Oh, how He loves you and me. Great truth, huh? Well, He does. God is good. All the time. Ready? God is good. All the time. All the time. So thanks for the introduction, too, Steve. And it's kind of brief and easy. And lately, over the past few weeks anyways, I've been introduced a couple of different ways. And a couple of weeks ago, we were at my son's ordination service over at Schenectady, and I was Mike's dad. And I'm usually used to saying I'm Olga's husband. And yesterday, we were at an event yesterday where I'm Sydney's grandfather. So I'm not even sure who I am anymore. I keep getting these. I've kind of lost my identity. So anyways, if you noticed in your bullet, nobody ever reads sermon titles, right? What's the sermon title? Don't look. See, nobody reads it, right? It says, who are the seekers? Now, okay, some of you are thinking, if you're old enough, there was a pop group in the 60s. Now I know you're thinking about their, if you can remember that far back, or if you're old enough, you remember a couple of their songs, and they're gonna be going through your head now through the whole sermon. I'm sorry about that. And sometimes, some of you might remember the seeker-sensitive movement in the churches not so many years ago. Well, that's not what we're going to be talking about this morning, none of those things. So we probably say that there are things that everyone needs from a physical perspective, food, shelter, and clothing. So we're going to talk about seekers and what everybody, what everybody seeks. I'm not just talking about Christians, believers, non-believers, everybody seeks. So there's food, shelter, and clothing. I'm sure there's plenty of more basic things like transportation, the occasional dinner out, changes of clothes for different seasons, a nice yard for the kids to play in, decent schools, good government, all these things. There's all these things you go on and on about. In fact, Paul said himself, if we have food and covering with these things, you shall be content. That even makes our real needs even less than anything most of us would consider really important or a necessary need. So Jesus was really clear about these things. He says, don't worry about these things at all. In this context, he says that, don't worry about the, what will you eat? Or what will we drink? Or what will we wear for clothing? For the Gentiles eagerly seek these things, for your heavenly father knows that you are in need of these things. He said in Matthew 6 31. Then he says, what everyone really needs is, but seek first, This is interactive. You guys can talk a little bit because I can't just talk constantly for half an hour. So anyways, so he said, but Jesus said, seek first his kingdom and his Righteousness and all these things will be added to you. So if you get your priorities right and you're seeking the right things, these things will be added to you anyways. So apart from the obvious physical needs, it's been said generally that people need three things from a very human standpoint, from a very practical standpoint, to lead a fulfilling life. You need something to do, something to look forward to, and someone to love. Now everyone is seeking these things, whether they realize it or not. I would also propose that there is only one sure place to find them all, no matter what you're seeking for. Something to do. Serve the Lord with gladness, Psalm 102. Something to look forward to. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also." John 14, 3. And someone to love. So something to do, something to look forward to, and someone to love. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your might. Deuteronomy 6, 5. So our text this morning. is going to be on the Samaritan woman at the well. We'll see that she was seeking intentionally, what she was really seeking was only a shadow of what she really should have been seeking. And we'll see how the Lord addresses those real needs. So there's two major themes in this account that we're going to talk about this morning. One is the obvious one that comes to mind when you think about this woman. is living water. Remember? If you remember the story, we're going to read through it in a couple of seconds here. Living water, eternal life. The other one's a little less obvious and that's on evangelism. So along with these two major themes, we'll briefly look at a couple of other small, very subtle topics that Jesus addresses. So That by way of introduction, we'll start, let's have a word of prayer. Father, we thank You for this time together and pray, Father, that You'd put aside in our minds the things, the worries of the day, the week, all the things going on in our lives for a few minutes as we read this text, as we understand, try to understand what You're trying to communicate to us today, in Jesus' name. So this is a simple yet profound account of an encounter with a woman. Interestingly, this is the longest conversation on record in the Gospels with Jesus, including those with his disciples. His text tells us of his dealing with moral outcasts, hatred among people in other cultures and other religions. This woman's life would be changed forever. In fact, the entire town would be impacted by a single changed life. Jesus is just now coming from an encounter in John 3 with Nicodemus. He was a powerful