Breaking Down Barriers & Building Up The Wall (Pt. 3)
Sermon – 4 July 2004
Over the last several weeks the Lord has been truly speaking to us in a very special way as it relates to what His Word says about the barriers that exist between His children.
It has been exciting to me to see how God has brought things together in such a magnificent way. I have already shared with you how the Lord brought Pastor Mark and I together in a truly sovereign way.
Two Pastors of different ethnic backgrounds, different social backgrounds, having come from different states etc. being brought together in the same city, in the same time with the same burden.
Those things that are different about us could very easily have become barriers, as we have been looking at in scripture in the past weeks.
But God has been working in Pastor Mark and God has been working in me to prepare our hearts for what He would have us to do NOW in His Kingdom.
This past Tuesday was a powerful time as we came together for the main purpose of seeking God in unity. Setting aside all pretenses and self-conceived notions – setting aside self and seeking the face of our God.
Repenting of our own failures, wrong attitudes and hidden prejudices and seeking the face of our God. It was so powerful, to have Spanish, Black and Caucasian brothers and sisters in Christ truly crying out to God to pour out His Spirit upon us.
We are truly believing God to move in this City in such a magnificent and powerful way that will be a thing of beauty to behold.
No longer will they say “Where is your God?” for the people of this City will begin to see the Church become what she was intended by God to be.
It is encouraging to see this occurring in the way it is, as has already been mentioned, there is no room for anyone to take credit – we are simply responding to the heartbeat of our God.
Psalm 37:4
Delight (to be pliable) yourself also in the LORD,
And He shall give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart.
Amp
With the word ‘delight’ carrying the meaning of being pliable we can get a deeper sense of this passage – that if we will remain pliable before the Lord, our heart will be changed. Our desires will come in line with His.
As it relates to the material we have been covering form John 4, we have discussed the barriers that Jesus tore down in ministering to the woman at the well in Sychar.
In ministering to this woman he broke down several different barriers…
1) Geographical barrier – in going to Samaria when Jews would have nothing to do with Samaritans. Jesus went to Samaria because he had an appointment to keep (John 4:4)
2) Ethnic Barrier – in ministering to a Samaritan woman who was of a people that were viewed as “half-breeds” by the Jews because of the fact that their lineage was convoluted by intermarriage with other peoples.
3) Cultural Barrier – in ministering to a woman in public. It was taboo for a Jewish man to even speak to a woman in public, never mind a Samaritan one.
4) Religious Barrier – in ministering to a Samaritan at all, due to the religious heritage of the Samaritans which was one of mixed religion. Where the Jews left in the land after the Assyrian occupation intermarried with the nations that the Assyrians brought into the land and began to serve their gods, mixing the worship of Yahweh with the worship of pagan gods.
5) Historical Barrier – The Samaritans esteemed their history where the Jews looked down upon them precisely because of their historical background.
In all of these ways and more Jesus broke down barriers in an effort to minister to the true needs of this woman. In doing so Jesus left us an example in which to follow.
The early church followed in Jesus’ example from John 4 and his promise in Acts 1:8 and ministered to those who they once considered “dogs” and “half-breeds”.
Sadly, as we have discussed the church has in many ways rebuilt all manner of barriers betwixt and between one another so much so that the church is often viewed in ways that are not becoming those who call upon the name of Jesus.
It is a delight to see how God is working in so many ways in the hearts of his people to restore the all that the enemy has stolen through the bitterness, unforgiveness and flat out discrimination in the church.
Getting back to the scripture passage and series we have been in for the last couple of weeks, not only did Jesus tear down the barriers that we have just listed but in ministering to this woman he also tore down a …
1. Personal Barrier –
John 4:16
Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here."
NKJV
Jesus’ divinity gave him an insight into the heart of the people that he encountered…
Psalm 94:11
The LORD knows the thoughts of man;
Matthew 9:4
Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts?
In this passage from Matthew Jesus see right into the hearts of the teachers of the law who are accusing him of blasphemy.
Not only so, Jesus could see right into the heart of this woman and he knew full well what was going on in her life. With such knowledge he crossed a personal barrier into her life.
