In this sermon, the speaker focuses on the importance of wells in the Bible, specifically Jacob's well. He emphasizes that understanding the wells in the Old Testament is crucial for understanding the New Testament. The speaker also discusses the story of the woman at the well and how Jesus reveals her need for salvation. He highlights the significance of God opening her eyes to see the well of water, symbolizing the place of vision and salvation.

John 4, starting in verse 6. Let's pray. Father, thank You for Your Word. And now, Lord, unless You enlighten our eyes to see and our ears to hear, we can just hear a message and go on. So we ask that You'd give us something from Yourself. We worship You, and we're here to listen to You. You're the Lord, You're the God of the universe. And You clothe us, You surround us with Yourself. And You're present. We thank You that greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world. We thank You that we can work together with You, God working with us, God working in us, God working through us. We're humbled that You would even consider us, much less die on a cross to save us from our sins. And then to think that You want to fellowship with us, that You love us, You desire and delight our company. It just baffles us, but we do, we do appreciate it. We do appreciate You. And now our prayer is that any listening that do not know Jesus in a personal way, have not been born again, have not repented of their sins, that they truly would come to grips with the reality of life, that they are lost, their life is empty without meaning, and that You would save them, that they would call and ask You to save them. Call unto You. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Thank You now in Jesus' name. Amen. I started reading a book since we have a little more quietness around our house this week. Since most of the family is up at Grandma and Grandpa's. So I decided it's a good time to read a book. I don't get to read books too much. So I started reading Jonathan Goforth. I think I read it many years ago. A missionary. He was raised Presbyterian and he had the call of God on his life to go to China. There was no field in China at that time. They said, well, we've got plenty to do where we're at. But he persisted and he impacted the whole school where he went. He went off to Knox College. And that's what I want to share with you a little bit about. When he went to Knox College, he was all excited because he got saved. And he's thinking, here, I'm going to go and have spiritual fellowship. We're going to get the Word. I'm going to be with other young men where I can fellowship with them. And his mom, before he left, she got together. She was a seamstress and she made him some clothes. And he got there and the students made fun of his clothes. It really hurt him deeply. But he went out, took almost every penny he had and bought some cloth. And he was going to have somebody make him some more clothes that were in style. Well, the students got wind of it. And they got into his room and they got a hold of his clothes. They cut a hole in it. And it was a big piece of white clothing, I guess. Cut a hole in it, put it over his head, run him up and down the hall. Just mocked him and made fun of him, shamed him and everything. And so he had one of his first rude awakenings to the reality of life. And he went even to the head of the school and talked about it. And basically he said, that's just the way it is. You're just going to have to learn to live with things like that. And so he learned to go to God early. Now, the shocking thing to him was, he had such a burden for the lost and such a desire for God to go into an atmosphere like that. And to find that supposedly these were supposed to be the leaders, coming up leaders in their denomination. And that was their attitude towards him. But worse than that, he went off into the slums and witnessed to the lost, worked in the missions. And then they made fun of him for doing that. Just. He would sit at the dinner table and tell them these stories about these people getting saved and their conditions and everything. And it just blew their minds to hear these stories. What is this kind of stuff? Here was Jonathan Goforth. And of course, God used him in China as one of the great missionaries. I was talking with a young man this week. And I won't mention his church. He goes to a church and we were talking about churches. He's a very discerning young man. A very spiritually minded young man. I'd say he's probably deeper in his church than many of the older people. Because he says he and he sees how so much of it is not real. And they really focus on being pure and trying to have standards and things. And that's good. But he sees and he says almost everybody in the whole church has moved in there. Because we were talking about converts. And there wasn't anybody that he knew of in all the years that he got saved in the church. Except maybe for at some evangelistic meetings. A few of the younger children might have gone forward. And he's saying this isn't right. I know this is not right. And it has no impact on their community. Nobody in the community has come into the church. Everybody has moved in from outside. Now I'm saying this not to put down this church or anything like this. I'm not saying that we're any better. Because this seems to be a spirit of the church. The spirit age. And even sometimes when we see a lot of people maybe go forward to get saved. They've