Welcome to the Kerwin Baptist Church broadcast today. Our desire is for the Word of God to be spread throughout the world so that all may know Christ. Join us now for a portion of one of our services here at Kerwin Baptist Church, located in Kernersville, North Carolina. John chapter 4, this story really, we're going to go to John's account. of the woman at the well.
This is obviously our last Sunday morning, technically, series of this campfire stories. We're going to continue to teach and preach God's word next week. But as far as the series goes, and tonight, let me encourage you. The weather is supposed to, as we can see, it really cooperate with us tonight.
So, I think we're going to be fine. And I'd bring a lawn chair if you want to, also. And listen, we're just going to eat in fellowship. We don't have anything, it's going to take a long time. We've had camp meeting all week.
Many of you had good crowds there. Thank you for supporting that. Many of our choir members were able to come and thank you for supporting that. And tonight's just going to be a good time of fellowship with us as a church. We don't rarely, rarely do we do this, and so we're looking forward to this tonight.
I hope that you'll be here and invite family and friends. It's just a good time of fellowship, and I'm excited about it. And just a good way to say goodbye to a campfire series: we have the supplies to have a campfire in s'mores tonight, okay? And we have other food also. We have good food coming, but we are going to have that.
available. And uh we're gonna end with this account of this. Um precious lady. The woman at the well. Uh she began her day like she always did.
She thought everything was normal, but little did she know. But boy, she had an encounter coming. this day that would change her life forever. By the way, when you truly encounter Jesus Christ... It changes everything from then on.
I really wonder about people that can That can say they know Christ, that come and hear God's word preached and they never change. I worry about that. Yeah, because when when you truly know him You are truly changed. And um Brother Frank read our passage, and obviously, let me explain: this woman is in Samaria, and she is a Samaritan woman. She's at the well, and Jesus stops by this well, and he asks her for water, and she realizes he's a Jew, and so.
As Brother Frank read, it creates this question. She's like, Why are you here? And why are you talking to me? And why are you asking me? For water.
So let's jump in, verse 3. I want you to notice. A providential meeting. A providential meeting. We have verse 4 here up on the screen for you, but in verse 3, the Bible says Jesus left Judea.
And he departed into Galilee, and verse 4 says, And he must needs go through. Samaria. I want you to notice first the path that he chose. It said he must needs go through Samaria. Jesus being Jewish, Samaria was not a place.
that Jews went to. This was not geographically necessary, by the way. To get from Judea to Galilee, you don't go straight through Samaria.
So this was not geographically necessary. It was simply divinely necessary. Jesus chose to go this way. And you know, God has a purpose for everything. God has a purpose for every Direction that he gives.
And let me just say this: I'm not going to. camp here for a while, but God's not always going to send you the easy way. And God's not always going to send you the quickest way. or the most logical way. And not everything in your life is going to happen the way you see that it should and think that it should.
And if you and I aren't careful, we can get really misguided and upset and get mad at God. And I want you to know maybe God has sent you that way. For a reason. Maybe there's somebody along that way. Why did I have this flat tire?
I don't know, but there could be somebody along that way. That God has allowed you to have to cross paths with. The path he chose. He must needs Go through. Notice, secondly, I want you to see the place he came to.
Now, this is interesting, it was Jacob's well.
Now, this was a historic place, and this was a holy place. And if I can, let me explain it real quickly so I can give you a little bit of context. Jacob's well is obviously traditionally tied to the land that Jacob. Gave to his son Joseph.
Now, Genesis 33, Jacob purchased this land near Shechem. In Genesis 48, Jacob gave this land to Joseph. And what is another whole message, and it's interesting, before I really decided to do this one, I have been developing a sermon on the bones of Joseph. It's an interesting story. And when Joseph died, Of all the things he could have given to his sons, he gave them his bones.
And he told them what he wanted them to do with him. Interesting story. But in Genesis 48, Jacob gave this land to Joseph, and in Joshua 24, Joseph's bones were later buried right near this well. Jacob's well.
