Evangelism, As Taught in John 4

Welcome everyone, those of us who are here, those who are watching us online, and those who are here for the first time, we welcome you all in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Last night at our men’s fellowship, one of our elders, Brother Jacob Samuel Sujin, asked us a question, and the question went like this, how would you keep eternity in perspective and be able to utilize the time, possibly a very short period of time that is given to you, with a person that probably that you encountered in a restaurant or in a gas station or some other place, and be able to share the good news of the Lord in that time span that you possibly do not have an understanding in terms of how you can utilize it effectively. We are going to do a journey through God’s Word this morning, from John’s Gospel John 4:1-42, we have an outreach that is happening on Tuesday under the auspices of the church. Evangelism is not a program, it is a person-to-person encounter, modeled perfectly by Jesus Himself. In John 4, we see a profound and a powerful moment of evangelism that Jesus Himself portrayed in the scriptures.

Jesus reaches across racial barriers, religious barriers, moral barriers, gender barriers, to meet a broken woman who is in need of living water. A woman that is in need of living water, but not in search of living water. One of the things that we need to bear in mind when we actually speak about evangelism is that there are so many people that we encounter that are in need of the living water, but possibly not in search of the living water. There is a big difference between being in need and also being in search of something. It’s easy to encounter somebody who is in search of the living water, but somebody who is in need but does not understand the need that they have in their life is not an easy thing.

I’ve said it many times, and I will repeat it again this morning. Every person that is with Christ is a missionary, but every person that is without Christ is a mission field. If that person sits next to you on the pew of the church that you’re sitting in, or possibly at the nurse’s station that you’re part of, or maybe on the benches and the chairs that you’re sitting in, in the schools and the colleges that you’re part of, if you are a person who is with Christ, you are a missionary. But if that person that is sitting next to you is without Christ, then he or she is a mission field. But the one thing that we need to have in our self-awareness of ourselves is that that person is in need of the living water, but possibly not in search of the living water, not understanding the need.

Every believer is called to share the gospel, but the way we do it matters. Every believer is called to share the good news, and the way we do it is very much of importance. Jesus just didn’t speak the truth. He did it with intentionality. He did it with relational space that He was able to get into, and He did it with revelatory power that the Lord Himself had.

His attitude reflected the heart of God. This morning, Dearly Beloved in Christ, for 30 plus years, I have preached topical messages, but this church, after I’ve been part of this church, we are more into expositional. But this morning, I’m going to do a hybrid of being topical, but at the same time as being expositional. From John’s Gospel, John 4:1-42. Let’s learn from the Samaritan woman as to how the Lord encountered this woman who was in need of the living water, but not in search of the living water.

The first thing, He, Jesus, was intentional about the relationship, intentional about the evangelistic process that He was encountering in. The Word of God says in the text, John 4:4, Jesus had to pass through Samaria. I went through multiple translations. Either, almost all the translations say He had to pass through Samaria. Some of the translations say He must pass through Samaria.

There are two other times in the same Gospel, the Gospel writers are using the word, must, in John 3:14, when Jesus says, the Son of Man must be lifted up. It is an imperative thing that cannot be. There is no other excuse beyond it. It has to happen. In John 3:30, He says, He must increase, but I must decrease.

It is something that is imperative. It is not optional. So either it is used as He had to pass through Samaria or He must pass through Samaria. So it was a divine necessity that Jesus had to encounter. This morning, let me tell you, church, that is a divine necessity for a person who has Christ to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a person who does not have Christ in him or her.

This text, actually you have to put this into historical context. This story is set near Sychar or Sukkar or Suhar, a town in Samaria with historical and cultural significance, about half a mile away from Jacob’s well. Now in order to get to Jacob’s well, if you search the entire Bible, you will not be able to see a particular place where Jacob actually bore a well. But in chapter 12 of the book of Genesis, you can see that Abraham built an altar in this place Shechem, which is the geographical area where this particular context is unfolding. Abraham settled there and dug a well there.

