Review of “We are that Chruch”
• A Power filled church
• A Praying church … example of the power that comes through prayer.
- In a recent study on divorce & marriage Dr. John Gottman found:
~ 50% of 1st marriages end in divorce
~ 78% of 2nd marriages end in divorce
~ Less than 1% of marriages of couples that pray together consistently end in divorce
That’s the power of God … that’s the power of prayer! We are that church!
Are you doing your part to live in that power? Aer you praying?
~ Intro: Survivor Eva Hart remembers the night, April 15, 1912, on which the
Titanic plunged 12,000 feet to the Atlantic floor, some two hours and forty minutes after an iceberg tore a gash in the starboard side: "I saw all the horror of its sinking, and I heard, even more dreadful, the cries of drowning people."
Although 20 life-boats and rafts were launched, too few and only partly filled, most of the passengers ended up struggling in the icy seas while those in the boats waited a safe distance away.
Lifeboat No. 14, motivated by desperate concern/love, did row back to the scene after the unsinkable ship slipped from sight at 2:20 A.m. Alone, it chased cries in the darkness, seeking and saving a precious few, literally being fishers of men. But incredibly, no other boat joined it. Some were already overloaded, but in virtually every other boat, those already saved rowed their half-filled boats aimlessly in the night, listening to the cries of the lost. Each feared a crush of unknown swimmers would cling to their craft, eventually swamping it.…so only one boat played it’s proper role in this tale.
The number one thing we need to be willing to do is demonstrated in our text for today. Turn with me to John 4:1...
1. To be the church inbetween we must be motivated by love.(vrs 1-9)
• Motivated means to be driven to action.
• This results in being vulnerable by getting out of our comfort zone.
• Verse 4 says Jesus had to go…
- Why does John say he "had to" go this way?
- Well in much of John's writings the phrase "had to," or "must" referred to mission.
- So Jesus deliberately chose to go through Samaria because he had a specific mission in mind there.
- His going there because He was hooked.
- He was willing to go where no one else would because the people there needed to hear the Gospel.
• She was surprised that Jesus asked her for a drink of water, but why?
- It involved using this Samaritan woman's drinking utensil, and most Jews would consider this a means of defilement.
- Jesus was using this opportunity to build bridges to help this woman receive the Gospel.
- Jesus was willing to come out of his comfort zone to minister to a woman who was in desperate need of new life.
• Love requires us to come out of our comfort zones.
• Being inbetween like Jesus means meeting them where they're at.
- According to one count, the gospels record 132 contacts that Jesus had with people.
~ 6 were in the Temple
~ 4 in the synagogues
~ 122 were out with the people in the mainstream of life.
- Jesus met people in their comfort zone.
- Jesus talked to people in ways that they could understand and relate to.
- Jesus ministered to people in their area of need.
- Consider what Romans 15:20 says…
It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known...
- We need to be willing to go to places that are uncomfortable for us.
- We need to be willing to talk to people that make us uncomfortable.
- We need to be willing to do things that make us uncomfortable.
- We need to be willing to say things that make us uncomfortable.
- When we are willing to come out of our comfort zones and be used by the Holy Spirit, souls are saved, lives are changed, and eternity's are altered.
A young girl once consulted with her minister. "I cannot stick it out any longer. I am the only Christian in the factory where I work. I get nothing but taunts and sneers. It is more than I can stand. I am going to resign." "Will you tell me," asked the minister, "where lights are placed?" "What has that to do with it?" the young Christian asked him rather bluntly. "Never mind," the minister replied. "Answer my question: ‘Where are lights placed?’ " "I suppose in dark places," she replied. "Yes, and that is why you have been put in that factory where there is such spiritual darkness and where there is no other Christian to shine for the Lord." The young Christian realized for the first time the opportunity that was hers. She felt she could not fail God by allowing her light to go out. She went back to the factory with renewed determination to let her light shine in that dark corner. Before long, she was the means of leading nine other girls to the Light.
Let's come out of our comfort zones so that the Gospel made be heard through our tale to tell.
2. The church inbetween must remember it’s always more about them.(vrs 9-15)
• Jesus used the bridge at hand, the every day need for water.
- He got her involved by asking her for help.
- Jesus immediately uses the conversation as an opportunity to tell this woman about the gift of God.
~ The word that Jesus uses for gift here is the only time it is used in any of the four Gospels, and it stresses the freeness of the gift.
• Our story is the ‘bridge’ inbetween.
- Briefly share about your life.
- But remember it’s about their life, bringing hope, purpose, peace & joy.
~ Met people in their comfort zone.
~ Talk to them in ways that they could understand and relate to.
~ Help people in their area of need.
3. The church inbetween is honest about the fact that God is the answer.(vrs 16-26)
• Remember, we introduce Jesus as He is … to people as they are.
- Don’t try and change people to become presentable.
~ It’s God’s job to change people, not ours.
• This means we are ready to deal with distractions.
- Don’t ignore them.
- Focus on the facts of faith … not traditions or preferences.
- Song … Jesus is the Answer
• Jesus does not shy away from dealing with the hard issues in her life.
- He points out her area of need, doesn’t get distracted and provides a solution.
• People may not like to hear the truth so speak it in love.
- Often what people like and what they need are two different things.
- There is a tale told of that great English actor Macready. An eminent preacher once said to him: "I wish you would explain to me something." "Well, what is it? I don’t know that I can explain anything to a preacher."
"What is the reason for the difference between you and me? You are appearing before crowds night after night with fiction, and the crowds come wherever you go. I am preaching the essential and unchangeable truth, and I am not getting any crowd at all." Macready’s answer was this: "This is quite simple. I can tell you the difference between us. I present my fiction as though it were truth; you present your truth as though it were fiction.”
- Are we presenting the truth in a loving and uncompromising what that attracts others to Christ?
• Share about how life changes with God.
- We SHARE Christ by sharing of ourselves.
~ S: starting conversations
~ H: help by being in the right place
~ A: asking the right questions
~ R: remembering to listen
~ E: ending with Jesus
- There is no fantastic formula, it’s really just as simple as reaching out to people.
SHARE! That’s all we are asked to do as Christians. We are asked to SHARE, just start to SHARE a tale to tell.
4. The church inbetween brings people to see for themselves.(vrs 27-42)
• Bring them to Jesus, to the place you meet Him.
- Bring them to the community of committed, to church.
• She invited the town to come and see for themselves.
~ Conclusion:
