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The Woman at the Well - The Gospels · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. But whosoever drinketh of the water that
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  Speaker 1: I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water
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  Speaker 1: that I shall give him shall be in a well
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  Speaker 1: of water springing up into eternal life. John 4.14 Jesus,
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  Speaker 1: I thank you that you continually show me the life
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  Speaker 1: that I am supposed to live. I thank you that
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  Speaker 1: as I read your word, you are continuously showing me
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  Speaker 1: that You love all people, no matter where they came from,
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  Speaker 1: what they look like, or what reputation they have. I
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  Speaker 1: pray that you give me the same heart that is
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  Speaker 1: inside of you. Use me as a vessel to deliver
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  Speaker 1: the good news of a cool drink of water to
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  Speaker 1: a dry and thirsty soul. I will not shy away
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  Speaker 1: from an opportunity to introduce someone to your eternal and
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  Speaker 1: perfect love. Bring me to the wells in life so
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  Speaker 1: that I can be surrounded by your sons and daughters
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  Speaker 1: who need your hope. Show me, and I'll go. In Jesus' name, amen.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for praying with me today. Continue listening for
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  Speaker 1: an incredible Bible story brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: You know your principles, priorities, and practical health care needs
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  Speaker 2: Learn more by visiting chministries.org.
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  Speaker 3: The woman at the well. In our last story, we
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  Speaker 3: witnessed the righteous anger of Jesus. During the Passover, corrupt
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  Speaker 3: money changers and religious leaders were exploiting people's desire to worship.
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  Speaker 3: Jesus would have no barriers between God and people, so
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  Speaker 3: he fashioned a whip and drove them out. Now we
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  Speaker 3: see Jesus speak to a woman with a checkered past.
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  Speaker 3: She was shunned by her people, but accepted by Jesus.
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  Speaker 3: Her conversation with him would change the course of her
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  Speaker 3: entire life, inspired by the Gospels.
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  Speaker 4: Hello, this is Pastor Jack Graham with another episode of
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  Speaker 4: the Bible in a Year podcast. In our last episode,
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  Speaker 4: we heard how Jesus cleared the temple, an act of
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  Speaker 4: zeal for God's house, and a sign once again that
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  Speaker 4: he is the Messiah. He is the Lord of the temple.
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  Speaker 4: Many did not understand him or accept him and even
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  Speaker 4: rejected him. The religious leaders began to feel the threat
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  Speaker 4: that Jesus posed to their status quo religious system. We
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  Speaker 4: also heard of one Pharisee, a very religious man, a
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  Speaker 4: very bright and noble man by the name of Nicodemus,
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  Speaker 4: who wanted to know more about Jesus, and he sought
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  Speaker 4: him out, and Jesus said, you must be born again. Today,
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  Speaker 4: we'll hear the story of a very different kind of person.
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  Speaker 4: Not a person who was religious and thereby close to God,
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  Speaker 4: but a woman who, though religious in some way, was
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  Speaker 4: very far from God. A person who didn't seek God out,
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  Speaker 4: but Jesus sought her out. She was in many ways
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  Speaker 4: the polar opposite of Nicodemus. And yet, as Jesus spoke
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  Speaker 4: to her directly with love and compassion, her entire life
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  Speaker 4: is changed and she experiences the new birth, the forgiveness
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  Speaker 4: that is ours in Jesus Christ. So let's listen now
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  Speaker 4: to this powerful story.
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  Speaker 3: The sun was high above the skies of Samaria. Its
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  Speaker 3: rays scorched the earth below, beating down restlessly. It was
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  Speaker 3: around the valley of Samaria where Jesus was traveling on
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  Speaker 3: his way to Galilee. The Jews hated the Samaritans and
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  Speaker 3: held deep prejudices against them. Usually, any Jewish traveler walked
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  Speaker 3: around Samaria. Not Jesus. He decided to travel through it.
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  Speaker 3: The afternoon sun was merciless, and Jesus' disciples departed to
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  Speaker 3: get food. Jesus walked towards a single well resting on
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  Speaker 3: the bottom of a hill. A Samaritan woman was drawing
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  Speaker 3: water there in the heat of day. It was a
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  Speaker 3: peculiar sight, since most women gathered water for the day
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  Speaker 3: early in the morning to escape the sun. Jesus sat
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  Speaker 3: on a rock beside the well. The woman saw him there,
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  Speaker 3: but paid no attention to him. Jesus looked up at
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  Speaker 3: the sun, then back at the woman. You mind drawing
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  Speaker 3: me some water? Jesus asked. The woman looked up at him.
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  Speaker 3: Her face was cold and impassive. Now why would a
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  Speaker 3: Jew want a woman from Samaria to draw him water?
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  Speaker 3: She said as she lowered the bucket down into the well.
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  Speaker 3: Jesus smiled, not allowing her harsh tone to bother him.
