The Christmas
Gift That Almost Wasn’t Opened
John 4:5-27
Dec 25, 2012 AM
(Christmas Day)
Pastor Craig
Ledbetter
I.
Introduction
A.
Did you unwrap ALL
your gifts yet?
B.
If you had your
gift-giving already, I wonder if you opened up every gift there was for you
C.
Let me show you a
great gift-giving instance in the Bible, where a Gift was just about missed,
overlooked, and passed by
D.
Please, don’t miss
THE Gift that may still be waiting to be opened by YOU today!
II.
Message
A.
The Gift
Waits to be Noticed (John 4:5,6)
1.
Jesus and His
disciples were on their way down from Galilee to
2.
The disciples had
gone into town to get some food, so Jesus was sitting on the well all alone
(John 4:8)
3.
Strange that he
would do this
a.
To actually go into
b.
And then to actually
go right over to a well, and set Himself down on it and do nothing but sit there
4.
But He actually was
not doing nothing
a.
He was waiting
b.
He was wanting to be
noticed
c.
Jesus was sitting
there ON the well – blocking this woman from getting water
5.
It all got her
attention all right
6.
God has some great
gifts for all people
7.
They just need to be
noticed – maybe even tripped over because we are usually so blind to the best
gifts
B.
The Gift
Challenges a Need – thirst (John 4:7)
1.
Jesus was tired. Not
looking like some superhero, or body-builder – but weary
2.
And He strikes up a
conversation, about being thirsty!
3.
It was a simple
thing to talk about, to ask her about
4.
Well, what do you
know! That is what she had come there for!
a.
Just imagine how
much water you use
b.
Your whole family
c.
No wonder they want
to bring in water charges
d.
If you had to go and
get your water, every day… WOW! You would freak out!
e.
She did this every
day of her life! Sometimes several times a day
5.
Jesus usually talked
to people about what they were needing
6.
THAT’S why we have a
Bible believing church – so that people can trust that when they come here, we
are going to talk about what people really need – not what they want, or what
they feel like talking about
7.
Jesus challenged her
need – a thirst
a.
More important need
than hunger
b.
You can go 40 days
without eating
c.
You can’t go 4 days
without water
d.
A thirst is a
craving
e.
When you are
thirsty, you get desperate
8.
Jesus knew this
woman was thirsty – for more than just water!
9.
God’s gifts always
challenge our biggest needs!
10.
Jesus simply asks
her to give Him a drink
11.
Was that so hard?
12.
He did not ask her
to climb a mountain, say a million prayers, or do penance for her sins
13.
He just asked her
for a DRINK of the water from that well
C.
The Gift Is
Offered to All (John 4:9)
1.
This woman is quite
surprised
a.
That a Jew was even
sitting there on that well in
b.
And that this Jew
was even talking to her at all!
2.
The Jews NEVER have
ANY dealings with the Samaritans
3.
The Samaritans were
evil in their eyes – and they were!
a.
They were the
descendants of the Israelites that had intermarried with all the pagan nations
around them
b.
They were no longer
Jews, but mongrels
c.
Their faith was a
mixture of the Old Testament and sun worship, and idolatry
d.
They rejected
e.
The Samaritans WERE
wicked, pagan, lost, and without God
4.
And yet, here was
this Jewish man talking with her like there was no problem at all!
5.
You see, the Gift of
all Gifts, is offered to all
a.
Sinful men and women
b.
Ungodly men and
woman
c.
Jew, and Samaritan
d.
Gentile and
foreigner
e.
Civilized and
barbarian
6.
Praise God!
7.
And it just gets
gooder and gooder now!
D.
The Gift is
Wrapped and Must be Opened (John 4:10)
1.
If she only knew!
a.
What the gift of God
was
b.
And just WHO it was
that was speaking to her!
2.
Oh that the people
of this world only knew
a.
WHO was born in that
manger
b.
WHO it was that
healed the leper and raised the dead
c.
WHO it was that
spoke the words of eternal life
d.
WHO it was that
allowed Himself to be captured, tortured, beaten, whipped, crucified
e.
WHO it was that
three days later rose from the tomb!
f.
