John 4:19-54 - Part A

Welcome to Connect with Skip Heitzig. We're glad you've joined us for today's program. When you do, you'll also receive Skip's weekly devotional email to inspire you with God's Word each week. So sign up today at ConnectWithSkip.com.

That's ConnectWithSkip.com. Now, let's get into today's teaching from Pastor Skip Heitzig. We're reading in John chapter 4, not the good Samaritan, but the good Savior, who is speaking to a Samaritan woman at the well who has come to draw water. Now, last week, we discovered a little bit about this gal. She's been around the block.

She's a little crusty by now. She puts on a clever sort of a facade, very cute little terse answers. She's been around men. She knows her way around men. And to her, this is just another man having another conversation at a well. She comes at noon rather than in the morning. She comes right at the middle of the day because the townspeople would come in the morning or in the evening.

So as not to mingle with them, probably because of her reputation, she comes at noon and there is Jesus. She's had a very interesting history with men. She's had five husbands in the past, married and divorced five times. And according to our Lord, who has insight into her character, she is living in an unmarried state, having a conjugal relationship with a man who is not her husband. They're living together, but it's not a sanctified relationship. They are not married. They're just living together.

And Jesus knows that. She doesn't know that he knows that until the highlight of the conversation. I've told you before about that very interesting woman who had not five but four husbands. And the first husband she married was a banker and she divorced him. The second husband she married was a movie star and she divorced him. The third husband she married was a preacher and she divorced him. And the fourth husband that she was married to was a mortician. And a friend said to her one evening, it's very interesting the lineup of men you have chosen to marry.

Why did you marry those men? She said, well, I married number one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready and four, the mortician, to go. I can never resist that stupid joke.

It's now become a part of me. And I always think of that joke when I deal with this woman. This woman has had five husbands, as I mentioned. I am sure that with each relationship she thought, this is it. This is the one that's going to quench my thirst. This is the one that's going to bring me satisfaction and fulfillment. Finally, I found the man.

Five have come and gone. She's given up on the institution of marriage altogether. She just thought, I'll enjoy the fringe benefits by just living in a conjugal relationship. But I won't be married. Perhaps at that point, nobody would marry her.

That is, in an official sense, perform the marriage for them. But she meets Jesus and she has an uh-oh moment with him. The uh-oh moment is when she goes, uh-oh, because she discovers this person I'm talking to knows more than he has let on. When he said, go call your husband. And she said, I don't have a husband. Jesus said, well, you're right.

Technically, you're right about that. You've had five in the past and you're now currently living with a man who is not your husband. Now, she had never met him before. She has no idea how this stranger has such intimate knowledge of her. And so she says to him, sir, I perceive that you're a prophet.

That was the uh-oh moment. I realize I am having a conversation with, dealing with, no ordinary person. This person is prophetic.

This person has insight into my deep past, my secrets. I've never met him before. I know he's a Jew.

He's not from around here. How on earth does he know? We discover that Jesus is not here by accident. But he deliberately chose to go through Samaria. Verse four tells us, but he needed to go through Samaria.

That's because he needed to get a hold of this woman's heart. And he wanted in turn to get a hold of the hearts of the other Samaritans in those villages, which he would do through her testimony, her witness. And so in verse 19, the woman said to him, sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. And she continues, our fathers worshiped on this mountain.

And we told you last week the history in the background, Mount Gerizim, that rival temple. And you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship. Jesus said to her, woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know. We know what we worship for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming and now is when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father is seeking such to worship him. God is spirit and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth. What does that mean to be a worshiper of God in spirit and in truth?

She was making it about geography. Mount Gerizim or Mount Zion, our temple or your temple, my church or your church. Jesus said geography is irrelevant. What's most important is that you worship in spirit and in truth. That is, for worship to be authentic worship, true worship, it has to be two things.

It has to be candid and it has to be credible. It has to be candid in spirit, that is, it's authentic, it's real, it's not fake, it's from the spirit. Now the spirit isn't the Holy Spirit here, if you notice in your Bible, it's not a capital S but a small s. That's because in spirit refers not to the Holy Spirit but to your spirit. Because in the Greek language, it is enneumati, enneumati, in spirit. There's no definite article before spirit, it's not in the spirit, which could refer to the Holy Spirit, it's just in spirit. So it's a reference to the human spirit, not the Holy Spirit, which means this. You and I are tripartite beings, there's three distinct parts to us, body, soul and spirit.

Your spirit has to be touched, it has to come from the core of you, it has to be real, it has to be authentic. It's you and the deepest part of you worshipping God, that's the idea of worshipping in spirit. You see, a person can worship on a physical level and even an emotional level but still not really be worshipping God. They can get all emotional and all hyped up and we would say, oh look, they're emoting in their worship, it's got to be authentic. Or physically, they're bowing down, their hands are raised, they're standing up. All of that is good and all of that is proper.

But you can do all of that and it can be just going through the motions that you think you have to go through. You see, Jesus said, well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites saying, these people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me. In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrine the commandments of men. So it has to be candid, it has to be real, it has to be something you are purposing in your own heart, your own spirit.

