(We began the service with a video clip from “Contagious Christianity” called “Lesson #8 - Objections” where a Christian woman was trying to witness to a skeptic who maintained that Christianity was too narrow and exclusive for her tastes).
OPEN: Someone once speculated about how certain people would answer the age old question: “Why did the chicken cross the road?”
They speculated that President GEORGE W. BUSH would say:
“We don’t really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road or not. The chicken is either with us or it is against us. There is no middle ground here.”
Ex-Vice President AL GORE might have said:
“I invented the chicken. I invented the road... Therefore, the chicken crossing the road represented the application of these two different functions of government in a new, reinvented way designed to bring greater services to the American people.”
RUSH LIMBAUGH
“I don’t know why the chicken crossed the road, but I’ll bet it was getting a government grant to cross the road, and I’ll bet someone out there is already forming a support group to help chickens with crossing-the-road syndrome. Can you believe this? How much more of this can real Americans take? Chickens crossing the road paid for by their tax dollars, and when I say tax dollars, I’m talking about your money, money the government took from you to build roads for chickens to cross.”
ARNOLD SCHWARTZENAGER
“I don’t know vhy the chicken crossed the road, but I do know IT VILL BE BACK!”
DR. SEUSS
”Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad?
Yes! The chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed, I’ve not been told!”
BARBARA WALTERS
“Isn’t that interesting? In a few moments we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heartwarming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting and went on to accomplish its life-long dream of crossing the road.”
BILL GATES
“I have just released eChicken 2004, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your
important documents, and balance your checkbook.”
What if the BIBLE addressed that question?
”And God came down from the heavens, and He said unto the chicken, ‘Thou shalt cross the road.’ And the chicken crossed the road, and there was much rejoicing.”
And lastly, someone supposedly asked COLONEL SANDERS why chicken crossed the road… and he replied: “I missed one?”
APPLY: It’s intriguing to ask ourselves how certain men and women down thru history would answer certain kinds of questions. {Of course, this one about the chicken crossing the road is meant to be humorous…} BUT there are times when we really would like to know how would others deal with the situations we face - situations that we consider to be important.
For example: how would Jesus witness to the people we work around every day? How would He talk to my relatives and my friends about their need for salvation.
I. As I reread John 4, I was surprised at how well this story answered that question.
I mean, Jesus didn’t say or do anything there that you and I couldn’t have done. Granted, we couldn’t claim to be the Messiah as He did, but He performed to miracle here, nor did He exhibit some unearthly glow. He was simply a Jewish man meeting a Samaritan woman at a well and asking for water.
AND this Samaritan woman was not an eager convert
In fact, she was just a indifferent woman.
She had NOT come to Jesus to hear about salvation. She had come to a well to get a bucket of water.
Now, it wasn’t that she was NOT interested in spiritual things. I mean she’s MORE THAN willing to discuss religion with Jesus. But when Jesus began to began to get a little too close, when Jesus begins to bring up her past and her sin, she started getting defensive. And she tried to sidetrack the conversation.
BUT, of course, Jesus isn’t about to get sidetracked. Jesus had set His mind toward changing this woman’s life and nothing was going to deter Him from that objective.
Now, what Jesus did with this woman - what He said to her AND how He said what He said to her… changed this woman. And when Jesus was done with her… she ended telling people: "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" John 4:29
II. As I read about what Jesus did with this Samaritan woman… I realized I could do that!
In fact… YOU could do what Jesus did at the well. It’s not that hard! But, WHAT did He do?
Well, 1st –Jesus talked to her.
You might say, “that’s nothing big!” And you’d be right. That is nothing big… but it’s more than most Christians do.
When most of us think about “sharing our faith” or “witnessing” or “talking about Jesus”, we think in terms of talking AT people (arguing, convincing, overcoming objections, etc.), not talking WITH them.
ILLUS: Robert G. Taylor tells a story: Shortly after WW II an American student in Berlin was trying to “convert” her Muslim classmate. She led the Muslim girl through long discussions on Bible vs. the Qur’an, Christian values vs. Muslim values, etc., but was getting nowhere.
Then she talked to missionary Otis Gatewood who advised her, “why don’t you just be her friend and tell her about Jesus.”
So the American girl spent months building an authentic friendship with the Muslim girl. At the same time the Christian student plunged into her own intense personal study of the Gospels -- filling her heart and head with the spirit and story line of Jesus. When the right time finally came around, she said to the Muslim girl over dinner, “I want to tell you a story…” The Muslim girl listened intently for a couple of hours while the Christian girl unfolded the story of Jesus ….
…So intent was the storyteller that she did not notice the tears welling up in the Muslim girl’s eyes, until the Muslim girl interrupted, “Why did you never tell me this before. We have no one like this in Islam. I think I want to follow your Jesus.”
You see… it’s important to talk TO people… not AT Them.
Jesus did that.
He talked TO the woman at the well… not AT her. BUT JESUS DIDN’T STOP THERE
1st – Jesus talked TO her. AND THEN, Jesus talked to her about Spiritual things
They got to talking about water. It was a common enough topic to discuss. And then Jesus uses that topic as a springboard to talk about something more eternal and lasting. He said to her: "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:13
Jesus started by talking about the things that interested this woman – water. AND THEN he started talking about God.
