GPS – “God’s Plan for Sharing”
John 4:1-42
* GPS! Most of us are familiar with these initials. In our modern day world, many in this room have a GPS in their automobile. I “may” look into one now that it is possible to have a “man’s” voice giving directions. ‘Nuff said!
* Think about the logic of this type of GPS system. From high above the earth, a satellite sees where you are and where you desire to go, then the system uses its knowledge of the roadways to chart your course for a successful trip. A few weeks ago a young lady with whom I was talking asked me for the zip code of our facilities because her GPS required a zip code. The GPS’s task is to show you the way to get to where you desire to go. (NAMB Clip)
* As I understand it, several years ago our SBC President Dr. Frank Paige introduced the concept of GPS – God’s plan for sharing in 2006. GPS is now a Biblically based thrust of NAMB which carries the impetus of everyone in North America hearing the gospel and having an opportunity to receive Jesus by 2020! In this time we will be called to four areas, “Prayer, Engaging, Sowing, and Harvesting.” (Let me add this word: being one of the leaders in the SBC, your Alabama State Board of Missions is once again leading the way with a plan to assist us in this process. The plan for the first two years of this 10 year process is called “Across Alabama.”) In the coming years we will join our hearts and hands together to reach our culture for Christ. And in doing so, we share in the Kingdom work. This is not a small or easy task. It will require us not to simply participate but commit, commit to our Lord Jesus and His Kingdom’s work in ways we may have never done.
* We will be called to prayer. Already we have our 24 hour prayer chain every Thursday. Since we have been praying, we have seen God begin working because when God’s people pray, God responds. Lee Thomas told us that no one gets saved unless someone prays for them.
* We will be called to engage our community. Last Sunday evening was all about discovering ways we can engage our community. In the days ahead we will be called on to become an “External Church” and personally, I will be asking every true believer to be involved at some level.
* We will be called to sow the seeds of the gospel. We will do this in several ways. One way will be with scripture distribution door to door. We will have other missional type of projects which will epitomize Christ to our city.
* Finally, we must be ready to bring in the harvest. Get ready for company! And know that some of the guest will become fellow sojourners in this Christian life. This is God’s plan for sharing and is found demonstrated and repeated all through the New Testament.
* Today we have read the familiar story commonly known as the “Woman at the Well.” Yet, in this narrative we can discover God plan for us.
GPS – “God’s Plan for Sharing” – PG 2
1. God’s Plan Demonstrated – When I lived on the Gulf Coast from time to time I would attend a “show” at the Coast Coliseum.” The vender displays were of great appeal to me. I can still remember seeing the man use the knives (of which I now own 3 sets) to slice everything from lettuce to paper to plastic. It made me want to have the knives. Seeing Jesus’ actions in this story, demonstrates how the plan of God works. Follow along;
a. The first thing we see Jesus doing is to “Embrace the Unwanted”- In verse 3 we read that Jesus left Judea (headed north) to Galilee. Directly between Judea and Galilee is this land called Samaria. As most knows, any self-respecting Jew would take an eastern route, cross over Jordan through the countries of Perea & Decapolis so they would never set foot on Samaria’s soil. This would have been going on the “other side of the tracks.” In Acts 1:8, Samaria is represented by those places we don’t want to go. There, we’ll find people who are different from us and don’t understand the concept of God’s unfailing love. Verse 4 tells us that Jesus “had” to travel through, the KJV reads that He ‘must needs’ to go through, and the NKJV says, “He needed to go through there.” Jesus laid aside the human prejudice & replaced it with God’s priority. It is the “every believer sharing, every person hearing principle.” He embraced the unwanted.
b. The next thing He did was to “Engage the Unlikely” - The woman was quite likely surprised to see a Jewish man where Jesus was, but she was shocked that He would speak to her. The feelings between the Jews and Samaritans are well known, yet here was this Jewish man talking with her. Furthermore, she came to get some water and He ASKED HER for a DRINK. It requires no imagination to submit that, leaving home for her daily chores, this woman had no thought of an encounter with a man of Jewish descent, let alone the Messiah. In every way we can name, the Lord Christ demonstrated that God’s love and salvation is meant for every boy and girl, man and woman. From His birth in Bethlehem until today, the story line reveals the most unlikely people are the ones God chooses. You might say that the reason Jesus had to go through Samaria was this lady.
c. Having “Embraced” Samaritans by going there and “Engaging this woman in a simple conversation, we watch Him “Expose the Unsuspecting.” While we might not care for this terminology, this is exactly what Jesus did. As He began to probe into the life of this woman, He (He always does) revealed the truth of her life. He helped her come to grips with the sin in her life. He exposed her sinful and selfish lifestyle and began to expose her to the truth of Heaven. He pointed her to the Father & gave her the words of life about the Father. I suggest to you that He simple stripped away the façade behind which she had been hiding & allowed the Holy Spirit to do His work in her heart. What a great demonstration!
