Gospel—John Kemp
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While the last meeting of the conference has come and.
It's scheduled as a gospel meeting, as we know.
It's supposed to be short.
I think everyone should be able to present the gospel in 15 minutes.
A brethren say that if I go beyond the time, it will still be acceptable.
So.
They need to warn me about that.
But let's open our meeting by singing #60 a few verses of number.
66 In the back of the book someone was started. Come hear the gospel sound. Yet there is room number 66.
Hear the gospel sound.
Everyone.
Tells me all the light.
And everything.
All things are.
Everything happened. Yeah, there is a room.
Mercy City.
Yeah, there is a room. God's house is still in the past, yet there's room.
Some guests will be held as.
A nervous room.
Yes, salvation.
Day in the world has slowed.
And bright snow, Water said.
Yeah, there is room.
We pray, our loving God and our Father, we thank thee, the outset of this gospel meeting, that we can still proclaim that message from the heart of God, that yet there is room.
We thank Thee, our God, for thinking upon us when we were so far from Thee.
Nature's darkness.
For sending Heaven's Beloved 1 to accomplish that mighty work of redemption that has brought so many of us here from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God. But we are concerned, should there be one in the company here, who is a stranger to thy love and grace in his sins.
Thy word might penetrate the soul, the conscience be as a like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces. So help us our God, as we seek to present this message.
This afternoon, a message which has its origin in heaven.
So we seek Thy guidance depending upon Thee, looking up to Thee in weakness, thanking Thee for this time of fellowship and happy ministry we have had these few days here in Montrose. We ask it all in the name for the glory our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
Our brother Etienne spoke of.
Philippians 3.
He mentioned.
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Knowing Christ and making him known.
That's a nice expression.
And I'm thinking of a woman who did not know Christ.
But you know, at the end of her history.
She became an evangelist. Are you an evangelist?
They're rare today.
But we need them.
This woman we're going to look at for a few moments.
Became a bright testimony.
In the city where she lived.
And.
It certainly flowed forth from her heart. It certainly wasn't anything of a legal nature.
Sometimes we present the gospel, but.
It's evident it's not really coming from the heart.
I like when an evangelist speaks from the heart. That's the way it should be. I'm afraid I fail in that often.
From a full heart to tell forth the message which has its origin in the heart of God.
That's where the gospel comes from that has met us in our deep need.
It came from heaven.
It came through the channel of God's beloved Son.
But its origin is the heart of God.
And you know, brethren, or I'm speaking to each one here.
That Christ did not have to die on the cross for God to love you.
God loves you in a past eternity. We're going to look at a woman here.
Who before the creation of the world, the Lord had settled.
In the councils of eternity, that she should be blessed.
Well, you know the passage that we're going to look at, I think, in John's Gospel, Chapter 4.
And, you know, it's wonderful to see the way the Lord dealt with souls. In John's Gospel, it's often 1:00 to 1:00.
You often find the Sinner along with Christ in John's gospel.
John 5. John 9. John 3. John 4, which we look at for a few moments here.
This is the most unlikely character.
You know, if I was writing it, I would speak about worship to Nicodemus.
He was a religious man which should know something about.
Worshiping. But that's not the way the Lord did it. He spoke to the woman of Samaria about worship.
And he dealt with this soul. He had perfect wisdom in the way he dealt with souls. We need to look to the Lord for guidance in these matters.
We have this morning a word in season to him that is weary.
And we're ambassadors for Christ.
When I was in Ottawa, I met the ambassador to Brazil because we were invited to the celebration of Independence Day. So Eleanor and I spoke to the ambassador of Brazil and his wife, but he doesn't belong in Canada at all. He's just there to represent Brazil.
He doesn't partake in any of the.
Business or the government, the politics of Canada need to be recalled to Brasilia. If he did, he's a stranger there, so to speak. But he's representing his country and so are we.
Where John 4.
When Jesus therefore therefore knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, though Jesus himself baptized not but his disciples, he left Judea and departed again into Galilee, and he must needs go through Samaria.
