A Healthy Church Member Tells
John 4:1-42
CHCC: January 24, 2010
INTRODUCTION:
Recently, I spoke to my friend, David, who told me all about purchasing his new Suburban and then took me out to look at it. He had lots to say about his new purchase. Later that same week I met elder Bob in the parking lot. He was driving a 66 Ford Farlane he had just finished rebuilding and he was animated as he talked about his rebuilding project. My wife blames these two men for the fact that a mere week later I went out and purchased an '03 Buick Century. She says they tempted me. Naturally, I could tell you the story of my auto purchase, but we don't have time this morning. I said that to say this: Everyone wants to TELL how they got their new car. So why, then, do we have such a hard time TELLING other people about our faith in God?
I heard about a conference where the speaker asked the audience what was the number one reason Christians don’t tell others about Jesus. Think about it a minute – what keeps you … or people you know … from sharing the Gospel message more often?
The people at that Convention gave answers ranging from things like fear and lack of knowledge to indifference. Then the Speaker stunned the audience by saying he thought the number one reason was that Christians don’t believe Romans 1:16. (the verse is on the screen) Maybe Christians don’t talk about the Gospel because they don’t really believe that "the gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes."
The speaker at that convention might be right … but I have my own suspicions about why some of us don’t talk more about Jesus. Think about the things you have NO trouble talking about. For me … as you know … it’s my grand-kids … and lately, my new car.
When you’re ENTHUSED about something, you look for every excuse to talk about it. It’s not a DUTY to get on that topic, it’s a DELIGHT. People … even introverts … LOVE to talk about their children (or grandchildren). People starting a new job love to compare and contrast it with the old job they were so glad to leave behind. People who found some medicine or nutritional supplement that makes them feel better want to tell everyone that THEY could feel better, too (for only $49.95 a bottle).
And have you ever been around Barbara Loveall when the Dallas Cowboys are on a winning streak?
We LOVE to talk about everything we’re EXCITED about. We can’t keep from talking about them any chance we get. So my theory is that if we’re not talking about Jesus, it’s because we we have nothing to say, and that may be because we aren’t ENTHUSED about our interaction with Him. Perhaps we just aren't abiding in him like we are admonished in John 15.
I found support for my theory about enthusiastically telling in John chapter 4. Jesus was traveling with his disciples from Galilee to Jerusalem when they stopped beside a well in Samaria. Jesus sat down to rest beside the well while his men went into town for provisions. …
Without retelling all the details of the story let me hit the high points about the Woman Jesus encountered at Jacob’s well. First of all, we can’t help but notice that this woman was trying to keep a low profile.
Most women came to the well early in the morning when it was cool … and spent their time not only filling their water pots, but having conversation with the other women (this is what my wife calls "recreational conversation"… something women seem to like)
But this woman didn’t want to talk to anyone from her village. She knew at high noon she could get her water without having to talk to anyone. And as she approached the well with her rope and water pots, she paid no attention to the man who was sitting beside the well.
She knew enough about protocol to assume that Jesus would have nothing to say to her. She ignored him, assuming he would ignore her as well. And that was the way she wanted it.
To her shock Jesus broke custom and initiated a conversation with her. “Will you give me a drink?”
His request so shocked her that she blurted out what was rumbling around in her mind. “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink” Then the scripture gives a short explanation - (for Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) One thing is sure; the woman was caught completely off guard.
Jesus conversation started out strangely and proceeded to get even stranger. “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.” Her initial words to Jesus bordered on rudeness, but his words to her were a friendly invitation to ask Him for “living water.”
She took the bait, “Sir, you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who give us this well and drink from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?”
Jesus dropped the small talk and went to the heart of his conversation with this lonely reclusive woman. “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
Notice her immediate reply, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” Maybe she was joking, but I have a feeling she was intrigued by Jesus. On some level, she really wanted what Jesus was offering.
His next words shocked her yet again, “Go call your husband and come back.” Now, here was a topic she wanted to avoid at all costs. I imagine she turned away and snapped, “I have no husband.” --- She hoped that would put an end to the conversation.
Jesus then allowed this woman to see just how completely he knew her and everything about her world. He said, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you have now is not your husband. What you have said is quite true.”
You might expect her to be offended at this blunt description of her situation … but something in the way Jesus said this caused her to want to hear more. So rather than cursing him and stomping off in disgust, she responded, “I can see that you are a prophet…”
Then she tried to head the conversation off into safe territory. She tried to draw Jesus into a debate about where Jews worship versus where Samaritans worship. Rather than get into a theoretical, theological debate, Jesus kept bringing her back to God’s basic truth. He said, “A time is coming and has now come when true worshipers will worship the father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is Spirit and his worshipers must worship in spirit and truth.”
The woman responded, Well, “I know that Messiah (called Christ) is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
Jesus’ answer astonished her. He said, “I who speak to you am he.”
And that’s all it took. Look at the instant transformation in this woman. She came to the well as an unfriendly, introverted, antagonistic, defensive person --- someone who went out of her way to AVOID conversation.