GPS – “God’s Plan for Sharing” – PG 3
2. God’s Plan Delegated – In the context of this story, Jesus had just identified Himself when the disciples return from the grocery store. It appears they didn’t totally understand what Jesus was doing, but generally, they rarely understood the working of Christ. Yet, Christ took this as a teaching time and here is what He taught them and us;
a. This is an Essential Task. – After they offered Jesus some of the food they procured from the grocery store, Jesus said, “What you saw me doing is food for my soul and drink for my thirst.” Please do not miss this truth; Jesus said, “Do not say there are still 4 month to the harvest.” In good ole Alabama language our Lord is saying, “Don’t put it off”, “Don’t wait until you go to Manila, Mexico, or Mississippi, to be about the Father’s business here in your Jerusalem. It is essential that you get busy today.” People’s lives and souls are hanging in the balance. You and I are God’s plan “A” and He has no plan “B”. In Romans 10, Paul asks, “How can they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe without hearing about Him? And how can they hear without someone to tell them?” Many in this room will say, “Everybody’s heard, everybody knows, and it just their fault.” Really. Perhaps you are right (I don’t think so), but perhaps you are right that everybody has heard about Jesus and the life He offers. How many of us came to Christ the very first time we heard about His offer of grace? It is essential that we never stop telling.
b. This is an Exciting Task. – Watch the emotion of our Lord, “Open your eyes and look at the fields, for they are ready for harvest. The reaper is already receiving pay & gathering fruit for eternal life, so the sower & reaper can REJOICE TOGETHER!!” We get to rejoice or better stated, “Have a Party!” Have you ever been a part in leading someone to faith? You may not have prayed the sinner’s prayer with them but you may have made the initial contact, given the first invitation, or answered their first question. If you have ever had a part in someone’s life-changed you were giddy. I say this because every time someone makes a decision for Christ, those who had a part in it are frequently overcome with emotion. It is exciting to be a part of this task & to think Jesus delegated this u; as His own. By the way;
c. It is an “Everybody” Task. – The text says that we rejoice together because one does the sowing while another reaps (Paul planted, Apollos watered). It is a repeated theme throughout the New Testament; every believer has a part in building the Kingdom. It is His Kingdom and Church and yes, He is building it, but for whatever reason, He chose you and I to be His earthly vehicle to bring a lost world to Him! This means that you can simply share what Jesus had done in your life, how He forgave and change you, & that He’s there with you every day. To walk around sensing God’s presence in us each & every day, reminds us that People truly need Him & His grace.
GPS – “God’s Plan for Sharing” – PG 4
3. God’s Plan Deployed – To deploy something is to put it in motion. It’s wonderful to see God’s plan demonstrated and even delegated, but in His grace, God tells us in this passage how it is to be deployed! The Woman who brought the pot to the well left her pot (immediately) and went into town. It is more than a little interesting to note that every time someone followed Christ in the Bible they felt led to “leave something to follow.” While that is another message for another time, the woman shows us how to deploy God’s plan where we live;
a. Going into town she gives “A Clear Invitation” – She doesn’t begin talking about their discussion on worship or that the man was a Jew, her words were simply “Come and See this man who told me everything I have ever done.” I submit that we tend to make spiritual things too complicated when all we may need to do is tell someone what Jesus has done for us. That is God’s best plan. We don‘t have to be theologians or apologists to witness to God’s grace. It may be too bad we cannot hear the inflexion in her voice because I submit there were many who knew her who probably wanted to tell her about her life. They had watched her move from man to man, mistake to mistake, & failed relationship to failed relationship; but the way she spoke about Jesus was entirely different. While she may have hidden some relationships, not this one. She was inviting all to see.
b. An authentic and clear invitation brought out “A Curious Delegation”– The very people who knew her the best responded to her words. Why? No one knows for sure. I’ll suggest that it had to do with her countenance, the passion of her words, and the urgency of her body language. Candidly she was giving an invitation which piqued everyone’s interest, they simply came to see. In some of my personal moments I wonder why so few ‘come’ to see what Jesus is all about? And every time I give this truth some thought, I come back to the realization that it is because of me. Were I the reflection of His that I needed to be, would others see Him? If I spoke the words that He wanted me to speak, would others hear Him? If I walked the way He wanted me to walk, would others get a clear view of Him and out of curiosity, would they “Come and see?” When people come and see Jesus, things happen.
c. When people see Jesus, what comes naturally is “A Certain Salvation” – In verses 39-43 we find the payoff of Jesus’ trip through Samaria. You remember Samaria, it’s the place which no Jew would dare go and yet, Jesus went there. “Many of the Samaritans BELIEVED and DISCOVERED” that Jesus is the Savior of the world. Have we discovered this truth, that Jesus is the Savior of the world? If we have what have we done about it? What are we willing to do about it? God’s Plan for Sharing is this “Each one, reach one who reaches who reaches one until. GPS-God’s plan!!
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