Address—G.H. Hayhoe
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John's Gospel in the 4th chapter.
We begin at the fourth verse.
And he must needs go through Samaria.
Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well, and it was about the 6th hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink, for his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy me.
Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me which am a woman of Samaria? For the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. From whence then hast thou that living water art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself and his children, and his cattle?
Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again, but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hit her to draw.
Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hit her. The woman I answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband, for thou hast had five husbands, and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband. In that saidst thou truly?
The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain, and ye saith in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh when ye shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father.
He worshipped. Ye know not what we know, what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship Him.
God is a spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.
The woman saith unto him, I know that Messiahs cometh, which is called Christ. When he has come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am He. And upon this came his disciples, and marvel that he talked with the woman, Yet no man said, What seekest thou, or why talkest thou with her? The woman then left her water pot and went her way into the city, and saith to the man, Come.
See a man which told me all things that ever I did. Is not this the Christ?
Then they went out of the city, and came unto him. In the meanwhile his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat. But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. Therefore said the disciples, one to another, hath any man brought him out to eat? Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish his work. St. Archie, there are yet four months. And then cometh Harvest the old. I say unto you, Lift up your.
Eyes and look on the fields, for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages and gathereth fruit unto life eternal, that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, 1 soweth and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour, other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.
And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman which testified. He told me all that ever I did. So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them. And he abode there two days, and many more believed because of his own word, and said unto the woman, Now we believe not because of thy saying.
But we have, for we have heard him ourselves and know that.
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This is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.
Well, dear friends, and this wonderful passage that we have before us here tonight, we see how the Lord has an interest in the individual. We think of Him coming and spending His time just talking to one person. And so no matter how great a crowd of people are gathered together, the Lord has an interest in each one of us here individually. He cares about you. He knows all about you, just as He knew all about that woman in this 4th chapter of John.
And so this chapter brings before us not only his interest in you, but his willingness to bless that he's able to save just as he was able to save her.
There's another little word that's very interesting in the 3rd chapter and in the 4th chapter. In the 3rd chapter it says he must be born again. The little word must. He must. In other words, in order to be fit for God, we must have a new life. We were born in sin, but we need to be born again, to be born from above to receive new life.
And then it also tells us the Son of Man must be lifted up. There was no other way that sin could be put away. He must go to Calvary, and there he went to die for you and me. And then in this chapter it says.
That he must go through Samaria. And so not only must we be born again, not only was it necessary for the Lord Jesus to die, how about it was also necessary that he should seek and save that which is lost? And that's the wonder of the gospel, that not only has the Lord Jesus died, but he is seeking. I'm glad he sought for me until he found me.
In all that the very first words that God.
Spoke after sin 100 into the world were these Adam, where art thou what does that tell us? God became a seeking God Adam had sinned against him he could have said to him at that very moment, depart from me, but instead he was a seeking God and he said, Adam, where art thou and he never sent Adam out of the garden until he had first made the promise of a Redeemer he made the.
Us that the seed of the woman would bruise the serpent's head. And so Lord was long after the Lord Jesus came into this world and was born of a virgin. He was the fulfillment of that promise that God made that the seed of the woman would bruise the serpent's head. And so tonight God is a seeking God. He's seeking sinners. And so here we find the Lord Jesus was seeking.
This poor soul.
I don't suppose that she thought that in the life that she was living that God would have any particular interest in her. Surely the Lord would be far more interested in other people who are going along in life a lot better than she was. But here He takes this journey weary with his journey. Who is he seeking? A very fine living person. A person that was respected in society.
No, here he was seeking a poor Sinner.
And you know, another remarkable thing is that in the 3rd chapter we find the Lord dealing with another individual. This man was a master in Israel, a religious leader, and the Lord said to him, he must be born again. Surely if he was a religious leader, a master in Israel, teaching people the law, did he need new births? Wasn't he good enough when he was doing such a good work? No, Jesus said to that man.
He must be born again. But in this chapter we find a person who was perhaps we might say, low down on the ladder of society. And yet the Lord Jesus didn't say to this woman he must be born again, although it was necessary for her to be born again. But He showed her that He could satisfy that longing that was in her soul. Why was she living the life that she was?
All because.
Because she wasn't satisfied and she was seeking something to satisfy. And the Lord shows her that He not only can give new life, but He can satisfy. It tells us in the Bible He satisfies the longing soul and fills the hungry soul with goodness. Here was a longing soul, and the Lord came to satisfy, and he taught her what true worship is.
