Home Missions in Samaria (John 4:27-42)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.520 --> 00:00:04.000 If you're able to remain standing, please do and let's turn our attention to 2 00:00:04.160 --> 00:00:11.949 John Chapter Four. John Chapter Four, verses twenty seven through forty two. 3 00:00:12.029 --> 00:00:19.629 John Chapter Four. I'm this is where a Jesus, I mean it's this 4 00:00:19.789 --> 00:00:25.899 woman from Samaria at a well, and we've been looking at this passage. 5 00:00:25.940 --> 00:00:29.980 We're coming to the end of it. Now I'm going to begin reading in 6 00:00:30.739 --> 00:00:38.409 Verse Twenty Seven, John For twenty seven. Just then his disciples came back. 7 00:00:39.689 --> 00:00:43.530 They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said 8 00:00:43.609 --> 00:00:47.609 what do you seek or why are you talking with her? So the woman 9 00:00:47.689 --> 00:00:52.280 left her water jar and went away into the town and said to the people, 10 00:00:53.039 --> 00:00:57.200 come see a man who told me all that I ever did. CAN 11 00:00:57.280 --> 00:01:02.479 THIS BE THE CHRIST? They went out of the town and we're coming to 12 00:01:02.560 --> 00:01:06.709 him. Meanwhile, the disciples were urging him, saying, rabbi, eat, 13 00:01:07.349 --> 00:01:08.909 but he said to them I have food to eat that you do not 14 00:01:10.069 --> 00:01:14.030 know about. So the disciple said to one or one another, has anyone 15 00:01:14.069 --> 00:01:18.859 brought him something to eat? Jesus said to them my food is to do 16 00:01:19.099 --> 00:01:23.620 the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you 17 00:01:23.700 --> 00:01:26.180 not say there are yet four months. Then comes the harvest. Look, 18 00:01:26.180 --> 00:01:30.299 I tell you, lift up your eyes and see that the fields are white 19 00:01:30.379 --> 00:01:34.930 for harvest already. The one who reaps is receiving rages wages and gathering fruit 20 00:01:36.049 --> 00:01:41.170 for eternal life, so that the souler and reaper may rejoice together. For 21 00:01:41.290 --> 00:01:45.650 here the saying holds true. One sows and another reaps. I sent you 22 00:01:45.769 --> 00:01:49.640 to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored and you 23 00:01:49.760 --> 00:01:55.560 have entered into their labor. Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because 24 00:01:55.640 --> 00:02:00.079 of the woman's testimony. He told me all that I ever did. So 25 00:02:00.200 --> 00:02:02.269 when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, 26 00:02:02.629 --> 00:02:07.989 and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of this his 27 00:02:07.150 --> 00:02:10.349 word. They said to the woman, it is no longer because of what 28 00:02:10.469 --> 00:02:15.110 you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and we know 29 00:02:15.229 --> 00:02:21.500 that this indeed is the savior of the world, a man you may be 30 00:02:21.580 --> 00:02:28.379 seated. You might remember that at the beginning of John, for we have 31 00:02:28.580 --> 00:02:32.530 a reason for why Jesus and its disciples are here at this well on Samaria, 32 00:02:34.210 --> 00:02:38.090 and the reason is is that judge Jesus's disciples were making a lot of 33 00:02:38.169 --> 00:02:44.560 disciples, they were baptizing people. In fact they were baptizing more people than 34 00:02:44.599 --> 00:02:50.719 John, and people started getting concerned. Who is this Jesus? We know 35 00:02:50.840 --> 00:02:54.759 about John, we know about his ministry, but this Jesus and his disciples 36 00:02:54.840 --> 00:03:01.110 are now increasing above what John ever was. People were getting upset and eventually 37 00:03:01.150 --> 00:03:08.550 Jesus decided to flee to Galilee and he passed through Samaria to get there. 