John Chapter 4:15-23

And one thing I've found, you know, you'll find people that will argue theology, doctrine, end times events, eschatology.

They will argue all these things. But you know, there's one thing that people can't argue with, and that's what God has done in your life. See, that's why your testimony is such a powerful thing. And whether you were involved, you know, with drugs and alcohol and sexual misconduct, or maybe you were just lonely and unfulfilled, but God changed your life. He filled you with a love that you didn't have before.

He filled you with a forgiveness that you didn't have before. And you know what? You can testify of that, and people, they can doubt it if they want to, but they won't argue with you about it because you can say, you know what?

I know. I know what Jesus, my Jesus has done in my life. And this lady says, you know what? If this is the deal, if this is Christianity, I want it. Welcome to Cross the Bridge with David McGee. David is the senior pastor of The Bridge in Kernersville, North Carolina. Today, Pastor David continues teaching through John chapter 4 with the message, give me a drink. We're also excited to have in the studio with us, D.A. Brown, one of David's associate pastors.

Welcome, brother. Bob, God wants us to be so excited about what He's doing in our life that it overflows and encourages us to tell other people about what He's doing and how exciting it is, and they can have it too. Now here's David McGee with part three of his teaching, give me a drink. And we're dealing with the Samaritan woman at the well, and Jesus is saying, you know, whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I'm wanting to give him will never thirst again. And He's ministering to this woman, and there's just so many great truths in here. Verse 15, the woman said to Him, sir, give me this water that I may not thirst nor come here to draw.

Now we've seen before this that the woman tries to be divisive, and she's going to try again. But you notice that Jesus avoids this stuff and wants to minister her and meet her where her need is. And when He offers this living water, it appeals to her.

She says, I want this living water. See, I think sometimes when we're witnessing, sometimes when we're talking to people about the Lord and they say no, I think they've said no to the wrong question. We've asked them if they can try harder. We've asked them if they can do better. We've asked them if they can clean up their life so they can come to God. And they honestly say, no, I can't do that.

But see, we haven't really presented them with the good news. And one thing I've found, you know, you'll find people that will argue theology, doctrine, end times, events, eschatology. They will argue all these things. But you know, there's one thing that people can't argue with, and that's what God has done in your life. See, that's why your testimony is such a powerful thing. And whether you were involved, you know, with drugs and alcohol and sexual misconduct, or maybe you were just lonely and unfulfilled, but God changed your life. He filled you with a love that you didn't have before.

He filled you with a forgiveness that you didn't have before. And you know what? You can testify of that. And people, they can doubt it if they want to, but they won't argue with you about it because you can say, you know what?

I know. I know what Jesus, my Jesus has done in my life. And this lady says, you know what? If this is the deal, if this is Christianity, I want it. And I wonder if sometimes that we misrepresent the Lord in this, come on and try a harder thing. I think we do.

If we let people know, you know what? You can be forgiven by turning to the Lord and He will begin to change your life. So often we say, well, you know, you change your life and then come to the Lord. Guys, that's not the gospel. And maybe you're sitting there going, well, yeah, but didn't this just semantics and details? No, absolutely not.

Because unless somebody is empowered by the Holy Spirit, they can't change their life. That's like, you know, whatever analogy you want to use, you know, you don't clean fish before you catch them, right? You catch the fish and then you clean them. Or my favorite is you don't get cleaned up to take a shower, right?

Please say you don't. If you do call the church, we'll try to help. But why? Because the shower cleans you. See, when you come to God, God begins to work in your life. God begins to change your life.

God begins to clean your life, but not before. And this appeals to the lady. She's probably anxious. She's dissatisfied. And that's the way the world is. They're anxious and dissatisfied. And simply by walking in love and contentment, do you understand what a witness that is? How that appeals to people?

If you live out your life in front of them like that, they'll be like, well, there's something different about you. What is it? I want it. And it gives an opportunity. Because this lady was looking for, she'd never been satisfied. Not really satisfied. She probably had moments of physical satisfaction, but guys, you can't find spiritual satisfaction in physical acts.

It just doesn't happen. Now I know the flesh cries out for all sorts of things that'll hurt you, but it never brings lasting satisfaction. And see, this is what we need to be telling people about. How Jesus has changed us, how dissatisfied and discontented we were before we met him. That's what we need to be speaking to him about and how awesome it is to walk with the Lord. So off the bat, our first life lesson, we need to tell people how awesome it is to walk with Jesus. You know, sometimes what happens is we begin to talk to people about how messed up our church is, about this, about that, about the other, about why does the pastor have to wear weird shirts like he does or whatever your thing is. And then we go to tell them about Jesus and they're looking at our lives and going, you know what? You don't seem that happy. Or worse yet, some of the testimonies I've heard where guys go, well, you know, before I came to the Lord, I was making six figures, working on wall street and had everything made, had all sorts of nice stuff. And then God got ahold of me and I lost it all. And I hope I make it through my long and miserable life. Praise God. Don't you want to join me? And people are like, don't think so. Appreciate it though.