Most of us feel comfortable talking about things that interest us and others. Things like sports, or our favorite TV programs, or our favorite hobbies, or things we like to eat or drink. We feel comfortable discussing those common interests with others…
But THEN we get uncomfortable talking about our faith.
And I asked myself “Why do we get uncomfortable talking about spiritual things?” And then I realized - it’s because we haven’t learned how to share our faith.
Remember… a lot of us are stuck in the idea of talking AT people. And that’s part of what makes us uncomfortable. Our faith shouldn’t be something we throw at people. It should be something we give TO people
For example: Let’s say you have a friend who is having problems at work, or with their health, or with their kids, or whatever. This is a great chance to create a thirst in their lives.
Offer to pray with them.
NOT “I’ll pray for you” (as in “I’ll pray for you later”), BUT “Let’s pray right now!”
Just close your eyes then and there and begin appealing to God on their behalf.
This tells the person you’re praying for two things:
1. You care enough for them to not just say you’ll pray for them, but to actually do it in front of them. And
2. You’re telling them that you believe enough in your God to put your faith on the line. To pray and ask God to do something for them. Yours in an active faith… not just a Sunday go to Meeting activity.
Now, praying with people is one way to create that thirst. Another way is by tell people what Jesus means to you.
Tell your story.
Tell what God has done in your life.
Don’t you remember why you became a Christian to begin with? That’s part of your story. Has God done anything in your life since that time? That’s part of your story too.
ILLUS: I remember my telling his stories. Stories of his days in baseball, and stories of working on the farm, etc. etc. etc. He’d tell his stories over and over again, and they never got old because they were real to him. They were interesting.
People will listen to your stories about Jesus and those stories will create a “thirst” in people.
I do this all the time. I’ll tell how I’ve seen God at work in other people’s lives, or how He has worked in my family or in my own life. AND I DO IT DELIBERATELY. I want these people to love Jesus like I love Jesus. So I tell them these stories over and over again because I want to create thirst for Jesus.
(pause…)
So
· Jesus talked with the woman
· Then He talked with her about spiritual things
· THEN, He did something really peculiar – He let her go!
Did you see that? Look again at John 4:25-28
“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.’
Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, ‘What do you want?’ or ‘Why are you talking with her?’
Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town.”
Jesus had been talking with this woman… right on the verge of watching her make a decision… and up walks his disciples and she slips away. AND HE LET HER GO!
Now… if it had been me, I’d have said:
“Wait! Don’t Go! Come Back! We’re not done yet!”
But He let her go…
Now, I don’t how it is with you, but it used to be when I’d get in a conversation with people about Jesus (and I was trying to “share my faith” with them) there was this anxiety that overcame me.
There was something inside of me that believed that every conversation I had with people (about Jesus) JUST HAD TO lead to a decision. AND there was this nagging doubt that if I didn’t get the person to make a commitment right there and then that – somehow I’d failed. I mean… I may never get another chance like that again.
But Jesus was more than willing to let this woman walk away.
Why?
Well… people take time to process information. Often we don’t make a decision over night. Sometimes we have to think about what we’ve heard. Decide if the decision we want to make is really the right one. Our best decisions often take place after we’ve talked to several people about an idea or concept we eventually embrace.
ILLUS: In fact according to a Dr. Walt Larimore “Studies show that between nine and 26 significant relationships are involved in each person who makes a choice for Christ.”
Dr. Walt Larimore (Focus on the Family Magazine November 2002 p. 18)
In other words… it doesn’t ALL depend on you… or me.
ILLUS: there’s a song on Christian Radio that speaks to this idea. A man is in a restaurant and shares some of his faith with the waitress. After she leaves their table he turns to his friend and tells him that he’s heard about this statistic that it takes 15 contacts with Christians to change a person’s life for Christ. In the chorus of the song, he says that he doesn’t care if he’s number 3, or 6, or 9… he’s praying that he can be # 15.
Today, we want to help you be # 15
(INTRODUCE “FRIEND SUNDAY” CARDS)
CLOSE: There’s one more thing I want us to consider before I finish this sermon.
I don’t think Jesus’ meeting with this at the well was an accident. I don’t think Jesus just happened to be there when she came out to get water.I believe this encounter was the result of intense prayer by Jesus.
The Apostle Paul asked one church to “pray for us… that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Colossians 4:3
And then, in Ephesians he wrote: “Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel” Ephesians 6:19
Paul believed – that when God’s people prayed…
· His preaching gained power
· hearts were opened
· and lives were changed
Do you know how much Jesus prayed???
Ø He prayed in the morning
Ø He prayed in the afternoon
Ø Sometimes He prayed ALL night long
And these were prayers that went beyond “God bless ‘so and so…’”
He was praying every day for opportunities to arise. For the crowds to be prepared for His message. And for men and women (like this woman at the well) to be at the right place at the right time.
That’s what I want us to pray for this morning: that God will prepare the hearts of those you give your invitation card to this week. That they will be ready when you approach them and tell them that you want to share your church with them on this coming Sunday.
PRAY.
(Sermons in this Series)
1. Fancy Footwork – Romans 10:13-15
2. Telling Your Story – I John 1:1-9
3. Creating A Thirst – John 4:4-30
4. HisStory – Matthew 16:13-26
