INVINCIBLE CHURCH 2-23-25

Invincible Church Sermon Notes
2/23/2025
Holy Faith pt 3 – John 4:1-30
For a True Follower of Jesus, the spiritual matters of holy faithalways take precedent over the physical matters of earthly life! So, when we prioritize our belief in God, faith in Jesus, and trust in the Holy Spirit, we’ll be content in our physical life—no matter what our circumstances are!
But there’s more to it than just having the information! If we truly understand this principle and live it out, it puts us in a position to experience and encounter God in ways we can hardly imagine! The information is kind of like a road sign—it tells us which direction to go, but it’snot the final destination! Today, we’re going to look at how Jesus uses analogies—kind of like road signs—to point us in the direction of deeper spiritual truth! And when he gives us the opportunity to tell other people the truth about him, we can use the same strategy!
We’ll be in John 4! The book of John explains the good news of eternal life through Jesus Christ! It tells us all about Jesus as the Son of God, our Savior, and the Messiah of this fallen, sinful world! It includes some of the most incredible miracles that validate who he is!
It proves that he’s the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy in this specific part of God’s plan, which is what gives us the opportunity to be reconciled to him for eternal life in heaven! Picking up in chapter 4 with a different John—John the Baptist—who’s been on the scene for a little while right here!
John 4:1-30 NIV- 1 Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— 2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. 3 So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.
4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon. 7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans. 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” 11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?” 13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” 16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” 17 “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” 19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” 21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” 25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” 26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.” 27 Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?” 28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him.
So, in verses 1-2, it refers to John the Baptist, one of the most significant figures in the Bible. He was the first prophet called by God since Malachi, 400 years earlier. Isaiah prophesied the coming of John the Baptist and God’s plan for his ministry 700 years before it happened!
John the Baptist set the example for how every True Follower of Jesus. is supposed to live out the specific call God has for our life—whatever that may be! John the Baptist lived his whole life telling other people about Jesus! He was focused, faithful, and obedient to the mission that God had given him.
John the Baptist knew how important it was for sinners to repent in order to live a life of righteousness through holy faith. He wasn’t afraid of speaking the truth, even when it meant calling out King Herod and the Pharisees for their sinful behavior—which got him beheaded!
All True Followers of Jesus are supposed to live out the commands and instructions of Jesus. But God trusted John the Baptist with a unique ministry. And just like John the Baptist, God has designed specific things for each one of us. So, we have to decide to put ourselves in a position where we can be trusted by God to do those things.
We need to follow John the Baptist’s example of living and proclaiming the truth about Jesus through faithful, obedient trust in God—no matter what kind of life circumstances we’re in. John the Baptist was continually trying to get people to focus on Jesus instead of focusing on him.
In verse 3, when the Pharisees (religious Jewish leaders) saw that Jesus was making more disciples than even John the Baptist, they got really worried—a lot of them got mad! But Jesus didn’t want to cause any distractions with a confrontation. So, at the end of verse 3, it says:
"So he left Judea [in the south] and went back once more to Galilee [in the north]."
In verse 4, he wanted to take the most direct route, so he had to pass through Samaria—which wasn’t the normal route for Jews. They would intentionally take longer routes to avoid walking through Samaria because Jews didn’t even want to be near Samaritans.
Jesus made it to a small city in Samaria.
Verses 5-6:
"So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon."
This is part of the proof that Jesus was 100% human because he was tired and thirsty from walking in the heat. So, Jesus is 100% God and 100% man. The theological term for this is the Hypostatic Union—two natures in one person, perfectly blended forever.
Jesus stopped at the well. Normally, women wouldn’t go to the well in the heat of the day; they would go in the evening. But a woman who didn’t have the best reputation decided to go to the well in the middle of the day because she was ashamed. She was hoping nobody else would be there.
Verses 7-8:
"When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, ‘Will you give me a drink?’ (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food)."
It was about a five-mile walk from the well to the markets, so it would take a while for the disciples to get back.
Verse 9:
"The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?’"
And the last part of verse 9 reminds us:
"For Jews do not associate with Samaritans."
Again, there’s nothing new under the sun! The Jews and Samaritans didn’t get along at all—it was the racial divide of the first century! And the real word for racism is hate—people hating others for foolish reasons, like the color of their skin or their success in society.
Verse 10:
"Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water!’"
The woman has no idea what Jesus is talking about, which inspires her to ask a question—a strategy Jesus used often!
So she says in verses 11-12:
"Sir," the woman said, "you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?"
Jesus gradually keeps moving the conversation toward spiritual matters.
Verses 13-14:
"Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life!’"
Jesus tells the woman at the well that the water he gives actually becomes its own well—which is the living well of the Holy Spirit, who indwells every believer once they truly submit to Jesus as Lord and Savior. The Holy Spirit never dries up, and every True Follower of Jesus always has access to his well of power!
But she still doesn’t get the point yet!
Verse 15:
"The woman said to him, ‘Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water!’"
All she seems to be thinking about is that the well Jesus is offering will save her a lot of hard work and trips to the well!
Jesus keeps moving her along toward spiritual matters.
Verse 16:
"He told her, ‘Go, call your husband and come back.’"
Now remember, she came to the well at noon, hoping nobody would be there. She’s either ashamed of her life choices or just doesn’t want any judgment about them.
Verse 17a:
"‘I have no husband,’ she replied."
Well, that’s a half-truth and half-lie. And for the record, a half-truth is really a full lie!
Verses 17b-18:
"Jesus said to her, ‘You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true!’"
She’s living in an immoral relationship! Now Jesus is speaking to her completely about spiritual matters from his deity as God. In his humanity, he was tired. But now, in his deity, he knows all the details about this woman—specific details about her life, even though they’ve just met!