You know, a stern legalist would not have gone through Samaria. There was there was a bitterness between those two nations. The Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. They were a mongrel group of people.
There was.
Prejudice.
And there was opposition, but the Lord had in view.
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The blessing of those Samaritan people to reveal the truth of God to them.
And.
He made a journey on purpose through the city of Samaria.
Where he knew there was a hungry, thirsty soul.
Dissatisfied with everything that the world could offer.
Discouraged.
And burdened with sin.
And with hopelessness, you might say.
Well, the Lord had in view.
The blessing of this woman.
And he was tired, tired in seeking sinners, weary in his service of love for others. The Lord never pleased himself.
He labored.
Fervently, I've noticed it says in a passage that he went through every city and village.
Preaching the glad tidings wasn't that wonderful.
He didn't think of his own comfort, as we do too often. He thought of the need of sinners. He had in view this poor degraded woman.
He wanted to bring blessing into her life. The living water she had drunk, the waters of this world. She had gone deep into the horrible pit of sin. And she was.
Dissatisfied.
Because the things of this world cannot satisfy the heart.
The well is deep, but just let me stop here for a moment.
Because the Lord was a perfect man, He was weary with his journey.
He had taken humanity into union with himself.
The Son of God.
He didn't empty himself of his divinity, of his deity, but he did empty himself of all that glory that he had in the bosom of the Father from a past eternity. And so this woman saw only an ordinary man, a weary man at the side of the well here.
Probably she recognized that he was a Jew by the ribbon of blue around his garment.
But she didn't know who he was.
But the Lord never used.
His Godhead glory to shield himself from the circumstances that we meet in everyday life.
He never.
Shielded himself.
He didn't make the stones bread, He didn't perform a miracle there to feed himself. He was surrounded by the same infirmities that we have weary in his journey here. Thirsty.
He could have commanded water from that well in a moment, but he didn't do it.
Because he partook of our humanity perfectly. He was hungry, he was thirsty. He was a perfect man.
But he had an appointment here with this woman.
And if you're unsaved in the room, dear friends, God has an appointment with you tonight, today.
God wants to meet you.
He wants to save your precious soul. He wants to give you the living water.
Which he provides through his work on the cross.
He wants to fill your heart, give you something that will last for eternity because the pleasures of this world.
There are only for a season.
At the end, there is bitter disappointment, there's judgment.
Moses turned his back upon the pleasures of this world in the court of Pharaoh, and he identified himself with those brick making slaves.
But he had the recompense of the reward. So the Lord speaks to this woman. He asks her for a drink of water. He gains her confidence and he said here.
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Chapter 4 Then cometh thee to a city of Samaria, which is called Sikar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. This was a traditional ground. Now Jacob's well was there, Jesus therefore being wearied with his journey.
Thus on the well, and it was about the 6th hour of the sixth hour.
According to this gospel would be around 12:00 noon and if you travel in these.
These Oriental countries, you'd want to be out in the heat of the day. Why was it that this woman came to the well, at this time of the day, it's not usually a time that women would be would be coming.
Her sin had isolated her, but she found one that was isolated too.
The Lord was weary. He was friendless.
He did not have a place to lay his head. He was in the world that his hands had created, and there was no room for him in the inn and.
We find today in large measure, there is no still no room for Christ in this world. Thank God that there has been room in your heart here and many others have believed the gospel and made room for Christ.
But the Lord speaks here of a well-being deep. Jacob's well was there. It was deep. We find that as we go on.
The well was deep and.
You know, the unsaved, they find the well to be very deep because they have to go deeper and deeper into the pleasures of this world in order to try and satisfy the longings of their heart. And they're disappointed. The well is deep. I sat by this well.
Back when I visited Palestine.
And if I remember correctly, the guide took a penny or a coin and he dropped it into the well, and it was a long time before we heard the splash.
It the well was deep.
And there in that environment, the Lord speaks of living water. He speaks of a gift. Salvation, dear friend, is a gift. You know, people have devised all sorts of Ways and Means to earn salvation.