That is what the Jewish tradition say. In chapter 33 of the book of Genesis and also chapter 48 of the book of Genesis, you can see that there was a land that he built an altar and he built a house and he inhabited there. Abraham had an altar in that place. Jacob had a land that he inherited in that place and by Jewish tradition, there was a well. And now the Word of God says this is by that well of Jacob that Jesus is having an encounter with this woman.

Now the Samaritans are considered to be the pariahs of the Jewish people. What does that mean? That they do not want to have any interaction with them. If you go into the book of 2 Kings 17, you can see that after the time of Solomon, when the people of God intermingled with other nations and the hybrid product that evolved out of them was the Samaritans and the Jewish people did not have to do anything to do with these people. So in order to get to the place where Jesus had to go through, if you go through the direct route, then you will be going through the Samaritan route and that is a direct route from Judea to Galilee.

It’s about 70 to 90 miles and it takes about three days to get to Galilee. But every Jewish person will go through the Transjordanian route and that’s about 120 miles. It takes about five to six days to get there. These two things will have some significance as we come to the end of the sermon that it would have taken about three days for Jesus to get to the place that he had to go to if he had taken the Samaritan route. But the usual Jewish route is the Transjordanian route in order to circumvent Samaria.

So that’s why I said Jesus had to break through the barriers of culture. He had to break through the barriers of color. He had to break through the barriers of morals. He had to break through the barriers of the prevailing norms of those days in order to get to this person. Jesus was intentional about this relationship.

This morning, dearly beloved in Christ, as we see people who do not have Christ in order to get to that person. And then I’m trying to answer the question that was raised at our men’s fellowship. How do we, when we have a moment that the Lord gives to us, that Kairos moment, that divine moment that the Lord gives to us with a person that does not have Christ, how do you effectively utilize that moment? The first thing is you and I must be intentional. That probably will be there in your school, in your college, in your workplace, or even in the churches that you’re part of.

We must be intentional. Jesus went through it knowing that the Father’s mission led him to a broken soul. Evangelism requires intentionality. We do not reach people by accident. We must be sensitive to the Holy Spirit prompting and purposeful about reaching those around us even in uncomfortable places.

One of the things that we talked about yesterday, last night, was that we probably are uncomfortable, especially sharing the gospel because how does a relationship, how is a relationship with that person going to be affected by the discourse that we’re going to make or the interaction that we’re going to make. Some things, and I said this before, they probably are in need or they are in need of the gospel, but they are probably not in search of the gospel and the chances of rejection are going to be very high when we go and meet with those person. But this morning, let me tell you, and let me ask you this question, who is your Samaritan woman? As a counselor, many times I ask this question. Every church, every person, every older person has to answer a question, who is your Timothy?

Every older person needs to have a Timothy in the church that they’re part of, and every younger person needs to have a Paul in the churches that they’re part of. Mentoring is part and parcel of the everyday day of the church. The same way every person who has Christ in him or her needs to have a question, who is a Samaritan woman in your life? And there are so many Samaritan women that you and I will encounter every day of our lives. Who has God placed in your path that others avoid?

That question is pretty profound. Who is the person that God has placed in your life that other people avoided? The Jewish people avoided the Samaritan woman because of the culture. The Jewish people avoided her because of her conduct. The Jewish people and even the Samaritan people that were around her completely avoided her because of the fact that her conduct was not something that they could embrace.

This morning, dearly beloved in Christ, the gospel of Jesus Christ, the love of Jesus Christ, the blood of the Lamb of God that we just sang about, every blood in this world will stain the body, will stain a cloth, will stain the surface, but there is only one blood that is able to cleanse us from every sin of our life, and there is only one blood that is able to make us white even if our sins are like crimson red, and that is the blood of Jesus Christ. And this morning, that’s the blood that we are talking about. We must be intentional about the blood when we sing about that blood, when we preach about that blood, when we talk about that blood, when we explain that blood, when we show that blood in action. We must be intentional. There is no person, whether it be a person who probably may have a different orientation than we may have, a person who probably may have a checkered past in their life, a person that probably does not belong to the group that we think of, the group that we are part of, dearly beloved in Christ, there is no person that is exempt from the kingdom of God.

