 --> 00:35:59,520 really want to know. You know, we've been worshiping here, but I've heard 536 00:35:59,520 --> 00:36:02,800 it's supposed to be over here. You know, what is it? 537 00:36:04,320 --> 00:36:07,200 And Jesus replies with one of the most 538 00:36:07,680 --> 00:36:11,360 powerful declarations, proclamations in all 539 00:36:11,360 --> 00:36:15,040 of Scripture. Woman, believe 540 00:36:15,120 --> 00:36:18,800 me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father. Neither 541 00:36:18,800 --> 00:36:22,510 on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship 542 00:36:22,510 --> 00:36:26,350 what you do not know. Worship in Samaria was set up by the 543 00:36:26,350 --> 00:36:30,150 Northern kings because they were afraid, politically, 544 00:36:30,150 --> 00:36:33,790 people would leave them and go to the southern kingdom if they had to 545 00:36:33,790 --> 00:36:37,590 worship in Jerusalem. We worship what we do know 546 00:36:37,590 --> 00:36:41,430 for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has 547 00:36:41,430 --> 00:36:45,230 now come when the true worshipers will worship 548 00:36:45,230 --> 00:36:49,080 the Father in spirit and in truth. For they are 549 00:36:49,080 --> 00:36:52,480 the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is 550 00:36:52,480 --> 00:36:56,320 spirit. His worshipers must worship in spirit. 551 00:36:56,400 --> 00:36:57,520 And in truth, 552 00:37:01,280 --> 00:37:04,600 some might argue, well, yeah, no, I mean, he. He said right there, you. You 553 00:37:04,600 --> 00:37:07,680 Samaritans got it wrong. We got it right. No, we didn't. 554 00:37:09,520 --> 00:37:13,200 No, he didn't. I mean, yes, they. 555 00:37:14,530 --> 00:37:18,330 The Jews were doing according to what Moses had said, the Samaritans 556 00:37:18,330 --> 00:37:22,050 worshiping according to what the northern kings 557 00:37:22,050 --> 00:37:25,650 had said. But Jesus didn't say one was wrong and one was right. 558 00:37:25,650 --> 00:37:29,410 In fact, he said, the time is coming and is now here. 559 00:37:29,570 --> 00:37:30,610 When that doesn't matter. 560 00:37:33,810 --> 00:37:35,090 When. That's not the point. 561 00:37:38,370 --> 00:37:42,210 So what is the point? Well, this actually brings us to the 562 00:37:42,210 --> 00:37:45,810 point. And the point is this. And it's so 563 00:37:45,810 --> 00:37:49,410 beautiful. I know that Messiah 564 00:37:49,410 --> 00:37:53,250 is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything 565 00:37:53,330 --> 00:37:56,690 to us. And then Jesus declared, I 566 00:37:57,490 --> 00:37:59,090 the one speaking to you. 567 00:38:01,170 --> 00:38:04,970 That's me. That's what this whole 568 00:38:04,970 --> 00:38:08,360 conversation is about. We had the 569 00:38:08,360 --> 00:38:11,920 opportunity to go off the track here and off the trail here and down the 570 00:38:11,920 --> 00:38:15,640 bunny trail there, but we stayed on the road. And this 571 00:38:15,640 --> 00:38:16,640 is what it's about. 572 00:38:20,720 --> 00:38:24,320 I said, this was a Pastor Wayne week for me. I don't 573 00:38:24,320 --> 00:38:28,160 usually look at stuff on Facebook, but occasionally I'll get an email 574 00:38:28,160 --> 00:38:30,760 saying, you might want to look at this. And most of the time I don't. 575 00:38:30,760 --> 00:38:34,400 But if it's Wayne, occasionally I will. And I did. 576 00:38:34,920 --> 00:38:37,960 And Wayne had posted something like this. He said, 577 00:38:39,000 --> 00:38:41,480 a Dear Kingdom cohort of mine said, 578 00:38:42,680 --> 00:38:45,160 when the pulpit has been traded for a podium. 579 00:38:47,800 --> 00:38:51,640 He said, I'll add, the 580 00:38:51,640 --> 00:38:54,200 church at large has a serious problem. 581 00:38:56,920 --> 00:39:00,770 He was completing the sentence, when the 582 00:39:00,770 --> 00:39:04,290 pulpit has been traded for a podium, the church at large has a serious problem. 