02 04 01-07 - Right Place, Right Readiness
The Right Place with the Right Readiness
John 4:1-7
Intro:
· A couple of weeks ago, we talked about G.R.O.W.T.H.
o Greet God — Read God’s Word – Overcome obstacles – Witness – Throw yourself into God’s work – Honour the Lord
o As we go back to studying John’s Gospel – we’re going to focus for the next couple of weeks on W – Witness
· Why witness?
o The need of our world
§ John 14:6 - Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
· There is only one way
· We must tell people or else they will miss it
o Jesus’ command
§ Matthew 28:19-20 - 19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
· We are to make disciples
o Evangelize - share the Gospel
o Disciple – help them grow
o Example of the church
§ Acts 8:4 - Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.
· As the church was persecuted, the leaders stayed in Jerusalem
· The people scattered and witnessed
o It is God’s Method
§ Romans 10:13-14 - 13For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? (NLT)
· God gives us all the privilege of sharing in the most awesome responsibility in the world!
· Having said that, we need some direction on how to do this
o John 4 is one of the greatest passages about this
o We get to learn from the Master Himself!
§ This week – preparing for evangelism
§ Next week – doing evangelism
· If we are going to see spiritual growth, we must be involved in witnessing.
o If we are going to be effective in our witness, how should we prepare?
I. Allow God to Lead Through Circumstances (1-3)
A. Background
1. Jesus and His disciples were reaching people!
a. Even more than John the Baptist and his group
2. Pharisees – religious leaders but not of God – put pressure on Jesus
a. Jesus could have fought back – but it wasn’t the time
b. So Jesus left
(1) He left a fruitful ministry
(2) He left his home area
(3) He left what was familiar to him
c. The circumstances did not look good
B. Application
1. We must be sensitive to God’s leading!
2. Circumstances – even the bad ones – are always in God’s control!
a. @ I get my hair cut in the late afternoons – I’m tired – sit in the seat and relax - doze off without moving my head – many times I have people in there who, when they find out I’m a pastor, have questions – I’ve had many opps to share the Gospel – I could say, “All I want to do is rest”
b. You get to the doctor’s and find you have to wait – look at the person next to you
c. Someone comes unglued at you – they obviously need Christ’s peace
3. Make a practice of – esp. when things seem to be going wrong (when YOUR plan is not working) – to look around for God’s appointment
II. Live on Purpose (4a)
A. Background
1. Jesus HAD TO pass through Samaria
2. Why?
a. Construction? — the only road? — obligations?
b. Because He knew who was there needing Him
c. Because He was so in touch with His Father that He knew that was where He was to go
B. Application
1. When you begin your day, do you seek God’s guidance?
a. I’m not talking about asking Him to help you have a good day
(1) To avoid trouble
(2) To have everything run smoothly
b. I’m talking about asking God to make you sensitive to what HE is doing around you and what part HE wants you to play in that work
2. Some ideas
a. Start the day with a prayer of dedication
b. Carry tracts with you
c. Get around unsaved people
d. Realize that God is always at work and invites you to join Him
III. Overcome Prejudice (4b)
A. Background
1. Jesus went through Samaria
a. Normal journey was to go on the other side of Jordan
2. Samaritans and Jews hated each other
a. Samaritans were half-breeds
b. Enemies of the Nehemiah
c. Worshipped God other than in Jerusalem
d. 6-9 AD defiled temple – scattered bones during Passover
e. Jewish writer referred to them as: “that foolish people that dwell in Sichem.” (Sirach 50:26)
3. But Jesus went there on purpose
B. Application
1. When I say prejudice, your first thought is probably “race”
a. Certainly we must look past race.
(1) God so loved the world – not one particular race!
2. But there are other prejudices that we must overcome as well
a. Wealthy – rich people need Christ
b. Poor – “so much work to do” -- they need Christ
c. Those who have a lot of issues
(1) Addiction
(2) Harsh personality
(3) Vocal atheist
(4) Different world religion
d. Those who make us feel uncomfortable
(1) Disabled — Terminal disease
3. Bottom line: some people focus their evangelism efforts on only those who are just like us
a. But those who are just like us are already saved!
