A Lesson of Evangelism

Unrelated, but a question.

How many of you listen to Christian music,

some of the songs that we sing on Spotify or Pandora?

! Any of you do that?

Okay.

The reason I bring that up is because I do that sometimes,

but, you know, there's something about Spotify and Pandora

that kind of lets me down a little bit.

Here's what it is.

Your singing is more precious

than that.

Do you know why?

Because I know you.

And because you are part of me.

And your singing is an amplified worship.

There's nothing wrong with good Christian music.

I want you to understand that.

But it's better when we're together.

And I want to thank you for that.

Now, I have a job.

And you have a job.

Do you know what I'm referring to?

My responsibility is to preach the word faithfully

with the enabling of the Spirit of God.

To make the Scriptures clear.

And your job

is to pray me through.

Do you understand that?

And your job is to plead with the Holy Ghost

that he would allow the truth of the word of God

to make a difference in who you are.

So let's pray.

And then you pray

and I'll preach.

Father God, this morning

we are so very thankful

for the clear

instruction of Scriptures

regarding the way in which

we are to take up your word

not viewing it as a mere intellectual exercise

but recognizing that

you intend for us

to also rely upon your Spirit

to open up the Scriptures

that we might behold

wondrous truths out of thy law.

And so this morning we ask

that you would touch our hearts

and our ears

with a readiness to hear.

that by your Spirit

we would lay aside

some of the issues

that we have allowed

to cloud our affection

for the Lord of glory.

And that we would desire

above all things

to see Jesus clearly lifted up.

That we might grow

in our affection for him.

That we might grow

in our confidence in him.

That we might grow

in our longing

for the day

that we will see Christ

face to face

and be transformed by that.

And so our study

in the word this morning

is in some senses

a mere

whetting of the appetite.

A taste

before Thanksgiving dinner

of that which we will enjoy

in heaven.

And Lord

unless your Spirit

helps me

and helps your people

that won't take place.

And so we don't mind asking.

In Jesus name.

Amen.

Turn in your Bibles

to John chapter 4

John 4 · chapter mention

and as we

step into our study

in the book of John

again I remind you

that the truth of the matter

is the fourth gospel

is radically different

from the other three.

The other three

are called synoptics

in that they're very similar

in the material

that they cover.

John is different

in that John relies

on a very

very limited set

of stories

from the life of Christ.

Very limited.

In fact

one scholar

has marked the fact

that there are only

eight different incidents

that are really brought forward

in the sense

that the other gospels

present all these

different details.

John admits right up front

that he was very selective

only chose a few

and he explains

his purpose

in John chapter 20-31.

John 20 · chapter mention

We know as a general rule

when an author

writes a book

they give you

some kind of insight

of why they're doing it

generally in an introduction.

Isn't that right?

And John saves it

for the last.

He tells us

these things are written

that you might believe

in the Lord Jesus Christ

and have everlasting life.

And so

as we work our way

we're dealing with

one of those small

little pictures

of the Lord Jesus

and it is profoundly

significant to us.

I remember reading

that the book of John

is one that is

edifying for the believer

and it is evangelistic.

You can't help

but read through

the book of John

and come to grips

with the reality

of his affection

for lost mankind.

It's right there

all over the place.

And it's hard also

to read through John

and not come to grips

with some of the

underlying questions

that we should always

be asking ourselves

namely

who is Jesus?

I remember several weeks

ago talking with individuals

about the issue

of salvation

and what the characteristics

of that are

and I said

why don't you read

through the book of John

and ask yourself

two questions.

Here are the two questions.

Who is Jesus

and what does he mean to me?

Who is Jesus

and what does he mean to me?

And as we take up

this passage this morning

I trust that one of the things

that happens

is that those of you

who are here

that know Christ

would end up having

that kind of

yes that's my Savior.

Do you follow

that kind of enthusiasm?

That your heart

would be thankful

that you know him

and that you would be

lifted up to say

man I can't wait

to see him.

And those of you

who are here today

that do not know Christ

and I have to believe

that in a crowd this size

there are some of you

sitting here

some of you may be

under the impression

that just because

you grew up

and you went to Sunday school

or you were in Awana

that you may be saved

and I got to tell you

that ain't the truth

necessarily.

Please make a note

and send me an email

on the ain't part

and give you concern

but here's the fact.

Not everyone

that said to me

Lord, Lord

or went to a Baptist church

is saved.

