To Print Out The Lesson Click On The Title Below.
Proverbs 12:19-28
19 The truthful lip shall be established
forever, But a lying tongue is
but for a moment.
20 Deceit is in the heart of those who devise
evil, But counselors of peace have joy.
21 No grave trouble will overtake the righteous,
But the wicked shall be filled with evil.
22 Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, But those who deal truthfully are His delight.
23 A prudent man conceals knowledge, But the
heart of fools proclaims foolishness.
24 The hand of the diligent will rule, But the
lazy man will be put to forced
labor.
25 Anxiety in the heart of man causes
depression, But a good word makes it glad.
26 The righteous should choose his friends
carefully, For the way of the wicked leads them astray.
27 The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting, But diligence is man's precious possession.
28 In the way of righteousness is life, And in its pathway there is no death.
Father God, open the ears of the lost when your children
speak. In Jesus name
we pray, Amen!
Gospel of John 4:13-26 NKJV
If you
remember we left off a couple weeks ago with Jesus telling the Samaritan woman
about living water and she wanted to know where to get this living water. She
also asks if Jesus is greater that Jacob. (John 4:11 The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have
nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living
water? John 4:12 Are You greater than our father Jacob, who
gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his
livestock?")
Jesus doesn’t answer her second question right away but continues with the
living water. So let’s see how this conversation goes and what we can learn
from it. Also keep in mind the steps Jesus is using here in leading her to that
precious gift of Grace; previous lesson was the introduction and interest.
(These steps were: Contact (vs. 7); Interest
(vs. 10); Conscience (vs. 16); Holiness (vs.
24); Revelation (vs. 26).
13 Jesus
answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this
water will thirst again,
Do
you think Jesus reply to the woman was perplexing to her? I think Jesus just
caught her off guard just like He did with Nicodemus telling him he had to be
Born Again to enter into Heaven. He just piqued her curiosity to keep the
conversation going. This woman and Nicodemus were both living in sin, Nicodemus
being a prideful arrogant Pharisee and the woman living with a man that she
wasn’t married to. Sin is sin and anyone living in sin, needs to be Born Again,
after all it only took one sin for Adam and Eve to be cast out of Paradise.
Jesus
answers in this verse and the next one, are pertaining to human life and
spiritual life. He is setting the stage here for the woman to realize there are
two types of thirsts.
14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will
never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain
of water springing up into everlasting life."
But whoever drinks of the
water that I shall give him will never thirst; Here Jesus refers, without doubt, to his
own teaching, his “grace,” his “spirit,” and to the benefits which come into
the soul that embraces his gospel. It is a striking image, and especially in
Eastern countries, where there are vast deserts, and often a great want of
water. The soul by nature is like such a desert, or like a traveler wandering
through such a desert. It is thirsting for happiness, and seeking it
everywhere, and does not find it. It looks in all directions and tries all
objects, but in vain. Nothing meets its desires. Though a sinner seeks joy in
wealth and pleasures, but is not satisfied. They still thirsts for more, and
seeks still for happiness in some new enjoyment. To such a weary and
unsatisfied sinner the grace of Christ is “as cold waters to a thirsty soul.”
The
soul has a vast emptiness and we look in all things and direction to fill that
emptiness, but the truth of the matter is that only Jesus can fill it with that
gift of grace. A soul filled with Jesus will not seek the pleasures and
amusements of this world. This will be forever, in this world and the world to
come. “Whosoever” drinks of the gospel, shall be “forever” satisfied with its
pure and rich joys.
But the water that I shall
give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting
life; This phrase refers to the water that
Jesus gives us will never run out. It will fill our soul forever and the grace
of God will be in the heart of the true believer. There shall be a constant
supply, an unfailing fountain within. What a beautiful comparison, it shall
bubble or spring up like a fountain. It is not like a stagnant pool, or like a
deep well, but like an ever-living fountain, that flows at all seasons of the
year, in heat and cold, and in all external circumstances of weather, whether
foul or fair, wet or dry. Faith in Jesus lives amid all changes of external
circumstances; hunger and thirst, prosperity and adversity, life, persecution,
contempt, or death; it still lives on, and refreshes and cheers the soul. This
fountain is not temporary, but eternal.
