Mike Bickle discusses Jesus' early ministry in Jerusalem and Samaria, emphasizing His first public acts, including cleansing the temple and engaging with diverse individuals like Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman. Bickle highlights the significance of Jesus' message of salvation, which transcends social and cultural boundaries, demonstrating God's love for all people. He contrasts the responses of Nicodemus, a respected Jewish leader, and the Samaritan woman, an outcast, to illustrate that the gospel is for everyone. The sermon culminates in the call for believers to continually 'drink' from Jesus, the source of living water, to find true satisfaction and purpose in their lives.

Well, Roman number one, just a quick overview of where we've been the last few sessions. This is Jesus' first visit to Jerusalem after He's been anointed by the Holy Spirit. Now remember, John, the Gospel of John, is the only Gospel, chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, that gives the very beginning of Jesus' ministry. The other three Gospels start when He begins in Galilee after this. So if you want to get the very beginning, His first trip to Jerusalem, His very first act in John 2, He cleanses the temple. How radical. I mean, your first act in public ministry, to cleanse the temple. The whole city is in an uproar. Then He goes down the way and He heals a whole bunch of people. And so now there's a popular following combined with the leader's antagonism towards Him. But the people are rising up around Him. And that's a really negative combination because they're going to be more hostile than ever against Him. But He knew that. And He did that by the Father's leading. Now, paragraph C, in this session, John chapter 3 and chapter 4, Jesus has a conversation with two very different people. First, in John 3, in Jerusalem, He meets Nicodemus, one of the most respected scholarly leaders in all of Israel. Jesus called him, in John 3, verse 10, the teacher of Israel. One of amongst the most respected, if not the most respected teacher in the land. But he's very conservative, orthodox rabbi. And he has problems understanding and Jesus' approach to him is very different. Then the next personality is a Samaritan woman who Nicodemus would have despised. Number one, she's a Samaritan, a Gentile. Number two, she was a woman with a reputation of, with an immoral reputation. So it couldn't be two different personalities that are the very first two people that highlight God's introduction of Jesus to the planet, John 3 and John 4. And what the Holy Spirit is saying, and every personality in between. An old, scholarly, elite man in the system, political, spiritual leader, and an outcast woman who's been looked down at in her community that's a Gentile, that's an idol worshiper. These are the two that introduce Jesus' ministry. And in this, the Holy Spirit's saying, in John 3 and 4, the way the Holy Spirit organized the scripture, that this is his heart for his people. He has a heart for everyone, for God so loved the world. It includes everyone, every type of personality. Well, let's get right into it. Roman numeral 2, John 3 verse 1, there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus. He was a ruler of the Jews. That means he's of the Sanhedrin. Sanhedrin was a body of 70 men like the, you know, like the Senate in our nation. He was one of the senators, so to speak. Very high respected man. And he came to Jesus, verse 2, by night. And the common opinion is he came by night because the city is in an uproar and the Pharisees are real, and the Sadducees are troubled because this young man out of nowhere came and disrupted the temple. So Nicodemus says, you know, I better play this cool. I don't actually want to be seen meeting with him. Of course, Jesus gets it. And he says, verse 2, Rabbi, very respectful title, seemingly sincere. I think he was because a lot of the Pharisees were already hostile by the end of the week after what he did in the city. He says, we know you're a teacher. We know you come from God. That's a big statement for a, you know, a high positioned in the Sanhedrin leader. For nobody could do the signs that you did because Jesus cleansed the temple, then did a bunch of miracles. And those were his first public miracles in his ministry. He goes, God has to be with you. Paragraph B. Then Jesus looks at him and he says, okay, you're saying God's with me. Let me get right to the point. Nicodemus, your Jewish heritage is not going to be a benefit for you. I mean, it's not a negative, but you're going to need more than an heritage with Jewish lineage. You're going to have to have no more than Bible knowledge. You're going to need more than being a respected person in the religious community. Right off the bat, verse 3, Jesus says, you say I'm from God will let me tell you, you have to be born again. Nicodemus takes a step back and, or you, you can't see the kingdom. He says here in verse 3, it goes on in verse 5, he says, you can't enter the kingdom to see the kingdom and enter the kingdom is synonymous. But the problem is that Nicodemus already thought he was securely a part of the eternal kingdom. And he goes, I got to be born again to get in the kingdom. What about my heritage? What about my scholarship? What about my Bible knowledge? What about my good works? What are you talking about? Jesus says, even you, Nicodemus, the highest of the elite, a nobleman, you can't enter into the kingdom until you're born again. Nicodemus, in verse 4, we all know the story well, he says, how can a man be born when he's old? Nicodemus doesn't understand. Again, Jesus says in verse 5, unless one is born of the water and of the spirit, he can't enter. Again, to enter the kingdom, see the kingdom is interchangeable because verse 6, he said, that which is born of flesh is flesh. That which is born of the spirit is spirit. And what he's, the point he's making here, go down to paragraph 3, the issue between that which is born of flesh and spirit is not an issue of noble behavior and sinful behavior. And if you make a new, you know, you kind of turn the leaf over and you're going to get a new beginning and you're going to start trying to live more noble, therefore you live of the spirit. And Jesus says, no, no, he goes, being born of the spirit is something that takes the Holy Spirit. It's a power above you, beyond you. And it's only given as a free gift to those who trust me. He goes, your noble character, if it just comes out of your humanity and your personality, it's not the same as the spirit realm. You need access to the eternal kingdom, to the family of God, in the eternal sense, and it has, you have to be born of the spirit. Now I have here in paragraph 1 and 2, there's two different opinions, and both of them have a whole bunch of scholars, so I'll just put them both out there for you, and you pick the one you feel is right. Something being born of the water is natural birth, and