38 00:03:10.270 --> 00:03:15.860 Now, this fact that Jesus was baptizing more disciples, that this work was 39 00:03:15.979 --> 00:03:19.580 greater than the great work of John, shouldn't have been any surprised. Anybody 40 00:03:19.740 --> 00:03:23.419 was listening, because John, and several times and several ways, was extremely 41 00:03:23.580 --> 00:03:29.409 clear. He who comes after me is greater than me. He will do 42 00:03:29.689 --> 00:03:34.930 greater things, he will baptize with a greater baptism, he will I'm not 43 00:03:35.050 --> 00:03:42.960 even worthy to untie his Sandal, John said. Nevertheless, people, the 44 00:03:43.039 --> 00:03:51.439 leaders in particular of Israel, were concerned and Jesus leaves. Jesus had sent 45 00:03:51.680 --> 00:03:57.270 out his disciples, he began a work and he sent them out. He's 46 00:03:57.509 --> 00:04:01.069 sending them out again at the end here of John, for he talks about 47 00:04:01.069 --> 00:04:05.069 his own ministry, he says, I my ministry, my work. Even 48 00:04:05.150 --> 00:04:10.659 describes it as food. The food that, IE, is to do the 49 00:04:10.780 --> 00:04:15.180 will of him who sent me. And now he's going to send these disciples 50 00:04:15.219 --> 00:04:19.060 out. He wants them to awaken to this reality. Dy that the fields, 51 00:04:19.060 --> 00:04:24.100 as he describes it, are white for harvest. What does he mean 52 00:04:24.220 --> 00:04:28.569 by that? Well, he's talking about all of these people who are coming 53 00:04:28.649 --> 00:04:32.129 out of Samaria, just as they were coming out of Jerusalem before. The 54 00:04:32.250 --> 00:04:38.089 disciples and other words have already had this experience of people coming out to hear 55 00:04:38.329 --> 00:04:42.879 this word, to be baptized, and now it's happening again, except this 56 00:04:43.120 --> 00:04:48.439 time not in Israel but in Samaria. What is going on here? The 57 00:04:48.879 --> 00:04:55.110 the the this woman goes, she has this sort of interesting I'll say it 58 00:04:55.189 --> 00:04:57.470 that way for now. You'll have to go back and listen to the other 59 00:04:57.589 --> 00:05:00.470 sermons to hear more about that, but she has this interesting conversation with Jesus. 60 00:05:00.949 --> 00:05:04.470 She goes back into our town and she says he's told me all I 61 00:05:04.550 --> 00:05:10.339 ever did and now all of a sudden, all of these people are coming 62 00:05:10.379 --> 00:05:15.860 out to see Jesus and they're believing. How does Jesus explain this? The 63 00:05:16.060 --> 00:05:20.769 fields are ripe from harvest. He's talking about souls that are ready. He's 64 00:05:20.810 --> 00:05:28.649 talking about him coming in the fullness of time and this great harvest, this 65 00:05:28.850 --> 00:05:38.160 great reaping of blessings as people come and believe the Gospel. It's an amazing 66 00:05:38.240 --> 00:05:44.959 thing. This woman's testimony is extremely small, at least if in comparison to 67 00:05:45.040 --> 00:05:49.230 what we often think of is what's necessary in giving a testimony or a witness 68 00:05:49.589 --> 00:05:53.990 to WHO Jesus was there. What he says, remember what how she puts 69 00:05:54.029 --> 00:06:00.509 it, she leaves Your Water Jar Verse Twenty Eight. She goes to her 70 00:06:00.550 --> 00:06:05.019 town and says to the people in Verse Twenty Nine, come see a man 71 00:06:05.060 --> 00:06:09.939 who told me all that I ever did, and then she asks a question. 72 00:06:10.899 --> 00:06:14.660 Can this be the Christ and they just pour out of the town. 73 00:06:15.779 --> 00:06:20.170 It's really it's really astounding, and that's why Jesus says you know you're where 74 00:06:20.170 --> 00:06:24.410 at this period of time, where you're you know where you you know how. 75 00:06:24.449 --> 00:06:28.689 Everybody's saying four months and then we harvest. He's saying the harvest is 76 00:06:28.850 --> 00:06:33.959 now. Of course he's not talking about grain, he's talking about souls. 