We all can use some encouragement, and we'll find it together today in the Bible-based preaching of Dr. Don Wilson. Here on the Friday edition, we continue in the book of John, chapter 4, opening God's Word to discover the hamster to this particular query. What is the greatest drink ever taken?
That's the message today, the greatest drink ever taken. We'll find out more from Dr. Wilson on that in just a moment. Again, we're headed to John, chapter 4, as we study the Word together, but we're also headed to the phones and online to connect with you. If you'd like to connect keyboard to keyboard, we do that at www.tewonline.org. That's www.tewonline.org, or on the phone at 866-899-WORD. Jot it down, store it in your cell, 866-899-9673. We would love to connect with you.
And now, Dr. Don Wilson. You're going to need your Bibles today, and we're going to be in John's Gospel in chapter 4, so just get your Bibles ready. I'll be reading from God's Word in just a moment. I'm going to ask a somewhat rather silly question, so if you'll beg my pardon, I'm going to ask it anyway.
Are you ready? Has anybody within the sound of my voice ever really been thirsty? Now, some of you are going to say, of course I've been thirsty, and I'm going to tell you chances are that you don't know what it means to be really thirsty.
Not in America. Now, that doesn't mean to say that you and I die of thirst every now and again, but we have so much at our fingertips, don't we? We've been blessed. Do you know you go and read stories about what is happening, some of the atrocities in Africa? You think about the refugees in the Darfur region of the Sudan and stories about boys and girls fleeing for their lives and people getting butchered and travelling long, hard distances across barren and arid lands with literally nothing. Those people know what it means to be thirsty.
Well, I'm going to be a little somewhat forward today, and I'm going to tell you that I really believe I know what it means to be really thirsty. I found myself in a rather interesting part of Africa. I became involved in the Angolan Civil War that was raging in Africa.
It was many years ago, but I have vivid memories of those days. And I remember on one occasion being dropped by a helicopter in a place right between the Kalahari and the Namib deserts of central southwest Africa. Now, I don't want to give you a lesson in geography, but if you can picture the lower portion of Africa like that coming down to southern Africa, the nation of Angola sits here on the Atlantic seaboard side.
It's a very large country. And then right next to it is what was known as the Belgium-Congo. And after the decolonization of Africa, I became a Butu Sesosek who took power there while I lived in that region and set up a tyrannical regime. They became known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, commonly known as Zaire.
Some of you will remember the Rumble in the Jungle with Muhammad Ali and George Foreman many years ago in Kinshasa, the capital city of Zaire. And then over to the right-hand side, the upper portion of the right-hand side is Zambia. A man by the name of Kenneth Kaunda was the president there for many, many years. And right now just below Zambia gets Zimbabwe, formerly known as Southern Rhodesia. Some of you will remember UDI, the Unilateral Declaration of Independence in 1965 and the uprising there and the major war that broke out that we were all involved in. And the crack salute scouts and all the things that went on during that time. Prime Minister Ian Smith and all the negotiations that were going on with Great Britain.
At that time, Prime Minister Harold Wilson. And then to the right side of Zimbabwe, a country that today is ruled with a tyrannical regime under the leadership of a man by the name of Robert Mugabe. And Zambia to Zimbabwe that we call Zim is in probably the worst condition.
What is going on there today is just horrific. And over to the right side, you get Mozambique with its capital at Maputo, and I've spent a lot of time there. And there was a massive war that was raging there with the Freilemo terrorist organization under a man by the name of Samora Michelle. And then you get South Africa with its independent republics of Swaziland, Basutu land which became Lesotho when it became independent. And then to the north of that, the little kingdom or country republic of Botswana. The leader there for many years was a man by the name of Sir Soretsi Kama, ruled Botswana for many years, massive game reserves there. I want to go some of the best game reserves in the world, you go to Botswana today. And then over to the extreme left, you get the nation of Namibia. Back in my day, it was called South West Africa.
And really is a barren and desolate land, mostly desert. And I remember the day when six of us in one squadron were dropped by helicopter and full pack and I had about a hundred pounds on my back carrying machine gun and various other things. And we landed in a remote place and they dropped us off and basically what they said to us, gentlemen, you're on your own. We're going to teach you how to survive in a place where you cannot survive. And the one thing that we didn't have, we didn't have very much food and we had no water. And I tell you that was the biggest challenge of my life. I remember one time going for seven days without one drop of water and it'll drive you insane.
