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Scripture Reading: John 4:13-14; 2:23-24; 6:15; 7:3-4, 6, 9; 12:24; 13:37-38; 16:31-33
Our Lord did everything well when He was on earth. There is one verse in Mark that says that He has done all things well (Mark 7:37). Indeed, everything He did was done well. Today we will speak on what the Lord has done. At the same time we will pay particular attention to the words of John 4:13 and 14.
These are the words of the Lord Jesus Himself. He tells us how He will fill the heart of a Christian and quench all his unquenchable desires. This is the Lord's own promise to us: "Everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall by no means thirst forever." Whoever drinks of the water that the Lord gives will be quenched of his desires forever; he will never feel that he is lacking in something and will never be disappointed. Our next question is, can this be possible? Yes, it is possible that those who have received the Lord Jesus will never thirst again. But why are some people still not satisfied? Some have said that they are still thirsty, that they still have not received what they want, and that there is still something they are after. Does this mean that the Lord's promise is not fulfilled? No, it does not because the Lord says that whoever drinks of the water He gives will by no means thirst forever. The Lord satisfies forever.
Why then are we still thirsty? Why then are we not satisfied and still filled with desires? Why are there still sorrows, worries, demands, and self-pity? The reason is that we only see the promise of verse 14 but have forgotten the declaration of verse 13. The Lord not only says, "Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall by no means thirst forever," He also says before this that "everyone who drinks of this water [the world's water, the water left by Jacob, which is the best water in the world] shall thirst again."
Many people do not understand the nature of the water of this world. They do not understand the nature of the things that the world can give to them, whether they last, and how long they last. They cannot tell, first of all, the difference between the temporary and the eternal, the seen and the unseen, the physical and the spiritual. This is why they do not understand that to have the promise of the Lord in verse 14, in which He promises to satisfy their hearts, there must first be the realization of verse 13 which says that the water of this world cannot satisfy their hearts. We must first know that "everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again" before we understand the Lord's word, "by no means thirst forever." The Lord wants us to be satisfied; He does not want us to take one thing and hope for another over and over again and never find ourselves satisfied.
Today I am not speaking about the world's water and how it cannot satisfy man's heart. I am here to explain why Christians feel thirsty in this world. Why are Christians thirsty? The reason we are thirsty is because we turn back to drink the water of verse 13. Why do we become disappointed? If there is no hope, there will be no disappointment. If there was never a hope, there would never be a disappointment. If we never hope to have money, we will never be disappointed by the lack of money. In the same way, if we hope that the water of this world can satisfy us, our eyes will be turned in the wrong direction, and we will feel thirsty. This is the reason we become heartbroken, uneasy, and disappointed. Why is it that we cannot be satisfied? We want to satisfy our desires with the things that are soon passing away. If we want transient things, transient fame and fortune, we will never be satisfied. Once these things fall into our hands, we will find that they do not gratify us; they will not make us happy or satisfied. We feel that we have more desires; we want more things. We are thirsty again and have to drink again. Our mistake lies in the fact that we try to satisfy ourselves with transient things. If our hands are holding onto these transient things and our hearts are set on these transient things, we will never be satisfied in our hearts.
Today I will speak about the Lord's own words exclusively from the Gospel of John. In addition to the Gospel of John, the other three Gospels record many of the Lord's words. Our Lord was never discouraged. What He experienced and encountered in His environment during His lifetime should have given Him much discouragement and disappointment. But He was not discouraged or disappointed. Isaiah 49 says something concerning the Lord. It says that God intends for Christ to bring Jacob back again to Him and gather Israel back again to Himself. But outwardly everything seemed to have failed completely. How did He feel? It says, "I have labored in vain; / I have used up my strength for nothing and vanity; / Yet surely the justice due to me is with Jehovah, / And my recompense with my God" (v. 4). He was not disappointed. Isaiah 42 also says that the Lord did not faint and was not discouraged. Although what He encountered could have caused Him to faint and be discouraged, He did not behave that way.
