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Every morning, giant double-decker busses drive through the streets of London. But they don’t just stay in London. They move back and forth across the entire country of England. Since the busses are constantly on the move, they are constantly being seen by millions of people. And in today’s world, anytime something is seen by millions of people, somebody’s going to find a way to turn it into a space for advertising. And that’s exactly what has happened to the busses. Basically, they have become rolling billboards that are seen by millions of people each day. Within the past few weeks, those advertisements have gotten a lot more attention than usual. They’ve gotten a lot more attention, because they have been displaying a religious message. A religious message designed to persuade people to believe what they believe. That sounds like a good evangelism program, doesn’t it? Well, it might be, except the news they’re spreading isn’t good news. You see, the word evangelism comes from the same Greek word we translate as the Gospel. The root word literally means messenger. Sometimes, as we saw when we were studying the 7 Churches of Asia in Revelation 1-3… sometimes it’s translated “angel”. Either way, the root word is a messenger. And when it’s put together in the form we translate as evangelism, it means bringing the message of the Gospel. Of course we know that gospel means good news. But the religious message that is being paraded around England on the side of those busses is far from good news. Here is what they say: “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy life.” A group of atheists including the well-known evolutionist Richard Dawkins got together and raised $150,000 in four days to pay for this widespread ad campaign. Many people are calling it Atheistic Evangelism. But what could be further from the truth? Is that a message of good news? First, when they say that there is probably no God, what does that mean? It means that they are openly admitting that there is a good chance that God really exists. Probably isn’t absolutely—it isn’t even close. It’s like a slightly beefed-up maybe. Which is just a little bit more than, “I don’t know.” So here’s what they’re really saying. They’re telling people that there is a good possibility that an infinitely powerful supreme being exists. So, since that possibility exists, the best thing you can do is ignore it. Ignore the possibility of an all-knowing, all-powerful, righteous and holy God. Close your eyes to that definite possibility and stick your head in the sand and enjoy your blindness. Oh, and by the way, even though you’re ignoring the distinct possibility that you’re ignoring a Being that could hold you accountable for disregarding His existence… don’t worry about it. Now, I’m not the smartest person in the world, but how can that be good news? How can that be evangelism? But on the other hand, we have good news to tell. The news that we have is truly good. We don’t want people to ignore their guilt before a holy God. The Bible says that God is evident in His creation. Deep inside, all people know that there is a God—even if they have suppressed that truth in their unrighteousness. It is undeniable that God exists. The news that we have to bring is that He not only exists, He loves. He loves enough to provide an escape from His wrath. He loves enough to provide a way of relationship with Him. He loves enough to send His Son to die as a sacrifice for our offenses to Him. To pay the tab that we have run up with our lives. And He loves enough for His Son to live again to give us the righteousness of God Himself—the price of entry into His presence. That is good news. No guesses. No probablys. No maybes. Only Truth. Gospel Truth. So what are we doing with that Truth? Putting it on signs and busses and billboards might be OK. But is that what Jesus taught us to do with it? You see those things are only good for one thing. They are only good if they lead to personal encounters. Not to say that God can’t do it—He can do anything. But His chosen method of evangelism isn’t a sticker on the side of a bus. It isn’t a fish sticker on a car. It isn’t a Christian t-shirt or hat. Those things are good in their place. But don’t ever mistake them for evangelism. Evangelism is personally passing the good news of Jesus Christ from your mouth to someone else’s ear. Plain and simple. That’s what Jesus did here in our passage this morning. Notice that this didn’t happen in church. It didn’t happen in the synagogue. It didn’t happen as He was preaching to the multitudes. This was a one-on-one encounter. Yes—we know it was a one-on-one encounter between a woman and God incarnate. She didn’t know it, but she was standing in the presence of God Himself in the flesh. The One who created her was sitting before her. But Jesus didn’t go there. He didn’t show His divinity to her. He didn’t miraculously reveal Himself to her. He didn’t show her His glory or His holiness. No miracles. No signs and wonders. No epiphanies or revelations. Only words. Only words that the Holy Spirit had the Apostle John record in his Gospel for us. Only words—but those words show us a pattern for evangelism that we should be using. We should be using this pattern, not because it works—we’re not pragmatists. But we should be using this pattern because Jesus gave it to us to use. There are six parts to this pattern and I would encourage you to write them down. The first part of the pattern of evangelism is—you must be intentional.