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  Speaker 3: If you knew who was asking you for water, you
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  Speaker 3: would ask me for living water, Jesus replied. The woman
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  Speaker 3: looked Jesus up and down. You have nothing to draw
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  Speaker 3: water with. Where would you get flowing and living water
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  Speaker 3: from anyways? This is a well. Jesus stood up and
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  Speaker 3: walked closer to the well. He looked down into the
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  Speaker 3: water below and said, Whoever drinks this water will be
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  Speaker 3: thirsty again. They will surely have to keep coming back,
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  Speaker 3: but whoever drinks of the water I give will never
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  Speaker 3: thirst again. The woman did her best to hide her shock.
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  Speaker 3: She had been coming to the well for years and
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  Speaker 3: hated every single trip. She was shunned by the other women,
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  Speaker 3: so she had to draw in the middle of the
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  Speaker 3: day when the sun was high and hot. I need
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  Speaker 3: this living water, she said impatiently. I never want to
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  Speaker 3: come back here again. Jesus paused for a moment. Very well.
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  Speaker 3: Go and call your husband, he said casually. The woman
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  Speaker 3: looked away. I don't have a husband, she replied. Ah, yes,
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  Speaker 3: Jesus said. You are right. You have no husband. Jesus
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  Speaker 3: looked her in the eyes. You have had five husbands,
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  Speaker 3: and the man you are living with now is not
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  Speaker 3: your husband. The woman held back tears with a fake
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  Speaker 3: smile as she tried to change the subject. Sir, I
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  Speaker 3: perceive you are a prophet. You know this well as
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  Speaker 3: sacred ground. Our forefathers worshipped here on the mountain, although
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  Speaker 3: the Jews say that the temple is the place we
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  Speaker 3: should worship now. The woman was speaking quickly. Her eyes
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  Speaker 3: were watering. There was pain behind her religious small talk.
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  Speaker 3: Jesus could feel her anguished heart. He had struck a
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  Speaker 3: chord by mentioning her five divorces. He approached the other
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  Speaker 3: side of the well and sat next to her. He
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  Speaker 3: gave a reassuring smile and looked into the distance. Believe me.
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  Speaker 3: The time is coming when people won't worship on a
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  Speaker 3: mountain or in a temple. The true worshippers will worship
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  Speaker 3: in spirit and in truth. The woman nodded. Yes, I
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  Speaker 3: suppose they will when the Messiah comes. He will tell
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  Speaker 3: us how and where we should truly worship. Jesus nodded.
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  Speaker 3: He smiled from cheek to cheek as he looked the
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  Speaker 3: woman in the eye. Yes, he will. I am he.
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  Speaker 3: As Jesus was saying this, his disciples were returning with
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  Speaker 3: their lunch. They saw Jesus from a distance and judged
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  Speaker 3: him for speaking to a Samaritan woman, although none of
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  Speaker 3: them said anything or asked why he was speaking to her.
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  Speaker 3: They saw the woman leap up from where she was
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  Speaker 3: sitting and run away back to the city. The woman
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  Speaker 3: ran fast and with great joy. She knocked on every
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  Speaker 3: door in the city. Quick, to the well, come quick.
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  Speaker 3: People poked their heads out of their doors and windows.
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  Speaker 3: You must come see this man. He told me everything
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  Speaker 3: about me. I think he may be the Christ. So
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  Speaker 3: the Samaritans left their homes to come see Jesus. They
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  Speaker 3: sat at his feet and listened to him teach for
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  Speaker 3: two days. Many believed as they heard him speak.
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  Speaker 4: We open today's reading with Jesus traveling on a hot
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  Speaker 4: and long road into a place most Jews avoided at
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  Speaker 4: all costs. Samaria was despised by Jewish people. They viewed
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  Speaker 4: the Samaritans as half-breeds and impure. But Jesus did not
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  Speaker 4: see these distinctions. These were people created in God's image,
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  Speaker 4: people that God loved, people in need of redemption like
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  Speaker 4: every person on earth. And so, rather than avoid or
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  Speaker 4: walk around this city of Samaria, taking a longer road
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  Speaker 4: to get away from the undesirables, Jesus went through Samaria.
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  Speaker 4: Under the heat of the sun, he became thirsty, showing
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  Speaker 4: his humanity. He was needing a drink of water. So
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  Speaker 4: he went to a Samaritan well at midday. There was
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  Speaker 4: one woman there drawing water. She was clearly not a
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  Speaker 4: part of the mainstream of society. She was there alone.
