Without apology, I’m standing in front of you this morning to suggest you need to change. It’s not because there’s something about you that I don’t like. It may not even be anything I know about. But I’m telling you that you need to change, and so do I. Being a Christian is all about changing, remember? That’s how we got the theme “Forever Changed” this year.
Romans 12:2
…but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
2 Corinthians 3:18
And we…are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord…
Our goal in being here this morning is really about positive life change.
We’re in this series “Changed Hearts, Changed Lives” because we need to understand what changes lives. We need to understand how we can help that happen. We need to know where to start. And we need to understand what hinders us. Last time I checked we were in the business of changing lives. Last time I checked, our stated mission was to bring every person to completion in Christ.
These aren’t new or isolated ideas. They’re just well-illustrated by the story in Jn 4.
This is going to be one of those Sundays where you look back and say, “Remember that one Sermon that had 9 points?” because this one does. What will be more important is, do you remember those 9 points and did they do you any good? Let’s go! Here are 9 gentle reminders I find in John 4:
I. People Who Haven’t Accepted Jesus Don’t Picture Themselves Fitting In (vv6-9)
We start with Jesus, heading from the Judean countryside back north toward Galilee because of rising opposition from the Pharisees. John records “it was necessary” for Him to pass through Samaria. Normally a Jew would skip this region. It was worse than Hatfields and McCoys. Jews hated Samaritans. But, for a reason we’re not given, Jesus had to pass through Samaria. Maybe He had to because that was the only way He could reach the Samaritan people at that time!
John 4:6-9
Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?" (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)
Here was the deal: typically, a man wouldn’t address a woman in public like this. But 10X more surprising is that a Jew would speak with a Samaritan, or propose to drink from a Samaritan’s cup. When Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan, that name Samaritan tells a lot. She wouldn’t be accepted by a Jewish man, and she knew it.
That wasn’t a problem for Jesus. Race isn’t an issue. Social traditions are less important than salvation. Somehow, He had to help this woman past the barriers. The problem wasn’t that she wasn’t welcomed to Jesus. The problem was that she couldn’t picture herself being welcomed by Him.
How many people who haven’t accepted Jesus today have the same barrier? Just about all of them. Ask the average Joe who hasn’t accepted Jesus if he or she would fit in at a church. This woman’s story should help us remember that the average person needs to be helped across some barriers – not even because they really exist, but because they believe they do. At least, that’s the example that Jesus sets for us here.
II. People Who Haven’t Accepted Jesus Respond to Resourceful, Creative Ways to Talk About Spiritual Subjects (vv10-14)
A week and a half ago, I was privileged to attend the funeral of Roy Weece. Roy loved sharing his faith, and that memorial service made it obvious. Roy was good at finding creative ways to speak about Jesus in whatever situation he found himself. Getting on an elevator, when he was asked if he was going up, he’d say, “All the way!” and from there he’d talk about his hope of heaven. Approached at his home by 2 young men who said, “We’re Jehovah’s witnesses,” he said, “Well, how about that! So am I! I’ve been witnessing to and for Jehovah for years! Let’s go talk about it!” Don DeWelt was the same way. When asked, by anyone, “How are you?” Don would say, “Happy on my way to heaven!” From there, Don had an open door to tell people why.
We need to be creative. We need to read situations to see how we can speak about Jesus. I say that, because that’s what Jesus did, over something as simple as a drink of water.
John 4:10-14
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." "Sir," the woman said, "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 gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?" Jesus answered, "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."
From there, Jesus had someone ready to listen to the truth. Let’s be watching for ways we can create such moments.
III. People Who Haven’t Accepted Jesus are Seeking After Things That Don’t Satisfy (v15)
Now, if every drop of water in your life you had to get by hiking over to well and hauling it back on your shoulder, you’d be interested in a way to change that too. You can tell this woman would appreciate a new convenience in her life. Who wouldn’t? But her search for a happy life went way beyond Jacob’s well, as you see later on in the chapter.
John 4:15
The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water."
Even though they may not be searching in the right places, or searching at all for the right things, people are searching.
