Introduction:
I. If you are a subscriber to the Bucks County Courier Times, you may have seen this article in the Tuesday edition.
A. The article deals with a survey that was conducted at Council Rock High School.
1. Now, correct me if I am wrong, but is not Council Rock High School like the top rated school in all of Pennsylvania, and maybe even one of the top in the United States.
2. Do not some parents get all “puffed up” when they say, “My child goes to Council Rock.”
3. I would even venture a small wager that some parents are living beyond their means, just so they can say, “We had to live in the best.”
B. I do not know what all the questions on the survey were, but the two that the Courier Times article give may give a slightly different interpretation of that “Best” high school.
II. Are you ready for this small sampling,
A. 200 plus teens surveyed,
1. 65% are sexually active
2. The good news, I suppose; 51% used some form of birth control, the first time.
B. I have a nephew that attended Council Rock for the last 2 or so years of his high school career, after spending the first years of his life in England with his missionary parents.
1. He told me once that not only did he see more BMW’s, Hummers and Mercedes Benz automobiles in Newtown than he had in his entire life, he also saw more drug usage than he had ever imagined possible, and why not,
2. Alcohol and drug use in Council Rock High School, 95%.
C. And aren’t all of us saying, “Not my child.”
1. Don’t I pray that my child lives in that 5 per cent.
III. Dare I say that the world in which we live, seems to be living with an ever lowering moral compass.
A. Wrong seems more right than ever, and
B. Right is all to often portrayed as all to wrong.
IV. It cannot be right to be a “40 Year Old Virgin” in this day and age.
V. Things are certainly changing in the world, and not for the better Really.
A. Two thousand years ago this conversation took place, - “He *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 the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.” The woman *said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.”
B. Today the woman might well have said, “Sir, I perceive that You are a fruit cake.”
VI. When I look at survey’s like that, two thoughts come to my mind,
A. One - “I wonder what they are really looking for?”
B. Two - “I should be asking the question, ‘What should I be doing in light of this information??’”
VII. There are only two options in the world today,
A. ATTEMPT to run and hide from the depravity around me, OR
B. Learn from Christ, and engage THIS world with the good news of salvation.
VIII. And there is only one question that we must answer
A. “Which will I choose to do?”
B. Or perhaps, “What is my responsibility, in light of these facts?”
IX. We pick up the gospel of John in chapter 4, verse 1.
1. Christ gave us this admonition in Matthew 28, “Go therefore into all nations and make disciples....”
a. All nations, even Council Rock High School, even Falls Township, even wherever you may name.
b. If we learn anything from scripture, it is that sin is not new, even sin of the lowest form.
i. Sex outside of the context of marriage,
ii. Homosexuality,
iii. Lying, cheating, murder,
iv. It has been happening since the dawn of creation, and it is to that truth that Jesus said, “Go therefore into all nations and make disciples...”
2. So are we?
3. I offer this picture of me as representative of the so called, believer in Jesus Christ, the one to whom those words in Matthew were spoke, of the church today, even our church.
a. I offer that what Mark wrote, and what Jesus said, gave us instructions to share the good news of salvation, with the intent of leading this lost world to the cross of Jesus Christ.
b. And I ask, “How are we doing with being obedient to the command?”
4. Let me ask you this,
a. What are the barriers that claim keep us from obedience to God, in this aspect of life?
b. What are some reasons that we are tentative to share the truth?
5. If we visualize those reasons as bricks in a wall of living in obedience and sharing, what bricks need to be taken out, in order to allow us entrance into obedience?
6. Whatever they may be, I believe John chapter 4 is Christ’s demonstration that we need to “Let the wall’s fall down.” Sometimes We Need to Take a Chance (vs. 1-4)
4:1 When therefore the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were), 3 He left Judea, and departed again into Galilee. 4 And He had to pass through Samaria.
I. There is an interesting phrase in verse 4 that is probably all to easy to overlook.
A. In the King James, verse 4 says, “He had ... “NEED” to go through Samaria.
B. The NIV and my NASB say, “He had to pass through Samaria.”
II. As you can see on the map,
A. Jesus is in Judea, which is in the south.
B. Galilee is in the north, and
C. Right smack dab in the middle is Samaria.
III. The shortest route would be to go through Samaria, however, the shortest was not the most typical.
A. Judean Jew’s had an extremely strong dislike for the Samaritans,
B. This dislike was so strong that if a journey north was needed, the most typical journey was to go around Samaria, even though it would take and extra two or three days of travel.
C. And by the way, the Samaritans had no great love for their Judean brother’s either.
IV. In 722 B.C. the northern kingdom had fallen to Assyria
A. Most of Israel was deported, but not Samaria, they had thrown their lot in with their captors.
1. Assyria then brought in captives from other lands, who also brought with them their own gods.
2. Over time, through intermarriage, and man’s inner desire to find his own God, Samaria assimilated their worship of Jehovah with the worship of these new gods.
B. Samaria would also become one of the detractors when Nehemiah rebuilt the walls.
V. But Jesus “had to go through Samaria” but why?
A. The idea of “had to go” or “most needs to go” is not about a decision based on necessity, but rather
B. A decision based on personal choice.
VI. Jesus had to go, I believe, because even more than the women at the well, or even the people at Sychar, Jesus had to teach the disciples, and us that the good news of salvation is for all people that will respond, regardless of their past.
VII. And how important is that for the church today.
A. Yes, moral standards low,
B. Yes, today even those that claim to be Christian to often make very unchristian decisions.
C. I saw a survey this week in which 87% of the respondents said they believed in God, I suppose it would be fair to say what god.
