December 2025 Topic: Finding Jesus
Title: If You Knew
Text: John 4:10 (KJV & NIV)
“Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and
who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of
him, and he would have given thee living water.”
10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you
would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
INTRODUCTION
John 4 records a life-changing encounter between Jesus and a Samaritan
woman at Jacob’s well. Her greatest problem was not her past, her thirst, or
her reputation, it was what she did not know.
Jesus says, “If thou knewest…” If you knew?
This statement reveals a powerful truth: ignorance can delay, distort, or
deny divine blessings.
This is not a quiet text. This is a revealing text. This is a confronting
text.
Today’s sermon is a call to spiritual directive for awareness—because what
we know, or fail to know, shapes how we live, worship, and seek God.
Which means there are blessings we missed, prayers we delayed, and
miracles we postponed—not because God was absent, but because we didn’t know
who was standing in front of us!
Jesus said “If you knew?”
1. THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT KNOWING
Scripture
- Hosea 4:6 — “My
people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…”
- John 4:10, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you
for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living
water.”
The Samaritan woman was face-to-face with the Messiah, yet treated Him as
just another Jewish man. Not knowing who Jesus was limited her expectation and
response.
Ignorance in spiritual matters does not make us neutral—it makes us
vulnerable.
Jesus did not say, “If you were more holy…”
He did not say, “If you were more educated…”
He simply said, “IF YOU KNEW!”
Ignorance doesn’t just limit you—it destroys you.
The woman was tired, thirsty, rejected, and broken—yet the Answer was
sitting on the well, and she treated Him like a stranger.
Illustration
A person may sit in a hospital waiting room unaware that the best
specialist in the world is available to treat them for free. Because they don’t
know, they leave untreated.
Likewise, many believers live spiritually wounded while the Healer
stands near, but they don’t recognize Him.
Some people are dying spiritually in church, because they don’t
know who Jesus really is.
Somebody shout:
“Lord, open my eyes!”
2. WE WOULD ASK DIFFERENT QUESTIONS IF
WE KNEW HIM
Scripture
- John 4:11–15, 14 but whoever
drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed,
the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling
up to eternal life.”
- James 4:2 — “…ye
have not, because ye ask not.”
She asked about buckets.
She asked about wells.
She asked about geography.
But Jesus was offering GLORY, SALVATION, and ETERNAL
LIFE!
If we knew Him:
- We wouldn’t
just ask for a blessing—we’d ask for transformation
- We wouldn’t
just ask for money—we’d ask for power
- We wouldn’t
just ask for peace—we’d ask for purpose
- We wouldn’t just
ask for water—we’d ask for Living Water
Illustration
A child who doesn’t know the wealth of their parents may ask for pocket
change instead of help with education or future investments.
Many prayers are small because our revelation of Christ is small.
Somebody tell me: “Ask bigger!”
3. WE WORSHIP WHAT WE DON’T UNDERSTAND
Scripture
- John 4:22 — “Ye
worship ye know not what…”
- Acts 17:23, 23 For as I
walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even
found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is
what I am going to proclaim to you.
The woman spoke confidently about worship locations, but Jesus revealed
that her worship lacked understanding.
In Fact, Jesus said, “You worship what you don’t know.”
That
means
You
can clap without connection.
You can sing without surrender.
You can shout without substance.
You
can pray without connection.
You
can listen without understanding
True
worship flows from revelation, not repetition.
True
worship is not done in a building, it is done within the Spirit
When knowledge is shallow:
- Worship becomes
ritual
- Praise becomes
performance
- Faith becomes
tradition
Illustration
Someone may wear a wedding ring but not understand the commitment it
represents. The symbol remains, but the meaning is lost.
Many people attend church faithfully yet miss the heart of worship
because they don’t truly know whom they worship.
Somebody say: “Lord, show me who You are!”
4. WE SEEK ETERNAL SOLUTIONS IN
TEMPORAL PLACES
Scripture
- John 4:13 — “Whosoever
drinketh of this water shall thirst again.”
- Ecclesiastes
3:11, He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has
also set eternity in the human heart; yet[a] no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
The woman came daily to the well, but her real thirst was not physical.
She was searching for fulfillment in relationships, routines, and repetition.
She kept coming back to the same well—day after day—because temporary
water cannot fix eternal thirst.
Some of us keep running to:
- Repeated Cycle of
Relationships
- Holding onto Positions
- Continue with Substance
abuses
- Looking for Applause
But you can’t fill a God-shaped hole with human-sized solutions!
Who among us has a God Shape hole? The hole in our heart can only fill by
God.
Human solutions cannot satisfy eternal hunger.
Illustration
A person keeps switching jobs, relationships, cities, or hobbies hoping
the next one will bring peace—yet the emptiness remains.
That’s because eternal thirst cannot be quenched by temporary sources.
Tell your neighbor: “This well won’t work!”
5. WE CANNOT DRAW LIVING WATER FROM
WORLDLY WELLS
Scripture
- Jeremiah 2:13, “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me,
the spring of living water,
and have dug their own
cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
- John 4:14
Worldly wells promise satisfaction but deliver disappointment. Jesus
alone offers water that becomes a spring within to eternity.
No bucket from this world can pull out what only heaven can pour in.
Worldly
wells are deceptive:
They promise refreshment but deliver addiction.
They promise joy but produce emptiness.
They
promise Joy but deliver depression
They
promise happiness but deliver misery
They
promise security but cause chaos
They
promise freedom but deliver oppression
But Jesus said:
“The water I give shall be IN YOU!”
You don’t have to visit this well every day—the source moves inside of
you!
Illustration
Drinking saltwater feels refreshing at first, but it eventually increases
thirst and leads to harm.
Many worldly pleasures work the same way—temporary relief followed by
deeper emptiness.
Let me hear you: “I need living water!”
6. WHERE CAN WE FIND JESUS THIS
SEASON?
Scripture
- John 4:26 — “I
that speak unto thee am he.”
- Matthew 28:20, 20 and teaching them to
obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always,
to the very end of the age.”
- Isaiah 55:6, Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is
near.
Jesus is not hiding:
- He is found in unexpected
places (a well at noon)
- He meets people
in ordinary moments
- He reveals
Himself to hungry hearts
This season, Jesus is found:
- In sincere
prayer
- In
truth-centered worship
- In moments of
honesty and surrender
- Your prayer
closet
- Your broken
places
- Your honest
questions
Illustration
Sometimes help arrives disguised as interruption—a broken plan, a delayed
accomplishment, a difficult conversation, health news, our wilderness.
The woman came for water and encountered the Messiah. Don’t
underestimate divine appointments in ordinary places.
This season, Jesus is about to reveal Himself to hungry hearts!
CONCLUSION
Jesus’ words still echo today:
“If you knew the gift…”
Tonight, today, right now—you can know Him!
If we knew:
- We would stop
settling for less
- We would ask
boldly
- We would
worship deeply
- We would seek
eternally
Closing Scripture
- Philippians
3:10 — “That I may know him…” 10 I want to know Christ—yes,
to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming
like him in his death,
·
If you’re tired of empty wells…
·
If you’re thirsty for something real…
·
If you want living water…
Final Call
This is the season to move from knowing about Jesus to knowing
Him.
The well is not your source.
The world is not your answer.
Jesus is.
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