Water, Worship, Work – Part Two (Gospel of John Part 14)
Text: John 4:27 – 42
We’re continuing on with John 4 today, and just as a quick re-cap of last week, we read about how Jesus was going through Samaria and He and the disciples had stopped at Jacobs Well. The disciples had gone on into town to get some food, but Jesus had stayed behind and was resting at the well, when a Samaritan woman came to draw water. If you remember we talked about how she had a conversation with Jesus, and basically in that conversation; Jesus showed her that all the things she had been doing in order to try to fill the void in her heart, weren’t cutting it. The water was a necessary thing, but she’d need to come to the well and drink again. The men in her life, weren’t the answer to finding fulfillment and satisfaction… and the worship she was doing was ritual and religion, but true worship is done in spirit and in truth. And that’s really what the whole thing comes down to. She had a worship problem. She was trying to find fulfilment and satisfaction and contentment… she was trying to fill the hole in her heart with relationships, and worldly things.
But Jesus corrects this… He calls her out… and then He tells her that He is the Messiah, and that brings us to our text this morning. It’s John 4:27 – 42, please follow along with me as we go to
God’s Word - (READ TEXT).
So Jesus is having this conversation with this woman… and we don’t know what else He has said to her… all we know is what Scripture has recorded for us. He may have said more, or this may be it… but what we do know is that it has a huge impact on her. She leaves her water pot and heads back into town and starts telling everyone about Jesus. And this is the pattern we see all throughout the New Testament. People encounter Jesus, and they become believers, and they go and tell others. This is the normal response for a Christian. We are to let the light of Christ shine through us. We are to go and preach the Gospel. We are to go and make disciples. That’s what Christians do.
This Samaritan woman doesn’t have it all figured out. She doesn’t have all the answers. But she’s encountered Christ, and she’s got to tell others. I’m just going to say it. If you’re a Christian, and you’re not at least attempting to tell people about Jesus, then something is wrong. There’s a disconnect somewhere. You see; as human beings; it’s in us to talk to others about what we are passionate about. We talk to others about what thrills us, and what we are excited about. We talk to others about what we love and enjoy. None of us have any problems talking to people about the Sooners, the Pokes, the Huskers, the Thunder, or our own Trojans. We don’t… we’ll talk to people about sports for hours on end. None of us have problems talking to others about our favorite movies or TV shows… We’ll tell others about our favorite places to eat. We talk about politics, or certain issues that are important to us. And Jesus… Jesus is supposed to be the supreme love of our life… the supreme joy of our life… but if we’re not talking about Him, and telling others about Him, then maybe… just maybe – He really isn’t. Maybe; if we’re honest with ourselves, we’d have to say that what we’re most interested in, and what we’re most satisfied by, and what our supreme joy and love really is… isn’t Jesus… but you see Church, that’s why this text is so important and relevant to US… because you may not be like the woman at the well… you may not have been divorced 5 times, and you may not be shacking up with someone who isn’t your spouse… but ALL OF US – EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US, has committed spiritual adultery.
And yet – there’s Jesus… just like He’s saying to this woman. “I know all about you. I know all your sin. I know all your flaws and faults. I know that you’ve sought your satisfaction and fulfillment in the things of the world. I know you better than you know yourself… but grab your family and come to Me, because I’m going to show you grace and mercy, and love anyway.” You see; that’s what makes the Gospel – Good news! That Jesus came to save sinners!
The lady here rushes back to town… she can’t keep it to herself. She has to tell someone!
And what we see next is REVIVAL!
Not the kind of revival that some people think of… REAL REVIVAL. When you say, “We’re going to have a revival. It’ll take place next Wednesday night at 7:00 and we’ll meet for 2 weeks”
That’s not a Biblical Revival… That’s the Church gathering in hopes that a revival breaks out. When we see revival in Scripture, we see a sovereign work of God, where He gets ahold of a group of people (not just one person, but a whole group), and rescues them from a Christless eternity, and stirs their heart, and convicts them of sin, and lights a fire in them that burns with love and zeal for Him and His Church. That’s revival.
That’s what I’m praying will happen here in our church, and in our state… and in this nation, and all across the world. That God will bring a move of His Holy Spirit and bring, real, genuine revival.
So for the remainder of my sermon, I want to ask you a few questions from the text here… I want you to think this through with me, and I’m praying that God will open our understanding and stir our hearts as well.
FIRST: What kind of person does God use to bring revival? Well… here in our text it’s a single, lone, woman. But her heart has been set on fire – spiritually speaking. Look what she does… she abandons her water jar and goes to town. There’s a reason John tells us she left her water jar. He’s wanting us to think about the disciples who left their nets and followed Jesus. It’s showing us that her life has been changed… She doesn’t need that jar anymore… it could never bring satisfaction and fulfillment. It’s a picture of her old life, and she leaves it behind because she’s met Jesus. So what kind of person does God use to bring revival? A person who is willing to leave it all behind, and who has had a real, genuine encounter with Jesus… A person who is a new creation… a Christian, who not only says, “Here I am Lord, send me.” But means it.
