Testimony John 4:25-42

Sermon nuggets Tues, March 11,2008

Theme Harvest

Verses- John 4:25-30 The woman said, "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us."
26 Then Jesus declared, "I who speak to you am he."
27 Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, "What do you want?" or "Why are you talking with her?"
28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people,"Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?"
30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him.(NIV)

Testimony

Last week we looked at some elements of witnessing. But when you meet Christ one of the most effective means of being a witness is sharing your story. This woman at the well told others what happened. It was natural, normal, and exciting.

A testimony is one’s own story of a Christ encounter. It is significant because it is your story. People can either investigate for themselves or ignore or reject it. But they cannot deny it didn't happen to you.

What makes up a testimony? Typically your God story tells what life was like before Christ. It also includes your encounter with Christ. It reveals your response to Christ. And lastly, what happened in your life after Christ.

I would be stretching it to make this woman’s own story fit that common formula, but those elements are there for us to see. We are told her past. We learn the details of her encounter with Jesus. She was becoming convinced that because of his knowing all about her He must be the prophet promised by God. Then we see she was a believer. (John 4:39-40 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I ever did.") She was excited and wanted others to know about Him.

God used this rejected, sinful woman to share her story and it resulted in many others getting saved. The woman at the well was the first evangelist to tell the good news of Jesus Christ in Samaria. Once she got the water of the Lord, she forgot all about the water of this world. She left her jar behind and ran back to town to tell her story.

41 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers. 42 They said to the woman, "We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world."(NIV)

They went to see for themselves and believed in Him for themselves. But some believed just based on the woman’s testimony.

Your testimony is a powerful tool to share with other people. It may not be dramatic. You may not have had a life full of dramatic sins. But facing the past, meeting the Lord and responding to him resulting in a changed life and future helps others accept, reject, or investigate for themselves. The Holy Spirit does the rest.

What is your story? A skeptic may deny your doctrine or attack your church, but he cannot honestly ignore the fact that you found hope in personally putting your faith in Jesus. He may never listen to a sermon or read a Bible, but there is attraction to stories that are true with people who are also in need of “living water”.

If you haven’t done it before, why not write out your salvation story? Include your life before you came to faith in Christ. Write how you were introduced to Jesus as Savior. You may have been a church goers all your life and known about Jesus, but what was it that made you take seriously that you were a sinner in need of savation? What happened that moved you to respond to believe and accept Him? What is your walk with Christ like since then? It is your unique experience that God can use in someone’s life.

In your worship today, thank the Lord for your story and how He saved you.

Pastor Dale

Harvesting John 4:20-26

Sermon Nuggets Monday March 10

Theme- Harvest

Verses John 4:20-26 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem."
Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.
Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seek.
God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."
The woman said, "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us."
Then Jesus declared, "I who speak to you am he." (NIV)

Spirit and Truth

Last week we centered out attention on how Jesus encountered the woman at the well with the need of her heart. She was looking for love in the wrong places. She had many husbands and lovers but was “thirsty” for something that would satisfy.

The discussion of how to do worship now was narrowed to the ultimate question. What are you going to do with Jesus Christ?

Responding to God involves spirit and truth. Much could be said about that. But one thing Jesus is making clear is that a time is coming when the places of worship aren’t what matters.

I believe Jesus was pointing to the work he was about to do on the cross. Because Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice for sin, there was no longer any need for the temple sacrifices of bulls and goats. Because Jesus is the ultimate priest, the great intercessor between God and man, there was no longer any need for the ministry of temple priests. At the death of Christ, the veil of the temple, Matthew 27:51, which had always separated God’s people from God’s glorious presence, was torn in half from top to bottom. The temple or the mountain no longer has significance.

To embrace Jesus by faith is to have God in you by the work of the Holy Spirit. God is still very much present among His people, only now His presence is mediated directly to each believer by the Holy Spirit. That is essential to real worship, but the word "spirit" here does not have the definite article in the original language, so I think it refers to our own inner life, emotions, will, our heart that is yielded to the Spirit of God.