So the well in Samaria Samaria was a region, a place that was despised by Jews. The Jews saw Samaritans as half-breeds. They had kind of left the Jewish lineage and they had mixed races with the Assyrians. And so this Samaritan woman, if you notice later on in this passage in verse 12, she mentions our father Jacob. And that was a way of her saying that we're not full-blooded Jews like you, but we still have a connection to Jacob.
We still have a lineage here. His well is here. And so this well symbolized to the Samaritans their link to Jacob. To the Jews, Jacob was a patriarch of Israel. Is will.
I don't appreciate you laughing at me this morning. You get up here and try this.
So Jacob was a patriarch of Israel. To the Samaritans, Jacob was their forefather, but to Jews... He was their forefather, and so this Jacob's well was in Samaria.
So, here's the thing: it was special, but they never went to it, they never went by it, they didn't go close to it because they didn't like Samaritans, they didn't like Samaria. It was not a place that they came.
So, here comes Jesus, He shows up right here at Jacob's well, and here's this woman that shows up at Jacob's well, and Jesus sits down and asks her for water.
Now, I don't know if you've ever just thought about this story. Can you imagine all the way back in the Old Testament? And we have dealt with this a lot in this series and even earlier this year, about Abraham, about Isaac, about Jacob, and about Joseph, and everything that we have gone through. And we know that literally Jacob and all the promises of God, and here is Jesus, the one who's made the promise. Sitting at the very well.
This woman didn't even realize. Here's the creator of the universe, the Son of God, God in flesh, is sitting on Jacob's well. I want you to notice the person he confronted.
So he goes through Samaria. He can He gets to Jacob's well. And then the Bible says in verse 7: there cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water.
Now it does not say she was a woman in Samaria. It says she was a woman of Samaria, which means this. This wasn't just a different, a woman that was passing through going to this well. This was a woman that was of Samaria. She was from, she was a Samaritan.
And you got to think about this. What we know later on in this story is: this is a woman that had been marginalized, identified by her sin. By her ethnicity, and by society. We know that she had had many husbands and she was living with a man that wasn't even her husband at this time.
So she was already looked down on because of her sin. Then she's looked down on by a whole group of people because of the fact that she's Samaritan, because of what she was ethnically. And then society had marginalized her because she was a woman. In the Bible days women weren't treated good. And unfortunately, even in our day, sometimes Women aren't treated good.
So, what a meeting. You just look at this whole thing in context and it comes together. And so, I want you to notice, lastly, the prejudice that he crossed. She looks at him and she says this in verse 9: How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest Drink of me.
So, what we see here is that Jesus Christ, in one action, broke through the barrier of race. He broke through the barrier of gender. And he even broke through the barrier of religion. She was a Samaritan. She had different beliefs than a Jew.
So Jesus sits down. and speaks to a woman. And in so doing, he broke gender barriers. He broke her ethnic barriers. He broke sin barriers.
Instead of seeing what she was, what she had done. What her history was, look at me, Jesus saw. Huh. Can I make a little bit of a commercial today? God help us to be a church.
It gets passed. What somebody is ethnically? that gets past what somebody might appear to be. that gets past what might be in their past. That gets beyond the surface, that gets beyond the outside.
May we be a church that sees people for who they are in Christ. Interesting. A providential meeting. Now, you might not understand this today, but some of you sitting in this building, it just might be that God has set up a providential meeting for you today. Number two, I want you to see a personal conversation.
So, this providential meeting sets this up, and so now Jesus begins a conversation with her. Very interesting here. And by the way, may I say that this is still the case? Jesus is our example. We are to follow our example.
Jesus initiated conversation. But when Jesus initiated a conversation, he wasn't judging. He wasn't immediately identifying what her issues were and why she was a bad person and all the wrong things that she did. Are you looking at me? Jesus initiated this conversation out of pure love for her and out of concern, genuine concern for her eternity.
And you and I need to understand that we can't just come to church and expect visitors to talk to us. And we can't just go out in the community and think that visitors are going to, or people in the community are going to somehow notice, oh, that's a Christian. Let me go talk to them. Oh, yeah, that's what they're going to do. Listen, we people have to see that we care.
I want you to notice first the gift that he offered. Look at this conversation. Look at verse 10. Jesus answered and said unto her.
So now here's a conversation started. If thou knewest the gift of God and who it is that saith to thee, give me to drink.
Now she just asked, How are you being a Jew asking me for some water? Jesus said, If you knew the gift of God, And if you knew who asked you. For water, thou wouldst have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
Now, this doesn't make a whole lot of sense to her yet. And listen, may I say that if you're not maybe regularly a church person, there might be sometimes us preachers get up here and we might say some things and use some lingo that just sounds pretty foreign to you. And that's okay, we apologize. You know, it's just part of it sometimes, but sometimes we forget that not everybody knows all the terms and different things, and you don't need to feel bad because you don't know all the terms and different things. We ought to feel bad that we've not done a better job of showing it to you.
But may I say, Jesus came to her where she was, and he just simply told her the truth.
Now, notice this, if you would. See, what Jesus has to give here, notice, is a gift. He said, if you knew it's the gift of God, He didn't say if you knew all the doctrine of the Bible. He said, if you knew the gift Of God.
So, what Jesus has is a gift. And notice what it is: it's the gift of God. And notice this: it's not a gift, it's the gift of God. This is particular, this is personal. We're talking about salvation.
Salvation is free, it is given, it's a gift, and it is a gift that can only be given by God. It is the gift of God. Then he makes it clear, notice this. I love this verse. Look at it.
He makes it clear that if you ask, he'll give. He says, if you knew who was here, and if you knew really who I was, you would know that you would have asked of me. Him. and I would have given thee. I don't find anywhere in there that, you know, if you had asked me of water, I would have had to make sure that you were one that God chose for salvation.
I would have to make sure that you were predetermined. What we're told here is if you ask. That's right. I'll give. And can I say something?
Maybe there are people that have given you a hard time or marginalized you because of a sin or because of ethnicity or because of something in your life. And maybe that even church people sometimes have not treated you the best and been the best. I understand all that, but can I be truthful with you today? It really doesn't matter what they've done or how they've treated you. All you need to know today is that if you ask Jesus for this gift, He will give it to you.
The difference in living water and regular water. Notice what he says. She says, You want water? He says, Yeah, but if you had to ask, I asked you for water, but I can give you living water. What's the difference of water and living water?
The gift he offered, we got to understand this because this is a gift he's offering to you. The difference in living water and regular water is that living water is permanent. Living water is alive. Don't know if you live in water? Regular water is temporary.
Living water is eternal.
So, this gift that Jesus, He's not just offering to a sinful woman at the well, He's offering it to sinful people today. That everything else in your life temporarily satisfies you, but Jesus is offering you a gift that is eternal. The gift he offered, notice secondly, the greatness he revealed.
Now the woman comes back.
Now she doesn't understand a lot of things yet. Let's remember that. Don't expect her maybe to know everything you know. She just is at this well. This guy asked her for water, and she realizes he's a Jew.
And a logical question is: why are you asking me for water if you're a Jew? Then he comes back with, you know, gift of God, living water. What in the world is this guy talking about? And so she's probably thinking maybe this guy is some religious Idiot, or something, or some Jew that thinks he knows it all. Notice what she says: The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep.
From whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well and drank thereof himself and his children and his cattle? She says, Listen, you asked me for water and I come back why, and you're telling me you got living water. You don't even have a bucket. You can't even get the water out of this well to give me.
How in the world can you say you give me living water when you can't even get that water?
So, what you're saying is, you have something better than what's in this well. And Jacob's the one that left us this well. He's our forefather. This well has fed generations before me. And yet, you say you're better and greater than Jacob.
Do you understand what she's saying? You're saying you have something better than this well offers. And you don't even have what it takes to get water out of this one. Can you not see? In 2025, society's frustration.
You come to me at work. And you want me to come to your church? Because you say the truth is there and yet you act just like I do all week long. You say the same things I do, you partake in the same things, you look miserable half the time like I do. Why in the world would you sit there and tell me that you got something better at your church than I have with no church?