Then she encountered Jesus.
And she left the well bursting with a message she couldn’t keep from sharing. The woman left her water jars and went back to town telling everyone she saw, “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” And the people followed her out of the town and to Jacob’s well to meet Jesus who she boldly proclaimed.
What did it take for this woman to become a successful … and irrepressible … spokesperson for Jesus? All it took was for her to encounter Jesus. She met Jesus and heard him speak hope, peace, and salvation, into her messed up, lonely life.
Jesus didn’t dazzle her with logic, or confound her with clever arguments. He didn’t hand her a gospel tract or pull out a whiteboard and draw her a chart. The whole conversation probably took less than 10 or 15 minutes. And it made ALL the difference in her world.
THAT’s the power of the Gospel to save. All it took was an encounter with Jesus to turn this woman into a successful evangelist who led a whole village to Jesus. And the same thing will happen to you and me any time that we spend time in His presence.
Can it really be that simple? I think it IS that simple. If Jesus only needed a short conversation with the woman at the well to change her life, what would it do for us if we were to abide with Christ and let him fill us with rivers of living water?
If we can simply abide with Jesus day by day, we’ll find ourselves OVERFLOWING with enthusiasm. We’ll be bursting with the desire to talk about Him. We’ll go though our days looking for opportunities to tell everyone, Come and see!
And that’s the simple message we need to give. We don’t have to try to have the perfect words to say. It’s not what comes out our mouth that makes the big difference when we try to tell others about the gospel. I think what really matters is what flows out of our heart and soul.
You see, there’s nothing as contagious as genuine, joyful enthusiasm! Look at how the whole Village followed that Woman out to the Well. They didn’t follow her because she was a respected leader in the village. Far from it. She was a person they looked down on or pitied. She didn’t give a 3-point sermon with clever illustrations.
When they ran out to the well, they were probably thinking, “What in the world came over HER? She’s always in a bad mood. I’ve never seen her so happy and excited. This, I’ve GOT to see for myself!”
Of course WHAT you say does matter. II Corinthians 5:20 says, We are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”
We have the amazing privilege of representing Christ to the world. In order to do that right, we clearly need to understand what the Gospel IS and how we can communicate it to others.
When you get that wonderful opportunity to tell someone about Jesus, you want to be ready. And that means planning ahead. I included an insert today that is one simple way to explain the gospel. It’s called The Roman Road because it shows the way of salvation using verses from the book of Romans.
Susan typed this up several years ago when she realized her nephew Josh was ready to hear the Gospel. And ever since then, she keeps it with her in case she gets a chance to share the gospel message. Maybe you’ll want to do the same.
We’re starting this new year with a series about what it means to be a healthy Christian. A healthy Christian tells. So, whatever method you want to use, get ready to TELL:
* Tell who God is and what He has done for us
* Tell what our predicament is apart from God
* Explain that Christ’s death on the cross covered all our sins
* Tell what to do to receive the gift of salvation Christ offers.
And most important, tell what it means to have a living connection to Jesus Christ. Let His living water flow out of your life into theirs!
CONCLUSION:
This year it seems like God is leading me into a singular focus. Every topic I’ve been teaching or preaching about, I keep coming back to this one central truth. Everything we do as Christians comes down to this one thing: Are you ABIDING in Christ? Are you living your daily life in conscious connection with Him?
Do you think your thoughts to Him throughout the day? Do you fill your mind with His Word by reading your Bible? Do you regularly stop and draw your mind back to Jesus, asking Him what he wants to do in your life each day? And then do you live out your faith by obeying Him?
Are you drawing from HIS well every day so that your life overflows with streams of living water? Because if you are, you will not have to FORCE yourself to witness. In fact, you won’t be able to stop yourself. What God pours INTO you will go THROUGH you to others. The living water will simply overflow from your life and splash out on the people around you.
We were at the Loveall's house the other day (having Louisiana style gumbo!) and I noticed this saying on a plaque on their wall. “Live in such as way that those who don’t know God will come to know God because they have come to know you.” If you ABIDE in Christ and He ABIDES in you, that’s what will happen … just naturally.
So, my advice to you today is this: get ready by learning a way to present the Gospel clearly. Then ABIDE IN CHRIST every day. And from your connection to Him, you’ll find yourself telling others about him. In fact, you won’t be able to keep yourself quiet. Like the grandparent with a wallet full of pictures, or the owner of a new car, or a worker with a new job, you will overflow with what you’re full off. So fill up with Christ and you’ll have no trouble telling about Him to anyone within range of hearing.
You don’t need to try to “rev up” your enthusiasm for Jesus. Just spend time with Him. Just like the woman at the well … when you encounter Jesus, you’ll want to spread the news about Him to anyone who will listen. So let me ask you … have you had an encounter with Jesus? Have you asked Him for living water so that you’ll never thirst again? Once you do, you’ll never be the same again.