Jesus knows how many times she’s been married and how she’s choosing to live. At this point, she’s starting to get it!
Verse 19:
"‘Sir,’ the woman said, ‘I can see that you are a prophet!’"
She now feels like Jesus needs to know a little bit about her religious background.
Verse 20:
"‘Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.’"
This could be like someone we’re talking to about Jesus who either doesn’t believe in him or is bound up in some other form of false religion or belief.
She was referring to Mount Gerizimin the background behind them, where the Samaritan temple was located. She’s telling Jesus that her place of worship is no different than the Jews having their own place in Jerusalem where they prefer to worship.
It’s obvious. She thinks what Jesus is talking about is just a worship preference issue! Today, it would be like somebody asking, “Where do you go to church? What denomination is it?” or, “Oh, so you’re Catholic?” or, “You must be Mormon!” or whatever else. All through history, worship preference has been the strategy of religious leaders for keeping people divided by beliefs.
But the followers of Jesus are supposed to be unified in worshipping God, praising Jesus, and trusting the Holy Spirit. As long as we’re discerning God’s words, wisdom, and ways and staying in alignment with the Holy Bible, it doesn’t matter how we prefer to worship, praise, and serve.
Verse 21: “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.”
In the latter part of Jesus’ ministry, he talks a lot about the time that’s coming. Remember when he told his mother Mary, “My time hasn’t come”? The time he’s talking about is his death, burial, and resurrection. He’s telling the woman that after the time has come, the physical location for worshipping God won’t matter anymore. The Temple Mount and all the “most holy” places as determined by man, like the Vatican, don’t matter.
Jesus was tortured, executed, and resurrected so that the temple of worship could be established in the heart of every follower of Jesus. This means that when a person decides to receive the gift of salvation from sin through him, they are indwelled by the Holy Spirit.
The only place that the true worship of God can take place now is in the heart of a follower of Jesus, whether they’re standing in a megachurch in South Texas, an alley in New York, an underground church in China, on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, or at Invincible Church in Wylie and Indonesia. The only temple for the true worship of God is located in the heart of every follower of Jesus, and that is established at the time of their salvation through faith alone in Christ alone—period!
To help the woman understand, and everybody who reads this, Jesus continues explaining in verse 22: “You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.”
She didn’t understand God’s prophecy, so he’s telling her that the Messiah would come from Jewish lineage. Of course, he’s talking about himself now and his Jewish ancestry.
Verse 23: “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.”
One of the most important parts of our salvation through Jesus is to become a true worshiper of God. And for worship to be authentic, true, and acceptable to God, it has to be the kind of worship that he can receive.
Verse 24: “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
Jesus is telling us that the only kind of worship God can receive has to be in spirit and truth because at the core of God’s essence, he is a spiritual being. For someone to be able to worship him in spirit and truth, they must be in a personal relationship with Jesus, which only happens spiritually. All followers of Jesus have to approach every physical aspect of life from a spiritual perspective.
It’s why God commands us not to make images of him—because he operates in the spiritual realm. Remember, Jesus gives us physical illustrations and analogies to help us understand the spiritual realm. Like when he told Nicodemus that he had to be “born again” to be saved, he used something Nicodemus could identify with physically to demonstrate something in the spiritual realm.
It’s the same thing Jesus was doing with the woman at the well. He used the idea of physical thirst and water to help her understand the need for repentance and forgiveness through a spiritual relationship with him. So if the physical doesn’t lead us into the spiritual, it’s not true worship.
If we limit our worship of God to our five physical senses, then we’re not worshipping God in our spirit. Worship also has to be grounded in truth. It has to be aligned with the instructions, principles, and standards that he has given us in his word.
Also, notice back at the end of verse 23 that God is looking for these specific kinds of worshipers. We have to keep in proper perspective that God is hunting for real worshipers who will worship him spiritually, based on his truth—which is the only truth.
Verse 25: “The woman said, ‘I know that Messiah (called Christ) is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us!’”
It’s obvious that she had been taught or had heard enough to know that people were expecting a Messiah to come. It’s very important to understand here that this Samaritan woman at least had a messianic knowledge and expectation of the need for a savior. And during this very same time, Jesus was being rejected by most of the religious Jews, who were his very own people.
Remember, Jesus met her at the well at noon, and a Jew wouldn’t normally be there at that time of day. While he was there for water at a random time because of his physical thirst, he was also there on purpose to meet this woman because of a spiritual need she had.
The reason he goes to meet this woman is because, as messed up as her life is at this point, he knows that somewhere in her mind, a messianic knowledge and expectation has been received in her past. The main point we need to grasp here is that God will meet people if they want to be met—even if they have sins, flaws, and a history of bad decisions in their life.
The Bible says all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We know she was ashamed of her past, or else she would have just gone to the well at whatever time she wanted, because she wouldn’t have cared who was there.
Somebody, somewhere in her past had taken the time to explain to her about a Messiah who would come and explain what this mess of a physical life we’re living is all about, and explain the truth of what it’s really supposed to be about.
He was explaining to her that life was all about the living water of eternal life in him as the one and only true Messiah, the living Son of God, who would die a sacrificial death on the cross to pay the price for the sins of the world—including hers and ours.
It’s why we never have to be shackled by the thirst of sin again. He has quenched it. He has defeated sin and Satan once and for all. It’s also why every follower of Jesus should be urgently telling people about their desperate need for forgiveness from sins for salvation through Jesus.
All this happened 2,000 years ago. The countdown clock for the time of his return has been winding down ever since, which means we’re running out of time. So let’s get to work! We’ll stop here today. There’s more to the story, and we’re going to dig into it next week.