for the next episode of our story, our Bible story, since it's Christmas. Today's lesson of the story is going to be based on King Herod, Herod the King. And we can start it by Matthew chapter 2, verse 2. Mighty Chapter 2, verse 2. And I read. Saying, where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen a star in the east and are come to worship him. When Herod the King had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you, we give you all your glory, all your adoration for such opportunity given to us, for the gift of life, for the opportunity for us being in your presence. We are grateful. We thank you once again for allowing your son, Jesus Christ, to come and die for us, for our sins, and for us to reconcile with you and to be able to see your glory in our lives. We thank you, we bless you. Today, for this opportunity given to me to speak to your children, Father, please, I pray you take me aside, you fill me with the Holy Spirit, you speak through me so that every word that will come out from my mouth wouldn't be the word of my word, but should be a word from you, my Father in heaven. Touch every soul, prepare every heart, let the heart be ready to receive your word, so that we will not only be the hearers of the word, but the doers of your word. I ask this in the precious name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, amen. So the story is about Herod. We have had a couple of stories for a couple of weeks. And this being the last message of our story, because it's the end of the Christmas, the pastor asked us to look at Herod. How Herod's story becomes very important to us being a Christian in the Bible. Because I keep on saying that any name that we find in the Bible has a meaning, and it has impact on us and on the story that we tend to read in the Bible. So Herod was a king. And I have made it a question to myself and to all of us to try to look into it to see if Herod was a good king or was a bad king. If Herod was a king, that's the role that he played in the life of the people in Jerusalem, either he did a good job for them or he didn't do a good job for them, then you compare with Christ being the king of the Jews as he came to take the title. And Herod was just afraid of losing the title that he bears, which he was not sure that somebody else should come and take his title, because he's been a good king for the Jerusalem, so he's the king of the Jews. So we are coming to look at these angles and then see how best it can impact in our lives, we being Christians, how this can help in our Christian lives. So number one, when we read the Maitreya chapter 2, verse 2 to 4, it was saying that King Herod, when saying, that is the truth, where is he that is born King of Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him." So this was what the three wise men, when they got to King Herod's place, they wanted to find out where Jesus Christ was born. So fortunately for Herod, he got the news. And he asked the people that the people were also saying, When King Herod had heard these things, he was troubled. And not only with him alone, he was troubled with the whole people of Jerusalem. And I was wondering why, if King Herod, he being a king, and he's afraid to lose the title, he's worried, but the people of Jerusalem were also worried. It was something I tried to figure it out, because You are the king. We are just your members. So if you are going to lose your title, does it have to do anything with us? But because of the way King Herod has lived his life, has portrayed his life, display his kingship attitude towards the people, it's made the people to be scared a bit when Herod is worried. So when they were worried, because King Herod, when he gets worried, he can do anything. Any crazy thing that comes into his head, he goes ahead and do it. So at this point, the whole Jerusalem was worried, too, with him, because they know if this king gets angry and get frustrated, his anger will be on us, not to anybody else. So it tells you that, one, King Herod wasn't a good king. Because he wasn't able to serve his people properly. Because as a king, he's supposed to be there for them, supposed to care for them, supposed to protect them. But in this angle, no, he wasn't. He wasn't there to protect his people. He was there to protect his throne, making sure that he being a king, he doesn't have anything, any contest, anything with anybody. He should be the king to rule Jerusalem till the end of his time. So I could see King Herod had a problem. And he has three characteristics that I find out. That's one, he was desperate or anxious. And he was a deceiver, too, and a manipulator. And thirdly, he was a murderer. So one, I will take it one by one and explain it further so that we can actually understand who King Herod is. And then we can compare to our King Jesus and how it is going to be very important in our life as Christians. But first of all, I would like us to look at the background of Herod, even though it is not part of the story. But I will try to let us build our understanding from where he came from and how he became the King of the Jews. And the Jerusalems were not even happy with him, because they realized he's a deceiver. He's more or less trying to be like he's with them, and he's not with them, playing all the tactics to make sure he can rule them if they like it or not. So Herod's background, I think religiously, Herod was a Jewish. And culturally, he was a Greek. And politically, I think he was a Roman. And when you trace his mother line, his mother was an Arab. So more or less, he had the Arab blood. And then ancestrally, he was from the tribe of Esau. So when we had these Isaac children from Abraham, we had Esau and Jacob. If you read Genesis chapter 25, I think let me go back to Genesis 25 and read that story too. build the storyline with Herod, then we come back to look at who he is and what he did as a king in Jerusalem. So Genesis chapter 25, verse 19. Genesis 25, 19. And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son. Abraham became Isaac. And Isaac was 40 years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Betal and Sarian of Padanim-Ram, the sisters of Leman, the Syrian, 21, and Isaac entreated the Lord for his wife because she was barren. And the Lord was entreated of him. And Rebekah, his wife, conceived. 