15 The woman
said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come
here to draw."
This
woman still doesn’t understand what Jesus is saying. She is still thinking in
the physical realm and not spiritual. She is thinking that if she had this
water Jesus is speaking about, her life would be easier because she wouldn’t
have to come to the well twice a day and haul water.
16 Jesus
said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come
here."
So
far Jesus has done the introduction and interest and now He is going to
introduce her sinful state of sin by working on her conscience. She did not
understand about the living water but when Jesus gets done with her, she will. We
have to admire the manner which our Lord has taken so far to lead this lost
person to salvation. He therefore proceeded to show her that he was acquainted
with her life and with her sins. His object here was to expose her sinful
lifestyle.
17 The woman
answered and said, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,'
The
woman answered and said, "I have no husband."; Do you think the woman gave this
response to avoid the subject that she was living with a man that she was not
married to? Was she living with this man in secrecy and didn’t want it to be
exposed? She knew she was living in sin and would be stoned to death if
exposed, but Jesus is about to reveal to her that he knew her current state of
affairs, even though she thought it was a secret. Jesus knows everything! Leviticus 20:10 'The man
who commits adultery with another
man's wife, he who commits
adultery with his neighbor's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall
surely be put to death.
Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,; Here Jesus acknowledges her honesty.
18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have
is not your husband; in that you spoke truly."
For you have had five
husbands; We don’t
know about her five husbands, some possibilities are these; they may have died,
or the woman was divorce from them because of her improper conduct, or she left
them without a legal divorce. Whatever the situation, she was living in sin by
living with a man that she wasn’t married to.
Today’s society doesn’t
consider this to be sin. People of all ages do this today, but Jesus recognized
this as sin and will condemn people of this lifestyle unless they repent and
start living according to God’s precepts. Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
And the one whom you now
have is not your husband;
Jesus comes right out and tells this woman that the man she is living with is
not her husband that she wasn’t lawfully married to him. I wonder what the
woman felt right then when Jesus exposed her sin. Was there fear, anxiety, awe
that He knew and perceived Him at that point a prophet? When a person is caught
in a lie, a great feeling of guilt sets in and that is what this woman was
experiencing right at that moment.
In that you spoke truly.;
Here again Jesus
acknowledged her truth that she had no husband, but it was only a partial
truth. Everyone has done this manipulation of the truth in justification of
actions!
19 The woman
said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.
Here
we have the woman realizing this person was someone special; sent from God, but
not thinking Jesus was the long awaited Messiah because He was a Jew. The
Samaritans were looking for a prophet who would be a mere man, while the Jewish
people believed the Messiah would be a King. The woman is about to change the
subject as we will see in the next verse, perhaps because she wished to divert
the conversation from the unpleasant topic respecting her husband’s.
It
is always unpleasant for sinners to talk about their lives of sin and the
necessity of salvation, therefore she was glad to turn the conversation to
something else. It is a common thing for sinners to change the conversation
when the Holy Spirit begins to bear guilt upon the heart of a sinner. Sinners
do not like someone pointing out they are living in sin, but may not oppose to
converse about some other religious topic. So sinners attempt to draw the conversation
to something other than themselves like a preacher, or about some doctrine, or
about a building or repairing a place of worship, or about a Sunday school, to
evade guilt of their own conscience.
20 Our
fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to
worship."
This
is a smoke screen to divert the topic away from herself. There was a great
controversy at that time as to the proper place to worship. The Jews believed
it should be in Jerusalem because that is where David and Solomon were under
the divine direction to build a temple, 2 Samuel 7:2-3,
2 Samuel 7:13; 1 Kings 5:5, 1 Kings 5:12; 1 Kings
8:15-22. It was built
in accordance with the promise and command of God, Deuteronomy 12:5, Deuteronomy
12:11. According
to the Law of Moses there should be but one place to offer sacrifice and to
hold the great feasts.
The
Samaritans believed the proper place of worship was Mt. Gerizim which was only
a little ways from Sychar. They base their belief on the old Samaritan
Pentateuch, or five books of Moses, that had the word “Gerizim” instead of
“Ebal” in Deuteronomy 27:4.
Also, because the patriarchs are mentioned as having worshipped in Shechem,
they supposed that that was the proper place on which to erect a temple and
worship there.