WHO it is that is
knocking at every man’s heart, right now, wanting to come in and save them from
their sin
3.
When people finally
do realize and know who Jesus is, that is when they usually cry out in anxious
prayer for HIM to give them living water!
4.
When people get
truly born again, they don’t usually need to be coaxed and pushed and pulled to
humble themselves and ask the Lord Jesus Christ to fill their thirst - To save
their souls!
5.
Jesus is the gift of
God
6.
But He is not
something to hang on your wall, or keep in a church
7.
He is not something
you just accept as fact
8.
He is someone that
must be sought for, and seen for who he really is – your only hope!
9.
Isn’t it amazing how
SIMPLE Jesus kept things?
10.
He just said, ASK
ME, and I will GIVE TO YOU ALL YOU WILL EVER NEED!
E.
The Gift is
More Than Can be Imagined (John 4:11,12)
1.
This woman can only
think about liquid H2O – water
2.
That all she thinks
she needs
3.
She wouldn’t mind
getting a drink of some water – glad to let someone else do the work of lowering
and raising the water bucket
4.
But she knows Jesus
was kidding. He didn’t even have His own bucket or rope like her
5.
She accused Jesus of
playing with her. She reminded this Jewish man sitting on that well, blocking
her from its water, that a great man named Jacob had dug that well, 800
yrs earlier
6.
He was certainly a
great man
7.
And it was a great
well
8.
So… WHO ARE YOU to
offer to give me a drink without even a BUCKET?
9.
This woman could not
imagine that a Gift could be greater than anything she had ever imagined before!
F.
The Gift is
Everlasting (John 4:13,14)
1.
Jesus tells her (and
all of us) that a drink of water only lasts a moment
2.
But the drink – just
ONE DRINK, will last a thirsty soul forever!
3.
Not only was the
drink going to give the thirsty person satisfaction – it would become a WELL,
springing up, forever and ever and ever!
4.
What a FANTASTIC
gift – if only it were true!
5.
Well, you better
start believing that it is true!
G.
The Gift
Only Opens for Repentant Sinners (John 4:15-19)
1.
Notice how she LIKES
what she hears
2.
But she only still
thinks about H2O water – liquid water
3.
AND, she would be so
grateful to not have to come every day to collect a huge bucket of water for
herself
4.
But Jesus changes
the focus – and draws her into thinking about the man back at her house, and the
kind of relationship she was living in
5.
He did not accuse
her, or condemn her
6.
Her own heart
condemned her
7.
Did you know, the
purpose of this Book is to…
a.
Get you to see your
own sinfulness?
b.
To get you HONEST
about how you REALLY are, and how much sin you allow into your own life!
8.
At least she was
honest!
9.
FIVE MARRIAGES AND
FIVE DIVORCES
10.
And now she was just
living with a guy
11.
Do you realise that
Jesus COULD NOT save her, salvage her life until it was broken, and sad, and
remorseful for her own decisions
12.
Once she accepted
her own sinfulness, THEN Jesus could give her the gift He was offering
13.
Do you realise how
much effort I go to just to get some of you to get to that same place?
H.
The Gift is
More than Religion (John 4:20-25)
1.
This is an important
part
2.
The first thing she
tries to do when confronted with her own sinfulness is, SHE FOCUSES ON RELIGIOUS
DIFFERENCES
3.
Jesus gently reminds
her that salvation is a Jewish reality
a.
You HAVE to have a
Jewish Bible
b.
You have to believe
on a JEWISH Saviour
c.
You have to know and
trust the God of the Jews – as He is – a Spirit, not an idol
4.
You see, God’s gift
to this world is not religion!
5.
Leads me to my next
point…
I.
The Gift…
is Jesus (John 4:26)
1.
The gift offered to
this world was NOT His miracles, or His blessings
2.
It was just Jesus
HIMSELF! She had been looking for water, looking for love, looking for something
in life that would quench her thirsty soul – and right there was the quencher!
3.
EXAMPLE:
a.
It is like many
soldiers right now over in
b.
Those men risk their
lives
c.
And send their
paychecks home
d.
Some even get onto
the internet and purchase gifts for their families
e.