SECOND: What evangelism technique did she use? This is the kind of “dumb” question that only preachers ask. We’re always buying new books about evangelism, and how to reach our communities, and how to reach our neighbors and our family members, and how to be better at evangelism. Let me tell you what I’ve learned in 20 years of pastoral ministry… the best technique isn’t in a book – it’s in THE BOOK. Here it is – Go tell people what you know about Jesus and invite them to come learn more about Him through Bible study, or by going to Church, or by going to small groups, or whatever.
Like I said earlier; this lady didn’t have it all figured out. She just went and told them what she knew… she told them what Jesus had said to her… and she invited them to come and see for themselves what He was all about. And she doesn’t hold back. She’s like, “He knows everything about me. He knows things that only God can know… He exposed my sin. But it’s ok, because He healed me of it and has forgiven me of it… even knowing it all… and how bad it is.”
THIRD: How does Jesus describe this revival? Look at verse 35 (READ).
He describes it as a harvest. So while the Disciples were gone, Jesus planted and harvested a small crop – the woman… then she took off and she planted, and cultivated the ground, and watered the soil, and now the Disciples are going to get to reap a great harvest that they didn’t even work on. I don’t know how you feel about that – but to me – that’s AWESOME! So you see, in God’s plan sometimes He calls us to plow the ground. Sometimes He calls us to plant the seeds. Sometimes He calls us to water the seeds, and sometimes we get to take part in the harvest. But God brings the increase! Without Him, none of it would matter. So as believers, we should never get discouraged if we’re not in the harvest stage of things… because if we’re not in the harvest stage, then we’re in the plowing, planting, or watering stage. Sometimes the ground is hard and takes a little more work. Sometimes it’s a dry place and it takes a little more water. I think of the great missionary – William Carey, who went to India in 1793. He was in India seven long, hard years before he ever even saw a single convert.
So that’s how Jesus describes this event. It’s something God does, and we, by His grace, get to take part in. We get to play a part in this grand design of God. It’s an amazing privilege, and it’s a wonderful thing.
FOURTH: What are the effects of this revival? Let’s look again at verses 39 – 42 (READ).
So what are the effects? What are the results? The conversion and salvation of an entire community. Look at them… they want to have Jesus stay with them. They have this fire inside them. They actually want to hear God’s Word taught, and explained to them. They want to be in His presence.
I want to read something to you from a man named Edwin Orr. Edwin Orr was a scholar who spent his entire life studying revival. And this comes from a lecture he was giving about a revival that broke out in Ireland in 1859.
Listen to what he said, “In Northern Ireland in the town of Colerain. A schoolboy under deep conviction of sin seemed so unable to continue his studies that the kindly teacher sent him home in the company of another boy already converted to Christ. On the way home they found an empty house and entered it to pray. At last, the unhappy boy found peace and returned immediately to the class to tell his teacher, ‘I’m so happy, I have the Lord Jesus as my Savior!’ His innocent testimony had its effect on the class, and boy after boy slipped outside. The school master, looking out the window, observed the boys, each one on his knees in prayer. Soon, the whole school was in an uproar. The school master sent for ministers to speak with the children. And as parents arrived to gather their children they too were overcome. School boys, school girls, parents, and teachers. The entire premises was occupied until 11 PM that night.”
Now that was 160 years ago… and I bet someone is thinking, “That would never happen today.” Let me ask you – are you saying that couldn’t happen at Sharon-Mutual Schools? Or at the schools in Woodward? Let me re-phrase that… Are you saying that God couldn’t or wouldn’t do something like that here?
Do you believe that what happened in this town in Samaria could happen here in Sharon Oklahoma? Let me just tell you – I BELIEVE THAT IT COULD! I believe that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and if it is His will we could see revival break out, like none of us have ever seen before. I believe that God is almighty and all powerful, and that if He so wills, He can take one single Christian, and light a fire under them that burns so brightly they spark the fires of revival in our communities, or in our families, or in our nation.
Now what happens if He doesn’t? What do we do then? We just keep on plowing, planting, and watering. This woman at the well, she had no idea that God was going to bring revival, but that didn’t stop her from telling everyone about Jesus. She had to tell them. And if no one believed her, that was fine… but she couldn’t keep quiet.
Our nation and our world is in desperate need of this kind of revival, and we don’t know what God might do, or might not do… but we know what we’re supposed to do. Go into all the world and preach the Gospel. Go and tell others about Jesus. Share the Good News with a world that needs to hear it, over and over again. Tell them what Christ has done for you, to you, and in you. And pray that our love for Jesus will burn hotter and hotter every new day.
CLOSING
CONCLUSION