Pharisee, if you remember, and a member of the Sanhedrin. Jesus refers to him as the Teacher of Israel in Israel. He was the top theologian living a righteous life by Jewish standards. He sought Jesus out for the truths of eternal life. His next conversation now we have is with this woman at the well. So he comes from Nicodemus to this Samaritan woman with a lousy reputation. She's an outcast, clearly from the high part to the low in a societal pecking order. She proves herself to be ignorant about such things as true worship. She wasn't looking for eternal life. All she was looking for was Water, right? So all she's gonna be looking for is water. Plain old thirst-quenching water. Now I'm thirsty. Okay. So we're all looking for something, right? I really was thirsty there. That wasn't like in my nose or something. So nothing spiritual is on our mind at all. John 3.16 tells us that Jesus came for the world, for every tribe, every nation, every social class, every sinner. Jesus had plenty to say about the religious class, and here we'll see that he has something to say about that religious class and how they look down on other people. So let's begin in John chapter 4, starting in verse 1. Now, instead of reading through the whole text, because it's kind of long, and if you're nervous that we're going to read all 42 verses straight through, leave, you know, maybe that's what we should do. At this point, we're just going to read a little bit at a time. So we get it. So I gave you enough time to get there, right? So chapter four, verse one. So then when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that he was making and baptizing more disciples than John, although Jesus himself was not baptizing, rather his disciples were, he left Judea and went away again to Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria. So he came to a city of Samaria called Sychar. near the parcel of land that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. And Joseph's well was there. So Jesus, tired from His journey, was just sitting by the well, and it was about the sixth hour, noontime." So why was he there? Well, in verse three, it says he left Judea. Now that word left means that's like a husband divorcing a wife. He just got out of there. That was just rid of the whole place. So why did he get out in such a way like that? Why would I say that? Well, was it because they were making and baptizing more disciples than John we saw in those first two verses? Was he walking away from a controversy that he considered inconsequential? You know, we really don't know exactly. But we see him on this particular route. So why this route? Well, it was meant to be direct. Today, the route that He took there is called the West Bank. It's about 70 miles or roughly a three-day walk. The Jews would walk around to avoid the Samaritans. They would walk around that whole area. It's almost twice the distance to Jericho and up the Jordan Valley. However, Jesus had another plan that ignored their disdain for these Samaritans. He saw right through their bigotry and did the unacceptable to press through to His plan. So he was on his way to Galilee. Well, why? Well, I think we can get a larger picture. We look a little bit later in the chapter down in verse 34. Jesus said to them, my food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. So he knew the father's plan. He knew what he was doing. He would carry it out no matter what the obstacles might have been. We need to do the same thing, don't we? We need to press on with what God wants us to do, what He commands us to do, without letting anybody or anything get in the way. Determination really is just another word for obedience. Where's Matt? I know a couple of places, there he is over there, okay. He was at Sunday school this morning, he was talking about obedience. So if I were to ask you if you wanted to be obedient to God, what would you say? Okay, a couple of people said yes, and you know, how many people wouldn't answer me no matter what question I asked anyways, right? I mean, got a few of them out there. So yes, I would hope. Anyways, it's safe to say that one way to exercise that obedience is by sharing the gospel. That's kind of what we're going to be talking about this morning, because that's kind of our emphasis here. Obviously, in Matthew 28, 19 and 20, Jesus had the Great Commission. He said, Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you. Here we go again. And lo, I am with you always. even to the end of the age. So He commands us to tell others and then gives that great promise as He does. He says He'll do what? He'll be with us. He'll be with us as we go through that, as we tell people. So, Mark 16, 15, again, Jesus said to them, go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. I think that's pretty clear that we're commanded to tell others about Christ, yes? Yes, okay, and I'm up to like 10 people, so that's good. So you might be thinking, well, that takes courage, right? It takes courage to tell other people about the Lord, yes? All right, now we're getting it. So courage is really only a matter of saying yes. I'm quoting Charlie Kirk on that, by the way. He said that not long ago. That courage is just a matter of saying yes. That's really all it is. In this case, yes to being obedient to the Lord. Yes to telling