Unfortunately we do not have the ability to look into the heart of man in such a way but we must cross the personal barriers that people erect in their lives if we are going to be successful in ministering to them, whether believer or unbeliever.
In the case of believers we have an uncanny knack for lying to one another quite a bit. We will ask someone “How are you?” and the stock answer is “fine”, even when their life may be unraveling.
John 4:16-19
16 He told her, "Go, call your husband and come back." 17 "I have no husband," she replied. Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 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." 19 "Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet.
When Jesus spoke into this woman’s life her response was one of amazement…
"Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet.
This woman could not hide behind any façade that was there, for Jesus had exposed her outright. Now she tried to redirect the conversation…
John 4:19-20
19 "Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem."
But ultimately she could not deny what he had said about her life and the truth of it…
John 4:28-29
28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?"
In reaching out to people with the gospel it is not uncommon to hear from people that they believe religion to be a “private matter” or that is something between them and God and no one else’s business.
Hebrews 4:12-13
12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight, everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Most often this is just an effort to avoid what can be for some, an uncomfortable subject. Most people who are not right with God know that they are not.
Normally however, it takes little prodding to get such people to really discuss the gospel or “matters religious”.
Jesus made it clear that the gospel is certainly not a personal matter – in fact he made it a very public matter.
The Church –
As it relates to matters between believers, we have become so accustomed to withholding the truth in our lives and putting on our church face.
As mentioned before, when people ask how we are doing 99% of the time we give the same answer…”fine”. Often times that answer is not the truth, though.
We are often hesitant to tell the truth about what is really happening in our lives because we do not want to expose our weakness to other believers, or let on that we are having a true struggle in our life in a particular area.
It is not uncommon however, if we will just press a bit we will fins that there is a lot more going on that we think there is.
Jesus left for us an example on more than one occasion of breaking down personal barriers in the interest of ministering to people – but we do not do so at the expense of respecting people’s personal privacy either.
2. Spiritual Barriers –
John 4:31-34
His disciples urged him, "Rabbi, eat something."
32 But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you know nothing about."
33 Then his disciples said to each other, "Could someone have brought him food?"
34 "My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.
Jesus’ made an important point to his disciples, that the most important thing to do is the will of the Father.
This is not to say that consuming food is in itself wrong behavior that will interfere with the preaching of the gospel.
However, the mundane things of life can very easily become spiritual barriers in our lives, be it in the preaching of the gospel or in relations with other believers.
There is all manner or spiritual barriers that can keep us from the effective inreach, outreach or upreach.
2 Timothy 1:6-7
Fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
It is unclear what had caused the spirit of timidity (fear) in young Timothy. It could very well have been the persecution that had resulted in Paul’s imprisonment,
Whatever the case, Timothy is reminded that such fear does not come from God.
1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
The fear that paralyzes Christians can be varied in nature, Timothy was fearful of persecution. Modern Christians may have different fears but the end is the same.
A Japanese soldier by the name of Shoichi Yokoi lived in a cave on the island of Guam to which he fled in 1944 when the tides of war began to change. Fearing for his life, this man stayed hidden for twenty-eight years in the jungle cave, coming out only at night. During this long period of time, this self-imposed hermit lived on frogs, rats, snails, shrimp, nuts, and mangoes. He had carried a pair of trousers and a jacket from a burlap like cloth made from tree bark.
Yokoi said that he knew the war was over because of leaflets that were scattered throughout the jungles of Guam. But he was afraid that if he came out of hiding, he would be executed.
Finally, two hunters came upon him and told him that he need not hide any longer. At last he was free, and with new clothes to wear and food to eat, he was taken by plane to his home.
—Carl C. Williams
As I have already mentioned, there all are types of potential barriers in our spiritual life that we must be wary of so that we do not stumble.
2 Peter 1:5-9
…make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
The unfortunate reality is that there are many within the church that are sidelined due to a lack of spiritual growth.
I have said many times in the past – the enemy’s primary goal is to keep people from being saved at all. Once we have come to faith in Christ Jesus his tactic in our lives changes.
Now he will do all he can to keep us from being effective and productive members of the body of Christ.
If we are going to remain effective for the Kingdom we must cross over and break down…
Personal Barriers and
Spiritual Barriers