77 00:06:34.759 --> 00:06:40.120 Even as the disciples are asking about food and he says my food is to 78 00:06:40.160 --> 00:06:43.199 do the will of him who sent me, or is the woman asks about 79 00:06:43.240 --> 00:06:45.519 water. Give me water from the well, and he says, if you 80 00:06:45.560 --> 00:06:48.870 would ask me, I would give you eternal water. Jesus is taking all 81 00:06:48.910 --> 00:06:53.990 of these circumstances in their life, the water that need to eat, the 82 00:06:54.110 --> 00:06:58.430 harvest that is about to happen, and he's trying to use these things to 83 00:06:58.470 --> 00:07:02.699 teach them something about what is happening right in front of them. Remember how 84 00:07:02.699 --> 00:07:05.300 he says to the woman? He says, if you knew who it was 85 00:07:05.379 --> 00:07:11.019 would standing right in front of you, you would ask him and he would 86 00:07:11.019 --> 00:07:19.050 give you the gift of God, this water, this eternal life. So 87 00:07:19.730 --> 00:07:23.930 what we are seeing here in John, for one of the things we are 88 00:07:23.970 --> 00:07:30.920 seeing here is the amazing work of God in the Christ, just as John 89 00:07:30.079 --> 00:07:34.279 said, just as the Prophet said that, just as the whole scriptures have 90 00:07:34.360 --> 00:07:39.399 been testifying about this Messiah, the one who now stands in front of this 91 00:07:39.560 --> 00:07:44.079 woman and is said, and as he said, I am he the Christ 92 00:07:44.120 --> 00:07:49.430 who is to come. He is everything and more than all the people were 93 00:07:49.509 --> 00:07:56.389 expecting. We're seeing that in his miracle of turning water into wine. We're 94 00:07:56.470 --> 00:08:00.019 seeing that in the way that he talks with the Pharisees. We're seeing that 95 00:08:00.180 --> 00:08:03.779 in the way that he's going out to the gentiles. We're seeing that in 96 00:08:03.060 --> 00:08:13.810 hearts that are changed with the tiniest bit of Gospel News. As we think 97 00:08:13.810 --> 00:08:16.769 about this and as we think about who Jesus is, I think it's a 98 00:08:16.930 --> 00:08:24.009 it's a good opportunity to think about the work of evangelism, because that's what's 99 00:08:24.370 --> 00:08:28.959 Jesus is wanting his disciples to wake up their wake up and open their eyes 100 00:08:28.120 --> 00:08:35.720 to the fields are white. They're ready for harvest. The reaping time has 101 00:08:35.879 --> 00:08:39.720 come and they're seeing it right in front of them. And indeed this is 102 00:08:39.879 --> 00:08:43.070 going to continue. When Jesus commands his disciples to go out, he tells 103 00:08:43.149 --> 00:08:48.950 them to Jerusalem, to Sumaria and even to the ends of the Earth. 104 00:08:50.830 --> 00:08:54.070 The disciples will in fact Gom to Samaria again. John himself will come and 105 00:08:54.190 --> 00:09:00.620 will experience yet more of the Lord's work in this place and in many, 106 00:09:00.659 --> 00:09:07.500 many other places. We've experienced that work to do here as well, haven't 107 00:09:07.539 --> 00:09:11.970 we? Even this morning, our brother has professed his faith in the Lord 108 00:09:13.049 --> 00:09:18.129 Jesus Christ, just as you have professed your faith and the Lord. He 109 00:09:18.289 --> 00:09:22.450 has worked not only in this time that we're reading about here and John, 110 00:09:22.970 --> 00:09:26.279 but in our time as well, any promises to continue to that work to 111 00:09:26.320 --> 00:09:31.480 the end. It's a good reminder for us that this great commission that he 112 00:09:31.519 --> 00:09:37.200 gave first of all to these apostles is one continues on. The harvest is 113 00:09:37.399 --> 00:09:43.029 still being harvested and we have a place in that. Now you all know 114 00:09:43.269 --> 00:09:50.350 that because you were harvested. The Lord rereaped you, the Lord worked in 115 00:09:50.509 --> 00:09:54.460 you. You also know that because you've seen yet more of that work here 116 00:09:54.580 --> 00:10:00.059 this morning. You know that because that's one of the reasons that we exist 117 00:10:00.100 --> 00:10:05.259 as a church, to worship and to glorify God and to call other people 118 00:10:05.379 --> 00:10:11.529 into that. That leads us to all kinds of very practical questions which are 119 00:10:11.529 --> 00:10:16.330 worth considering here. One of them is how do I share my faith? 