We must be intentional about the people around us. The second one is from John 4:7-9, Jesus was relational. Jesus was relational. Many times we make that mistake of asking a very direct question, are you saved? Are you baptized?

Are you filled with the Holy Spirit? And then we kind of become confrontational. We kind of become condescending, but Jesus was pretty profound and simple. He said, give me a drink. Jesus was very profound, but at the same time, very simple, give me a drink.

He did not begin the discourse with a sermon. He began with a conversation. This morning, dearly beloved in Christ, every rule that is without a relationship causes rebellion, but at the same time, if you are able to build a rapport with a person, if you are able to build a relationship with that person, then you will be able to relay the information that is in your heart with that person. The first thing is becoming relational with that person, coming down into a relational space with that person. He met her at the point of her everyday, daily physical need, and then used it as a bridge to speak to her spiritual thirst.

Keep your eyes open. Keep your ears open. Keep your heart open. Keep your minds open. You are going to be led to that person where God will reveal to you a relational need, a physical, tangible need of his or her life that you can actually connect with them, and through that, you will be able to establish a relationship with that person.

It’s not about, it is not about winning an argument, but it is about winning a heart for the kingdom of God. Before you can speak the truth, you must build the trust with that person. Jesus broke cultural norms with that person. In order to get to her, He spoke to a woman, and that was not appropriate for a Jewish man. He spoke to a Samaritan, that was not appropriate for a Jewish man.

He spoke to a sinner, that was not appropriate for a Jewish man. But He went through all the barriers of culture, and He said, I’m going to get down into a relational space, and He did so with grace. Dearly beloved in Christ, can we, are we able to talk to somebody in that relational space that you will be able to connect with that person? Look at that conversation. She is giving some discourse that Jesus could have said, do you know who I am?

Do you know what type of knowledge I have? Do you know what I know about what you’re talking about? What right do you have to talk to me like this? I’m a Jewish rabbi.

Jesus does not do anything of that sort. He allows her to ask the question. He allows the natural flow of the conversation to go through, and at the end, Jesus not only was intentional, not only was relational, He was revelational. The third point is that He was revelational. John 4:16-19, 25-26, you will see that Jesus revealed the hidden realities of her life.

You’ve had five husbands, and the one that you now have is not your husband, but He did not condemn her. He revealed the truth to heal, not to hurt or to humiliate. He then revealed Himself as the Messiah. Evangelism must be Spirit-led. Many times, evangelistic operations become excursions.

Many times, mission trips become excursions. It is not about a pleasure trip. It is not about an excursion, but it is about going with the power of the Spirit of the living God and presenting the gospel, and unless and until you’re led by the power of the Holy Spirit, you will not be able to accomplish the purpose that God has placed in your life. Our job is to be the vessel, the truthful vessel, the discerning vessel, the compassionate vessel of the carrier of the gospel of Jesus Christ. See, real evangelization does not stop with information, but it transforms life.

Jesus was not only intentional, but He was also relational, and then He was revelational. There are seven characteristics before I wind up the sermon that you would see in Jesus’ life that we must have in our lives. One is purity. This woman in John 4:19 says that, I see that you are a prophet. Here is an encounter between a man and a woman, a woman that does not have a good past.

There is nobody else around them, but this is only the two of them. They are engaging in a conversation. They are in close proximity with each other, but at the same time, this woman says that, I see that you are a prophet. Do you know what that means?

It is about the integrity that Jesus had. It is about the purity that Jesus had. Mahatma Gandhi once said, I love your Christ, but I hate your Christians. We must be people who walk the talk that we have. We must be people who are able to come in contact and in a conversation, people who are able to exemplify the purity of Jesus Christ.

