You Will Never Be Thirsty Again by John Piper

let me add my welcome to those of you who are at the mounds view campus and the downtown campus and the south campus may the lord by his spirit and through his word reveal his son to you and may that be the means of great grace coming into our lives father in heaven a fountain is open to us now in this text everybody in this room is thirsty not everybody is drinking from that fountain and finding their thirst stilled there so I ask that all of us on all these campuses under this word would have taste buds granted for this living water that we would drink to our sole satisfaction and that we would magnify Christ as superior over all other treasures I ask this in Jesus name Amen this story in John 4 about Jesus meeting with the woman the Samaritan woman at the well is filled with wonderful truth about Jesus and it has woeful truth about us and the wonderful truth about Jesus is perfectly suited to give hope to us in our woeful condition and therefore I don't want you to short-circuit the wonders of Jesus by running away from descriptions in the Bible of your woeful condition because the reason the Bible describes us as woeful as we are is so that the water that he gives and the salvation that he offers would taste as sweet as it really is that's the main reason why we're described in the Bleak conditions that we are and we really are in a difficult position ma'am I have living water for you but you don't have a bucket that that's us that's us now the wonderful truth that i want you to see about jesus in verses 1 to 15 is number one his gracious purposefulness that he's graciously purposeful number two that he's graciously relational and number three that he's graciously superior purposeful relational superior and the reason I repeat the word graciously each time as you might guess is because of the lodestar of these messages found in chapter one verses 14 and 16 we have seen his glory glory as the only son from the father full of grace and truth and from that fullness we have all received upon that's the load star in the sky of John the gospel writer every text is that including this one especially so the good news in this text about Jesus the glory that he's shining through this text is he's graciously purposeful he's graciously relational and he's graciously superior and we're in big trouble except for that so that's where we're going let's go to the transition between chapter 3 and 4 and make it the way by which we begin to talk about his graciously purposeful chapter 3 verse 34 for he whom God has sent utters the words of God for he gives the spirit without measure the Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand now these are breathtaking word they really are Jesus is said by God he speaks the words of God he has the spirit immeasurably from God and always has forever the father loves him the father has given all things into his hand so Jesus is God sent God love God speaking spirit permeated all authoritative ruler of all things that's the way chapter 3 ends now chapter 4 begins and we're told that he's in Judea and he leaves heading for Galilee to the north through Samaria and the way John tells us that he gets ready to leave raises questions let me read it to you we'll see how the end of chapter 3 helps answer some of the questions about this departure from Judea now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making am baptizing more disciples than John although wasn't Jesus it was disciples he left Judea and departed for Galilee and he had to pass through Samaria so what's the reason for leaving Judea the reason is because he knew that the Pharisees knew something and what the Pharisees knew was that more people are following Jesus then are following John they're starting to mount up behind Jesus and they're fading away behind John and knowing that the Pharisees knew that he left make sense dozen to be I can think of lots lots of ways to explain that and I'm not sure which one is right I'll give you the four that I can think of and I think they're all true more or less when it says at the end of chapter three that he is from God speaking the words of God and permeated with God the spirit and all things have been given into his hand by God I know he didn't leave out of fear so I'm excluding the thought that oh the Pharisees are getting really bent out of shape at my success and they are probably going to try to do me in so I've got to get out of here out of fear that's not what's going on not not the one in to whom the father has given all things he is in charge of this situation nobody takes my life from me I lay it down of my own accord so if he's concerned about the Pharisees getting their back up about his success he might be thinking my time is not yet so I'm moving lest they capture me too early I will decide when they capture me I will decide when I am killed that's the sovereign Jesus of chapter 3 verse 35 so that would be my first suggestion namely that perhaps he saw trouble coming and it wasn't time for trouble he's got lots to do and lots to say he'll do it in Galilee maybe even in Samaria this begins to get at what I'm talking about when I say graciously purposeful he is not being driven out of Judea against his will he is deciding to leave Judea by his own plan on drawing that down from who he is in chapter 3 verses 35 34 second maybe that the Pharisees would turn the popularity of Jesus against John the Baptist and begin to discredit John the Baptist because John the Baptist is a huge embarrassment to the Pharisees John the Baptist is calling everybody to repent Pharisees repent and be baptized how embarrassing you think we need to repent and be baptized yes you are a brood of vipers this is embarrassing and so if they can find any way to discredit John like oh look they're all leaving John and following this new teacher so we can now say to everybody his message was false and Jesus didn't want that to happen so he's out of there may be number three could be that Jesus contemplated the deviousness of the Pharisees maybe they were going to discredit both by saying well look the first one tells