And to win a place in in God's heaven.
There's multitudes of ways. There's religion, there's moral living, there's doing good to your neighbor and so on. Being a respectable citizen, taking part in civic affairs, et cetera, et cetera. Man has devised all sorts of ways.
To try to fit himself for God's presence. But it's all in vain salvation.
Is a free gift.
It's not cheap.
Because it costs God his Son and Christ the sufferings of Calvary. But it's the outflowing of the heart of God. Christ was here revealing to this poor creature the heart of God, as He's doing today still to sinners.
Through channels and the living water, if thou knewest the gift of God.
And who it is that says, Do thee give me to drink? Thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. Well, she didn't know much about living water. In fact, it's quite a while in this passage before the woman thinks along spiritual lines. She's thinking of natural things. She has questions about religion and the place of worship and so on. She's not thinking of spiritual water.
She's thinking of natural things. The Lord says, If thou knewest the gift of God.
That is what the Lord is offering to you this afternoon, salvation full and free and eternal. And it's through the grace of God. This is what is revealed in this passage, the grace of God in a marvelous way through the Lord Jesus Christ. Well.
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The living water here I suppose to be more correct, would speak of the Holy Spirit of God.
Coming down to lift our hearts up in worship to heaven.
That is the probably the interpretation. The correct interpretation here is refers to the Spirit of God, but we can apply it in in in other ways that it is salvation that the Lord is offering to this woman.
Freely from his heart of love. Well, there's just another point I'll make here as we come down this passage.
The woman.
Realizes that this is a strange person.
She's inquiring what this living water is.
But the Lord has to put his finger upon the black spot of her life.
And we see here that.
The Lord drives home the truth of her guilty past and her sinful present.
We come down here.
Verse 15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not.
Neither come hit her to draw. She had a longing for something that would satisfy. She had drunk of the sinful waters of this world for many years. And she was.
Miserable, but here the Lord puts his finger upon her life, because the truth must come through the conscience.
And the Lord was going to awaken this soul to her.
Sinful past.
To really probe there by the word of God was going to.
Like the looking glass, the mirror that we've been talking about, it was presented to her and she was seeing her, her life as revealed by someone that she didn't know. But it was the Lord of Glory who knew all about her. He knew about her sinful past. He knew about her life at that time. He knew all the evil of her past history. He knows yours too. You can't hide anything from the Lord He.
Your life is an open book before him.
Every thought and word indeed is recorded.
But the Lord is longing to bless, He says to this woman in verse 16. Jesus saith unto her goal.
Call thy husband and come hit her. Not often did the Lord tell anyone to go from him, but He did in this case. Why?
Because he wanted that woman.
To realize what she really was.
And her character and her sin.
He wanted her conscience to be awakened.
To what she had done in her life.
To feel her need of salvation. So the Lord says, go call thy husband and come hit her. Notice he said come hit her.
The invitation was still given to her, not to stay away, but to come back to the one who could meet that deep need. And then she.
Says these words in 17.
I have no husband, Jesus said unto her, Thou as well said, I have no husband, for thou hast had five husbands, and he whom thou hast is not thy husband. In that saidst thou truly? In other words, he revealed her life. She was living in sin.
And she realized that she was meeting someone.
Who?
Was a revealer of secrets. You know that's the meaning of Zaft Nathania.
That Pharaoh gave to Joseph in Genesis Zafna Penia in one language.
Coptic, I think it is. It means the revealer of secrets. This is what the Lord was doing here. He was revealing the secrets of this life, of this woman's life. And the other meaning of it in I think it's in in Hebrew is savior of the world.
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So the Lord was manifesting himself in these two characters. First of all, revealing.
The life of this woman, which was so black and.
Immoral, but he was also presenting himself as the savior of the world. And her eyes were opened. Perceived that thou art a prophet. Little by little she was.
Becoming acquainted with this person, not only what he had, but who he was. Here was the Messiah.