someone about the best thing that ever happened to you. Yes to expressing your gratefulness for having your sins forgiven. So where do I get that kind of courage? Where does that come from? It comes from the Lord. 2 Timothy 1.7 says, for God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. So the power comes from Him, the power to do that, the power to share the gospel with other people. And God will never ask or command us to do something without giving us the power to do so. Right? If He tells you to do something, He asks you to do something, He says, this is something I want you to do, He's going to give you the power. So he tells us that our responsibility is to share the gospel and that he will enable us. He said to them, follow me and I will make you fishers of men. Interesting statement, Matthew 4.19. We're going to come back to that a little bit later on. So the command is there in that statement is to follow him. Follow me, he says. When we follow him, notice he says he'll make you. fishers of men. He doesn't say that by following him you'll become fishers of men, but rather he'll make you or empower you to become the fisherman. As the master fisherman, Jesus seizes this opportunity to do some fishing. You have to put your line in the water, so to speak. And how does he set up this encounter? So his stop here, in part, is that he values a single soul. And so should we. Jesus always had time to talk to someone, no matter their status or how busy he was. There was always time. He always made time to do that. This is a divine appointment. So is there a Samaritan in your life right now that you can go and bring the life-changing message of the gospel? So why does he stop? Well, where does he stop? Okay, just give me a second here, I'm going to stop getting tongue-tied. It's a natural thing because I haven't done this in about a year or so. Okay, we're back. So where does he stop? He stops at Jacob's well in front of Mount Gerizim. The Israelites were commanded by God to read the law each year from the top of two mountains. the blessings from Gerizim, and the curses from Mount Ebal. He picked this spot in this village of Sychar, near Joseph's tomb, and where the well was located, to take a breather from his journey. And why was she there? Why was the woman at the well there? To get water, right? I mean, that's what you go to the well for. And why that time of day? Why at noontime? Probably to avoid the shame. Everybody knew who she was. Early in the morning, people would go get water. Late in the evening, they would go get water. But not at noontime, typically. So she was avoiding other people. So we pick up the narrative again in verse 7. Though a Jew are asking me for a drink, though I am a Samaritan woman, for Jews did not associate with Samaritans. Jesus replied to her, if you knew the gift of God and who it was that is saying this to you, give me a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." Here we go. So Jesus is starting to set this whole thing up now and trying to turn that conversation into something that she wasn't looking for. He was there, as the text says, because they were taking a shortcut to Galilee. Ultimately, he was evangelizing. He seized on the circumstance of thirst at the well to confront someone with the gospel. So who is she, this Samaritan woman with no name? Well, down in verse 18 gives us a little bit of a hint on who she is. It says she had five husbands plus one. She's clearly a sinner by anyone's standards. But what did she want? She wanted to draw water to take back to her place. Pretty simple thing. Jesus gives her the simplest requests. He says, give me a drink. Seems mundane to us today, but in that culture, first place, men didn't speak to women. It just didn't happen. He asked for a drink from an outcast, an obvious sinner, well-known adulteress, divorcee, and so on. Now, he could have made the water come up from a fine goblet or sent some angel down to get it, but that's not how Jesus did things. He never did things like that to prove who he was or to show off or to just do something for himself. It was always about other people and what he would do for other people. So how does she answer this request for a drink? She says that he's a Jew and knows they don't have anything to do with Samaritans, especially women Samaritans. Nice retort. So how does Jesus answer her question? No, he doesn't. He ignores her. He doesn't pay attention to it all. He shifts the conversation to the spiritual. So what does he say? He says, if you knew what the gift of God is and who's speaking to you, what would she have done, according to Jesus? Instead of asking for a drink, if she knew who Jesus was, she would ask him about something called living water, something spiritual, something more important than just quenching your thirst. So what other questions could have risen in her mind? I mean, with that statement, what gift? What gift have you got there? And who am I speaking to anyways? And why are you telling me about all this living water stuff? In those times, she would have understand living water maybe is a spring that comes up out of the ground like an artesian well. or something that she couldn't see. My wife and I lived in the desert for a number of years, for a few years back, a long time ago, in the Mojave. And one thing