When All Hope Is Gone

Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Wednesday, February first. Churchgoers are mostly familiar with the Samaritan lady who met Jesus at a well, but sometimes we overlook the personal application. Her story helps us find the only source of true contentment. Hopeless is a heavy word. Hopeless is a word that wants to chain you, drag you down, bring you to the end of life. Hopeless, absolutely hopeless. And you know, there are lots of people you may live around that are hopeless. And you may be hopeless.

I trust you're not, but you could be. You've tried it all and nothing worked. You've been there and it didn't make any difference.

You've been loved by this one and loved by that one and hated by this one and hated by the other and used by all of them. And nothing satisfied you. You don't have anywhere to go. All of your goals and dreams have been shattered. And the truth is, you don't have anything to hope for. At this point in your life, your sinfulness, your disobedience or your rebellion, you turned off God a long time ago.

So, where are you in life? You're lost. It's dark, dingy, dismal, and there you are.

It's like being in a swamp emotionally. There's nothing there that is attractive to you. And so, you've sort of given up. But given up to what? And given up why? And given up when?

Those are the things you have to think about. And so, this is where she was at this point. This is where she was at this point. This is where she was at this point. This is where she was at this point. And so, even the personal encounter with Jesus Christ radically changed her life.

And it's radically changing people's lives today. And so, when you think about who she was and what was going on in her life, at this particular point, she's come into the well to draw water for the day. But she's coming at noontime, which was not the right time. And so, in the middle of the day, here she comes for water.

And strangely, this man is sitting there. He sent his disciples into town to buy food. And looking at him and knowing that he was a Jew and she was a Samaritan, she was shocked when he said, Give me a drink of water. And her response was, What do you mean, give you a drink of water? You're a Jew. I'm a Samaritan.

Jews and Samaritans do not have anything to do with each other. And you certainly wouldn't expect me to draw your water for you. And so, all of a sudden, here was a little bit of conflict that appeared. Here she was. She never intended to meet anybody. She meant to go when nobody else was around. She was tired of being rejected and especially run by another man. And to have a conversation with a Jewish man, mm-mm.

Because this was the custom and this is what they believed. Listen. A man shall not be alone with a woman in an inn, in a hotel, motel. Not even his sister or his daughter on account of what others may think. A man shall not talk with a woman in the street. Not even with his own wife. And especially with another woman on account of what others may say. For a rabbi or teacher to be speaking to a woman in public was the end of his reputation. Ever heard her speak to a Jewish man?

No way. But there he was in spite of it. There was something about him that got her attention. First of all, he wasn't creating conflict.

He was just sitting there. And probably the first time she could ever remember a man looking at her for her heart and not her body. And she began to listen. And Jesus said to her, give me a drink.

That's what had started the conversation. And he said to her, he said, you give me a drink and I'll give you a drink of living water. Now, living water was water that was always on the move. It was not stagnant. It was not in a pool somewhere. And in Jacob's well here, that water was, it was about a hundred feet deep and sort of bubbling at the bottom.

And so, living water, what's that all about? And so, that got her attention. Jesus had the most wonderful ways of getting people's attention. And so, little by little, Jesus had disarmed her, watch this, by offering something that He knew she wanted and something that was of great interest to her and it was something that she was looking for right then, and that is living water. And then Jesus sort of disrupted the conversation because everything was moving right along and He was talking about living water and then all of a sudden He said, call your husband.

Oh, I messed the conversation up terrible. And so, call your husband. And she told Him truth. She said, I don't have a husband. He said, watch this, you're correct, you don't.

But you have had five and you're living with a man now who's not your husband. But watch how He said that He did not condemn her. He said, you're right.

You don't have one, but you're living with one who is not your husband. And so, what He's doing, He's leading her to realize where she is emotionally, where she is physically, where she is spiritually. And He's talking about, watch this, He's talking about the one thing that would get her attention. He could have been talking about something else, but when He said, would you like to have a source of water that's living, you won't have to come draw it.

You won't have to walk all the way down here. And so, He had her attention. And then when He said, go call your husband, that really got her attention.

Now, what she did is what a lot of people do today. When you start talking to them about the Lord, all of a sudden they want to change the subject. So, if you'll notice what happens, the woman said, sir, I perceive that you're a prophet. And then she said, our Father's worshipped in this mountain and you people say that, and then she changed the subject.

She wants to start talking about worship and where the Samaritans worshipped and where Jews worshipped and so forth. And that's not what this was all about. But it was her way of changing the subject and getting Him to think He'll talk about something else.

But Jesus didn't do that. He had something in mind. Here's what He had in mind. He wanted to give this hopeless, desperate, scarlet, rejected, dismal woman hope in her life. And He knew that the way to do that was first of all, to accept her just the way she was. Secondly, not to judge her, not to criticize her. Thirdly, to just love her the way she needed to be loved.

Never loved this way in her life. And she sent something in Him, a love in Him that she could not describe. And that's why she wanted to keep this conversation going.

He did not criticize her. He saw something within her that made her see something within Him. For some strange reason, she felt accepted by Him. For some strange reason, she saw something in Him that she'd never seen in a man before.

All of a sudden, she felt love for the first time from any man. And so, when His disciples came, she left that water pot and took off running. And where did she go?

She went to the one place that you wouldn't expect her to go. She went to the very people who despised her, rejected her, criticized her, shunned her, shut her out of their lives. And notice what the Scripture says, From the city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of a woman who testified.

He told me all things that I have done. So, when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them, and so He stayed there two days. Many more believed because of His Word. And they were saying to the woman, It is no longer because of what you've said that we believe, but we've heard after ourselves and know that this one is indeed the Savior of the world. When I think about this woman, she became the city evangelist. She was so absolutely revolutionized in her life that the first thing she wanted to do is to go tell everybody in town. I mean, all those women who gossiped about her, all those men who had used her, everybody who had abused her in any way, what did she do?

She wanted them to know this Messiah that had absolutely changed her life. Are you one of those persons who's feeling hopeless? Nobody cares? Nobody's interested in you? You've had all kind of experiences, you've had all kind of things, and you've been with all kind of people, but somehow there's something missing in your life.

Well, the same thing that's missing in your life is the same thing missing in her life. Until you are willing to receive Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, listen carefully. You will keep on drinking from the same old wells of sex, alcohol, drugs, money, on and on and on we could go of things that people keep drinking of.

And here's the problem. All of those things are like salt water. When you're thirsty, you don't want to drink salt water.

Why? Because it makes you more thirsty. This is why people get hooked on things as we've just mentioned and many different kind of things.

They think, well, if I get enough of this, I'll be fine. No, you can't get enough money, enough sex. You can't get enough recognition from anybody. You can't get enough of any of those things to take the place of what God created you for and as to be one of His children. And when I look at this passage and realize what happened, that Jesus accepted this woman just the way she was. And notice He didn't make any demands of her. He just said, if you want to be full and you want to be contented and you want to be the kind of woman that your heart desires, you trust Me as the Messiah. And she did. Her life was revolutionized and God used her in the most awesome way.

And you know what? Jesus wants to use us in the same way. You remember when you got saved. You remember how the Lord worked in your life and changed you.

There may be some of you sitting here and a whole lot of you sitting out there who probably have lived a life similar to hers of disobedience, rebellion, indulgence, all kind of immoral situations and circumstances, money, money, money, fame, popularity, prestige, prominence, all of those things trying to satisfy a deep abiding thirst within your heart. And none of those that have satisfied you and you keep going thinking that somehow in some way one of these days you're going to feel full. You're going to be satisfied.

You're not going to be satisfied. Because you see, God created you for Himself. He created you for Himself and He sent Jesus Christ into this world to pay your sin debt in full so that you could become the person God intended you to be. So that He could give you a sense of personhood. He could give you a sense of feeling like somebody. He could give you a sense of future.

He could give you a sense of satisfaction and confidence and security. Only Jesus Christ can do that. And so what happens?

She's got to tell it. So let me ask you a question. Are you really grateful for what God has done in your life? Look at the people around you who are lost, who are living in sin and still drinking salt water. Still living in sin and looking for answers.

You have the answer. Do you ever think that maybe you should stop and share with that person what God has done for you? Say, well, suppose they reject me, so what? Jesus does not promise that we'll not be rejected. He just says we're to tell it. We're to share it. When you have Jesus, you have something the world doesn't have.

And there are multitudes of people all around us who are just as hopeless for different reasons. And you know what they're waiting for? The same thing she was waiting for. She didn't understand what she was waiting for. She just knew that everything that was in her life at this point was not working. Let me ask you a question.

Don't you feel that I waste some time? Life's not working. It's just not working. No matter what you've done, it's not working. There's something missing. You've tried everything you know to try.

There's only one thing, one drink from one person, and that is Jesus who is the Messiah. I was sitting in my study one day downtown, and the secretary said, there's a lady here to see you. And I don't remember her name.

And for some reason, I didn't go to the door. I just said, bring her in, which is not what I would normally do. So, she came in, she had something in her hand.

I didn't know what it was. And so, here's what she said to me. She said, she didn't give me all the details, but from just what I heard, she lived a very sordid kind of life, and a life that it was bad enough that she didn't want to describe. And she told me how far down she was and had been, and how hopeless she felt. And then she said, one day she turned on the television, and she started listening. And she began to tell me how God began to work in her life. And she said the very thought that Jesus Christ would forgive her for the way she'd lived, where she'd been, who she'd been with, all the things that had happened in her life was absolutely total surprise to her. And she said, Jesus came into her heart that day, absolutely revolutionized her life, changed her. And she said she made a promise that one day she was going to meet the fellow who told her about Jesus. So, she stepped over to my desk.

I never left my desk. I just have her to sit over there. And sat on my desk top this beautiful silver goblet. And she said, I wanted to bring you this goblet and thank you that one day you gave me a drink of living water. And she said, I've never been the same again. And I just want to thank you for allowing the Lord to use you to speak to me personally. She thanked me and left. And for some reason, and maybe God didn't want me to, I don't remember her name, but I remember this. She said it was the living water that changed her life. I still have that goblet.

And once in a while, when I look at it, it reminds me of something I needed to remember. There's a whole lot of folks out there who need a drink. They're looking for a drink.

Don't know where to find a drink. Then I thank God, at least He's given me the opportunity to pass the water on to people who need to be saved, whose lives need to be changed. But you know, you can do the same thing. It's the message we have. It's not who we are.

It's the message we have. It's all about Jesus. You may be one of those persons like this lady or like the one in the Scripture, thinking there is no hope. I want to tell you, it doesn't make any difference who you are, where you've been, and how down you may feel if you're willing to say to the Lord Jesus, Jesus, I'm asking You to forgive me of all my sin. And I believe that You went to the cross and when You shed Your blood at Calvary, You paid my sin debt in full. Thank You, Lord, that You can cleanse my life. And I'm trusting You to forgive me. And I'm receiving as my personal Savior.

That's just like being in a desert and somebody bringing you a whole bucket of ice water and saying, help yourself. You'll never be the same again. And that's my prayer for you. Thank you for listening to When All Hope Is Gone. If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or In Touch Ministries, stop by, intouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.