I say this very jokingly, but at the same time, profoundly truthful, I cannot be selling hair oil to you. If I try to do sell hair oil, and if I am a representative of selling hair oil, you will not buy it from me. All I need to do is to turn around, and you see the back of my head, and then you will know why I cannot sell hair oil. This morning, dearly beloved in Christ, when we preach the gospel of Christ, let that be the gospel that speaks from the heart.

Not only from the heart, let our body, when we stand here to sing and worship the Lord, when we stand here to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, let our conduct in a wedding be the same. Let our conduct in a wedding reception be the same. Let our conduct in our schools and colleges be the same. Let our conduct in our gatherings outside of our church gatherings be the same. Let us be the same people in and outside of the church.

The first characteristic is that we must be people who are of purity. The Word of God says that how beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the ones who bring good news. It talks about the messenger. It talks about the running. It talks about the obedience.

It talks about the commitment. But how much more also on the mountain, one of the things that is first visible are the feet of the person that is actually running as a herald of Jesus. Dearly beloved in Christ, do you know what those feet signify? It signifies my walk with Christ.

It signifies my walk in this world. And secondly, we must be people who are of passion. Jesus says in John 4:34, the people bring back the food, and He says, my food is to do the will of the Father. We must be people who are passionate about the will of the Father. There are many times I feel very tired after doing my work and my counseling sessions and all that, and that must be, that probably might be that particular moment that somebody will call and say, can you give me 30 minutes of your time?

And that 30 minutes spans into one hour. It spans into two hours. Sometimes it goes into three hours. And then physically, I become tired.

But dearly beloved in Christ, there must be a passion that flows within your heart whereby you are doing the will of God, and He will empower those who commissions. If He commissions you, He will empower you, and this is the unchanging, unadulterated gospel. And when you are empowered to share the unchanging, unadulterated gospel, He will empower you for sure. Hallelujah. Paul says, I’m even willing to be accursed for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

What does he mean by that? In Romans 9:4-5, even if I have to go to hell, I’m willing to do so for the cause of a person that I can win for the Christ. This morning, dearly beloved in Christ, would that be the commitment that we make in our lives? The third thing, we must be people of purpose.

He did not get distracted by the arguments of this woman. He did not get distracted by the worship analogies that she was using and all the jargons that she was placing in and all the technicalities that she was trying to put in. His mission was primary. Win this person at any cost.

Keep the main thing, the main thing, the gospel of Jesus Christ. He was willing to endure pain. He was willing to endure hardship. The disciples had gone to fed food for Him, but now He is in the business of the Father because He wants to make sure that this person is saved by the cause of Jesus.

Fifthly, He was a person who had patience. John 4:9, 11-19, you can see Jesus let that conversation unfold naturally. He did not rush her into confession. He did not rush her into decision.

Evangelism is not a race, but it is a relationship. It is not a sport of evangelization, but it is a spirit of evangelization. This morning, dearly beloved in Christ, it is not a sport of giving tracts out. It is not a sport of going out and doing outreach.

It is not a sport of doing this as a calendaring event in the church, but it is a spirit of evangelization. It is a spirit of outreach that you do day in and day out so that gospel becomes a gossip of a child of God. Let me repeat that. The gospel of Jesus Christ becomes the gossip of a child of God.

Hallelujah. It is not about premature delivery. It is not about induced birth, but it is about assisted midwifery that God wants us to do as a child of God. And then he had a positive attitude and he had pleasantness.

Her past was not preventing him from offering her the future. He did not see her as a failure, but at the same time, he saw her as a future witness. His positive view of her world changed how she saw herself. When you see people through God’s eyes, your perspectives will change.

Your tongue is that of the ready writer. In Psalm 45:1-2, it says, grace is poured into your lips. This morning, there may be so many people that we see in the community. Many times, I’ve become vexed by the intolerance of we as Christians because it is the Word of God very clearly says, accept the sinner, but not the sin.

That means that we have to accept everyone just as they are. It does not matter what color of skin that they have. It does not matter what type of orientation that they have. It does not matter what type of affinity that they have.