everybody that the second one is great and they're all moving around and there's no fixed point here and so both of them are false it is possible to turn things around in ways just aren't true and so perhaps to avoid both parts of the movement being discredited Jesus and John Jesus just pulls back now the fourth one the fourth suggestion of why he left when the Pharisees found out he was having more followers than John is supplementary and very important namely he said I've got to go through Samaria do you think in verse 4 that the words had to mean a geographic constraint like there's no other way to get to Galilee then through Samaria he had to go through Samaria to get to Galilee well he didn't could have gone through the Transjordan gone by the sea long way around but lots of Jews did that because he's these Samaritans are unclean you don't you don't go through Samaria if you don't have to well what did he mean I'm not sure that half to means this but I'm suggesting to you have to mint I've got an appointment I got to keep it I feel warranted in saying that because of how much he knew about this woman I mean he reads her heart totally this is a totally sovereign moment in the life of Jesus in which he knows this woman's whole life and why would think he only knew it when he saw her so if any or all of those four suggestions of why he left when he heard that the Pharisees were knowing this he is purposeful graciously purposeful he's not being jerked around by the Pharisees and he's not being jerked around by geography he's doing what he's doing because the father has given all things in to his hands and it was gracious it was gracious that he he would keep the appointment of the cross when he designed to keep the appointment of the cross and not earlier it was gracious that he would not let John be unnecessarily discredited it was gracious that he would preserve the unity of the two movements and it was gracious that he would keep his divine appointment in Samaria and so that's my first point his leaving his leaving Judea and heading for Galilee through Samaria is graciously purposeful our Lord Jesus does not get jerked around one of the glorious things about having a sovereign Savior is that he is always multi purposeful and they're always gracious for those who trust him if you're a believer all of God's purpose is for you are hopeful helpful designed for your good we named four of them actually there are and there were thousands of purposes for going to Judea for going to Galilee through Samaria so make sure you feel this now I'm going to apply it right to you God is sovereign your Savior is sovereign he lays down his life when he pleases nobody takes my life from me he moves through the world at his own back not anybody else's and anytime he does anything he's doing ten million things in that thing that you don't know about you may know 357 and there are 7 trillion things he is doing every time he does anything which means we should be very slow to criticize him as though the three that we see aren't sufficient to explain the deal we have God on her side he sees the ripple effect going out from every bumping molecule forever I love having a sovereign Savior he is infinitely wise he bumps me he's got a million reasons and he may show me one or none except the ones that are in the Bible which he's already shown us and there's always six I can name but that's another sermon read that chapter in let the nation's be glad that's the end of my first point he is graciously purposeful in leaving Judea and heading for Galilee through Samaria number two he is graciously relational the main relationship here is Jesus in this woman at the well right nobody else rises to that in this text at all there are only two people here of any significance in verses 1 to 15 is Jesus and this Samaritan will at the well and we're going to see next week how relentlessly relational he is he will not let this woman go he knows that she had many husbands I've he knows that the man she's living with is not her husband that wasn't in today's text that's next time but you need to know that this is the woman he knows he knows this woman and he is seeking her worship look at verse 23 it gets into this argument with her about worship and he says true worshipers will worship the father in spirit and in truth for the father is seeking such people to worship Him what do you think he meant by that in regard to her the father is seeking ma'am he's seeking such people to worship Him have you ever compared this text to the prodigal son luke 15 it's amazing how many similarities there are remember Jesus was eating with the tax collectors and sinners at the beginning of Luke 15 who's at tax collectors and sinners what are sinners that's that's her okay that's her those harliss prostitutes tax collectors people that are disreputable so Jesus eating there and and the Pharisees are bent out of shape about that and say why is your why is your teacher eating with sinners and tax collectors and Jesus hearing them says may I tell you three stories and the third one is the prodigal son which is about what the father seeking the Sun both the prodigal and the elder brother that's the Pharisee the Pharisee in the center that's what so now as we got so he's seen the father is seeking such to worship him ma'am adulterous five times over living in adultery right now the father is seeking such such to worship Him now this is graciously relational he didn't have to do this you did not have to go through Samaria enough to stop at the well he didn't have to ask for water he did not have to engage how you doing you know I'm this text is often used as a basis for a sermon land evangelism be like Jesus come on engage people be like that and and I'm just so eager not to preach that sermon because with a woman we are the woman in this text we're not Jesus we need Jesus if we got a hold of that if we felt that to the bottom of our toes we wouldn't need sermons on evangelism okay she says in verse 9 the basis of the relational problem with Samaritans and Jews we've got to get this clear now verse 9 the Samaritan woman said to him how is it