been talked into it. Coerced into it. Tricked into it. Or whatever. To feel they've got to do this. And so really how much of that even comes to be a true conversion. Actually can become a detriment to people thinking that they've got saved. Because they've walked an aisle. Now there's a scripture in Romans 10.20 that says, I was found of them that sought me not. The people that I went out and witnessed to last night. I don't know if they're saved or not. I don't know. But they didn't ask me to come there and share Christ with them. This woman at the well. I don't think was really going out that day hoping that she would find the Messiah. Do you? I don't think so. And so if people are going to find God. It's basically God comes looking for them. And that's where we're at today. God is looking for the lost to save them. Now who's this passage for anyway? John chapter 4. Who is it for? Well since it's in my Bible. I say it's for me. And it means a lot to me. Especially since I like to evangelize and go out and do that kind of stuff. In the spirit, in the flesh, I don't like it. I don't. Not anymore than anybody else. But I believe it was for us. Now what does God want you and I to get from it today? If we come to church and basically our coming to church. Is to listen to God and see what he has to say for us. I believe most of our worship is personal. A lot of public stuff is not so much worship. As just going through maybe something or whatever is going on. But I just wonder what does God want you and I to get from it? Now I know what I've got from it. And I'm just going to share with you this morning what I've got out of it. Basically it impacted me so much last night. I began to, I was just so troubled. I just went to prayer for a while and said I've got to go. And so I went out looking for somebody. I said I'm a witness to the first people I see. First person I see. And this little town I went into out driving around. Went off to it. It wasn't very big. But when I found some people they were all together right there. And I got to share with them. But it took about an hour or hour and a half of my evening to do that. It takes something. Now last week we looked at being in the right place. Basically at the right time. And I'm not going to go back through that at all. But I want to focus today two things. The conclusion. The conclusion. I'm heading somewhere. And so to get you to the conclusion I'm going to take you way back into the beginning. And we're going to look at the wells in the Bible. Because I think they're important. This well just wasn't any old well. We know it was Jacob's well. As the Scripture says, Jacob's well was there. Verse 6. John 4. Now Jacob's well was there. It just wasn't any well. It was Jacob's well. A lot of wells around. But this one was Jacob's well. And here's why I think we need to look at the wells in the Old Testament. We do not understand the New Testament too much. A lot of it is shallow. And I've done a lot of shallow teaching. And, of course, sometimes we have to do shallow teaching because we've got shallow learners. Milk Christians. But if we want to get into the meat of the Word, we need to understand the whole Word. The whole counsel of Scripture. What does a well signify in the Old Testament? Well, I think we need to understand that if we're going to understand this passage. Because the well in the Old Testament foreshadowed Christ. It foreshadowed Christ. Now, listen. There's a well. And I forgot my word picture. It's out in the car. Josh, if you want to go get it. It's that dipper. A well is no good unless it has what? Water. Okay, if Jesus is the well, what is the water? The water is the emblem of salvation. Jesus is the well. And the water is salvation. Now, back in the Old Testament, by the way, there's one passage. It's a neat passage. Isaiah 12 and verse 3. Therefore with joy shall you draw water out of the wells of salvation. But I want to take you back to the beginning. Back to Genesis. Back to Genesis. Thank you. I couldn't find it. We did have another dipper around there. One of them dippers that's got the measurements on it. That like you get from the vet. That you dip your cattle in. That's the one I wanted to bring. But I couldn't find it. You know, up on the ranch when we run. You run two or three, four hundred head of cattle through. And you dip them. You just dip over there in a dip. You run that down their back. You ever do that? Yeah. Those of you that have been around the ranch know. And the dipper. But you didn't want to drink out of that dipper, did you? No. We got one of those dippers. I don't know where we got it from. But this here. Don't even call this a dipper. But the well has to have water. And then you dip into it. When I was growing up, my grandmother had a well. Had an outhouse and a well. We didn't have those things where I lived. We were in the city. We had an inhouse. And we had faucets. But when I'd go to my granny's. It was always fun to go out to the well. To throw back the wooden lid. And grab the big old thick rope. And lower the bucket down in there. And then draw up that nice cool bucket. I was going to try to. We used to have a bucket like that. An old galvanized bucket. Draw up that bucket. You reach over and grab it. And pull it up there. And then you get the dipper. And you dip in there. And get you a nice cool drink of water. Now that brings back memories probably. That some of us done it. Of doing it like that. And that was fun. That