The Power Within
A Sermon on John 4:13-14
Originally preached Jan. 22, 1967
Scripture
13Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14But whosoever drinketh 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 …
Sermon Description
What is it that empowers Christians to live as followers of Christ? In this sermon on John 4:13-14 titled “The Power Within,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones shares that the answer is the Holy Spirit dwelling in believers. All who have believed in Christ have the Holy Spirit indwelling in them, and they have been made new by His power. For this reason, Christians ought to look to what the Bible tells them is the standard for living and for the world. All who believe have overcome the world. Christians cannot simply avoid doing what the world does, but they must strive to please God by living a life according to His commands. This frees believers from the danger of legalism because they look to God’s Word as the standard for what it means to live as a Christian empowered by the Holy Spirit. This sermon forces everyone to ask the questions: “do you have the Holy Spirit? Have you repented of your sins and believed in Jesus Christ?” It is only through trusting in Christ that anyone can have peace with God.
Sermon Breakdown
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The sermon focuses on Jesus's words to the Samaritan woman about living water that becomes a well springing up to eternal life. This is a metaphor for the Christian life.
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The greatest sin of Christians today is reducing the glorious gospel to the level of our own understanding and experience. We must compare ourselves to Scripture and church history.
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We must be aware of our need for living water and that nothing else can satisfy us. We must realize this living water is a gift from Jesus.
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The characteristics of the living water are:
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It is experimental, not just theoretical. It is connected to Jesus.
- It is inside us, not outside us. We don't have to keep going to a source to get it.
- It is a power acting within us, not just our own activity. Our actions flow from this inner power.
- We are controlled by this power, not in control of it. We can yield to it or resist it.
- It makes the Christian life free and unmechanical, not legalistic.
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The power varies in strength in different people and at different times in the same person. We don't control the power; it controls us.
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Examples of this power in Scripture include:
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Peter saying "We cannot but speak" after being told not to preach.
- Paul saying "The love of Christ constrains me." and "Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!"
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Paul saying "I labor, striving according to his working, which works in me mightily."
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We must not be satisfied until we know this power working in us, lifting us up and producing fruit through us.
The Book of John
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.