that we had was something you couldn't see. We had a lot of water. Now you could drive around all over the Mojave Desert and you wouldn't even see, you couldn't even find a stream or a pond or any water at all. But underneath where we lived was a massive aquifer about the size of Rhode Island. They had more water in it than Lake Mead in Nevada. The thing was huge. So when you turned on a faucet where we lived, you got water all the time. It was a rare occurrence in the summertime even that they would have any restrictions on water. There was just a massive amount of water out there. But it was underneath our feet. People came through there and died of thirst in the late 19th century when they were moving west. This is a godforsaken area, so to speak. I mean, it is really, in fact, Pastor Andy used to live not far from where we did out there. But there's this inexhaustible amount of water that was there. All you had to do was tap into the stuff. And all they needed here, all we needed there, was access to the water. So Jesus also promised that you as a believer can become a source of living water, and you catch that in these verses. That, you know, if you're a Christian, He gives you that living water and you can therefore give that living water to others. We'll talk about that as we go along. He says, he who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, from his innermost being will flow rivers of living water in John 7.38. So is that really true for Christians today? Is that really true for most of us? We have access to that living water through Jesus and we can become a wellspring of water for others to drink from, right? And should we not be doing that? Do we show that kind of an attitude? Do we express that when we talk to people? Do they see that living water and they have access through you, by the Spirit? So we're looking for God's power in our lives, but that only He can give. But we have to ask Him for that power to come alive. Are we asking for the wrong motives? How do we want to see God's power at work in us? We talk about all the time, God's power at work. You want to have God's power at work in your life, right? And to give witness to that, we all want to have God's power. So how do we have to obtain that power? Then we have to use it. Is that correct? Right? You with me? Okay, so what are our motives? What do we want to have them do? So Jesus said that if she knew these things, she would have asked. There's a gift for her here, as there is for every unbeliever, but they need to do something to receive it, not some ritual or some good works. They need to ask. It's a gift. This is what makes the Christian gospel unique, among other things. The mercy of God and salvation is free for all those who call upon Him, all who ask. Jesus said, as recorded in John 6.37, it's one of my favorite verses, All that the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will not cast out." So it's our mission to tell them how they can obtain the gift. We have that, we have that ability to do that. Spurgeon, on this thing where it says, if you knew you would have asked, holy knowledge is very advantageous. It often is the means of breeding prayer. If you knew, you would have asked, and he would have given. Therefore, beloved, let us teach the truth to all who come our way. For it may be that we too shall meet with many of whom it can be said, if they know what the gift of God is, they will ask for it. And if they ask for it, Christ will give it to them." So we pick up our account here in verse 11. She said to him, sir, you have no bucket, the well is deep. Where do you get this living water? You are not greater than our father Jacob, are you? Who gave us the well and drank from it and his sons and his cattle. Jesus answered and said to her, everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again. But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him, she'll never be thirsty. But the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life. I want to quickly point out a truth here that can be easily overlooked. But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty. Notice he says, I will give him. Jesus says right there that He's the only source of living water. of eternal life. No one comes to the Father by me." John 14.6, correct? Right? Are you going to witness on that one? He is the only way. He's the only way. Now she tells him again that she's looking for water. In fact, she says that she can't get any water because he has no way to obtain it. The well is deep, but one can only access it with the right tool. If the performance isn't right, it might as well be in the center of the earth. You can't get it. Talk about playing right into his hand. She tees up the ball for him right here. So how does he respond? He says to forget about the well water and again ignores her attempt to distract him by citing Jacob's sons and her cows. Anyway, if you drink from that well, you'll get thirsty again. Now he turns the conversation to the spiritual lesson. He says that the water he gives, this living water, become a fountain that springs up to eternal life. There's no need to look elsewhere for an abundant life or for a life in Christ. There's no place else to look. It won't be found in the things of this world or even in some supernatural experience. Jesus