120 00:10:16.090 --> 00:10:20.370 How do I trust in this Jesus who has come in as a way to 121 00:10:20.809 --> 00:10:26.000 express myself and tell others? I was asked by more than one person this 122 00:10:26.159 --> 00:10:31.080 week this particular question. How do I share my faith? How do I 123 00:10:31.200 --> 00:10:35.230 do this? What do I how do I learn? I, of course, 124 00:10:35.309 --> 00:10:39.110 have asked this myself. I talk think about it all the time and 125 00:10:39.470 --> 00:10:43.669 perhaps you know there are I regularly recommend books and things that you can read 126 00:10:45.590 --> 00:10:52.259 that are helpful when we think about this immense responsibility of sharing the gospel, 127 00:10:52.899 --> 00:10:58.100 of proclaiming the good news about Jesus Christ, who's come into the world to 128 00:10:58.220 --> 00:11:03.929 save sinners. In some of us there's zeal and excitement, there's joy in 129 00:11:05.090 --> 00:11:09.809 going out. Others of US find a lot of fear and we're scared. 130 00:11:09.610 --> 00:11:15.929 We worry that we might we might fail. There's a lot of things that 131 00:11:16.049 --> 00:11:20.919 go into that. On that fear of failure, of not doing right by 132 00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:24.639 the Lord, one is we don't want to get the scripture wrong right, 133 00:11:24.679 --> 00:11:28.399 if you're called to be an ambassador, to go out to claim the message 134 00:11:28.440 --> 00:11:33.190 that you've been given, be really bad to garble that message right. You 135 00:11:33.269 --> 00:11:39.029 don't want to go and tell somebody thus saith the Lord and then not say 136 00:11:39.149 --> 00:11:43.470 that. And they're all kinds of warnings in scripture about those who do that, 137 00:11:43.870 --> 00:11:50.740 especially those who do that knowingly. They're called false prophets. We of 138 00:11:50.820 --> 00:11:56.100 course don't want to fall into that, even by even by accident. Then 139 00:11:56.139 --> 00:12:01.250 there's our faults. Man, if I shared my gospel with the name my 140 00:12:01.370 --> 00:12:07.210 neighbor who knows x, Y and Z, about me. What would that 141 00:12:07.409 --> 00:12:13.090 say to them about Jesus? I'd rather than just think poorly about me and 142 00:12:13.210 --> 00:12:20.159 not about him. Right. So maybe I better not say anything. And 143 00:12:20.360 --> 00:12:24.639 sometimes we don't share the Gospel because we were about our faults as being an 144 00:12:24.679 --> 00:12:33.830 obstacle to someone else's faith. Of course can't happen in some ways, there's 145 00:12:33.830 --> 00:12:37.990 other things too. Not only do we not want to garble the message, 146 00:12:37.070 --> 00:12:43.149 I know in myself I don't want to just not mess it up, I 147 00:12:43.269 --> 00:12:46.860 want to do well by it. I want to be confident, I want 148 00:12:46.899 --> 00:12:52.100 to be smooth, I want to be accurate, I want to be precise, 149 00:12:52.299 --> 00:12:56.419 I want to be a good list CNER, I want to be able 150 00:12:56.580 --> 00:13:03.730 to anticipate objections and be able to answer them well. So we ask, 151 00:13:03.850 --> 00:13:09.090 how can I share my faith? And in all of these things, in 152 00:13:09.250 --> 00:13:13.559 all these concerns, I think there is a pious, and I mean that 153 00:13:13.720 --> 00:13:18.679 in a positive sense, a holy and good motivation. And in all of 154 00:13:18.799 --> 00:13:22.320 the things that I've mentioned there are ways in which we can grow and which 155 00:13:22.399 --> 00:13:30.070 we can improve. But since we're an honest church, we want to be 156 00:13:30.230 --> 00:13:35.470 honest here as well, and since we desire to be accountable to one another, 157 00:13:35.669 --> 00:13:39.029 and before the Lord. I think it's fair to ask this question. 