22. And the children struggled together within her. And she said, if it be so, why am I thus? And she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said unto her, two nations are in thy womb. And two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels. And the one people shall be stronger than the other people. And the elder shall serve the younger. Amen. So from the readings we had, according to God's plan, He knew perfectly what He's supposed to do for us when man sinned from the beginning from the generation he had planned to reconcile with us. And from the generation, he promised Abraham to be the father of all nations. And he promised again that out of Isaac, the two sons that he's going to bear, there's going to be two nations that are going to fight among themselves. One will be stronger, one weaker. And even the eldest son is going to serve the the younger son. And when we look at a story that happened within Esau and Jacob, when Esau, Jacob has to lie to Esau to sell his birthright to him, and he took his birthright, and later there was a fight, and blah, blah, blah. But because God has planned, and he has chosen Jacob to be the heir of his throne, where Messiah will have to come through it, whatever happens to Jacob, God, when he realized that he cannot do anything by himself, and he has to look down to look for God, for forgiveness, and for God to strengthen him, everything became OK with him. And he had a point that he had to meet God one-on-one, struggle with the angel, and he called that place as panel, where he said it's the face of God. Because if you look at the line, I keep on saying, God really knows what we can do and what we cannot do. and Jacob came, he knew who can take the mantle. So he had, even though Esau was the eldest, he made it clear that the younger shall take over the control. And Herod knew this from his prophecy. He knew. And unfortunately for him, he's from the line of Esau. So he knew definitely there's another king that will come from Jacob. So he knew all these things. That is why when he heard that Messiah is born, he was troubled. Because he knew he's not the right king. He knew his kingdom has time to end. It has a time frame. It has a time period. And he was not happy with it. Just that he has heard the story. He has heard the prophecies. But he didn't know when it was going to come. He didn't know when it was going to come. So the moment the wise men came and announced the birth of the Messiah. He was not happy because he knew his time has come to an end. And this is what I try to make it known to us, that as Christians, we also have our time. He said, God is coming. God is coming. We don't know when he's coming. The moment we don't wake up again, that is the end of our life. And how are we going to account? for the things that we came to do on this earth. The free air God has given to us that we breathe, because the electricity we use, we pay every month. The water we use, we pay every month. And even with that, sometimes it stops. Sometimes they have to do maintenance. But the air that we breathe, it doesn't stop. I don't know who purifies it. And it is clean all the time. This is a blessing from God. that we don't need to take advantage of it and then make unnecessary use of it. Because he said every word that will come out from our mouth, we are going to account for it. And the word, when you speak, air comes out from your mouth. So the air that we are breathing, the air that will help us to talk, whatever we do, we will have to account to the Lord. So from Herod's time, he knew his time is going to be an end. So he was desperate. That is why Herod was desperate. And he was very anxious. Because if you read Matthew chapter 2, verse 3, that is saying that he was worried and troubled with all Jerusalem. So I keep on asking myself. Why was he too desperate with the power? What are we desperate of? We being Christians. Harold didn't know Christ. He didn't know God. From the land he came from, he was brought to be a king, guided with some soldiers that was going to help him. And he did a lot of war to conquer a lot of places. And that is how he was ruling. So his life was in the hands of himself. He didn't know that his life should be in the hands of God. Like we Christians, our life is not in our hands. It's in the hands of God. He can determine when we're supposed to die and when we're supposed not to die. He can give life, and he can take life. We are normally afraid of the people that we are around with. It could be our bosses. It could be our wives. It could be our fathers. It could be whoever around us. We are afraid of the people that are around, so we tend to compromise. We tend to be anxious, we tend to be desperate with the things that we want to get from people, with the possessions that we have around us. But God is the only one that gives lives. He can take your life at any time. So why can't we fear God more than the people around us? Why can't we give him the fear, the anxiety we have? He said, do not be anxious. In prayer and in supplication, let your request be known to him. We don't need to be anxious, because there's nothing we can do. He said we can't even add one of our hair to our hair. We cannot. There was a story about Prophet Elijah when he was with an old lady, and then God asked him to leave. When he was with the widow, God asked him to leave to the desert, to the place where nobody was. They were looking for him to kill him. And there was no food there. There was no water. But God told him that I will supply you food and water. And he was in the bush. Nobody was there. And God being faithful, the bird sent him food every morning and evening. Every morning and evening, Elijah was fed by the bed through God. So God's hands are not short in whatever situation we find ourselves. He plans ahead. He looks ahead. He's