gives us living water, free and flowing, and He's the source. It's more about Him, it's only about Him. He's not only the only source of life for us, but He is the well of living water. She knew that in order to satisfy her physical thirst, she, like everyone else in the village, has to come to the well every day for a fresh supply. Jesus tells her that His water will be coming up from inside the one who asks and receives. Go to verse 15. The woman said to Him, Sir, give me this water so that I will not be thirsty, nor come all the way up here to draw water. So what happens here? She's still stuck in the natural world. She can't seem to get away from that and her thirst for water. She was still thinking about satisfying the flesh, her immediate need to drink. She wanted to make her life easier instead of having to fetch water every day and drag it back to the village. Her eyes weren't yet open to the supernatural. She was still stuck in talking about the natural things. She's caught up in her temporal need. She was seeking, yeah, but she was seeking only her perceived need for the physical. So like I said in the beginning, everybody's looking for something. She's looking for what she perceives to be her need, her immediate need. That's water, very simple thing. So much of the church's preaching today is about how to handle stress, how to raise kids, how to process the political climate, and how to navigate the culture. We're stuck in the temporal. The gospel is ultimately about the spiritual. The things of eternity will transcend the needs of life. Again, Jesus said, but seek first His kingdom, right? And His righteousness. All these things will be added to you. So the focus has become, unfortunately, in a lot of the church, about looking at the temporal needs. And there's nothing wrong with that. It's okay. You know, we need to teach people how to raise their kids, how to love your wives, all that. We do need to do that. It's biblical. But the focus becomes that, and we lose the focus of the gospel easily. Not only does she remain focused on the temporal needs, but you can almost hear the mocking in her voice. Sir, give me this water so I won't be thirsty, nor come all the way here to draw water. Again, she still shows no interest in the spiritual at all. She is not ready to receive the kingdom by faith. She was ready to receive the words of life. One writer put it this way, he said, the deep things of God are never revealed to a frivolous soul. The plow of conviction must be driven deeper down. The seed of the Word must have an honest heart. So what would you do? If this person you wanted to share the gospel with was just like this, would you give up and say, she's not ready to hear what I have to say? Maybe, I don't know. I'd like to think you would say no. Some people would say no. Or would you just go on about your business and forget about her? Or would you say, maybe I need to carry this conversation a little bit further. What does the master do? Verse 16, he said to her, go call your husband and come here. The woman answered and said to him, I have no husband. Jesus said to her, you have correctly said, I have no husband. For you have had five husbands and the one who you have now is not your husband. This which you have said is true. The woman said to him, sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, yet the Jews say in Jerusalem is the place where we must worship. Well that's a change right there, isn't it? Yeah, you're a prophet, and by the way, we don't worship here, do we? Don't Jews worship in Jerusalem? Think she changed the subject again? Or no? Yeah? Okay. So Jesus again turns the tables. If she's out to obtain eternal life, she needs to take the first step, and that's repentance, put aside the old life. Recognizes she's a sinner and turn from sin. She can now see that He's a prophet. Well, why? Because He knows her situation, living as an adulteress, because He has supernatural knowledge. He knows exactly what's going on. Now she changes the topic to make her inquiry about worship. It's how quick people can be to change the subject when we speak about the spiritual or confront sin. You ever talk to anybody and be talking to them about the Lord and they change the subject in the middle of it? They want to talk about something else? They don't want to talk about that. Why is that? Confrontation of sin, they don't want to admit that they don't know everything, they don't want to know that there's a reason where they're going, they're headed for hell, and they don't want to hear it. Nobody wants to hear that. So again, Jesus turns the tables. Pick up the story again in verse 21. Jesus says to her, "'Believe Me, woman, that a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know. We worship what we do know, because salvation is from the Jews. But a time is coming, and the eighth now has arrived, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. For such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." So Jesus does take a couple of minutes here, and He turns it to answer her question. Not really a question, but he just wanted to clarify where worship has taken place and what it's going to be now. Jesus stays on the subject, though, of eternal values. He responds to our question by stating that only true believers worship God. The