The emphasis of the Gospel of John is different from that of the Gospel of Matthew. The Lord in the Gospel of John was rejected by men from the beginning. The Lord in the Gospel of Matthew was not rejected until after chapter twelve. John 1 records that the Lord came to His own, and His own received Him not. He came to bear the sins of the people of Israel and the Gentiles. Yet men did not want Him; they rejected Him and would not receive Him. When He was on the cross, men rejected Him, and God also rejected Him. We would have been disappointed, discouraged, saddened, and grieved. But John 19 records that the Lord cried on the cross, "It is finished!" We would have cried, "It is over!" But He was shouting like a victorious army, "It is finished!" Throughout His life, He took satisfaction in God. He had no hope toward the world and did not expect to receive anything from it. His only hope was in God, and His only satisfaction was in God. He said that no one knows the Son except the Father, that He did not receive glory from men, that He did not come to do His own will but the will of the One who sent Him, and that He always did the will of the One who sent Him. Our Lord had God's will as His satisfaction all His life. He was satisfied only with God. This is why He was not disappointed no matter how people, events, and things in this world changed. Those who take their satisfaction in God will never be disappointed.
On the negative side, we should not cherish any hope concerning the world. If we do not expect any fame, glory, help, comfort, or support from this world, we will never be thirsty. We should take care of the way we view the water of this world. Our view concerning the world will surely determine our hope towards those in the world.
"Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed into His name when they saw the signs which He did. But Jesus Himself did not entrust Himself to them, for He knew all men" (John 2:23-24).
In John 2 the Lord performed two great miracles. After He performed the first miracle, the disciples believed in Him. After He performed the second miracle, many who saw His miracles also believed in Him (v. 23). When we see the congregation growing and the number of believers increasing through our preaching, our hearts subconsciously go to the work. But the Lord was not this way. Verse 24 says, "But Jesus Himself did not entrust Himself to them, for He knew all men." He would not take any enjoyment from men. He did not entrust Himself to men because He knew that they would eventually be the ones to crucify Him on the cross. The Lord was glad when so many believed in Him. But He would not entrust Himself to them. He would not allow them to gain His heart. The work might be successful, but it did not occupy His heart. This is why He could maintain His transcendency.
"I do not receive glory from men" (John 5:41). In this chapter there was a man who was ill for thirty-eight years. He was healed by the Lord in an instant. After this, many who had opposed Him no longer opposed Him. Many were giving glory to God. But the Lord Jesus said, "I do not receive glory from men." The Lord said that He would not receive glory from men. We would have gladly welcomed glory from men. If we expect glory from men, we will rejoice when men give us glory and will be disappointed when they do not give us glory. But the Lord would not accept any glory from men on the negative side. He would not accept anything. He did not expect anything and would not accept anything. As a result, He was not disappointed in anything.
"Then Jesus, knowing that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him King, withdrew again to the mountain, Himself alone" (John 6:15). At that time, there were a few thousand people gathering there. They saw the miracle of the multiplying of the loaves and exclaimed that this man was indeed their king. Although many people exalted the Lord, He rejected them all. He would not receive glory from men. He would not take anything from men and drink of the water of this world. The God within Him was enough to satisfy His heart. This was why He could reject everything that the world would give Him. To "withdraw" is the best attitude. Withdrawing will preserve a worker of the Lord from the damage of being uplifted. Withdrawing gives a person the opportunity to prove that God is the satisfaction; it is also the result of being satisfied in God.