always there for us, just that we don't see him. Because of the things that are in our hearts, because of how we have developed ourselves, and how we want to build our confidence in ourselves, we don't see God. We don't feel his presence. We don't see how he should come in quickly to help our situation. Because he also wants to look at us and see that whatever the trust we have built in ourselves, to see if it will fail us or not. Because the moment he comes in instantly to help, you think, yeah, it's me. I know I can do it, and I've done it. That is why sometimes we think when we pray, God doesn't answer. He knows us better than we know ourselves. So sometimes he wants the glory. Say he's a jealous God. He wants you to go to the level that when you get to there, you cannot do anything and say, I give up. God, I surrender. Take control, and come in and help me. Then he comes in to help, like Jacob. From the beginning, we have to say he was like a deceiver, a thief, or something. Because what he did was a crime. How can you take your brother's bet right? Like joke, joke, like joke, joke. He did it. He took his blessing. But when he surrendered and he spoke to God, God forgave him. And look at what God did to him. He used him and Jesus' bloodline has to come from Jacob, Jacob that went to lie to his brother. Look at what came out from him. Because he surrendered, he gave everything up, and he tried to follow God's patterns. And whatever instruction God gave to him, he did it. So he was recorded as a very great person. And the tribe from Jacob was a tribe that we have all grown up to come out from. So the moment we try to give God the upper hand in our life, things tend to change. So my point number two was he was a deceiver. Harold was a deceiver. So let's read 2, verse 8. That's the Maitreya chapter 2, verse 8. Let's see what Herod did. So let me start from the 7. He said, then Herod, when he had privately called the wise men and called of them diligently, what time the star appeared, and he sent them to Bethlehem and said, Go and search diligently for the young child. And when ye have found him, bring me a word that I may come and worship him also." Harold was trying to lie to the wise man that, oh, Charlie, I also want to go and worship this king. And from the inquiry we had made, he's in Bethlehem. So go and look for him. When you find him, come and tell me, because I also want to go and pay homage. And we all know Herod was troubled from day two and day three, because he knew he was going to lose his title as the king of the Jews. But now he's telling the wise men that he wants to also go and worship God, Jesus Christ. But we knew you wanted to look for him and kill him so that that prophecy will not happen. He knew the prophecy. So as Christians, we all have things like this in our lives. We have people, friends, families. At our workplaces, they pretend. to be in the same shoe with us. They pretend to be happy with us. They pretend that, oh, he has heard that you are getting a promotion. He pretend to be happy. But he's looking for your weak point and to destroy you, to whoever is in charge of the position. A lot of things are happening in this life that, as Christians, if we don't pray, things that we think that we're supposed to enjoy, will go away from us. Because we tend to put our trust in people that we don't even know much. People that will tend to be like chameleon. They will tend to be the lovers. They will tend to be people that want to share our problems with. But at the end of the day, they are just there to know what exactly we are going through and to be able to destroy us. And that is exactly what can herald it. He wanted to know exactly where the child is so that he can go and kill him. So we pray. I pray that God will help us and give us the insight so that we can see the right people around us and the wrong people around us, and so that we can make the wise decision of who to talk to and who not to talk to. And we should know that we should tell only God our problems. Because he can solve our problems. Only he understands us. And only he is the right person to help us solve our problems. Human beings, most of the people that are around us, their problems are even bigger than us. You might see somebody who looks happy, who comes to work or come to every gathering like OK, up front, looking good, and you think he doesn't have problems. When you go to his home, then you realize that the problem that a person is carrying is even 10 times more than your problems. So you might think your problem you are sharing with this person can help you. He can't even deal with his problem, so he can't help you. Only God can help us solve our problems. So there are deceivers around us. There are manipulators around us. Like Harold. Harold was a deceiver and a manipulator. That is the point number two. The point number three, he was a murderer. Harold was a murderer. If you look at Matthew chapter 2, verse 16, then the 16th says, Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was a seething wrath, and sent forth, and slay all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Amen. How can a king be so rude and cruel? A king that's supposed to protect his people, a king that's supposed to provide for his people, because of his selfish interests, because of his anxiousness and desperate to power. After he realized, after two years, he realized that there was no news coming back to him about the messiah. he decided to kill all the children, two years to one day old. Look at the pain. Look at the troubles that people will go through. And just because of one person, he didn't even think about that. He was just looking for solution to his problems. So there are people, this is the thing we need to think about critically. Because if you are with somebody who doesn't know Christ, and when he's in pain, when he's in problem, and you need to solve his problem, you might be his solution to his problem. If he has to use you to solve his problem, he'll use you to solve his problem without thinking about the consequences of what