583 00:39:04,450 --> 00:39:06,690 He was also speaking prophetically 584 00:39:08,930 --> 00:39:12,730 because all you have to do is look around, kind of go, 585 00:39:12,730 --> 00:39:14,930 oh, that's where we are. 586 00:39:17,730 --> 00:39:21,530 Another brother asked for an explanation, said, are you talking 587 00:39:21,530 --> 00:39:25,330 about something specifically? And this just interestingly enough, 588 00:39:25,330 --> 00:39:28,110 was a brother who post a lot of 589 00:39:29,150 --> 00:39:32,830 political stuff and opinions and social stuff. Are you talking about something 590 00:39:32,830 --> 00:39:36,510 specifically? And he asked for an explanation. 591 00:39:36,510 --> 00:39:39,590 And I know this brother and I know that he has a soft heart. And 592 00:39:39,590 --> 00:39:42,670 when I was his age, I was just as dumb as he is. 593 00:39:45,390 --> 00:39:48,990 But I responded to him and I said, oh, so many things. 594 00:39:50,830 --> 00:39:53,390 We were talking about trading the pulpit for a podium, 595 00:39:54,330 --> 00:39:58,090 offers of prosperity doctrine, 596 00:40:01,050 --> 00:40:04,250 social issues, personal opinion, 597 00:40:04,570 --> 00:40:07,930 which, quite frankly, I think those are the same thing 598 00:40:09,449 --> 00:40:13,170 because most of what we feel about social issues is our personal opinion. You 599 00:40:13,170 --> 00:40:16,730 may go, oh, no, Pastor. Everything I believe about social issues is what 600 00:40:16,730 --> 00:40:17,450 God thinks. 601 00:40:21,220 --> 00:40:24,020 Really? Oh, really? 602 00:40:24,820 --> 00:40:28,540 Yeah. Those things 603 00:40:28,540 --> 00:40:32,220 that so easily draw people away, draw people 604 00:40:32,220 --> 00:40:35,459 to themselves, draw people to focus on Them 605 00:40:36,420 --> 00:40:37,860 and away from Jesus. 606 00:40:41,140 --> 00:40:44,790 I, I 607 00:40:44,790 --> 00:40:48,630 guess about the third time through this outline, getting 608 00:40:48,630 --> 00:40:52,470 ready for this morning, this hit me and I'm just going to say 609 00:40:52,470 --> 00:40:54,590 it. I'm going to put it up here and we're going to post it on 610 00:40:54,590 --> 00:40:56,670 Facebook. And so, you know, it's true, 611 00:40:59,230 --> 00:41:02,430 as the church grows in political power and influence, 612 00:41:02,910 --> 00:41:06,030 it declines in spiritual power and influence. 613 00:41:08,030 --> 00:41:11,800 And historically it's true. I mean, 614 00:41:12,200 --> 00:41:15,760 I grew up as a child in the 50s and in the 60s and the 615 00:41:15,760 --> 00:41:19,480 50s and 60s, the church had great influence on 616 00:41:19,560 --> 00:41:23,160 the culture in the nation. And then in the early 70s, we 617 00:41:23,160 --> 00:41:24,680 decided to get political 618 00:41:28,200 --> 00:41:31,920 and you know, our influence in the 619 00:41:31,920 --> 00:41:35,400 halls of power, if you will, of this world has been on the 620 00:41:35,400 --> 00:41:39,250 ascendancy ever since. And the number of people who claim 621 00:41:39,250 --> 00:41:43,050 Jesus Christ as their savior and attend church has been on the decline 622 00:41:43,050 --> 00:41:46,250 ever since early 70s. Go, 623 00:41:46,650 --> 00:41:49,210 go back and check it out. 624 00:41:50,570 --> 00:41:54,290 The real issue is 625 00:41:54,290 --> 00:41:57,930 this. The spirit and truth 626 00:41:57,930 --> 00:41:59,610 issue is always 627 00:42:04,900 --> 00:42:08,500 not what we think about these other things. That's not 628 00:42:09,460 --> 00:42:13,260 the issue. We don't stand before God to hear 629 00:42:13,260 --> 00:42:16,900 him say, well, now there was, let's see how you 630 00:42:16,980 --> 00:42:20,780 what your opinion was on this. And it's 631 00:42:20,780 --> 00:42:24,420 only one question. You know my son, 632 00:42:26,340 --> 00:42:29,710 you know, my son, God isn't even 633 00:42:29,710 --> 00:42:33,230 interested in real religion. He's interested in real 634 00:42:33,310 --> 00:42:34,190 relationship. 635 00:42:40,430 --> 00:42:43,870 Besides, what we think about. Our thoughts are not his thoughts. 