158 00:13:39.149 --> 00:13:46.940 I'm could it be that our desire to grow, our concerns about sharing our 159 00:13:48.100 --> 00:13:54.850 faith as sometimes a stall tactic? Right? Imagine you're in a situation where 160 00:13:54.850 --> 00:14:00.049 you didn't really want to do something and so you just ask a lot of 161 00:14:00.129 --> 00:14:03.809 questions to sort of delay doing the thing that you know you want to do. 162 00:14:03.690 --> 00:14:07.570 Well, let's go over the plan one more time, or and what 163 00:14:07.690 --> 00:14:11.200 about this, and what happens if that happens? And True, you know, 164 00:14:11.360 --> 00:14:15.440 all good questions, but we know that sometimes they're a little bit of 165 00:14:15.519 --> 00:14:20.919 a ruse, a little bit of a way of distracting ourselves or paps, 166 00:14:22.600 --> 00:14:26.230 we think, maybe, the Lord, from doing what we want to do. 167 00:14:26.909 --> 00:14:33.149 I think this because I've been there, I've done that. I also 168 00:14:33.190 --> 00:14:37.940 think that because I read this passage and I can't help but be impressed, 169 00:14:39.620 --> 00:14:45.019 and I mean that by the way, that something significant is pressed in upon 170 00:14:45.179 --> 00:14:50.659 me by how different the spread of the Gospel looks here then sometimes it looks 171 00:14:52.340 --> 00:14:58.250 in in the church. Jesus has this conversation with her where he tells her 172 00:14:58.370 --> 00:15:03.490 the good news. He says, I am the Gift of God. I 173 00:15:05.370 --> 00:15:09.679 give to you if you would only ask for eternal life. He confronts her 174 00:15:09.720 --> 00:15:15.799 about her sins, he she's he tells her what she already knows, that 175 00:15:15.960 --> 00:15:22.029 she is an adulteress, a cereal adulteress, that she is confused about worship, 176 00:15:22.789 --> 00:15:30.629 that she is not all kinds of problems, but nevertheless he is the 177 00:15:30.669 --> 00:15:39.179 Messiah, he is the Christ. What happens then? She simply leaves an 178 00:15:39.259 --> 00:15:43.299 interesting known in Verse Twenty Eight, she leaves her water jar right, like 179 00:15:43.379 --> 00:15:46.419 the very thing that she came to do, get water before she even knew 180 00:15:46.419 --> 00:15:52.330 Jesus would be there. She leaves her water jar. I don't know why. 181 00:15:52.450 --> 00:15:56.049 Maybe she was forgetful, maybe she planned to come back. Whatever it 182 00:15:56.250 --> 00:16:00.850 was, something of a higher importance or order came. She goes into the 183 00:16:02.009 --> 00:16:08.240 town and she says, simply, come see a man who told me all 184 00:16:08.279 --> 00:16:17.559 I ever did. CAN THIS BE THE CHRIST? And then verse thirty. 185 00:16:17.759 --> 00:16:21.149 They went out of the town and we're coming to him. There's almost like 186 00:16:21.309 --> 00:16:26.110 no transition right, no arguing, nobeitia debating, no deciding, just this 187 00:16:26.309 --> 00:16:33.299 thing happens. When I think about what she did, I make a few 188 00:16:33.340 --> 00:16:37.179 observations which I'll share with you, and perhaps you have others which you can 189 00:16:37.220 --> 00:16:42.340 share with me I'm later. Here are some things I noticed. One, 190 00:16:44.220 --> 00:16:49.049 the jar. She's got good priorities, right. She her priorities have been 191 00:16:49.090 --> 00:16:55.529 reordered in a way. Something really, really significant has happened to her. 192 00:16:56.090 --> 00:17:00.009 She has met the Christ, right, she says, we've been waiting for 193 00:17:00.090 --> 00:17:03.279 a long time for the Christ to come. He stands there and he says 194 00:17:03.960 --> 00:17:07.440 I am he of whom you speak. That's a big deal, right. 