FRANgelism (Part 2 of 5)

When Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well.

He crossed the cultural divide and reached out with compassion and understanding. This moving exchange recorded in John chapter 4 is the model for telling our friends and relatives, associates and neighbors about the gospel today on Truth for Life. Alister Ben continues a five-day series called frame journalism fed geography as they do with that place isn't people in history has to do with times and seasons theology has to do with the what we know of God that we know of ourselves and what the implications are of those two things coalescing we need to set it in a theological context.

Lester stayed in with this idea of the necessity of Jesus going through Samaria. He had to go through Samaria. I think the answer to that has probably little to do with time and it has everything to do with the nature of the mission of Jesus. Jesus is seen leaving Judea at a time when apparently he was being very very successful. More and more people were seeing his miracles hearing his words, getting baptized following him and Jesus says to his disciples that said, where are you here were going to Galilee is a right you would assume that since everything was going so well. The urgency would be knowledge. Just capitalize on this.

Let's develop this know Jesus as were going out. You understand only in terms of the five and Jesus was working within the framework of it. If you like a divine calendar. He did not want any kind of premature crisis in Judea to move forward. The timing of what he knew would be his eventual to my anti-resistance all the way through the Gospels whenever people are prepared to come and make him king. For example, he's gone.

When people commonly think of going to shut them down. He's gone. Why, because he knew that he was moving towards a point in time in the wedding in Cana of Galilee.

When his mother comes in and says he got a bit of problem here with the with the drink situation. Jesus says woman my time has not yet come.

By the time he gets to John 17 he says in his high priestly prayer father.

The time is come. Glorify me now with the glory that I had with you before I ever came into this time. Space capsule and so what we see here in Jesus. In this event in Samaria is Jesus recognizing the fact that he was there. According to verse 34 to do his will, and to finish his work whose will the father's will, whose work the father's work. Jesus, why would leaving Judea because I must do his will and finish his work. Jesus, why are we going to Galilee to do his will and finish his work to get the focus it's an all-consuming passion. There's no question with Jesus and his operation about whether he had a purpose statement. Could you give us your purpose statement Jesus could you reduce it to a verse could you reduce it to a phrase I give you in a phrase. Into phrases do his will to finish his work. Can we expand on that yes we can, but it is the irreducible minimum. What are you doing Jesus. This is what I'm doing when you understand this love ones and realized that when he finishes up.

He says listen as the father sent me, so send I you. It's the same purpose statement.

It's the same commission to do his will to finish his work not implant church scratch one another's backs not become the perfect husband is the most wonderful wives, all those things are means to an end. If I spend my last breath proclaiming Jesus all will be well on the same for each of its if our last conversation and leaving the office on a day that we will never know to be our last day sets forward the work of Christ, then we are within the line of his great preoccupation and his great passion and in this, the apostles followed him.

Paul himself in first Corinthians 9 Paul what are you doing what's the passion of your life. Paul well he says let me tell you I can give it in a phrase, though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone. And here it comes to when as many as possible.

What are you doing Paul I'm seeking to win as many as possible. Verse 22 to the week, I become weak. I become all things to all men, so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel that I may share in its blessings. I tell you my heart is stirred by this this morning love ones. I spend my life. I spend my days in the work of the church. Every so often I get myself out of this building I go to McDonald's.

I go anywhere to find anyone who may just be sitting around that I could share Jesus Christ with to get myself back in focus and remember what it is that I'm supposed to be doing is not about wanting an organization is not about building building is not of face to face six or whatever it is it is that I may do his will and finish his work. Your typist what your objective to do his will and finish his work.

Your doctor the same teacher the same carpenter the same sweeper the same as well. His work and our children and our friends and our neighbors and our loved ones will know if we are driven by such a passion as the first thing we learn theological second thing we understand is that God the father is seeking worshipers. He is an initiative taking God in the coming of Jesus. He is the one seeking to save that which is lost did you come to do miracles. Jesus no. Did you gone to teach great sermons. No, I came to seek and to save the lost.

Why, because God the father is seeking worshipers greatly.

The third thing that we notice theologically is that God is no respecter of persons. God is no respecter of person. If you turn by one page of your Bible is open, you'll turn back to John chapter 3 and there in John chapter 3 were introduced to another encounter between Jesus and an individual.