You must be intentional in your personal evangelism, just like Jesus was. Do you think that Jesus knew what He was doing when He got to that well? Of course He knew what He was doing. He had an appointment there. The woman didn’t know about the appointment, but Jesus did. Notice what verse 4 says. It says that Jesus must needs go through Samaria. Did that mean that was that the only way He could go? No—as a matter of fact, when good God-fearing Jews went from Judea north to Galilee, they went around Samaria. As I said last week, the Samaritans were hated by the Jews. And the feeling was mutual. They didn’t like each other. So, if a couple of days before, when Jesus was telling His disciples what His plan was… when He said they were going to leave their spot on the Jordan and head up to Galilee… they would have never imagined He was going to go through Samaria. In their minds Sychar was not on the way to Galilee. Even though it was the most direct route, it was not the way they needed to go. In fact, to them, it was a place they needed to avoid. But not to Jesus. Jesus—being God—knew of that particular woman. He knew she would be in that particular place at that particular time. And He knew that He needed to give her the gospel. We’re not God. We don’t know things like that—or do we? I know that when I leave here after the service this morning that there is a young Muslim man in the convenience store on the corner with a lot of questions. And you know someone like that too. The question is—do you intentionally plan to have encounters with them? That’s what Jesus did. No matter how apart from the normal routine it was. No matter how irregular it was. No matter how inconvenient it was. Jesus intentionally planned to be at that well when He knew she was going to be there. Jesus was intentional. Are you intentional in your personal evangelism? The first part of the pattern of evangelism is that you must be intentional. The second part is you must be determined.
You must be determined in your personal evangelism, just like Jesus was. Have you ever set out to witness to someone and it seems like there a thousand barriers that jump up in your way? Either they weren’t home… or the phone rang… or someone else walked in and interrupted… or whatever. Sometimes it seems like something is always going to get in the way. Well what happens when it does? Most of the time we quit. Most of the time we use that interruption as the excuse we were looking for in the first place. But the fact is that those things usually aren’t the biggest barrier we face, are they? The biggest barrier we face in witnessing is ourselves. It is uncomfortable to witness. It is difficult to step out of our comfortable routine. It is difficult to step out of comfortable, non-threatening conversations. It isn’t fun to think about the possibility of rejection. Surely Jesus didn’t have barriers like that to His evangelism, did He? Well, look at the Text. We talked about some of these last week. There was a social barrier. She was a woman and He was a man. She was a Samaritan and He was a Jew. She was a well-known sinner and He was Jesus. I’d say those were some pretty significant barriers. We know that Jesus is fully God. But we also know that He is fully human—now in His glorified body… but then, He was in a regular body just like yours and mine. And, being fully human, he experienced all the human barriers you and I do. He would have known what it was like to be uncomfortable breaking the social norms of the day. He would have known what it was like to walk into Sychar and have every eye in town on Him. He would have known what it was like to have this woman look at Him like He was crazy—asking the likes of her for water. He would have known how uncomfortable it is when she questioned His words and didn’t believe Him. Verse 27 says that even His own disciples “marveled” at what He was doing. That sounds good, but do you know what it means? It means that they were aghast—they were shocked—they were stunned at what He was doing. It was so out of the ordinary, they couldn’t believe it. But did that stop Him? No—Jesus was determined to present the Gospel to this woman. He refused to let any social or personal obstacle get in the way. He didn’t care what other people thought. He didn’t care how uncomfortable it was. He didn’t even care how she reacted to Him. No matter what barrier was attempting to prevent Jesus from presenting the Gospel to that woman… Jesus was determined to cross it. He didn’t just sit back and say, “Well it’s not really the right time.” He purposed in His heart to present the Gospel. So He let nothing get in the way and He did. Jesus was determined. Are you determined in your personal evangelism? The second part of the pattern of evangelism is you must be determined. The third part is you must be flexible.
