(gentle music)
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- Welcome, everyone.
00:00:03.97\00:00:05.30
We're excited to share
some country wisdom with you.
00:00:05.30\00:00:07.64
- King Solomon had
a thing or two to say
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about the path to wisdom.
00:00:09.74\00:00:11.51
In Proverbs 4, he wrote,
00:00:11.51\00:00:13.68
"Let your eyes
look directly forward
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and your gaze be
straight before you.
00:00:16.08\00:00:19.18
Keep straight
the path of your feet
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and all your ways will be sure."
00:00:21.38\00:00:23.79
- Join us now
for "Country Wisdom."
00:00:23.79\00:00:25.59
(gentle music continues)
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(water splashing)
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(water gushing)
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- It is so surprising.
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You've got a whole town
just right a few feet away,
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but you come off the beaten path
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and there's this beautiful
little glade with the stream.
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What is it about water?
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I could just stand
on a bridge like this,
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gazing down the water,
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listening to the ripple
for the rest of the day.
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- But we don't
have the whole day, but,
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yeah, I think about
too, you know, Jesus,
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it was somewhat like that.
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He's at the temple
surrounded by Jerusalem,
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the brook Kidron
running not far from there
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and it was a festival day,
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kind of toward the end of
all the great festivities,
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lots of people
there, crowds of people.
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And you've got people
bickering back and forth too,
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about Jesus, you
know, is he really the one?
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Is he not the one?
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And the Pharisees, the
leadership of the church,
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they're
badmouthing him all the time.
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And he stands up that
day in the midst of everybody
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and this is what he says.
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I wanna read it to you.
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It's in chapter seven of John.
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It says, "In the last day,
the great day of the feast,
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Jesus stood and cried saying,
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'If any man thirst, let
him come to me and drink.
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He that believeth on me,
as the scripture hath said,
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out of his belly
shall flow living water.'"
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Wow, what's that all about?
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Flow living water.
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He kind of mixes
metaphors a little bit
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because he's also speaking
of the Holy Spirit as the water.
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- Well, first of all, I
think you have to understand
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what living water is.
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I was researching
something not that long ago,
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and with the Jewish
rituals of the washing,
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it couldn't just be a
bucket with water in there.
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- Old stale water.
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- For the religious part
of it, it had to be moving,
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living water,
something from a spring,
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from a stream, from a brook.
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And I thought, that is,
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it was just a new thought to me
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because we know water
represents the Spirit.
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You can just be
sucking in a bunch of water,
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but if there's no outflow,
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you end up attracting mosquito
larva and scum on the top.
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- Let's make it a
little more graphic, shall we?
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- Well, I mean, it's true.
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- It is, it is.
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- I think a lot of
Christians who feel like
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they have the Spirit,
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they're not
letting any of it come out.
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- That can sit on the
shelf and collect piles of dust.
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The living Word and the
living water right there
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and you never taste
it, you never look at it,
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you never see it.
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I mean, it's just, it's
pretty incredible the things
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that Jesus talked about
and the way he spoke of them
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and what he
desired for us to have,
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I mean, a living experience.
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- Right, not a
stagnant experience.
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- Yeah, not stagnant.
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- Yeah.
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I was saved once.
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I knew Jesus when I was a kid.
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Haven't spoken
since, but, you know,
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I'll call 'em up
if I ever need him.
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- You know, we laugh
about that, but unfortunately,
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it's really true.
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That's a lot of
Christian experience.
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I mean, you think about it,
00:03:54.30\00:03:56.06
the Savior of the universe
is standing there among them
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that day and they're
debating about who is this guy?
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He's a carpenter son, you know.
00:04:04.11\00:04:06.31
And on and on and on
and the religious leaders,
00:04:06.31\00:04:08.51
the church leaders who
should have been pointing to him
00:04:08.51\00:04:10.41
because they knew
all the prophecies.
00:04:10.41\00:04:13.11
They knew where
he was to be born.
00:04:13.11\00:04:14.78
They knew
everything about him, really.
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God had told them hundreds
and hundreds of years before
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to identify him, didn't
want it because he might
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cut into their turf.
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- There was something,
water's mentioned over and over
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in scripture, but I
read something interesting
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on Facebook, of all places.
00:04:34.27\00:04:36.20
Occasionally something
good comes out of Facebook
00:04:36.20\00:04:38.71
and it was saying three
of the things that people,
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that humans need to
live: food, air, water.
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And all three of those, Jesus
says he was the Bread of Life,
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the Breath of Life,
and the Water of Life,
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everything we need.
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- And you think
about the human body
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is made up of
at least 60% water.
00:05:00.43\00:05:03.63
Some of the tissues,
the lungs are like 85%.
00:05:03.63\00:05:06.43
I mean, even the
bones I'm told have 30%
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or more water content.
00:05:09.44\00:05:11.51
We can't live
without water. - Right.
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Why don't we go down and
get closer to that water?
00:05:14.31\00:05:16.14
- Sounds good.
00:05:16.14\00:05:16.95
- There's a little path I saw.
00:05:16.95\00:05:18.81
- Sounds good.
00:05:18.81\00:05:19.71
- Jeremiah 17:9
tells us that our hearts
00:05:21.82\00:05:26.15
are hopelessly
deceitful and sick.
00:05:26.15\00:05:29.29
We're all in desperate
need of a heart transplant.