Samaritans don't know God. Worship is about salvation. Salvation is from the Jews, he says. They were the ones who knew who God was. They were known by Him. They were His chosen nation. He draws the line between those who believe and those who do not. He further limits worship to those who worship in spirit and truth. Worship has nothing to do with a location anymore, nor with ritual or any special instruments. It's not the external, but the internal. As God is spirit, we have to enter that arena with spiritual tools, spirit and truth. The spirit of a man can commune with God only if truth is applied. That source of truth, of course, is the Word of God. And we express worship by obeying what He has set forth. What we do here is an expression, here, an expression of what God is doing in us and understanding the application of His Word. So now the moment comes when a woman begins to understand that this is a spiritual conversation. The scene is summarized well in an old hymn. Not that old, actually. Richard Blanchard, born of missionary parents in Chongqing, China, and grew up in Indiana, North Carolina, after his family returned to the U.S. Later on in his life, became a church elder. And he wrote Fill My Cup, Lord, if you're familiar with that old hymn, in 1952, so I guess it's not that old. in a Sunday school room when he was waiting for a couple who was late for a counseling session for marriage. These things always amaze me, you know, that somebody could sit down in 30 minutes and write words like this when they've got nothing else. They're just waiting for somebody to sit down at the piano and write a song. I mean, how does that work? So anyway, he wrote this like 30 minutes. He said, There are millions in this world who are craving the pleasures, earthly things of gold, but none can match the wondrous treasure that I find in Jesus Christ, my Lord. And he finishes it with this refrain, which is actually a prayer. Fill my cup, Lord. Fill it up, Lord. I lift it up. Come and quench this thirsting of my soul. Bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more. Fill my cup and make me whole. And that is where this woman is at right now. When he wrote that, I think it really encapsulated where this woman was and how it applies to us now. We want to be filled up with the things of God. We pick up again in verse 25. The woman said to him, I know that Messiah is coming, He who is called Christ. When that one comes, He will declare all things. Jesus said to her, I am He, the one speaking to you." She says that she knows Messiah is coming, she realized that. Now, if you look at that verse in your Bible, there's no He there in the original, so it's probably italicized in your Bible. This is one of those I am statements that John refers to 23 times in his gospel. They refer to His position in the Godhead. He's saying, here, I'm God. I am who I am. So Jesus reveals Himself to her at this point, and that's what He does. That's what He did for you if you're a believer today. He reveals Himself to sinners at that moment of conversion. That's when you realize who He is and who you are. Verse 26, and at this point His disciples came and they were amazed that He had been speaking with a woman. Yet no one said, why are you seeking? There's a word again. Or why are you speaking with her? So the woman left her waterpot and went into the city and said to the people, come see a man who told me all the things that I have done. This is not the Christ, is He? They left the city and were coming to Him. So what do you notice about her response there? How does she respond now? She starts to see the actual spiritual side of things. What do you see? She leaves her water pot. What was she doing up there at the well? To do what? So she leaves the water pot, right? So this is one of those little details that's easily overlooked. That water pot meant life to her. Her survival depended on that water that she would draw every day. But now she had heard the good news and realized that the living water she could now have would fill her and would fill her, not only quench her thirst, but quench the thirst of her soul, which is way more important. She had heard the good news and realized that living water was what she really needed. It was more important to her than feeding herself physically now. She had forgotten about the temporal. Now the important thing was that she would have this living water. And I'll tell you, her priorities really took a dramatic turn here. And I think that's what happens to every one of us at conversion, is that dramatic turn takes place. And in fact, one of the things that she says there to me still amazes me is, come see a man. The first thing she does, and we'll look at this a little bit more in a couple of verses down, the first thing she does is say, come see a man. She goes back to that city and proclaims him to the very people that saw her as an outcast. She was the one, she was the social pariah. And she goes back and talks to these same people. She actually tells them that he knew all about her sin and broadcasts that fact to all the villagers. Starts telling everybody, she knows what kind of a, he knows what kind of a sinner I am. He knew the secrets of her heart, and yet she told her that she too can be a true worshiper of God. So what did the people in the city