Turning Religious Reluctance-9

TURNING RELIGIOUS RELUCTANCE-IX—John 4:1-26+(:1-42)

Turning the Religious Lost

Attention:

Picture A Train.

The train is dedicated/committed to a specific set of tracks.

However, that specific set of tracks leads to an abandoned attempt at bridging a deep canyon in order to make a shorter way to it’s destination. The unfinished abandoned bridge cannot possibly take the train across the canyon.

The train needs to be turned!

It cannot be turned easily. It must be switched to another set of existing tracks which lead away from the original bridge & toward & across a completed bridge capable of taking it to it’s destination.

IF it can be switched to another set of tracks, it will go where it should go simply because it now follows a separate set of tracks that lead to the originally intended destination.

Think Twice Before Continuing down the ‘track’ you’re on!

The Church exists to turn the world away from it’s errant way!

Everybody lives by a ‘religion’—a set of spiritual & secular values that they hold to. These may be right or wrong.

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 as God’s witnesses to turn those who are on the wrong set of RR ‘tracks’...“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?

Some insights toward turning religious reluctance to God.

Previously as we looked in these verses we found that,

Turning religious reluctance to God requires...

1. SERVICE Insight(:1-3)

2. CONSEQUENTIAL Insight(:4-6)

3. COMPASSIONED Insight(:7-8)

4. BLIND/UNHINDERED Insight(:9)

5. POSSESSIVE Insight(:10)

6. TRUTHFUL Insight(:11-14)

7. LIFESTYLE Insight(:15-18)

8. PLACE Insight(:19-20)

9—Turning religious reluctance to God requires...

DECISIVE Insight(:21-24)

Explanation:(:21-24)

:21—“Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.””

As He did with the picture of water, Jesus attempts to take the woman closer & farther spiritually than she anticipated. He lets her know in no uncertain terms that there is a time on the near future(& currently(:23)) when neither Mt. Gerazim nor Jerusalem will limit true “worship” of God “the Father.”

Worship of God is not to be limited to a certain place(:20). Though the tabernacle & temple play heavily into God’s corporate worship in Israel’s past(pre-Messiah) as well as the temple in Israel’s future(Millennial, Ezek. 40-48), there is an overwhelming aspect of serving God that is not limited to place at all. There is no geographical or political boundary which will limit or determine the woman’s worship.

“Christians who seek to be ambassadors for Christ must always be wary of falling into the trap of arguing about the “right” ‘place’ of worship. “The point is not winning arguments but introducing people to the dimension of God in their lives.”—NAC

This statement is fleshed out in :23-24.

Jesus did not apologize for the truth which He believed, but instead defended it by explaining it!

“Woman”(See :7, 9, 11, 15, 17, 19, 25)—gunh—Noun Fem.—

“Believe”(See :39, 41, 42)—pisteuw—Verb—1)To think to be true, to be persuaded of, place confidence in; 2) To entrust a thing to one, i.e. his Fidelity. Strong—To have faith(in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing), i.e. Credit; by implication--To entrust (especially one's spiritual well-being to Christ).

“Me”—moi—Pronoun—1) I, me, my. Strong—the simpler form of emoi; To me.

“Hour”(See :23)—wra—Noun Fem.—1) A certain definite time or season fixed by natural law & returning with the revolving year—1a) Of the seasons of the year, spring, summer, autumn, winter; 2) The daytime(bounded by the rising & setting of the sun), a day; 3) A twelfth part of the day-time, an hour, (the twelve hours of the day are reckoned from the rising to the setting of the sun); 4) Any definite time, point of time, moment. Strong—apparently a primary word; An “hour”(literally or figuratively).

“Coming”(See :23, 25)—ercomai—Verb—1) To come—1a) of persons—1a1) To come from one place to another, & used both of persons arriving & of those returning, 1a2) To appear, make one's appearance, come before the public; 2) metaph.—2a) To come into being, arise, come forth, show itself, find place or influence, 2b) Be established, become known, to come(fall) into or unto; 3) To go, to follow one. Ercomai denotes motion or progress generally, & of any sort, hence to “come” & arrive at, as well as “to go.” Strong—middle voice of a primary verb(used only in the present & imperfect tenses, the others being supplied by a kindred [middle voice]eleuyomai; or [active]elyw; which do not otherwise occur); To come or go(in a great variety of applications, literally & figuratively).