Who is my Mission?
Made for Mission: Week 4
February 2nd, 2020
Scripture: John 4
Good morning everybody. We are in week 4 of our Made for Mission series. If you’re here for the first time or missed some of the past three weeks, I’d encourage you to listen to the podcast and catch up, but for now let’s do a quick review to get us all on the same page.
Week 1 we said that we are all called. If you are a follower of Jesus then he has put you on the planet for a reason. He’s strategically placed you where you live, where you work and where you play to join him in his mission.
So week 2 we asked the question—“What’s my mission?” In a nutshell, your mission is Jesus’ mission. It’s to grow in relationship with God and to introduce him to others.
Week 3 we unpacked how you actually introduce Him. We answered the question, “What’s my Message?” We learned that it’s simply sharing with others how the goodness of God has intersected and changed your life.”
Today we are answering the question, “Who is my mission?”
You may be thinking- I get it that I’m supposed to share how God’s goodness has intersected with my life, but do I just walk up to random people and start talking?
Another question you may be thinking is-
If God has uniquely placed me in some people’s lives to share about Him how do I practically go about identifying that?
Let me say- I get it. It’s very awkward at times to talk about our faith. We are trained to not discuss religion and politics with people we don’t know, and it can even cause fights with people we do know and love.
I get the hesitation.
What we are going to talk about is still very applicable to you because as you study the life of Jesus you need to know that today’s topic is a MAJOR theme in his life.
I’m going to say something very strong right now, but everyone needs to accept this as fact-
It’s impossible to truly be a follower of Jesus and ignore what we’re talking about today.
I’m going to set up a comparison this morning from the bible.
In John 3, Jesus has a conversation with a very religious man named Nicodemus. We’re not going to study that conversation today except to say that the author John very deliberately placed it before the scene we are going to read.
Jesus has a spiritual conversation with someone you’d expect to have it all figured out (think like a pastor of a church or a presbyter in a denomination- religious upper crust)
Jesus still ends up correcting some basic beliefs that Nicodemus was holding.
I mentioned this conversation this morning to say this-
Just because someone appears to be a “super Christian” doesn’t mean that they are not still struggling with questions about their faith.
A Christian band named Sidewalk Prophets has a line in one of their songs that sums this up-
“I’m the pastor at your church
For all these years you’ve listened to my words
You think I know all the answers
But I’ve got doubts and questions too
Behind this smile I’m really just like you”
Jesus didn’t assume Nicodemus had it all together because of his title and position, but still spent time teaching and talking with him.
Now the other extreme- we go from religious leader to lost woman.
Jesus leaves there after having a high level discussion with one of the most learned religious men of his time, and travels to the complete other side of the tracks where no good Hebrew would ever go, and speaks to a woman that no good Hebrew would ever speak to.
Jesus is setting an example for us. Jesus wasn’t sent to just those who look the most healthy, but to those dying of this sickness called sin.
What our Lord and our example is showing us here is that no one is off limits when talking about Jesus.
Rich, poor, white, black, Hispanic or native, Asian and even German’s and Norwegians get to hear about God’s love for them.
Read John 4:1-6
Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.
Now he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.
A little Geography to help us to understand this passage. We read that he left Judea to go to Galilee. Now most Jews would actually make this trip longer then they would have to by intentionally missing all of Samaria.
(MAP)
The Jewish people despised the Samaritans because they saw them as sell outs.
2 reasons- first- They were the people that intermarried with the people of the land so that they were only half-Jewish.
Second- when the Hebrews started returning to the promised land from Babylon, it was the ancestors of these Samaritans that resisted their return.
There was a lot of bad blood there. So much so that a “Good” Hebrew would never enter their territory and they would travel huge distances to avoid it.
Jesus actually went out of his way to go through Samaria.
That’s where we pick up the story
Read John 4:7-14
When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (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.)
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? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
As we seek to answer the question this morning of “Who’s my mission?”, let’s look at how the people in this story saw this woman
How the woman saw herself- Samaritan woman. So ashamed of her past she came to the well when no one else was around, and during the hottest part of the day. Rejected by multiple men, and by her society
How the disciples Saw her –wait where are they in this scene?