he's going to do to you. And that is how people that they don't know God behaves. And it is sad. He killed all the children from two years down the line. I hope you can imagine how it is going to be. A whole Jerusalem city, he just instructed that, Charlie, go ahead and kill the children, because the people have deceived me. I need to kill this king. This king that is arising, I need to kill it so that I can take control of my power. so that I can hold possession. I can still call myself the king of the Jews. And he did that in an expense of the children that don't know anything. Children that are now coming to this age. Children that haven't seen anything. They don't even know how he's ruling. But he has to use them to overcome or to accomplish his mission. So putting all together, we could see that Herod was a bad king. And then he loved power. He just loved the power. And at the end, according to the Bible, God gave him a mysterious sickness. He didn't even know what exactly was wrong with him. Some were thinking it's fever. After he didn't hear what has happened to Jesus, he didn't know, he realized he couldn't kill the child. He was mentally, there was a mental issue with him. There was some fever, a very strange sickness. He tried to even hang himself up to die, and he still couldn't succeed. And at the end, when he knew he was going to die, he told his soldiers that with the life that he has lived, They need to, when he dies, they need to get some good people in the city and kill them, like 100. So that the people will start, they will cry for the people that they have killed. Then he can also have some sharing of tears for him. Because if not, nobody will cry for him when he dies. So he knew exactly what he has done to the people. He knew exactly what he had done to the people. So he wanted to kill people. When he dies, he tells the soldiers to kill people. So the people that they have killed, people will start crying for the people they have killed. And then he can also have some sympathy, because it was going to be the same time. That is how a wicked person is supposed to live. But the God that we serve, it's not like that. So now let's see. Jesus Christ also came. And because he came as a king of the Jews, and then Herod was trying to do a campaign, and then take over, try to kill him so that he can be the king of the Jews. Jesus, our Savior, came, and he came with full of faith and trust. Jesus we serve is a man of faith and trust. And we can see this in Maitreya chapter 26, verse 39. Maitreya 26, 39. And I read. He said, and he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, oh, father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he came unto the disciples, and found them asleep, and said unto Peter, what, could ye not watch with me one hour? So this is what happened. When Jesus Christ realized that it was difficult, even though he agreed to come and take our flesh and see whatever problem we are going through that we are not able to please God, he came in to take a human form. And he knew what exactly he was going to go through. Because he being a savior, he didn't even come like a Samson, a grown-up man that he can defend himself with the angels to come with him, to come and start fighting for us. He came as a child. He came as a baby. And look at what he has to go through. King Herod was looking for him to be killed. He now has to grow and go through a lot of things that he cannot defend himself. And to the last point, when he has gone through all these things, and it was time for him to die, it was even difficult for him. But because he's faithful, because he has promised to come and save us, because he has made a vow to reconcile us with the father, Because he said, when he came, he said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. And nobody can go to the Father except through me. So you need to set a very good example for us to follow. So with this, he cannot disappoint us. He cannot let a main, ultimate goal for him coming to this earth go away. So he stood in again and then took the cup. He didn't say, no, no, no, no. I said I can do this, but I can't do it anymore. As compared to Harold, when he realized he couldn't see the children, he needed a long way to go to make sure he can kill the boy who is born, who is coming to be the savior, for his time to prolong. Because he realized his time is short. But Jesus doesn't think about himself. He thinks for us, and he's faithful. When he says something, he does it. Like King Herod is a deceiver. He says, show me where this child is. Let me also come and worship him. But he was going to kill the child. He didn't plan to go there to worship. So when he says something, he does a different thing. But when Jesus says something, when our Lord Jesus Christ says something to us, he fulfilled it. He makes sure it comes to pass in our life. And that is the difference of King Herod and King Jesus. We have a king that is always there for us. He thinks for us. He's ready for us at any time that we get to him. So Matthew 26, 39 is telling us that he's possible. And then he doesn't disappoint. He's very faithful. So when you read another one from Matthew chapter 8, verse 23. Matthew 8, 23. And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, in so much that the ship was covered with the waves. But he was asleep. And his disciples came to him and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us. We perish. And he said unto them, why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose and removed the wind and the sea, and there was a great calm. Amen. So at the point that the disciples were sinking, they were in the boat with him, he was sleeping. And this is what I keep on saying. When we think we can do something, God try to see what we can do. He was asleep. And the disciples did what they could. They did what they could because they were fishermen. They have experience with controlling the waves on the sea. They tried their humanly possible best, but they failed. So now they have to look back and look for their master. And when they