Talking To An Immoral Outcast, Part 2

Today on Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ in the context of what is true about God.

You can't say lies about God and then Sam worshiping him Scripture is God's self-disclosure, God discloses himself, let me say this way, the deeper your understanding of God.

The higher you joining us today on this additional Fellowship in the Word pastor know your part. Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible church located in Metairie, Louisiana going pastor Bill Gebhardt now is once again he shows us how God's word. Our world may name David Foster Wallace.

You can look them up at some time he was at the top of his profession is an author and award-winning, best-selling postmodern novelist.

He's known for pushing all the awful agnostic at best, atheistic, likely no friend of Jesus or the church.

He once wrote a sentence.

By the way, that fascinated me over a thousand words long. I take some doing, but he is famous now for this commencement speech that he gave David Kenyon College. This is what he said. Interestingly enough, everybody worships the only choice we get is what the worship and the compelling reason for maybe we should choose a sort of God to worship is that if you choose anything else but a God to worship and reach you alive.

He says if you worship money and things they are, where you tap real meaning in life, then you will never have enough.

You'll never feel you have enough it's the truth. Worship your own body and beauty and sexual lore and you always feel ugly and wanted time and age begin to start showing on you.

You will die a million more desk before your loved ones finally plan you worship power and you wind up feeling weak and afraid and you will need evermore power over others to numb you of your own fear.

Worship your intellect being seen as smart, you will end up feeling stupid fraud always on the verge of being found out look the insidious thing about these forms of worship is not that they are evil or sinful batches perspective, it is that they are our default settings as human beings we always want to worship something that will never satisfy. By the way couple years after the speech he committed suicide.

Jesus says unless you receive living water. You will live your life with a thirst that you cannot satisfy, and it seems now like the woman's coming up with a sort of high degree of incredulity. I just love the way she responds to him. Now the woman said to him, sir, give me this water so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw she's going to play along. I play this out Jesus and unloaded by a mile. Though he's initiated an unexpected connection is offered unsolicited gift and he gives her that unparalleled promise. There's something missing here. He hasn't dealt with her sent as part of the process and so Jesus brings unhesitating conviction to her notices response to her question go and call your husband come here while she's got everything woke he just change gears.

The woman answered and said I have no husband.

She doesn't want tell the whole truth. Jesus said you have correctly said I have no husband for you have had five husbands and the one whom you now have is not your husband and you said it truly don't remember the Faneuil said and Nathaniel reset. I saw you under the tree and the famous. Like all I do that this is even greater.

This is on this since notice he saw his humanity when he was week. Now you see his omniscience and he says I know your life you had five husbands.

The guy you're living with no is not your husband. There's the truth by way sidebar. There's something here you want to see living together does not make you married. I know even young Christians will say what were living together and in God's eyes were married. You are not you are not married. She's living with a man to get us to get six husbands. He said a man you're living with is not your husband, and she understands what he's talking about. Even Samaritans with the Old Testament knew that Exodus 20 talks about adultery in the book of Leviticus talks about fornication and she knows she's both an adulterous and a fornicator.

Jesus points out the sin you see marriage in the Bible is always binding formal social official public covenant.

That's marriage, you're not inbound that you're not married. Seems strange that the saving God's people, but I've actually had God's people over the years. Tell me know were married in God's eyes, pastor, you're not very important thing to know well. This changes everything for her.

By the way, just it changes everything for her. Watch how everything begins. The change now.

The woman says to him, Sir, I perceive your profit perceive his word. You're right know we the word theory from it and means the acumen acknowledge she said you're not a lunatic you're not a strange man you got be a prophet. I can perceive that who would know who would know I but people inside card and even though she had five husbands and she's living with a man he knew it. So he really is gutter interest now and she once more.

That's the great thing she wants more here and she kind of makes a little bit of a mistake here she decides she's going to do something and ask a question. One commentator said this about her that is that her soul was now beginning the bow slowly to him.

She said I perceive your profit. Our fathers worshiped in this mountain and you people say that it's in Jerusalem. That is the place for men to worship, though sometimes it's been such a just try to get one sidebar but I don't think so because the window for sidebars. I think he/she is bringing up a point that he once brought up and that is if you're going to be born again as he told Nicodemus into his kingdom, then unacceptable worship has to be abandoned.

Understand if you have a relationship with Jesus Christ. From that moment on, then unacceptable worship has to be abandoned and so she makes a mistake. She says the key. One of the key elements of worship is where isn't that really important. Where do you worship. Worship God. My embarrassing Jerusalem where do you worship Jesus Christ is having none of this is this woman believe me an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the father. It's never where you see worship is unaware thing by the way a lot of us believe that I'm to go worship go someplace because that's the place were you going worship. Worship isn't where, in effect, in this case the hour does come in 70 A.D. the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans, and then I go to Samaria in a kill thousands to millions and they destroy the house of worship, so both places get destroyed. Jesus then says look you worship what you do not know we the Jews worship what we know, salvation is from the Jews.