Again, they're saying no to the wrong questions. I mean, what, you know, when I hear a testimony like that, I think, you know, what part of hell and death and bitterness and anger do you miss? I don't miss any of it. I'm glad I've been born again.

I'm glad I got a fresh start. Verse 16, Jesus said to her, go call your husband and come here. Jesus had to present this question to her. Jesus knew. He had to present the question to her because it led to the sin issue. He had to present the sin question. And see, that's a thing that's necessary because if somebody's not convicted, they can't lead them to salvation. But guys, conviction is done marvelously by the Holy Spirit. And I think sometimes people get carried away and they use a sledgehammer when a feather would do.

I know I've been guilty of that, but He does present the problem. And see, guys, let's be honest. I was born and raised in the South. My family's been here 280 years in this area, but the South is religious. There's a lot of people that are very religious that don't know Jesus and they're bitter and they're hurting and they think they're okay. And that makes it even more important to present this sin question to them. See, if you did an exit poll in churches this morning, a lot of people exiting the church, if you said, hey, are you going to heaven?

Oh, you betcha. Well, why do you know that? Well, because I'm basically a good person. The scripture says there's no good people. Romans 3 10, Romans 3 23. Oh, I've kept most of the 10 commandments. Oh, you know what I mean? God grades on a curve kind of thing.

No, I don't think so. See, there's a standard, sinless perfection. We're all under that.

Even on your best day, friend, you don't hit sinless perfection and neither do I. And that's the bad news. And that's what we need to realize.

And we need to present to people. And it's interesting because the only time this is an issue is with religious people. See, I've never went to witness to somebody coming out of a concert with their eyes all red and dazed and them say, I'm not really a sinner, dude. They know they're a sinner. I have argued and discussed it with people coming out of churches, sadly enough. And so Jesus has to deal with this and he interacts with her and he interacts.

Notice his sensitivity. He interacts with this woman very differently than he did with Nicodemus in the chapter before. And I think today still probably the biggest enemy of the reality of Jesus Christ is the emptiness of religion.

And if it breaks my heart to think that people all over the triad are sitting in churches where they're not going to hear the salvation message, think of what it does to God's heart. In verse 17, the woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said to her, you have well said I have no husband. For you have had five husbands and the one whom you now have is not your husband. And that you spoke truly. So this woman had been married five times and was presently living with a man who wasn't her husband.

But it's interesting to see in these verses what Jesus does and what Jesus does not do. You see, this is the end of him discussing her sin with her. It's that brief. She knows. She knows he knows. And it's enough said. Notice he doesn't go, well, yeah, five husbands. Well, let's talk about the first one.

His name was Sam. Let's see what you did wrong there so we might learn something from your mistakes. This is probably going to be about a five-week process as we go and dig up all the dirt and everything that you've done wrong so we can sift through it and examine it. Paul said forgetting those things which are behind us. And if God's word says that, how dare anybody try to drudge up, much less find answers in the past in the past where you've made mistakes. Now, I know this flies in the face of a lot of even Christian counseling where they want to go back and see why you were messed up.

Let me save you a lot of time and a lot of energy and money and all sorts of things. You messed up because you were a sinner. I mean, you may want to blame somebody else, but that's the reality of the situation. Now, the good news is you don't have to be tied down and in bondage to that. You can be set free. But something had happened with this woman.

And with that one statement, Jesus said, you know what? I know. I know.

You don't have to tell me I know. He saw into her life. He saw that probably as a little girl, she dreamed about her prince charming her husband and living an awesome life with a family and something went wrong.

Something happened. Her first husband probably didn't love her as he should, and she probably didn't love him as she should, and it failed. She took some of those failures into the next relationship and into the next relationship. Instead of kind words, there were bitter words. Loving looks were exchanged for hateful glares.

Things just kept falling apart and getting worse. Pretty soon, she probably had so many scars that it was hard to feel anything at all. And she'd probably gotten to the point where she just hurt. She was walking in pain, and certainly we talked about she was in the desert at midday at the well when she knew nobody else would be there because she didn't want to see anybody else.

She'd gotten tired of the exchange with anybody. Now, I would imagine that probably her popularity with the men made her very unpopular with the women anyway who would be at the well. And somehow, the stranger that was at the well seemed to understand, seemed to know.