do? Well, they went out to sea for themselves. What prompted them to do that? They previously despised this woman. And what made them listen, though? Why would they listen to this particular woman? Because they saw the power of a changed life. She found living water, and that water had the power of the Spirit of God, and now it was alive in her life. It drew people out of their everyday lives to go and see Jesus. Sticking with this woman at the well at the time, we're skipping down to verse 39. But 31 through 38 follow Jesus' teaching on evangelism and how it brings clarity to his encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. He tells his disciples that there is an urgency to the work of God to share the good news. He tells them that this is his food, his mission, to do what the Father had sent him to do. So we'll pick up our narrative again in verse 39. Now from that city, many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified. He told me all these things that I have done. So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them. And He stayed with them two days. Many more believed because of His word. And they were saying to this woman, it is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this one truly is the Savior of the world. Now we see evidence of her conversion. The people believed in Him because of her testimony, but now they would hear from the Savior Himself and cement that belief. So it all began for them by her telling them about the Savior. Revival had come to Sychar when she said, come see a man. So how has your life changed? And is this the point of the story? Is this really the point of it all? God changes lives. He loves us in spite of our sinful, rebellious nature. And that love compels Him to seek His own out and draw them to Himself. So what did she do with that changed life? What was the first thing she did? She told others about Jesus and what he had said and how his words of eternal life had changed her. She didn't wait for an appropriate time or for someone to ask, what must I do to become a Christian? She unloaded on everybody with an earshot. And as a young believer, man, I remember it well, that everybody that came into your path, I was a little bit shy about it. My wife, Olga, on the other hand, was not. In fact, sometimes it would make me cringe, because we'd go somewhere and some random person in the grocery store, she's sharing the gospel with Anna Matrak. I'd say, you know, the woman just wants to check out. Just let her go home to her boy or whatever. But yeah, you start to tell everybody and anybody that you could possibly tell. You just want them to know. And why did you want them to know that? Come see a man. Look what he did to me. Look what he did for me. And we'll talk about that just again briefly in a minute anyway. So this outcast, this person, does this with their new life. This woman had become a fisher of men. So what did that result in for many of those who had heard? Well, note in verse 39, too, it says, many of the Samaritans believed in him. Why? Because the word of the woman. Now, pay attention, too, to that, that not everybody believed. Not everybody did. It says many. If you don't know it by now, everyone you share the gospel with isn't going to respond positively. In fact, you can get some pretty negative stuff sometimes. But don't be discouraged. We don't save souls. God does. It's our responsibility to tell them the way and leave the saving work to the Savior. So you may have been, like many of us, a lot of seminars over the years on evangelism, or use evangelism explosion, or all kinds of techniques to share the gospel. Maybe you were guilted into trying to share the gospel with as many people as possible down at the beach or out in the city or whatever. And I don't mean to diminish any of that, and that's great. And if that's your thing, you should do it. That's fine. But Jesus never used a formula or pointed people to a church to go hear the gospel. And again, I'm not trying to disparage any of the ways. Whatever you do is fine. If you use four spiritual laws, you use tracts, great. But things have their time and place and God will use them. All I'm saying is that it should be a natural flow of conversation to point people to Jesus. When I was training salespeople years ago, we taught them how to begin conversations to engage potential customers. Not that I'm equating customers with prospects and, you know, with people sharing the gospel. But generally, you ask men about their jobs and you ask women about their families. That's how you got people going. That's how we train salespeople to do that. Those are the questions you would ask. In response to those questions, they didn't pull out a note card and give you a well-rehearsed answer. They spoke from their heart. They just told you about their jobs. Men would generally say they love their jobs. Some guys would say, I can't wait to retire, and they're 40. But generally speaking, give you a good response. They say, I love my work. I enjoy my job. Sometimes I have to work till midnight, five days a week, like Greg was telling me this morning. You have to work late. You do a lot of hours. But if you enjoy what you do, You're going to tell people about it enthusiastically, and enthusiasm makes a difference, big difference. When you ask