born of the spirit is spiritual birth. That's logical. That seems to be in the flow of what's going on. But paragraph 2, others, and this is very reasonable, born of the water and the spirit speaks of the same thing, because in the Old Testament, there's many passages where salvation and renewal is compared to water, and it's associated with the spirit. And he's talking to Nicodemus, and he's, as a man who knows the Old Testament, and so he might have been referring to the spiritual new birth as spirit-given, but it's related to that water of life, that salvation that's associated with water in the Old Testament. So either way it goes, both of them, I think, are true, but I just wanted to give you those two options of how to interpret that passage. But the big point is, some people think if I reform my character, I ought to get into the spiritual kingdom, and Jesus says, no. There's no amount of reform can get you in. You need access by the spirit. It's a gift of God that only the Holy Spirit can give you by being born of the spirit. And Nicodemus, he's a little perplexed by this. Paragraph C, verse 10, Jesus said to Nicodemus, why are you so confused? It's a little bit of a rebuke, it's a gentle criticism. He goes, you're the teacher of Israel. You're notably the best teacher in the land, the most knowledgeable man of the Old Testament. Why is it that you can't, from your Old Testament knowledge, grasp what I'm telling you? Because everything I'm telling you is rooted in the Old Testament, Nicodemus. So Nicodemus takes a step back and he's thinking, Jesus is saying, remember, in the Old Testament, the spirit gives you a new heart and a new spirit. The Holy Spirit does, right? Nicodemus, yeah, I guess, yeah, it does, that is right. Old Testament, you can only be saved by the gift of God. You can't earn it, even in the Old Testament. Some people have the idea you earned it in the Old Testament. It's a free gift in the New Testament. That's not true. Abraham and David were saved by faith, by believing in God's salvation. And Nicodemus goes, okay, yeah. And Nicodemus, you can't get there on your own strength. There's many verses in the Old Testament that make that clear. So why are you so confused? And why are you so entrenched in the popular ideas of the day, that because you're a Pharisee, you can earn it by your religious devotion? Nicodemus is taking a step back and, you know, I've never had a man talk to me with this kind of clarity and authority, particularly never a carpenter from Nazareth. Where did you learn this? It's up at page two, verse 13, paragraph D. Jesus says, let me tell you why I can tell you about spiritual truth. Let me tell you why what I'm saying is reliable. Nicodemus says, go ahead. He says, verse 13, no one, no prophet in the Old Testament, that's what he's talking about, ascended into heaven, then came back down to earth and ascended into heaven and came back down to earth. He says, but the son of man, Nicodemus doesn't know that's who Jesus is because he's gone up and down a few times through history. His origin is in the spiritual realm. That's where he came from. I mean, he's the uncreated God that he was never created, but that's where he came from. And Nicodemus says, Jesus says, the reason I can say these truths so dogmatically and you can rely on them because I'm the only man, there's no other prophet in Israel's history or human history that has ascended and descended from the heavenly realm to the earthly realm numerous times. I have access to that realm. Then look what he says in verse 13, he says, Nicodemus, let me really trip you right now. The son of man is in heaven right now. Nicodemus is going, what? Because Nicodemus is kind of getting the idea that he's claiming to be the son of man. Jesus hasn't quite said it yet. He's going to get there. He goes, he's in heaven. He goes, right now, by the spirit, I have full access to the heavenly realm, full authority at my father's right hand. Even right now, though my body's on the earth, I have full access to the realm of the spirit and full authority in both realms, even now. That's why you can take my words as reliable. You know, people say all the time, all religions are the same. Well, they're not at all. Our faith is the only faith in history that is revealed by a man who's gone up and down a number of times and who lived in both realms. No other prophet has ever had that reliability, that credibility to speak truth. And that's one reason why he was so bold about it. Now, verse 14, this is really going to be a shocker. He says, Nicodemus, remember the story when Moses took the bronze snake and put it on a wooden pole? Nicodemus goes, what's that got to do with being born again? He goes, I'll tell you in a minute. He goes, remember that story? It's in Numbers 21. Of course, Nicodemus knew the story well. He was a profoundly knowledgeable Bible teacher. Numbers 21, a great plague broke out in Israel. When they're out in the wilderness after Egypt, they're out in the wilderness, great plague broke on because the children of Israel were responding in a rebellious, sinful way before God persistently. And these snakes broke out all throughout the camp of Israel. People were dying. I mean, thousands were dying. God told Moses. Now, Moses, I don't know if he knew it was a prophetic sign about Jesus. He goes, Moses, see those snakes biting everybody, killing them? Put a bronze snake on a wooden pole. Moses goes, okay, and what's that going to do? Then tell everyone to look at that picture of sin cursed on a wooden pole. Tell them to look at it. And if they do, their life will be physically spared. They'll be healed. Moses must have thought, okay, bronze snake on a pole lifted up. And all of Israel looked to it in faith. They didn't earn their healing. They looked to it in faith, and they were saved. Nicodemus goes, I know the story. Jesus says, well, do you really know the story? Because the bronze serpent speaks of sin, Nicodemus, okay? The wooden pole speaks of the cross that I'm going to be on in the days to come. And even as Moses lifted up the serpent on a wooden pole for all to look at, to by faith receive salvation and life, so I am going to be lifted up on a pole. And everyone that looks to me, I will be the price, the payment for their sin, like the picture of that snake. And they will be freed from the debt of sin, and they'll have eternal life. Nicodemus is going, what? No one has ever applied that story to the Son of Man. And Jesus would say, but nobody had the authority or the insight to apply that story to the Son of Man. But here it is, teacher of Israel, I will be lifted up. And all that look to me, by faith, with confidence, they will receive eternal life, not just physical life like they did with Moses, it will go way beyond that. Because Moses was just a picture, they will receive eternal life. I mean, this was blowing Nicodemus' mind, because you're saying the Son of Man, who's clearly the