"His brothers therefore said to Him, Depart from here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples also may behold Your works which You are doing; for no one does anything in secret and himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, manifest Yourself to the world...Jesus therefore said to them, My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready...And having said these things to them, He remained in Galilee" (John 7:3-4, 6, 9). At that time, the brothers of the Lord thought that He could become famous by performing more miracles. Therefore, they said to the Lord, "If You want a name, You should go to places with many people. If Your disciples had not seen You, they would not have believed in You, and if the Jews do not see You, they will not believe in You either. Jerusalem is a big place and has many people. If You go there, men will believe in You, and You will be famous." Yet the Lord "remained in Galilee." Although it was an easy thing to move to another place, and although such a move would have given Him many conveniences, He would not do it. Most people are curious and many will utter praises out of curiosity. If the Lord had accommodated them, there would have been hundreds of opportunities for Him to receive praise. But the Lord did not entrust Himself to them. He did not want special praises from men. He had something within Him and had no need of any outward thing. He knew the nature of the water of this world. This is why He could say to the few women who wept for Him when He was crucified on the cross, "Do not weep over Me, but weep over yourselves and over your children" (Luke 23:28). He was not disappointed.
"Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit" (John 12:24). In this chapter, we see the most glorious day the Lord had on earth. Not only did many Jews believe in Him, and not only did His friends believe in Him, even the Pharisees said to one another, "You see that you are not doing anything worthwhile; behold, the world has gone after Him" (John 12:19). Not only did His enemies concede their defeat, His friends trust in Him, and the Jews believe in Him, but the Gentiles also believed in Him. At that time, a few Greeks asked Philip to tell the Lord Jesus that they wanted to see Him. These groups of people all confessed that this was the day of victory for the Lord Jesus. If we were in such a situation, we would have been riding on the clouds and basking in our own glory. But what did the Lord Jesus do? At that very instant, He told His disciples, "Unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." The Lord said this with reference to His own death (see 12:33). It seems as if the Lord was saying to Philip, "The way the Father has commissioned me to take is not always one that rides into Jerusalem on a donkey. It is not always a way that men welcome." The world was willing to give everything to Him, but He did not enjoy it and would not accept it. He did not drink any of the water of this world. He rejected everything from man and set His eyes on what God gave to Him.
We should learn this lesson. In particular, the workers of the Lord should learn this lesson. Although men may turn their face towards us today, they may kick their heels at us tomorrow. The ones who cried, "Hosanna," to the Lord one day were the same ones who cried, "Take Him away," the next day. The Lord was not discouraged or disappointed by them. He rejected in a hidden way all the excellent treatment from men. He would never have any direct relationship with His environment. His direct concern was God and His will. This is why His way in the world was not crooked. But our way in the world is crooked. Our Lord did not allow His friends to make His way crooked; He did not allow men's praise to influence His pathway, nor did He allow the enemy's opposition to change His journey.
"Peter said to Him, Lord, why can't I follow You now? I will lay down my life for You. Jesus answered, Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say to you, A rooster shall by no means crow until you deny Me three times" (John 13:37-38). All the temptations mentioned above were either from men's glory or the enemy's suggestions. This was a harder temptation for the Lord from Peter. Peter said, "Why can't I follow You now? I will lay down my life for You." The Lord replied to Him saying, "A rooster shall by no means crow until you deny Me three times." To our impression, Peter often went before the Lord to help Him. But the Lord would not entrust Himself to him. If I had a disciple — of course, I do not have any — and if he was always helping me at my side, I am afraid I would give him a fierce look if he denied me in the middle of my trial in court. The look would say, in effect, "Why do you deny me?" But the Lord turned and looked at Peter (Luke 22:61). That one look caused Peter to go out and cry. One of the our hymns says:
Once He takes a look at us with His two eyes, we melt.
But there is another revelation in His looking at Peter. We have put too much hope in "our Peter." When he says some untrustworthy words, offends us, or talks about us, we become disappointed, discouraged, and even grieved. We cannot stand our Peter's misunderstanding and unfaithfulness. But if we drink of the water of this world, hoping that our friends, relatives, or others will satisfy us, we will surely be thirsty again. If we are happy about our house, friends, food, and all the other things because they are from God, we can be satisfied with God and will not be disappointed when our situation changes. We will not be stumbled or hurt.
