The Bread of Life

The Bread of Life

Book of John Chapter 6

We should understand that by the time we reach that age when we can determine right from wrong we soon also find that our soul is craving for fulfillment and we cannot know the end of that craving until we meet the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Book of Genesis teaches us the Jehovah God, our Father in Heaven is the giver of life.

Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Mankind in the image of God(not looks) separate from the animals but God gives life.

Gen 1:30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

Gen 1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Keeping these things in mind we will better understand the Lord Jesus Christ is indeed, the "Bread of Life"!

As I have already said as humans we have this hunger for life down deep in our soul!

*****Joh 6:25 And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?

On the previous day the Lord had miraculously fed many more than just those 5000 men. We already know there were some children among them and probably some women but to feed 5000 is still a great miracle.

This horde of people had decided that if Jesus was indeed the Messiah, then He should be King according to the Scriptures.

It was not time for this to take place because Jesus had first come to save.

Jesus had placed the 12 disciples in a boat and sent them back to Capernaum while He walked further up into mount.

We know that that same night, Jesus had walked on the water and joined His disciples in the midst of the Lake Galilee.

Joh 6:15 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.

Joh 6:16 And when even was now come, his disciples went down unto the sea,

Joh 6:17 And entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them.

Joh 6:18 And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew.

Joh 6:19 So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship: and they were afraid.

Joh 6:20 But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid.

Joh 6:21 Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.

It is now that we can pick up with our lesson.

These large group of men had determined that Jesus would join His disciples even though they could not understand how, so they too went to Capernaum and Jesus was there.

Their thoughts were not about life, they could only think of that next meal that they would not have to work for. If Jesus was the Messiah, then surely He to, could rain down manna from Heaven as they had given credit to Moses rather than the Heavenly Father.

They had surmised that with Jesus as King, everyone would live not ever having to work because the Messiah would feed them.

God has this saying that stills true through today.

2Th_3:10 For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.

Here again we see a comparison to the America of today where many who live have decided that everything should be free and given to them without them having to work for it! (It’s called Socialism)

We don't need Socialism, we need a Theocracy where God is in control of all things concerning life.

We must understand that when we are to be witnesses for Jesus, we must also be willing to rebuke all those pretending to be Jesus or Christian.

These people were not committing to be disciples of Christ they were hypocrites seeking only to fill their own bellies!

The truth is we all have a great need of the Messiah.

We must acknowledge this need.

We must realize that it is only Jesus Christ who can fill this need!

It is in all our best interest that we seek Jesus Christ until we find Him!

Isa 55:6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:

It is time to quit trying to find out how Jesus did the things that He obviously did and just accept Him as our Messiah and our Savior, and our Redeemer!

*****Joh 6:26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.

Notice how Jesus sees right through their hypocrisy and tells them exactly what they are.

Very few churches are so direct to their flocks today because they might hurt their feelings.

We must seek Jesus for the right reasons! let's get real even when we get to God's paradise, God's Heaven we can be sure there will be some work for us to do but much of our time will also be used to worship our Heavenly Father! I said time but time as we know will not exist!

We must understand that when we get the opportunity we will all try to find the easy way and the easy way very seldom contains "faith"!

Most all of us care to much about ourselves than to allow the Lord Jesus to work in our hearts!

The Lord Jesus Christ can certainly meet all our needs and He promises to do so for those who believe upon His name.

We do not need miracles to convince us to follow the Lord. Our greatest miracle is when we are "Born Again" into the family of God!

The Lord our Savior is not some tool to be used but a person to be sought after and loved!

Someone who can take 5 loaves and 2 small fishes and feed 5000 certainly has the power of God, this was not a fluke or some magic trick!

Everything in this world will pass away some day and the only thing that can be done to prolong this time it to give our lives to God right now!

Not even tomorrow is guaranteed!

These is not one thing upon this earth that will satisfy anyone forever not even all the riches that we can possess.

Eze 33:31 And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness.

All those people that think this world will last forever do not see with their own eyes that our world is aging, and it will not last!

*****Joh 6:27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

I believe it could be said that God hates the hypocrite!

The truth is we must be sincere when we are seeking the Lord. If we seek the Lord just for the things that He can provide, then that certainly is the wrong reason.

There are many benefits in serving the Lord but only after we have invited Him into our heart, filled with the Holy Spirit and become a Temple of the Lord.

1Co_3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

1Co_6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

2Co_13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

We are not the children of God until we have been filled and sealed with the Holy Spirit!

We are fools to spend our lives trying to accumulate things that will perish, many of them in a very short time!

It is only "Faith", "Grace", and "Love" which will endure to everlasting life!

Our only work is to believe and then once "Faith" has guided us to the Lord, we need to work for life as well as from life.

These things can come only by the Lord Jesus Christ because this is what Jehovah God sent Him to do!

You see it is God the Father who guarantees His Son is the Messiah.

It is God the Father who gives things that last forever. There is no other way to obtain the truth of God!

1Th 1:3 Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;

1Th 1:4 Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.

Jesus Christ has a Heavenly appointment!

Jesus Christ is the answer to every question we may have about life!