turned, they realized he was sleeping. And they went to wake him up. Their master reappeared. Then Jesus said, you of little faith, because he is faithful. They could have called him earlier. When the thing started, they knew they were with their master. They should have looked for their master earlier. But they didn't look for their master. They tried things that they could do themselves to save their boats. But they couldn't survive. So they now have to look for Jesus. That's why I said, you of little faith. I hope God will help us to build our faith, so that whatever problems we are going through, we will carry it onto him. We will give him all the burdens, so that he will help us through. So when he came in, he calmed the situation down. That tells you that Jesus is faithful. He's faithful in all his doings. He's faithful in all his ways. He will never leave us, nor forsake us. No matter what we are going through, you might think the problem is bigger than you. No, he knows your strengths. He knows how far you can go. The only thing is just trust in him. Just trust in him. What Job went through was a serious thing, but it's also another story. It was a process. From one loss, to another loss, to another loss, to the children, to the businesses, to this, and it's happening every day. But Job never gave up. So what we are going through is just a normal thing. the Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and we can be okay. And another one is that Jesus Christ, he came as a shepherd. Jesus came as a shepherd for us. Whilst King Herod was a deceiver and manipulator, Jesus was a shepherd. So if you read Matthew chapter five, verse 43, 9543, came as a shepherd. We have heard that it had been said, thou shall love thy neighbor and hate thy enemy. But I say unto you, love your enemies. Bless them that curse you. Do good to them that hate you. and pray for them which despitefully use you and prosecute you, that you may be the children of your father which is in heaven. For he make his son to rise on the evil and on the good, and send rain on the just and on unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same? If ye salute your brother only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans do? Be therefore perfect, even as your father which is in heaven is perfect." So Jesus made an example that Even the sun shines on everyone. The sun shines on everyone. And he's saying that those times, you should do bad to the people who are bad to you, and do good to only people who do good to you. He said, no, he didn't come and do that. Because he's a shepherd, he came to offer a sacrifice to us. So he came to explain to us how we should live our life. As kings, he is a king, and we are also kings. So he's showing us how we should live a life, how we should make the world very comfortable for each and everyone. Like the way King Herod, being a king, was for himself, not for the people. But we are kings. Christ is king, not for himself, but for us. And the same thing. We are also kings, not for ourselves, but for the people. We need to make the world a nicer place to live. We need to show love to people. We need to make sure God's, the grace and the peacefulness he has installed in us, we can also let people know and bring them unto God. Because that is exactly what Christ came to do. That is why when it rains, it rains on everybody. When the sun shines, it shines on everybody. The air, he hasn't divided the air into sections. It's everywhere. So he's telling us that he is a selfless being. He came to give us his life. He wasn't the king who's a deceiver, who always won the things for himself. There's a story in the stories we read that there's a quote that people will say that it would be better to be the dog of King Herod than to be his son. If you look at what King Herod did, he killed his two sons because he thought they could be a threat to him. When he dies, when they sabotage him, they can be the king. So he killed them. He killed the wife. He killed the in-laws. So that's why people say it would be better to be King Herod's dogs than his son. Because when he killed the children, the dogs were there. How can a king be like this? a king that's supposed to help his people. So that tells you that a perfect example of being a good king is our Lord Savior. Jesus Christ is the best king, and we are trying to follow his patterns and make the world a nicer place for everyone. So when you read, I think, John chapter 10, verse 11, John 10, 11. Okay. John chapter 10, verse 11. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. But he that is in high land, and not the shepherd whose own the sheep are not, set the wolf coming, and leave the sheep, and flee. And the wolf catch them, and scatter the sheep. Amen. Say he's a good shepherd, that he gives his life to the sheep. When he sees the wolf coming to attack his sheep, he doesn't run away. He doesn't leave them for them to be scattered by the wolf. He stands there to fight. He stands there to protect his sheep. And that's exactly what Jesus Christ came to do. That is why it makes him a good king. And we are lucky to have a king like Jesus, because he came in for us. He came in. If not some of us, we wouldn't be here today. With where we came from and the family we belong, we don't deserve to be in his presence. But because of what Jesus Christ came to do for us, he has paid for all our sins. He has paid for everything. He has set us free. That is why we are here today. So let's read something again. Said Jesus Christ, he came as a savior and a messiah. And with this, I would like us to consider a story in John 4. Then I'll bring my message to an end. John 4. There's a story there that explains how Jesus Christ came as a messiah. So John chapter four. I'm starting from the one. When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John. Two, Jesus himself baptized not but his disciples. He left Judea and departed again into Galilee. And he must need to go through Samaria. Then comes he to a city of Samaria, which is called Syka, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his