was really fun. Now when it came time for a bath. It wasn't so much fun. Because you had to get in the old galvanized tub. And they had to heat up the water. That they'd get out of the well. And if they'd happen to come in there. And pour some of that cold water on top of you. Out of the well. That wasn't too much fun. Either. And those were the good old days. Then later on. They took one of the bedrooms. There were six bedrooms. In my granny's big old house. And made it into a bathroom. And then I think. They got water into the sink. And ruined it all. I couldn't lock my sister in the outhouse anymore. After that. Got in a lot of trouble for that one. But the fun was always worth it. Now. In the Old Testament. The wells. Were significant. The first one. Is. And sometimes. I believe. It helps us to know where. You've been. So that we'll understand. Where we're at. And where we're going. And that's why we're doing that. And that's why we're taking some time. In this series. To look at the history. In Genesis 16. There was a well. There. And the story is. About Hagar. You remember the story? She. She was brought by Sarai. Back. Up from Egypt. And. When she conceived. She was driven off. Sarai couldn't stand that. And she was driven off. And the scripture says. In verse 6. But Abraham said unto Sarai. Behold thy maid is in thy hand. Due to her is it pleased at thee. When Sarai. Dealt hardly with her. She fled from her face. And the angel. Of the Lord. Found her. By a fountain. Of water. In the wilderness. By the fountain. In the way to Shur. Now. I don't have time. And I haven't taken the time. To go into a lot of detail. On this. I'm going to slip through. These things. But. This is the well. This is the place. This is the place. Where the angel. Of the Lord. Found her. He found her. At the well. And. Verse 13. And she called the name. Of the Lord. The Egyptians would. If something significant. Happened. They would. They would give a name to it. They were superstitious. They would give a name to it. So she gave a name. To this well. She called the name. Of the Lord. That spake unto her. God talked to her. Thou. God. Seest me. For she said. Have I also. Here. Looked after him. That seeth me. Wherefore the well. Was called. Beir-le-heroi. Behold. It is between. Kadesh. And Beir. The well. Of living. After seeing. So. She saw God. And so. She named this well. Because of her experience. So. This is the place. Where the angel of the Lord. Found her. And it's called. The well. Of living. After. Seeing. Now. Here's a woman. At. A well. John. Chapter. Four. There's a woman. At the well. Until we put the Old Testament together. With the New Testament. We miss out. A lot. We just miss out. A woman. At the well. John. Four. A woman. At the well. Have you ever even thought about that? No. Most of the time. We don't think about that. But. It's the place. Where the Lord. Found her. At the well. At Jesus. You come to Jesus. And He finds you. Christ is where the sinner. Meets God. In the wilderness. In the wilderness. There's a well. Now. In Genesis. Twenty-one. You come over to the next well. Dealing with the same. Woman. Hagar. And. She. This time. Has to leave again. Because. Of the. Contention. Between. Isaac. And Esau. Or. Isaac. And. Let's. Say. Like this. The godly seed. And. The ungodly. Are clashing. At this point. And. So. She. Has to leave. And. It's not Esau. It's Ishmael. They. Have to part. And. So. She. Is. Driven. Off. Again. And. That's. Genesis. Twenty-one. Look. At. Verse. Fourteen. And. Abraham. Rose. Up. Early. In the morning. And. Took. Bread. And. A bottle. Of water. And. Gave. It. Unto. Hagar. And. Put. It. On. Her. Shoulder. In. The. Child. And. Sent. Her. Away. And. She. Departed. And. Wandered. In. The. Wilderness. Of. Beersheba. And. The. Water. Was. Spent. In. Water. In. The. Bottle. And. She. Cast. The. Child. Under. One. Of. The. Shrubs. And. She. Went. And. Set. Her. Down. Over. Against. Him. A. Good. Way. Off. As. It. Were. A. Bow. Shot. For. She. Said. Let. Me. Not. See. The. Death. Of. The. Child. And. She. Sat. Over. Against. Him. And. Lift. Up. Her. The. Of. The. Lad. Where. He. Is. Now. What. Did. God. Say. He. Said. Fear. Not. For. He. Is. Heard. And. Then. He. Says. Arise. Lift. Up. The. Lad. And. Hold. Him. In. Thine. Hand. For. I. Will. Make. Him. A. Great. Nation. By. The. Way. I. Believe. That. There's. Going. To. Be. There's. A. Great. Revival. Going. India. Many. Of. The. Hindus. Now. The. Muslims. They're. Coming. To. Christ. There's. A. Day. Coming. For. These. Muslims. In. The. Mid. East. Too. Don't. Write. In. Middle East. In. The. Middle East. In. The. In. The. Middle East. In. Middle East. In. The. Middle East. Middle East. In. The. Middle East. Middle East. Aspect. I. Gotta. Get. Back. I. Shouldn't. Have. Left. It. Genesis. Twenty. One. Look. At. Verse. Seventeen. Or. Twenty. Seven. Now. We've. Got. Another. Scene. This. Scene. Is. With. Abraham. And. Abimelech. And. Abraham. Doug. Well. In. Twenty. Five. Maybe. In. Twenty. Two. For. A. Little. Bit. Of. Background. It. Came. To. Pass. At. That. Time. That. Abimelech. And. Phico. The. Chief. Captain. Of. The. Host. Spake. Unto. Abraham. Saying. God. Is. With. Thee. In. All. That. Thou. Doest. Now. Therefore. Swear. Unto. Me. Here. By. God. That. Thou. Wilt. Not. Deal. Falsely. With. Me. Nor. My. Son. Nor. With. My. Son's. Son. But. According. To. The. Kindness. And. He. On. And. On. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And. And.