Today we are celebrating the Lord’s Supper. One of the purposes of this observance is to remind us, as Christians, of that which makes possible our intimate fellowship with God and our shared fellowship with one another -the cross of Christ. As 1 John 1:7 (NIV) tells us, "we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."
It is for this reason that this observance is also referred to as "communion." Webster’s dictionary defines communion as "intimate fellowship." That’s what we enjoy with God and one another because of the cross, and the elements of the Lord’s Supper remind us of that.
Because of the cross, we have an intimate fellowship with God and one another that is not only a blessing on earth, but its blessedness will only intensify once we enter into eternity.
Aren’t you looking forward to the fellowship that awaits us in heaven? Indeed, as we reflect on the fellowship that we enjoy by virtue of the cross of Christ, we find that it is a fellowship we cannot and should not keep to ourselves. We need to invite our friends to be part of this wonderful fellowship. This was John’s conclusion. He said, "We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ," - 1 John 1:3 (NIV).
Today, I want us to look at a story that is recorded in John 4:25-42. It is a story of how Jesus touched a woman’s life, and how she, in turn invited others to experience Christ’s life-changing touch.
Jesus met this woman, this Samaritan woman, at a well, where he was waiting for his disciples to return with food. He engaged her in conversation, which eventually led to His revealing to her that He was the Messiah. Let’s pick up the story there.
(Read Text)
Let’s notice what we can learn today from this story about inviting our friends to the fellowship.
1. The person God uses - vs. 25-29
The person God uses to invite others to the fellowship is one who is willing to share how God has touched their life.
God doesn’t necessarily use the knowledgeable person, or the talented person, or even the pious person, but will always use the willing person.
One survey reported the top five reasons why people do not reach out to others as follows:
A. "I don’t know enough."
Note the contrast between this woman and the disciples. The disciples had also been touched by Jesus. Additionally, they had been privileged to spent countless hours and days enjoying intimate fellowship with the Master. Yet, this woman, who had only spent a few moments with Christ, went to the same village the disciples had visited only moments before, and shared her story, while they had kept quiet. God doesn’t necessarily use the knowledgeable ones, but He always uses the willing ones.
B. "I’m not an evangelist."
After surveying 10,000 people, the Institute for American Church Growth concluded that 79 percent began attending church after receiving an invitation from a friend or relative. Only 6% were attracted by the pastor, 5% by the Sunday school and 0.5% by an evangelistic crusade.
C. "I don’t want to appear to be ’pushy.’"
In one survey of non-church attenders, it was revealed that 65% said they would respond favorably to an invitation from a friend. 15% said they would respond favorably to an invitation from a stranger!
D. "I don’t know any non-Christians."
You know more than you think.
I do not know if you knew this but the number of unchurched people is growing every year. In his book, Surprising Insights from the Unchurched, Tom Rainer tells us that only 41% of Americans attend church services on a typical weekend. Each new generation becomes increasingly unchurched. Slightly over one half (51%) of the builder generation (born before 1946) attends church in a typical weekend. But only 41% of the boomers (born 1946-1964) and 34% of the busters (born 1965-1976) attend church on the weekend. The younger generation, the bridgers (born 1977-1994), indicates that only 30% attend church.
The lost are all around us, even as they were all around the disciples. That’s the point that Jesus made in verse 35. No doubt, our Lord said this as He gestured toward the crowd that was coming toward them as a result of the woman’s invitation!
E. "My walk with God isn’t all it should be."
The Bible tells us that if we will seek to share our faith with others, our walk with God is strengthened.
In Philemon 6 (NIV), Paul wrote, "I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ"
You don’t have to be a spiritual giant in order to share your faith. You just have to be willing.
2. The passion God gives - vs. 28-34
The passion that Jesus had to see this woman come to faith in Him was so great that He was no longer interested in eating. The significance of the spiritual outweighed the significance of the physical. This passion was passed on to the woman (v. 28) who left her water jar to tell her fellow villagers about Jesus. The Lord gave her the same passion He had to see other come to faith in Him.
Likewise, I believe the Lord wants to give us His passion for a lost world. Are you willing to share in His passion?
Interestingly enough, the elements of the Lord’s Supper remind us of our Lord’s suffering on the cross for the salvation of a lost world - for you and me.
Often, our Lord’s suffering is referred to as His "passion." We have plays about the last days of our Lord’s life, His crucifixion, and resurrection, that we call "passion plays."
In Philippians 3:10 (NIV), Paul says, "I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings ..."
There’s that word "fellowship" again. Part of what we are called to share as a result of our fellowship with God, and part of what ought to share with one another as a fellowship of believers is the Lord’s passion for a lost world. The word translated "sufferings" is the Greek word, "pathema."
The root word for "pathema" is "pathos" which means "passion." So we could translate the words of Paul as "I want to know Christ... and the fellowship of His passion ..."
Have you entered into the fellowship of His passion to see men and women, boys and girls come to know Him as Savior and Lord? The woman in this story did.
Jesus gave her His passion; and He will do the same for us if we will let Him.
3. The plan God implements - vs. 36-42
There are two elements are involved in God’s plan for how we are to invite our friends to the fellowship.
A. His providential working - vs. 36-38
Jesus makes it clear that God works by virtue of His providence to orchestrate things so that our friends might be saved. Salvation is, from first to last, a work of God alone. He uses us in the process, but He alone is the One who does the saving. This was Paul’s point in 1 Corinthians 3:5-7 (NIV), “What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants through whom you came to believe - as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants not he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow."
B. His powerful Word - vs. 39-42
As a result of the woman’s testimony along with the Savior’s teaching, scores of people came to believe on Him. This seems to be God’s pattern for how He works to bring others to Him. He uses personal testimony along with public teaching to convict people of their need, convince them of the truth, and convert them to the faith.
We see this illustrated also on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:9-41), where personal testimony was shared by all, which, coupled with the public teaching of Peter, resulted in 3,000 people placing their faith in Christ.
Paul speaks of this same pattern in Ephesians 4:11-16, where he tells us that the church grows, as a result of the combination of individuals members doing their part in personal ministry, along with the public teaching and proclamation of the Word of God.
Conclusion: Each of us who have accepted the invitation to know intimate fellowship with God through faith in Christ is part of a fellowship of faith, which is commissioned by our Lord to invite others to know the fellowship we enjoy and share.
As we celebrate that which has made our salvation from sin and our fellowship with the Savior possible may we commit ourselves before God to reach out to a lost world, saying in the words of John, "We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ,"(I John 1:3).