It's real for you, it's authentic. But then it has to be credible, it has to be based on truth, in spirit it says, and in truth. Real worship is more than sincerity or being earnest.

How many times have you heard people say, well, they're so sincere. And this woman worshiping at a different temple with a different worship system was worshiping sincerely but she was sincerely wrong. So it has to be based on truth, on knowledge. Look at verse 22. You worship what you do not know, we know what we worship for salvation is of the Jews. The Samaritans had the first five books of Moses, that's the only scripture they believed in. The rest of the prophets, the rest of the writings, they did not believe. So they didn't have the full revelation of scripture, which was the Old Testament at that time.

So it was an incomplete knowledge. And the scripture that they have, the first five books of Moses, they also twisted some of the stories around from the original. So we know that Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac on Mount Zion, Mount Moriah down in Jerusalem where the temple stood. But they changed the story saying that it was on Mount Gerizim that he sacrificed his son Isaac. They changed the scriptural story. So they had an incomplete knowledge base.

And by the way, failure to worship God authentically can always be traced back to an inadequate knowledge of God. You're listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before we return to Skip's teaching, we want to help you and the children in your life see the timeless story of Christ from cradle to cross with Nate Heitzig's new book, Christmas Under the Tree, told through the eyes of an unlikely character and graced with illuminating illustrations. This gripping tale is rooted in the limitlessness of Christ's love and helps young readers understand why Jesus left heaven to be born under and die upon a tree. This exciting resource, along with a companion audio experience, are available to you now as our way of saying thanks for your gift of $25 or more to reach more people with God's love through Connect with Skip Heitzig.

Go to connectwithskip.com slash offer or call 800-922-1888 and request your copy when you give. Now, let's get back to Skip for more of today's teaching. That's why sincerity is not enough. It has to be in spirit and in truth. It has to be candid and has to be credible, has to be based on the credible objective truth of the scripture. This is why I believe firmly that at the very heart of our worship must be expository expositional preaching and teaching.

It has to be there because if it is not there, you could just have all sorts of sincere thoughts about all sorts of wrong things and walk away feeling really great. Has to be based on spirit, but also truth. You know, in the book of Proverbs, it says, without a vision, my people will perish. Proverbs 29, without a vision, the people perish. And I've often heard that quoted by preachers saying, without a vision, the people perish. Therefore, let me give you my vision. Here's my vision.

Here's my desire. This is what I see the Lord doing in our midst. That is so out of context. It's one of the most out of context ways to apply a scripture there is. It does not mean let me share my vision with you. It literally means without a prophetic vision, the people perish or the people will wander and go astray. Be led astray, be untethered is the idea in the Hebrew. And it's speaking of God's word, a vision of prophetic revelation without God's clear word.

God's people will languish and will perish. So our father, she says, worshiped on this mountain. You Jews say Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.

Jesus said, woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem worship the Father. See, it's not about where you worship, as I mentioned last week, it's about whom you worship. And let me just reiterate again, the mistake, the error many people make is that God will be near or God will be far in terms of space or location. This is why people make pilgrimages to Rome or pilgrimages to Jerusalem or pilgrimages to Mecca or pilgrimages to Chimaio. God is near or far because that space is a holy space. And if I go to that place and make that pilgrimage and touch that relic, God will be near.

I learned a valuable lesson years ago when I was single living in an apartment in Santa Ana, California. Flea bitten, cockroach bitten, but it held my surfboards and a couch that I slept on. It was perfect for me. I wanted to feel the presence of God. And so I went to Israel.

And I went there to work on a kibbutz and I lived there, but I had the opportunity to visit Jerusalem. And I remember going into the Garden of Gethsemane and I had heard stories. Well, when you go into the Garden of Gethsemane, just it's going to come upon you. You know, you're going to just be like transformed and some magical things happen. So I remember going to the Garden of Gethsemane and just sitting there going, oh, yeah, come on. OK, Lord. After a while, I'm looking at my watch going, I wonder if the Lord got the appointment right.

He's a little late for this thing. And I remember walking away feeling utterly disappointed that I didn't have some surreal experience being moved out of my being. But I do remember going back home and sitting with my open Bible in my little flea-bitten apartment in Santa Ana. And one night after being in Israel, I opened my Bible and had a time of fellowship with the Lord. Oh, did I feel the intimacy and warmth and closeness with the Lord, not in Gethsemane, but in Santa Ana, of all places. If you know the place, you can laugh legitimately at it.

But I was making a mistake that the Lord will be near if I make that special pilgrimage. Now, in the same way, people get used to worshipping in a place, their place. When we left our first meeting place, the Lakes Apartments, and we moved to the movie theater on Sunday morning, I remember people saying, it's not the same. There's just something special in that clubhouse. I'm going, the smell of beer? I mean, I'm trying to think. People were partying and I don't know what you think is so special, but they thought it was so special.

