John 4:13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. 15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
Water is very important to life. We cannot live without water. Calgary, Alberta is currently dealing with a major water break. One half of the water supply to Calgary and the surrounding area has been shut down due to this major leak. It is estimated that it will take about 5 weeks to repair the leak. The pipe that broke is so massive that Canada does not even have the supplies to replace this pipe. Calgary has had to import parts for this pipe from California. The mayor of Calgary has talked about the large number of engineers and other “experts” who have been consulted in the repair operation. I realize that I am sitting miles away from this situation and I do not have a front row seat to the situation. However, there are some things that seem to make sense, but are lacking in this situation. Since they have had this break, you would think they might see the danger of having so much of that area dependent upon one pipe. Why not split the flow into several smaller pipes so that if one breaks you do not have such a large shock to the area. I have not heard any talk of that. The focus is on this one system and they are suggesting that other cities will also eventually face a similar situation. This situation demonstrates a major flaw in man’s planning and execution of the plan. In the spiritual sense, this situation is a reminder of a Biblical truth that has a much different outcome. There is only one source of Living Water. That source is Jesus Christ. In our text, Jesus intentionally met with a Samaritan woman to introduce Himself to her as the Living Water. There is no other source of this Living water. The contrast is that this source of Living Water will never break. It will never spring a leak. It is available to all. It is always available for all. There is no other source of this life giving Water. There will never be a need for a secondary source of this Water. This Water is never in need of purifying. It is never low on supply. The people around Calgary have been struggling to adapt to the drastic change in water supply. The mayor and other officials immediately told the people they needed to greatly restrict their use of water. No washing the car or watering the lawn, or even plants. The mayor came out a few days after the break and scolded the people for using too much water. Then a few days later she came out and told people to brush their teeth while in the shower and to take shorter showers and to leave the dirt on the car because it adds character. She was making suggestions that she thought would help limit the use of water. It is interesting to observe the situation taking place in that area. It is quite a challenge for those involved in it. The people will no doubt be very thankful when they get the news that the water line has been repaired. Jesus told this woman that anyone who would drink the water that He was offering, would never thirst again. This Water would be a well of Water springing up into everlasting life. When a person is saved, the Holy Spirit indwells that person. We do not need to ask for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Jesus taught a very clear truth here. The Scriptures illuminate this truth further, but the fact is that when a person is saved, the Holy Spirit lives inside that person and He works in the heart of that person to help him to grow into a stronger Christian. We see a picture of the Godhead here. Jesus did not mentioned the Father here, but He would mention Him further on. He focused the attention of this woman on believing in Him. The Bible makes it clear that the Godhead is involved in salvation and in eternal life. The Father is the One we turn to in repentance, and we pray to Him. The Son, Jesus Christ, is the One whom we trust in as the means of salvation — His shed blood and His Life. The Holy Spirit works in the heart of the lost person to convince him of sin. He also moves into the person’s heart at salvation, enabling the saved person to understand the Word of God and to apply the Word of God to his new life. This well of Water springing up into everlasting life is the work of the Holy Spirit helping the child of God to understand the Word of God. The Holy Spirit does not work independently of the Father and the Son. The Charismatic heresy regarding the Holy Spirit has no basis in Scripture. The Holy Spirit does not do anything that the Word of God does not declare. The evidence of the indwelling Holy Spirit is a changed and changing life according to God’s Word. Neither this woman nor any other person that believed on Jesus Christ during His earthly ministry, ever spoke in any other language. The gift of tongues was a temporary gift that was given as a sign to unbelieving Jews. The apostles first received this gift in Acts 2. There were a few other occasions where saved people spoke in tongues. Tongues was always human languages and it was for a sign to unbelieving Jews. The vast majority of people who were saved in the book of Acts, did not speak in tongues. No one was ever taught to speak in tongues or told to speak in tongues. Jesus Christ offers Living Water to all who will drink it. We see from our text that Jesus did not immediately give this living water to this woman. She needed to address some things in her life first of all. Salvation is not a process. It is a work of God that happens in a moment of time. However, those who get saved, must acknowledge their sinfulness. They do not need to remember all their sin to be saved. They need to repent toward God and put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance toward God is a turning to God with the heart and mind and in turning to God it is a desire to leave the life of sin behind. In salvation the nature of the recipient of salvation is changed. That change is described in John 1:12-13:
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
We as people do not have the power to stop sinning. We are born with a sin nature. It is natural for us to sin. We need our nature changed and we cannot do that. It is God that changes our nature. The indwelling Holy Spirit is there in the true child of God to give him the ability to turn away from sin and to resist the temptation to sin. Saved people do not always avail themselves of the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit along with the Word of God works in the heart of the saved person to convict of sin and also to warn not to sin. The Living Water that Jesus offered this woman has many benefits. It has no negative side effects. It is essential to life and it is readily available for all. If you are reading this, but not saved, turn to God now and ask Him to forgive you and save you. Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ alone as your Saviour. He will save the repentant sinner. He will give you the power to begin to walk with Him and to enjoy the blessings of saying no to sin and yes to God. Your life will begin to change immediately if you are truly saved. The changes will be continuing as you get into a true local church and follow the Word of God. Those that are saved now need to be growing in the Lord. The things of this world should be growing “strangely dim” as we spend more time in God’s Word and as we walk humbly with the Lord. Pastor Bartel