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Surely if it had been you or I, we would have been teaching Nicodemus how to be a worshipper, seeing he was such a religious man. But instead the Lord teaches him that he needs to be born again. But this woman, he teaches her that he can satisfy her and how she.
Could be a true worshiper. Why? Well, what is it that makes us worshippers? Oh, it's gratitude for what the Lord has done for us. You'll never be a worshiper in heart as long as you feel that you're earning your own way of salvation. Why? You'll be thanking yourself for what you're doing. But when you realize that Christ is your salvation, then you have something to be thankful for. Then we can be true worshippers.
So he must needs go through Samaria and it tells us here he came to Samaria and he sat down here by this well and tells us that it was about the 6th hour. As far as we can tell it was right at noonday. It was at the time, I suppose, when not many people would be expected to be out drawing water, but it wasn't any accident that this woman came just.
At that time, you know, it isn't an accident that brings us in contact with God's way of salvation. It's part of God's plan because he came to seek and to save. It's no accident when a seeking Savior finds a lost Sinner. No, it's because he was seeking and the Lord was seeking this woman. And so I say again, it was no accident.
I remember a young man.
Who was brought to the gospel meeting many years ago. He didn't want to come and afterwards gone and his grace saved his soul. And I heard him say to the young man that brought him, I'm glad you dragged me here. It wasn't any accident that he came and the Lord brought him that he might be saved. And so how wonderful the Lord was seeking this woman. And it was all timed.
She came to the well to draw water at the same time the Lord Jesus.
Came weary and thirsty with his journey, and sat down by the well.
Now, you know, as we see in the story, the Lord knew all about this woman. He knew just exactly what kind of a person she was. He could have started right from the beginning to tell her that He knew all about her, but he didn't. Isn't it lovely the way the Lord approached her and spoke to her? I think it's so beautiful to see the way He talked to her. Sometimes we say things and we repel people. We make them feel unwilling to listen.
But isn't.
Wonderful what the Lord did here when he saw this woman here by the well, He didn't start to say anything about the wicked life she had lived, but he said, give me to drink, give me to drink. Was it possible that she could give refreshment to the Son of God? Was it possible that a poor sinful person like her could bring joy to the heart of the God?
Come down in manhood the Son of man, the Son of God. Is it possible for somebody in this room to give joy to the heart of God? Yes, it is. It says in Luke chapter 15. I say unto you that there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over 1 Sinner that repenteth that this woman was going to give joy to the heart of God. She was going to give joy in heaven. She was going to satisfy.
The lying heart of the Savior.
Who had come to bless? And so he said, give me to drink. She didn't know. She didn't know at this time how she was going to bring joy to his heart. Perhaps she gave him a drink of water from the well. I don't know. The Scripture doesn't tell us particularly that. And because she became so engrossed in listening to what he had to say, the water seemed to have been forgotten.
But she she got something more than just the water out of the well, and the Lord received more.
More than water out of the well and because he had come to bless her and he did bless her. She found him that day. She found the Savior of the world. She found him as her own personal Savior. So the Lord Jesus said give me the drink and then in the ninth verse and the eighth verse it says for his disciples were gone away into the city.
To buy meat. Isn't this interesting too? Because.
You know what we have to do with the Lord. It's a dealing we have to have alone. If the disciples had been there, they might have all had something to say, and she might have felt quite distracted. But it was all arranged, as I say.
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The Lord came there with the disciples, they went away to get meat, and the Lord was left alone to talk to her. Reminds me of a young man.
And he was hurt when he was playing a game and he was taken to the hospital, knocked unconscious.
And after being in the hospital for two or three days.
He seemed to be coming along pretty well.
And then one day, the nurse came in and put a screen around his bed and walked away. He thought, I wonder what she's doing that for? He said to her, what? What did you put a screen around and said? I was told to put a screen around your bed. Oh, he thought, can it be that I'm going to die? How are they doing this? Because he knew that that's what they often did when a patient was going to die. They just put a screen around the bed. Can it be? They haven't told me.
And that I'm going to die. And there behind the screen, his whole life came up before him. All his sins. He knew he wasn't ready to die. And there behind the screen, he faced that past life that he had lived. He remembered how the Lord Jesus came to save sinners. He opened his heart and received him as a sinner's Savior.
And peace came into his soul, and the peace that God.