One who worships the Lord fully loves the Lord God with all your heart with all your soul with all your mind and with all your strength.

But sincerity alone is does not make for acceptable worship. Jesus also said that those who worship Him must worship Him in truth. Time and time again, throughout the Old Covenant record, men drew near to God to worship Him, and God was not pleased with their worship, because rather than following the commandments of God, rather than regarding Him as holy, rather than worshiping Him in truth, they had devised in their own hearts how they preferred to worship Him.

The truth of God is revealed for us in the Bible. We cannot just spout off what we think and what revelations come to our minds as if they are from God. It must be Scriptural. It must be in keeping with obedience. It must be centered on the apostles teaching. It must move us from our desires to Him as He is revealed in His word.

When the woman said The Messiah will explain everything to us, Jesus forced her to make a response when he revealed Himself. "I who speak to you am he."

There it is. God was revealed in the person of Jesus and she had to decide what to do with Him. Truth was revealed, now will she worship and give herself to Him in her spirit?

Some are full of spirit but wander from the truth. Others adhere to the truth, but are missing spirit. True worship involves both. Its focus is on HIM, not us.

Pastor Dale

Witnessing- Creative Communication John 4:10-25

Sermon nuggets Fri. March 7, 2008

Theme- Witnessing

Verses: John 4:10-25

CEATIVE COMMUNICATION
Jesus had two important ingredients in creative communication; a listening ear and a sensitive spirit. Water is a subject they had in common, but Jesus creatively moves the conversation to her spiritual need. He put the statement in a way that allowed her to ask questions and wants to know more.

When it comes to salesmanship, Dale Carnegie advices to find a common interest in which others are interested. Jesus shared the good news in many situations discussing gardening, fishing, sports, food, and parties. Creative communication is taking what people are interested in and opening the door for inquiry about the Lord. If they are not interested, fine, but someday they may be. The Holy Spirit needs to be the one to convince anyone of their need for Christ. But they first need to hear. Jesus moved the conversation from physical thirst to the spiritual thirst. He showed the real thirst in her life was looking for love that satisfies. She really needed God not another man.

She changed the subject to religion. It is easier to talk about religion than her personal need. She wanted to know about whose religion is the best? Jews or Samaritan? Which is the best mountain to worship on? Sometimes people will change the subject. He saw the deeper need and brought the subject back to the Messiah.

Maybe people are not interested in the gospel. Maybe after telling the importance of following Christ the one we are visiting with is not interested. Jesus had people rejecting his message. We need to be aware that people are not rejecting us they are rejecting Jesus. Rich young rulers went away sad, Judas one of the 12 turned away. There were two thieves on the cross. One wanted nothing to do with Jesus, the other was in paradise. But in order for her to properly respond to Jesus she needed to know. She knew she was a sinner, what she didn’t know is, God could fill the longing of her heart only in receiving Jesus.

I remember a minister telling me what he does in meeting new people. It was helpful. He said he uses the FORM method. First he asks about F-family. That is a subject that is easy to talk about.

Secondly, the conversation moves to O-occupation. What jobs have they worked? What did they like? What is hard about the job? What would they like to do if they changed work? Asking about something they know about encourages sharing.
Thirdly, he inquires about R-Recreation. What hobbies or interests do they have? What do they do for fun? What do they do in their days off? How do they relax? What helps reduce stress?

Lastly, he moves to the M-Message. The Message is Jesus Christ. It might be a follow up with how to relieve stress. It might be to discuss their church or experiences with religion. But often ends up with, “Can I tell you what brings peace to my heart?” or “Can I tell you what is more meaningful than Church?” And since they have told so much about themselves usually he gets a change to share his testimony of what it means to put his faith in Jesus, not just church going.

Dr. James Kennedy recently passed away. I often think of his question to people. “If you were to die and go to heaven and God were to ask you why should He let you in, what would you say?”

Based on their response he asks, “Can I tell you how I would answer that?” and then present the message- We are sinners. Jesus died for your sins to pay the punishment that sin deserves. He rose from the dead and offers us salvation by believing in Him and following Him.