195 00:17:07.559 --> 00:17:11.920 And so her priorities are reordered in there some sense. She leaves her water 196 00:17:11.960 --> 00:17:18.910 J are, she's zealous. She goes and speaks. Second thing I noticed 197 00:17:18.990 --> 00:17:25.390 as her resilience. Notice what her resilience in the light of what looks like 198 00:17:25.470 --> 00:17:32.380 a pretty bad experience with Jesus's disciples? Right, her decide, the disciples 199 00:17:32.420 --> 00:17:37.539 go away to get food. Jesus has this conversation with her. They come 200 00:17:37.660 --> 00:17:41.460 back and say, why are you talking with a woman? All right, 201 00:17:41.500 --> 00:17:47.809 how would you like it if your first experience with the church was Jesus was 202 00:17:47.930 --> 00:17:51.250 a somebody, one of Jesus followers? What is disciple saying to you, 203 00:17:51.369 --> 00:17:56.369 particularly if you're a woman? Why are you talking with a woman? That 204 00:17:56.529 --> 00:18:00.039 probably wouldn't feel her good. Is My guess. Perhaps something like that has 205 00:18:00.079 --> 00:18:06.319 happened to you, perhaps worse than that has happened to you. Nevertheless, 206 00:18:07.079 --> 00:18:15.549 she doesn't let bitterness, anger frustration with these jerks seep into her heart. 207 00:18:17.029 --> 00:18:21.910 She doesn't let this experience, by would assume bad experience with the followers of 208 00:18:21.950 --> 00:18:25.910 Christ, affect her. What did she do? She says, forget them, 209 00:18:26.829 --> 00:18:30.700 I just met the Christ. And she goes and she tells others. 210 00:18:32.140 --> 00:18:40.660 Amazing. She also doesn't get suckered in by by fear and pride that we 211 00:18:40.859 --> 00:18:48.450 often do. This Samaritan Woman, this serial adulterous she's met the Christ. 212 00:18:48.250 --> 00:18:52.890 She doesn't spend three years reading books, She just goes and tells people. 213 00:18:52.890 --> 00:18:57.559 Now I recommend books. I love books. Go to my website and there's 214 00:18:57.559 --> 00:19:03.039 all kinds of books you can read that I've recommended. Read them, be 215 00:19:03.200 --> 00:19:07.319 blessed by them, but don't use them as an excuse. We do this 216 00:19:07.440 --> 00:19:12.309 not just with evangelism, we do all kinds of things. I'm thinking about 217 00:19:12.349 --> 00:19:21.990 it. Jesus, the Postle Paul Talks about weak willed women that are I'm 218 00:19:22.109 --> 00:19:26.460 always studying, always reading and never able to come to a knowledge of the 219 00:19:26.619 --> 00:19:30.500 truth. Not This lady. She's met Jesus and she's going to tell people 220 00:19:30.539 --> 00:19:37.809 about it. We can always grow and there's always room and there are there. 221 00:19:37.970 --> 00:19:44.650 We must maintain proper distinctions and we can think about office and the differences 222 00:19:44.690 --> 00:19:48.809 between the Minister of the word and those that are not called to that particular 223 00:19:48.970 --> 00:19:56.000 ministry. But we also don't want to overcomplicate things either. Jesus is the 224 00:19:56.039 --> 00:20:00.799 Christ. He tells us about her, and she doesn't get overly complicated about 225 00:20:00.799 --> 00:20:03.640 it. She says, come see a man who told me all I ever 226 00:20:03.880 --> 00:20:10.150 did. That's all she says here. And she asked the question, can 227 00:20:10.230 --> 00:20:15.789 be this be the Christ? That's interesting too to me, because she doesn't 228 00:20:15.789 --> 00:20:19.470 come with all the answers. I think sometimes we feel like that's necessary, 229 00:20:21.230 --> 00:20:26.859 like we have to know everything before we can share anything. She asks the 230 00:20:26.980 --> 00:20:32.740 question. She says, I met this person who did this. Can he 231 00:20:32.940 --> 00:20:40.730 be this person? And they come now. I don't think there is a 232 00:20:40.890 --> 00:20:45.329 promise here to us that if we just go up to people and say can 233 00:20:45.450 --> 00:20:49.599 this be the Christ, that thousands of people will rush out of their homes 234 00:20:49.680 --> 00:20:57.200 to come meet Jesus. Jesus works, as he told US earlier in John 235 00:20:57.359 --> 00:21:03.470 Three, through his spirit and his spirit is like a win moving and