00:05:29.29\00:05:33.16
The good news is that
a new heart is available,
00:05:33.16\00:05:36.26
free of charge
with no waiting list.
00:05:36.26\00:05:39.10
You can have it here and
now simply for the asking.
00:05:39.10\00:05:42.34
This little
pamphlet, "A Gift for You,"
00:05:43.41\00:05:45.94
is our free gift to you about
God's free gift to all of us,
00:05:45.94\00:05:51.01
the gift of a new heart.
00:05:51.68\00:05:53.45
Go to
TalkingDonkeyInternational.org
00:05:53.45\00:05:56.32
and request offer
number 125, "A Gift for You."
00:05:56.32\00:06:00.82
- Hi, I'm Steve Hicks,
Director of Podcast Ministries
00:06:02.72\00:06:04.83
for Talking
Donkey International,
00:06:04.83\00:06:06.76
and I'm inviting you to join
us for our new daily podcast
00:06:06.76\00:06:10.83
Monday through Friday called
"Something's Happening Here."
00:06:10.83\00:06:14.40
I need you to go to the website
00:06:14.40\00:06:15.80
that's on your screen right now.
00:06:15.80\00:06:17.97
That's the "Something's
Happening Here" Facebook page,
00:06:17.97\00:06:21.04
like that page, that will
make you a follower of it,
00:06:21.04\00:06:24.08
and you will get all of
our content as we create it.
00:06:24.08\00:06:27.12
I look forward to
seeing you there, God bless.
00:06:27.12\00:06:29.52
- Hey, Janice, how are ya doing?
00:06:32.95\00:06:34.76
- Hey, you wrote another book.
00:06:34.76\00:06:36.66
- I did, had a
burden on my heart,
00:06:36.66\00:06:38.33
and God helped me get it done.
00:06:38.33\00:06:40.40
- So, "The Plan of Love."
00:06:40.40\00:06:42.36
What's it about?
00:06:43.20\00:06:44.30
- Well, it's really
about God in eternity
00:06:44.30\00:06:46.84
saw everything that
was going to happen here
00:06:46.84\00:06:49.44
and his amazing love, he says,
00:06:49.44\00:06:52.01
"I'm gonna take
care of the problem.
00:06:52.01\00:06:53.61
I'm gonna take care of
the situation by giving my own
00:06:53.61\00:06:57.21
life." He did all that,
but we've been lied to so much,
00:06:57.21\00:07:00.38
we don't see what
God has planned for us,
00:07:00.38\00:07:02.52
what God is doing for us.
00:07:02.52\00:07:04.72
Matter of fact, the angel
came down to Mary and said,
00:07:04.72\00:07:07.79
"You shall call his name Jesus,
00:07:07.79\00:07:09.36
for he shall save his
people from their sins."
00:07:09.36\00:07:12.23
Notice it wasn't in, but from.
00:07:12.23\00:07:14.60
- Where can people get the book?
00:07:14.60\00:07:16.23
- Hey, I'm glad you asked.
00:07:16.23\00:07:17.80
Folks, if you'd like
your own personal copy,
00:07:17.80\00:07:19.73
log on to
TalkingDonkeyInternational.org
00:07:19.73\00:07:22.97
and please, if you would,
send us a donation of $12.
00:07:22.97\00:07:25.67
- [Janice] Or more.
00:07:25.67\00:07:26.74
- Or more, and
we'll get you the book
00:07:26.74\00:07:28.41
and I'll be happy
to sign it for you too.
00:07:28.41\00:07:30.31
Thank you so much.
00:07:30.31\00:07:31.45
(gentle music)
00:07:34.48\00:07:37.12
(water splashing)
00:07:38.09\00:07:40.99
You know, I look at the
story of Jesus at the temple
00:07:43.39\00:07:47.10
and the crowds are
massive, they're huge.
00:07:47.10\00:07:49.46
He came to minister to
all these people, but he also,
00:07:49.46\00:07:53.87
on many occasions, he
sought out the individual.
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And I think about it, you know,
00:07:57.44\00:07:58.24
as we talk about living water,
00:07:58.24\00:08:00.04
I think about that one
woman he went to see in an area
00:08:00.04\00:08:03.38
that was so
despised by the Jews,
00:08:03.38\00:08:05.38
so despised by everybody else.
00:08:05.38\00:08:07.32
They'd never, there wasn't
enough Lysol in the country
00:08:07.32\00:08:09.88
to sterilize this
area. (Janice laughing)
00:08:09.88\00:08:11.75
- No, I love that story.
00:08:11.75\00:08:13.72
It's one of my favorites,
00:08:13.72\00:08:14.82
the story of the
woman at the well.
00:08:14.82\00:08:16.49
Now I know this isn't a well,
00:08:16.49\00:08:18.46
but it was living water
and this is definitely here,
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living water, it's
moving, there's life in it.
00:08:24.37\00:08:27.87
And when I
think of living water,
00:08:27.87\00:08:30.81
that is the story
that comes to mind.
00:08:30.81\00:08:33.21
I mean, you
reminded me of the story
00:08:33.21\00:08:35.11
where he compared himself there.
00:08:35.11\00:08:36.91
You know, the
brook Kidron is nearby.
00:08:36.91\00:08:38.48
They're at the
temple, and that's great,
00:08:38.48\00:08:40.82
but if you had just said,
00:08:40.82\00:08:42.18
"What do you think of when
you think of living Water?"
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It's the Samaritan woman.
00:08:44.52\00:08:45.59
- It's that story.