Pastor Dale.

Cultural considerations John 4:9, 17-19

Sermon nuggets Thurs March 6

Theme- witnessing

Verses- John 4:9 The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)…
John 4:17-19 "I have no husband," she replied. Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true."
"Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet.

Cultural Considerations.

Let’s face it. Not everyone is like us. We have our own culture and sub-culture. It is easiest to associate with “our own”. That is why many Christians have no friends who are non Christians. Many Baptists hardly know anyone outside of their Baptist circles. Jesus was able to cross cultural differences to present eternal matters.

In this story there are four rather clear cultural differences.

First, the obvious gender difference poses greater problems in that society than today. In that culture you did not associate with someone of the opposite sex unless you were a family member, in a group, or for sexual favors or price. It was not culturally acceptable to be discussing things with a woman in private. Jesus reached out to a needy woman.

Secondly, it was apparent that Jews did not associate with Samaritans or Gentiles. They valued that racial and cultural identity greatly. They did not want to associate with a race of people considered sinners and law breakers. Racial prejudice is unfortunately not reserved for the non-believers. Many Christians have prejudice based on the color of skin or nationality, or education, or wealth, or life-style issues.

Thirdly, the other matter was their religious differences. People defend their religious background and will want to stop conversations quickly on that topic. People with different religions often don’t communicate seeking to defend their beliefs.

Fourthly, her life was looking for love in all the wrong places. She was immoral. She had divorced and some divorced people will tell you plainly they are treated like they have the plague among church people you are divorced. Not only was she divorced but she was married 5 times. The man she is now living with is not her husband. One who participates in sexual sins were not often in the group of good church goers.

Race, religion and relationships are all cultural and can be a major barrier to witnessing about Jesus.

A girl named Robin started coming to the youth group at one church. She was a foster child who obviously had not been to church before, but was looking for friends. Kids in the group ignored her since she didn’t fit in. She dressed differently, swore, and was rather bossy. Some would tell jokes about her and in the whispers, gossip behind her back. Robin ran away and was found later on the streets working as a prostitute. The cultural difference became a barrier. But the message of Jesus is too important to keep to ourselves.

It is not always easy to relate to those who are different than us. But Jesus did because he loves the world. He tells us to do the same. He did not accept her sin, but saw the deeper need of her heart.

A key example of Jesus is to recognize the cultural considerations and look beyond them.

Pastor Dale

Common contacts John 4:7-9

Sermon Nuggets Weds, March 5, 2008

Theme Witnessing

Verses John 4:7-9 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?"
8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
9 The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

Common Connections
Although there were differences between Jesus and the Samaritan woman, there were also things they shared in common. They needed water. They were at the same place for the same reason.

A simple principle is to fish where the fish are, not where they aren’t. I think the biggest obstacle to sharing the faith with someone is that most Christians don’t really know well any who are unchurched. Jesus went to where the people were. His activities included highways and valley and mountains and seashores and marketplaces as well as the temple and synagogues and by talking to the woman at the well. He took the initiative.

So where can we meet people? Community groups, neighborhood get-togethers, inviting people over for meals, striking up conversations at school activities, sporting events. A person will walk into our homes ten times faster than into a church building. And most people do not decide to follow Christ because of a sermon, or a minister, but because of a friendship or an acquaintance or circumstances in their lives.

I learned growing up in Detroit not to talk to strangers. In the urban environment sticking to yourself and your friends was safest. That is my comfort zone. I admire people who easily reach out to people in a friendly way in the “market-place”. I admire that quality which Jesus had of striking up conversations with people and using common contacts for God’s glory. Jesus didn’t wait for someone to talk to him; He talked to them and showed his own vulnerability by requesting a drink from her.

Do you want to know one of the most important qualities of common connections? It is to always be a listener. A good listener asks factual questions and then moves to asking opinions or thoughts about subjects. That is also what Jesus did. He often started with the common connections of things people share together- fishing, farming, family, water, Holidays. And shortly their opinions and feelings were revealed.

