Turning Religious Reluctance-4

TURNING RELIGIOUS RELUCTANCE-IV—John 4:1-42

Turning the Religious Lost

Attention:

Not So Tactful Lieutenant...

A lieutenant was brilliant in military matters, but lacked a few social graces.

One day he was charged with informing one of his soldiers that his grandmother had passed away. The lieutenant called the soldier into the office & said "Kramer, your grandmother died”...”Dismissed!”

Understandably the poor soldier was devastated & ‘fell apart.’

After he left, the colonel told the lieutenant, “You could have been a little more tactful. I have some books at home that could help you.”

The lieutenant read the half-dozen books lent him by the colonel & was ready for the next crisis. He finds that he has to inform Private Taylor that his grandfather had passed away.

So the next morning, at reveille, the lieutenant tried a new softer approach & said, “Men, take one step forward if you have a grandfather still living? Quite a few of the men step forward including Private Taylor. The lieutenant then loudly bellows, “Not so fast, Private Taylor!”

In attempting to convince certain people of the truth, it may be difficult &/or uncomfortable. But the attempt must be made nonetheless!

Likewise, Turning those who are Religious but Reluctant to live by the truth must be done!

Everybody has a religion(beliefs they live by)—right or wrong!(2016--79-89% of Americans believe in God)...

Everybody has a belief system to which they subscribe—right or wrong.

Even atheists have a religion & are religious people.

These may be Reluctant to turn, But by the power of God, they are turnable nonetheless!

*We are all called to serve God in spirit & in truth, AND to...“Go therefore & make disciples of ALL the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father & of the Son & of the Holy Spirit, teaching THEM to observe all things that I have commanded you; & lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”!(Matthew 28:19-20)

Jesus divulged/bore witness of/ His Messianic identity to a reluctant/hesitant but religious woman.

God’s people bear witness of Messiah’s/Jesus’ identity to reluctant religious people.

How/When will God’s people turn the reluctancy of the religious?

OR--What will turn that religious reluctancy around?

16 insights toward turning religious reluctance to God.

The last time we looked in these verses we had found that,

Turning religious reluctance to God’s way requires...

1. SERVICE Insight(:1-3)

2. CONSEQUENTIAL Insight(:4-6)

3. COMPASSIONED Insight(:7-8)

4—Turning religious reluctance to God’s way requires...

BLIND/UNHINDERED Insight(:9)

Explanation:(:9)Blind to & Unhindered by fleshly control & influence

:9—“Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.”

The “Samaritan woman” verbally relates her surprise at Jesus’ asking “a drink” from her. Perhaps her surprise was tinged with sarcasm as if to say, “We Samaritans are the dirt under” you Jew’s feet “until you want something.”—EBC

For the Jews, “Samaritans were thought to convey uncleanness by what they lay, sat, or rode on, & as well as by their saliva or urine.”—BECNT

*This “Samaritan woman” knew her standing in the pre-determinations of the Jews. She therefore openly exposed her own prejudices.

John adds the note that fine upstanding, spiritually & socially conscious “Jews” would never set themselves up as needing to receive anything from “Samaritans.” Thus they purposely had “no dealings with” them. “Jesus did not fit the stereotype of kosher-concerned Jewish men.”—NAC

The woman’s uninformed, self-limiting pre-judgments possibly prevented her from giving Jesus “a drink” at all, or she could have softened & supplied Him “a drink” during the conversation...We are not told.

It is vastly more important to Jesus, that He sidestep any hindering human prejudice in order to offer a person an opportunity to become part of the Kingdom of God!(see :7 & :10). The Holy Spirit, when heeded, effectively ‘blinds’ us to our flesh’s prejudices & desires.

“Woman”2X(See :7, 11, 15, 17, 19, 21, 25)—gunh—Noun Fem.—1) A woman of any age, whether a virgin, or married, or a widow; 2) a wife—2a) Of a betrothed woman. Strong—A woman; specially--A wife.

“Of Samaria/Samaritan/Samaritans”3X(See :4, 5, 7)—Samareitiv OR Samaritiv—Noun Proper Fem.—1) A Samaritan woman. Strong—A Samaritess, i.e. Woman of Samaria. Used 2X.

“How”—pwv—Particle—1) How, in what way. Strong—an interrogative particle of manner; In what way?(sometimes the question is indirect, how?); also as exclamation--How much!.

“You”—su—Pronoun 2nd Person Sing.—1) You. Strong—Thou.

“Jew”2X—Ioudaiov—Adj.—1) Jewish, belonging to the Jewish nation; 2) Jewish as respects to birth, origin, religion. Strong—Judaean, i.e. Belonging to Jehudah.?From—Iouda(in the sense of Ioudav as a country)—of Hebrew origin [hdwhy Yeh-hoo-daw' or perhaps hjy Yoot-taw'; or hjwy Yoo-taw']; Judah(i.e. Jehudah or Juttah), a part of(or place in) Palestine.

“Ask”—aitew—Verb—1) To ask, beg, call for, crave, desire, require. Aitew denotes a request of the will. “Aitew signifies to ask for something to be given, not done, giving prominence to the thing asked for rather than the person, & hence is rarely used in exhortation.” Strong—of uncertain derivation; To ask(in genitive case).