00:08:45.59\00:08:46.52
- Yeah. - Yeah.
00:08:46.52\00:08:47.42
A pretty
amazing story, you know.
00:08:48.29\00:08:49.56
He's with all the
disciples, and of course,
00:08:49.56\00:08:51.46
that's another thing maybe
we can get into in a minute
00:08:51.46\00:08:53.63
about the
prejudice of those disciples.
00:08:53.63\00:08:56.10
- Oh, I will,
I've researched it.
00:08:56.10\00:08:58.20
- Yes, to where
he's coming, you know,
00:08:58.20\00:08:59.70
but here he is at this well,
00:08:59.70\00:09:01.77
and he's looking for this
woman and she finally shows up
00:09:01.77\00:09:05.41
and she sits down.
00:09:05.41\00:09:06.57
Listen to this conversation.
00:09:07.38\00:09:09.14
"He answered,
said to this woman,
00:09:09.14\00:09:10.48
'If you knew the gift of
God and who it is that says
00:09:10.48\00:09:13.68
to thee, 'Give me to drink,
00:09:13.68\00:09:15.75
thou wouldest have asked
of him to give living water.'"
00:09:15.75\00:09:19.29
And he continues on to
talk about this living water.
00:09:19.29\00:09:22.16
And you know,
you think about it,
00:09:22.16\00:09:23.22
he's there and he's
offering not just water
00:09:23.22\00:09:26.66
from the brook, not
just water from the well,
00:09:26.66\00:09:29.33
but his own life, he's
offering to this woman.
00:09:29.33\00:09:32.73
- That story, I think,
reaches me on a lot of levels.
00:09:32.73\00:09:36.20
Well, for one, I think
it's the longest recorded
00:09:36.20\00:09:40.04
conversation of Christ.
00:09:40.04\00:09:42.31
We know that he talked to
a massive number of people,
00:09:43.68\00:09:45.85
but that is the
longest conversation
00:09:45.85\00:09:49.28
and it's not with
one of the disciples,
00:09:49.28\00:09:51.22
it's not with a member
of the Sanhedrin, you know,
00:09:51.22\00:09:54.19
Nicodemus, it's with a woman,
00:09:54.19\00:09:57.26
which I really, you
know, that calls to me.
00:09:58.43\00:10:00.33
- Single woman in the middle
of no place at the moment too,
00:10:00.33\00:10:03.16
which was kind of
interesting for Christ.
00:10:03.16\00:10:05.03
- You mentioned that Jesus
sought out individual people.
00:10:05.03\00:10:09.57
He didn't just
see crowds of people.
00:10:09.57\00:10:12.44
He knew everyone.
00:10:13.64\00:10:15.54
He saw people and saw
them in a way that we don't.
00:10:15.54\00:10:19.38
I tend to walk through
the mall or through Walmart
00:10:19.38\00:10:22.55
or wherever I am,
kind of with blinders on.
00:10:22.55\00:10:25.29
I have a mission and I'm
aware that there are people,
00:10:25.29\00:10:29.99
but I don't focus in on my
fellow man the way Jesus did.
00:10:29.99\00:10:34.73
- Well, you know, I
think it's exciting, Janice,
00:10:34.73\00:10:36.03
that you get to
talk about this in a way
00:10:36.03\00:10:38.70
because you've studied the
life of this woman in depth
00:10:38.70\00:10:42.27
and actually
portrayed her to women's groups
00:10:42.27\00:10:44.47
in various parts of the
country, so it's exciting too,
00:10:44.47\00:10:46.88
because many people don't dig
into such depth that you have,
00:10:46.88\00:10:49.64
so keep on going, I love it.
00:10:49.64\00:10:51.01
- In fact, one time at a
Christian women's retreat,
00:10:52.71\00:10:55.65
I'd done my performance
of the woman at the well,
00:10:55.65\00:10:58.52
and the main
speaker at that retreat,
00:10:58.52\00:11:01.12
a very well-known
Christian speaker and author,
00:11:01.12\00:11:04.76
she made a point of
talking to me afterwards
00:11:04.76\00:11:07.73
and I loved it because she said,
00:11:07.73\00:11:10.00
"I could tell you
did your research."
00:11:10.00\00:11:11.90
She goes, "Everything
in that was theologically
00:11:11.90\00:11:14.90
and historically correct."
00:11:14.90\00:11:17.31
Because I don't
want to, you know,
00:11:17.31\00:11:19.94
take a woman in the Bible
and try to bring her to life,
00:11:19.94\00:11:22.24
trying to put myself in
her shoes and just create
00:11:22.24\00:11:26.25
a little story out
of left field, you know.
00:11:26.25\00:11:28.92
Oh, I think wouldn't it be
fun if this happened to her?
00:11:28.92\00:11:31.52
- It's not acting what you do.
00:11:31.52\00:11:33.12
This is just
portraying the life of a person.
00:11:33.12\00:11:36.29
- And I knew that story,
but once I got doing research,
00:11:36.29\00:11:41.33
I just kept seeing
new layers to that story
00:11:43.23\00:11:45.70
that I hadn't thought about.
00:11:45.70\00:11:47.24
I knew, okay, Jews and
Samaritans hate each other.
00:11:47.24\00:11:49.84
We all, you know,
most people who've,
00:11:49.84\00:11:51.74
if you've read
the New Testament,
00:11:51.74\00:11:53.17
you get the idea that
Samaritans were not very high
00:11:53.17\00:11:55.98
on the Jewish list of
people to invite to dinner.
