How to Help People Find Eternal Life as Jesus Did – John 4:7-39
Statistics:George Barna reports some amazing facts. Most Americans, including profession Christians, believe that people are inherently good and that there primary purpose is to enjoy life as much as possible.
a). 38% believe that it doesn’t matter what religious faith you follow because they all teach the same lessons.
b). 44% believed that all people will experience the same outcome after death, regardless of their religious beliefs.
c). 55% believed that if a person is generally good or does enough good things for others during their life, they will earn a place in heaven.
Quote:It is easy to determine when something is aflame. It ignites other material. Any fire that does not spread will eventually go out. A church without evangelism is a contradiction in terms, just as a fire that does not burn is a contradiction.
Christian Theology in Plain Language, p. 162.
1. APPROACH PEOPLE TACTFULLY. (John 4:7) When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” Even though Jesus knew that this woman was from a hated mixed race and she was living in sin with a man who was not her husband, the Lord showed her love. Tact is the skill to deal with people in a skillful manner. A tactful person has a delicate perception of the right thing to say or do without offending. The most tactful people have acquired the art and science of dealing with difficult situations and people in a calm, poised and respectful way. Jesus shows us that the gospel is for everyone no matter what his or her social position, background or past sins. The Lord gives us a great example of how we should be prepared to share the gospel at any time and in any place with tactful diplomacy. Tact shows us how to cross all barriers to share the gospel. Is it little wonder why most people who come to Christ do so as a result of the invitation of someone they respect and trust?
2. AROUSE A DEEP INTEREST. (John 4:10) 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.” Jesus shows us how to stir up people’s motivation to learn more about spiritual matters. People who consistently bring others to faith in Christ have learned how to evoke some kind of feeling or positive response for the gospel. Teachers tell that it is often not what we say but how we say it that determines the effective of our communication. Jesus told the woman that she could get living water that would quench all of her emotional, physical and spiritual thirst forever. This intrigue the woman so much that she wanted to know about this living water. Only Jesus is able to satisfy the thirsty soul and fill the longing heart with what is good. Ask the Lord to give you greater skill in arousing people’s interest for spiritual solutions to their problems.
3. CREATE AN INTENSE DESIRE. (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.” Many physical desires parallel our spiritual needs. Jesus knew just how to use this analogy to put salt on the woman’s mind so she earnestly begged for the living water. The woman did not even understand all that the living water consisted of but she knew she needed it in the worst way. People do not have to understand everything about salvation as long as they have a hunger in their heart for a solution to one of their needs.
4. PRODUCE A SENSE OF CONVICTION. (John 4:16,17) Jesus told her, “Go, call your husband and come back. I have no husband, she replied.” The Lord Jesus knew exactly how to use the word of God to allow the Spirit of God to bring conviction of sin to the woman without turning her off. To convict is to bring one to a realization of guilt deep within one’s conscience. Ask the Lord to use you and the word of God to bring to bear the truth upon the conscience of the person you are speaking to. This may take time, but with patient and persistent prayer you will see how the Spirit of God creates conviction in the most calloused mind.
5. CORRECT A MISUNDERSTANDING. Jesus said, “You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has not come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:22-24) The word of God is profitable for reproof and correction. To correct means to remove errors and to help a person to change from wrong to what is right. Nobody likes living a lie. God has put a conscience in each of us but it needs to be awakened (Romans 2) Jesus stated the truth about worship so that the Samaritan woman could find true fellowship, forgiveness and communion with God by defining true worship. The highest priority should be to bring true worshipers to the Father. We find our greatest fulfillment when we praise God and fulfill the chief purpose of man. (Westminster confession: The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever)
6. REVEAL JESUS AS LORD AND SAVIOR. (John 4:25,26) The woman said, “I know that Messiah (called Christ) is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us. Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am he.” Present Christ as the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Jesus Christ. (John 14:6) Christ is our sin bearer. Only Jesus is able to provide us with a substitutionary payment for the forgiveness of sins. Christ offers everyone eternal life if they will believe, trust and receive Him as their personal Savior and Lord. Jesus said, “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” (John 1:12,13)
Illustration:In the villages of Northern India a missionary was preaching in a bazaar. As he closed, a Muslim gentleman came up and said, "You must admit we have one thing you have not, and it is better than anything you have." The missionary smiled and said, "I should be pleased to hear what it is." The Muslim said, "You know when we go to Mecca we at least find a coffin. But when you Christians go to Jerusalem, which is your Mecca, you find nothing but an empty grave." But the missionary just smiled and said, "That is just the difference. Mohammed is dead: Mohammed is in the coffin. And false systems of religion and philosophy are in their coffins, but Jesus Christ, whose kingdom is to include all nations and kindreds and tribes, is not here; He is risen from the dead. And all power in heaven and on earth is given to Him. That is our sure and certain hope that we too we one day be resurrected from the dead to join Him in heaven." (Contributed by Evie Megginson)
7. SECURE A VERBAL CONFESSION. (John 4:28,29) “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.” Help people go through the process of the ABC’s of becoming a Christian. A: Admit that you are sinner and need Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord. B: Believe in Christ by trusting Him to be the substitutionary payment for the forgiveness of your sins C: Call upon the name of the Lord by asking Him to come in to your life to save you and make you the kind of person that He wants you to be.
8. ENCOURAGE THE PERSON TO WITNESS. (John 4:39) “Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony.” Witnessing is simply sharing the good news about Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results to God, as Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ has said. Be someone who inspires people to greater courage to share their faith. Be a catalyst to provide hope for those who hesitate to witness. Provide confidence for those people by taking them with you to do evangelism so they can learn from godly mentors. Most people need encouragement from others to consistently share their faith with the lost. Ask the Lord to embolden your own heart to witness for Him out of love, obedience and a desire to be a multiplier of Christ’s fine example.
Conclusion:The Order of the Mustard Seed founded by Count Zinzendorf had three guiding principles, namely:
1. Be kind to all people. 2. Seek their welfare. 3. Win them to Christ.
Source Unknown.