Am I making sense to anybody today? Do you not understand that our world is looking at us the same way she's looking at him? You say you have something better, but I don't see anything better in your life. In fact, you lie more than I do. In fact, you cheat more than I do.
In fact, you complain more than I do. Here's what's interesting. She responds with skepticism. In her mind, nobody could be greater than Jacob. Who dug the well?
who drank from the well. who gave the well. Who left the well? She is measuring Jesus against a revered ancestor. To her, Jacob at least provided physical water, which kept generations alive.
She's asking, who are you to claim? You can give better water. Than Jacob.
Now, at this point, she doesn't realize who Jesus truly is. But her question sets up Jesus In verse 13 and 14. when he declares that the water Jacob gave could never permanently. Satisfy. Thirst.
So, before we go to that next point, can I give you a little bit of a tidbit here? Jesus is greater than Jacob. Let me just quickly give you why. Jacob gave a well, Jesus gave the water of life. Jacob's well satisfied temporarily.
Jesus satisfies eternally. Jacob was a patriarch. Jesus is the Son of God. That trumps that, by the way. Jacob connected his descendants to an earthly land.
Jesus connects his descendants. with the heavenly land.
So I want you to notice thirdly the guarantee he promised. Jesus has got her into a conversation now, and she asked him a fair question: why do you say your water is greater?
So look at verse 14. I love this. But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him, Jesus says. shall never thirst. But the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water.
springing up into everlasting life.
Now don't lose me here today. The soul's deepest satisfaction can only be found in Christ. All over this world, people are trying to get permanent satisfaction from temporary sources. But maybe even you in this building have tried everything. And it's great for a while, but it doesn't.
Satisfy. Long term. Notice here, Jesus says that the water he gives Now please notice. Not only, Jesus says, the water I give, not only you'll never thirst again. But he says the water I give will then become in him.
A well of water springing forth. Jesus says, Well, let me tell you about my water. It didn't come from this well, and the water you get out of this well can satisfy your thirst. But guess what? In a few hours, you're gonna have to come back and get some more water.
But the water that I give, you'll never thirst again. But the water, and let me tell you why you'll never thirst again, because the water that I give now becomes a well in you. And when you and I get saved by the grace of God, the Holy Spirit dwells in us. It's Christ in us, the hope of glory, God in us. Literally, you and I, through salvation in Jesus Christ, we don't have to keep going and getting water from somewhere else.
The water is now in us. The guarantee he promised. Notice last the gift she desired. I love this. Look at verse 15.
Sir, give me this water.
Now I gotta warn you, she still doesn't fully understand. But she is beginning to get a hunger for this gift he's talking about.
Now, this is very important. Listen to me, Kerwin Baptist Church. Listen to me. It's not going to be long today, but you got to listen to me. If you don't listen to me, it's going to be long.
Some of you just perked up like I've never seen in my life. You need those old-fashioned earphone things, you know, kind of a thing. Notice this, please get this. I love this. In order to understand how you need living water.
You have to understand your own sin. Before you and I can understand the greatness of the gift of God, we need to understand the depravity of our own humanity. At this point, she still just sees this. living water as a benefit. Hey, that sounds good.
I'll never thirst again. I'm tired of coming to this well every day. Hey, that'll benefit me. Hey, that'll That'll do something, and you and I, we are guilty sometimes of painting salvation in Jesus Christ to people as if it's a good insurance to buy. Oh, it'll make your life better.
Well, it will but that's not why you get saved. Oh, I'm going to tell you, you're going to have blessings you've never seen. Why are we having to sell the gospel? Why are we having to sell salvation as if we're putting together a portfolio? This would be a good decision for you.
You will benefit from this. Listen, so far, she wanted that water. Sir, give me that water. But she didn't understand why she needed that water.