*****Joh 6:28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?

Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

As we have grown up in the baby boomer age, we have found that we can have nothing without working for it.

We have learned that salvation is the free gift of God and sometimes we think this wonderful gift cannot be free but it is. It is free with "Faith"!

Today we live in a nation where most everyone expects things to be free, but the free gifts of God are rejected more than ever. Who could figure that one out?

Those doing good works will not impress God one little bit and will not get you saved!

Those doing all bad works is an abomination to God and these people cannot be saved until they accept the Lord and repent of their evil.

Those doing some good and some bad works also cannot be accepted.

You see doing any sort works to impress God will not work at all!

The problem being, we just cannot get our minds to think right!

Gal 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

The truth is, we must believe on the One who God sent, Jesus Christ!

Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Joh 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

We must understand that there no amount of works we can do to impress God if we do not believe that He is God!

There is only the "One Work" that we can do and that is to believe all the words God has written to us!

The "One Work" we can do to impress God is to believe Him!

There is no sustainable life in anyone until they meet and then trust in the Savior!

There is no sustainable life in anyone until they accept the truth of life in the Book of Genesis!

Our world had a beginning and it was not billions of years ago but just as God has said!

Without our "Faith" in the things of the Messiah, the things of our Creator, and the things of our Savior, we are simply living a life of death that will end in eternal death for ever separated from our Creator.

There are far greater things that come by the Messiah than ever came by Moses to the Jews.

The things Moses did for the Jews cannot compare to the things the Lord Jesus Christ has done for whosoever will believe Him!

When we acknowledge our Creator in Spirit and in Truth we are then pleasing to our God!!!!!

Do we need a sign from God for Him to prove Himself? There are signs all around us every day and we ignore them!

*****Joh 6:30 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?

Joh 6:31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.

We should remember that just one day before Jesus is asked to do this thing, He fed over 5000 people with the 5 small loaves and 2 small fish. The lunch that a loving mother had fixed for her child.

Jesus had also made some mighty claims.

The one thing we should understand about proof. Proof is useless unless it is accepted as the truth!

After Jesus had fed the 5000, He was gladly received as King by these same people but to be the Messiah, they wanted more proof!

The truth is we get so attached to the things around us in this world, the physical pleasures and the material goods we are blinded to the truth of God, yet none of these things are permanent as is all the things of God!

We become a very foolish people when we ask things of God that He simply will not do. Nothing is impossible for God, but God has no desire to prove Himself over and over again especially when the proof is in the promises He makes and the Word He has given to us!

It all boils down to "Faith"!

Things that we see with our eyes can truly be deceitful!

When we give credit to some man for the things God has done we are also doing wrong.

Moses was chosen by the Lord to be a great leader of these Jesus and He was, but it was not Moses who rained the manna from Heaven. These who faced the Lord this day did not have a clue about the manna other than what was said about it in the Word of God.

Just the word "manna" indicates it was a gift from God!

Deu 8:16 Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end;

Deu 8:17 And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.

Deu 8:18 But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.

When we demand that we first see a miracles just, so we can approve of them we go against the truth of God.

The biggest gripe of this people was that the manna fell from Heaven every day and everyone got all they wanted to eat every day. They had witnessed Jesus feed the 5000 but it was just a one-time event and they were hungry again.

Sounds just like the world of today. "Give me, give me, give me, until I am satisfied"!

It would take much more than this for them to believe that Christ was the Messiah, which Christ did offer when He said it was He who was the true "Bread of Life". They then became "religionist"!

The truth is man never has enough to quench their desires to have much more. This is why riches are so dangerous to our soul!

There is an emptiness within each of us, a vacuum, a lack of purpose that can only be filled with the Lord Jesus Christ!

You will not realize this until it happens!

Jesus Christ is the only source of "Spiritual Satisfaction"!

How did the Lord respond to these false beliefs?

*****Joh 6:32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.

It is obvious that we can see a fault of mankind. Mankind just has this great craving for someone to continuously give to them. In America it is the theme behind hypocritical leaders and higher education gone a muck.

They exploit this fault, this craving in most all mankind that cannot be satisfied. The emptiness of man that can only be satisfied by the filling of the Holy Spirit.

As for the Lord, these people were foolishly trying to compare Moses to Him and there can be no such comparison.

1) We must not get confused. Moses did not lead this nation through the wilderness. They were led by a cloud by day and a fire by night. Moses was only the first follower.

Exo_13:21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:

Exo_13:22 He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.

Exo_40:38 For the cloud of the LORD was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.

2) These people were talking about the "Manna" that also came from the Lord.

Exo_16:15 And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.

This "Manna" was of course for their nourishment and the proof is in the people who survived those 40 years in the wilderness but there was a lesson involved that was being taught by Jesus this day with these who had followed Him.

This "Manna" could only bring temporary life and the true "Bread of Heaven", is indeed the Lord Jesus Christ who brings with Him eternal life!

It is only be Jesus Christ that all our cravings can be met!

It is only by Jesus Christ that our hunger can be satisfied!

It is only by Jesus Christ that we can be at peace with this world and at peace with God!