sons, Joseph. Now Jacob well was there. Jesus, therefore, being worried with his journey, Thus on the well, and it was about the sixth hour, there came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said unto her, give me to drink. For his disciples were gone away into the city to buy meat. Then said the woman of Samaria unto him, how is it that Thou, being a Jew, ask drinks 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 said to thee, give me to drink, thou wouldn't that would have asked of him, and he would have given the living water. Amen. So I will try and then break the story down so that we can understand where I am coming from as Jesus being the Messiah. There was a time that the Samaritans and the Jews were not in connection, because The Jews believe they are serving the right God. And the Samaritans are the pagan worshippers or something. So they were not in connection. You cannot mingle with them. The same thing, the Samaritans will never mingle with the Jews. So Jesus came in as a messiah. He tried to bridge that broken lineage. So when you look at a story, the encounter he had with a woman, it's a woman from Samaria that she knew there is no way a Jewish person will come and ask him for water. No way, because they don't have any connection. But Jesus was making it clear. That's why I keep on saying the stories in the Bible is a story that actually inspires us and make us know who we are and who we are worshiping. So when Jesus Christ asks her, That's give me a drink. He said, no. How dare you ask me for a drink? And he said, if you know who is asking you for the drink, you even ask for the water that you wouldn't have to ask for any water again. You will never taste. And the woman said to him, you don't even have anything to draw the water. So how do you tell me you give me water that I don't need to come here to fetch the water again? And Jesus says something interesting. Because he said, you don't know who this person is. And the lady says something. Are thou greater than our father, Jacob, who gave us this world? That's why I said, in those times, the generation that was building, they knew who Jacob was. Because Jacob became a very great man of God that people knew. Because whatever prophecies he keep on saying, the blessings he got from God was amazing. So the world that he dug has been there years. Even when it's a dry season, the water doesn't finish in that well. And she knew. The lady knew. She said, are you greater than our father, Jacob, who dug this well for us, that you are going to give me water that will never get finished? What are you talking about? But Jesus made it clear to him, clear to her, that whosoever drink of this water shall taste again. But whosoever drink 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. Amen. Then the woman said unto him, say, give me this water that I thirst not, neither come weather to draw. And Jesus said, unto her, go call thy husband, and come. Jesus is a Messiah, and he came for people who are ready for him. He's here for everyone. His doors are open. for the good people, for the bad people. He said, if he came for the good people, then it's like if you are sick, only when you are sick before you go to the doctor. But when you are not sick, you don't need a doctor. So if he has to come for the good people, then there is no point. Because if you are a good person, if you are not sick, you don't need a doctor. It's only when you are sick before you need a doctor. So he came for the sinners. He came for the bad people, we think. we call them as bad, he's here to save everybody. He said he wants all men to be saved. So Jesus came in for everybody. And that is exactly what he was saying. And he wants the lady to go and bring her husband. And it's not just the husband he wants her to go and bring. Because he said, that's why he said, You have to accept him. You confess. You accept him as your Lord and personal Savior. Then he comes in to help you. The lady has problems. She has her own issues. She doesn't know Christ. From the conversation, she said, I heard there's a Messiah coming. I think we'll get there. I'll make it easier so that you can cut the time a bit shorter. He said, OK, go and bring your husband. She said, I don't even have a husband. He said, yes, you have said truth. Even the one you are staying with is not even your husband. He said, yes. So she accepted her fault. She accepted that she's a sinner. She agreed to the fact that all the life she's living, it's not a good life. There are people that are living, going through a lot of things. They just need somebody. They need us to come to them and talk to them. So the moment they hear the good news, they are easy to give up. They want to share their problems with us. There are people who want to share their problems with us. But because we don't want to live the life of them, or we don't want to go closer because we have already condemned them, they don't get a chance to hear the good news that we have. And this is the perfect example Jesus Christ sets. She was a Samarian. Jesus is a Jew. But he chose to have the conversation with this woman. Because he is God, he knew the woman needed help. But because we are not God, we need the Holy Spirit to speak to us. We need the Holy Spirit to dwell in us. We need the strength of God to be able to move forward and then preach to people, get the good news to people. A lot of people are dying. A lot of people are going astray because they don't know the good news. We have the good news. Let's share with them. So when Jesus Christ spoke to this woman, from the conversation they had, he said, thou hast said, that's 17. 