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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
December, 1936
change of subject to bring her the water He longed to give (vs. 21-26). Telling her of the true worship and the true God, He led her to acknowledge her belief concern ing the coming of the Messiah, and then gave her the revelation that He Himself was the water of life of which they had been speaking. III. T he P ath w ay to S ecuring the W ater of L ife The pathway to securing the water of life is suggested by three words: Convic tion, confession, revelation. First, convic tion is the work of the Holy Spirit (John 16:7-11). By the Holy Spirit, Jesus awak ened in the woman the conviction of sin. Second, confession is brought about by a desire for the water of life, a desire deep enough to put aside all of the objections concerning differences or sinfulness, a desire allayed only by the possession of the water of life. Third, Jesus reveals Himself as the water of life, the gift of God, to be received as a gift by simple faith. The conclusion of this account tells that this poor woman found what she desired and that she drank and was forever satisfied, never again knowing soul thirst. Points and Problems The lesson in John 4:7-26 will suggest some very instructive things to the soul- winner who is fishing for men. 1. Our Lord began tactfully with some thing in which the Samaritan woman was interested. She had come to draw water at Jacob’s well, and He asked her for a drink, yet His request was no mere sub terfuge. He was actually tired and thirsty. But deeper than the physical need, was another thirst, a thirst for souls. 2. He moved immediately from material to spiritual matters. Certainly we should be wise and full of tact in our beginnings. Let us talk about the weather, the depres sion, politics, anything that will break down barriers and establish a friendly conversa tional basis. But let us not forget the main purpose of that conversation. If our Lord had permitted the Samaritan woman to manage the conversation, the whole time would have been spent discussing Jacob’s well, the relation of Jews and Samaritans, and similar questions, Sometimes, in our well-meant efforts, we arc so full of tact and fear that we never go beyond the things of this world, and thus we fail at the important business. 3. In opening the woman’s eyes to her spiritual need, our Lord had to probe into the depths of her own personal sin. In spite of all of His patient efforts to fasten the woman’s attention upon “ living water,” she kept returning to the water in Jacob’s well. He abruptly and unerringly put His finger on the difficulty. “ Go, call thy hus band,” He commanded (v. 16). It was an embarrassing demand, as it would be ajso for many in this modern age of thoughtless marriage and easy divorce. Spiritual blind ness is the direct result of personal sin. It is not easy to talk about personal sin, but sometimes it is necessary. 4. Our Lord refused to be diverted' from the main issue by any theological argument.
See the woman’s attempt to do this in verses 19 and 20. 5. He cleared away all possible excuse for further delay. The woman wanted to wait until “Messiah cometh” (v. 25). The Lord replied: “ I that speak unto thee am he” (v. 26). Let us, impress men with the absolute necessity of deciding now. The Son of God “ is come” (1 John 5:20). An old Primitive Methodist preacher tells how, in boyhood, he used to see many peo ple going to draw water from the village well, and he feared that the supply might fail. T o find out whether the water was becoming less and less, one morning he descended the well steps and placed a mark on the brickwork, just above the water line. In the evening he went down again, happily to find just as much water in the well, though people had been drawing all day. A perennial spring beneath the well con tinually replenished the supply. So Jesus Christ, the Wellspring of salvation, supplies every believer’s need. He is “ a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” —M. B. Jesus Answering a Woman’s Question J ohn 4:1-54 Memory Verset “The Lord is good to all” (Psa. 145:9). Approach: Last week we found the Lord Jesus answering Nicodemus’ question, when he asked how he must be born again. This week we find Jesus answering a woman’s question. Lesson Story: One Golden Text Illustration J o h n 4:14 to the well to draw water. Jesus asked her for a drink. This surprised the woman, for most Jews thought themselves so much bet ter than the Samaritans that they wouldn’t even talk to them. The woman asked Him why He did it. JesuS answered this ques tion in words like these : “ If you knew who I am, you would ask me to give you living water, water that would keep you from ever thirsting again.” The woman thought that He meant that He had a way of getting water out of this well, so that she need never draw water again. But Jesus knew that she did not understand. He told her some of the things that she had done during her life, and she had done many things that she should not have done/ for she had sinned many times. The woman was surprised that He should know so much about her. She told Him that she thought He was a prophet. If she thought this about Him, Jesus knew that she would believe that His message came from God. He then explained to her that He was the Messiah, the Christ who had been promised. And she did believe. day Jesus was rest ing on the edge of a well while His dis ciples went into the village to buy food. They were passing through the country of Samaria. As Jesus rested there, a Sa maritan woman came
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