And here at the well, in the hot midday sun, when she thought nobody was going to be there, she finally found the man she was looking for that had the love and the understanding and the compassion. You know, I may have just described some ladies in here this morning. You've been through a lot of pain. You've been through a lot of suffering. You've been through a lot of disillusionment. And you've been disappointed.

But you know what? You can meet the man this morning that you really need in your life more than any other man. He's here.

You found the man. We'll be right back with more from David McGee on Cross the Bridge. Right now, here's a word from associate pastor D.A.

Brown. Amen. Thank you, brother. And now, let's get back to David McGee as he continues teaching verse by verse. It doesn't say he fell to the ground.

It doesn't say his eyes rolled up in his head as he said, I'm getting something. He quietly used the gift to minister to the lady. And you know what? I believe that's the proper use of spiritual gifts right there. See, so often, we think spiritual gifts, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are for this flamboyant display.

And certainly, I've seen some in my days. But they're for the ministering to the body of Christ. And when they're used in that way, it's a beautiful thing. When they're used with this excess and flamboyant, it makes people run from any sort of experience with the Holy Spirit, which is sad. And Jesus didn't use this gift to validate his ministry or to prove to somebody or show to somebody how spiritual he was. He used it to minister to this lady.

And I love what Donald Gee said. He said, the Holy Spirit is like the steam in a train. A lot of people think the steam is for the whistle. Steam's not for the whistle.

The steam is what drives the train. So she tries to start an argument, starts another argument to stir up trouble. But notice in the next verses, Jesus completely avoids the controversy. Man, this is really good for me to hear, to be honest, because I'm at a point in my Christian life where, you know, if somebody says something about a scripture, I have the God-given ability to whip out my two-edged sword and to whittle them down to a toothpick. But that's hardly ever the thing that I'm supposed to do. I'm supposed to minister to them in love. I'm supposed to tell them and show them the truth and show them that they can be forgiven.

They can know love. And I would suggest that you see the same thing in this, because she's digging up an argument that had been waging for 700 years. That was that the Samaritan people worshiped in Mount Gerizim and the Jewish people worshiped in Jerusalem. And so she was going for a pretty hot argument. And I remember, and I've shared it before, but I want to encourage you guys, you know, there was a time I started witnessing to a guy and he was right on the verge and then we all of a sudden started talking about prophecy.

A few minutes later, he walked off. An older man standing there said, you know, you had him right at the edge of saying a prayer and you lost him because you wanted to win the argument. And I learned something that day.

It was a painful lesson, but I learned it. And notice she tries to pick up this religious argument to smokescreen her sin. Aren't you glad none of us ever do anything like that? Amen or on me? No, we do that. We do that all the time. We would much rather talk about these weird, deep things than what we're dealing with in our life. Now, even as pastor, you know, I enjoy some of the deep theological, you know, author pink sovereignty of God and all these other things, but you know what? Man, I'm still working on that love thy neighbor thing.

It's the simple things that we need to pick up and remember and chew on. So life lesson two, do not let your religious arguments keep you from dealing with your sin. You know, one way that we run from our sin, it's going to sting just a little bit, sting just a little bit by finding something wrong in the church.

And somehow we think magically that just takes away all our problems. Like, you know, I used to go to church, but I found that there were, there were hypocrites in there. Well, what did you expect? I mean, did you really think you were going to go into a building where everybody was perfect? Let me ask you a question.

How do you get in a building like that? They certainly wouldn't have let me in this morning if that's what was going on here, but we come up with these religious excuses. It's because we don't want to deal with our sin. And when we're discussing with other people, they want to mention these things too, but don't be, don't be persuaded. Don't be distracted and realize something guys, you know what?

And let's be honest. It's scary for me when I come face to face with a holy God with my imperfections. And it's meant to, because in that moment of fear, I realize I need a Messiah.

I need a savior. And understand when you're talking to somebody about the Lord, there's going to be a scary moment in that conversation for them as well. As they realize that God is holy, God is righteous, and they're not. Verse 21, Jesus said to her, woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem worship the Father. You worship what you do not know. We know what we worship for salvation is of the Jews. Now, again, this woman wants to start a religious argument.

Jesus just, do you think Jesus could have blown her away with his scriptural knowledge? Oh, you betcha. Did he? No. Guys, we need to learn a lesson from that.

We need to see that. And he says, salvation is of the Jews. Oh man, why would he say such a thing? It's the truth. You see, sometimes we forget, and certainly in my upbringing in religious environments, they failed to mention some of these things. I was probably in my 20s before I realized, you know, cause I'd always heard the Jews killed Jesus. The Jews killed Jesus. It was late in life though I realized, wait a minute, Jesus was a Jew. I didn't know.

