Archives for 3 月 2020

By Zhang Yiping

Presumably many of us believers are familiar with the story of the Samaritan woman recorded in the Bible. When she drew water, she met the Lord Jesus, who asked her for a drink. From her exchange with the Lord Jesus, she recognized that He was the Messiah foretold in the prophecies.

She was just an ordinary woman and didn’t have much Bible knowledge, but she was able to do so. This is really amazing. All of us know that, within those three and a half years that the Lord Jesus worked on earth, many people once contacted Him for a short time, and moreover, there were many who heard Him speak. However, there were too few who were able to recognize that He was the Messiah. Then, how did the Samaritan woman do it? Was it because of the Lord Jesus’ special grace? Or was there any secret behind it? Let’s read her story to look for answers to these questions together.

It is recorded in the Bible: “There comes a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus said to her, Give me to drink. (For his disciples were gone away to the city to buy meat.) Then said the woman of Samaria to him, How is it that you, being a Jew, ask drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said to her, If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that said to you, Give me to drink; you would have asked of him, and he would have given you living water. … Whoever drinks of this water shall thirst again: But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. The woman said to him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come here to draw. Jesus said to her, Go, call your husband, and come here. The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said to her, You have well said, I have no husband: For you have had five husbands; and he whom you now have is not your husband: in that said you truly. The woman said to him, Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and you say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus said to her, Woman, believe me, the hour comes, when you shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship you know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeks such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. The woman said to him, I know that Messias comes, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus said to her, I that speak to you am he. … The woman then left her water pot, and went her way into the city, and said to the men, Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?” (John 4:7-10, 13-26, 28-29).

From the above scriptures we can see that there are two main reasons why the Samaritan woman was able to recognize that the Lord Jesus was the coming Messiah.

Recognizing God’s Voice in the Lord Jesus’ Utterance
At first, when the Lord Jesus asked the Samaritan woman for some water, she guarded against Him because He was a Jew, since the Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans. But after the Lord Jesus spoke some words to her, she perceived that He was out of the ordinary, so she called Him Sir. When hearing the Lord Jesus said, “Whoever drinks of this water shall thirst again: But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life,” she felt that His words had authority and power and couldn’t be said by ordinary people. Then, the Lord Jesus revealed her innermost secrets, saying, “For you have had five husbands; and he whom you now have is not your husband.” She felt astonished at this because nobody knew the things she did in secret. But the Lord Jesus, who had never met her before, knew all about her. She was sure that that was unattainable by ordinary people, so she considered the Lord Jesus a prophet. Therefore, she spoke about her own confusion and asked Him whether to go to the mountain or to Jerusalem to worship God. The Lord Jesus said, “The hour comes, when you shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.” He also clearly told her, “When the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeks such to worship him.” After hearing all this, she recognized that the Lord Jesus was the Messiah. It was because the Lord Jesus resolved her confusion with just a word, and also pointed out to her the path of practice to worship God. This allowed her to understand that when worshiping God, believers shouldn’t rigidly adhere to external formalities, but should worship God in spirit and in truth, and that only praying genuinely and sincerely is after God’s heart. Especially when hearing the Lord Jesus say, “I that speak to you am he,” she was rejoiced and became even more certain that He was the Messiah. Thus, she hurriedly went to the city and told the good news to the people there. Though the exchange between the Lord Jesus and her was short, the name by which she called Him changed very quickly. It was because she saw that the Lord’s words had authority and power, and He was able to reveal her innermost secrets and corruption, resolve her problem and confusion, and point out to her the clear way to practice. For this reason, she recognized that the Lord Jesus was the coming Messiah.

Putting Herself Aside and Humbly Seeking
As a matter of fact, the Samaritans had always been looked down upon by the Jews, and they had no dealings with each other. So, when hearing the Lord Jesus ask her for some water, she was very surprised. But she didn’t refuse to talk with the Lord because of it, but humbly listened to Him speak. When hearing that the Lord Jesus possessed the living water, she was able to put herself aside and ask Him to give her the water which could bring her everlasting life. When the Lord Jesus revealed her unspeakable secrets, though she wasn’t willing to mention them, this didn’t stop her from talking with Him and instead she continued to seek from Him. After the Lord Jesus resolved her confusion, and allowed her to understand how to worship God to be after God’s heart, she recognized that the Lord Jesus was the coming Messiah. From this we can see that the other reason why the Samaritan woman could receive salvation by grace was because she was able to humble herself to seek the truth. Thus, she received God’s grace, hearing God’s voice and welcoming the Messiah.

Now we are in the last days, the key moment when the Lord comes. Then, how should we absorb the strengths of the Samaritan woman so that we can welcome the Lord Jesus’ return?

Paying Attention to Hearing God’s Voice
The Lord Jesus said, “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come” (John 16:12-13). And it is prophesied many times in Revelation, “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 2-3). We can see from these words that when the Lord returns in the last days, He will speak again to tell us the truths we don’t understand. He requires us to be wise virgins and pay attention to hearing His voice. In this way, we can follow the footprints of the Lamb, go to the wedding feast, and receive God’s salvation in the last days. Therefore, if we want to welcome the Lord’s return, we need to actively seek the words the Holy Spirit speaks to all churches. When someone witnesses to us that the Lord has come to utter His word, we should follow the Samaritan woman’s example, and hear whether the word has authority and power, and whether it is able to reveal our corruptions that nobody knows, resolve our problems and difficulties, and point out to us the way to practice. I believe that upon hearing the words of the returned Lord, all who have a heart and a spirit will be able to hear that it is the voice of God. Just as the Lord Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27).