women about their families, very few of them said, yeah, I've got three brats at home that are driving me crazy, and I wish they would all go off to college, but I've got another 20 years before I'm going to get them out of the house. It wasn't like that at all. You could see the joy and the pride come up. When you would say it, they would start talking about their families, they'd get excited about their kids, they'd tell you what they're doing, what sports they're playing, and you'd zone out as a salesman, and you'd kind of go somewhere, it was on a beach someplace, and say, was this person ever gonna stop talking? Which is what you're thinking right now. And you got about two more minutes, so you're good. My point is, is that there's an obvious priority. Telling someone about the most important person in your life, the one who rescued you from your sin, doesn't have to be difficult. If you find it hard to do, go to the Lord and tell Him that it's your desire to tell others about what He's done for you and your love for Him. He'll answer that prayer. He'll give you the opportunity and He'll give you the words to say in that moment, living water will begin to flow from you. So what's the answer to the title we started out with, who are the seekers? Every person is searching for something to fill their lives to meet their needs. Something to do, something to look forward to, and someone to love. All these things can be filled temporarily, but there's only one person who can fill them eternally, the God of all creation, the sovereign Lord. He, in His perfect will, has chosen us to be His voice, and are you answering that call? Are you fishing for souls?" I struggle with kind of how to wind this up as a conclusion to the thing. And I remember this old parable I had heard years ago, and I'm going to tell you about this. And I think there's a little bit of humor to it, but I also think there's a truth here that is unavoidable. Now, it came to pass that a group existed that called themselves fishermen and there were many fish in the waters about them. In fact, the whole area was surrounded by streams and lakes and the fish were hungry. Week after week, month after month, and year after year, the group that called themselves fishermen met in meetings and talked about those called to fish, the abundance of fish, and how we might go about fishing. Year after year, they carefully defined what fishing meant, defended fishing as an occupation, and declared that fishing be the primary task of fishermen. These fishermen built large, beautiful buildings for local fishing headquarters, and their plea was that everyone should be a fisherman and everyone should fish. However, one thing they didn't do, they didn't fish. In addition to meeting regularly, these men determined to send out fishermen to places where there were many fish. This sending committee was headed by those who had great vision, had courage to speak about fishing, and to promote the idea of fishing in faraway streams and lakes, held meetings to define fishing, defend fishing, and to decide where new streams should be thought about. But one thing the staff and the committee members did do was they never fished. Large, elaborate training centers were built whose original and primary purpose was to teach fishermen how to fish. Over the years, the courses were offered the needs of fish, the nature of fish, how to fish, the psychological effects of fishing. Those who taught had doctorates in fishology. The teachers didn't fish. They only taught about fishing. Further, the fishermen built large printing houses to publish fishing guides. Presses were kept busy day and night to produce materials solely devoted to fishing methods. A speakers bureau was organized to schedule special speakers on fishing. After one stirring meeting entitled The Necessity of Fishing, two men left the meeting and actually went out fishing, and they actually caught two fish. He was honored for his great catch and was scheduled to appear at all the big meetings to tell others how he did it. So he quit fishing in order to have time to tell of his experiences to other fishermen. Now it's true that many fishermen sacrificed and put up with all kinds of difficulties. Some lived near the water and had to put up with the smell of dead fish. Some had to endure the ridicule of some who made fun of these fishermen's clubs because they claimed to be fishermen but they never fished. And they wondered about those who thought it was so little use to attend meetings and talk about fishing. I mean, after all, were they not following the master who said, come and I will make you fishers of men? Imagine their chagrin when someone actually suggested that they were not really fishermen. Yet it does make sense. Can we rightfully call a person a fisherman if year after year he never goes fishing? Let's pray. Father, we thank You for this time together today. And we recognize that there are people in our lives and in our circle that we could tell the gospel to, and there's nothing really holding us back other than our own selves. And pray, Father, that You give us the courage and the words to speak, and those to talk to. Put those people in our lives, even this week, Father, and that we would be able to share the joy of knowing You as Savior and Lord. In Jesus' name, amen.