John 4:23-30

A GLIMPSE OF PURE FAITH

Intro: Of all the personal encounters of the Lord Jesus, I think this is my personal favorite. In this passage, Jesus displays His love for the lost sinner and He shows would be witnesses how to go about the business of sharing the faith. One sure way to learn how to tell others about Jesus is to watch the way the Master Himself did it.

     The main character in this passage, other than Jesus Himself, is a woman with low morals and a bad reputation. This is seen in the fact that she came to Jacob’s well to get water at noon, during the hottest part of the day. The other women would have come early in the morning or late in the evening to get water. History tells us that those gatherings were often opportunities for the women to catch up on their gossip. Verse 18 tells us why she didn’t come with the other women. In fact, she was probably the subject of their gossip on many occasions.

     When she arrives at the well this day, she meets a man named Jesus. He tells her about an everlasting well of water from which she can take one drink and never thirst again, v. 13-14. She hears about the true path of salvation and she is saved by the grace of God! What a wonderful day it must have been for this woman.

     Tonight, I want to jump in at the end of this account. This woman has heard the Gospel and she has believed. She is saved by grace and is a new baby in Christ. Here is a woman who is freshly saved. Her faith has not had time to become jaded. Her faith hasn’t yet become tarnished. We have the opportunity to look at faith as it appears fresh from the womb of grace. The kind of faith this woman had in her life is the same kind of faith you and I need o have in our lives tonight. Allow me to share with you the qualities of this woman’s faith as we catch A Glimpse Of Pure Faith.

  I. SHE HAD SIMPLE FAITH

A. Jesus had come to His Own people and had demonstrated His power and His identity through many miracles and signs. He had perfectly fulfilled the prophecies about the Messiah, and yet they had rejected Him. John 1:11.

B. But, Here is a woman, a child of the hated race of the Samaritans. She hears the word of God and she believes. There are no miracles! No water is turned to wine. No demons are cast out. No multitudes are fed with a little bread and a few fish. No one walks on water. No one is raised from the dead. Jesus simply tells her the truth and she believes it and is saved! Her’s is a simple faith!

     C. This is the kind of faith that saves the souls! Jesus said that we had to come to Him as little children, Matt. 18:1-5. That is, we are to lose all pretense. We are to be open and honest. We are to simply believe Him by faith. Saving faith is a simple faith! Grace works in the heart of the sinner, and shows him his condition. Grace shows the sinner where to look to be saved and grace provides the faith to look. That is saving faith and it is so simple! (Ill. The best testimony in the world is simple testimony of salvation by grace. The best testimony is your testimony! It’s the one thing you never have less of because you have shared it!)

 II. SHE HAD SINCERE FAITH

A. After she meets Jesus and believes in her heart that He is the Messiah. He forgets everything but Him! She drops her waterpot, v. 28, and heads back into the city to tell the others that He is here! This man Who moments before had meant absolutely nothing to her was now the focus of her thoughts and her actions. What an amazing transformation!

B. This is how it works for everyone who meets Him! One moment He is the Lord Jesus Christ, some holy, distant man Who died on a cross. But, when faith is exercised in Him, He instantly becomes a personal Friend and the absolute focus and center of your being. His salvation is amazing because it brings about such an instantaneous depth of change, 1 Cor. 5:17.

C. Think about all the things that changed for you when you received Jesus as your Savior! This woman left town that day a dirty, vile, hated sinner. The women hated her because she was an easy mark for the men. The men used her body, but didn’t care a thing about her. She left town a nobody, but she returned to town a new born child of God! Everything had changed in an instant! When simple faith is exercised in Jesus Christ, and a soul is saved, sincere faith quickly develops in the heart of the believer!

III. SHE HAD SHARING FAITH

A. After she is saved the first thing this woman wants to do is go an tell somebody else. She ran back to town to the crowd who knew best and told them about Jesus, v. 28-29. Not only did she tell them about Him, she invited them to come and meet Him for themselves. She said, “He’s still out there and what He did for me He will do for you if you will come to Him!”

It must have done some good too, because several of those men believed because of her witness and others came to know Jesus because of her invitation. Suffice it to say, this woman was responsible for a town turning to God, v. 39-42.

     B. This woman had the kind of testimony we like to parade across the platform and show off. She had one of those spectacular testimonies of a life saved from the bottom. In this case, the Lord took one of the vilest citizens of that town and used her to bring many souls to Jesus. However, you do not have to go to the bottom to have a great testimony! You don’t have to wallow in the hog pen to know how good it feels to be clean! What I am saying is this: If you are saved, you have a testimony! As long as you can say, “I have met the Lord Jesus and He changed my life and He can do the same for you, and here’s how you can know Him.”, the Lord can use your life! (Ill. Boris Kornfield and Alexander Solhenitzen)

C. There’s just something about meeting Him that makes you want to tell others about Him! It’s hard to keep to yourself. It is comforting to know that as we attempt to witness to others, we have the promises of God in this matter, Acts 1:8, Matt. 28:18-20; Heb. 13:5. Let’s ask the Lord to develop within us a sharing faith. (Ill. Illiterate man in Texas!)

IV. SHE HAD SHINING FAITH

A. Something about this old girl was different when she came running back into town. I guarantee you they had never heard her talk about “religion” before. Now, here she is talking to them about the Lord and inviting them out to meet Him. The change in her life was plain to see!

B. When the Lord is truly in your life, it will get out on you! You won’t be able to keep Him a secret when He lives in your heart. I guess it’s the whole “light and candle” thing. When He puts His light within your heart, you will stand out from the darkness around you, Matt. 5:13-16. (Ill. John Pounds made shoes for over 500 hundred crippled children and lead every single on to Jesus!)

C. You’ve met these kind of people haven’t you? You know the ones. They are always praising the Lord in public. They pray over their food in a restaurant. Sometimes they will have a New Testament or tracts in their pocket. You know, that loud crowd! Man, I pray the Lord would do that to every one of us! I pray He will fill us up so that we get a good case of the “can’t help its” and make fools of ourselves for Jesus’ sake. Let’s ask the Lord to give us a shining faith that glorifies Him before the world!

V. SHE HAD SAVING FAITH

A. Best of all, this woman had saving faith. She went to the well that day to get enough water to last the day, she returned with enough spiritual water to last an eternity! She got more than she bargained for, she got saved! You can see her in this passage as she attempts to out maneuver the Lord, v. 9-25. But when she hears His claim to be the Messiah, v. 26, she loses her will to fight and she believes in Him by faith!

B. The best thing you will ever get out of life is saving faith! Be sure you are saved by the grace of God this evening! (Ill. Think of all you have because you are saved!) And if you are, ask Him to create within you all the other things He placed within this woman when He saved her soul.

Conc: Have you ever been to the well and left with more than you came after? If you are saved, you sure have! Let’s ask the Lord to do within us what He did within this woman. Let’s ask Him to give a simple faith, a sincere faith, a sharing faith and a shining faith. Let’s ask Him to take us and use us like He did this lady. He can and He will if we are saved and yielded to Him!