Messiah from Daniel 7, very famous, everybody knew that, is going to be lifted up on a wooden pole? Yes. Why? Because God so loved the world that God's going to make a way for everybody, not just to be saved from physical death, but saved and have eternal life forever and forever. Number four, we see Jesus in verse 13 is the one who reveals heavenly things. He's the one that ascends and descends. But the real point of that, the fact he's gone up and down, his truth is reliable. That's the point he's saying to Nicodemus. Jesus is saying, I'm making bold, exclusive demands, but I have authority, I have credibility to do it. I lived in that realm, I heard the Father in that realm, and I'm here to tell you what my Father told me to tell you. Again, this is a heavy thing for a great teacher in Israel to look at a man, a carpenter from Nazareth, and conclude these things could be true about him. But number five, Jesus is not only the one who reveals that perfect, yet exclusive truth that comes from his lips, that is necessary for salvation, he's also the suffering and the exalted Savior. He's the one lifted on the pole. Now, you'll find in the Gospel of John, when it says the Son of Man is lifted up, it's always a, it's a dual reference. He's lifted up in death on the cross, then he's lifted up out of the grave in the resurrection. Because to Jesus, the being lifted up in death on the cross and lifted up in the resurrection from the grave was one reality that would glorify the Father, that would save the nations, and it was his hour of glory, even the cross was. It was one reality, being lifted up. Like you know the song that when Jesus is lifted up, it was years ago, a lot of you don't know, but anyway, in the 70s, we used to sing this song, that if he's lifted up, he'll draw all men to himself, and some people think just when he's exalted, lifted up to the cross, and then raised from the dead, from the grave, both ideas are associated with the lifting up, that phrase in the Gospel of John. The paragraph E, verse 17, now he's going to look at Nicodemus right in the eye, he says, Nicodemus, let me tell you this, because Nicodemus is troubled. He says, God didn't send his son into the world to condemn the world. He sent his son to judge, I mean to condemn or judge the world, but that the world would be saved through him. Again Nicodemus is going, okay, God sent his son, because in the scripture, when Jesus calls himself the son of God, they understood he was claiming deity, and he was. So Nicodemus is going, God has a human son? Is that what you're saying? He goes, yes. God sent his son in the incarnation, and the purpose was not to condemn the world, but to save it. But now this is one of the most misquoted, misunderstood passages in the Bible. Jesus didn't come into the world to condemn it. Jesus qualifies it in the next verse, verse 18, so that people couldn't draw the wrong conclusion, or they shouldn't draw the wrong conclusion. He said, he who believes in the son of God. Now again, Nicodemus doesn't quite know, he's getting the idea that Jesus is claiming it, but Jesus hasn't said it real direct, and Nicodemus is thinking, please don't say that. No man is God, please don't go there. And certainly if you are the son of man, you're not going to be lifted up on a wooden pole, that's for sure, meaning death. By the way, that was the first indication in the scripture from Jesus' mouth of his physical death, was to Nicodemus, his first visit there in Jerusalem. But he says in verse 18, he who believes in this man, of course he's talking about himself, he's not going to be condemned. Now here's the balance, verse 18 is the balance of verse 17. But he who does not believe is condemned already. That's an interesting truth, because in our fallen minds and understandings, we would never know that fact, except Jesus revealed it. No man has knowledge about the fallenness of the human race, except God declares it from heaven, and Jesus came in the flesh and says, let me tell you, in the perfect justice of the Father, the world in sin is under condemnation, and it's not a violation of the love of God, but God sent me to become human, the incarnation, so I could give people an alternative. I came in the incarnation not to condemn, because the world's already condemned, I came to give an option. The reason I say this is that one of the most misquoted scriptures, because here in verse 1, Jesus came to an already condemned world, an already lost world. Jesus didn't come to a neutral world, and said, hey, who wants to be saved, if you need me? It's not a neutral world, it's a world under judgment, a world filled with sin. Paragraph 2, the person who doesn't believe is already condemned. Again, our human mind, our fallen human logic, we don't like that truth at all. Who has the right to say that? Jesus says, I do. I came from the heavenly realm, that's why he said that, I ascended, descended, he goes, I have the authority and the knowledge to say this, and it's reliable and credible. He goes, and if you refuse the incredible, costly sacrifice my father made in sending me, and of course Jesus made it too, if you refuse that indescribably costly intervention of God, there is no answer to free you from condemnation. Now again, paragraph 2, many people, they view the world, and they view the human race as basically neutral. Yeah, we all got problems, we all sin, but not sin so bad, I mean, we all sin, yes, but you know, mostly we're neutral and we have bad times, bad weeks, bad months. We're pretty good, not all the time, but you know, pretty good compared to others. Why do we need a savior? Why do we need Jesus? Because if people are neutral, they don't need a savior to come, and it can take or leave the savior part. But Jesus comes and he goes, no, you're not grasping what I'm telling you, I came from that realm, I know the truth of the human condition, I know what my father's like, I know that his justice, his holiness and judgment has no contradiction in it, and the world is under judgment right now. Then he goes on, verse 19, Jesus now gives insight into the human condition. Now we really don't like this, I mean, Jesus says so many profound things in John chapter three that are mind-blowing to our natural processes, and even the Christian culture in the Western world doesn't like a number of these truths. They've drifted away from the authority of Jesus to speak these things, and we kind of end up with a, we're pretty good, we do good religion, and we throw Jesus in at the end, but that's not the truth. Jesus is the source of truth, the source of life, the authority about life and death and sin. And Jesus says, I didn't come to judge, I was already the judge. I came to save, but some people read that verse and say, see, Jesus doesn't judge nobody, he goes, no, I didn't have to accept the incarnation to be your judge. I was already the judge. I had to be incarnate, I had to become human to save you. That's why the extreme intervention, because God so loves the world, he wants to rescue the world. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. The incredible cost for God, for the son to bring salvation. Now, verse 19, Jesus says, now Nicodemus, I know you're a little thrown off right now, because you're a pretty good guy in your mind, you're a religious leader, you've kept the law better than most people in the nation, but here's the condemnation. Here's the reason people are condemned, that the light came into the world, he's, I mean the ultimate light is the incarnate Christ, he goes, here I am. I mean, there's the light of creation, there's the light of conscience, that's a dim light, it's a true light from God, but it's a dim one. Jesus says, I have come into the world, the fact I put on humanity and stepped into the human experience, beloved, God loves you, and I'm the source of truth and light. You can trust what I say, I've brought light, I've brought truth and revelation, and I've just given it to you now. But he goes, here's the problem, men don't like what I say. People don't like verse 12, 13, 14, 15, they like 16, God's the Lord of the world, they don't like 17, 18, 19, and 20. He goes, let me tell you, I understand the human condition, men love darkness deep in their heart, they love it. They're not looking to get free from sin, they're looking to get away with sin, not to be caught and to have honor, because they love it in their heart, but I have mercy, so I came to rescue them. He goes, they don't really love light like they say they do, because the light exposes their guilt, so they figure out ways to even use the Bible to get rid of the light that shines on their conscience. But Jesus said, if you really love me, you'll trust my words, and again in our nation right now, across the whole West, the words of Jesus are under attack, the authority of Jesus even throughout the church, I mean not the whole church, but in all the many pockets of the church. But we are a people, we know who we trust, and we take our stand, we believe he is the light, and because of his mercy, we're saying yes to his salvation, and we're moving into the light in our everyday character and processes and thinking. We're not afraid to say, I'm sinful, I'm broken, I lied, I'm proud, I'm lustful, we're not afraid to say those things to God, because we come under the light, because we want his leadership in our life. So we're honest with him about our hearts. But Jesus says, men aren't typically honest with God about their hearts. He goes, and men don't grasp that they actually love darkness, they think they don't, but they do. That's why there's condemnation. Top of page three. Well, Jesus is now done with the conversation with Nicodemus, and he moves on to the countryside, the land of Judea, more, it's talking about the rural area, he's moving out of Jerusalem. Verse 22, after these things, this visit in Jerusalem where he disrupted the temple, did many miracles, had a popular, you know, tremendous response, again, which disrupted the political equilibrium in the city, and he's had this very straightforward conversation with a man who thought he knew more than Jesus knew. And Jesus said, I'm going to give it to you really clear, because I love you. And Nicodemus at this time, when you read the account, it doesn't look like he's very receptive. He's going, wow, this is way too intense. You're the snake on the pole guy from, that was a picture back in Moses' day? You're kidding. And you're the son of man? I don't think so. You live in heaven, and you say you have access to it now? And if I don't believe in you, I don't have life, and I'm not in the kingdom, and I'm a religious Pharisee all my life? I don't think so. I mean, Jesus has hard words, and Jesus says, my words are the light. Well, so after he's done with these things, verse 22, he comes into the rural area of Judea, and he's there with his disciples. He doesn't have all 12 disciples in place yet. He's only spending time with them. He has not commissioned them officially as the 12 apostles. He's going to do that a little bit later. He's still getting to know them. Well, better yet, they are getting to know him. Verse 23, and John was also baptizing. Right there, and they're all in the same area together. Paragraph B, now there's a dispute. Jesus is baptizing over on this part of the river, and up a mile or two, John's baptizing. And the crowds are coming to Jesus because of all the great miracles. And I mean, the whole of Jerusalem's in an uproar because of what he did in the temple, the miracles, and all this stuff. And John had the multitudes, but now the numbers are going to Jesus. So verse 25, there's an argument. There's a dispute going on. Some of John's disciples, there's two things going on. Some of John's disciples are arguing with the Jews, some of the disciples of the Pharisees, undoubtedly, about purification. And what they meant by ceremonial rites of washing, like they had all these lulls, some in the Old Testament, and some they made up. You have to wash this way and that way, and your utensils, and the sacrifices. They had this elaborate list of lulls about purification. They were arguing about it. Because behind it was a desire to be dedicated to God. So if you really boiled the argument down, they were arguing, how are you dedicated to God for real in a way that God wants? John's disciples say, nah, don't do it this way, do it that way. And the disciples of the Pharisees, no, John the wild man out in the wilderness, he doesn't have it right, do it this way. They both wanted to be dedicated to God. They both wanted dedication. So they come to John. Now the second issue. They want to talk to John about this, what's the real way of dedication? But there's another issue that emerges, John, we're worried about you. That guy that you baptized, that you said you saw the Spirit on, everyone's going to him and they're just ignoring you now. And we're troubled, we're zealous for your reputation. We want to see you have your day in the sun to continue. Verse 26, Jesus is baptizing, they're all coming to him. We find out later, it's not really Jesus baptizing, it's his disciples, it says in chapter four that he didn't actually do the baptisms himself, but he was there in attendance with them, overseeing it. John makes, verse 27, one of the most profound statements. He says, a man can receive nothing unless God sovereignly gives it to him. This is one of the anchor truths of John's life. John says, my sphere of influence, my sphere of, you know, of not just influence but favor and the resource of God that he gives to me, he goes, God sovereignly determines it, not man. This was a truth that David, King David had a hold on. That David was king because God told David to be king. David never manipulated trying to be king. John says, I have the crowds I have had over the last six months because God ordained it and the crowds are leaving because God's