Alone can give because the scripture says peace has been made through the blood of His cross. Dear friend, you don't have to make your peace with God. That was made at the cross. Jesus made peace through the blood of His cross. We just received the peace that He made. He is our peace. The scripture says it's a person who is our salvation. It's a person who made peace.
Well, to go on with the story.
He accepted the Lord as his savior, and in a short time, the nurse came back full of apologies. Oh, she said, I'm so sorry I made a mistake. It wasn't your bed. It was another room. I was supposed to put that screen around. Oh, she's he said, you didn't make any mistake. He said God planned that. He said, I found the Lord as my savior behind that screen. And dear friends, it was no accident that this woman was left alone.
To talk to the Savior when we have to do with God. It's a thing between your soul and God. I can't save you. Nobody can save you but Jesus. Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. The Lord Jesus is the only Savior. Well.
She was a little bit, shall I say, prejudice at first.
She said to him, how is it that thou being a Jew askest drink of me, which I'm a woman of Samaria for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. And you know, isn't this often so that people are afraid to have a dealing with the Lord Jesus just like this woman, she thought I'm a Samaritan, he's a Jew, we're just not going to have any dealings. And so she was full of prejudice, but she didn't know that he wasn't just a Jew.
He was the Savior. It's true, He was born of the tribe of Judah, but he was the Son of God. He was the one who was born to this world of a virgin. And it says that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. This was God come down into this world. But as I say, she had never had any dealing with him.
And I perhaps there's someone here tonight and you've never had a dealing with a savior.
And so perhaps you withdraw, you hold back. And so she felt that way, and she asked him, and what did the Lord answer? She said, He said, if thou knewest the gift of God.
And who it is that saith unto thee, Give me to drink? Thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. In other words, the Lord said to her, salvation is a gift. A dear friend. If it's a gift, you can't pay for it. If you came along and you offered me something, and we'll say it's worth $50, and you give it to me for five, it's a bargain, but it's not a gift.
It's a bargain, I say, but it's not a gift. In order to be a gift, it must be free. And soul salvation is a gift. The gift of God is eternal life. It tells us in the Epistle to the Romans. And so the Lord said, if thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith unto thee, give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked of him.
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And he would have given the living water if she was unwilling at this.
This point to give the Lord Jesus a dream. He was willing to give her something better than what he had asked for. He had just asked for a drink from Jacob's well, but he was a free giving God. He was there to give everlasting life. He was there to give the water of life.
The scripture says whosoever there's a thirst, let him take of the water of life freely. It's free. It isn't that it wasn't costly. When things are given to you for nothing, it doesn't mean they don't cost anything. Why? Some of the best things we have in life are free, but it doesn't mean that they're not without a cost. And so who could pay the price of sin? Who could buy salvation? I couldn't.
But Jesus could.
Someone has put it in the little hymn, there was no other good enough to pay the price of sin. He only could undo the door of heaven and let us in. So he said, if thou knewest the gift of God. Two things she didn't know. She didn't know salvation was a gift and she didn't know who Jesus was. She didn't know that the one who was talking to her was really.
God's beloved Son. And it might be too, that.
You don't know what God is willing to do for you. Maybe you don't realize.
Now that it's with him, you have to do. Perhaps you think it's with someone else, a preacher or somebody, but you know it's with God you have to do. It's with the Lord Jesus that you have to do. And so he, he said thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. And now we find this little incident, this story brings before us such a display of our natural hearts. First we find that she was prejudice she didn't want.
To listen, because she had never had any dealing with Jesus before. And then the next thing was, she began to try and reason it out. She said, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with in the well of his deep. From whence then hast thou that living water, have you tried to reason out salvation?
Well, dear friends, we just have to accept what God says as God's word. You say, how could I, just by believing, be saved? Well, you just believe what God says. You accept it because God has said it. I know I'm saved tonight because I have accepted what God says. What? What is it that gives me assurance?
The Bible says, He that believeth on the Son hath ever.
Lasting life. It tells us in first John chapter 5 and verse 13. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life. Does God want us to go on in uncertainty? Does He want everybody in this room to have to be uncertain when this matter is so important that we'd have to leave this world and not know?
Oh no, he wants us to know.
Right now. And so he says he's written these things that we may know that we have eternal life. Or again in the 4th chapter of first John it says.
That we may have boldness in the Day of Judgment, because as he is.
So are we in this world?