Salvation

is the work

of the Spirit of God

that convicts us

of the misery

of our sin

and draws us

to realize

that apart from

the Lord Jesus Christ

we have no hope

and salvation

brings us

to cry out

and say

God I'm a sinner

and I stand

justly condemned

and I need you

to forgive me

and to save me

and when we

come to grips

with our brokenness

and he saves us

we're not

the same

going forward.

Well anyway

let's get started

in the book

chapter 4.

You look there

in verse 1

it says

now when Jesus

learned

that the Pharisees

had heard

that Jesus

was making

and baptizing

more disciples

than John

although Jesus himself

did not baptize

but only his disciples

he left Judea

and departed

again for Galilee.

As you pick up

the passage

this morning

you recognize

that at the outset

here is Jesus

in an environment

in which there is

some conflict

and as a result

of that

he decides

that he's going

to leave

where he is

in Jerusalem

and he's going

to take

a northward

journey.

It's a journey

that could take

between three

and four days.

Now John

and Jesus

had both

really come

to the

attention

of the Pharisees

who were these

religious leaders

and they were

very concerned

because both

John and Jesus

were kind of

turning over

the apple cart

of what was

good Jewish

religious behavior

and John

was calling people

to repent

and to baptize

and by the way

that baptism

was a baptism

that was indicating

man I realize

there's a mess

in my life

and I need

to do something

about it

and here comes

along Jesus

and he's preaching

a message

of repentance

and to good

Jewish religious

leaders

who had put

together a program

for self-improvement

and getting to heaven

by doing all the

right kind of things

it was a little

off-putting

and so they were

becoming more

and more critical

of Jesus

and John

and so here

is Jesus

knowing the

tension

was growing

he decides

he is going

to leave

the environment

of Jerusalem

and he's going

to move north

back to Galilee

now he didn't

leave because

he wanted

to avoid

pressure

he left

because he

recognized

that the timing

wasn't right

I want you

to realize

later when

the timing

was right

and Jesus

earlier

at one point

says it's not

my time

but eventually

when it was

his time

he marched

back to

Jerusalem

and willingly

became

the sacrifice

for sin

and so

in the time

from when

he stepped

into the public

view

and three years

later when he

was crucified

in that time

one of the things

that Jesus did

was make

the message

to the nation

of Israel

undeniably clear

he preached

he sent

his twelve

he sent

his seventy

and over

and over

again

his announcement

was hey

listen you

need to come

to faith

in the Messiah

that's me

and you find

here that

the time

wasn't right

and so what

we note

is as it

says he

had to pass

through Samaria

verse four

now one of the

questions that you

should learn to

ask yourself

and I trust

by the way

here stop

just for a second

I hope

that every

one of you

who know

Christ

here this

morning

have a

regular

pattern

of reading

the scriptures

on your own

everybody smiles

and says

I do

I do

you follow me

let me say it

again slowly

I trust

that every

one of you

who know

Christ

have a

regular

pattern

of reading

the scriptures

on your own

and I'm

giving you

little hints

of how you

can get

more out

of it

everybody

understands

that right

so one

of the things

that will

help you

get more

out of it

is asking

obvious

questions

like why

is that

there

what's

that all

about

and so

here is

this little

verse

verse 4

it says

and he

had to

pass

through

Samaria

and so

you say

why

why do

you have

to pass

through

Samaria

the Greek

verb

that is

used

here

really

communicates

the idea

of necessity

not an

imperative

or a

command

but just

something

that was

needed

it was

unavoidable

determined

either by

law

or custom

or circumstance

let me give you

an illustration

the other day

other evening

I had to

buy gas

now

it was

not by

law

I mean

hey

the state

of Ohio

doesn't mind

if I pull

over to the

side of the

road

and my

car dies

because I

haven't

given it

adequate fuel

but I

had intentions

of going

places

and as a

result of

that

I kind

of looked

at the

gauge

how many

of you

have those

little

lights

that tell

you

you are

at the

point

where

in my

case

I have

two more

gallons

and I've

got that

kind of

parsed out

in my

mind

I can

drive

about

45 miles

and then

I'm

calling my

wife

and saying

honey

you know

why did

you not

put gas

in the

car

well

okay

so

I had

to

and

Jesus

had

to

so

the question

is

why did

Jesus have

to go

through

Samaria