You must be flexible in your personal evangelism, just like Jesus was. Remember last week when we compared Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus from chapter 3 and His encounter with the woman at the well here in chapter 4. You look at the difference in the way that Jesus dealt with each of them. I cannot deal with my Muslim friend the same way I deal with my Chinese Buddhist friends. And I can’t deal with either of them the same way I deal with someone who knows the content of the Gospel and has been raised around church and willingly chooses to reject it at every turn. We deal with atheists different than we deal with churchgoers who think they’re saved by their works. And, by the way, we deal with lost people who think their Christians in a totally different way. Jesus dealt with self-righteous Pharisees who thought they had nothing to worry about extremely harshly. He didn’t coddle them or try to persuade them. They had the content of the truth already. But they consciously blasphemed that truth in their pride. So Jesus blasted them. When the rich young ruler came to Jesus, how did Jesus deal with him? He told him to sell everything he had. Now, does selling all your possessions save you? No, only the grace of God through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ saves. So was Jesus giving him a false gospel? Of course not. He was digging down to the man’s heart. And when He dug down to the man’s heart, He showed him his god. And as long as the man’s god was money, there wasn’t any room for Jesus to be his God. Jesus dealt with each one of those differently than He dealt with Nicodemus. And He dealt with Nicodemus differently than He dealt with this woman. Gospel tracts and handouts are wonderful. They are good for door-to-door contact and visitation and outreach. But they are tremendously ineffective in presenting the Gospel. Because the Gospel has to be contextualized to each person in the context of an individual relationship. Jesus had the advantage of immediately knowing this woman’s heart. He knew how to most effectively communicate the gospel to her using the picture of living water. Just like He knew how to most effectively communicate the Gospel to Nicodemus using the picture of new birth. We don’t have that advantage. We have to build relationships with lost people and tailor our presentation to them as individuals. That’s what Jesus did. Jesus was flexible. Are you flexible in your personal evangelism? The third part of the pattern of evangelism is you must be flexible. The fourth part is you must be bold.
You must be bold in your personal evangelism. How bold was Jesus? Look at what He told her in verse 18. He told her that she was living in sin. Not only was she currently living in sin, she had a continual pattern of sin in her life. See, this is where so many of our so-called Gospel presentations fall short. We love to present the Savior, but we don’t want to show people why they need Him. I’m not talking about cursing the darkness kind of showing. I’m talking about telling people why Jesus had to die. He didn’t die to make you healthy, wealthy and prosperous. He didn’t die just to give you a nice place to go when you die. He didn’t die to make you quit feeling bad or to make your body feel better. Jesus died to atone for our sin. In His death, He absorbed the full and eternal wrath of an all-powerful holy God that you and I deserve. We deserve that wrath because even the best things we can possibly do in life are an offence to His holiness. Even our best works offend Him because they fall so far short of His holiness and the perfection He requires. Whether you are perfect in the world’s eyes like Nicodemus was… or whether you are absolutely the scum of the earth in the world’s eyes like this woman was. All stand equally offensive before the pure and holy God that created them. That is boldness. Boldness is not being afraid to show someone their need for a Savior. Not in a mean and destructive way—unless it’s needed. Jesus wasn’t exactly nice to the Pharisees when He showed them their sin. Jesus was bold. Are you bold in your personal evangelism? The fourth part of the pattern of evangelism is you must be bold. The fifth part is you must be focused.