that you a Jew ask a drink from me a woman of Samaria for Jews have no dealings with Samaritans why is that they read you don Carson's historical explanation they have some handle on where did Samaria come from it used to be a city like the capital of the Northern Kingdom and now it's an area what what what who are they why is there such a problem here's what he says after the Assyrians captured Samaria the capital of the Northern Kingdom in 722 they deported all the Israelites of substance and settled that land with foreigners Syrians mainly who intermarried with the surviving Israelites and adhered to some of their ancient religion you read about that in second Kings 17 after the Exile of the southern kingdom from ian's babylons a couple hundred years later after the Exile the Jews are returning they return to their homeland they viewed the Samaritans not only as the children of political rebels but as racial half-breeds whose religion was tainted by various unacceptable elements for example they only believed in the Pentateuch the first five books of the Old Testament they rejected everything else has not inspired about 400 BC the Samaritans erected a rival temple in Mount Gerizim which is going to be relevant next time so we got ethnic racial religious issues here between Jesus and this woman between Jews and and Samaritans Jews disdain Samaritans their ceremonially unclean their racially impure their religiously heretical and therefore they are avoided now to make you feel this like you should what Jesus is doing I think it will be helpful for me to draw the analogy between this situation in my hometown 50 years ago in Greenville South Carolina walgreens cressa's Woolworths all had to water fountains and sign over one said white and the sign over the other said colored can you imagine anything better designed to demean what do you say to the child who asks why daddy but why are there two fountains you you can hardly imagine building your entire plumbing system around this well in Psych are of Samaria there's only one fountain and the sign over it is colored Samaritan verse 6 says Jacob's Well was there so Jesus we read as he was from the journey was sitting beside the well literally he was sitting on the well it was about the sixth hour which means noon a woman from Samaria came to draw water jesus said to her give me a drink for his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food now notice what he did first he went through Samaria to keep an appointment second he sent his disciples to buy food presumably food made by unclean Samaritans and he said all of them so he could be alone didn't have to send all of them doesn't take that many to carry food he sat on the well fully conspicuous and unavoidable and he asked a woman who was unclean impure heretical and disreputable a Samaritan not for permission to drink from the well but to drink from her bucket you give me a trick so he's standing beside the fountain mark colored watching a black woman in 1959 fill her water bottle for all to see everybody in Woolworths is watching and then when it's full and she's kind of what are you doing he says can I have a drink from your water bottle and she says in verse 9 Jews have no dealings with Samaritans now that's a very loose translation soon crowd on my means used to gather used together she's talking about her bucket Jews don't have common use of things with Samaritans there are separate fountains you can't be asking me for this it isn't done Jesus is pursuing an unacceptable relationship graciously he's pressing in on a relationship graciously he means to have her in heaven he means to have her everything is intentional here it's not just happening this is design God sent not the son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved not coming here to condemn you not breaking all these taboos to condemn you he broke centuries old taboos he sought to be alone in Samaria he sat on the well he spoke and did not remain silent he spoke to a Samaritan he spoke to a woman he spoke to an adulteress he asked for a drink from her water bottle this is in your face gracious relationship pursuit we have seen his glory glory as of the only son from the father full of grace and truth and from his fullness from his fullness we have all received we-we-we critical bitter angry fearful lustful unrelieved grace upon grace you may be here in this room you may be the one who built the fountains 50 years ago that's me or you may be the one who tried to shoot the Jews last week in the Holocaust Museum white supremacy or you may be the one who's been forced to drink from the other fountain all your life in either case at this moment in this room at this moment in this room God's pursuing you graciously that's why you hear you're here you thought you came for a concert guess what he might drop dead before I'm done and you would not have come in vain because God at this moment has his hand extended to you and he's pushing in on you racist or abused it's pushing in on you he will have you he will not give up I pray he will not give up he didn't give up on her oh my she dodged and she dodged and he would not give up on her we'll be back Lord willing next week and watch him pursue so that's my second point graciously relational he will blast through everything finally Jesus is graciously superior graciously superior so he's got nothing more to say about Jews and some errands he's done that's over not a word shows up of that again he's he has shattered that thing with his life he's done with that and he's moving on to more important things he turned a life there's 10 jesus answered her if you knew the gift of God and who it is that is saying to you give me a drink you would have asked him and he would have given you living water woman may God open your eyes you're talking to the son of god I'm carrying within myself the gift of god and i will give you water that lives forever verse 11 the woman said to him Sir you have nothing to draw water with and the well is deep where do you get this living water she doesn't see she is just like Nicodemus Nicodemus you must be born again I have living water for