doing 236 00:21:03.829 --> 00:21:10.789 what he desires. One of the things we recognize here about Jesus and his 237 00:21:10.950 --> 00:21:14.990 work, and we're continuing to recognize in the Gospel, is that he is 238 00:21:15.269 --> 00:21:21.220 supreme, he is awesome, he is powerful, he is God. Our 239 00:21:21.380 --> 00:21:26.099 job is not to become God and have all the answers and then do the 240 00:21:26.180 --> 00:21:30.900 work of harvesting souls our God. Our job is simple, to go out 241 00:21:32.180 --> 00:21:36.289 with what he has given us, in the midst of all of our limitations 242 00:21:36.450 --> 00:21:41.369 and our struggles and all the rest. Notice that it's not just this woman 243 00:21:41.410 --> 00:21:45.930 who has this proper attitude, but the Apostle Paul, a minister of the 244 00:21:45.049 --> 00:21:51.640 word, has this as well. In First Corinthians, chapter two, he 245 00:21:51.759 --> 00:21:56.559 says this to the Corinthian Church. And I, when I came to you, 246 00:21:56.880 --> 00:22:02.309 brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty 247 00:22:02.349 --> 00:22:07.390 speech or wisdom, for I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, 248 00:22:07.470 --> 00:22:12.750 in him crucified, and I was with you in weakness and in fear. 249 00:22:14.549 --> 00:22:19.460 And he says much trembling, and my speech and my message were not 250 00:22:19.700 --> 00:22:23.380 in plausible words of wisdom, but it in a demonstration of the spirit and 251 00:22:23.579 --> 00:22:30.049 with power, so that your faith my not rest in the wisdom of men 252 00:22:30.210 --> 00:22:37.210 but in the power of God. If you have this image of the apostle, 253 00:22:37.250 --> 00:22:42.289 Paul from barrel chested, charging place into place after place, sort of 254 00:22:42.650 --> 00:22:47.400 proclaiming the message of God and sort of a wakening people out of their sin, 255 00:22:47.519 --> 00:22:51.079 who just can't help, except by the force of his personality, to 256 00:22:51.160 --> 00:22:56.400 say I submit right, I'll come under the Lordship of Christ. You you've 257 00:22:56.400 --> 00:23:00.710 got it wrong. Now, Paul did have a very strong personality, but 258 00:23:00.750 --> 00:23:06.829 what does he say, at least about this particular mission? He says I 259 00:23:07.109 --> 00:23:15.500 came in fear. He even describes it much trembling. Have you ever trembled 260 00:23:15.339 --> 00:23:21.380 when trying to share the Gospel with someone? I have, I do. 261 00:23:22.180 --> 00:23:32.009 Paul did too, but rather than shy away from it, he embraces it, 262 00:23:33.410 --> 00:23:37.569 not out of pride but for this reason, verse five that I read 263 00:23:37.650 --> 00:23:42.039 to you so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men or 264 00:23:42.119 --> 00:23:45.440 the power of Paul, or the wisdom or eloquence of Paul, but in 265 00:23:45.480 --> 00:23:49.400 the power of God. He goes as a jar of clay and he stands 266 00:23:49.440 --> 00:23:55.359 before people and he says, I'm a jar of clay right, I'm scared, 267 00:23:55.640 --> 00:23:57.950 I'm nervous about talking to you, but I'm going to say this as 268 00:23:59.109 --> 00:24:03.150 clearly as I can. I'm not going to worry about being overly fancy. 269 00:24:03.630 --> 00:24:08.430 I just want to be clear. Could this be the Christ? Or, 270 00:24:08.549 --> 00:24:14.539 as he says it, this is the Christ. The woman does the same 271 00:24:14.660 --> 00:24:18.059 thing, the Samaritan woman who just heard the Gospel, she does the exact 272 00:24:18.140 --> 00:24:22.660 same thing. She stands in all her brokenness and all her mess and she 273 00:24:22.740 --> 00:24:26.130 said, as he told me all my faults, he told me all that 274 00:24:26.250 --> 00:24:34.809 I ever did. She doesn't stop proud of that. She's boasting in him, 275 00:24:36.809 --> 00:24:40.160 and that's the thing we've got to remember at the end of the day. 276 00:24:41.279 --> 00:24:44.440 We ought to