You can't imagine what you begin to think about and how your body begins to react. And so we were forced by necessity to try to find water and we became, we struck up a relationship with a clan of Bushmen. Bushmen are little indigenous people, great hunters, or they can hunt with the bow and arrow like you can't imagine.
They can hit a buck running at 60 miles an hour. Give me a shotgun and it'll take me all day to hit him one time and they hit him with this little rustic bow and arrow that they make and they make poisons out of some of the roots that they get out of some of the trees and they mix them up and they shoot these animals at full run and they know how to stalk and they know how to live off the land. I remember them showing us a little cactus plant. You get it and you knead it in your hand like that and eventually one tiny itty bitty little drop of water will run down your thumb. Now folks, I know this sounds somewhat desperate, but I can remember standing there like that, that one drop was like I was going to the beacon for a whole gallon of sweetened iced tea. I mean this was, my whole life depended on it and just one drop on my tongue in an entire day felt like I'd drunk a gallon of water.
That's how desperate I was for something to satisfy my thirst. Those bushmen taught us a lot of things. You see out there in Africa folks, there are thousands of baboons. A baboon is a very vicious and wild creature. They're everywhere. They won't ever attack you, but don't ever mess with them. Don't get on their turf. They're vicious. They've got fangs as long as that. And they are ugly looking creatures. Some of you say, I know I'm married to one.
No, I didn't say that. Now folks, let me tell you about baboons. Baboons love to drink water. So guess what the bushman told us to do? Find yourself a baboon, capture him and follow him and he will take you to what? Water.
Doesn't matter where you are. So now we've got a problem on our hands, don't we? Have you ever tried to capture a baboon? Anyone here?
No. Well folks, here's what we did. In the army, we were given army issue bully beef. I don't even know how to describe it, but it was probably packed 25 years before we actually ate it. And it was a can of something that you ate. And if you didn't eat it, you could take it out and throw it at someone and it would kill them anyway. So it had a kind of a dual purpose. Some of the men are looking at me saying, I remember.
Isn't that right, Jess? I'll tell you. So we took one can of bully beef and we cut a little hole in the top and we tied it to something. And we waited about three o'clock in the morning. We heard him come.
Biggest baboon I've ever seen in my life. And he came along. He smelt that food, folks. Baboons will find food.
Doesn't matter where it is. And he came along. First thing he did, stuck his whole hand inside that can.
Guess what? He wouldn't let it go. And his hand was stuck. All he had to do was let go. That's all he had to do. He was a free man.
He held on. Army issued tarpaulins that we all carried in the desert because of the scorpions. The scorpions were deadly and we knew how to counter these and the puff adders and the cobras and all the other animals and reptiles that were rather interesting. And so we took two of these little tarpaulins and the six of us pounced on this baboon. It was an interesting time. Boy, I wish they had video cameras back then.
I didn't even know what they were. And we pounced on him and we took him into captivity. I mean, we had us a hostage, folks. We tied that puppy up. He was growling, snarling, spitting, carrying on. We tied him up, had his hands behind his back. And there he was just looking at me.
His eyes were saying, boy, if I get out of this, you're in trouble, big boy. You know what we gave him for the rest of the night? Salt tablets. Army issued salt tablets.
They were about that big. And we just every now and again popped a salt tablet down. He didn't mind what it was. They eat anything, folks.
Doesn't matter what it is. He never said that salt. I'm not going to eat that. He ate the salt. By the time the sun came up at 4.15 in the morning, that puppy's tongue was the size of his entire head. I mean, he had a thirst on him, something horrible. And I didn't even have any Gatorade to give him. I mean, he was sitting there. His tongue was out of his mouth and he had water written all over his face.
Well, here comes the next step. We untied him, but we stationed ourselves strategically across the desert. Guess what that baboon did when we untied him? He took off like you can't imagine, folks, like a beeline. And we followed after him. It was one of the most difficult runs I've ever made with steel helmets and all the stuff wrapped around us. And we went over hill and down dale, finally came over this big dune, man, and there it was, the smallest little oasis in the middle of a desert.
Can't explain it. And there was a little bubble of water that came up from wherever it came up from. And that baboon boy, he was going 100%.