VIII. But Jesus Christ had to go through Samaria to demonstrate that sometimes you have to be willing to leave your comfort zone, in order see the gospel go forth, even to those that you don’t really want to associate with.
IX. Sometimes you have to take a chance.
Sometimes You Have to Do The Unexpected (vs. 5-9)
5 So He *came to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph; 6 and Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.7 There *came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus *said to her, “Give Me a drink.” 8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. 9 The Samaritan woman therefore *said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)
I. Verses 5 to 9 actually outline several blocks that might keep us from sharing.
II. Verse 6 states that Christ was “wearied from His journey.”
A. Jesus was tired, he was worn out,
B. He was hungry, thirsty, and may have just wanted to rest for a little while.
C. Now we might say,
1. You know, I could invite someone to come to the Café, BUT
a. It happens on Saturday evening,
b. I’ve been working all week, and Saturday evening is my time to relax,
c. I just want a break from the world,
d. I am wearied.
2. I could invite someone to breakfast, and then invite them to attend church services, BUT
a. That would mean I’d have to get up earlier than usual.
b. I might miss prayer meeting,
c. I would lose an hour or more of sleep,
d. I am wearied,
D. Surely God will excuse us when we are wearied.
III. Jesus “had to go through Samaria” why; to show that overcoming bodily weariness is not an excuse for disobedience to God.
IV. Verse 7 says, “There came a women, and Jesus asked for a drink.”
A. Well that makes sense doesn’t it.
1. Jesus is sitting at the well, at about 12:00 noon or so.
2. He’s thirsty, and tired,
3. Here comes a women to draw water, so surely she wouldn’t mind giving him a drink of it, EXCEPT,
a. She was a Samaritan and Jesus was a Jew,
b. She was a women, and Jesus was a man
c. There was a huge wall between the woman and the man.
4. Tradition said a man could not talk to a women without her husband being present
5. Tradition said that at best a Samaritan and a Jew would only tolerate each other.
6. Tradition said there was a code for how one should conduct themselves and that code should not be broken.
B. But Jesus came and broke tradition into little bitty pieces.
V. So let me ask you, “What traditions have built up a wall between those need to hear the good news, and you ability to share it?”
A. I can still remember the first time I had a drum set as part of worship in a church service,
1. not here of course
2. No one here would have a problem with drums.
VI. But what about having rock and roll Christian music as an outreach; is that a problem from anyone?
VII. What about that person from work that invites you to their bachelor or bachelorette party?
A. Can you go, participate in conversations,
B. Without worrying about who might see you.
VIII. Don’t you just hate it when you drive in the parking lot, and the skateboard kids have left junk all over?
A. What if we did the unexpected and invited them to youth group,
B. Or offered to buy them a soda and hot dog a concert?
IX. What if we did the unexpected, and socialized with the socially unacceptable, or made friends with someone we might normally not want to be around?
X. What would it do for the testimony of the Church if we actually became interested enough in our community to interact with them BEFORE we try to share the good news with them?
XI. I was watching an interview with the daughter of Nancy Pelosi on Scarbourogh Country a few nights ago.
A. Ms. Pelosi had done an interview with several evangelical groups, in an attempt to find out what makes us tick, for an HBO special.
B. At one point she stated how surprised she was to find that some of us aren’t really as combative and strange as she had thought.
XII. Sometimes it might prove beneficial if we followed the example of Christ at the well, and did the unexpected.
Sometimes We Must Create a Thirst, BEFORE We Offer a Drink (vs. 10-15)
10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” 11 She *said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water? 12 “You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself, and his sons, and his cattle?” 13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again; 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” 15 The woman *said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty, nor come all the way here to draw.”
I. We are actually going to conclude with this section, and then finish tearing down the wall next Sunday.
II. But I want to draw your attention to verse 15 - “Sir, give me this water, so that I not be thirsty, nor come all the way here to draw.”
A. Now granted the women has not yet comprehended who Christ is, or what it is that He is really offering, but,
B. I believe that is the point.
1. Jesus didn’t just slam her about her sin,
a. You know, you have sinned against God’s law when you divorced all those men,
b. You know, you are still sinning against God’s law by living with that man, whom I might add, you are not married too.
2. Would it be true to tell her she was a sinner; in need of Christ; sure.
3. Did she probably know that her life was not exactly what it could be, or even should be; sure
4. Would it have done any good to tell her how terrible a person she was; probably not.
III. Do those kids at Council Rock really believe that unfettered sex is good, probably not, and neither do their parents.
IV. Do they really believe they are going to find what they need in cocaine, and other drugs; I doubt it.
V. But I also believe this; they are looking for something more than what they have seen so far.
VI. How can we create a thirst for Christ in those around us?
A. Well think about this?
1. How has knowing Christ affected your life?
2. What is different about you today, than it was when you didn’t know that you had eternal life?
3. How has knowing Jesus Christ quenched your own thirst?
B. How have you found what you were looking for, in Christ?
C. When you are tempted to look for God, among the god’s this world offers, what do you do.
VII. Maybe a good place to encourage others to ask for what you have, is to demonstrate that you have acquired it, and make known that they can too; even in the midst of their greatest need.
Conclusion:
I. If we want to see the walls between ourselves and those around us, we have to begin by tearing down the walls that divide us.
II. Begin by being willing to take a chance, step out of your safety box.
III. Begin by doing something unexpected, something that breaks with the tradition you have known.
IV. Begin by creating a thirst in others, even before you have offered a drink to quench theirs.
V. Some of us have grown all to comfortable living with a religion; what we really need to begin with is knowing who Christ is in our own lives first.