prepare, we ought to study. The proverbs are so 277 00:24:44.920 --> 00:24:51.000 clear that there is beauty and elegance and power and having choice words at a 278 00:24:51.079 --> 00:24:56.349 choice moment. You can be a jerk in sharing the gospel. Don't do 279 00:24:56.630 --> 00:25:03.029 that, but also don't use that possibility as an excuse for not saying anything 280 00:25:03.150 --> 00:25:11.460 or creating such a high bar for saying anything that is higher than Jesus himself 281 00:25:12.619 --> 00:25:25.049 is willing to use and does use. But I'm trying to get at is 282 00:25:25.130 --> 00:25:30.529 that, if we make the Gospel and sharing the Gospel about us and what 283 00:25:30.769 --> 00:25:34.880 we're doing and where we're at and who we are and all those things. 284 00:25:37.599 --> 00:25:41.839 You're missing the thing about the Gospel itself, which is it's not about you, 285 00:25:42.839 --> 00:25:47.799 it's about him. It's about him as the Christ, it's about what 286 00:25:47.960 --> 00:25:51.430 he's done, it's about about his power, it's about him coming into the 287 00:25:51.549 --> 00:26:00.710 world. When you have your mind fixed on him, when your faith is 288 00:26:00.910 --> 00:26:07.740 in him, then that will set the right order of things. You will 289 00:26:07.779 --> 00:26:10.819 know when to study and when to be silent, you will know when to 290 00:26:10.900 --> 00:26:15.339 be bold and when to go forward, and even when you don't, your 291 00:26:15.500 --> 00:26:19.049 faith will rely on him and say, Lord, help me, I don't 292 00:26:19.049 --> 00:26:23.890 know what I'm doing. But it's ultimately not about me. It's all about 293 00:26:25.009 --> 00:26:33.079 you. You need faith. That's the key. But remember what Jesus says 294 00:26:33.119 --> 00:26:36.920 about faith. He says if it's as small as a mustard seed, it's 295 00:26:37.000 --> 00:26:41.000 still mighty. Also, remember what Jesus says about our faith. It's a 296 00:26:41.160 --> 00:26:45.960 gift of God. We have it not because of anything that we've done, 297 00:26:47.079 --> 00:26:52.269 but because of what he has given us. So, as always, my 298 00:26:52.430 --> 00:26:57.309 message is the same. Put your focus on him, put your faith on 299 00:26:57.509 --> 00:27:02.819 him, know him to be true, know him to be strong, no, 300 00:27:03.099 --> 00:27:07.740 His forgiveness to be all that it is. And when you have an 301 00:27:07.779 --> 00:27:11.819 opportunity to share the hope that is in you, you simply say that. 302 00:27:12.339 --> 00:27:18.609 You simply say the good news about him. It can be as simple as 303 00:27:18.049 --> 00:27:22.369 he told me all that I ever did. I think he's the Christ. 304 00:27:22.730 --> 00:27:27.650 I've got a lot of questions still, but come you've got to see. 305 00:27:30.079 --> 00:27:34.359 Or it could be as Paul says it. He says the saying is trustworthy 306 00:27:34.480 --> 00:27:42.519 and and reliable. Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. People 307 00:27:42.680 --> 00:27:47.670 have all kinds of objections and they'll have questions for you, but it's not 308 00:27:47.829 --> 00:27:52.670 your job to save them. We simply put our faith in the Lord and 309 00:27:52.349 --> 00:28:03.140 enjoy the harvest. Your God is strong, your God is good, he 310 00:28:03.380 --> 00:28:10.259 is come at the perfect time in the perfect way. Whether you find yourself 311 00:28:10.859 --> 00:28:14.049 in a situation where you are trying to find the right words to say, 312 00:28:15.130 --> 00:28:18.210 or where do you find yourself in a situation like this woman, where you 313 00:28:18.329 --> 00:28:22.849 have sins to repent of, no matter where you are at in your life, 314 00:28:22.609 --> 00:28:29.119 put your faith in him. He's good, he is righteous, he 315 00:28:29.319 --> 00:28:33.400 is strong and he promises to give you the gift of eternal life, a 316 00:28:33.559 --> 00:28:40.440 spring of water welling up in you and lasting forever. Let's pray