We must look beyond this life we have in this world, which is limited.

We must look beyond the things of this world which are only temporary.

The true "Bread of Life" is not physical but it is "Spiritual".

God does promise to provide for our physical needs just as He did those Jews who traveled for 40 years in the wilderness and just as He does today.

We seem to forget that this body of flesh we live in will one day perish but the soul is eternal, and it is the soul that is so valuable to our Heavenly Father.

Psa_30:3 O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit

Psa_42:2 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?

As the soul is permanent, then the food for the soul must be permanent.

*****Joh 6:33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

We see that the "Bread of Life" is a person and not food.

We all as humans must have nourishment to survive this earth and it does not matter what part of life we come from.

Ecc 5:9 Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field.

Our Heavenly Father is the source of all things upon this earth because it is His rain and His sunshine and His seasons that allows this life to succeed but we also know our life span is just too short.

The "Bread of Life" is something else entirely!

Jesus Christ is that "Bread of God" that came down from Heaven and can preserve our soul from eternal death!

Jesus Christ is the Author of our salvation.

Jesus Christ is the Supporter of our salvation.

Jesus Christ is the Maintainer of our salvation.

Jesus Christ is the 'Foundation" of our Salvation because it is He who is the Bread of God sent down for Heaven.

Heb_12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

What was the initial response because Jesus had not yet claimed to be that "bread of God"!

*****Joh 6:34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.

The purpose of bread is to continue in a life that we already have.

Their request was for God to send them that "manna" from the time of Moses, for all their remaining days.

In other words they felt like they would be fine as long as they did not have to purchase their own food.

This life we now have will eventually lead us to death as our bodies age and we can no longer accept that nourishment into our bodies.

It is a fact that when we need the "Bread of God" we cannot obtain it except by the Lord Jesus Christ!

We can get nothing from God that is permanent until we can know His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ is our Lord!

We must submit to our Savior!

When this takes place we find out the truth!

*****Joh 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the giver of all life because there no life without the Lord there is only death! By coming to the Lord means believing that this true, and it will be true.

The Lord also supports and maintains the life that he gives to each of us, physically and Spiritually!

It is an absolute fact that life is meaningless without Jesus Christ!

Jesus Christ is certainly the true "Bread of Life".

Jesus Christ is truly the "Bread of God" come down from Heaven.

Jesus Christ is the true Manna from Heaven that fits every need of each individual and each family!

Our soul hungers for the truth. We have a craving to know what we are missing. Both these things are settled the very moment we come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior and our Redeemer.

We all crave life but at the same time many of us just do not understand life.

Every need of this life can be satisfied by Jesus Christ.

Every need of the next life is guaranteed by Jesus Christ.

Rev 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

These that followed Jesus almost daily had rejected Him and had refused the great wonders that Jesus had done right before their eyes.

1Jn 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

1Jn 1:2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)

1Jn 1:3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

Christianity is so simple that many cannot take it into their heart because they expected much more.

*****Joh 6:36 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.

If knowing the Lord Jesus Christ does not bring us to "faith" then we certainly cannot please God!

It is just not what we can get from the Lord. It is what the Lord promises us of our future plus what He provides until we get there!

If we need to see every little detail of the things that Jesus did, then where is our "faith".

Even the soon be apostles had witnessed the feeding of the 5000 thousand, but they did not see how that bread and the two fishes had multiplied.

The one thing certain was that more than 5000 had been fed and there were 12 baskets of leftovers.

Where was their faith.

Faith is not seeing things, so we can believe!

Faith is believing so we can see Spiritual things!

Christian "faith" is an act of trust by which a sinner commits themselves to a Savior!

Was Jesus Christ exactly who He said He was, absolutely.

Does Christ do every day exactly what He said He would do, absolutely.

Will the Lord provide our needs in such abundance that we can live the easy life and never work, absolutely not!

The Lord will provide our needs, but the Lord came to provide a gift so precious that it overpasses anything that we could have upon this earth!

Joh 6:39 And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.

Joh 6:40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

The most important task we have is not so much to do good though this is a small part of it.

The most important task we have is not even to lead souls to Christ, so they can be saved but, it is another part of it.

The most important task we have after salvation is to do the will of our Father in Heaven just as the Son of God has done!

Jesus Christ did everything according to the will of His Father!

Jesus has one more task to do for the church before He returns to deal with the Jews.

Jesus will raise up that old sack of bones we left behind join it unto our glorified body.

These Jews only murmured in disbelief!

Jesus repeated Himself. A thing He only does to prove He is of the truth!

Joh 6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

Simply put if we believe right up to the end of our days that Jesus will be saved from a sinners Hell!

The Lord Jesus Christ is indeed God come down from Heaven to save every believer in this world!

We must believe that Christ came down from Heaven and is the true Messiah.

We must believe that Christ came to this earth to deliver us from a Spiritual death.

We must believe that Christ gave His own life so that we may be saved.

We must believe that Christ gave His life for all the world!

We must believe that Christ Jesus is the God of the Bible and there is no other!

Amen

Let's Pray!