Ecclesiastes 3:11
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
Don’t be amazed at some of the extremes to which people go to try to figure out how to be happy or satisfied in life. We all have an inner longing for a relationship with our creator. He built that into us. People just need to figure out that’s what they’re craving. Who’s the person that you know that just needs for someone to care enough to take him aside, to take her aside and say, “You keep searching for something that will make you satisfied, and it keeps eluding you. It’s because the thing you’re really craving is a relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ.
IV. People Who Haven’t Accepted Jesus are Going to Live Like People Who Haven’t Accepted Jesus (vv16-18)
Starting in v16 we have a pretty good example of how to love someone and at the same time not compromise the truth. Jesus confronted this woman with the truth:
John 4:16-18
He told her, "Go, call your husband and come back." "I have no husband," she replied. Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true."
Ill - Our dog gets in the trash sometimes. Can you believe it? He actually will put his paws up on it and stick his nose in it! Now, why does he do that? Simple. He’s a dog. Dogs do that. His table manners are really bad too!
Why do we so often act like we’re in shock when we hear about people who haven’t accepted Jesus living like…people who haven’t yet accepted Jesus?
Here’s one of those things that, when you hear it, is going to make you glad you came today. It’s going to make the whole day worth it right here: You can’t expect non-Christian people to live like non-Christian people. From their perspective on life, why should they? We don’t need to attack and change their lifestyle for them. We need to help them see the truth, to change that perspective, so that the way they live will be a result of what they come to believe. We need to help them have a changed heart that will lead to a changed life. Jesus didn’t say to this woman, “You filthy sinner! You’ve ruined 5 marriages and now you’re living with some guy! You’re a mess! Get your life straightened out, and then I’ll bother with talking to you.” He simply told her that He had what she wasn’t finding in life, and He invited her to ask for it.
Let’s not be so shocked or taken back when people who aren’t Christ followers don’t act like people who are Christ followers. Rocket science, I know, but I’ve been to college and that’s what I’m here for! (ha!)
V. People Who Haven’t Accepted Jesus Likely Already “Have Religion” – Whether They Realize It Or Not (vv19-20)
Jacob’s well is right at the foot of Mt. Gerizim. Years before, the Samaritans had built a temple up there. They were “religious” people. In fact, during the Maccabean period before Jesus was born, the Samaritans had dedicated the temple to Zeus. So, there was this on-going controversy between the Jews and Samaritans that included religious disagreement. The Samaritans had it wrong, and I notice Jesus wasn’t afraid to explain to this woman, “You Samaritans worship what you do not know.”
John 4:19-20
"Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem."
Try to share Jesus with many people and you’ll come to recognize over time that most everyone has some form of religion they cling to, even if they don’t realize it or deny it. It may be as shallow as luck, or as mystical as Karma, or as simple as hoping there’s a heaven and they’re good enough for it, but they have some set of underlying beliefs that control the way they approach life.
I’ve met guys who wouldn’t claim to be religious, but they have a definite belief about what they think God is like, what they think is right and wrong, and what they think of the Church. Pretty structured for having no beliefs!
Paul knew this about the people of Athens. They had idols all over their city, including one that had been set up “To An Unknown God.” So Paul took that already familiar religious item and helped them hear about the God they were worshiping in ignorance.
We need to listen to people, to see where they’re at in life. Some simply need to have their efforts redirected to the truth. Some are already exercising far more faith than it takes to accept Jesus!
VI. People Who Haven’t Accepted Jesus Come to Belief in Jesus Because Someone Tells Them (vv28-30)
V27 finds the disciples returning from the city. John notes their surprise that Jesus is there talking with a Samaritan woman. But, wisely, they don’t ask Him “What are You doing?” I wonder…if Jesus hadn’t spoken with her that day, would she have ever heard the good news? If Jesus hadn’t created the slight breach of etiquette, would she have ever become a believer?
When you see someone using slightly off-the-wall ways to share Jesus with lost people, don’t bother asking, “Hey, why are you doing that!?”
Ill - XXXChurch was founded by Craig Gross, with help. They have a website at XXXchurch.com. The guys who run it are Christians, and they pioneered a ministry to reach people who are caught in pornography – not just who buy it and view it, but the people who are running the industry. For a few years now, they’ve rented a booth at pornography trade shows and spent the days passing out Bibles and extending hope to the actors, producers, and sellers of smut – people who are definitely in need of the living water from Jesus, and who are searching for something in places that won’t satisfy them. Go ahead and criticize them, criticize their methods, but please, please, don’t bother asking, “Why are they doing that?” And before you say much else, ask yourself what you’ve done to reach out to people caught in the pornography industry.