You don't even know the what of worship, let alone the where worship the Jews at least know the what of worship see Messiah comes through the Jews the Scriptures among the Jews but he doesn't stop there. He says something else. He said an hour is coming and now is when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.

For such people the father seeks to be his worshipers got a spirit and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth, while what a statement. He said the time is coming now. Worship is always absolutely always an inside job. But what always has been. It's never been a water but you know what he saying there's a time by the way, there will be a temple there will be ritual the monthly ceremonies. It won't be there. You see there's a time when God was going to say what I demand of you as you worship in spirit and truth. It's interesting that he says that a time with no more sacrifices no more priest.

It was the time by the way that happened when the veil was rent from top to bottom. When he said it is finished. It's all over. No more sacrifices no more priesthood no one representing you to God.

No more ritual, no more ceremonies Jesus is that all ends religious thinking full. That's a very hard thing to understand because we have such an addiction to religion, even we start out with a relationship with God. We want to become religious and replace or go with me to Amos chapter 5 near the end of the Old Testament.

I could've gone to Isaiah 1 Malachi one another passages. But I want to go to Amos five. This know what God says about external worship. Amos five in verse 21 numbers get your attention. The first two words of God says, are these I hate Alvin will people say to me you know I only believe in God's love and nothing else. This the goddesses and another worker I hate. I hate. I reject your festivals, by the way, who told him have festivals God is that I hate your festivals. I reject your festivals, nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies you know when you get together corporately. Worship me.

I hate that we show up Ward. We do we go through the ritual. He said even though you offer up to me, burnt offerings and your grain offerings. I will not accept them. I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings take away from me now watch this. The noise of your songs. I will not even listen to the sound of your harps.

Please don't sing to me what is he doing we find out Isaiah 1 Malachi wonder what they were doing. Is it just became empty religion.

They just simply got together went through the motions and he actually believed that if they went through the motions in our heart and mind wasn't right with the Lord.

They were worshiping and God is clear so that, except that that's not worship let us go back to John he says here that the father we worship the father and that he's seeking worshipers. Not many things that God sinks pretty seeking worshipers and basically he is saying in the standard of worship is real simple spirit and truth. What is he saying that you have to worship in spirit and truth will start with truth.

You must worship in the context of the truth about God. You see, you must worship in the context of what is true about God. You can't say lies about God and then Sam worshiping him Scripture is God's self-disclosure, God discloses himself. There let me say this way, the deeper your understanding of God. The hiring worship, you see that the deeper your understanding. The higher your worship because it's based on truth, so many of us have a God of our own image and then we come in.

We worship that way and then he says you also have to worship God in spirit now clearly as believers in the church age. We have the spirit of God residing in us, we can say we have to be in fellowship with the Holy Spirit and that's certainly true, but that's not I don't think Jesus saying to the woman here at the well. He is saying here when he says spirit is not only based on your mind saturated with the truth, but that your heart and that your soul is right before God in spirit in spirit and in truth. That's what he is saying that worship, she thought. Where's the place once the ritual but it's not all forms of worship, especially public worship or congregational worship is simply what that is a form it and it may or may not contain worship. You see, you don't get to decide or define what worship is only God does. You offered up the God worship God knows your heart. You see, God knows your heart worship in that sense is loving God honoring God. Knowing God, adoring God, obeying God and proclaiming God and by the way, you know, when you do that Monday to Saturday. That's when you do it that's life set over all the years. If you didn't bring it, you can't do it. You see, God is not saying all boy I know they haven't cared about me at all for a week but the love that when they get there. Worship me. You can format way you see to him and sincere. We worship God all the time. Remember, this is in the presence of this is not a temple begin to lose a temple you that's why Paul wrote to the Ephesians. He said we sing and make melody when were controlled by the spirit of God, where in our heart. Why inside of me on the temple of God worship occurs in here this is where worship is and were so naïve and so shallow that we end up saying is not always an external thing if I just go through it all I've done it.

It's not worship Jesus is really clear about that worship is not a time worship is not a place worship is not a ritual in worship is not a song.

Worship is your mind and heart fully committed to God.

That's what worshipers by the way this thing has a great conclusion to it, then it's wonderful how it includes the woman said to him, I know that the Messiah is coming who is called Christ. And when that one comes, he will declare all things. This is really neat. The woman is not member Jimmy Benoit was talking about. Why is a strange Jewish man saying things to me about living water and now she says you know what the word profit stops and she said there's a Messiah I know is coming in and one of the great things anyone person ever heard Jesus said to her that English is bad.

