John 4:40-42

⁴⁰ So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. ⁴¹ And because of his words many more became believers.

⁴² They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”

Diner

In a small rural town, there was an old roadside diner that most people just drove past without a second glance. The building looked worn, the sign was faded, and the parking lot was rarely full. One day, a well-known food critic, traveling through on his way to another city, stopped for lunch. He ordered a slice of the diner’s homemade peach pie.

The moment he took the first bite, his eyes widened. It was unlike any pie he’d ever tasted—flaky crust, warm fruit filling, just the right sweetness. When he got home, he wrote a glowing review on his popular food blog. He described the pie so vividly that people could almost taste it just by reading.

Soon, cars began lining up outside that little diner. Travelers came from all directions—not because they had tasted the pie themselves—but because they wanted to see if the critic’s words were telling the truth. They were acting on second-hand experience.

But here’s the thing—something changed after they actually took their first bite. Once they tasted it, the review no longer mattered as much. They no longer needed the critic’s opinion to convince them. They knew from personal experience, “This pie really is amazing.” They didn’t just believe because someone else told them—they believed because they had experienced it for themselves.

When the Samaritan woman at the well told everyone about Jesus, the people of her town were curious enough to meet Jesus for themselves. People came to see Him—at first—because of her testimony. But then something happened. They spent time with Jesus. They heard His teaching. They listened to His words.

His conversation was full of truth, grace, and relevance to their lives. When Jesus spoke, people wanted to hear more. As His followers, our words should point people toward Him—not just to satisfy curiosity, but to stir the hunger for truth.

Words are powerful—they can build up or tear down, heal or wound, bring someone closer to Jesus or cause them to be turn away. But no words are more life-giving than the words of Jesus. In John 4, we see that not only does Jesus use our personal experience with Him to bring people to His Kingdom. We see an entire community transformed, not by signs and wonders, but by His words.

1. Jesus uses His Words

⁴⁰ So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 

The Samaritans urged Jesus Christ to stay with them and for two days were listening to Him. For two whole days!

That is spiritual thirst and spiritual hunger… eh?

Can you endure two days of listening to God’s words?

You can only endure two days of listening to God’s words if you are spiritually thirsty or spiritually hungry.

⁴¹ And because of his words many more became believers.

⁴² They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”

The Samaritans did not disregard what the woman has previously told them about Jesus. The people of the town actually believed what the Samaritan woman said about Jesus when they heard how Jesus spoke.

But after hearing Jesus’ words, the Samaritans did not only believe what the Samaritan woman said about Jesus. The people of that town went beyond believing.

They came to know that Jesus Christ is the Messiah.

…the Saviour of the world.

Believing and knowing are two different experiences.

You can believe God to some degree just by hearing.

You can know God by experimenting on the truth of His Words.

Knowing God makes our relationship with Him closer.

For the married people…

You believe that your spouse loves you.

You came to really know that your spouse loves you especially when you agreed to get married.

The act of marriage is the manifestation that both husband and wife care for each other.

Getting to know that your spouse loves you has something to do with physical experience with a person.

When you hear God’s word and it seems like the message of God keeps on ringing in your ears… Listen attentively because God is telling you something.

When you hear God’s word and it seems like the message of God touched your inner being… perhaps God’s word excites you. Sometimes God’s word touches your ego… Listen attentively because God is telling you something.

The Samaritans listened to Jesus attentively for two days and they did not just believe but came to know that Jesus is the Savior of the world.

And so… Isaiah 55:11 is true when it says,

¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

 Have you heard people saying,

“I was reading my devotional book and it struck me…”

“I was listening to the sermon as if the pastor was talking to me directly.”

“I was watching a television program and the preacher was addressing my problem.”

“I was meditating on the Bible and the words were jumping up at me…”

How do you describe it when the Word of God is talking to you personally?

When my father was a new believer, he could not understand when people spoke of that kind of experiences. It was like an exaggeration of things to him.

He was waiting to see if he will ever have the same experience, but he never felt that way.

Personally, whenever God talked to him through the Bible, it was very personal—very specific. The verses that my father read in which God used to tell him to do something, kept coming back to his mind and my father cannot just ignore or forget about those verses.

That is when my father would ask God to make His Word speak to him in a more personal way.

God uses the Bible and Christian songs to speak as well.

My father watched circumstances and other Christians, which God used to confirm His messages to him.

The Samaritan people believed Jesus Christ as the Messiah when they heard Him speak in person.

The disciples spent 3 years, night and day, listening to Him, asking questions and watching Jesus perform miracles before their very eyes.

And they came to know Jesus more than any of us have.

MISSIONARY PRAYER

Before my family went to China, we were informed that it is hard to make disciples in China. We read stories of missionaries who struggled to share the Word of God.

We learned that most mainland Chinese people do not know or never even heard of the name of Jesus.

We’ve watched the biopic of William Carey. In that life story movie, William Carey was able to baptize one convert after 7 years of missionary work.

So, with that… my father prayed that God would make him successful in our China mission. He prayed that God would help him by letting my father see 2 converts baptized in our first year.

Work in China was very challenging. Whenever my parents told students about God many of them would say, “I don’t believe in God… I don’t know God…But can I join you in studying the Bible?”

During our first year my parents were very careful not to share the gospel to anybody. My parents held Bible study sessions, not in our apartment but near the River, at the Park, at a restaurant, or under a tree.

Eleven months later came the day for water baptism. Can you guess how many were baptized among our Bible Study group members?

There were eleven people from our Bible Study group alone. When my father asked God for two, God saw my dad’s two fingers and understood it as eleven, going beyond my human understanding. How about that??!!!

Many of us are not growing in our faith because we do not read our Bibles. Just as our physical body needs the daily supply of proper physical diet. It is advisable for each of us to read our Bible daily too. The Scripture is our Spiritual food. Sunday worship services or midweek worship services are just our weekly celebration.

How would you imagine yourself eating your food just once a week and only every Sunday? Or every Wednesday? If you ever starve yourself or eat little food for 6 days and on the 7^th day you try to eat five plates full of food, your body will not allow it. Even if you forced yourself, you would get migraines or feel bloated.

That is the same when your spiritual food is reading 1 page of Daily Bread. The Daily Bread booklet or any other devotional booklet—those are just for Spiritual Snacks and not regular Spiritual food. Yet, you may begin with that by making sure you read the Scripture assigned for the reading of the day first before you read the article in the devotional.

Do you want to know our Lord Jesus like the Samaritans did? Spend more time reading your Bibles daily.

Our Lord God can use our experience with Him and His Words to bring in people to Jesus Christ.

For you to experience more of our Lord Jesus Christ in your life—ask Him to give you time to read His Words. Ask Him to help you enjoy reading your Bible daily.

This way, we may be rooted in our faith and in turn have that desire to let everyone know of the good news we know. And in sharing our faith…

“Our words may start the conversation, but only Jesus’ words can save a soul.”

Our passage tells us of the faith journey of the people of that town—starting with the Samaritan woman’s testimony and continuing with the people believing because they heard Jesus themselves. In this series we learned the following

1. Testimony draws people in, but truth keeps them there.
2. Faith grows when we move from hearing about Jesus to hearing from
3. The gospel is not second-hand news—it’s a personal encounter with the Savior.

That’s the turning point in faith. Second-hand stories can draw us near, but it’s first-hand experience with Jesus that transforms belief into conviction. You can’t live your whole life on someone else’s faith. At some point, you have to “taste and see that the Lord is good” for yourself.

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