“Tell It Often,” was written by Bethel Seminary professor Mark McCloskey. Interestingly, he reminds us that the relationship does not have to be serious or in depth to be friends and to open the door for God to work. Jesus was not hours with the woman at the well; Phillip did not spend days with the Eunuch. There may be someone whom God leads your way that you have nothing in common with except you both need gas, or he or you have a broken down car and need a lift. Going through the terrible twos (or terrible teens) together can strike up conversations with mothers.

As important as long term friendship is, do not neglect the common contacts with shared interests that lead to discussions of truth and eternal matters. Asking questions on common things can lead to opinions and sharing on important things.

Pastor Dale

Casual Conversations John 4:1-8

Sermon nuggets Tues March 4, 2008

Theme- Witnessing

Verses John 4:1-8 The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John, although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples.
3 When the Lord learned of this, he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. Now he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
6 Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?"
8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)

Causal Contacts
Causal Contacts happen in the daily life experiences. They are not necessarily planned contacts, except by God. They include causal conversations in common places that might be divine appointment to bring someone to faith.

Earl Palmer tells of attended a concert at Milpitas Jr. High School. The orchestra was playing Beethoven’s 9th symphony. It wasn’t really very good, but they tried. He commented that you can’t judge Beethoven by the Milpitas Jr. High School band.

Would people rather hear the London Symphonic Orchestra play Beethoven instead of Milpitas Jr. High School band? The quality would be better, but it is the relationships that draw them to the Jr. High Concert. Then the thought hit Palmer- if it were not for the Milpitas Jr. High School Concert Orchestra many would never have heard Beethoven at all; many in the band would not develop an increased interest in music. Even if it were badly played it was better than not at all.

He used that analogy to discuss sharing our faith. Many will not listen to preachers and teachers but they know you and will listen to you. The plan of Jesus has always been to let your light shine in the world I which you live. Most do not live in churches.

The unchurched do not come to church. People stay away from churches in droves. They stay away from ministers like we have leprosy. People need friends who believe in Christ and meet Christians in everyday activities, just as Jesus met this woman on the road to get water. He got into a conversation on spiritual things. This casual contact became the place for sharing truth even with a stranger.

Don’t think too lightly of your causal contacts. God wants to use them.

Pastor Dale.

Living Water John 4

Sermon nuggets Mon. March 3, 2008

Theme – An effective Witness

Verses- John 4:10 Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." (NIV)

LIVING WATER
The late Peter Marshall told a story of the “keeper of the spring.” An old gentleman who lived along the eastern slopes of the Alps had been hired by an Austrian village to clear away the debris from the pools of water in the mountain crevices that fed the lovely spring flowing through their town. Faithfully he would remove the leaves and branches that would contaminate and choke the fresh flow of water. Years passed, and one evening at a town council meeting the salary figure for the keeper of the spring was discussed. They decided his services were no longer needed and unanimously voted to eliminate that expense from their budget.

Several weeks nothing changed. But by early fall the trees began to lose their leaves and branches were breaking off and falling into the pools, hindering the flow of sparkling water. By spring of the following year, the water had a yellowish brown tint and an odor.

Quickly, the embarrassed council had a meeting and hired back the keeper of the spring, and within a few weeks the river began to show signs of flowing faster and being cleaner.

In a sense our church has keepers of the spring- people who quietly keep the water of the church crystal clear and flowing freely. Nursery workers, VBS teachers, Sunday School Teachers, musicians, greeters, ushers, committee workers, prayer warriors, contributors, and the list goes on and on.

But another thought struck me as Jesus refers to Himself as living water. The phrase came to mean that water which flowed was always a source replenishing the supply as opposed to the pool, or stilled water which collected and didn’t have a fresh source and soon became stagnant, or dried up.

We begin this week looking at a conversation Jesus had with a Samaritan woman. He tells her there is fresh water continually flowing from Himself that never dries up nor goes stagnant.

Now I suppose there are times when our sin is like the debris that plugs and muddies it up and we need to be the keepers of the spring that addresses sin that we might have that spiritual freshness from Him.

What might muddy up the living water intended for your life?
Pastor Dale