And every time we moved to new locations, even this location, oh, it's not the same as the old. And when somebody takes your seat, gets and sits in your seat, you've come a little bit later. I mean, you think, you do think this. They're sitting in my seat. That's not their seat. I always, that's where God speaks to me, in that seat. And you're thinking those thoughts, get out of my seat.

I want to sit there so God can speak to me. But Jesus is saying, it doesn't matter where. What really matters is whom and how. You need the right God and the right manner in spirit and in truth.

The time is coming and now is. God is spirit. Verse 24. Those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth. The woman said to him, I know that Messiah is coming, who is called Christ.

When He comes, He will tell us all things. You know, she's saying, well, you know, this is the right place. You Jews say that is the right place. Jesus said, first of all, you're ignorant about this. We know what we worship. Salvation is of the Jews and the place doesn't matter. And she goes, well, you know what?

Let's not argue. When the Messiah comes, He'll sort this whole thing out. So you know she was surprised by the next statement of Jesus. Jesus said to her, I who speak to you am He.

It's the uh-oh moment. Not only does this stranger know everything about me, this stranger claims to be the Messiah whom I am expecting. Question, why were the Samaritans expecting the Messiah?

That's a Jewish thing, right? Samaritans have a rival worship system, a rival temple. Only first five books of Moses because in the first five books of Moses, in the fifth book, Deuteronomy chapter 18, it says, God will send another prophet like Moses that the people will hear.

They knew that. They took that to mean Messiah. So there was an expectation even among Samaritans Messiah is coming.

I who speak to you am He. At this point, His disciples came and they marveled that He talked with a woman. Yet no one said, what do you seek or why are you talking with her? The woman then left her water pot, went her way into the city and said to the men, before you read what she said to the men, notice what she left, her water pot. Why was she even there? To get water, right? To get water. She brought her water pot to fill it up. That was the purpose of her journey. She now leaves the very thing she came to take back filled with water.

Why? Because something just happened. Something just happened. She was touched in a way. She's drinking from a well of water that is satisfying her thirst.

Just in this little encounter that's greater even than the water she came to fetch. She left it. Now she's on a mission. Watch this. She said to the men, come see a man who told me all things I ever did.

Could this be the Christ? Now she tells them what happened. She tells them about this man.

You're going to see how it affects them in the story. One person having one conversation, one encounter with Jesus will go out and be a spokesperson. Never underestimate the one conversation you have with the person. You walk away from the conversation and go, oh, that's not going to do much good.

There's no hope for them. Nothing's going to come of this. Over the years, I've come to see the conversations I've had in the past with people I never thought would come to Christ, that those people have come to Christ because of that conversation, and they tell me years later about it. Never underestimate how the Lord is using the seeds you are planting, the words you are speaking, the truth that you are sowing. The Lord Jesus Christ is going to be honored in Samaria by the testimony of this woman. She's the catalyst here.

You're going to see it. Many, it says, will believe in Jesus because of her word, her testimony, her witness. I don't know what your idea of successful evangelism is. But most people would say, well, you know, if we had the budget and we could fill stadiums filled with people and bring in bands and have the gospel preached and call people to Christ, that is how we will win the world. And that has been a way, a wonderful way that God has used to spread the gospel. And I am all for it.

I'm all for it. But, you know, I read something by evangelism explosion that sort of changed my thinking a little bit. They put out these statistics. If you could fill a stadium of people every night of the week, every week of the year for 35 straight years, and every night you had 50,000 people in that stadium, and every night you had 1,000 people coming to Christ, which is about the typical percentage. It's about a 5% yield in stadium evangelism. 5% of the crowd will come forward to receive Christ.

So let's say you could fill a stadium of 50,000 people every night, different people. Every night 1,000 people come to Christ every night, every week, every year for 35 years. By the time you're done in 35 years, if you had that kind of budget, when you're done and all those thousands of people come to Christ, you will be at the time you are done with the 35 years further behind the task of world evangelization than the day you started.

You heard what I just said. You will be further behind it, and that is because the exponential birth rate. People are being born on the earth so that if you look at the ratio, the percentage of saved souls in the world after that kind of evangelism, you'd be further behind. The same report said if there were no Christians on the earth and you were the only one, and in one year you led one other person to Christ so that after one year there were two believers, and at the end of year two, those two believers personally led somebody to Christ, so after two years there's four believers.

After year three, eight, and then 16, and then 32 and 64. By the end of 35 years, there would be no more unbelievers left. The world would be one to Christ.

Isn't that interesting? We're glad you've joined us today. Before you go, remember that when you give $25 or more to help reach more people with the gospel through Connect with Skip Heitzig, we'll send you Nate Heitzig's new children's book, Christmas Under the Tree, which includes a companion audio experience. Just in time for Christmas, this book will help young readers understand why Jesus left heaven to be born under and die upon a tree.

To request your copy, call 800-922-1888 or visit connectwithskip.com slash donate. Come back next time for more verse-by-verse teaching of God's word here on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Make a connection, make a connection at the foot of the cross and cast all burdens on His word. Make a connection, connection. Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of Connection Communications, connecting you to God's never changing truth in ever-changing times.