21 Jesus
said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is
coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the
Father.
What
Jesus is telling this woman probably really perplexed her. He isn’t saying
there will be no worship, but the old way is soon to pass away; the special
rites of the Jews are to cease; the worship of God being confined to a single
place is soon to be celebrated everywhere and acceptance in all places. The
hour is at hand when Jesus would die on the Cross and rip the veil of the
temple wide open for all to come to Him with all their needs and not have to go
through a priest.
22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship,
for salvation is of the Jews.
You worship what you do not
know; This refers to
the ignorance and corruption of the Samaritan worship. Although they received
the five books of Moses, they rejected the prophets, and of course all that the
prophets had said respecting the true God. Originally they had joined the
worship of idols to that of the true God. See 2 Kings 17:26-34. They had no authority for building
their temple and conducting public worship by sacrifices there. On all these
accounts they were acting in an unauthorized manner. They were not obeying the
true God, nor offering the worship which He had commanded or approved. Therefore
Jesus indirectly settled the question which she had proposed to him, but in
such a way as to show her that it would soon be unimportant.
We know what we worship, for
salvation is of the Jews;
Jesus is stating that the Jews knew what they worshipped and why. It was
through the Jews that the Word of God came from. It was the true religion.
23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers
will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to
worship Him.
But the hour is coming, and
now is; With this
phrase Jesus is stating that an hour is coming when all will know the truth,
but also that some already knew the truth, those that were with Him.
When the true worshipers
will worship the Father in spirit and truth; True worshippers know the truth and placed their faith in
God the Father and worship Him only.
For the Father is seeking
such to worship Him; Means
that by the word “seeking” many are not easily found.
24 God is
Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
This is a strong statement
by Jesus that should shake the inner being of those that worship manmade
objects, man dictated people, and man directed places. "God is
Spirit" means he is not a physical being limited to one place. He is
present everywhere, and he can be worshiped anywhere, at any time. It is not
where we worship that counts, but how we worship. A pure, holy, spiritual
worship is what he seeks; the offering of the soul rather than the formal
offering of the body; the homage of the heart rather than that of the lips. Is
your worship genuine to God and God only?
25 The woman
said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ).
"When He comes, He will tell us all things."
This
woman knew about the Messiah coming based on the Pentateuch (First 5 books of
the Bible.), but discredits Jesus answer about where to worship. What she is
saying is that she will wait and get the truth to her question from the
Messiah.
26 Jesus
said to her, "I who speak to you am He."
This
was the first time Jesus openly professed He was the Messiah. He hadn’t
revealed this to the Jews, for it would cause an uproar. As the woman seemed
reluctant to listen to him as a prophet, and professed her willingness to
listen to the Messiah, he openly declared that he was the Christ. What would
you do if you were in this woman’s shoes? Believe or blow Jesus off as some
weirdo?
Colossians
1:16 For
by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth,
visible
and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All things were created through Him and for Him.
Romans
3:23 for
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans
6:23 For
the wages of sin is death, but
the gift of God is eternal life
in Christ Jesus our Lord.
John 3:3
Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly, I say
to you,
unless one
is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
The
Lighthouse Full Gospel Church
Sinners
Prayer; Pray this, and if you believe it with your heart, Jesus will save you!
“Lord
Jesus I know I am a sinner. I confess my
sins to you; I am sorry for my sins; I repent (Meaning, desiring to turn from a
sinful lifestyle.) of all my sins, and I am asking for your forgiveness. I believe that only you can forgive sin. I commit my life to you and ask you to come
into my heart, direct, and take charge of my life. I believe that you died to set me free from
my sinful lifestyle and you rose from the dead to give me eternal life, and
right now you are seated at the Right Hand of God Almighty. I believe you are
the Son of God; the only Way, the only Truth, the only Life, and my
Savior.” I believe this and have faith
you will make a new person out of me, by sending the Holy Spirit to dwell in my
heart and lead me in a new life. In Jesus name I pray Amen.”
(John 3:16,17; Romans
3:23; 6:23; 5:8; 10:9-13; Ephesians
2:8-10; 1 John 5:11-14; 1:6-10)
(Sin: Rom. 1:22-32; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph.
5:3-7)
No comments:
Post a Comment