They probably passed her by on the way.
Never talk to her when they return.
She isn’t worthy of their attention
Now let’s see how Jesus saw her.
-1) She was worth it. Worth going out of his way to meet her. Worth crossing social barriers. Worth risking reputation. Worth risking his life by going into enemy territory for one woman. Worth dying on the cross to save her.
2) Jesus also saw one more thing in her- She was persistent. You might say, where do you see her persistent? Check it out.
Read John 4: 15-18
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.”
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.”
When we did the Gospel of John Series last year, I talked at length about this event.
I’ve heard at least a dozen sermons focusing on the woman’s sinfulness and shame.
When we read this section of scripture, we usually will focus on the woman. I want to make you aware of some very specific cultural facts that existed in her world.
In the first century Middle Eastern culture it was a man-centered world. Women were seen as second-class citizens and men had all the power.
In Samaria, you have two cultures at work- that of a hybrid between Judaism and Assyrian belief systems and cultures.
In both of these cultures, It was completely acceptable for a man to have several premarital sexual relationships, and multiple wives at the same time.
If a husband wanted to divorce his wife all he had to do was give her a certificate and kick her to the curb.
Couple that with the fact most marriages were arranged, and you start to see some problems here. These marriages were typically arranged to benefit the father, not the daughters- in the ancient near east daughters were commodities not necessarily loved members of the household.
Once a woman was divorced, she would typically return to her father’s house, where she would be arranged to marry someone else.
I bring this cultural context into this situation to say this
This isn’t necessarily a woman that jumps around from guy to guy by her choices—this is probably a woman who has been used and abused over and over by multiple men.
She knows what it’s like to feel pain and loss. She probably is carrying some bitterness and anger along with her shame. The cloud of her being a failure as a wife to several men is crushing her spirit.
She has to be asking the question- what is so wrong with me that men treat me like this?
Yet, here she is.
She’s not given up.
She’s still going.
She’s still day after day going out to the well to get the water.
Maybe everyone else missed something that Jesus saw because he knew what was inside her. This becomes obvious later in the story. Check out the best part.
Read John 4:39-42
Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 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.”
The very next verse says that Jesus left for Galilee after two days. So there is an impromptu spiritual revival among the Samaritans that goes on for two days.
How does it happen?
The very woman that people had cast aside comes back into a village of people that had rejected her and convinces them to meet her new friend and Savior Jesus.
She pleaded with people to come meet the man who told her everything she’d ever done.
She wouldn’t take no for an answer. How many times do you think she went back into town over those two days to convince them again to meet Jesus?
She is one special lady and one of the most surprising and dynamic leaders in the whole New Testament.
A quick but important point, even if it is a bit of a rabbit trail from the main points of this sermon. I really feel someone needs to hear this point today-
As we look at everything this woman has gone through, Let me ask you something- how many people have had hardship in their lives?
We often ask why when things aren’t going our way. We think God has abandoned us, and that He doesn’t love us. We think we are beyond His ability to forgive and that we have blown it in life so all we can look forward to is dying and going to heaven someday.
For years this woman has received only rejection, but in many ways, it has strengthened her resolve. Even though this man she is with now would not put a ring on her finger, she is out in the heat of the day facing the scorn of her town to get water for him.
That’s tenacity.
That’s perseverance. She didn’t learn that except by going through some pretty awful things.
She will now use that perseverance to win people to Jesus.
I’m going to read a couple of verses from the book of James. Most of us know it in the NIV which says this-
James 1:2-5 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. NIV
That’s good- but now listen to it in the Living Bible translation-
James 1:2-4 Dear brothers, is your life full of difficulties and temptations? Then be happy, 3 for when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, and don't try to squirm out of your problems. For when your patience is finally in full bloom, then you will be ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete.
This woman has learned to say, “My life might stink right now, and maybe it’s my fault, but I’m not going to quit while God still gives me breath”
God used this woman’s pain to become part of a process that made her the ideal witness AND leader of the 1st church of Samaria.
NO ONE IS BEYOND GOD’S ABILITY TO FORGIVE, AND NO ONE IS BEYOND GOD’S ABILITY TO USE.