Son of God

The Son of God

Book of John Chapter 5

We as Christians sometimes forget why Jesus did all the things that He did.

We sometimes make Him small when He is Great.

We sometimes forget the reason that Jesus Christ was upon this earth.

Jesus Christ was led to do all the things He did because of the love of our Father in Heaven!

Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

This is why Jesus did all the things He did when He was upon this place called Earth.

There was this great pool of water called Bethesda and at certain times of the year an Angel would stir up the waters and the first one who entered the water after seeing this would be healed of their infirmities or we would say disease.

This sounds like a wonderful place and a great thing for those who were sick or lame, but it was not a fair place!

Those who were truly in need could not get to the water because of those with stumped toes or more simple things that maybe would have healed on their own would step over them to be the first to get in the water.

We can doubt that such a pool existed but then we would be rejecting the written Word of God.

Even today Christians are much the same. Those who truly have need of our Pastor sometimes do not get the attention they need because someone with a minor problem had taken the time of our Pastor and he could not get to where he needed to be.

Jesus knew what was going on and there was this one man who had been trying to get in the waters of Bethesda for 38 years and he would have never made it even if he lived to be 100 years old.

His chances decreased with every passing year, but God sent His Son into this world to make some changes to this world.

One of the many things that Jesus does every day is that He provides opportunities for a changed life!

If we understand the Words of Christ, it seems that this man was in the condition, he was in, because of the sin in his life.

You want to know the truth, all those that doubt the truth of Jesus Christ and deny His Deity are taking a stand with those who were His murderers.

When we doubt the Word of God we are calling God a liar, so do it to His face and quit hiding behind social issues.

*****Joh 5:14 Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.

We should realize that many of the ailments we have late in our life are due to the sin in our life or that was in our earlier life before we invited the Lord Jesus Christ into our hearts.

By this time this man who was healed by the hand of the Lord had taken his bed home and in doing so was confronted by certain Jews who were probably Pharisees scolding him for doing this work on the Sabbath.

What was the law of God?

Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Exo 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

Exo 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

Exo 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

The truth is, what we must observe is that our Righteous God has holy and righteous standards and we should try our best to observe those standards every day!

We begin to understand these things when we allow the Holy Ghost free will in our lives!

The very same God that gave us these wonderful commandments was the very same God who healed this man who had suffered for 38 years and the very same God who told him to pick up his bed and walk.

Which command are we to follow? Both.

It was sin that had brought this bad health to this man. This man was healed, and that sin was forgiven.

It was not sin for him to pick up his bed and take it home because it was not work by which he would be paid to do. He was taking care of a piece of personal property but more than that he was obeying the Word of Jesus Christ.

Jesus says it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath!

Luk 6:9 Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?

Since the Lord Jesus Christ went about doing good 7 days each week, we should know that it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath, on Sunday and on every other day of the week.

By this same line of thought, it is not lawful to do bad things on the Sabbath or any other day of the week and certainly never lawful to destroy a life on the Sabbath.

Which means animals had to be fed and watered.

Which means animals had to be milked.

Which means the sick had to be cared for.

Which means children had to be cared for.

Which means the people had to be fed even though fasting was also encouraged.

To the Jew, this Sabbath would begin Friday at 6 PM and last through Saturday until 6 PM.

The seventh day of the week to the Christian is Sunday, which is the Lord's Day to be observed by the Church and it should be obvious that we are to take note of what God has said here.

2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

These are not things open for discussion, they are settled by the Word of God.

In fact the Word of God is not open for discussion or for a vote, the Word of God is settled in Heaven and this is all we need to know!

God rested on the seventh day showing us that our own bodies need physical rest and Spiritual fulfillment(Worship) at least one day of the week and as time passes and we see this world getting worse then we are to gather more often to worship the Lord and not less often.

Heb_10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

Many modern so-called places of worship have abandoned the Wednesday night service and also the Sunday evening service ignoring Hebrews 10:25.

There may be some real reasons in some nations but not in America.

Before we worry about the Sabbath or the Sunday worship service, we should concentrate on the more important things in the Scriptures.

The Jews choose the Sabbath or Saturday and they are right. They follow the laws given specifically to the Jews by Moses.

The Church chooses Sunday, the first day of the week, the Lord's Day(Day of Resurrection) and the Church is right.

Rev_1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet.

When we have been made whole by the Lord Jesus Christ then we should put forth the effort to sin no more!

Before we go any further let’s look at this word Jews.

1) There was the Jews, the race of the people of Judah and then all of Israel.

2) There were Jews, who were the hard line observers of the Law(legalism) and these same Jews rejected all things of Jesus Christ the Son of God. These were the same ones who in their customs and manners despised, persecuted, and hated all those who did not follow the written and the oral(tradition) laws of Moses.

*****Joh 5:15 The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole.

Joh 5:16 And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.

We may not understand it, but it was a very serious matter to break the laws of the Sabbath and this man, having never met anyone like Jesus did not realize the harm it would cause to tell these supposed men of God about what Jesus had done and then point Him out to these hypocrites dressed as the men of God.

In this day the people could not travel but for a short distance, they could not cook or even draw water and certainly not open their businesses on the Sabbath.