This individual is a man not a woman. His name is given to is unlike John four where no name is given and also this man is a member of the Jewish ruling council is a member of the Sanhedrin. He is a representative of Orthodox Judaism and Jesus addresses him. In chapter 3 you turn the page into chapter 4 and here Jesus addresses a woman who comes from a group that was wholeheartedly despised by Orthodox Judaism. You couldn't get a greater contrast in three Jesus is addressing the individual from all of his religious background and all of his binary and all of his business and then in chapter 4 he turns aside, and the address is somebody that this individual would never spoken to Vincent Emily. That's a fabulous thing about the body of Christ that should be the fabulous thing about avoiding none of this homogeneous stuff all from the same group, all from the same background all the same color.

All the same interest just a bunch of clones sitting around but no, Jesus comes to this man. Sure, unlike this one redeems them in the same way and unites them in his purpose for an interesting regular not that between chapter 3 and chapter 4. The encounter of Jesus were these two individuals puts them both in heaven and here you have to focus although they never met in time will be up in heaven that having the conversation hello hello, my name's Nicodemus were churning my regular name Sylvia. Sylvia, where were you down there all I assume Samaria urine urine. You are not Samaritan where you yeah I was why you are Julie yeah you are like a big-time Pharisee. She Sanhedrin January I'm not supposed to like you. But I love see the redeeming work of Jesus Christ is going to make a variegated community. I understand all the social implications of where the church is and it represents the community and I'm iolite stop we are what we are because of where we been placed and we want to represent the community in which we been placed, but not in any exclusive sense.

We want to go out into the highways and byways we want to live in John three.

We want also live in John four. Why, because God is no respecter of person all the rivalries and hatreds that marked chapter 4 were of little import to Jesus's ministry was for all for the Samaritan as well as the Jew, the ignorant as well as the learn of the poor for the rich women and men.

Religious and the religious those who were morally corrupt and those who were morally upright.

Jesus sits down as easily with this intellectual religious chat as he does with a woman with a checkered history and a live-in lover I be honest know you fight the seeking tendency to believe that we might do better with the set of people without religious interest.

We like to talk to them a little more but will let somebody else handle the five times married with a live-in lover. He said I want you to open your eyes fumes whites for the harvest lasting by way of the context is to notice it, not only geographically, historically, theologically, but immediately the immediacy of this should not pass us by. We don't want to be guilty of trying to make this something other than it is but I think it is not wrong for us to recognize the intense humanity that is represented in this scene for the divine Christ is the human Christ, and he was on a journey with a group of men who wear his colleagues in ministry and his friends and his this and and those who are learning from and as they made their journey from Judea, and on their way to Galilee. There is little doubt that at some point somebody must've said.

Am I the only one that is hungry or does anybody want to stop and get anything made of you not being anybody that goes on a journey as a group eventually that question comes up. Are we stopping anytime lately when you have your children in the car. It comes out about five minutes after you left your house, but but biologically very relatively sensible group there certain key points in the day where somebody says it's not unlikely that we would get something to eat and drink. It's the sixth hour. It's noon.

It's the middle of the day. Summary says I'm a what I'm hungry.

If nobody else so presumably they said fine. Let's go will get something Jesus stays by the well. Perhaps in the hope that someone will, after all, he did nothing with which to draw and he says to the disciples, you go get the food now see what we can do here with water.

Maybe somebody will come by and I can get the water range before you come back. This is the immediate context.

Try in your minds eye to look and see the incarnate son of God sitting by a well as I said at a point in the Long Beach uterine latitude scale at a moment in historical time, tired, dusty part from the rising Sun and thirsty, and certainly into the scene, walks a woman Samaritan woman came to draw water.

Why did she come to draw water. When did she calm she came in the middle of the day was that normal abnormal was a normal to come on your own abnormal what was normal was to draw water in the early hours of the evening was normal was to go as a group of ladies to the well. It was highly unusual for a woman to make the journey on her own and it was decidedly strange that she would do it at high noon in the middle of the day.

Why then would the lady make this journey at this time. When you put the pieces together, it would seem that the career that she had five husbands plus her live-in lover had made her a social outcast. Would we have spoken with her. Would we have asked a favor offer. When we have begun a conversation that's all. The context now we come to the conversation. Look at how the conversation begins. Will you give me a drink. Got a sort of ring to it doesn't serve down to our three thirsty feel to it, sir.

Lunchtime hungry tired heart sticky drink of water times or the filter doesn't is exactly what has to. This is exactly what it is. Jesus was not reading a manual on personal evangelism. We understand and chapter 4 some point be said a very good way to start a conversation is to ask people for drinks and water source at all this and want a drink of water times must try to bring the water? No.

This is thirsty. Jesus D12 no way down the well lady with plot chance for drink of water. May I have a drink of water.