You must be focused in your personal evangelism. But did you notice what the woman’s response to Jesus was in verse 19? Jesus showed her her sin and she didn’t say a word about it. She didn’t deny it or try to defend it. What did she do? She diverted. She changed the subject. She wanted to shift the conversation from her personal condition to a theological abstraction. “I don’t want to talk about me—I want to talk about something academic.” Have you ever noticed this happening? You finally sit down to talk about the Gospel with someone you’ve been working on for a while… and the next thing you know you’re talking about dinosaurs? Or you’re talking about the intricacies of the Trinity? Or, you end up in a discussion of once saved always saved or baptism or speaking in tongues… or anything else. Anything else except that person’s sin and their need for a Savior. That’s what the woman was doing when she got in a discussion about worship. I’ve had people break into a discussion about drums in church or using the King James only in the middle of a gospel conversation. Now tell me what concern is it of a lost person whether I preach from the King James or whether we have drums in church? That’s not going to matter one whit to their lost and dying soul as it is on its way to Hell. Just like it didn’t matter one little bit to the condition of that woman’s life about whether the Samaritans had the right kind of worship or the Jews did. So Jesus didn’t lose focus. Of course He knew the right answer. But then wasn’t the time to debate it. So He kept His focus. Do I think I know the right answer about dinosaurs? Yes. But am I going to debate that with a lost person? Not as long as it gets in the way of presenting the Gospel to them. If it is a planned avenue for conversation, OK—but I’m not going to let that become the focus or a barrier or a distraction. Just like Jesus didn’t let the worship discussion become the focus of their conversation. Jesus was focused. The fifth part of the pattern of evangelism is you must be focused. The sixth and final part is you must be clear.
You must be clear in your personal evangelism. Jesus was completely unambiguous in the way He presented the Gospel. Of course the Gospel wasn’t complete because He had yet to die and rise again. But He clearly showed the woman her need for a Savior. Then in verse 26, He revealed to her that He is the Savior she needed. He said, “I that speak unto thee am he.” He clearly told her that He is the Messiah, called Christ who will tell her all things. So many times our Gospel conversations end up being canned sales presentations. When I was in sales, one of the first things they taught us was our ABCs. The ABCs of sales are always be closing. In other words, everything that you do is to get the person to sign on the bottom line. So often we treat evangelism that way. No matter how you do it. No matter what you say. As long as they pray “the prayer” you’ve got them. And because of that kind of thinking, we have many people up and down these streets who are lost, but think they’re OK. How about we come up with another ABC? Instead of Always Be Closing—let’s say, Always Be Clear. Never lead someone to Christ who doesn’t know they’re a sinner. Never lead someone to Christ who thinks there are many different ways to heaven. Never lead someone to Christ who thinks He’s just a way to make them happier in their life they’re already living. Never lead someone to Christ who is only selfishly looking for a nice condo to live in when they die. Jesus demands to be our Lord. Not just our Savior. Make that clear. Jesus saves from sin. He gives us power to overcome sin in our lives once He’s saved us. And He expects us to use that power. Jesus doesn’t just give you a future residence, He give you a purpose and a job to do before you get there. Make it clear. People were clamoring to follow Jesus. They were lining up to follow Him. One of them said, “Hold on just a second—I’ve got to take care of some personal stuff first. It might take a little bit, but I want to follow you. I’ve got to take care of burying my father first.” What did Jesus say? Let the dead bury their dead. You follow me. There is a price to be paid for following Jesus. Salvation is free. You can’t buy it. You can’t earn it. It is free because Jesus paid the full price on the cross of Calvary. It’s free, but it costs you your entire life. That’s why we publicly testify of our salvation the way we do. We show the world that we are buried with Christ in baptism. We are dead. Old things are passed away. And by coming up out of the water, we show the world that we are risen to walk a new life with Him. All things are become new. If the Gospel you present isn’t clear, it isn’t the Gospel at all. Jesus was clear. You must be clear in your personal evangelism.
But the question this morning is, when was the last time you introduced someone to Jesus? When was the last time you had a personal evangelism encounter? Oh, but Jim, I don’t have the gift of evangelism. OK, so? Just because you’re not specially gifted to be an evangelist, doesn’t take away your mission. When Jesus saves you, He tells you to spread the good news of who He is. That is a command, it’s not an option. Yes, there are some He specially gifts in that area. But you don’t have to have the gift of evangelism to do what Jesus tells you to do. If you are not regularly seeking ways and building relationships with the express purpose of evangelism, you are out of God’s will for your life. It’s that simple. And when a Christian is out of the will of God, it’s time to repent. Repenting means turning away from what you know to be wrong and turning to Jesus and the way He would have you to go. Do you need to repent this morning? The Gospel has been presented this morning. Do you need to respond to His saving grace this morning? Do you need to respond to His call to ministry or His call to join this body of believers here at Brushfork Baptist Church this morning? However the Lord is leading you, respond to Him this morning.