you you're dead you need life I'll pour it into you where is there a room big enough for me to get into that's that's Nicodemus woman I've got life for you I've got water for you that will spring up and give you everlasting life sir you don't have a bucket this is exactly the same there is a pattern in this gospel this is what I meant when I said woeful things about us we laugh it is so tragic have you ever SAT across the table with someone you love and shared the gospel with them and there is the blankest most horrible insensitivity he won't scream can't you see what you're doing to your life and they don't see it you don't see it so this is us Nicodemus is us the woman at the well is us where's the womb where's the bucket that's us just want to get out of here and go watch a game that's that's her she senses there's some kind of claim to superiority here because she says in verse 12 are you greater you more are you superior are you greater than our Father Jacob he gave us the well and drank from it himself as did his sons and his livestock so that's the question to you is Jesus greater than Jacob what do you think why is he yes that's an easy one he is why and Jesus answers like this jesus said to her after verse 12 jesus said to her everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again but everyone who drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again the water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life yes ma'am I am superior to Jacob my gift is superior to Jacobs gift my water is superior to Jacobs water my well is superior to Jacob's Well and my sons and my daughters are superior because they never die so don't miss the five things he says about the water number 1 verse 10 it is the gift of God if you knew the gift of God number two it's living water next in verse 10 he would have given you living water three if you drink it you'll never thirst again verse 14 whoever drinks of this water I will give him will never be thirsty again that's a troubling statement cuz does he does he mean I'll never feel any longings after I believe no longings no.8 kings of soul I don't think so and the reason I don't think so is because of the next one number for the water this water is unusual this is water like you've never seen this water becomes a well a spring so when you drink it it doesn't just slake this momentary thirst it does what it becomes it transmutes into a wealth leaping little work leaping is it why would you want it to do that if you had no thirsts know when it says will never thirst again it means we'll never have to go anywhere else thirsty again because this well never stops giving what you need you never have to go to sex again never have to go to booze again have to go to drugs again food again wife husband job vacations internet again none of your idols they are falling to the ground because there's a well in here not just a drink this this is the kind of water that when you drink it the first time that is when you reach out and embrace Jesus as your superior water treasure life it produces a well which in chapter 7 is called the Holy Spirit number 5 this water gives eternal life end of verse 14 a spring of water welling up to eternal life so yes ma'am I am superior to Jacob are you superior to Jacob he gave us this well are you superior yes ma'am I am superior to Jacob i am not arrogantly superior I am graciously superior my superiority is your salvation you must decrease and I must increase I have the water of life you have thirst you need what I have in order to live if you will drink if you will believe me as your superior thirst satisfier then you will be satisfied forever how does she do with that verse 15 the woman said to him Sir give me this water and then she blows it so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water this bucket is heavy I don't like having to come out here every day to get water for my house so yeah I'm interested in your living water that bubbles up yeah so many people become Christians like that she's not converted she's dead she's dead she doesn't get it she's blind she's going to take it and use it for her old self she just doesn't want to come and carry the bucket so if you can you can lift my bucket my health wealth and prosperity needs if you can make godliness a means of gain if you can peddle the word of God I'll take it I go to church every Sunday for that I'll join and be dead and perish so we must now wait a week actually you shouldn't wait a week because if Fernando Ortega might die before this concert you might die before next week and that's no joke I'm get on a plane at 225 to my afternoon go to California ask your prayers to speak tomorrow night what the planes do they strew bodies 50 miles across the coast of Brazil that's what they do naked bodies as the planes do meteors kill boys churches blow up you might not make it back next week and so I simply close by saying right now is is the day of salvation right now God is speaking this is this is this story is in the Bible and in my mouth and you're here so that you would know God saying I'm pursuing people to worship Me I'm after this five-fold harlot adulterous Samaritan unclean heretical half-breed I want her I will have her and if he wants her why wouldn't he want you this is gracious gracious purposefulness and gracious relationships and gracious superiority offered to you freely to meet every need that you will ever have forever and ever its prey gracious father in heaven we asked it week after week for the sake of your glory and our joy that you would open the eyes of the blind raise the dead satisfy the thirsty with yourself Oh God we cannot make this happen only you can make it happen and so we ask that you would do it in Jesus great and powerful and superior and gracious name amen you you

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Keywords: Revival, Character Of God, Free Sermons, Video Sermons, Jesus Christ, What Is The Gospel, SermonIndex, What Is The Truth, John Piper

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Length: 46min 15sec (2775 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 12 2016