"The Samaritan Woman: A Lesson On Evangelism”

5. Be a student of the Word of God. Be ready to give an answer or be able to find any answers you asked about the Bible or salvation. Jesus being the “Word made flesh” was able to answer perfectly. We being imperfect beings wont always be able to answer perfectly, but we should be able to find our way to truth and help guide others.

(v.20) This question revealed the gaping hole in her soul. “Where is God? My people say he is on the mountain. Your people say he is in Jerusalem. I don’t know where he is.” I’d love to have seen the expression on Jesus’ face as he heard those words. Did His eyes water? Did He smile? Did He look up into the clouds and wink at His Father? Of all the places to find a hungry heart – Samaria? Of all the people to be searching for God – a woman? Of all the people to have an insatiable appetite for God a – a five time divorcee? And of all the people to receive the secret of the ages, an outcast among outcasts? The most “insignificant” person in the region?

(v. 26) Remarkable. Jesus didn’t reveal the secret to King Herod. He didn’t request an audience of the Sanhedrin and tell them the news. It wasn’t within the colonnades of a Roman court that he announced his identity. No, it was in the shade of a well in a rejected land to an ostracized woman. His eyes must have danced as he whispered the secret. “I am the Messiah.”

(v. 28-29) Did you notice what she forgot? She forgot her water jar. She left behind the jug that had caused the sag in her shoulders. She left behind the burden she brought. Suddenly the insignificance of her life was swallowed by the significance of the moment. “God is here! God has come! God cares … for me!” That’s why she forgot the water jar. That is why she ran to the city. That is why she grabbed the first person she saw and announced her discovery, “I just talked to a man who knows everything I ever did … and He loves me anyway!”

When a person is truly evangelized they in turn become evangelist.

(v. 39) The power of a life that has been turned around can’t be denied. The people who knew this woman couldn’t deny the sudden transformation they witnessed in her. Just look around the church, do you see any changed lives? If your life has been changed by the power of God then you must share this truth with others, allow them to see the difference Christ has made in your life.

(v.42) I love this verse, its so encouraging when I think of it in the context of the church. The town’s people believed because of the woman’s testimony and came and checked out Jesus, but when they spent time with the Lord themselves they were even more convinced by knowing Him personally. When a believer attends church studies, prays and grows closer to Jesus through an intimate relationship with Him, it does nothing but build their faith.

What does this story say to you about the Love of God?

What does it say about the Lord’s desire for evangelism?

How does your life and heart line up with these truths?

ILLUS: Some years back as you traveled along I-10 in Louisiana there was a large billboard which would catch your eye. It stood high above the city just as you started up the Mississippi River bridge. On it was a picture of Jesus Christ hanging on the cross of Calvary, head bowed. The caption underneath said in bold letters, "IT’S YOUR MOVE!" What a powerful thought. God has already taken the initiative in salvation. Christ died for you. Now--it’s your move! --James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) p. 70.