Even a doctor could not make any attempt to heal unless that life was at stake.

A person could not even be caught thinking about his work for the next day!

Those that broke the Sabbath Law could be put to death by stoning.

These things may seem to be ridiculous to us today but after the return of the Jews from Babylon it was the commands of God that had kept this nation together.

Ezra had brought them back to the Word of God from which they had strayed. This tiny nation had been dominated by many nations over the years and at this time they were under the tyranny of Rome and the Jewish leaders had not followed in the lines of David or Solomon.

Herod was just as much their enemy as was Rome. Herod was a descendant of Ishmael.

The High Priests were selected by how much they could bribe Herod or the Roman rulers.

God had not spoken to these people by a prophet for 400 years until John the Baptist.

It was now only their God, Jehovah, that was the force that kept them together as a nation of Jews.

They refused to be swallowed up by the other nations and demanded that Jews marry other Jews to keep their national structure in place.

They were beginning to realize that Jesus had a whole new line of thought that included not only Jews, not only sinners, not only Gentiles, but also mixed marriages such as the Samaritans.

They had decided that Jesus was just some evil man using sorcery to control the people and work miracles by the power of Satan.

The religious leaders other than those appointed by Herod, were very concerned about this man named Jesus, claiming to be the Messiah.

They rejected God's way of righteousness.

They rejected God's Messiah.

They rejected the Son of God because they rejected the Word of God!

They allowed tradition and ritual, ceremony and rules, to become more important than meeting the basic needs of human life.

The truth of Jesus Christ was about to expose their error and they simply could not allow God's Messiah to change any of these things!

After all they held an office of prestige without God's involvement or so they thought.

The ordinary Jewish man of God and Jewish patriot needed to be released from all these things!

The Lord Jesus Christ brought something new and they rejected it!

1Co 11:24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.

1Co 11:25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.

2Co_3:6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

Just as what happens to that "Born Again" child of God, we must be liberated from the claws of Satan, so we can be saved.

These Jews needed this same liberation from their own religion before they could be saved but they refused to allow this to happen.

They were bound by the laws they had written themselves and they could not keep themselves and they just could not see it.

Joh 7:19 Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me?

Joh 7:20 The people answered and said, Thou hast a devil: who goeth about to kill thee?

Joh 7:21 Jesus answered and said unto them, I have done one work, and ye all marvel.

Joh 7:22 Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers;) and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man.

Joh 7:23 If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day?

How did Jesus answer these accusations?

*****Joh 5:17 But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.

Joh 5:18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

There is little doubt that Jesus was saying that He was the Son of God and the Jewish Messiah!

We should all give this same answer, when asked.

God our Father is truly working every day to complete His plan of salvation, but we must not forget that God uses humans to do those things for Him.

Therefore since our Father is at work to complete the promises He has made to us, we should be at work doing the things He has called upon us to do! It is just that simple!

The Lord Jesus Christ is certainly the same as God, but in His ways while He was upon this earth, He is also our example of what we should be!

We cannot be Christian and reject the ways of Jesus Christ!

We cannot be Christian and reject any part of the Word of God!

We cannot be Christian and reject the Will of the Holy Spirit who abides within each Christian!

Jesus Christ speaks with authority because He is the Author of the Word of God and the Author of our salvation.

Heb_12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

The truth is when we are approached by Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, we must make a choice. We either accept what Jesus says or we reject Him as just some man.

Either way the choice we make is a choice about life! This opportunity might never come again!

And we must remember that these things Jesus did on the Sabbath did not change the truth of the Scriptures.

Jesus obeyed all the Laws of Moses but Jewish traditions are not part of God's Law!

The Lord said we needed one day each week to rest our bodies and worship the Lord.

The truth is, it is OK to do good things on the day of worship but again we must not just be trying to avoid Church!

Just because the world runs 24/7 does not mean God's people are supposed to.

Some do, because it means life or death. Others do it to make more money and miss the worship service for the wrong reasons.

When we get on up in years, we realize why the Lord said we need to rest one day each week!

Let us not forget Jesus, The Messiah is truly the God of the Bible!

We must also not forget that the theme of this piece of Scripture is "Obedience".

*****Joh 5:19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.

Jesus Christ cannot do anything differently from the Father, because they are the same person! We can say the same thing of the Holy Spirit(Ghost).

There is only one time there was any separation at all and it was when the Lord Jesus took on all the sin of the world, past, present and future.

Mar_15:34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

This onetime, Jesus said "my God" and not "My Father"!

Jesus did this in obedience to the Father and momentarily the human side of Jesus gave up the Ghost and He had already said no one could take His life and if He gave it up He would then take it back up again!

It could be said that the Father shows, the Son sees, and the Father purposes, and the Son executes.

Joh 8:28 Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.

Joh 8:29 And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.

This is the relationship our Father in Heaven is seeking from each of us!

*****Joh 5:20 For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.

Joh 5:21 For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.

Joh 5:22 For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:

Joh 5:23 That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.

Our Holy Father in Heaven is seeking those who will be obedient to Him, not out of fear but out of Love!