Notice that we have boldness in the day of judgment. Why? Because as He is, where is the Lord Jesus now? Isn't he at the right hand of God? Or isn't Savior as He is up there, the one who settled my debt of sin?
He says you have to wait till the judgment day. No, he says, as he is, so are we in this world. Isn't that wonderful? I remember a dear Christian lady back in Ottawa, Canada, where I live.
She had been brought up in a home where she had never heard the gospel, and she said she went to a meeting and she heard the preacher quote that verse. As he is, so are we in this world. Oh, she thought, that's the best news I ever heard. To think that I can be right here in this world and know that as Christ is there, so am I while still here in this world.
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That gives boldness about the Day of Judgment we don't have to fear.
We don't have to hope that somehow in the day of judgment, everything will turn out all right. The judge himself tells us there's no condemnation. Could we have better than his word? If you were going to be brought up to court and the judge was able to give you assurance that you wouldn't be condemned, could you have anything better than the judge in the final Court of Appeal? Well, the judge himself turned over to the 5th chapter, and you'll see that the scripture says just that. John 5.
In verse 22.
For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son.
That all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father which hath sent Him. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. Here we find the Father commits all judgment to the Son. And what does he do?
He turns to us and says, if you believe I will not condemn you, isn't that grand? Isn't that wonderful to know?
Well, this woman tried to reason it out. She said, how could Jesus get water out of that well? She said the well's deep. How could you get water out of that well? Try to figure it out. And I know many people when they come to the Bible, they just try to Raisin everything out and they never get peace because they never rest on what God says. But when we rest on what God says, then we.
The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son cleanseth us from all sin shall not come into condemnation. What more could we have than His word to assure us?
He said, art thou greater than our Father Jacob, which gave us the well and drank thereof himself and his children and his cattle? You might say what an insult this was. Was the Lord greater than Jacob? Why, he was the Son of God. But there are a lot of people that just think of the Lord Jesus Christ as an ordinary man, but he isn't, He's God.
Well then, the Lord said again, Whosoever drinketh of the water of this water shall thirst again, but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. In other words, the Lord said, I'll put the well inside of you.
That's what makes us happy as Christians, because when we're saved, the well is put inside. We possess everlasting life and it's in us a well of water springing up into everlasting life. Or as Jesus said on another occasion, he said, he that believeth on me, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. People of this world go here and there to try and find something.
Satisfies. But when you get saved, it's inside. Christ comes into your heart, the well is inside, and the well springs up into everlasting life.
Well, this lady at last, now she's awakened, she she realizes that the life that she had been living hadn't brought her this kind of satisfaction. She had been trying different ways of getting satisfaction.
She had tried one person and another. These things didn't bring satisfaction and many people try. The life this woman lived shows that she was trying one thing, other people try other things, but she was trying to find something that would satisfy. And so here, when the Lord speaks this way, she said, well, I'd like what satisfies. And so, dear friend, I hope there's someone here tonight who would.
Say, well, I'd like to have a drink of the water of life. I'd like to have what satisfies. It's a blessed thing when you receive Christ to have the well inside. She said, Sir, give me this water that I thirst not neither come hit her to draw. She wanted to have it. Perhaps she would like to have the peace the Christian has. Perhaps you say, well, I wish I could say for sure, but I was saved and that heaven's my home that I didn't need to be afraid of the day of judgment. So she said, give me.
This water, now the Lord has to do something, something that perhaps wasn't very pleasant for her. What was it?
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Well, he had to show her that she needed to have her sins put away.
He needed to show her that sin could never be in the presence of God. And so in the most gracious way, he, as it were, raises the sin question. He said go call my husband and come hit her. He knew what kind of a life she lived, but he didn't say anything about it. Why did he put it that way? All he was speaking to her conscience. And dear friends, you have a conscience. I don't say you've been living the way this woman lived.
But I say, the Bible says all have sinned and she was living that way, but we've all sinned one way or another. We all have sins. And so this woman realized that the Lord had put his finger on a sore spot. He had, he had made her feel very, very uncomfortable because she found out that.
That she was in the presence of one who was searching her heart, and you know, God searching our hearts.
Every sin must be punished. God doesn't Passover sin, He punishes sin.
But the only way that we escaped the punishment is that another took it in our stand.
It says he was wounded for our transgressions. It says the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of a song. It was him that took our place. I remember going to see a dear man in the hospital many years ago, and he knew the Lord as his Savior. And the last time I went to see him, his voice was very weak because he was getting real near the end of his life.