The gospel of Jesus Christ can obliterate every type of barrier that this world has set. And the Word of the living God, as we sang this morning, it washes the blood that flows through me, the blood that has cleansed me, the blood that has washed me as white, is the same blood that is able to wash clean every person that has every type of orientation, every type of affinity, every type of walk of life. This morning, it should sing deep into the minds and hearts of our life so that we will be able to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with power, with proless. You see, you can catch more flies with a drop of honey than a barrel of vinegar. You can catch more flies with a drop of honey than a barrel of vinegar.

This morning, let that go into our hearts and minds. Let our words be salted. Let our actions be salted in such a way that somebody looks at us and says, what is this person about? And what is his words about?

And how can I actually see the Christ that he talks about in my life? And the result here is that the woman leaves the water jar, and then she goes to the town, and then she brings the people. When Jesus was intentional about it, He was relational with this woman, and He was not only relational, He became revelational with power, with purity, with positive attitude, with pleasantness, with purpose. When Jesus did what He was entrusted with, that He was commissioned with, that He shared the good news with this woman, She leaves her past life behind, her jar behind.

She runs to the place, and she tells people, the man who was able to tell me everything that I did is in the town, come and see. And that’s all that God expects us to do. Do not have this holier-than-thou attitude. Let’s not have this holier-than-thou attitude.

Let’s say to every person that we encounter, say, let me show you a man who actually made me clean. Let me show you the man that was hanging on the cross of Calvary, that bore my sins and made me the person that I am. And then speak probably a chapter from the past of your life. You may have something that you can actually share with that person.

I was going through the deepest agonies of my life. I was going through the deepest miseries of my life. I was a miserable wretch, and then the Lord saved me from there, just the same way as John Newton penned that song, Amazing Grace, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I’m found.

It is grace and grace that will lead me home. Let us, let our words be salted so that we will be able to say that. And then it is about partnership. As Jesus is having that discourse with his brothers in John 4:37, he says, one sows and another reaps.

1 Corinthians 3:6-9, Paul planted, Apollos watered. It is not about the building of the kingdom of restoration church. It is not about building the kingdom of Leslie Verghese. It is not about building the kingdom of another person. It is about the building of the kingdom of Jesus Christ.

Hallelujah. It is a partnership ministry that God has called us into. And Jesus tells the disciples, it does not matter who sows. It does not matter who waters.

It does not matter who reaps a benefit. This morning, we rejoice in the fact that we were intentional about sharing the gospel of Jesus. We rejoice in the fact that we were able to get into the relational space with the people that we were dealing with. And we also rejoice at the fact that we were revelational.

And as I bring this to a close, let me tell you, my beloved in Christ, when I say revelational, Jesus, when He had sent the 35, 35 groups into 70, and then He sent them, they were not filled with the power from on high at that point. But they were sent with the gospel. They were sent with the mission. But in Acts 1:8, the Acts of the Apostle, Jesus said, tarry ye in Jerusalem until you are endued with this power from on high, so that you become my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea, and Samaria, and the outermost parts of the world, what the Holy Spirit was given, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, the anointing of the Holy Spirit, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the unction of the Holy Spirit was given to a child of God so that we become witnesses in chapter 2 of the book of the Acts of the Apostles, the Holy Spirit descended upon those people and fell on them with clove and tongues of fire. They spoke in other tongues and they became the witnesses of Jesus.

Meeting Christ inspires profound changes in attitude and life direction. Embracing repentance leads to personal renewal and transformation. Transformation manifests in changed behavior and a renewed purpose of life. It is not an option, it is our responsibility.

It is not a burden, but it is a privilege. We are the wealth from which others can draw the living water. Ask God to give you a Samaritan woman in your life so that you will be able to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let us close our eyes in prayer this morning.

Heavenly Father, we pray that we become intentional. We pray that we become relational. We pray that we become revelational so that we can carry out the gospel of Jesus with power and eloquence. In Jesus’ name, Amen.