00:11:55.98\00:11:58.38
Jesus, when he ended
up there at the well,
00:11:59.58\00:12:04.09
that wasn't an accident
because most Jews at that time,
00:12:04.09\00:12:09.16
the most direct route
to get from where they were
00:12:10.29\00:12:14.23
to Jerusalem was
straight through Samaria.
00:12:14.23\00:12:16.90
That's not what they would do.
00:12:16.90\00:12:18.03
- I like what you
said, "That was no accident."
00:12:18.03\00:12:20.00
There are never
accidents with God.
00:12:20.00\00:12:21.54
- No, no.
00:12:21.54\00:12:22.67
They're always
divine appointments.
00:12:23.71\00:12:25.31
Nowadays I've
literally done this.
00:12:26.34\00:12:28.71
I have to go
somewhere, I get on the GPS,
00:12:28.71\00:12:31.41
and what I wanna know is
what's the most direct route.
00:12:31.41\00:12:34.28
I don't care the
most scenic, whatever,
00:12:34.28\00:12:35.92
I just wanna get there.
00:12:35.92\00:12:37.19
Jews in that day would go miles,
00:12:38.29\00:12:41.16
literally miles
out of their way.
00:12:41.16\00:12:43.43
They would go
east, cross the Jordan,
00:12:43.43\00:12:46.03
which wasn't just like driving
00:12:46.03\00:12:47.30
across the Bay
Bridge or something.
00:12:47.30\00:12:49.23
- And it wasn't
going in their Tesla.
00:12:49.23\00:12:50.70
They had to walk
or have their donkey.
00:12:50.70\00:12:53.44
- Or pay to have someone
ferry you across, whatever.
00:12:53.44\00:12:56.77
They would go cross the
Jordan, go down through Perea,
00:12:56.77\00:13:00.74
recross the Jordan,
all of that, you know,
00:13:00.74\00:13:04.25
doing this
really circuitous route
00:13:04.25\00:13:07.02
to not have to
set foot in Samaria.
00:13:07.02\00:13:10.02
Those people were
literally unclean.
00:13:10.02\00:13:12.52
They weren't purely Jewish.
00:13:12.52\00:13:15.06
Their religion had been
infected by foreign religions.
00:13:16.36\00:13:20.70
They were just
horrible people in a Jewish mind
00:13:22.33\00:13:25.23
on many, many levels.
00:13:25.23\00:13:26.84
- And this had been building
for several hundred years.
00:13:26.84\00:13:29.04
- Oh, a thousand, yeah,
back from when Sennacherib
00:13:29.04\00:13:33.51
came and conquered that area
and sent the majority of people
00:13:33.51\00:13:37.58
back to Assyria and brought
in these five foreign tribes
00:13:37.58\00:13:41.02
to infect everybody there.
00:13:41.02\00:13:43.28
So Jesus, instead
of avoiding people,
00:13:43.28\00:13:47.39
she was someone that I actually
might have avoided myself,
00:13:48.69\00:13:51.49
not for a racial or
religious prejudice,
00:13:51.49\00:13:55.26
but we happen to know from
a little later in the story
00:13:55.26\00:13:59.83
that her
reputation wasn't the best.
00:13:59.83\00:14:03.00
- [Jim] That's a
nice way to say it.
00:14:03.00\00:14:04.67
- [Janice] I'm
trying to be polite.
00:14:04.67\00:14:05.74
- [Jim] Okay.
00:14:05.74\00:14:07.31
- You know, at one point he
asks her to go get her husband
00:14:07.31\00:14:10.61
and she's very,
very coy, you know,
00:14:11.68\00:14:14.45
"I don't have one," and
figured it would drop there,
00:14:14.45\00:14:18.55
but he goes,
"That's actually right.
00:14:18.55\00:14:21.99
You gave the right answer.
00:14:21.99\00:14:23.02
You don't have a
husband, you had five,
00:14:23.02\00:14:25.73
and the guy that you're
shacking up with right now
00:14:25.73\00:14:28.70
isn't even your actual husband."
00:14:28.70\00:14:30.63
And her eyes, I wish I'd been
there to see that expression.
00:14:32.03\00:14:35.10
So Jesus was breaking
through racial prejudice,
00:14:36.44\00:14:40.01
breaking through
religious prejudice,
00:14:40.01\00:14:43.18
breaking through a
very misogynistic society,
00:14:43.18\00:14:47.48
a Jewish man who
would barely speak
00:14:47.48\00:14:50.75
to his own mother in public.
00:14:50.75\00:14:52.65
It was just, "No, you
walk 10 feet behind me
00:14:52.65\00:14:55.56
and I'm going to
pretend you're not there.
00:14:55.56\00:14:57.73
I will speak to you in our home,
00:14:57.73\00:14:59.73
but out in public,
you are not worthy."
00:14:59.73\00:15:02.66
She even says, she asks him,
"Why are you talking to me?"
00:15:04.07\00:15:08.10
- You know, the interesting
thing about that I think
00:15:08.10\00:15:10.64
is Jesus offers
her living water.
00:15:10.64\00:15:14.01
She doesn't wanna talk about it.
00:15:14.01\00:15:15.38
She'll do anything to keep
the subject someplace else.
00:15:15.38\00:15:18.01
- Yeah, which I
think we all tend to do.