17, and the woman 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 said, thou truly. The woman said unto him, say, I perceive that you are a prophet. So instantly, she has accepted Christ. So I can see you are a prophet. I perceive you are a prophet. This was deep, and it's the same story to That big man, captain, is a soldier man who the son was sick, and he saw Jesus. And he was telling Jesus that my son is sick. I need you to come and heal him. And Jesus said, oh, now I'm busy. He said, no, no, no. You don't even. I said, OK, go. I'll come. He said, go. I'll come. He said, no, no, no, no, no, no. Jesus, you don't even need to come to my house. You can even speak, and my son will be well. And it happened. So it's the faith, the faith that we have, and how we receive and welcome the word of God, and how we see Jesus. Because at this point, The woman, from the conversation and everything that was happening, she said, I perceive you are prophets. And our fathers, 20, our fathers worshiped in this mountain. And they say that in Jerusalem is a place where men ought to worship. So in the olden days, it's like the way the Muslims, they do. They go to Mecca every year. In the olden days. The Christians also go to Jerusalem every year to observe the festival. That is when Jesus Christ went to Galilee last day. So the lady knew all these things. And Jesus Christ was surprised. People know something, but they just want a confirmation of us. People are looking for the truth, but they just need approve from us, to testify how God has been good to us. Me, for example, when I didn't know Christ, I had a quick temper. You can see a short man being angry. But when I found Christ, he made all things beautiful. I don't get angry again. You can see me smiling all the time. And it's not me. It is not by my power. It's the power of the Spirit, Holy Spirit that we save. We all have problems. If you have anger issue, you have a problem of insulting people, or disrespecting people, or any other thing, take on to God. He will fix it. He fixed stuff. That is his job. Jesus' job is to fix us. So we can also fix people. We need to help him to make the work easier. And this is the common goal he has given to us. We have a bigger job to do. So let me continue, because this is going to be the last chapter. Then I bring my quotation, my preaching to an end. So let's continue to the 20, 21. Jesus said, that is John chapter 4, verse 21. Jesus said unto her, woman, believe me, the hour comes when ye shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father. You worship ye know not what. We know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour comes, and now is. when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father seeks such to worship him. 24. God is spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. Amen. So Jesus made it clear to the lady that Maybe you guys didn't know what we worship, what you worship. But we the Jews, we know exactly what we worship. We the Christians, we know exactly what we worship. We know our king. The king of the Jews now is the king of the world. He has come to make the world known with this good news that he came with. And we are enjoying this good news. We know the truth, and it is helping us. So we also have to go out there to testify, to confirm. As the lady confirmed that I perceive you a prophet, because the things that were happening were beyond her imagination. How can somebody tell me everything that I have done with a person not knowing me? So Jesus confirmed that, yes. But we Jews know where we worship, and the time is coming. And that time is now. We don't need to go to this mountain or go to Jerusalem. And that is why I said the good news has come to the whole world. It has come to us. He made it easy. It's here that he confirmed that the good news is not for the Jews only, but it's for all of us. So this is an opportunity. That's why I said he is a messiah. He came to save us. The prophecy that was there, that he's coming to set his people free. This is the confirmation. This is the confirmation that we don't need to go to Jerusalem. We don't need to go to the mountains. Now is the time that we seek and we worship the Father in spirit and in truth. So God has made it easier for us to just accept him, to just confess our sins unto him and accept him and agree that he came to die for our sins and he resurrected again. And now that he has resurrected, our body is dead with the sin, with him. And we have resurrected with a new life, with a new creature. Our old being is gone. And now we are a new being. We are a new creature. We need to live a life that is going to please him. We have a task, and a task for us to follow his path and say, I am the way. He came to show us the way. And these are some of the ways that we are trying to emphasize on today. He is a good shepherd. He doesn't run away from his sheep. He's standing to fight for his sheep. He doesn't allow the wolf to get into them and scatter them. No. So that's exactly what he was trying to tell this lady. That now the salvation that was for the Jews, now it's for all of us. And it is free. Salvation is free for each and every one of us. And he said, God is spirit, and we must worship him in spirit and in truth. So the woman said unto him, I know that Messiah come, which is called Christ. When he is come, he will tell us all things. And Tony says, that is where it's important for me. Tony says, Jesus said unto her, I that speak unto thee am he. Amen. So there he confirmed that he is the messiah. Because the lady thought there was somebody that is going to come. The prophecy was there. People heard it so many years, that somebody is coming to save us. Somebody is coming to save us. But when the messiah is supposed to come, nobody knew. So the lady knew. And she said, I heard. She said, yes, now I am the one. The one you are talking to. I am he. So it has confirmed what she said, I perceive you are a prophet. He has confirmed for her. So already in her heart, she has accepted Christ. So now, the blessing God want to bless her can now come. Because Jesus always want us to open our heart, take out whatever that is preventing us from the blessing out. That is why he said we should confess. Confessing means you are bringing something out of you. Something that is in you and it is killing you, you bring it out. Then you are free. So the new thing from Christ can get in there and make you a new person. And that is exactly what the lady did. Let me continue. 