And I I still can't.
To forget the way he looked happened with a smile on his face, he said. Gordon, isn't it lovely to know the judgments behind you and not ahead of you?
How could he say that? What did he mean, judgments behind you all? He meant that his sins were laid on Jesus. So the judgment of all his sins was passed and he was looking forward to meeting the Lord Jesus, the one who died to save him. There was peace in his heart. He knew that sin had to be judged, but he knew the sins had been judged. The Lord hath laid on him.
The iniquity of us all. You can't remember all your sins.
Nor can I, but God, who knew exactly what we were and all about us. God is the one who took up and settled the question of sin.
I remember hearing of a man and he was dying and he gathered his children around him and he spoke to each one. And perhaps the way he expressed himself was rather different, but he asked each one, starting at the oldest, have you put your sins on Jesus? The oldest one said yes, Daddy. He asked the second one, have you put your sins on Jesus? He said yes, daddy, when he came to the very youngest one in the family.
And he said unto this little girl, he said, have you put your sins on Jesus? She said, no daddy, God did that. Oh how lovely that child had learned the secret of peace. Because if I had to put my sins on Jesus, I might forget some of them. But God, who knows sin, who measures sin properly, He's the one the Lord hath laid on him, that is on the my Savior.
The iniquity of us all, well, he, he as it were, opens the page of this woman's history. When she said he said go call thy husband and come hit her, she thought she could cover it up. She said I have no husband.
I have no husband. Isn't that the feeling that we all have? We like to cover our sins, don't we?
But unless they're covered by the blood of Jesus, they're still outstanding. They're still outstanding.
And so she tried to cover it up just just the way any natural person would be, and she said I have no husband.
And then the Lord had to say, I know everything. I know all about you.
Then what did she do? Did she say, oh, I'm so glad I'm in the presence of one who knows all about me? She did just what everybody likes to do when you come to that point. She started to talk about religion. She started to talk about how religious she were. And she said, Sir, I perceive that you're a prophet.
Now she said, my father has taught me that we were to worship in this mountain. And do people say that we're to worship at Jerusalem? So she said, I'm confused. Well, you know, that's just the way people are. They're so concerned about places. Instead of a person, it's a person who saves. It's a person. She wondered whether it was in this mountain in Samaria or whether it was at Jerusalem.
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Well, the Lord said, you worship ye none.
Not what we know, what we worship, because those Samaritans carried on a sort of a mixed worship, and they partially worshipped idols and they partially worshiped God. They carried on a mixed worship. But the Lord didn't say whether salvation was in Samaria or whether it was in Jerusalem. Because actually she got saved in Samaria. She got saved right on the spot there, right by Jacob's well in Samaria. She didn't have to go to Jerusalem to get saved.
And so you don't have to go to.
Special place to be saved, but you have to come to a special person, and that's the Lord Jesus. He's the only Savior. Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given amongst men whereby we must be saved. Oh, how important to come to him, for the Lord Jesus said him that cometh to me.
I will in no wise cast out.
And so when the Lord had said this to her.
And she said, He goes on, He said, Ye worship. Ye know not what we know, what we worship. For salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth. In other words, it was a person who was to be worshipped, and the worship must be, as we were saying at the beginning, from a heart.
That has been filled with gratitude because we have been saved through that precious Savior, redeemed by his precious blood. And so it says.
It says the Father seeketh such to worship him. Notice the verse doesn't say the Father seeks worship, but he seeks worshippers. And you say what is the difference whether he seeks worship or worshippers? Well, let me put it this way. If God wanted to have sweet music here tonight, He could make every empty chair sing better than any of our voices.
If that was what he wanted, we could have a mechanical instrument.
Here that would give the sweetest music, far better than any of our voices can sing, if that's what it was that God wanted. But what does He want? He seeks worshippers, people, that's what He wants. There's a verse in Hebrews 13. It says by him. Therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually. That is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name.
Again, another verse says.
That we should sing and make melody in our hearts to the Lord. And you know, it's not how well you can sing. It's not a mechanical instrument that worshipped. It's whether it comes from the heart. And I'm quite sure that everyone in this room who knows the Lord Jesus as Savior who has put his or her trust in the Lord Jesus and can say he's shed his blood for me and I trusted in him as my Savior.