00:15:19.08\00:15:20.72
We don't wanna
talk about something
00:15:20.72\00:15:22.25
that might be uncomfortable.
00:15:22.25\00:15:24.05
- Yeah, it hits to the heart.
00:15:24.05\00:15:25.29
- Yeah. - Yeah.
00:15:25.29\00:15:26.92
- So here he is seeking
out someone that the disciples
00:15:26.92\00:15:31.43
wouldn't have sought out.
00:15:31.43\00:15:32.93
The disciples were probably,
00:15:32.93\00:15:34.36
when he sent them
into town to get food,
00:15:34.36\00:15:36.53
they were probably
going, "What is he doing?
00:15:36.53\00:15:38.80
I mean, I'm not gonna
argue with the Master,
00:15:39.93\00:15:41.37
but what is he doing?
00:15:41.37\00:15:42.57
Why are we here?"
00:15:42.57\00:15:43.77
I don't know if you knew this.
00:15:44.71\00:15:46.27
Jews could not
eat with Samaritans.
00:15:47.38\00:15:50.15
Absolutely.
00:15:50.15\00:15:51.68
There was a rule,
00:15:51.68\00:15:52.78
whether it was
actually written or unwritten,
00:15:52.78\00:15:54.48
I don't recall.
00:15:54.48\00:15:56.15
You could buy
food if you had to.
00:15:56.15\00:16:00.96
I mean, if you were
going to be starving,
00:16:00.96\00:16:02.59
I guess you can buy
food from a Samaritan,
00:16:02.59\00:16:05.33
which is what he
sent them into town to do,
00:16:05.33\00:16:07.50
but you would never
sit down and share food.
00:16:08.56\00:16:11.33
But at the end of this story,
they didn't just, you know,
00:16:12.70\00:16:14.67
go on their way, they
actually stayed for two days.
00:16:14.67\00:16:16.94
The elders begged him to stay.
00:16:16.94\00:16:20.08
They were eating with, sleeping
under the same room with,
00:16:21.38\00:16:25.18
same roof, not room,
00:16:26.01\00:16:27.22
doing all kinds of things
that those good Jewish young men
00:16:28.58\00:16:32.99
had been taught
would make them unclean,
00:16:32.99\00:16:35.49
been taught by their parents.
00:16:35.49\00:16:37.09
In fact, there
was a saying back then
00:16:38.23\00:16:41.26
that the bread of Samaritans
00:16:41.26\00:16:45.07
was as defiling
as swine's flesh.
00:16:45.07\00:16:49.47
And what was Jesus doing?
00:16:52.01\00:16:53.31
Sitting down for two days
eating the food that they fixed.
00:16:54.61\00:16:59.05
- You gotta tell me
more because you skipped
00:16:59.05\00:17:00.72
some of the story.
00:17:00.72\00:17:01.72
- Oh yeah, I know.
00:17:01.72\00:17:02.55
I bounce around.
00:17:02.55\00:17:03.35
I'm blonde, what do you...
00:17:03.35\00:17:04.95
- I'm not gonna touch that.
00:17:04.95\00:17:06.59
- Be glad that
there is no squirrel.
00:17:06.59\00:17:09.16
I'd be way off topic.
00:17:09.16\00:17:10.66
So he offers her, you know,
00:17:12.16\00:17:14.00
I love the banter here
because she's not really,
00:17:14.00\00:17:16.80
she had to have had some
attitude because first of all,
00:17:18.10\00:17:21.24
she's going, okay,
"Why are you talking to me?
00:17:21.24\00:17:23.87
You know, first of
all, I'm Samaritan,
00:17:23.87\00:17:25.84
and if you hadn't
noticed, I'm female."
00:17:25.84\00:17:28.54
she's kind of going,
"What is wrong with you?"
00:17:28.54\00:17:32.31
And I love it.
00:17:32.31\00:17:35.32
He's asked her for a drink,
00:17:35.32\00:17:36.62
which was shocking
and must have really,
00:17:36.62\00:17:39.45
she must have been torn because
Middle Eastern societies,
00:17:39.45\00:17:43.32
desert societies, you
don't refuse water to someone.
00:17:43.32\00:17:47.76
But she didn't
just offer it up freely
00:17:49.70\00:17:51.50
because
prejudice goes both ways.
00:17:51.50\00:17:53.74
She was not happy to see a
Jewish man sitting there either.
00:17:53.74\00:17:57.54
And she was probably,
her lip probably curled
00:17:59.01\00:18:02.78
when she saw who
was sitting at the well.
00:18:02.78\00:18:05.35
It's like, "Oh,
great, just my luck.
00:18:05.35\00:18:07.88
Where did this guy come from?"
00:18:07.88\00:18:09.52
- Yeah, I tried to
come out of the city
00:18:09.52\00:18:10.85
when nobody'd see me,
nobody knew I was around.
00:18:10.85\00:18:13.56
- She didn't really like people.
00:18:13.56\00:18:15.59
He says, "If you knew
who you were talking to,
00:18:16.69\00:18:20.56
you would've
asked me for water."
00:18:20.56\00:18:22.43
And I don't know
if she was blonde
00:18:23.53\00:18:26.70
or if she was
being purposely dim.
00:18:26.70\00:18:29.00
She wasn't catching on.
00:18:29.00\00:18:30.37
- [Jim] You at least
have no doubt she was blonde.
00:18:30.37\00:18:31.64
- [Janice] You know what I mean.