ordained it. He goes, I'm leaning into sovereignty, I'm resting on sovereignty. I want what God wants. Here's a spiritual principle that this will save your life much, much anguish if you grasp this principle, very simple. Whatever means you use to establish your sphere of influence, the way you get your influence is the way you have to keep it. Meaning if you get your influence by networking mostly, by manipulation even subtly, by strife undermining others to get it, the only way you can keep that position is by manipulating strife and all the networking things. You can't because you never know that God gave it to you. If you get it with human source, that's the only way you can keep it. And that's a lifestyle of turmoil for years and years and years. I know a lot of guys out there, they're so fixated on their sphere and they do everything to get that sphere bigger and they just have all kinds of internal anguish year after year trying to keep that sphere big and they relax a minute and their sphere gets small again. And John says, I don't care if it's big or small, I want the sovereign decree of God in my life and every season. Then he says in verse 29, he introduces the bridegroom God, he introduces the Messiah, he goes, he that has the bride is the bridegroom. What a profound statement. Let me read the whole thing. Verse 29 is one of the strongest, clearest statement about John's personal ministry identity and what he sees about Jesus. Verse 29, Jesus, he's more than a king, more than Messiah. He's a bridegroom king. He has the bride and he is a bridegroom. Those are big statements. He says, but me, I'm only a friend of the bridegroom. I'm like the best man at the wedding. The best man at the wedding is serving so that the bride and the bridegroom, nothing gets in their way. And the best man, he doesn't jump in between the bride and the bridegroom and say, hey, what about me? He goes, no, the friend of the bridegroom, I stay out of the way. My passion is to get them connected, not to me, but to each other. That's the spirit of which John did his ministry. That's remarkable. The friend of the bridegroom spirit. John didn't draw attention to himself. That's why I put emphasis on our ministry style. We want a friend of the bridegroom ministry style because so much of the platform ministry style in the church today is drawing attention to ourselves so the people are enamored with us and they're following us. We don't want them following us. We want them following the words we say or sing or the way that we serve so they connect with him, not about them connecting to us. That's where John's, the way he carried his heart. Now verse 29, paragraph one, paragraph two, he says, he that has the bride, the Messiah, that's Jesus, he is the bridegroom. Remember, this was a dramatic statement. Jesus doesn't just act like a bridegroom, he is one. He thinks, he feels, he reasons out of the heart of a bridegroom. He's not a bridegroom for a few years to accomplish salvation, then he goes back to being a king and he says, I'm done with that bridegroom stuff. John said, he is one. He's not just performing a duty. He is one at the core of his heart. Paragraph three, he says, not only is he a bridegroom, he has the bride. From ages past, the father promised Jesus, the father, I'm going to give you a bride as your inheritance. From ages past, Jesus committed, I'm going to give my life to purchase the bride. He has the bride. The victory is secure. It's final. The bride doesn't belong to the enemy. The enemy comes along and tries to tell us the bride is his. No, Jesus says, the bride's mine. She's already mine. The church is guaranteed to be victorious, corporately speaking. There'll be great shakings and an outpouring of the spirit and tremendous persecution, but tremendous revelation of God's heart. But the church is going to end up walking in great victory worldwide. The enemy wants us to believe that he has the bride, and John says, no, he doesn't. The one I'm introducing, he has the bride. He fully owns her. His commitments are secure. His victory is final. Let's look at the top of page four, top of page four, Jesus' preeminence. Now John continues. Now here in verse 31 to 36, some people say this is John the apostle who's writing the gospel of John, and others say it's John the Baptist who's continuing his message. And someone says, which is it? I go, I'm not sure. I'll take either one. I'll just say John said it, because we know it's from the Holy Spirit. But it seems like it's John the Baptist continuing, that his message hasn't stopped. Verse 31, because John says, I must decrease, he must increase, because I'm very happy to decrease in my popularity, because it's a different season. My passion isn't to be popular. My passion is to be faithful. Whatever sphere God wants, he'll give it, and it gets big and little. That's okay. It's whatever he wants. I rest in sovereignty. Because verse 31, he said, he comes from above, and he's above all. The reason I'm happy to decrease, because he's above all. There's none like him. There's no prophet in the Old Testament that's like him. Verse 32, John says, what Jesus has seen and what he heard, that's what he teaches. The doctrine of Jesus, that he's the only way of salvation. The doctrine of Jesus, you get salvation for free if you look to him and believe in him and give yourself to him. The doctrine of Jesus, the world is under judgment if they refuse it. The doctrine of Jesus, men love darkness much more than they think, and God's judgments are reasonable and true. Verse 32, those are the things that Jesus has said, just a few moments ago we looked at, verse 32, John says, let me tell you, the things that Jesus has seen and heard in the heavenly realm with his father, those are the things he's teaching. They're reliable. There is only one way of salvation because he says it. There's no other that has revelation about God except for him. Again, the one way of salvation is so offensive because men think that men are neutral and they mostly love light and they mostly deserve heaven. They deserve God's presence forever. And Jesus says, no, it's not like that. But me and my father so love you, we're coming after you, but you got to come into the kingdom our way. There is no other way. There's no back door. There is no other one that's offering salvation. Verse paragraph B, verse 33, he that receives Jesus' teaching, his testimony, that's people like us, believers, they set their seal, they say God is true. People that really receive Jesus' teaching, his testimony, they say God is true. So it rings true to us what Jesus says. Him and the father are saying the same thing. There is no disparity between them. That's what a believer says and the Holy Spirit bears witness to them. God is true. God's not a liar. God's not contradicting himself because of the way he's declared salvation. Verse 34, for he whom God has sent, that means Jesus, he speaks God's words. He saw