I mean, his tongue was hanging out here. He said, I don't care who's in line, what's in line, I'm going to drink. And as he got to the water, we shot him. Folks, I'm trying to tell you, we were desperate.
You never shot a baboon before? We were so desperate, we couldn't allow that baboon to drink the water and pollute the water and end up with what we knew we would get if he drank the water. Now were the other animals that had come by? Of course, but we weren't concerned about other animals. And so, folks, I had a drink of water, a very careful one, by the way, from that little oasis to satisfy my dying thirst. And it came at great cost. But do you know something in that desert? I drank that water, and one hour later, I was thirsty again.
And we were not allowed to stay in the same place. So the search began all over. I want to speak to you this morning for just a moment on the greatest drink that you will ever take. And I want to make an announcement to you today. My friend, I'm going to give you a guarantee. You drink from this well that I present to you today.
You'll never thirst again. The Bible tells us in John chapter four, and you might want to look there with me, that the Lord Jesus, in verse four, had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar. By the way, I just happened to have been there. I'm talking about a place that I've been to as well.
I'm going back in November and a whole lot of you evidently are going with me. I'm going to tell you Sychar in Samaria is a very desolate place. There is nothing there. And the Bible says it was near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph and Jacob's will was there. And Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, will you give me something to drink?
He had sent his disciples into the little Bedouin village to pick up some food. A Samaritan woman said to him, you're a Jew and I'm a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for something to drink?
Because Jews do not associate with Samaritans. Jesus answered her, if you knew the gift of God and who it is that asked you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water. So the woman said, you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you telling me that you are greater than our father, Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and his herds? And Jesus answered, everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. But whoever drinks the water that I will give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water that I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. I want to present to you the giver of this water.
Please forgive the interruption. I hate to do that, but Dr. Don insists I remind you this is not just a presentation of his message, but it's an opportunity to ask God to take the living word of God, the Bible itself, and continually move into our spirits and our hearts and our minds and help change the way we live and respond to the world in which we live. God's word is not just some theological discussion that you're hearing, Dr. Don, but you're seeing that God wants to use his word to make us the men and women of God he's called us to be. As we study the word together, know we're available for you. We're connecting online at tewonline.org. That's tewonline.org.
I know some of you taking a peek behind the curtain and seeing the new website that's coming up in just a few weeks. But new or old, the website gives you all the information, especially in signing up for the daily encouraging word email from Dr. Don. It could be, it is the most popular resource we have, whether you get the hard copy we send out to you in a quarterly fashion or you sign up for the email.
Many of you, me and my hand in the air first, I like both of them. My bride uses the hard copy and I love the email. You can sign up online for the daily encouraging word email absolutely free right now at tewonline.org. That's tewonline.org. You can also call and ask for your hard copy if you'd like that quarterly version like my bride likes at 866-899 word.
That's 866-899-9673. Now back to today's message with Dr. Don Wilton. That when you drink it, it'll be the greatest drink ever taken because you'll never thirst again. You see, my friend, the giver of this water that the Bible talks about, and the reason why I'm so delighted to present him to you today is that this giver of this water will do something for you that you cannot do for yourself.
The giver of this water will ask you the most searching question that you could ever be asked. Now look what he said here in this passage folks. This is what he said in verse 7. Here comes this lady, this Samaritan woman, and Jesus asks a searching question that is very interesting. He doesn't say to her, let me give you something to drink. Did you notice that? What's wrong with this picture? Jesus didn't, when this lady came there and Jesus is who he says he is and she walks in there and there he is seated at the well of Jacob, Jesus didn't turn to her and say to her, lady, let me give you something to drink.
Interesting. Jesus knew what she needed, didn't he? Because he was God, but he didn't say to her, listen, let me give you something that will cause you to never thirst again. The first thing that he did was he asked her a most searching question. Here it was, lady, will you give me something to drink? Let me interpret that for you folks. What are you going to do about me? Here I am. He was about to put the pieces of the puzzle together, but he confronted her at that initial confrontation with the same question that all of us are being confronted with in our deep and dying thirst. What are we going to do about Jesus Christ? Because he's there.
You know he is. You know, folks, you can go and look at the lives of people all across America. People live and people die.
We read about stories like that all the time. Jesus said, would you give me something to drink? In other words, would you serve me?