00:18:31.64\00:18:32.47
- [Jim] Yeah.
00:18:32.47\00:18:33.58
- She isn't catching
on that he's not talking
00:18:33.58\00:18:35.88
about real water.
00:18:35.88\00:18:37.21
They're sitting there at
Jacob's well, renowned for,
00:18:37.21\00:18:40.05
it was 100 feet deep.
00:18:40.05\00:18:41.45
The water in that well
was clear and clean and cool,
00:18:41.45\00:18:44.82
which was, would've
been a prize back then.
00:18:45.89\00:18:48.02
And she's going, "I
would've asked you for water?"
00:18:49.32\00:18:52.93
And it took her
a while to catch on
00:18:52.93\00:18:55.50
that he wasn't
talking about literal water.
00:18:55.50\00:18:58.60
She knew the term living water.
00:18:58.60\00:19:00.47
They were Jewish enough.
00:19:01.40\00:19:02.47
Their religions
were similar enough.
00:19:02.47\00:19:04.31
She knew exactly
the symbolism of that.
00:19:04.31\00:19:07.81
Do you notice what
happened to her prejudices
00:19:09.08\00:19:11.75
the moment she did catch
on who she was talking to?
00:19:11.75\00:19:14.72
- [Jim] Washed away.
00:19:15.95\00:19:17.02
- Just completely drops.
00:19:18.19\00:19:19.85
She goes running back to town
00:19:19.85\00:19:22.76
to share what
she had just found.
00:19:22.76\00:19:24.86
- The cool thing to me is
Jesus let her do all this.
00:19:24.86\00:19:28.40
He let her ramble on and on,
and you just kind of, you know,
00:19:28.40\00:19:31.87
gently led her step by step.
00:19:31.87\00:19:34.87
- Which he does with us too.
00:19:34.87\00:19:37.01
- Fortunately.
00:19:37.01\00:19:38.11
- And I love the fact
that he sought her out.
00:19:38.11\00:19:41.08
I mean, that's a
lesson for all of us
00:19:41.08\00:19:42.61
with whatever
prejudice we happen to have,
00:19:42.61\00:19:44.78
but it means he seeks me out
00:19:46.85\00:19:49.12
before I even
recognize I need him.
00:19:49.12\00:19:52.12
She didn't go to the
well that day thinking,
00:19:52.12\00:19:54.49
"I need a Savior."
00:19:54.49\00:19:55.82
But she knew that she was
thirsty, not for literal water.
00:19:57.13\00:20:02.03
She knew something
was missing in her life.
00:20:03.13\00:20:04.10
She knew she needed something.
00:20:04.10\00:20:06.20
- She'd been
trying to fill it, right,
00:20:06.20\00:20:07.47
with every husbanding for years.
00:20:07.47\00:20:11.01
- And we see how that
had worked out for her.
00:20:11.01\00:20:13.38
Jesus comes to us before we're
even consciously seeking him.
00:20:15.11\00:20:19.55
- The cool thing is he
puts that calling in our heart.
00:20:20.92\00:20:23.39
We may never
understand that 'till heaven,
00:20:25.12\00:20:26.92
but he calls us, seeks
us, before we ever know it
00:20:26.92\00:20:30.29
and he gently draws us toward
himself to have that encounter
00:20:30.29\00:20:34.73
that right there at the well.
00:20:34.73\00:20:36.90
- And I frankly, many,
many days, weeks, months.
00:20:36.90\00:20:41.87
- Sorry, mosquito.
00:20:43.61\00:20:45.01
- Yeah, I know.
00:20:45.01\00:20:46.54
It's beautiful down here,
but nature is attacking us.
00:20:46.54\00:20:49.11
I don't know that I'm
always as thirsty as she was.
00:20:51.41\00:20:54.28
That's why every
time you read that story,
00:20:55.85\00:20:59.19
my life has not gotten to the
uncontrolled out that here was
00:21:01.79\00:21:06.86
where you're even
avoiding your neighbors
00:21:07.86\00:21:09.40
'cause you know they're
all looking down on you.
00:21:09.40\00:21:12.50
So let's go out at high
noon when everybody who's sane
00:21:13.87\00:21:16.87
is taking a
siesta and that's when
00:21:16.87\00:21:20.01
I can get to the well and back.
00:21:20.01\00:21:21.84
Not only that, she
didn't go to the nearest well.
00:21:21.84\00:21:23.88
Sychar had a well right by the,
00:21:23.88\00:21:26.21
just outside the front gates.
00:21:26.21\00:21:28.08
- It's so-
00:21:28.08\00:21:29.35
- She's going to the one
walking half a mile in the heat
00:21:29.35\00:21:32.19
because she knows
even if there is an idiot
00:21:32.19\00:21:34.92
who's run out of water,
00:21:34.92\00:21:36.86
they're not gonna
walk to the farther well.
00:21:36.86\00:21:38.86
- It's so interesting because
as you'd stated, you know,
00:21:38.86\00:21:42.03
she heads back to
town and this woman,
00:21:42.03\00:21:45.30
who'd had just a
brief encounter with Jesus,
00:21:45.30\00:21:48.44
becomes a witness to
the entire community.
00:21:48.44\00:21:50.67
- Right, right.
00:21:50.67\00:21:51.94
I mean she went
running back, going literally,
00:21:51.94\00:21:54.48
she says, "Come and see.
00:21:54.48\00:21:55.81
You have to come
and see this guy.
