Hello Friends, its always a pleasure to come your way. Recap John 4
Connect socially, Cross cultural Barriers, Bought up the opportunities, Principles Put spiritual opportunites b4 physical needs.
1.DON’T EXPECT A COMPLETELY MATURE RESPONSE FROM A SEEKING PERSON (4:15).
Joh 4:13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: Joh 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. Joh 4:15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. GIVE ME WATER SO I DON’T HAVE TO COME HERE AGAIN
2. POINT OUT THE NEED, BUT DO IT GRACIOUSLY (4:16-18).MAN IS LOST & NEEDS JESUS.NO TURN OR BURN,CONTEXT IS LOVE
Go call your husband.I have no husbandJoh 4:16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. Joh 4:17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
Joh 4:18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. GRACE vs TRUTH,PHYSICIAN
“No one values the physician until he feels his disease.” But at the same time that He exposed the woman’s sin, Jesus dealt with her kindly and graciously. He didn’t point His finger at her and say, “You’re a wicked woman! Unless you repent, you will perish!” Rather, He gently agreed with her, “You have said truly.” He pointed out her need, but didn’t condemn her. He did the same thing with the woman caught in adultery when He told her (John 8:11), “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”
We need the same fine balance that Jesus had here. Use God’s Word to show how we’re all guilty of violating His holy law. But do it graciously, pointing them to the cross.
3.AVOID ARGUMENTS (4:12-14, 21-24).
V12 ARE YOU GREATER THAN JACOB OUR FATHER WHO GAVE US THE WELL?
Joh 4:21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
Joh 4:22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. Joh 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. Joh 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
(2 Tim. 2:24-26), “The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.” That’s what Jesus did here:
STEER BACK TO THE MAIN ISSUESTICK WITH THE MAIN ISSUE (4:20-26).WHICH IS SALVATION OF MAN THROUGH JESUS.AVOID THEOLOGICAL DEBATES, NAUGHTY ISSUES LIKE TITHES, DRESSING, MY PASTOR YOUR PASTOR,CAIN’S WIFE, ALCOHOL.
4.DON’T MAKE CONCESSIONS, BUT OFFER GENTLE CORRECTION (4:22 YOU SAMARITANS).
Joh 4:20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Joh 4:21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Joh 4:22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
Joh 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. Joh 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Unbelievers mistakenly think that their religious ideas are just as good as anyone else’s. In other words, they do not understand that one way to God is objectively true, while others are necessarily false. Rather, they view religion as a matter of subjective preference: “You like chocolate, I like strawberry. But neither one is right or wrong.” But Scripture is clear that unless we worship the one true God as He has revealed Himself through His only Son Jesus, we’re worshiping idols. So we can’t let people get away with the idea that it really doesn’t matter what you believe, as long as you’re sincere. Don’t make concessions, but offer gentle correction.
5.FOCUS ON THE NEED FOR A HEART RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, AS OPPOSED TO OUTWARD RELIGION (4:23-24).JERUSALEM VS GERIZIM
johN 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. Joh 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Jerusalem vs Gerizim When you witness, invariably you will encounter people who think, “I’m right with God because I go to Mass or I go to church once in a while.” They confuse the rituals of Christianity for the reality of a heart relationship with God through knowing Jesus Christ personally.
The apostle Paul had been there. He was a Pharisee, zealous for his religion. But when he encountered the risen Lord Jesus Christ, he counted his religion as garbage for the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus his Lord (see Phil. 3:2-11). Ask person you’re witnessing to, “How much religious observance will it take to get into heaven?” Does God punch your “go to church card,” so that when you get enough points, you’re in?
CONCLUSION
EPISODE 9 BALANCING GRACE AND TRUTH
1. CONFRONT DIRECTLY WITH THE PERSON OF CHRIST AND HIS CLAIMS (4:13-14, 26).
disciples (Matt. 16:15), “But who do you say that I am?” Jn 14v6 I am the way the Truth and the Life.No man comes to the Father except through me. In this story, Jesus first claims (4:13-14) to be able to give the woman living water that will satisfy her thirst and spring up in her to eternal life. That is an astounding claim! If any mere man said this, we would conclude that he is crazy.
Then, at the climax of His encounter with this woman, Jesus claims to be the promised Messiah (4:26): “I who speak to you am He.” LIGHT,
The point for us is, when you’re telling someone about Jesus, let them know who He claimed to be. The Gospel of John is a great testimony to His claims (especially, see 5:17-47). Also, show them 1 Corinthians 15:1-19, where Paul asserts that if Jesus is not risen from the dead, our faith is worthless. If the person tries to go off on rabbit trails, bring him back to the person of Christ. He is everything in our witness!