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  Speaker 4: His very presence would have been surprising and unusual for
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  Speaker 4: this woman. He was clearly a Jew, and he was
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  Speaker 4: a man, and good Jewish men did not talk to
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  Speaker 4: Samaritan women, certainly not publicly. But then notice what Jesus
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  Speaker 4: did next. He asked her to draw water for him
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  Speaker 4: to drink. Now, why would he ask her this? Well,
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  Speaker 4: he's asking her to draw water so that he could
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  Speaker 4: draw her out. She asked Jesus this question, wondering why
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  Speaker 4: he would break so many unwritten rules. He could tell
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  Speaker 4: that this woman had often been told and shown that
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  Speaker 4: her place on the societal ladder was very low. But
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  Speaker 4: Jesus persevered in conversing with this woman. He was unfazed
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  Speaker 4: by her distracting question and answered that if she knew
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  Speaker 4: who he was, was, she would ask him for living water.
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  Speaker 4: Living water? Well, once again, she didn't understand. What did
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  Speaker 4: he mean? He couldn't even draw physical water for himself.
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  Speaker 4: He had no bucket or rope of any way to
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  Speaker 4: get water from the well. So what is this living water?
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  Speaker 4: Jesus went on to explain that the water that she
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  Speaker 4: would draw would quench physical thirst for just a while,
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  Speaker 4: but that he would offer a living water that would
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  Speaker 4: last forever, that would satisfy once and for all. What
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  Speaker 4: is this water? Water that quenches thirst forever. She needed that.
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  Speaker 4: She wanted that. She asked Jesus to give her some,
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  Speaker 4: especially if it meant she never needed to come alone
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  Speaker 4: to this well again. Jesus then told her to call
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  Speaker 4: her husband, knowing full well there was no husband. The
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  Speaker 4: Samaritan woman replied with obvious shame in her voice that
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  Speaker 4: she had no husband. He then told her he knew
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  Speaker 4: her heart and he knew her life, that not only
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  Speaker 4: was she not married, but that she had been married
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  Speaker 4: five times before and was now living with a man
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  Speaker 4: that was not her husband. The goal of Jesus was
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  Speaker 4: not to shame this woman. This is not cruel, but
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  Speaker 4: this is convictional. He is bringing her face to face
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  Speaker 4: with her sin and her need for a Savior. She
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  Speaker 4: needs to know that her life can be changed, that
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  Speaker 4: what she's looking for in life is not found in
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  Speaker 4: a man or a relationship or anything else that this
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  Speaker 4: world offers, but only the eternal living Word of God, Jesus.
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  Speaker 4: She then called Jesus a prophet and began a conversation
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  Speaker 4: about the differences between the Jews and Samaritans' belief and
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  Speaker 4: practices of worship. In one way, she's trying to throw
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  Speaker 4: Jesus off as he's zeroing in on their great need
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  Speaker 4: for salvation. Jesus listened to her and then spoke to her,
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  Speaker 4: saying there was a time coming for true worship, and
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  Speaker 4: it wasn't about a place. People would worship God in
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  Speaker 4: spirit and in truth. His words triggered a recognition in
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  Speaker 4: her mind, and in John 4, 25 and 26, we
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  Speaker 4: read these words from the woman who said to him,
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  Speaker 4: I know that the Messiah is coming, he who is
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  Speaker 4: called the Christ. When he comes, he will tell us
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  Speaker 4: all things. Jesus said to her, I who speak to
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  Speaker 4: you am he. Now, don't miss this. Jesus is clearly
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  Speaker 4: claiming to be the Messiah. And he shares this truth
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  Speaker 4: with a woman, a woman at the well, a sinner,
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  Speaker 4: shamed by her sin, a Samaritan who was a cast off,
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  Speaker 4: and yet he reveals himself, and she believes. She responds
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  Speaker 4: in faith. And not only that, but she ran back
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  Speaker 4: to the city and told everyone in town who she
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  Speaker 4: had met. This outcast woman led others to a saving faith.
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  Speaker 4: She said, come and meet a man that will change
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  Speaker 4: your life. And once again, we see how God extends
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  Speaker 4: his mercy and grace to all who will come to him.
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  Speaker 4: We need to spend our days like this woman because
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  Speaker 4: we have trusted in Christ, telling the world who Jesus is,
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  Speaker 4: the good news of his salvation. Thank you, Lord, for
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  Speaker 4: the wonderful story of Jesus. Thank you that you love
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  Speaker 4: us in spite of our sins, that you went to
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  Speaker 4: a cross and died and then rose again so that
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  Speaker 4: we could be forgiven and drink of the living water
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  Speaker 4: forever and ever. Amen. Thank you for listening to today's
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  Speaker 4: Bible in a Year. I'm Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas.
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  Speaker 4: You can download the Pray.com app and make Bible study
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  Speaker 4: and prayer the priority of your life. And if you
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  Speaker 4: appreciate this podcast, please share it with someone else. I
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  Speaker 4: also want to encourage you to go to jackgraham.org. That's jackgraham.org.
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  Speaker 4: For we have resources that are free and available for
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  Speaker 4: you so that you may know Christ and grow in him.
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  Speaker 4: God bless you.