00:21:55.81\00:21:57.31
He's told me
everything that, you know,
00:21:57.31\00:22:01.35
he knows everything
about me inside and out."
00:22:01.35\00:22:03.79
- That was her testimony.
00:22:03.79\00:22:04.89
- Yeah. - Yeah.
00:22:04.89\00:22:05.69
- I mean, how long had she been
00:22:05.69\00:22:06.86
what we would call a Christian?
00:22:06.86\00:22:08.92
- Yeah, well, minutes.
00:22:08.92\00:22:10.29
- Yeah, a few minutes, and
the first thing she's doing
00:22:10.29\00:22:12.89
is bringing
other people to Jesus.
00:22:12.89\00:22:15.26
And I've kind of wondered,
00:22:15.26\00:22:16.40
and maybe this is just
a female thing, I thought,
00:22:16.40\00:22:19.27
"I wonder how many of
the neighbors just went
00:22:19.27\00:22:21.40
'cause they wanted to
hear every little thing
00:22:21.40\00:22:23.51
that she'd ever done."
00:22:23.51\00:22:25.21
They knew a few, they
had kind of the big picture,
00:22:25.21\00:22:28.18
but some of 'em must have gone,
00:22:28.18\00:22:30.11
"Well, I don't
know who this guy is,
00:22:30.11\00:22:31.45
but I'd love to hear
some stories about her,
00:22:31.45\00:22:33.72
just out of curiosity."
00:22:34.78\00:22:36.38
- And the other neat
thing about that in my mind
00:22:36.38\00:22:38.69
is Christ
specifically wanted her,
00:22:38.69\00:22:42.09
but he wanted everybody
else and he knew she was the one
00:22:42.09\00:22:45.13
to touch everybody else.
00:22:45.13\00:22:46.93
Unlike, he couldn't do it.
00:22:46.93\00:22:48.66
You know, they would've had
too many prejudices in a town.
00:22:48.66\00:22:51.97
- And if you
are sitting at home,
00:22:51.97\00:22:55.74
you might be going to church,
00:22:55.74\00:22:56.91
you might be reading your Bible,
00:22:56.91\00:22:58.51
but if you are not
sharing living water,
00:22:58.51\00:23:02.58
if you are not trying to
reach out to other people,
00:23:02.58\00:23:06.18
then I'm not sure
you can be that convinced
00:23:06.18\00:23:08.18
that you have
living water to start with
00:23:08.18\00:23:11.02
because the first thing
that she did was turn around
00:23:11.02\00:23:13.66
and tell other people
and bring them to Jesus
00:23:13.66\00:23:16.73
and if I'm not doing that,
00:23:16.73\00:23:18.53
then maybe I
haven't really met him.
00:23:18.53\00:23:21.00
- Yeah, good point, Janice.
00:23:21.00\00:23:22.40
- Jeremiah 17:9
tells us that our hearts
00:23:23.47\00:23:27.84
are hopelessly
deceitful and sick.
00:23:27.84\00:23:30.97
We're all in desperate
need of a heart transplant.
00:23:30.97\00:23:34.84
The good news is that
a new heart is available,
00:23:34.84\00:23:38.01
free of charge
with no waiting list.
00:23:38.01\00:23:40.85
You can have it here and
now simply for the asking.
00:23:40.85\00:23:44.09
This little
pamphlet, "A Gift for You,"
00:23:45.15\00:23:47.66
is our free gift to
you about God's free gift
00:23:47.66\00:23:51.59
to all of us, the
gift of a new heart.
00:23:51.59\00:23:55.23
Go to
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00:23:55.23\00:23:58.13
and request offer
number 125, "A Gift for You."
00:23:58.13\00:24:02.57
- Hi, I'm Steve Hicks,
Director of Podcast Ministries
00:24:04.11\00:24:06.57
for Talking Donkey International
00:24:06.57\00:24:08.48
and I'm inviting you to join
us for our new daily podcast
00:24:08.48\00:24:12.58
Monday through Friday called
"Something's Happening Here."
00:24:12.58\00:24:16.18
I need you to go to the website
00:24:16.18\00:24:17.62
that's on your screen right now.
00:24:17.62\00:24:19.72
That's the "Something's
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00:24:19.72\00:24:22.79
like that page, that
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00:24:22.79\00:24:25.89
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00:24:25.89\00:24:28.86
I look forward to
seeing you there, God bless.
00:24:28.86\00:24:31.27
- Hey, Janice, how are ya doing?
00:24:34.67\00:24:36.50
- Hey, you wrote another book.
00:24:36.50\00:24:38.34
- I did, had a
burden on my heart
00:24:38.34\00:24:40.01
and God helped me get it done.
00:24:40.01\00:24:42.08
- So, "The Plan of
Love," what's it about?
00:24:42.08\00:24:45.91
- Well, it's really
about God in eternity
00:24:45.91\00:24:48.55
saw everything that
was going to happen here
00:24:48.55\00:24:51.19
and his amazing love, he says,
00:24:51.19\00:24:53.69
"I'm gonna take
care of the problem.
00:24:53.69\00:24:55.29
I'm gonna take care of
the situation by giving my own
00:24:55.29\00:24:58.93
life." He did all that,
but we've been lied to so much,
00:24:58.93\00:25:02.06
we don't see what
God has planned for us,
00:25:02.06\00:25:04.20
what God is doing for us.