John 4:28-30
Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" They came out of the town and made their way toward him.
She heard from Jesus Himself. The people in town heard from her. What do they all have in common? They all heard about Jesus from someone. People who haven’t accepted Jesus who change come to belief in Jesus because someone tells them.
VII. People Who Are Ready To Seek Jesus Are Often in Places We Wouldn’t Look (v35)
Remember, the disciples have been in town on a mission: lunch! Have you ever had days where what you eat seems to be the focus of your day? That was the focus of the trip into Sychar, so when they return, they’re urging Jesus to eat. They’ve been traveling, and they want to take good care of the Master. “Jesus, Your Chicken wrap’s gonna get cold! You going to eat?” “No thanks, guys! I have other food (Peter: “So, can I have Your fries?”) Fine. I’m doing God’s will. That’s more important to Me than eating. I care more about these people who are about to become believers than I care about my growling stomach.”
John 4:35
Do you not say, ’Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.
We can only assume, that at this point, the people who are making their way to Jesus are within eyeshot, walking toward Him. The disciples see a bunch of Samaritans who just sold them lunch. Jesus sees a bunch of souls who are very near to accepting life from Him. Let’s not be down on the disciples. What would Jesus say to you and me as we look around Joplin?; as we see schools and workplaces and concerts and marketplaces full of people? I think He would say the same thing He said before, “Open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest!”
VIII. People Who Haven’t Accepted Jesus Are Reached By Cooperative Efforts (v36-38)
The next verses are a reminder to people involved in helping people meet Jesus:
John 4:36-38
Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying ’One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor."
Helping people into a relationship with Jesus is a cooperative project. You want Church to be a joyful place? You want it to be fun? How can we get there? I believe we’ll have the greatest joy at VHCC when we work together to see people coming to accept Jesus! What would be more fun? Rejoice together! And the greatest reason we can have to rejoice together is that our effort together hasn’t been in vain, that it hasn’t been just focused on pleasing ourselves, but instead that it has been everyone putting their efforts together to help people meet Jesus. Unless that’s where we’re at, I don’t see how this can be a really joyful place. If you haven’t explored what it is you’re able to do as a part of the team, it’s time to give that some serious thought. OK, last point…
IX. People Who Accept Jesus Will Need To Grow More as They “Hear It For Themselves” (vv40-42)
Picture all these people coming out to meet Jesus. We don’t read about any miracles here, except for knowing about the Samaritan woman’s marital life. So, this group of people comes to see Jesus for themselves. After they arrive, we get…
John 4:40-42
So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers. 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."
Once a person becomes a believer, he grows. That’s how it works. We who have been Christ followers for years need to allow for that. No one becomes a follower of Christ and has his act all together on the first day. After someone comes to Jesus, that person needs to grow. He needs to “hear for himself,” spend time in God’s word, getting to know Jesus, spending time talking with Him. That’s how it’s supposed to work. If your faith isn’t your own, it’s time that you stop riding piggy back and start believing because you’ve heard for yourself. That’s how it works.
Conclusion:
Darla, Carrie’s foster sister, is working right now with a couple of strippers in Las Vegas, helping them to meet Jesus. Yes, you heard right. One of our churches there that has had tremendous growth is reaching people for Jesus right in the middle of Sin City. So, here’s this girl - Gina. She makes her living in one of the ugliest, most demeaning ways you can imagine. And Darla takes her aside and tells her about Jesus. She agrees to speak with Darla’s husband, the minister there. He treats her like a person and shows her hope. She says, for the first time, someone actually spoke to her like she was worth something. And now, she has a glimmer of hope. Now she sees that she’s worth something because Jesus loved her and died for her even before she ever heard of Him. For her whole life she has been thirsty for what she really needs, and for the first time, she’s starting to figure out what it is. Why? Because someone went outside the normal setting, created the opportunity, and told someone about Jesus.
This story of a Samaritan woman can be a great reminder for anyone today. My hope is especially that it reminds you who haven’t yielded to Jesus that He’s waiting for you to do that now.