27. And upon this came his disciples and marveled that he talked with the woman. Yet no man said, what seek thou? Or thy talk thou with her? And the woman then left her waterpot and went her way into the city and said 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. So look at what the lady did. Her evangelism spirit was on point. After she heard the story, Jesus told her everything, and she has received the good news. She couldn't keep it alone. Even the water pot, she left it. She forgot about the water she came to draw. And she ran to the city and said, come, come, come, come. Come, follow me. Come and see a man who has told me all the things I have ever done. Couldn't this be the Christ? So the people now say, OK, then let's go and see if it is the Christ. So the whole city, the whole town, followed her to Jesus Christ. When you read a story down the line. And this was massive. So God is always ready for us. What he needs is our readiness. He is ready, and he needs us. I keep on saying, if this hand is open, this one can just fit. But if this hand is closed, this cannot fit. So Jesus' hand is always open. It's waiting for our hand to be open so that it can just fit together. What are we waiting for? What is our challenge? What is our problem? Let's take our problems onto him. And he's faithful and just to do it. Jesus is there. But there are consequences to people who don't accept Christ and try to reject him. And the consequences that will get to the people, God sometimes will ask us, especially people that are closer to us, people that are our friends, our family, or people at our job site, we know the truth and we don't share the truth with them. Maybe we may be asked, why did you know and you didn't tell this person? Why did you know and you didn't tell this person? Because when you read Romans chapter 6, verse 23, Romans 6, 23. For the wages of sin is dead, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. So people who are sinners will die one day. One day, we will all die. But the people that we're supposed to be able to teach them or tell them about the gospel that we don't tell them, when they die, it's whose fault? If they die in their sins, it's whose fault? Even though there are people that are very stubborn, they know. They've heard the story. They don't want to accept Christ. With them, they have their consequences. Because Harold, when he rejected Jesus Christ, he said, it's a strange sickness, strange illness that actually fell on him. And he died. The second Harold that came, his son, that killed John the Baptist, that arrested Peter, it got to a time. that he became like a God. He wanted to show the people like he's God. When he speaks, he want them to know that he's speaking like a God. And at that point, when he behaved like that, according to the Bible, the angel of the Lord strike him to death. And he was eating with the worms, instantly. Worms eat him up. God is God. And he said, he's a jealous God. He doesn't want anybody to share with his glory. So if anyone rejects God, there are consequences, unless the person doesn't know God. So we have the opportunity to tell the gospel to the people, speak the gospel to the people, let them know. If they don't accept it, it's their problem. You have done your part. That's why Jesus said, we should sow the seed, and you do the rest. So let's do our part. He will do the rest for us. To bring my message to an end, let's read Hebrews chapter 9, verse 27. Hebrews 9. Hebrews 9 to 27, and I'll read. And as it is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment. So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many, but unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. Amen. So as he said, it's appointed unto man to die once, and after that, judgment. So there is judgment. There is hell. So anyone who doesn't accept Christ, hell is waiting for you. And it is real. So we need to share the good news to the people, so that the Lord will see us, that we've done what he asked us to do, because Without that, it is going to be a big challenge, because Christ has come to pay a very huge price for us, a very huge price. He left his throne, came to go through all the stress, the difficulties, everything just for us, just for us. And since this has been done, We need to be able to stand on our feet to make sure we can do what we're supposed to do for him. What have we done for him? He came to give us his life. What have we done in return? This is a question that I'll leave us to think about, and then I bring my message to an end. So let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, Thank you, I give you all your glory, that you give us your begotten son, Jesus Christ, to come and die for our sins. To buy us from our old life and give us a new life. We are grateful for such an opportunity you've given unto us. Father, As this message has gone into our hearts, please let the heart receive it in peace and in faith so that we can work on ourselves with it. May the word keep on reminding us in our hearts so that we can try consciously to be right with thee. There are a lot of things that is distracting us to see your glory. We have carried a lot of burdens onto our shoulders. But you said your yoke is easy. And when we come into you, you are not going to give us any burden. You'd rather carry our burden for us. We pray that you grant us the grace, the mercy, the strength so that we can follow you and to trust you and to build our faith in you so that we can live a life that when you come, you can find us faithful. I thank you and I bless you for this wonderful message. It's almost two days, three days to the end of the year. I commit each and every one here into your hands. Father, there are many requests and there are many plans that your children has brought onto you. I pray that whatever requests, whatever problems they've carried onto you, Father, may you see the answers before the end of the year. May you help each and every one. May the new year becomes a new life for us, so that we can please you. In Jesus' name, I pray with thanksgiving. Amen.