Jesus

did not

have to

go through

Samaria

because it

was the

only way

to go

sometimes

for all

practical

purposes

there is

only one

path that

you can

take to

go to

a particular

place

and if

you're

going

there

you do

it

this

way

that

wasn't

the

case

the

truth

of the

matter

is

is that

many

Jews

would

sometimes

because of

their

attitude

towards

the

Samaritans

and the

attitude

of the

Samaritans

towards

the

Jews

they

would

actually

walk

for an

extra

day

to avoid

going

through

Samaria

because

the

Samaritans

were these

nasty

low life

non-Jew

attitude

towards

them

and so

they would

avoid

they take

an extra

day

of his

journey

but on

the other

hand

there were

a lot

of

Jews

who

would

travel

through

Samaria

and when

it says

that Jesus

had to

go through

Samaria

it's

giving us

a little

clue

that we

need to

think

about

Jesus

wasn't

running

away

from

the

Pharisees

and so

had to

take

the

quickest

route

to

get

out

of

town

and by

the way

you do

know

that Paul

in one

case

he had

to be

let down

in a

basket

to get

out

of a

city

because

it was

either

that

or

martyrdom

and so

it was

a

necessity

in this

case

the

had to

has to

do

with

something

else

now

if you

were to

read

various

commentaries

on the

passage

you would

find that

that some

would argue

that this

necessity

was

determined

by the

need of

the

Samaritan

woman

and I

think

that's

fair

in a

broad

sense

and I'm

going to

help you

think that

through

as you

recognize

the character

and nature

of Jesus

you come

to grips

with the

fact

that his

heart

and his

affection

were for

lost

mankind

and so

when we

think about

him having

to go

through

Samaria

it wasn't

because

the

Samaritans

were the

worst

sinners

around

and so

they were

the ones

who needed

him most

it wasn't

like

spiritual

triage

and if

anybody

really needs

help

it's the

Samaritans

on the

other hand

we recognize

and I think

it is fair

to say

that when

it says

that he

had to

go through

Samaria

it is

reflective

on the

underlying

mission

that Christ

had

in the

hearts

of people

and their

salvation

and if

you were

to look

at

some of

the passages

where you

pick up

on the

heart

of Christ

you will

see that

connection

now

when Jesus

went through

Samaria

it was

because of

his mission

to save

sinners

that was

the thing

that drove

him

and when

you hear

me say

that well

he traveled

through

Samaria

for the

sake of

sinners

a practical

question

that you

would ask

yourself

is okay

well where

does that

show up

in the

Bible

isn't that

a standard

question

that you

have

when pastor

says

something

the question

you have

is yeah

show me

I want you

to have

that

I want you

to always

have that

so let's

look at a

couple different

passages

and they are

some that

probably should

be underlined

in your

Bible

those are

the go-to

passages

kind of

remind you

these are

important

turn back

in your

Bible

if you

will

just for

a moment

to Luke

Luke 19:10

chapter 19

verse 10

Luke

Luke 19:10

chapter 19

verse 10

this is the

story of

Zacchaeus

and by the

way

here is

Jesus

showing

mercy

to someone

that none

of us

probably in

our natural

inclination

would ever

give any

attention

to

hated

despised

Zacchaeus

and yet

Jesus

willingly

stepped

into

this

man's

life

and brought

salvation

to him

and he

explains it

this way

why would

you do

that

Jesus

for the

son of

man

came to

seek

and to

save

the

lost

for the

son of

man

came to

save

those who

are

lost

that was

his

purpose

why did

he

come

he

came

to

seek

out

to

find

those

who

are

struggling

and

broken

by their

sin

and

desperately

need

to be

saved

that's

why

he

came

in

John

chapter

one

as we

look

back

into

the

book

of

John

itself

you'll

remember

that

here's

what

it

says

about

Jesus

in

John

chapter

one

verse

29

it

says

behold

the

lamb

of

God

who

came

to

take

away

the

sins

of

the

world

why

did

Jesus

come

he

came

to

be

the

satisfaction

for

our

debt

here's

the

reality

sin

creates

a

debt

and a

judgment

upon

all

sinners

and only

Jesus

chapter

10

verse

10

there's

another

passage

in

where

it

says

this

he

came

to

give

us

abundant

life

stop

just

for a

moment

and

think

with

me

here

everybody

think

do you

know

what

abundant

life

looks

like

it

is

not

necessarily

that

you're

at

the

top

of

the

financial

food

chain

and

anybody

who

promises

you

that

is

in

sharp

contradiction

to the

scripture

and the

record

the

21

men

who

were

martyred

in

Libya

I

guarantee