"Jesus answered them, Do you now believe? Behold, an hour is coming, and has come, that you will be scattered each to his own place and will leave Me alone; yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. These things I have spoken to you that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have affliction, but take courage; I have overcome the world" (John 16:31-33). At that time, the disciples had all believed in the Lord Jesus. The Lord asked, "Do you now believe?" He also said, "You will be scattered each to his own place and will leave Me alone; yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me." John 17 is the last prayer of the Lord, while John 16 is His last discourse with the disciples. The consummation of His discourse is in the last few sentences of chapter sixteen. He said that everyone would be scattered and that He would be left alone. We would have complained to God if we had been left alone, but the Lord said that the Father was with Him. He could try to draw comfort from all the disciples who had been with Him for years, but He did not put His hope in any one of them. Although they all left Him, He did not feel hurt or unsettled. On the contrary, He told them His experience so that they would have peace in Him. He knew that those who drink of the water of this world will be thirsty again, and He would not drink it even when there was water readily available to Him. Those who do not drink of this water but drink of the living water will never thirst again.
Why can we not live a satisfied life? Why are we disappointed? It is because we have hopes. In fact, we have great hopes. But when we cannot get what we hope for and cannot be satisfied, we become disappointed. I can testify that many times I was ridiculed, but many times I was praised also. Sometimes even Satan would praise me. At such times the Lord would remind me of this verse, and I was reminded to drink less of this water. In this way I would not become thirsty after a while and be disappointed again. When human love, help, money, fame, ease, and comfort come our way, we may think that they are ours and that we may drink as much of them as we want. But if we drink so much of them, one day we will become thirsty! The amount we drink in the world will be the degree of thirst we will have.
Some Christians have asked me why they do not feel the preciousness of the Lord when others feel so much of His preciousness. My answer to them is that they have drunk too many kinds of water besides the Lord. This is why the Lord is not precious to them. We only need to see how much we have consecrated on earth and how much we have forsaken on earth to know how much we treasure the Lord.
Paul did say that he was for the excellency of Christ. But that was not all he said; he also said that he forsook something. He considered all things as loss. He forsook all things, and at the same time he went after the excellency of the knowledge of Christ. If we have nothing apart from the Lord, we will see that everything in the Lord is precious to us and will satisfy us. According to John 4, the amount we forsake will be the amount we receive. However much we reject the world, we will enjoy that much of the Lord's riches.
Friends, if others give you love, fame, comfort, glory, and fortune, what will you do? Do you think that the Samaritan woman stopped drinking the world's water just because she had the living water? No, she still had to drink of the world's water. We cannot stop drinking water. This is why when the world, friends, and relatives render us glory, fame, fortune, comfort, and help, we can let them do it. However, we must not indulge ourselves in these things; we must not entrust ourselves to them and should not be moved by them. We should not demand anything from them and should neither drink nor ask to drink. If you do this, you will not be disappointed.
Isaiah 53:2 is a word concerning the Lord Jesus which I treasure very much: "For He grew up like a tender plant before Him, / And like a root out of dry ground." What does this mean? In a place where there is water, trees grow easily and quickly. However, the Lord's environment was such that it did not render Him any help at all. His surroundings did not give Him anything. The world did not help Him at all. His enemies did not give Him any help; neither did the devil nor the angels give Him any help. Everything He had was from God; He did not receive anything from His surroundings that would encourage, support, or comfort Him. His life was a straight line. We know that a straight line is the shortest distance between two points. Our Lord took the straight path from this world to His destiny. He said that no one who puts his hand on the plow and looks behind is fit for the kingdom of God. What does this mean? Those who have their hands on the plow must look forward; otherwise, the furrows will be crooked. When the eyes look forward, the plow will run straight. If a person looks behind him, the furrow he plows will not be straight. God does not want us to turn or to circle around. He is our satisfaction.
Why can we be satisfied? We can be satisfied because the water that He will give us will become in us a spring of water gushing up into eternal life. All outward fame and glory, everything outward is useless. Unless Christ is in us, and unless God's Spirit is in us, nothing will satisfy us. Indeed, other than the Lord, nothing can satisfy us. At the same time, if we are not satisfied with Him, we cannot remember Him here.
I thank Him because He has trodden the way for us. He is indeed our lovable Lord!