2. ANYONE WHO HAS MET JESUS CAN BE A WITNESS (4:28-30, 39).
Here is an immoral woman who hasn’t even had time yet to clean up her living arrangement with a man who is not her husband. She doesn’t know very much, if any, correct theology. In fact, she’s probably still got a lot of incorrect theology from her Samaritan religion. In her excitement, her words were somewhat exaggerated (Jesus had not told her everything that she had done). She hadn’t memorized a clear outline of the plan of salvation. But she got so excited about meeting Jesus that she left her waterpot, ran back to the village, and excitedly told everyone about this extraordinary man whom she had just met.
Your testimony about what Christ has done in saving your soul is one powerful way that the Lord reaches others. “come and see” (4:29). Once I was blind now I see (John 9:25), “Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” It’s pretty tough to argue with that!
By the way, the woman also shows us that an effective way to witness is to ask questions, rather than try to win arguments. She asks, somewhat tentatively (4:29), “This is not the Christ, is it?” If she had boldly asserted that Jesus was the Christ, the men of the village probably would have laughed at her. But her question aroused their curiosity to go and find out for themselves.
3. KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN FOR AN UNEXPECTED SPIRITUAL HARVEST (4:35).
Jesus cites a common saying, “There are yet four months and then comes the harvest.” In other words, you don’t plant seed and expect to reap a harvest the next day or week. It takes time. But He tells them to lift up their eyes and see that the fields are already white for harvest. Don’t pass over unlikely candidates like Samria.It’s God who draws sinners and gives the harvest. We need to be faithful to share the good news, even when people seem to us to be unlikely to respond.
4.SOWING IS NECESSARY FOR REAPING (4:36-38).
John 4:36 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. Joh 4:37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. Joh 4:38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.
We expect to reap without sowing. We wonder why we don’t see people coming to Christ. But often the answer is simple: Because I haven’t been sowing any seed! At the very least, begin praying for opportunities to share the gospel with others. Jot down a list of those you regularly have contact with that don’t know Christ and begin praying for their salvation and for God to give you an opportunity to talk with them about the Savior. To reap a harvest, we have to sow the seed.
5. WHEN YOU REAP A HARVEST, PROBABLY OTHERS HAVE SOWN BEFORE YOU (4:38).
Jesus says (4:38), “I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.” The disciples were entering into the harvest from the seed that Jesus had sown with the woman while they were off buying lunch. You may be a sower or a reaper at another-Bill Hybels story
Studies have shown that it takes an average of 7.6 times for an unbeliever to hear the gospel before he responds favorably to it
6.LEVERAGE THE SUPERNATURAL:
Joh 4:16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
Joh 4:17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: Joh 4:18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. Joh 4:19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
Matt 12:28 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Mat 12:29 Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. (Warfare)
Gifts of The Spirit, Prayer, Strong Man.Hell
CONCLUSION
The truths here are endless. Ps 2 v8 Action Point:Draw up a list of people you will pray for, pray for opportunities.Countries
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The salvation from sin and judgment that Jesus offers is not automatic. The Samaritans believed in Him because they heard and came to know that Jesus “is indeed the Savior of the world” (4:42). If you have not yet done so, Jesus wants you to believe in Him as your Savior. If you have already believed in Jesus, He wants you to be like this woman: to tell those you know about this unique man, who is God in human flesh, who lays bare the very thoughts and intentions of your heart. But He does it not to shame you, but to save you from your sins.
If I wanted to extend this series for several more weeks, we could study the differences in Jesus’ witness to the Pharisee Nicodemus in John 3 with the Samaritan woman in John 4. The contrasts could not be much greater. He was a Jew; she was a Samaritan. He was a man; she was a woman. He was educated; she probably was not. He was a leader among his people; she was probably disrespected by her people. He was morally upright and proud of it; she was immoral and ashamed of it. He recognized Jesus’ merits and sought Him; she at first had no idea who He was. Jesus sought her. Nicodemus shows that no matter how religious you may be, you still need to come to Jesus for salvation. The woman at the well shows that no matter how immoral you may be, the salvation that Jesus offers extends to you.
Conclusion
I conclude by asking (based on 4:13-14), “Are you drinking from the water of this world, which never fully satisfies? Or, have you drunk of the living water that Jesus gives, which has become in you a well of water springing up to eternal life?”