you

did

not

go

hog

wild

for

the

prosperity

gospel

they

having

faith

in

Jesus

Christ

died

and

their

families

did

you

read

the

remainder

of the

bulletin

their

families

are

saying

we're

thankful

that

they

were

chosen

and

they

were

given

the

privilege

of

being

martyrs

and

by

the

way

we

are

reminded

to pray

for

our

enemies

and

so

I

want

you

to

think

just

for

a

moment

today

because

I

recognize

that

it's

fairly

easy

for us

to get

kind

of

caught

up

in

the

difficulties

of life

and forget

the fact

that

Jesus

came

to save

us

from

the

misery

of

sin

and

to

make

us

happy

people

in

Christ

abundant

living

is not

being a

sourpuss

at home

and all

God's

people

said

that

was

the

most

enthusiastic

statement

I've

heard

in

the

last

seven

years

well

let's

try it

again

right

abundant

living

is not

being a

sourpuss

at home

everybody

said

amen

okay

I can

see you're

persuaded

well

here we

are

Jesus

went

through

Samaria

because

his

mission

was

to

save

sinners

and

as

you

stop

and

think

about

it

when

we

think

about

Jesus

coming

to

save

sinners

do you

realize

that

everyone

is

included

in

this

picture

I

mean

it's

not

just

the

Samaritan

woman

and

by

the

way

she

was

a

trophy

case

of

the

kind

of

people

that

need

to

be

saved

and

sometimes

we

kind

of

think

to

ourselves

that

well

we're

pretty

good

I

want

to

remind

you

of

what

it

says

over

in

Romans

Romans 3:23

chapter

3

verse

23

it

says

can

help

me

with

this

passage

all

have

sinned

and

come

short

of

the

glory

of

God

we're

all

equally

judged

and

condemned

before

a

holy

God

and

he

came

with

me

in

mind

now

let me

tell you

something

we

do

no

favors

to

sinners

by

not

gently

helping

them

understand

what

is

right

and

what

is

wrong

ultimately

sin

is

not

a

culturally

determined

set

of

behaviors

that

change

over

time

sin

is

a

violation

of

God's

holy

law

and

for

example

I've

been

troubled

by

the

movie

Fifty Shades

of

Grey

that I

have

not

gone

and

seen

I

have

not

read

any

of

the

books

I

have

just

picked

up

on

some

of

the

blog

statements

that

have

been

made

on

Gospel

Coalition

in

fact

I

would

suggest

that

you

go

to

Gospel

Coalition

as

a

periodic

and a

regular

attention

to

something

that

would

be

healthy

for

your

spiritual

development

but

here's

what

troubles

me

the

most

it

troubles

me

that

100

million

copies

of

this

book

have

sold

around

the

world

100

million

and

it's

because I'm

going to

tell you

something

the next

thing that

you who are

younger are

going to

live to

see take

place

is

children

being

treated

as

adults are

being

treated

today

I've

tried to

say that

with a

certain

amount

of

discretion

and

propriety

but

make

no

mistake

we

are

headed

towards

where

Rome

and

Greece

were

in

sexual

deviancy

and

don't

think

that

it's

not

a

problem

in

fact

you

know

what

I

would

suggest

you

do

give

your

phones

to

one

another

and

check

to

see

what

the

history

is

on

where

you've

been

with

your

data

plan

let me

come back

to the

subject

and

recognize

that

when

Jesus

came

to

the

well

he

was

coming

because

people

need

Christ

and

so

let me

ask

you

this

question

as

you

think

about

the

subject

where

have

you

gone

and

what

are

you

doing

that

others

might

know

Jesus

is

that

a

fair

question

where

have

you

been

what

are

you

doing

that

people

might

come

to

grips

with

the

need

of

their

heart

one

of

the

things

that

marks

those

who

follow

Christ

closely

is

that

their

interest

honestly

is in

those

who

need

Christ

and

they

go out

of

their

way

to do

it

does

it

take

extra

time

yes

it

does

but

at

the

end

of

the

day

that's

why

Jesus

had

to

go

through

Samaria

is

because

there

were

sinners

there

and he

was

the

same

mission

as

Christ

has

well

John

John 4 · chapter mention

chapter

4

we

see

first

of

all

the

divine

necessity

that

Christ

had

of

reaching

out

to

those

who

are

lost

but

let's

look

at

something

else

and

learn

a

gospel

method

we've

already

seen

that

Christ's

love

for

the

lost

brought

him

to

Samaria

but

let's

go

a

little

deeper

in

the

text

you

read

there

in

verse

7

it

says

a woman

now we

do

know

that

his

disciples

we know

this

from

verse

27

had

gone

on

into

town

to

buy

sandwiches

you know

whatever

pita bread

something

stuffed in

between

hummus

or

whatever

else

I

don't

know

what

the

menu

was