I mean, that may sound funny to you or you may be going, no. Yeah, he was. This was a Jewish Messiah from the Jewish homeland with Jewish disciples fulfilling the prophecies of the Jewish Hebrew scriptures. Salvation is of the Jews. Now praise God, you know, you can read Paul's writings and Romans were grafted in, but we also should not boast against the branches that were pruned. We should pray.

We should pray for Israel and we support missionary organizations there. But to not understand the Jewish roots of Christianity is to walk in ignorance. You really need to discover what the Hebrew scriptures say, what the Old Testament says. Some, I've heard some Christians arrogantly say, well, we don't need the Old Testament. Well, why do we carry it around in our books then? And why does that passage say all scripture is given? It doesn't say the New Testament's given.

It says all scripture is given to benefit us, to help us to mature up in the body of Christ. Now, let me go ahead and mention it. Am I saying that we are to embrace Jewish people? You bet you. Are we to pray for Jewish people?

You bet you. Are Jewish people saved if they reject Messiah? No, they are not. They need Jesus just like everyone else. But a lot of damage has been done by Protestants and by Christians in the name of Jesus to these people. And verse 23 says, 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.

What an awesome concept. Jesus is, He's saying, you know what, we're going to do away with this whole Jerusalem thing. So this Jerusalem, Gerizim thing, that's going to be a non-issue. But what the Lord is looking for is for people to worship Him in spirit and in truth. Now, I believe firmly we're supposed to come together as an assembly, fellowshiping with one another. And Hebrews chapter 10, verse 25 tells us, not forsaking the assembly of ourselves together as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another and so much the more as you see the day approaching. So, you know, stay in fellowship. This doesn't mean that you worship outside of a body of believers that you're committed to. I think you're supposed to be committed to a body of believers. It's one of the easiest things that you can do to give you strength in your spiritual life, worship in spirit and in truth. You realize worship doesn't require music? It doesn't require music. I got a good friend, Richie Ferre, who he's in the Rock and Roll Hall of Shame in the Hall of Fame.

I'm kidding. And he tells us, it's a beautiful story. Years ago, he was at a pastor's conference and sitting there and Pastor Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel Coast of Mesa looked at him and said, Richie, would you lead us in a few songs? And Richie looked around and he said, Pastor Chuck, I don't have a guitar with me.

And Pastor Chuck just kind of looked at him, leaned his head back and started singing. See, we don't need music to worship. Now, music is helpful to worship. If you don't have worship CDs, you need to get some and play them in your house, play them in your car, because they can help you to refocus and worship the Lord.

But look at this. The Father is seeking such to worship Him. Friend, do you know for sure that your sins have been forgiven?

You can know right now. I want to lead you in a short, simple prayer, simply telling God you're sorry and asking Him to help you to live for Him. Please pray this prayer with me out loud right now. Dear Jesus, I believe you died for me, that I could be forgiven. And I believe you were raised from the dead, that I could have a new life. And I've done wrong things. I have sinned and I'm sorry. Please forgive me of all those things. Please give me the power to live for you all of my days. In Jesus name.

Amen. Friend, if you prayed that prayer, according to the Bible, you've been forgiven. You've been born again. Jesus said He would not turn anybody away who comes to Him.

And He came for those people who knew they needed forgiveness, those who were sick, not the righteous. So congratulations, friend. You just made the greatest decision that you will ever make. God bless you. If you prayed that prayer with David for the first time, we'd love to hear from you. You can visit crossthebridge.com to receive our First Steps package with helpful resources to help you begin your walk with Christ.

Or you can write to Cross the Bridge at P.O. Box 12515, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 27117, and share how God is working in your life. Well, DA, before we go, what are some ways that we can bless our listeners? Each day, you can wake up with encouragement from Pastor David through the Word of God with his email devotional, life lessons to consider, a daily reading plan, and a thought to meditate on throughout your day from the heart of David McGee. That sounds good, Pastor DA.

And again, it's been great to have you with us on the program today. But tell us, what else can our listeners find on crossthebridge.com? If you're not able to make it to your home church this Sunday, why not join us for our live stream at 10 a.m. Eastern time, or on Thursday nights at 7 p.m. Eastern time? Just visit crossthebridge.com and click on our live stream link. There, you'll experience a live service from David's home church, The Bridge, in North Carolina. Again, that website is crossthebridge.com. Thanks again for listening, and join us next time as David McGee continues teaching verse by verse in the Gospel of John.