them in heaven, he heard them. He says, but he's the only man that God has given the spirit without any measure. See, the Old Testament, when God had a prophet or a king, he would put the spirit on that prophet or king or judge, one of the judges, for a limited period of time and a limited measure for a task. Then when the task was done, the spirit would lift. But John says, verse 34, this man, he has the spirit with no measure. He has the fullness of the spirit as a human and he has it forever. Not a temporary anointing, therefore we can trust his words, therefore we can believe what he says. I mean, this is one of the most beautiful portraits of Jesus in the Bible, John chapter 3. Paragraph C, verse 36, John summarizes it, puts it right before you. He concludes it. He goes, let me say it just so clear. He that believes, that's more than intellectuals said. They believe so much, they give the leadership of their life over to him. Now none of us do it perfectly. We want you as our leader and we trust you for salvation. We trust your leadership, we trust your salvation. That's what it means to believe. They have everlasting life as a free gift. He that does not believe, the person that sets aside this costly investment of God to intervene into the human race, the wrath of God abides on them even now. They're under condemnation now and they have to wake up to the seriousness. There's only one remedy. There's only one way out. The man, the God who became man, that paid the price, that pursued us and loved us and wanted us, that's the only way out. Paragraph two down here, the truth of God's wrath is the most offensive doctrine in the Bible. People that don't understand God's heart, they think His wrath is a contradiction to His love. In His judgments, He's removing everything that hinders love. We can't get rid of the judgment of God. You'll do violence to hundreds of passages of scripture. A lot of guys are trying to do that today. It's kind of the cool modern thing to do. Don't buy it. It's a serious, serious deception. And God doesn't change because modern preachers in this hour are coming up with a different storyline. Probably the other most offensive doctrine is Jesus is the only way of salvation. But beloved, He ascended and descended. He knows. He's got the spirit without power. He is the light. I'm going with Him all the way. And so are you. Top of page five. Well now He's moved out of Jerusalem. He moved into the area where they were baptized for a little while. Now He's on His way up north to Galilee. Remember Galilee's up north. So Samaria is kind of the next stop on the way going up north. He's walking. Going up north is about a hundred mile walk from Jerusalem up to the north, you know, up to Capernaum. About a hundred miles depending on what route you take. But you've got to go through Samaria to get there. But most Jews walked around. They were so against the Samaritans they didn't want to get defiled by touching their dirt or their food or their clothes or maybe one would touch them. They'd walk twenty miles out of the way to prove how pure they were. Jesus said no, we're going right through Samaria. Now, the apostles or the disciples are probably going, oh boy, this is going to be fun. If He does there what He did in Jerusalem, man, put your seat belt on. Verse one, it tells us that the Pharisees were watching Jesus' increased popularity. He was baptizing more people than John. So the Pharisees were getting stirred up because the popular opinion was going towards them and they knew Jesus was hostile to the things they were doing. So Jesus, He said, I'd better leave Judea because He wasn't afraid of them, but He didn't want the chain reaction of events to take place. If He stayed there, it would explode. And He goes, all in the Father's timing, I'll come back and I'll stir it up again. Because three years later He came back, went to the temple, cleansed it again. I mean, He wasn't afraid of the conflict, but He wanted the conflict in the Father's timing for the chain of events that the conflict, that when He brought conflict, that chain of events that would unfold. So it says in verse four, He needed, that's an interesting word, to go through Samaria. He needed to. It's an interesting phrase and most people assume the Spirit is leading Him because it's the first great revival in Jesus' ministry. It's not the Jews, the Samaritans, the pagans. Now the Samaritans were half Jew and half Gentile, but they worshiped idols. They had other pagan ideas. It was a mixture. Paragraph C and D, I have a little bit of that you can read. I think you want to read it later to kind of get the tension of who the Samaritans are. Paragraph E. So Jesus came to a city of Sychar and He was on His way up north. He goes to the city of Aden. He knows what's going on by the Holy Spirit. So He goes by this well and He sits down, verse six. He's weary because He has all the human dynamics of fatigue and sleep and hunger and all those things. He's tired. Some people think, well, if you're that anointed, you won't get tired. Well, He was anointed beyond measure and He was really tired and He got really hungry and thirsty. Well, the story of Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman, most of you know it pretty well, but it's a story. The point, many points are being made, but when we compare the way He talked to Nicodemus and the way He talked to her, they're so different. Jesus' approach is so different with every single personality. He doesn't have one style for all, you know, one way meets all needs. He adapted completely to the person's need and to their mindset so that He could communicate with them. But the message you get from this chapter, John 4, which we'll only look at a little bit of it, Jesus knows everything because He knows about her secret life. Another message we get, because He gives her a simple word of knowledge, because remember she's the woman at the well and He sits at her, talking to her, and He asks for a drink and He says, hey, go get your husband, and she goes, I don't have a husband, and He goes, that's right, you got five. She goes, ah, how'd you know that? That simple word of knowledge. By the way, don't miss that word of knowledge. Don't try that one and it'd be wrong. But anyway, even simple phrases open people's hearts. I mean, not that we don't have to be at Jesus' level, but speaking simple impressions about, I feel like the Lord wants you to know this, or I want you to know the Lord cares about this area, or you don't even have to say the Lord wants you to know. You can say, can I pray for this area for your oldest son? Your oldest child? And if it hits it, that simple phrase, it opens hearts dramatically. So don't draw back when you have little phrases that come. Just ask them if you can pray for that in their life. That's a real gentle way to move forward. But this chapter tells us Jesus cares about the woman with the immoral reputation as well as the Jewish