Living Water Part 3

by John Lowe
(Laurens SC, USA)

This woman knew the scriptures, and that God had promised to send a Savior, but she did not know that He was right there in front of her.

The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will telleth all Things. (John 4:25)

The Samaritans know about the Christ and they were anticipating His coming. Today, you will find a lot of people in the church, and I believe that they are Christians, but they don’t believe in the Second Coming. There is another group that believes in it, but they are not looking forward to it. But it doesn’t matter what we believe about this because God said it is going to happen and He will bring it about. I will give this woman credit, for knowing more in her time, that most people know today.

Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he. (John 4:26)

This is one of the greatest statements in the word of God. It is His declaration about Himself. Now, all three members of the Trinity have identified Him. At His baptism, the Holy Spirit rested upon Him, and God spoke from heaven, and said, “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17) He is the Savior of the world and this woman is face-to-face with Him. Now listen to what happened when the disciples returned.

And upon this came his disciples, and marveled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said: What seeketh thou? Or, Why talketh thou with her? The woman then left her waterpot and went her way into the city, and saith unto the men, Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: Is not this the Christ? (John 4:27-29)

When the disciples returned, they saw that Jesus was talking with the Samaritan woman. Even though they knew better than to question Him, they did not know why He would have anything to do with a Samaritan, let alone a woman.

The woman had faith in Him now, so she told the men in the city about Him. She doesn’t go to the women. They don’t like her because she is too popular with the men. She said to the men, “Come, and see a man, that told me all the things that ever I did.” Some of the men had been involved with her, so they were very interested and wanted to know if He really could tell everything that she had done, therefore the men went to see Jesus.

Then they went out of the city and came unto Him. (John 4:30)

There are a variety of reasons for why people come to Christ; curiosity, the witness of others, sickness, poverty, and hopelessness, just to name a few. In this case, the woman brought the men of the town out to see Christ, by her witness, and her witness is evidence of her faith.

In the meantime, his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat. But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him aught to eat? Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work. (John 4:31-34)

The disciples have fallen into the same trap that the woman did. They have returned with food to share with Him, but He says that He has food that they are not aware of. They wonder if someone has brought Him food because they can’t get beyond the physical hunger that they share. Jesus did not leave them wondering; He told them that His food was to do the will of His Father, and the Father’s will was to reach this woman. Jesus then used this opportunity to do some teaching, and He said to His disciples…..”
Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. I send you to reap that wherein ye bestoweth no labor: other men laboreth, and ye are entered into their labors. (John 4:35-38)

Jesus is speaking to His disciples. In the future, they will be His witnesses to a world that is ready for the Gospel. Their job is to give out the Gospel, and they will not always see any results for their efforts. However, “the word of God will not return void”, so others will benefit from what they have sown. Those that reap usually have no way of knowing about the prayers and testimonies of God’s people that prepared the hearts for “saving faith” to grow. Our job is to sow the word of God and hope that good churches reap what we have sown. Jesus had sown to the woman, and she had sown to the men of the town, and the word of God had an impact, for we read,
And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did. (John 4:39)

There were a great many people that believed in Him, because of this woman with the “shady” past.
So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them and he abode there two days. And many more believed because of his own words; And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the savior of the world. (John 4:40-42)

The woman had brought the men to see Jesus, through her testimony, and some even believed because she said, “He knew everything that I ever did.” But many more believed, because they heard Him speak, and they received His words with faith. Today, many people come to Christ, due to the witness of another. In my own life, I had a godly grandmother that witnessed to me through the life that she led and by reading to me from the Bible when I was a small boy. There was no other influence for God in my life, other than my grandmother. She sowed to me, and a preacher at the Rosedale Tabernacle reaped my soul for Jesus. I know that they are both with the Lord now, but I hope that they rejoice because I came to Jesus through their testimony. It is a wonderful thing to exercise an influence on others for Christ.

There is a true story that may serve to illustrate how we can influence others, and not even know it. It seems that there were two bicycle repairmen in Dayton, Ohio, who dreamed of flying. They went to the Dayton Public Library and checked out a book on the life and works of a German man named Lilienthal, who had succeeded in flying a glider. The two men were named Orville and Wilbur Wright. They began to explore all the possibilities of heavier-than-air flight. Almost everyone knows that in 1903 their dream became reality when they flew for the first time at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, and launched the space age. But it was the influence of Lilienthal, and others, who inspired the Wright brothers to try the impossible.

We must never minimize the power and influence for either good or evil that all of us have. Long after we are dead and gone, our influence will live on. Jesus’ influence with this woman caused her to believe in Him and be saved. And she influenced others to believe through her testimony. If you are a Christian, you may also have influence with someone, which may lead them to Christ. What a great blessing it is to influence anyone for Christ.

Jesus walked sixty miles to give the “living water” to this woman, and He is here today to offer it to you. If you have never accepted Jesus as your Savior, ask Him for the “living water” right now; just whisper this prayer-Jesus, I know that I am a sinner. Please forgive my sins and give me the “living water” of salvation, for I believe in you. If you pray that prayer, then you can thank Him for saving you, and you can know that you belong to Him.