There is worship in your heart to Him now that is an overflow of Thanksgiving in praise to Him. It's not just how well it might be expressed, because some might be able to express themselves better than others. That isn't the point. It's whether it comes from the heart. I never told our children when they were small at home. Don't say thank you to me until you can say it plainly.
I I was glad when it was just.
Tata or whatever that I knew there was gratitude in their little hearts. That meant more to me than a big spiel from someone who was older who just said it in a way that they were trying to please me. What I wanted was that it came from their hearts. And so, you know, when you know the Lord as your Savior, you're a true worshiper. There's a verse in Matthew that says this.
This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth.
And honoured me with their lips. But their heart is far from me. Truly. In vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines, the commandments of man. There's plenty of worship around from people who are just carrying on something, as, shall I say, a planned, ordered thing, when it doesn't come from their hearts. What God wants is what comes from the heart. And so if you really know, the Lord is your Savior.
00:40:22
Don't be.
Concerned about how well you can express yourself, but just look up tonight and say, Lord Jesus, thank you for dying for me. Thank you for shedding thy precious blood for me. And that's true worship. That's what he values. So he said the hour cometh and now is it's right now, friend, you can right now look up and thank the Lord Jesus.
You don't have to wait until a meeting is over until we all join in the song, but right now, worship can just grow up in your heart as you thank Him for what He has done for you at Calvary's cross, in dying in your place.
They that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. That is what true worship is.
Well, tells us in the 25th verse, the woman saith unto him, I know that Messiah cometh, which is called Christ. When he is come, he will tell us all things.
You know, the Lord had been leading this woman onward, shall I say, first of all, she had been prejudice and He had broken this down. And then she had tried to reason about it and the Lord showed her that it would be a well of water in her heart. Then she knew she needed this living water and she said, give me this water.
That then the Lord had shown her that she was a Sinner, and she, He had shown her that sin.
And was a serious thing in God's sight. Then she started to talk religion, and he showed her that true worship was that which was produced in the heart by the Spirit of God. And at last she comes to the point where he was seeking to bring her. And what is that?
Oh, she said, I see it now, it's Christ I need. She said, when Messiahs comes, which is called Christ, we'll have all the answers then. In other words, he said, I see it, it's Christ that I need. And what did the Lord say? He said, I that speak unto thee am He. In other words, when she came to that point, while he revealed himself to her, and she found herself in the very presence of the one that she needed.
The most and dear friend, I want to tell you when God brings you to the point when you realize you're a Sinner and you realize that you're lost, when you realize that you need him, He's right there to come into your heart. He's right there to wash away your sins. That's why he went to Calvary. That's why he died. That's why he rose again. That's why tonight He's a risen Savior at the right hand of God.
And he said, I that speak unto thee am he?
I believe at that point she passed from death unto life. I believe at that point something wonderful happened in her heart because the Bible says she left her water pot and went into the city. What did she go for? Well, someone said. Someone said she left the water pot and went away with the well. I believe she did. She left her water pot. The well was in her heart now and so she went into the city and what was?
The first thing that she did, she wanted her, her friends to know about Jesus. And that's the way it is. When you're saved, you always want others to know. You can't help but if you get something good, you always tell your friends. And so when she knew that she had met the Savior of the world, she had met him and talked to him. She thought he was only a Jew and she didn't know how he could draw a water out of the well. But now she had found.
Behavior and he had found her and she goes to the man and she said come see a man that told me all things that ever I did.
And, you know, I suppose the last person on earth that we'd like to be with is a person that knows everything we ever did. I don't suppose anybody in the world ever knows everything that we've said and done and thought. But isn't it wonderful? I'm going to spend eternity with somebody that knows everything I said and done and thought, and I'm going to be perfectly happy in his presence because he has put away all my sins and his precious blood. And you will never.
Never be happy until you've met the One who knows all about you and loves you just the same, loves you just the same, died for you. And so she tells these men, she said, there's somebody here that knows all about me. Come and meet him. Come and meet him. And so they came out too, to meet the Savior. I hope others will come tonight to know the Savior whom we have brought to know.
00:45:25
Wasn't a very.
Long message that she gave them. She just simply said come see a man that told me all things that ever I did.
Well, while she was away talking to those in Samaria, the disciples came and they said to the Lord, they said.
Master ate and he said, I have meat to eat that ye know not out of.