But there is NOTHING
like when one of those soldiers gets a special pass to get on a plane and fly
for 36-48 hours straight, to get to come through the door of their home and rush
into the arms of their children!
4.
The PERSON of Jesus
Christ is the greatest gift ever given to this sin-cursed world!
5.
This Gift was not a
teaching, or a religion, or a doctrine, or a religious writing
6.
This gift was not a
“better way” or a “new way”
7.
It was THE way! The
LIVING way!
8.
It was the living,
breathing, walking, talking, Son of God, right here WITH Us!
9.
Those of you who
have family around you this Christmas – YOU ARE BLESSED! Without gifts, or tree,
or lights, or money – YOU HAVE PEOPLE, LOVING PEOPLE AROUND YOU!
10.
How much more to
HAVE JESUS! In you, and YOU in Him
11.
Wow! Do you have
JESUS?
12.
Did you EVER yet get
HIM?
13.
Or maybe He is still
a Gift unopened!
J.
The Gift
Changes the Receiver (John 28,29)
1.
You may ask, How do
you know if you got Jesus?
2.
Well, watch this
woman from that moment on…
a.
This woman dropped
her bucket – left it behind her in the dust
b.
She ran past those
12 disciples as they were returning with their McDonald’s burgers and fries!
c.
She was no longer
thirsty for water
d.
She was no longer
lonely for love
e.
She was changed
f.
No longer worried
about what people thought of her and her past sins and failures
g.
She was concerned
for that town that was just as wicked as she had been
h.
I guarantee you she
did NOT go home to that filthy, wicked man she had been living with
3.
She was gloriously
changed!
4.
Just like some of
YOU wish you could be!
5.
Freed from not just
the bondage of sins, but the bondage of her past!
6.
Well, you can be
free too! Christmas is not over!
7.
This is why Jesus
came to that Manger in
8.
To save us – to save
us one and all - from our sins, and from the devil, and from the world, and from
the righteous punishment of almighty God!
III.
Conclusion
A.
Did any of your
gifts this Christmas do that for you?
1.
Save you from your
sinful past?
2.
Change you from an
introverted, slave of sin, into a free man in Christ, bold as a lion?
3.
Have ANY of your
gifts in all your life changed your attitude about life, about troubles, about
God, and about yourself?
B.
Maybe you haven’t
unwrapped ALL your gifts yet!
C.
Please, don’t miss
THE Gift that may still be waiting to be opened by YOU today!
D.
God’s Gift,
2012 years on, still Waits to be Noticed
E.
God’s Gift
Challenges a Need – a thirst in every person’s
life
F.
God’s Gift
Is Offered to All
1.
Don’t you tell me,
that is an American belief, or and English religion
2.
Don’t you ignore the
truth that Jesus is the universal answer to the universal need of all mankind!
G.
God’s Gift
is Wrapped and Must be Opened
1.
It is not something
that is so easily seen – not with all our sinful pride and self-righteousness
2.
Jesus is usually
sought for and noticed only when we are in a crisis
3.
But it is there that
God waits for us to seek to know HIM, and SEE Him as he is, and learn of Him
4.
He must be examined,
so that you can fully trist Him!
5.
If only you knew who
Jesus is!
H.
The Gift is
More Than Can be Imagined
1.
More than anything
you could ever want or need in this world!
2.
The gift of God is
greater than owning the entire world!
I.
The Gift is
Everlasting – lasts forever! Never fades, dries
up, wavers, or quits working!
J.
It is Only
Open to Repentant Sinners. People who admit what
they are & how lost they are
K.
God’s Gift
is More than Religion – as a matter of fact, God
hates religion, because religions blind people, and make them think THEY are
doing fine as long as they are in their religion and doing their good works!
L.
The Gift…
is Jesus – I think this is the best part
1.
Wow! Do you have
JESUS?
2.
Did you EVER yet get
HIM?
3.
Or maybe He is still
a Gift unopened!
M.
The Gift
Changes the Receiver (John 28,29)
1.
Have YOU been
gloriously changed? (2Cor 5:17) A new creature!
2.
Freed from not just
the bondage of sins, but the bondage of her past?
3.
You must be, and you
can be, TODAY!