00:25:04.20\00:25:06.40
Matter of fact, the angel
came down to Mary and said,
00:25:06.40\00:25:09.50
"You shall call his name Jesus,
00:25:09.50\00:25:11.04
for he shall save his
people from their sins."
00:25:11.04\00:25:13.98
Notice it wasn't in, but from.
00:25:13.98\00:25:16.34
- Where can people get the book?
00:25:16.34\00:25:17.95
- Hey, I'm glad you asked.
00:25:17.95\00:25:19.51
Folks, if you'd like
your own personal copy,
00:25:19.51\00:25:21.48
log on to
TalkingDonkeyInternational.org
00:25:21.48\00:25:24.69
and please, if you would,
send us a donation of $12.
00:25:24.69\00:25:27.32
- [Janice] Or more.
00:25:27.32\00:25:28.42
- [Jim] Or more and
we'll get you the book
00:25:28.42\00:25:30.16
and I'll be happy
to sign in for you too.
00:25:30.16\00:25:32.03
Thank you so much.
00:25:32.03\00:25:33.16
- You know,
before we have to leave
00:25:38.23\00:25:39.73
this beautiful
little creek here,
00:25:39.73\00:25:41.50
or I suppose, we're in
the South, is it a crick?
00:25:41.50\00:25:44.61
- Yeah, well.
00:25:44.61\00:25:45.41
- Before we leave this crick,
00:25:45.41\00:25:47.24
but there was another
thought about the living water
00:25:47.24\00:25:51.71
that Jesus offered
the Samaritan woman.
00:25:51.71\00:25:53.95
He didn't just
give her a sip, say,
00:25:55.42\00:25:58.49
"Here, this'll take care of
just the immediate need there."
00:25:58.49\00:26:02.29
It wasn't even, "I
can give you all the water
00:26:02.29\00:26:04.99
you need for the day."
00:26:04.99\00:26:06.29
When he described it to her,
00:26:07.86\00:26:09.23
he said, "It will be
like a spring inside of you,
00:26:09.23\00:26:14.44
just bubbling up
and running over."
00:26:15.54\00:26:17.44
And that's what
she demonstrated.
00:26:18.54\00:26:19.87
I mean, she had barely
gotten a mouth full of it
00:26:19.87\00:26:22.38
when she went
running to share it
00:26:22.38\00:26:24.91
because when you
have that living water,
00:26:24.91\00:26:27.48
you really can't
keep it to yourself.
00:26:27.48\00:26:29.55
- [Jim] Very true.
00:26:29.55\00:26:30.89
- He gives you plenty to
share with everybody around you
00:26:30.89\00:26:33.15
because that's the intent.
00:26:33.15\00:26:35.29
Fill you and drown
everyone next to you.
00:26:35.29\00:26:38.19
- I was thinking, and I'm
not putting you on the spot,
00:26:38.19\00:26:40.53
what's that song?
00:26:40.53\00:26:41.63
¤ I've got a river of
life flowing out of me ¤
00:26:41.63\00:26:44.33
- Yes, right. - That's God.
00:26:44.33\00:26:46.10
- And it talks, the chorus
there is "Spring up, oh well."
00:26:46.10\00:26:49.37
It's relating
directly to that story.
00:26:49.37\00:26:51.67
- Yeah, it really is.
00:26:51.67\00:26:53.31
And folks, here's the situation.
00:26:53.31\00:26:55.28
Let me read to you,
matter of fact, that reminds me,
00:26:55.28\00:26:57.78
in Revelation 22, God
says an amazing thing,
00:26:57.78\00:27:00.92
"And he showed me a
pure river of water of life,
00:27:00.92\00:27:04.39
clear as crystal, proceeding
out of the throne of God
00:27:04.39\00:27:08.12
and the Lamb."
00:27:08.12\00:27:09.86
A river of life,
just what you're saying.
00:27:09.86\00:27:11.86
Jesus came down here
to show us the Father,
00:27:11.86\00:27:15.13
to show us the eternal life
00:27:15.13\00:27:16.83
and he had that river
of life flowing out of him
00:27:16.83\00:27:19.70
and that's the river he
wants to give to us too.
00:27:19.70\00:27:22.20
That's what's so
amazing, he offers that to us.
00:27:22.20\00:27:25.47
- And the only question
is, how thirsty are you?
00:27:25.47\00:27:29.21
Because if you
know you're thirsty,
00:27:29.21\00:27:32.28
and you know that
you need that water,
00:27:32.28\00:27:35.48
all you have to do is ask.
00:27:35.48\00:27:37.29
- And where do
you find that water?
00:27:37.29\00:27:39.49
Right here, God's word.
00:27:39.49\00:27:41.02
It's his living word.
00:27:41.02\00:27:42.39
You spend time with
this, get the dust off of it,
00:27:42.39\00:27:45.03
move it off the shelf,
00:27:45.03\00:27:46.36
spend time each day
with it and I guarantee you,
00:27:46.36\00:27:49.06
God will fill you
with that living water.
00:27:49.06\00:27:51.87
Please, do it today.
00:27:52.73\00:27:54.20
You will not be sorry you did.
00:27:54.20\00:27:56.34
Thank you for watching.
00:27:58.41\00:27:59.81
Join us again for another
exciting "Country Wisdom."
00:27:59.81\00:28:01.74
- See you next time.
00:28:01.74\00:28:03.14
(gentle music)
00:28:03.14\00:28:05.81