636 00:42:45,710 --> 00:42:47,630 His ways are not our ways. 637 00:42:49,630 --> 00:42:53,310 But both our thoughts and our ways can become more like 638 00:42:53,310 --> 00:42:57,110 him, but only as we stay focused on Him. See, 639 00:42:57,190 --> 00:43:00,430 we tend to think we have this kind of thing. Well, if I got the 640 00:43:00,430 --> 00:43:03,750 right opinion about all these issues, I'll be closer to 641 00:43:03,750 --> 00:43:05,270 Jesus. No, you won't. 642 00:43:07,510 --> 00:43:11,190 You get closer to Jesus and all this stuff will 643 00:43:11,190 --> 00:43:13,190 fall into place where it's supposed to be. 644 00:43:17,510 --> 00:43:21,270 Worship team, you can come out. This woman 645 00:43:22,330 --> 00:43:25,930 was the wrong gender, she was the wrong 646 00:43:25,930 --> 00:43:29,610 race, she was the wrong culture, she 647 00:43:29,610 --> 00:43:32,730 was the wrong morality, she was 648 00:43:33,290 --> 00:43:34,650 the wrong religion. 649 00:43:37,210 --> 00:43:39,050 Yet Jesus came to her in person. 650 00:43:41,610 --> 00:43:45,290 And apart from his disciples, she's the only one 651 00:43:46,410 --> 00:43:50,200 recorded in scripture. Jesus plainly 652 00:43:50,200 --> 00:43:54,000 revealed himself. I am 653 00:43:54,000 --> 00:43:56,640 He, I am the Christ. 654 00:43:58,720 --> 00:44:02,160 You got something to say, brother? Oh, you're just gonna sing? 655 00:44:02,560 --> 00:44:06,320 Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Okay, yeah, I'll 656 00:44:06,320 --> 00:44:10,040 get there in a second. If you 657 00:44:10,040 --> 00:44:10,480 don't, 658 00:44:15,370 --> 00:44:19,090 no matter what you've done, no matter 659 00:44:19,090 --> 00:44:22,570 which side of issues you come down on, 660 00:44:22,730 --> 00:44:26,330 I've had people, I've had people literally say to me, 661 00:44:26,490 --> 00:44:30,010 I don't know how anybody can be a Democrat and call himself a Christian. 662 00:44:30,970 --> 00:44:34,690 And I've actually had others say, I don't know how anybody 663 00:44:34,690 --> 00:44:38,530 can be a Republican and call themselves a Christian. And I 664 00:44:38,530 --> 00:44:42,340 don't answer that question because they don't. They're not. They don't want 665 00:44:42,340 --> 00:44:46,180 an answer. It's a rhetorical point that they're making. 666 00:44:46,500 --> 00:44:50,260 But if. If you wanted an answer, I got one. 667 00:44:51,700 --> 00:44:55,300 The reason you don't know how anybody could be that other 668 00:44:55,380 --> 00:44:59,180 party and be a Christian is because you don't know 669 00:44:59,180 --> 00:45:00,500 what it is to be a Christian. 670 00:45:03,460 --> 00:45:04,820 You don't know what that means, 671 00:45:08,080 --> 00:45:10,160 because it's not about this stuff. 672 00:45:13,200 --> 00:45:17,040 It's about Jesus. No matter what you've done, 673 00:45:17,360 --> 00:45:20,880 no matter where you come down on particular things or whatever, 674 00:45:22,240 --> 00:45:25,960 if he came to this woman and everything was wrong about 675 00:45:25,960 --> 00:45:27,920 her, he'll come to you. 676 00:45:30,570 --> 00:45:32,810 He's offering you living water as well. 677 00:45:35,850 --> 00:45:38,730 That's just too good to be true. You're just 678 00:45:40,330 --> 00:45:44,090 in the world. In the world, 679 00:45:44,090 --> 00:45:47,730 virtually everything that sounds good is too good to be true. But in the 680 00:45:47,730 --> 00:45:51,290 kingdom, the half has never yet been told. 681 00:45:52,250 --> 00:45:56,050 It's just. We only have a glimpse of what 682 00:45:56,050 --> 00:45:57,290 good actually is. 683 00:46:01,210 --> 00:46:04,330 With those who are going to minister, come forward, if you would stand with me. 684 00:46:04,810 --> 00:46:08,250 We're going to. We're going to do a song here that. 685 00:46:12,170 --> 00:46:15,210 It's probably been 20 years since we've done this song. 686 00:46:16,890 --> 00:46:20,530 And I didn't say anything to Jonathan and 687 00:46:20,530 --> 00:46:23,210 Brittany about it, but just 688 00:46:24,350 --> 00:46:27,070 early service, they started playing it and I went, whoa, 689 00:46:28,590 --> 00:46:32,350 who told you to do that? And we know who told them 690 00:46:32,350 --> 00:46:36,030 to do it. It was God. If you're here, you need 691 00:46:36,030 --> 00:46:39,470 prayer for anything. These brothers and sisters, 692 00:46:39,870 --> 00:46:41,470 all these sinners down here, 693 00:46:43,870 --> 00:46:46,830 they'll pray with you. God will hear. 694 00:46:47,710 --> 00:46:50,030 Let's do this. Let's do this song.