leader. Not only does He care, He pursues them. He knows them. He includes them. He wants them. This is putting Nicodemus and the woman of the well as the first two personalities in the entire story of Jesus is shouting to the nations. He wants every kind of person in every group, the extremes in every group in between, every type of personality. Well verse 7, paragraph F, the woman comes to draw water. It's noontime. It's the sixth hour, it's noon, because they start at six in the morning counting the hours. So it's really hot. She's coming by herself. And the reason why she's probably a social outcast, because none of the women came at noon in the heat of the day. They all came together and they talked and had friendships. But she would go when no one was there, even though she had to bear the heat. And Jesus said, I know exactly why you're here and why you're here alone. And I know why I'm here, because I care about you. Paragraph G, no, no, paragraph 9, I mean, verse 9 of paragraph F, verse 9, the woman of Samaria said, how is it that you being a Jew, because I think she could tell by his clothing. She looked at him and said, you're obviously Jewish. What are you doing in Samaria? Why are you walking through the shortcut? All you guys always go the long way to stay away from us. And what are you talking to a Samaritan woman? Because the Jewish leaders, they would never talk to a Jewish woman alone. But a Samaritan woman, that's real outcast. And why are you asking me to help you? That just seems so out of character. And of course, Jesus is relating to her in a way that's opening her heart. Paragraph G, Jesus said, if you knew the gift of God, if you knew who it was that was asking you, you all know the story. You would ask me if you really knew who I was. Verse 11, she says, well, who are you? I mean, you think you got water? You don't have a bucket. You don't have a rope, because the well was 75 feet deep. As a matter of fact, the well is still there today. It's a tourist attraction in Israel. It's very well. You know, I love, I laugh because I get tickled. I heard Misty talk about this. She goes, this is amazing. She goes, this woman, it's the first time she ever met a man that had no issues whatsoever. I said, what do you mean? She goes, he had no daddy issues. No rejection. No mama issues. I lack nurture. No shame. No bitterness. No loss. No inferiority. No passive aggressive. None of that. She'd never met a man like that. She had five husbands. She's seen everything. No lust at all. No bitterness. No agenda besides her good. She's thinking, I don't even know how to navigate a man with no issues. Well, bless you, Misty. Anyway, top of page six, I thought that was so great. I think that's really right, though. It's hilarious, but it's really right. Verse 13, Jesus says, whoever drinks this water, obviously, you know, the natural water in that well of Jacob, you're going to thirst again. But verse 14 is the key verse. Whoever drinks of the water I give, and by the way, that drinking is a continuous action. It's not a one-time deal, meaning it's an interaction with God on a daily basis. They'll never thirst. It doesn't mean they'll never have a need, but their heart won't be weighed down and taken out completely. Their heart will be boiled up by the living water. It doesn't mean they won't have any troubles ever, but they won't be lost in that pit of despair. He says that they'll keep drinking. They got to drink, verse 14, but keep on drinking is what the Greek verb would mean, the continuous action. He goes, I want to tell you, it'll be a fountain. There's no end to it. It'll keep coming and coming, and then 20 years later, it'll keep coming and coming, and 50 years later, then a million years later, the resurrection, then a billion years later, it will keep springing up with new refreshment, new reality, new connectedness if you will keep coming. And the way you come to that water is you talk to him. It's by conversation with him. It's by saying what he says, agreeing with him when you talk to him. Paragraph I, that's the one where Jesus said, now go call your husband. She goes, I don't have a husband. He goes, that's right, you have five, and the man you're living with now isn't your husband. Those simple words absolutely blew her mind. She says, you're a prophet. That was big for a Samaritan to call a Jewish man a prophet, because they thought the Jews missed it. Paragraph J, Jesus says, let me tell you something, sweet woman. I'm going to tell you something you don't know, because I skipped a few verses in the handout here. She said, you guys think you're supposed to worship in Jerusalem. We think it's Mount Gerizim. We have a reason. This is where God wants us to worship. You want us to worship there. We think God wants us to worship here. He goes, all of that's irrelevant, really. She goes, really? She goes, yeah, the hour's coming and now is. And what Jesus is saying, I, God in the flesh, I am here. It's all changed. You don't know it yet. The whole worship thing has changed. It doesn't matter where your location is, because I'm about to give the spirit to people and they're going to be able to communicate with God any place of the earth, because she's not getting it. He says, let me tell you, middle paragraph of verse 23, the father seeks such to worship people that will worship him in spirit and truth. What does it mean to worship in spirit? Sincere heart, not just externalism, not just outward form, a heart connect. We're actually talking from the heart. That's part of worship in spirit. But it's more than that. It's by the aid of the Holy Spirit. And I don't mean we wait till the Holy Spirit overcomes us, but the Holy Spirit, we're growing in relationship with him and he's inspiring us little by little in our interactions with God. That's why we have to be born again is the idea. Worship in spirit is God-centered. It's about God and how amazing he is, and it's interacting with him. Number two, we worship in truth. What does it mean? I haven't written here. We worship according to the truth of what the Bible says about God. God is a father. He's tender. He's not a harsh judge. He's a tender father. Jesus is a bridegroom king. His deep desire for partnership with his people. But it's not only the truth about who God is, it's the truth about who we are to God. We're sons. We have access to his throne and power. We're the bride. We have access to his heart. Jesus said the day is coming. It's now. It's actually beginning. I'm in front of you. You don't even know because the first great revival in the New Testament really happened right there with her and the day after, the next two days. It's a two-day revival, but many in the city came to Jesus. That was the first revival in the New Testament. Jesus is saying, he goes, you got to worship God on his terms, not on your tradition terms, in spirit and according to truth. And again, you could review that. Worship team, go ahead and come