So Jesus is getting ready to take the next step. To explain to her why she needed more than what that well had, why she needed the water that Jesus had. Oh, I love this. Look at this if you would. We see number three.
piercing conviction. You see, this woman's going to have to get convicted of her sin before she sees the need of the water that Jesus gives. I hope today that you aren't in church or didn't make a profession of faith. because you just wanted something that would benefit you. I hope that you understand salvation Is something we desire in our life because we see how wretched, depraved, sinful.
Rotten. and unable to save ourselves. Amen. I want you to notice first the exposure of sin.
So Jesus looks at her.
Okay, you say you want this water now, so. I know Jesus knew she didn't really understand.
So he asked her a question. He says, go call thy husband.
Well, this is all going really good till now. And by the way, up until now is the prosperity gospel. Yeah, tell it. You don't have to repent of anything? You don't have to feel bad for anything.
We're not going to talk about sin at our church. And Kerwin, we're going to talk about sin here. We're just going to say, send a little bit of money in. You just be, your power's within. You just be the best you can be.
And I'm not calling any names, but you all know who you thought about as soon as I said that. The problem is Jesus didn't stop there. But the problem is, Jesus went a little further. He says, go call thy husband.
Problem. The exposure of sin. Notice, secondly, the evasion of shame. She says, I have no husband. Maybe I can just get away with that.
Call your husband. I don't have a husband. Oh, but she didn't know who she's dealing with. Notice thirdly the examination of truth. Look at verse 18, he says.
For thou hast had five husbands. How does he know that? And he whom thou hast is not thy husband. In that said'est thou truly. In other words, Jesus says, Well, you're telling the truth, you don't have a husband.
What you did mention is you've had five, and you are with a guy, but he's not your husband. All of a sudden, you and I see, look at me. There is no real understanding of your need of living water. Till you have an understanding. of the death of your sin.
Notice, fourthly, the excuse of religion.
Now how does she answer this? Think of verse 19. The woman saith unto him, Sir Yeah. I perceive That thou art a prophet. He was more than a prophet.
Our fathers. Oh, now she's going where? to religion. Our father is worshiped in this mountain, and ye say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. What did that have to do with her having five husbands and living with a man right now?
You know, when sin is exposed... Often our heart turns to religion. Instead of repentance. Ah, I just said bad. She here, listen to me.
He or she is equating worship to a place. Right, right. She's saying we believe that worship is done on such and such a mountain, and you say that worship is done in Jerusalem. And I'm going to tell you the mountain here in a minute. You see, all she sees is tradition.
All she sees is religion. All she sees is ritual. I want you to notice, fourthly, a profound revelation. And we're almost done.
So she brings that up. Let's see what Jesus is going to say to this. All right, look at verse 21. We see worship. redefined.
She just said We think you worship on the mountain. You say we worship at the temple in Jerusalem. Notice, look at verse 21. Jesus said unto her, Woman, Believe me. The hour cometh when ye shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father.
Ye worship ye know not what. You don't even know what you're worshiping. That is vain religion. That is traditional ritualistic religion. And it even goes on in churches like ours.
People get up here and sing a song and they don't even know what they're singing about. They don't even really know who they're singing about. And all across this and all across the state of North Carolina today, there are people very impressive getting up, singing, and doing a whole lot of stuff, and they don't even know really what they're singing about. Notice this, look what he says. He says, the day is going to come, you're not going to worship on that mountain or the temple in Jerusalem.
He says, you don't even know what you're worshiping on that mountain. He says, We know what we worship, Jesus says. For salvation, notice this is of the Jews.
Well, that might sound that's kind of mean to say to a Samaritan woman. No, notice closely, let me explain this whole thing. She had just raised the old debate between Jews and Samaritans. Oh, he's saying all this because he's a Jew and I'm a Samaritan. Reason he's asking me about my husbands and all Thank you for listening today.
We hope you received a blessing from our broadcast. The Kerwin Baptist Church is located at 4520 Old Hollow Road in Kernersville, North Carolina. You may also contact us by phone at 336-993-5192. or via the web. at Kerwin Baptist Church.com.
Enjoy our services live and all our media on our website and church app. Thank you for listening to the Kerwin Broadcast today. God bless you.