Being Someone Who Is Poor in Spirit and Actively Seeks
The Lord Jesus said, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you: For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8). “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3).

Humbly seeking is the Lord’s requirement of us, and is also the key to whether we are able to welcome the Lord’s return. Now, in waiting for the Lord’s arrival most of us have many confusions and problems. For example, it was said that the Lord would return in 2000, but it’s 2019 now, so how come we have still not welcomed His return? Besides, the prophecies of the Lord’s return have basically all been fulfilled, so all those brothers and sisters who truly believe in the Lord feel that the Lord might have returned, wondering whether He has already appeared somewhere to work. So, shouldn’t we actively seek His footsteps? The Lord is faithful. He blesses the poor in spirit, and takes pity on those who thirst for the truth. If we can humbly seek, pray to the Lord more, and actively search for His footsteps, then God will surely lead and guide us, and allow us to welcome the Lord’s appearance in the last days.Give me to drink.

By Zheng Fu

The story of Noah’s ark is very well-known. From the accounts in the Bible, we can see that the people in Noah’s day became depraved and corrupt, living every day wining and dining, scheming and plotting against one another, and in wicked promiscuity. They had lost the form of humanity possessed by those people first created by God, and apart from Noah, none of them were willing to worship God. Mankind became ever more degenerate and evil. Jehovah God observed all of this. There was great sorrow in His heart. Meanwhile, the cruelty and maliciousness of mankind were unbearable for God to see. So in His pain, He had to destroy the filthy and corrupt mankind using a flood. Just as the Bible says, “And God said to Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make you an ark of gopher wood; rooms shall you make in the ark, and shall pitch it within and without with pitch” (Genesis 6:13-14). “And Jehovah said to Noah, Come you and all your house into the ark; for you have I seen righteous before me in this generation” (Genesis 7:1).

With regard to this, some brothers and sisters may ask, “Why is it that God commanded Noah to spend 120 years and do a lot of work to build a big ark since all evil actions of the world had angered Him and He had clearly told Noah that He was going to destroy all living things of flesh?” Regarding this question, some people say, “God did this for the sake of saving the eight members of Noah’s family and some living things on earth.” And some people say, “God is merciful and loving. He didn’t have the heart to destroy mankind and so He gave them the opportunity to repent.”

Then what exactly is God’s will behind the story of Noah’s ark? I read a passage of the word of God: “In His pain, God still did not forget to give man His maximum tolerance, waiting for man to turn around. After He reached His limit, He did what He had to do without any hesitation. In other words, there was a specific time period and process from the moment God planned to destroy mankind to the official start of His work in destroying mankind. This process existed for the purpose of enabling man to turn around, and was the last chance God gave to man. So what did God do in this period before destroying mankind? God did a significant amount of reminding and exhorting work. No matter how much pain and sorrow God’s heart was in, He continued to exercise His care, concern, and abundant mercy on humanity.”

God’s will is completely revealed to us here. When He saw man living in evil and fornication and treating Him as the enemy, He felt grieved and sad over this. Still, He didn’t directly destroy mankind, but cared about them at all times. God asked Noah to build an ark and preach the gospel to the world for 120 years for the sake of reminding and exhorting them. God hoped that they would be able to abandon the violence in their hands, repent and confess to Him, and accept His salvation. From this we can see that God was trying to save man to the greatest extent possible. His heart is so good! He had been waiting for 120 years, giving people enough time and opportunities to repent. However, the heart of people at that time was too hard, as if their heart was waxed gross. Not only did they not believe the gospel Noah preached, but they also vilified and mocked Noah, saying that he was an idiot. All that mankind gave God was rebellion and opposition, and no one paid any attention to the repeated warnings and exhortations of God. In the end, seeing that they were absolutely unrepentant, God had to send the flood to destroy all mankind. In fact, when God used the flood to destroy the world, His heart was in extreme pain. He couldn’t bear to see the human beings He created with His own hands being destroyed. It was not His original intention when He created man or the result that He wanted to see. But God’s substance is righteous and holy, and He doesn’t allow those who are impure to exist in His presence. So when His patience toward man reached its limit, He showed no mercy in sending the flood to destroy those who were evil in His eyes, that is, the final chance He gave them to repent had come to its end.

I believe you now know what the intention of God is behind the story of Noah’s ark. Now, the last days have already come. People in the present days are more corrupt and evil than people in the time of Noah, which is unbearable for God to witness. Still, God hopes that we can abandon the violence in our hands, leave our evil conduct behind, genuinely repent to God, and come before God to worship Him so that we can be saved by Him and survive. I remember that the Lord Jesus once said, “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:37-39). Actually, the sentence “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” suggests that in the last days there will be great disasters and God will come to work to save mankind. Therefore, as long as we hear someone preaching God’s work of the last days, we should seek and investigate immediately. Only thus can we enter Noah’s ark of the last days, and attain God’s salvation.