This Month's theme: Know people who don't know Jesus
Scripture~John 4-Jesus met the Samaritan Woman at the well around noon. His disciples went into the city to buy some food while Jesus rested at the well. He asked the woman for a drink of water and she was shocked that He, a Jewish man, would ask for water from a Samaritan woman. He put Himself in a position of need and then He ministered to her need. He spoke her language, asking her for water to fulfill His thirst. He used the environment they were in to minister to her. He went on to tell her that she should ask Him for living water. He would give it to her and she would not ever thirst again. Then, she herself would be a source of water for others. She wanted that. So Jesus told her to go get her husband. He wanted to clear some things up first plus give her more words for her testimony. She told him that she had no husband and Jesus told her that she was right about that. "Not only do you not have 'a' husband, you've had five, and the one you are living with now is not one of those." She realized that He had a prophetic gift and moved the subject into that area. He moved with her and talked with her about worship which led her right into the subject of all subjects-The Messiah. "When the Messiah comes, " she said, "He will tell us all things." He said, "I who speak to you am He."
At this point, the disciples came back, marveling that He talked with a woman. ( Did Jesus ever do anything that was politically correct?) He was no longer hungry but had been fed by the nourishment that comes from obedience to His Heavenly Father.
Meanwhile, the woman, realizing that Jesus fit her very own description of the Messiah, went to the city and said to the MEN, "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" And they came out to meet Him.
At their urging, He stayed with them for two more days, and because of her testimony and His own words, many believed in Him.
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For those who have had a true encounter with Jesus Christ, the change will be obvious. They will want to run to others and bring them to Jesus, too.
Story:
Many years ago, in North Dakota, in a town of about 800,000 people, there was a struggling business, Wall Drug. They came up with an idea that would bring people in off the highway into their little store. "Free Water," they advertised. Signs could be read along the highway-"50 miles to Wall Drug. Free Cup of Water." "Free Water-40 Miles-Wall Drug." And so on. Suddenly, you were there. It was good to get away from the monotonous stretch of highway and get out and jump around and drink a free cup of cold water, grab a bag of chips, some camera film, and a cola for the road. Before they knew it, 15,ooo people came through their store in a week's time. Why? Because they spoke the people's language. (I remember seeing these signs as a child. Phil remember's the bumper sticker's (bumpah stickah's) that read, "Where the heck is Wall Drug?")
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Darkness and sin are not necessarily getting any worse. The light is getting dimmer. We begin to tolerate sin and darkness and then, our light gets dimmer. Darkness can never overtake the light. Light exposes things. When you walk into a room, you bring light.
We have a message that changes eternity. We don't have to apologize for the light of the Gospel.
What we have in our walk with Christ has eternal consequences for ourselves and others.
Why does someone's relationship with Christ change into a religion?
It happens when we become afraid of what other's think. Not everyone is going to like us when we share our faith. Part of that reason is because light exposes darkness. The light of God is in our life. What are we doing with His light?
(Somehow, Jesus, the Light of the World, could meet with sinners and not turn them off. He embraced them, accepted them, and moved them on, without being tolerant of their sin. How did He do this? It was the religious leaders that He offended;those who thought they were full of light and goodness. He did not tolerate their self-righteousness or their religiousity. Those who thought they were right did not like Him, for He exposed their light as darkness. Those who knew they were sinners were drawn to His light. We cannot share the light of Christ unless we know that in and of ourselves, we are not good. We need to know that we are closer to the sinner who never heard of Christ than we are to the self-sanctified-saint filled up with their own goodness.)
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How much are we willing to expose our lives to the light of God?
What are we going to do with our encounter with Jesus?
We've hidden so much in our lives that when who we are as Christians is exposed to the world, we are called hypocrites.
Has Jesus told you everything you know about yourself?
Like the woman at the well, can we tell others about our vulnerable encounter with Christ?
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In the novel,"The Fall", the main character says something like,"I never cross a bridge at night. Suppose someone jumps into the water. I would either have to jump in and rescue him or go on and suppress the pain." He was afraid to get involved. He was afraid of what it would require of him. We are afraid as well.
(I think we are afraid of disappointing people. What if they are learning Christ's ways from us and we fail? Perhaps, that is the lesson they are to learn~That we will fail them and Christ will not.)
Also, how does this play out in real life? The disciples left everything to spread the gospel.
How do we take care of our families and pay our bills and keep our integrity and our rest?
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The reasons why we might not share the gospel include:
#1~We might not be studying enough. We might not have something to share. We might not be splashing in the fountain of living water. We might be drained dry.
#2~The people we know that need Jesus have watched us too long and they don't want to hear what we have to say.
(Along with this goes our own condemning heart. We think we should have it together 'by this time.' We forget the joy of having a Savior and our desperate need for one. We forget that we are kneeling under the foot of the cross and Christ's blood is running down His legs onto His feet and dripping on our heads. Who can imagine that they 'have it together' when they are in this position? One vile sinner beside another vile sinner. I am no better than you. You are no better than me. Thank God we have a Savior. Thank God that He forgives. Holy, Holy God.)
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