Please okay will establish one thing I was a very natural beginning wasn't a Jesus is launching to the lady and say excuse me Mdm. read Leviticus chapter 18 is acting would be a good chapter for you heard a little about you and doesn't do that but you know some of our approaches to people are in Harris. I mean really embarrassing. I don't mean a wee bit embarrassing me marginally embarrassing. I mean downright totally obnoxiously embarrassing. We think there's some nine hours was in or get fired up with his big semi automatic machine gun full of versus and just go roaming the neighborhood looking for unsuspecting people like you looking for closer something with stress roaming around the first person stay still long. I was given a John three Romans three Romans six roaming standard rental agency you got jolly sinners.

How about would you like a hamburger way yeah I don't usually go around offering people hamburgers but in this church you may have seen down there.

It appeared from nowhere. I'm basically here is a wood would you be interested in coming down for hamburger great temptation. I think for me, at least, is to forget that when Jesus spoke to this person he spoke to her as a person and that when we go to people we go to people with no motor numbers, statistics, entities, demographics we used to do this regularly in Edinburgh. We went one night to the home of a couple in an apartment building.

We always went on Monday nights of his prayer meeting night most the people stayed and prayed in the rest of the souls went out and visited and we used to knock the door and simply say we come from the church down the street here and we wanted to let you know that we are having our friendship, service and we just thought that you may care to come and if the person expressed any interest. The tall, we would say if you would like the opportunity we would be glad to take that chance just to tell you I why it is that we would even make this visit and one night we went to this door and there was an elderly couple and the gentleman came to the door and he had the door a crack open initial introduction, no I don't think so.

Well, maybe. And eventually, I don't quite have it happen, but did the two visitors were inside their sitting down to have a literature. They explain what I'm says well we should go the lady but said nothing said to one of the two visitors. Could you say a prayer before you leave person Cynthia said say a prayer for people who have cancer. Cynthia said by their heads and one and prayed. When he praises Laura Dupree the bless those people who are suffering from illness and the facing difficulty and everything else and that you'll be to them except amen brief prayer opened his eyes and the couple cheers running down her face. Tell your story except to tell you the end, I conducted the funeral service of that she was a French juvenile. She was from a very rarefied interest in background long, long story in the center that she chose her own funeral hands. She chose her own Scripture readings she put in the Scotsman newspaper, for all her fancy friends to see the fight that she was not having a funeral service, but she was having a celebration of Thanksgiving and she insisted that we made it clear that she come from darkness into light from fear to faith. Why, because out of a sense of total routine with no splash and no hike to people walk out the door and said hey we had a little friendship thing, would you like to come. That was their part. What was God's part through all the years of her life preparing that lady for that couple to know that door in that moment so that she might come to faith in Jesus Christ and Jesus County. Open your eyes.

Let's open our eyes and look at the field they are already white for the harness.

This is Truth for Life. Maybe you're following along today with an element of surprise because your hearing Alister Bennett described the gospel in a way you've never thought about it before, but that's the case we'd like to direct you to a helpful online video video called the story beautifully animated feature that explains how Jesus sacrifice on the cross frees us from sin and offers us salvation to watch the video or if you'd like to forward the link to a friend go to Truth for Life.org/the story this week. Alister is spending all five days in John chapter 4 Jesus conversation with the Samaritan woman and were learning from the model Jesus gave us for sharing the gospel. It's not always easy to start a gospel conversation so as an encouragement. We want to recommend to you a book called have no fear that will help you do just that, a brief guide that gives suggestions and tips for initiating one-on-one discussions about Jesus with friends or relatives associates or neighbors. In addition to the book. Have no fear go along with our friends lose some series were also including two copies of a second book one for you and one for a friend. It's called the word 121. This is an easy to use book that will help you lead someone through the first chapter of the Gospel of John. It's a book that will prompt some great two-way conversation. In fact, we like the format of this book so much that we have posted a sample of the inside pages on our website a Truth for Life.org so you can take a look not to be clear, this is a three books that were talking about. So the first book is titled, have no fear, and then you'll receive two copies of the second book one for you, one for a friend. That book is called the word 1 to 1. This unique offer of three books will be sent to you when you support the ministry of Truth for Life.

You could do that right now by going to Truth for Life.org/donate or call 888-588-7884. Again, that's 888-588-7884 if you prefer to mail your donation you can write to Truth for Life at PO Box 39, 8000, Cleveland, Ohio, or ZIP Code is 44139 Bob Lapine hope you can join us tomorrow for another message in the series called friends realism. Alistair Begg will be teaching again from John chapter 4 talking to us about how Jesus compassionately showed the Samaritan woman how to choose living water over sin Bible teaching of Alistair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life. Learning is prolific