They thought that someone had brought him some food, but the Lord said, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. Now that is the Lord's pleasure was to bless a poor Sinner like this one who had come to the well. And you know, tonight the Lord's joy is to bless sinners. The Lord's joy is to bring sinners to himself.
We're happy because we've been brought to him.
But I repeat what I said at the beginning, there'll be joy in heaven tonight if there's a Sinner receives Christ as Savior. There's joy in the presence of the angels of God over 1 Sinner that repenteth. So the Lord said I have my meat is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work. And then he said to the disciples, you say it's four months till the harvest comes, but he said, look, look.
The fields are white already to harvest. In other words, there's always a tendency to put things off and say, well, some later time is better.
Some later time, perhaps there's someone here and you say, well, I think I'll put it off, my dear friends, now is the time.
Now is the time of salvation, and then let me say to those who know the Lord as Savior.
We have the privilege of telling others of our Savior. Are we going to put it off?
Supposing we say, well, I'll talk to others some other time, perhaps death may come. Just a couple of the Lord's days ago, just about two weeks ago when we were in Hamilton, a young lad that we knew very well was out looking after the farm chores and just as suddenly as you can turn your head, he was attacked by a bull.
And instantly killed.
None of us ever expected it. He didn't expect it. He had a diamond ring already to give to his girlfriend that week and the girl had to come to the funeral instead of to the to get the ring. And how quickly his life was snuffed out, we don't know. Now is the time. Lift up your eyes now. Now is the day of salvation.
And we who know the Lord, we want to see you saved now.
We don't want to see you put it off. The fields are white to harvest. The Lord is coming soon.
Death may overtake you suddenly. Now is the time of salvation. And so the Lord said he wouldn't even stop to eat. He'd rather speak to this woman that she might be saved. And the Lord wants to save anyone who will receive him. Again, let me quote that verse. Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out.
And then it says in the 39th verse. And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman which testified. He told me all that ever I did.
So when the Samaritans were coming to him, they besought him that he would tarry with them.
And he abode there 2 days.
And many more believed because of his own word.
And I want you to notice this 42nd verse. And said unto the woman, Now we believe not because of thy saying, for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.
They, they turned and they said to her, We have heard him ourselves. And now, dear friends, each one here is courteously listened to what I say, because you know, you can't have peace by resting on what I say. I can try like peace.
Or dead to, or like Andrew did to lead his brother to the Savior. Andrew found his brother and he brought him to Jesus. But if you want to have assurance, it must be by resting on what the Lord says. So they turn to the woman. He said we believe because of what the Lord Himself said, and we rest on His word. Ingenuity. Your friends are the only thing that'll really give you peace.
00:50:23
I am a natural doubter myself.
That's my natural tendency, and I never got peace until I rested on what the Lord said. As long as I looked inside for feelings, as long as I was trusting to those feelings, I never had any peace, because your feelings change. When I was occupied with whether I had enough faith or not, I didn't have peace. But the important thing is that you look away from yourself and that you rest upon Christ and that you rest.
Upon his word.
And the verse that I like to rest upon for my soul is that lovely verse that I already quoted to you. The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin. That is what gives peace to my soul. It isn't my feelings because as I say, your feelings can change. Some people have a lot of faith in their feelings. I don't because I find they change.
Some people have a lot of faith in.
Their own works. But you know, God says that we're sinners, all have sinned. He says all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. But you know, to have faith in the Lord Jesus is what saves. And again, I want to say, as I've often said, it's not the amount of your faith, but whether your faith is in the right person, if your faith is in yourself.
You'll always have doubts, but if your faith is in Christ, even if it's only a little faith.
Supposing you had a check for $100 and you only had a little bit of faith that the check was good.
But when you presented it, the question is not how much faith you have, but whether the man is as good as the check he made out.
And if he is, no matter how weak your faith is, when you present it, you get the whole sum of $100 because the man was good. And dear friends, the Savior is worthy of your trust.
Of your trust, you and I can never save ourselves, but he is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him. And tonight if you just look away in trembling faith and say, Lord, I am a Sinner, I trust in Thee as my Savior. Did he finish the work? He said it is finished. Has God accepted him? He seated him at his own right hand. Has he given us his word? Yes, he has.
What more could God do to give peace to our souls that we might know with a divine assurance that we are saved, that we have eternal life? Well, you can have that Savior tonight, and just as really as those at Samaria, so you can receive him tonight. And it only takes a moment to open your heart and receive him, the blood of Jesus Christ.
His Son cleanseth us from all sin.