That was before her. They were looking for him to come. The Lord said I that speak unto thee, am he. You didn't do that very often did to the man in John nine and here to the woman and then he goes on to unfold the truth of worship.
The disciples were surprised when they came back to bringing food.
How little they really knew of the heart of the Lord, because they knew the character of this woman, and they wondered why the Lord would be talking to her, but they didn't realize.
The depth of his interest.
How He could make the dark things light in the crooked places straight, but they didn't enter into that. And the Lord rejoiced in spirit as He had unfolded the heart of God, brought blessing and salvation to this poor woman.
Her heart was one.
Her feet were made.
To carry the glad tidings. How wonderful are the feet of those that preach the gospel of peace. And as I said, she became an evangelist. She went into the city where she was well known. Come see a man that told me all things that ever I did. Is not this the Christ? And we know there was much blessing in the city of Samaria by this woman's testimony and.
Later by the preaching of Philip in Acts chapter, or later by the.
The stay of the Lord here for us two days. Many of the Samaritans of the city believed on him for the saying of the woman which testified. He told me all that ever I did.
And so when the Samaritans were come into unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them, and he abode there two days, many more believed, because of his own word. What a wonderful harvest of souls there were in that city of Samaria, the most unlikely place degraded and.
Had had refused the the true center of of Jehovah. But the Lord worked in his marvelous grace. I'm going to close with a little story. I see I've gone beyond beyond my time.
About a man. A young man, this young man.
Was in a godly home. He had a mother that prayed for him and wept for him, but he didn't want any more of this religion.
Being presented to him day after day. So he said, Mother, I've had enough of this.
I'm leaving home. He gathered together his belongings.
And he said goodbye even though his mother followed him, weeping and saying, son, remember, when the darkest time comes in your life and you think that everything is lost, you pray to your mother's God. Goodbye, mother. He went off and he fell into the horrible pit of sin and infidelity and immorality and what have you.
He gave everything, he threw everything overboard.
He got as far away from his mother as he could.
I don't know how long he carried on this life, but I think it was for some years.
Finally, he came to himself one night in a dingy hotel long away from his home.
He was depressed, he was discouraged. Everything had fallen apart in his life.
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He was burdened with his sins now.
And he said, well, I think I'll just end this whole farce called human life because there's nothing in it. He had a gun in his suitcase there, and he was going to bring the gun out and put an end to his life.
But as he looked out into the black night.
Those words that his.
Praying, mother had said to him, came back with power to his soul. Son, in the darkest hour, when you think that everything is lost, pray to your mother's God. He will hear you.
So this man got down on his knees and he cried to the Lord, he said.
Lord, if there is such a being, save my soul.
Hear my cry and be. He couldn't sleep. He was burdened and weary.
And discouraged. But the Lord heard his prayer, and before Daybreak he had passed from death unto life, and his joy knew no bounds. Do you know what he wanted to do? I guess you can assume I want to go back to my mother and tell her that her prayers are answered. It's hard to get away from the mother's prayers. So he made the journey back, and the mother came out.
Crying and laughing and said son.
I know why you are coming back. The Lord has told me you've found the Savior.
He says yes mother, I have and my heart is full of joy and the burden of my sins are gone and I have eternal life. That man was Mr. RA Tory.
Who established this missionary comptown where we are? May the Lord bless His word. Time is gone here, so we'll just have a word of prayer. Our loving God and our Father, we thank Thee for this opportunity once more to sound forth. The glad tidings will feebly done. We thank Thee for the Lord Jesus. We pray for any precious soul in this company here who has.
Never felt their need of Christ.
Closed in with his wondrous offer of mercy, that they might trust the Lord.
Put their faith, confidence in that finished work and that precious blood that was shed, and find peace like Mr. Tory did and like this poor woman. In our story tonight we commit the word to Thee that went forth last night faithfully, and we thank Thee for all Thy goodness to us this happy weekend that we have had together. Commit ourselves into Thy care for the evening and for those who may be traveling back home to give them journeying mercies and a sense of Thy presence.
We ask it all and give thanks in the worthy, precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.