There was never one moment that the Father did not love the Son, the Father just cannot look upon sin!

The Father has the power to give life and so the Son will give life to all those that He chooses to do so!

The Lord Jesus cannot be constrained nor restrained from doing as He pleases!

Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Joh 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

No matter what the world says it is the Lord Jesus Christ who will judge this world at a time that He so chooses!

Jesus has already given us an approximate time when we will return to begin all these things and we are command to be watching for Him!

It is because we all are commanded to honor the Lord Jesus Christ that He will be the "Judge" of this world!

1Jn 2:21 I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.

1Jn 2:22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.

1Jn 2:23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.

1Jn 2:24 Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.

The truth means nothing if we do not abide in the truth!

*****Joh 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

Again Jesus says that it is very important that we understand these things just as it was very important that those Jews understood all these things!

It is wondrous knowledge to know that our soul will never see death!

We know that Jesus came to save all those who are lost.

Salvation can only come the hearing of His Word and applying those words to our life. It takes commitment and obedience to do this thing!

People will tell you that there are many ways to do this, but this cannot be true because we must do exactly as Jesus says. There is no other way!

Those that think there is another way to get to Heaven are worshiping a false god!

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Joh 14:7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

Those that disagree with what Jesus says here will never get to God's Heaven but those that do have faith in what Jesus says, will live eternally in God's Heaven or I should say in God's New Heaven!

Joh 6:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.

It should be obvious that this is a choice that we make for ourselves! God has already made His choice and God has already told us what He is going to do!

We must believe that God has sent His Son into this world to save those that truly believe what God says!

Amen.

Let's Pray!

Living Water

The Water of Life

Book of John Chapter 4:6-26

This is a story of truth where a woman who had lived a life of sin met the Lord Jesus Christ at a well in Samaria and seized on that opportunity to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus may not have ever passed by that way again and we should understand this today.

A great lesson for today is that the Lord Jesus Christ can save anybody, anywhere, at any time!

No soul is so lost that the Lord Jesus Christ cannot find it!

This woman would go unnoticed today because she would fit in to the things that are happening, where there is no commitment to marriage and couples choose to just live together as being married, free to leave at any time.

Our young people today are just afraid to make a commitment, yet a commitment must be made to the Lord before we can enter into God's New Heaven!

Jesus knows so much about all of us that He knows exactly what to say to us at any given moment and sometimes it only takes a very few words to lead someone to Christ.

Another great lesson we can learn from this passage is that as powerful as is the Lord, He will still accept a small gift, such as this drink of water from any of us!

Jesus and His disciples were traveling back to Galilee and took a short cut through Samaria which could be said to be the enemies of the Jews.

They at least had no respect for one another because the Samaritans were a people of mixed breeds.

Even today the world still frowns of mixed relationships that produce children of a new color. This is one of the greatest proofs of the Book of Genesis.

*****Joh 4:6 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.

Joh 4:7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.

We should understand that there is no one upon the face of this earth that does not need the Gospel!

It was about the 6th hour of the day which means it was high noon and the human side of Jesus was tired and thirsty. "Yes that earthly body of Jesus felt the same things that our bodies feel and we all get tired and thirsty!

Mat 8:17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.

The truth is, the Lord will always ask so He can get an opportunity to give!

God is always ready to bless us at any given moment and He offers many opportunities to get a blessing every day!

What is the truth of Jesus our Messiah?

He shared our infirmity, yet He had no sin.

He would accept human supplies to maintain His earthy body.

He would then because of His great love, surpass all human expectations!

This woman had walked about a half mile to get some fresh water from a well that was called Jacob's well because Jacob had dug this well many years before this day. This well was very near to the tomb of Joseph.

The Jews considered themselves a pure race then as most of them still do today.

They considered the Samaritans as mixed breeds because of what had happened when Assyria had over run the 10 Northern Tribes of Israel many years earlier.

Jesus Christ only sees souls in need of salvation. Jesus does not see the color of the skin and no, He is not color blind, He can very well tell what our skin color is, but this is irrelevant to Him!

The Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans.

*****Joh 4:8 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)

Joh 4:9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.

We should understand that the disciples of Jesus at this time did not understand the "Love of God" and had they not been sent to gather food they would certainly have attempted to interfere with the conversation that Jesus was having with this woman.

Her soul was much too important for her to be turned off by some who despised her.

The Jews would only deal with the Samaritans in business matters such as the markets of fresh foods that met the food laws of the laws of Moses.

The Samaritans had kept only the five books of Moses to live by and none other books of the Old Testament.

This woman took no time in noticing that Jesus was a Jew.

No matter what people say Jesus was born as a Jew, lived as a Jew and died as a Jew according to all the Laws of Moses.

Jesus raised from the dead because those laws of Moses cannot bring life and "New Life" comes by a New Covenant!

It was only when Jesus was raised from the dead that He had a glorified body that was not of this world!

Rom 1:3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;

Rom 1:4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:

By continuing in conversation with the Lord, this woman opened the door for Jesus to teach her the truth of God's Word.

*****Joh 4:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

Jesus immediately begins with "Grace" because of His love for each of us.

Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Just as each of us, this woman was unworthy to receive the gifts of God, yet there she was side by side with the Messiah and she did not know Him.

James the half-brother of Jesus said it this way.

Jas 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

The truth is, Living Water is alive and that "Living Water" can come only by the Lord Jesus Christ!

What is the truth of our world today? The world does not accept the precious gift of God, His Son, Jesus the Messiah!

In our world today, many want everything given to them and this is exactly what God does, He gives His gifts freely, but God does have one rule that cannot be avoided. God says if you do not work then you will not eat!

Jesus says, if you just knew the gifts of God, you could just ask, and they would be given to you!

Water is one of the two great necessities of life the other one is the air we breathe. Without these two things we would die very quickly, and we know that both these things can describe the work of the Holy Spirit!

This woman could not understand the truth because she was caught up in sin and immorality, which also describes our world of today!

We cannot “Passover” to the side of Jesus Christ until we know the truth of Jesus Christ!

Joh 7:37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.

Joh 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

Joh 7:39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

We might ask ourselves, why does the world think we need some part of this world in order to understand what the Lord is saying.

This woman said, you are not even equipped to draw any sort of water from this well.

This woman was thinking, that without her bucket, this man was not going to drink any water.

*****Joh 4:11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?

Joh 4:12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?

To this woman who knew that it was Jacob who had dug this well but even Jacob could not have guessed the number of blessings this well would provide to those near unto it and traveling strangers.

This considered, how could this stranger provide a greater blessing than that of Jacob who was a patriarch of the Jewish people but also of the Samaritans. The Samaritans only recognized the 5 books of Moses and this only loosely.

This woman insinuated that there was no water anywhere else in the world any better than the water of this well provided by the hands of Jacob the patriarch of all Israel.

This woman was already thinking a works religion when the Lord was offering the free "Gift" of "Grace".

Certainly Jesus was greater than Jacob!

Certainly Jesus was greater than Moses.

Certainly Jesus was greater than the Jonas.

Certainly Jesus was greater than Solomon.

Certainly Jesus was greater than Abraham.

Certainly Jesus was greater than the Temple.

And, Jesus is greater than the Church because He is the fountain of "Living Water". The "Grace" of God cannot flow except by the hands of Jesus Christ!

Jesus Christ knew the circumstances of this woman. Sometimes we can have this same feeling when we sense that the Preacher is preaching directly at us.

Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

Col 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

Jesus Christ must be preeminent in our lives before we can dig deep into that well of "Living Water"!

It is only Christ Jesus who can give the gift of "the water of life" which refers to the Holy Spirit.

All those who reject the Lord will drink of the "Lake of Fire"!

Rev 21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

Rev 21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

Rev 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death

So Jesus answers this woman, whoever drinks of this water that you hold in so high regard will always have to return for another drink.

*****Joh 4:13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:

Joh 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

You see it did not matter how much this woman esteemed the water from Jacob's Well, because in the end it was only water and water that was provided to meet the needs of these people not by Jacob but by the Lord!

To be at peace in this world, we need much more than water from some well, we need that "Living Water" that can come only by the Lord!

The one thing we understand about wells is that wells will eventually dry up.

But there is a fountain: Pro_14:27 The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.

What will be the difference with the way the Lord treats all people? Remember there are only the believer and the unbeliever.

Isa 65:13 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed:

Isa 65:14 Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit.

We all know how to quench our thirst but until you know the Lord your spiritual thirst cannot be quenched!

Today, especially among our young people there is a void in their lives and that void is spiritual thirst!

Suicides are up among all people especially are young because they cannot quench their spiritual thirst with the things of this world, no matter how much they think they should be given.

We must also understand that suicides are the highest among those children who have been coerced to think of themselves of as opposite sex from which they were born.

This world we live in is like salt water, the more you drink the more you want until you die of thirst because they have forsaken the Lord!

Joh 7:37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.

Joh 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

Once we drink of the fountain of the Lord we will never have a spiritual thirst again!

Do we need a refilling of the Holy Spirit every day, we sure do because we need His guidance and His protection not so much because we are athirst?

Isa 58:11 And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

The only wells we need to drink from are the waters of salvation!

Isa 12:2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.

Isa 12:3 Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.

And what did this woman say after Jesus explained the truth to her?

*****Joh 4:15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.

This woman had thought life was nothing, but a time of sensual enjoyment and she had become miserable living this life of lies.

There is no complete fulfillment in the things of this world, including sensual pleasure! This is why drugs are so popular.

We know that all of us have an inner thirst that in most cases we do not understand and like Solomon we try everything this world has to offer, and nothing in this world cannot supply things to fulfill that inner thirst!

Christ alone is the answer to all life's questions!

At this point this woman still had no respect for the Lord and we can just imagine as she said "ok smarty pants show me this water" so the Lord starts telling her things that He could not possibly have known if He was just a man.

*****Joh 4:16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.

Joh 4:17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:

Joh 4:18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.

We should know by now that the conviction of sin is by the Holy Spirit.

It should be obvious that this woman knew she was a dirty rotten sinner, but she thought that her past was hidden to the rest of the world!