Instead of being mad at God for bad times, ask Him- what are you trying to teach me? Is this situation being allowed to mold me into a better future?
That’s a personal application we can get from this woman’s life, but let’s look at how we apply it to other people-
The disciples most likely passed by without her on the way into town without ever offering to help or even looking at her.
They probably crossed to the other side of the street when she passed them so they wouldn’t’ have to interact with her.
It never crossed their minds to share Jesus with her.
The one person who could fix everything in her life was being withheld because of fear, doubt, unbelief, and if I can be so bold- religious pride.
Religious pride says- She is beneath me, and I’m not wasting my time.
You have no idea what is inside people. You have no idea how God can use them if someone will be obedient and introduce Jesus to them.
Who is my Mission? Everybody!
The lesson we learn from Jesus to the Samaritan woman is….
“God has strategically placed you where you’re at to reach people that no one else can”
Notice that this woman goes back to the town where she was from.
This same woman who made her life harder to avoid talking to everyone decides that these people are more important than her comfort.
She went back and proclaimed Jesus to those who mocked her
Those who avoided her
Those who shunned her
Those who talked behind her back, and even insulted her to her face
EVERYONE
Who is my mission?
There is a Greek word that is mentioned throughout the New Testament that helps us answer the question. It’s the word “Oikos.” It was the ancient Greek equivalent of a household, house, or family. An average Oikos is usually made up of about 8-15 people.
What does that mean for us?
In Luke 8, the demon possessed man was told to return to his household (oikos) and described the great things done for him
In Luke 19, Zacchaeus was told salvation had come to his household (oikos)
In John 4, the centurion's whole household (oikos) was saved following the healing of his son
In Acts 10, Cornelius was a righteous man who feared God with all his household.(oikos)
In Acts 16, the Philippian Jailer has his entire household (oikos) baptized in the middle of the night.
What does that look like for us? God has intentionally and strategically placed you in your family, friendships, neighborhood and workplace to reach out to those you are already doing life with.
I put an insert in the bulletins this week. Pull that out.
One easy way to think about this word is the acronym FRANCE. Who are your :
Friends
Relatives
Acquaintances
Neighbors
Co-Workers/Classmates
Eyes open for everyone else.
That’s the reason for the insert- put it on the fridge, or use it during your prayer time as a tool to remind you to pray for people in all those categories.
By the way, we have 24 members in this church. If we all reached out to these 15 people, and they reached out to another 15 people, it would only take this process three times to reach everyone in the county.
I want to end this morning by sharing something that happened to me at work. As most of you know, I work in an emergency room. This week, we had a young adult in cardiac arrest that we were not able to revive. This person was a member of the Ho-Chunk tribe, and part of the culture in that tribe is that everyone in the extended family all came to the hospital. The elder of his family requested a chaplain to come and minister to the family.
It was late at night and finding a pastor willing to come was a very long shot.
Generally, I try to avoid going from paramedic to minister. It sounds very counterintuitive that a pastor would do that, but let me explain.
As a paramedic, or really anyone in healthcare, I maintain a wall of mental and emotional distance from patient’s so I can look at them clinically. That wall I have up makes me very good at emergency and critical care medicine. It helps me stay calm, scientific, and rational during high stress situations.
That wall I have up is easy to drop, but not so easy to put back up right away. That wall is there because I can’t go from crying with a family in one room and step into the next room and rationally deal with someone else’s life altering situation.
In this case, I received a direct order from the Holy Spirit- as clear as I’ve ever heard Him speak to me that I was to offer my services as a pastor, and God gave me this verse-
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”
What followed was an incredible time of ministry to people that normally wouldn’t give a white Christian minister the time of day. Some of them- they are hard men and woman who live hard lives.
They would never listen to a Gospel presentation.
But because their culture demands that they respect and listen to their elders, this old man proclaimed in a very native way, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. All I did is by my presence and nodding with him add weight to his words. He then asked me to pray and lead them in the salvation message and prayer.
I leave you with this truth-
No one, and I mean no one is outside of God’s grace, if we are only willing to be used by God.
It’s not about our comfort, it’s about His Kingdom, and His plan of salvation for everyone we come into contact with.
Let’s pray.