I speak to you am he. There is no he what he said was witness the one speaking Yahweh.

I am the one speaking Yahweh 23 times and John Yahweh. I am who I am. I am he, you see one amazing thing for her. She gets it to. She's converted how you know logo is plays I've had this point, his disciples came and they were amazed that he had been speaking with a woman and yet no one said what do you seek or lighting speak with her. They know better and so the woman left her water pot and ran back into the city. It's a half-mile common see the man told me all the things that I have done.

This is not the Christ, as it expects a yes answer. I think this is the Messiah and they went out of the city and they were coming to him and meanwhile the disciples were urging him saying Rabbi you must eat and he said I have food to eat that you do not know about and so the disciples were saying to one another. No one broadening the duty. You see, we make fun of the woman proceed understand living water, but to understand spiritual food and there is disciples and Jesus said to them, my food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work. He says do you not say that there are yet four months and then comes the harvest, behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields. They are white with harvest not. The idea is that the well was at a lower point. There's almost like a cliff.

The heads up the sidecar and are switchbacks down the hill to come to where the well was so these people running down the switchbacks and Jesus says there's a harvest.

The running here knows what else. Then he says he says already. He who reaps his receiving wages is gathering food for eternal life so that he who sows and he reaps may rejoice together for good in this case, he says, the saying is true one.

So is another re-he said I have sent you to reap that which you have not labored. Others have labored and you have entered into the labor.

He said other people did the groundwork here, not just this woman. There were other people who witnessed now these men and these people are ready to convert and you're going to be here for the harvest. He tells his disciples that this is from the city. Many of the Samaritans believed in him because of the word of the woman who testified he told me all the things that I have done.

She goes back and starts witnessing. By the way, it's kind of interesting to me that it says here that many of the Samaritans believed she probably was able to talk to the men easier than talk to the women she talked to him in a converted Mrs. so when the Samaritans came to Jesus.

They were asking him and said said to him that he would ask him if he would stay for two more days and many more believed because of his word. So this is tremendous revival notice from Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and even on bottommost parts.

Jesus is already bringing those to a saving knowledge of himself and Samaria, and they were saying to the woman. It is no longer because of what you have said there will believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this one is indeed the Savior of the world, but revival, the way Jesus evangelized his word on this yet. I understand it. I can't say I know something about someone's past but I do know this I do know that I can experience in clearly an unexpected connection with someone in repeater said be ready to give an account for the hope continue throughout my life, people bask there been questions in my ready when it comes.

You see it happen sometimes in airplanes and buses and playgrounds and schools in places of employment. Just be ready. It's an unexpected connection. Secondly, we can offer grace, mercy and forgiveness we can offer people the grace of God. One of the things I will always want to talk to people about is this. Please don't misunderstand what I'm talking about here is not religion. I know you know a lot about religion, but I want to talk about a relationship with Jesus Christ is not religious.

You see, from the point of view. Most religious people, not just another religion is not religion is what I can do for God relationship with Christ is what Jesus is done for me, one is filled with grace and mercy and forgiveness and the other is filled with empty wall works.

One is a wall that springs in the inside and give me a reason to live in the other splashing my face with water never satisfies. Thirdly, we can also give the unparallel promise what you drink this will never thirst again. What a great promise that is an fluently we can make sure that we disclose in see if someone says one of though if I need to be saved.

You see, I think I'm good enough for my own.

I want to point out that they're not all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. There is none righteous, no not one.

The wages of sin is death. Those are all the elements of giving the gospel to somebody so the church may be declining in America and that is under the sovereignty of my Lord.

But you and I have the capacity to be witnesses for Jesus Christ. You and I have the capacity to do all four of those elements and then do what just got back because it's a divine work anyway.

It's the work of God in the human heart. Our responsibilities to be a witness's responsibility is to save the wonderful thing, though, when you're there for the harvest and you see another boy or a girl, another man or woman coming to the kingdom of God the spring.

Father, I thank you for the words of Jesus Christ.

With this Samaritan woman how different they are in the words of the use with a religious leader how patient he was how insightful father. If someone here are struggling with the idea that I'm not good enough to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. My past is to checkered. There's too many sins.

May this woman be for them a billboard of advertisement. This is an immoral woman from an immoral culture from a culture that did not honor God and yet Jesus Christ went out of his way to give her the gospel and she believed father. They gift is for all of us because you love all of us. Father, I think you also that even though the Samaritans were enemies with the Jews.

Jesus Christ didn't see people as enemies. He saw people as a mission field. I pray that we would see people the same way there only two people in this world.

Those who are saved and those who are not may we be witnesses to them and their need to have the living water that satisfies empower us, encourage us and convict us in the days ahead. In Jesus, and pastor broke your heart on the radio ministry of fellowship in the world.

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