Even the man she was living with now may not have known that she had been married 5 times, but the Lord knows everything about our lives and about our sin!

Heb 4:13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

If we do not see anything else surely, we can see the love of God for this poor woman.

Sin is like a life-threatening disease such as Cancer and as sinners, the cure seems to always too far from us.

This woman needed to be delivered from her sin, but she had to renounce that sin before this could take place.

This woman attempted to deny her sin by saying she did not have a husband, but the Lord saw straight through this partial truth.

Pro 28:13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

If Christ knows exactly how many hairs are on my balding head at any given moment, then we can be sure, Christ knew everything about this poor woman.

We must understand God keeps a record of everything we do.

Mal 3:16 Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.

Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

God has already heard every excuse made by the sinner who rejects the truth so, there will be no excuses at the White Throne of Judgment!

When we go before the Lord it makes no sense for us to hold back any detail of our sin because, He already knows, and He just wants us to understand if we know ourselves!

This woman had been married 5 times and this sixth man may have been the reason she was divorced from that 5th husband.

Someone who has been married 5 times will be the subject of many conversations but notice Jesus did not judge her at all and this poor woman responded with the truth, she was not married to the man she was living with at that time.

A certain man once wrote "an age in which divorce was easily allowed cannot be judged by the same rules as one of stricter principles".

Yet this is the age we live in today divorce is fairly easy to obtain but many today also choose to live together so they do not have to go through the pain of divorce.

If this woman was trying to make herself to be someone innocent, then this also failed because Jesus sees us for who we are because He knows all our thoughts!

The woman was astounded that the Lord knew everything about her past.

We should understand that there is not one thing we can hide from the Lord.

We are all sinners.

So, what do we do when we are in a conversation with someone who knows more about our lives than we do?

This is exactly what happens when we are in contact with the Lord.

We are guilty of every disobedience!

We are guilty of every law we break!

We are guilty of sin and condemned!

We must confess our sin!

Had this woman confessed all her sin, then there would have been no sin for Jesus to remember!

This woman recognized Jesus as a prophet but not yet as her Savior!

*****Joh 4:19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.

Joh 4:20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

It had been over 400 years since there had been a true prophet of God and the one since that time would have been John the Baptist whom this woman probably had never heard of.

In reality this woman changed the subject of her being a sinner into this man(Jesus) was a prophet.

If Jesus was a Prophet, then He would be sure to know the place of worship of the Samaritans on mount Gerizim.

She also knew that the Jews worshipped in Jerusalem, but she did not see Jerusalem as a better place to worship.

In essence she was saying "which one of us is right"?

We should never take this approach with the Lord!

Mount Gerizim was officially the Mount of Blessing for this was where Joshua blessed the children of Israel.

Many historical events had happened on and near this mountain and Gerizim is still to the Samaritans, what Jerusalem is to the Jews.

On this day of Jesus this one lady would begin to know the truth!

That truth is, true worship shall be no longer confined to any one place or to one nation!

*****Joh 4:21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.

Joh 4:22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.

We must understand that the place we worship is not important.

1) An hour was coming that would change the whole concept of worship. There would be a "new way" to approach the Living God.

2) On this hour a historical event would take place that would change the worship of Jehovah.

3) The people of God could worship God in any place and at any time!

By following the ways of the Samaritans, this woman had no idea about true worship.

It was not the worship of the Jews that was important, but Jesus Christ was a Jew, and therefore salvation is of the Jews.

In true worship our whole being must be focused on the One True Living God!

Rom 10:1 Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.

Rom 10:2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.

Rom 10:3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

Rom 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

The Jews were intended to be our example for the Church and this points out some things about our Lord.

God wants a people who will love Him above all other things and give Him their loyalty.

God wants a people who are unashamed to tell others how wonderful He is.

God wants a people through whom the Messiah will return.

God wants a people who will preserve the truth of the Word of God.

This was indeed what God wanted from the Jews and is now true of the Church!

The Jewish nation failed, and it is the Church in place now and the Church must not fail!

The Jewish nation is still the apple of God's eyes and is still the time piece for all prophecy to be fulfilled!

Jesus was a Jew and God took all the sin of the world and placed all that sin upon His Messiah so that sin could be done away with!

*****Joh 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

Joh 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

So how are the true worshippers described? All those who worship the Father in spirit and truth. All others will fail!

It is the Lord Jesus Christ who determines true worship! (In spirit and truth)

It is the Lord Jesus Christ who determines the place of worship. (In our heart, down deep in our soul).

Spiritual worship is to seek a close and personal fellowship with God. Resting in God's acceptance and God's peace.

True worship is to approach God in the right way and the right way is through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ!

Why? Because God is seeking all those who will worship Him in spirit and truth and they will spend eternity with Him and not any others!

Pro 16:1 The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.

Pro 16:2 All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.

Pro 16:3 Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.

Pro 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

Pro 16:5 Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.

To worship in truth means that God has dictated the only method of pleasing Him and that is the worship through His dear Son!

We must present our bodies to God for His use!

Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

This is the results of God's Living Water!

Amen

Let’s Pray