on up. You could review those two phrases. They're very pretty straightforward, but God says you have to worship this way. The external kind of outward form isn't the issue. It's the heart engagement is where God's after. In paragraph K, his disciples have come back because they've been out at town getting some food while Jesus was sitting there talking to the woman. They come back. They're shocked he's talking to her. And they're going, why are you talking to her? And he says, there's a harvest. They go, really? Where's the harvest? He goes, well, the next two days was a great revival. He goes, it's on us right now. That's why I'm talking to her. He's answering the question. And then he quotes this proverb, and this proverb is interpreted several different ways, but I'll tell you the way I think is the best interpretation. Jesus says, do you not say there are still four more months? In other words, before the harvest, do you not say we still have time to prepare? Because the seed's in the ground, you can't hurry the seed up, you can't speed things up. You still got four months so we can kind of draw back and kind of hang out for a while because in four months, we got some time to play with. Jesus says, no, no. The first harvest of the whole New Testament is breaking out today. They're going, it is? He says, yes. He wanted to give them a sense of urgency, and that urgency has been on the church ever since. It's been a harvest for 2,000 years. Paragraph L, we see the harvest. Many Samaritans believed in him because of the word of the woman. Then verse 40, the Samaritans said, hey, stay two more days. I mean, many believed the first day, because come on, give us a couple more days before you go to Galilee. He came, verse 41, and many more believed. As he's walking up to Galilee, he tells the disciples undoubtedly, I told you the harvest. We didn't have four months to wait. It wasn't like the seeds in the ground, you can't speed it up, because John the Baptist and the Old Testament prophets and Annie and Simeon, they've been sowing and sowing and sowing in prayer and in the word, and the harvest is now. We're reaping what they have sown over the years. The harvest is on us. Beloved, we're in an hour of history. We have 2,000 years of prayer of the body of Christ, and it's culminating, and the devil's raging. The prayer movement's growing rapidly. We have the prayers of all history, the zeal of God. Beloved, we're at the hour for the global end-time harvest. There's no time to wait. You can wait for 10 more years. No, it's happening right now. Well, amen and amen. Let's stand. I want to pray for people that are thirsty. Not for this. Their hearts are thirsty, because as believers, we have the Holy Spirit, but I think it's common in the church for believers to be at the heart level in so much anguish weighed down, whether it's shame, fear, regret, bitterness, worry, all kinds of things. Jesus said, if you'll come and drink, believe who I am and what I say, and talk to me about it, your heart will recover. I'm the source. I'm the source. Not that well. I am. I'm going to invite people to come down that you need a drink, and again, drinking means we talk to God according to what he says is true about us. It refreshes us just little by little. The drinking is continual. I don't mean every minute of every day, but it never ends. We get new perspectives, and we get a little bit of refreshing, and we need to do it all the time. It's talking to him according to spirit and truth, the truth of who he is. That's how that drinking works, spirit and truth, and I want to invite you to come up if you're saying that. I mean, all of us, I'm sure, but you would like to hear tonight, you say, man, my heart's hurting. There's 20 reasons our heart hurts, confusion, anxiety, fear, shame, guilt, addiction, all kinds of things coming at our minds, torments, all kinds, and I don't mean they all go away instantly, but we keep drinking. We drink day in and day out. We never let go of drinking, talking to Jesus according to what his word says is true about us. That's how we drink. Lord, here we are. We want to drink from you, Lord. Oh, I want to believe what you say. Holy Spirit, I'd just invite your presence right now in this room. Come release your glory in this room, Holy Spirit we ask. I'd invite the ministry team and any kind of leadership on this place, come on up, religious Come on up and pray for folks. Beloved, I have good news. He who has the bride is a bridegroom. He has you. You're in his hands. The man that has you in his hands, he's a bridegroom gone. But I ask you to touch on this now. Release refreshing. Release refreshing by the Holy Spirit. I want you to drink. I want you to believe your son and his words. Come, Cephalon. Talk to me about what I say about you. That's how you drink. Talk to me about who I am to you. Let my word come and wash over you. Let my word wash over you. Let what I say come and wash over you. Let what I say renew you. Be renewed by my Spirit. Holy Spirit. The Spirit and the Word. We come in Spirit and in truth. The Spirit and the Word together. Fill us again with your Spirit. Fill us again with your words of life. Fill us again, Holy Spirit. Fill us again with your words of life. Fill us again, Holy Spirit. Fill us again with your words of life. Fill us again, my soul. Because my soul belongs to you, Lord. In my soul belongs to you, Lord. In my soul belongs to you, Lord. Breathe a breath of God. Breathe on our hearts. Do you know the way you change everything? Because I am yours and you are mine. So let the truth of what you say about me come and set me free. Come and set me free. Come and shatter all the lies. Let your truth prevail. Let your truth prevail. Holy Spirit, come fill those fallen hearts. Come and fill us up with your light. Fill us up with your light. Jesus, come and shatter all the lies. Lord, I ask you for encounter tonight. Shatter the lies. Break the power of lies. I take authority over torment and shame right now. The lies of the enemy in the heart. I take authority over the lies and we speak truth for truth. We say truth. We say truth in the name of Jesus. We speak truth. We speak truth in the name of Jesus. We speak truth. We speak truth in the name of Jesus. We speak truth. We speak truth in the name of Jesus. We speak truth. We speak truth in the name of Jesus The truth shall set you free O grace, grace, upon grace I want to ask for favor, for intervention, relationships, healing, finances. Rescue hearts, Lord, we ask. ♪ Release finances, Lord ♪ ♪ Grace, grace, grace ♪ It must be grace over lives. ♪ Grace, grace, grace ♪ Revelation on the heart. Liberty in your spirit. ♪ Oh, there is power in your spirit ♪ A heart that's flowing like a river. A heart that's flowing like a river that's not stuck. It's moving with the Lord. ♪ Jesus, declare your care over us ♪ ♪ Like a river in my heart of gold ♪ ♪ I'll show you what peace means to me ♪ ♪ Say you're my savior ♪