4. Sin has damaged this world badly
a. You are not going to find people with whom you feel completely comfortable until they are a part of God’s family
IV. Live in God’s Strength (6a)
A. Background
1. Jesus was weary from his journey
a. Tiredness that results from hard labour
b. Bone tired
2. Yet, when the opportunity for evangelism came, he took it
B. Application
1. 2 Corinthians 12:9 - But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
2. I’m coming to realise...
a. If you are saying you are doing God’s work, but you never feel stretched beyond your limits, I don’t think you can say you’re doing God’s Work
b. You may be doing good work
c. But God does not share His glory
(1) Think of Gideon in the Bible – God whittled that army down to a few hundred men and wiped out an army of thousands
(2) Think of David and Goliath – who received the glory there?
3. We need to learn to say with Paul, “when I am weak, then I am strong.”
a. When we come to the place where we are no longer relying on ourselves, that is when we begin to see God work in miraculous ways.
4. We often hear about “burn out”
a. My observation about that is this:
(1) Jesus was fully human and, as we see, dealt with human physical weakness.
(2) Yet He constantly ministered to people
(3) But He also found time to renew His batteries
(4) Here’s the thing:
(a) How did He do that?
(b) By getting alone with the Father!
b. Too many times our remedy for burn out is to make sure we never do enough to get burnt out.
(1) But I believe that if we follow the Lord...
(a) Proverbs 3:5-6 - 5Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
(2) ...He will make our paths straight – He will direct our way
(a) He will help us avoid burn out
(3) @ One of the things I love about ministry is that no day is the same – no week is the same
(a) There are some weeks that are just flat out!
(b) Then there are the quiet weeks
i. They’re quiet, not because I make them that way, but because the Lord makes them that way
c. Don’t be afraid of burning out
(1) Live the Proverbs 3:5-6 way of life and trust the Lord on this
V. Meet People where they are (6b)
A. Background
1. Jesus didn’t take a nap under some remote tree
2. He sat Himself down at a place where people were sure to come by
3. This is the middle of the day, the hottest part
a. Where is he? Beside a well!
(1) 30 metres deep feeding off a spring – Great water!!!!
B. Application
1. Kind of like “Live on Purpose”
2. Don’t isolate yourself during the week
3. Lunch break – not the time for devotions
a. Sit with the crew
b. Talk with them – enter their world
c. Build relationships
4. @ Kind of like fishing
a. Too hot outside — too windy — too far away from comfort
b. Therefore I’m going to fill up the baptistery here and fish in it
c. How successful will I be?
(1) If my success is based on my comfort, good
(2) But if my success is based on catching fish, failure
5. If you isolate yourself from unsaved
a. You might be successful at avoiding uncomfortable situations
b. But you will fail at doing what God wants you to do
VI. Accept God’s Opportunities (7)
A. Background
1. Christ is looking for evangelism opportunities
2. He is looking to impact Samaria
3. Who comes out? The Samaritan woman
a. A woman – unimportant in that society
b. An immoral woman – a lot of issues to clear up –
c. An ashamed woman –
(1) coming to this well (not the closest) at this time (mid day) showed she was trying to avoid contact with the other women
(2) Will she really have the best impact?
4. IOW – humanly speaking, not the most strategic person to reach
B. Application
1. A popular church-growth strategy for the last 20 years – “Select a target group and go after them.”
2. NO — But if you want a target group, here’s one
a. The people God sends your way are your target group
b. The people God targets are your targets
3. Don’t brush off people because they don’t seem to be the best candidates
a. Children – rough teens – some of the ones we mentioned earlier
b. Romans 1:16 - For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes...
c. The Gospel is supernaturally powerful
(1) It changes lives
(2) It heals marriages
(3) It repairs character
4. It’s not your job to change people
a. That is a job for God!
5. It IS your job to share that powerful life-changing message
a. Just accept God’s opportunities!
Conc.:
· There are many churches – organizations – etc. who like to brag about how many people they led to Christ this past year
o Taking God’s credit
· Reacting to that often leads people to disregard this task
o That’s improper
· It IS God’s job to save people
o But it is OUR job to share the Gospel
· AS we seek to see spiritual growth in our lives this year, will you commit yourself to following Christ's example of being in the right place with the right readiness?