Would you pay attention to me? Folks, we've got it wrong. We walk around saying, excuse me, give me something, God, do something for me, God. And God looks at us and said, excuse me, I'm the creator. I made you. And the purpose with which I made you was to have fellowship and to worship me. It's not about what I'm going to do for you.
What are you going to do about me? Because I'm the only one that's got the key to kingdom living. I'm the only one who can give you water to drink from. That will mean that you will never thirst again. I want to present to you the giver of this water, folks.
Not only because he will ask your most searching question, but secondly, because he will challenge your sense of comfort. Right there in verse nine, the Bible says her comfort zone was challenged. Well, I tell you, even today, it's true, folks, there's such tremendous racial tension in the Middle East. Back in the time of the Lord Jesus, Samaritans and Jews just kind of didn't get along together. They hated each other.
I mean, they wouldn't even talk, folks. There were major problems in the society in which Jesus walked and talked. Women were treated like scumbags. They were nothings. There were divisions between gender.
There were divisions between race groups and ethnic groups and this group and that group and people hated one another. And when you position yourself to take the greatest drink that you've ever taken, here's what's going to happen. You're going to be challenged right there in the centerpiece of your own comfort zone. In other words, God is going to turn your world upside down. I tell you, I had a conversation with a wonderful friend who gave his heart and life to Jesus Christ and he said these exact words to me. He said to me, Pastor, I have given my heart to Jesus because I've made the greatest decision that ever could possibly be made and to summarize what he said to me, he said my whole life is different. Everything that I have, everything that I am belongs to God. Something's happened.
My comfort zone. Everything's been turned upside down because I've taken a drink of the water by which I will never thirst again. It's an interesting dynamic that takes place here in the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus. The giver of this water, number three, will present you with an absolute truth. Here's what the Bible says, folks, in John chapter 4 and verse 13.
Here's the absolute truth. Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again. But you drink of the life-giving water that I give you, Jesus said, it will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. This is the kind of drink that you take that will be the greatest drink that you've ever taken because you'll never have to go back.
Your life will be turned on its head. You see, my friends, people like you and me, we're all searching. We spend our lives searching to quench our thirst. By the way, not all the things that we search to quench our thirst are necessarily bad things. But you and I know that. So many people searching in affluence, money and materialism. Nothing wrong with being blessed.
Some of the most wonderful, godly, giving people I've ever met are people who have been blessed and they know they blessed and they use their blessings to be a blessing to others. That's not the point yet. But here is the point. You will never find the quenching of your thirst in your material blessings. It's not going to happen. There's a search going on, folks.
People are just people. You could be the most famous Hollywood star. You could win an Oscar, but you're not going to have your thirst quenched.
And Jesus looked at this lady and he said, I want to present you with absolute truth because I'm going to tell you something. The water that I give you will turn your world upside down. You'll never thirst again.
What great teaching from Dr. Don Wilton. That's what you've been listening to here on The Encouraging Word. And don't we all pray for God to turn our world upside down so that we would never thirst again. Spiritually, I pray that you would open your heart to the change that God's calling you to. And perhaps the very first change is to say yes to Jesus. Would you take a moment for these closing thoughts from our pastor, Dr. Don Wilton. Are you ready to give your heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ?
Why don't you pray this prayer with me right now? Dear God, I know that I'm a sinner and I know that Jesus died for me on the cross. Today I repent of my sin and by faith I receive you into my heart. In Jesus name, my friend, I welcome you today into the family of God. This is exciting news. I'm convinced some of you said yes. You've said yes to Jesus Christ, some for the first time. And it's a brand new day. We want to walk with you in that day.
And some are coming home. Welcome back. Let us put some resources in your hands that will help you grow. Our phone number is 866-899-WORD.
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We need your support. Become an encourager today. Call us at 866-899-WORD to request an encourager brochure today. The encouraging word is a viewer and listener supported ministry. Thank you for listening today. We really would love for you to discover more about what it is to be an encourager. But more than that, we want you to know we stand to encourage you. Our phone number is open 24 hours a day. We'd love to pray with you, pray for you. Maybe connect you with resources that will help you grow at 866-899-9673. Or online at www.tewonline.org. This weekend I pray that you'll find yourself, whether it's online, virtually, or in the house of God. Don't miss out on the joy of worship this weekend.
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