Gospel Urgency

Welcome

Who knew we would be in the middle of a mini-series within the Gospel of John

With its focus on spreading the good news of Christ to everyone

It started with our New years message

Where we are called to a new creation

And once we are a new creation through our adoption into Gods family

We are then to see others as we once were, and understand that all need to hear this message

so that all may be able to enter into His kingdom

we do this by becoming ambassadors to Christ

representing him to all and telling others about Him

We then moved on to last week and met the Woman at the well

Where Jesus showed us just how to minister to a woman that had otherwise been shunned from society

and used her as an example of not only how to spread the gospel but of whom the gospel is open to

and that is all people, of every tongue and tribe

even to those that we are likely to not talk to

and he met her there, in her everyday spot

This week, we will learn of what that woman did once she received this living water Jesus offered

and while it does not specifically say she came to saving grace

we can only assume she did based on her reaction and actions

So this week we will continue to learn of how and when we should spread the good news

and the fact that we should do it with urgency, and with love

because the fields are ready for harvest

Please stand as we read our text for the morning

Text John 4:27–42 “Just then his disciples arrived, and they were amazed that he was talking with a woman. Yet no one said, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?” Then the woman left her water jar, went into town, and told the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” They left the town and made their way to him. In the meantime the disciples kept urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.” But he said, “I have food to eat that you don’t know about.” The disciples said to one another, “Could someone have brought him something to eat?” “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work,” Jesus told them. “Don’t you say, ‘There are still four more months, and then comes the harvest’? Listen to what I’m telling you: Open your eyes and look at the fields, because they are ready for harvest. The reaper is already receiving pay and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together. For in this case the say…”

Illustration

Harvest

Food and water

Contrasting Nico and Woman

Background

Our 4 points this morning

The Urgency (27-30)

The Excuses (31-38)

The Harvest ( 39-42)

The Urgency

V 27 starts with “Just then”

in typical John fashion she time stamps a transition with a form of time movement

and in this transition we re-introduce the disciples while the woman leaves to tell the townspeople

But I also believe there is some soveirnity to this transition

right, if the disciples would have come back just a little earlier, they would have interrupted the culmination of his statement,

one his first subtle, I am statements right

so the timing here is perfect to lead into a teaching point for the disciples

27 continues with

John 4:27 “Just then ...his disciples arrived, and they were amazed that he was talking with a woman.

Remember a rabbi or teacher would not speak to a woman

in this culture speaking with a woman was a waste of time

Not only because they were less than them

but also because it took them away from reading and studying the Torah

and the fact that she was a samaritan and an outcast must have been just jaw dropping for the disciples to walk up to.

Crazy I know but these are the barriers that Jesus broke down

V27 ends with “Yet no one said, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?””

They are so amazed, surprised, confused by the fact that Jesus would even be speaking to this woman they think..

but they didn’t say what they were thinking

even though Jesus knew what they were thinking

and so did John, because he was part of this group

They most likely didn't say anything because they were getting accustomed to Jesus doing things outside of Jewish expectations, traditions, prejudices etc

And they would soon learn he had a good reason to do so

See the disciples were about to learn that while the gospel would be preached first to Israel,

it was not reserved for just Israel

The gospel, as we have been really diving into these past 2 weeks,

is for everyone

now lets contrast the disciples shock, amazement, confusion with the woman's reaction

V 28 John 4:28 “Then the woman left her water jar, went into town, and told the people,”

Let’s not gloss over this detail

See the woman left her water jar..

she was so excited that she had met Jesus

that the very thing she went to the well for

the very thing that she had to do

she didn’t do

now maybe she hadn’t filled it yet

maybe she was leaving it for Jesus

maybe it would have impeded her run back to the village

Either way, she was completely consumed with telling others of what she had just encountered

and to build on that as we just saw the woman and men didn’t really talk

yet she went into town and told all the people of Jesus

and finally,

if she was showing up at the well at noon in order to avoid people

now she is running towards people ready to tell them

The barriers we talked about last week that Jesus knocked down to speak to her

she was not knocking down in order to tell others about Jesus!

and what does she tell them?

John 4:29 ““Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?””

She says come and see,

sound familiar

we saw it in chapter 1

once by Jesus

Once by Philip

and now the Samaritan woman is saying it

her urgency here is honorable

I mean she was just introduced to the gospel

she was freshly converted

I dont see where it says she attended an evangelism conference

I dont see where she learned how to share her faith using a 12-step plan and book

I dont see where she got her theologically degree in evangelism and apologetics

What I do see, is excitement, and urgency from someone that just witnessed new life

It reminds me of the blind man that we will meet in chapter 9

Where Jesus heals a man born blind

where he make a little mud, spread it on his eyes

then he was healed

This mans testimony is one I love

when asked about Jesus

he didn't go into this dissertation

he simply said

“one thing I do know: I was blind, and now I can see!”

And isn’t this inspiring

how easy it can be to share God’s message of redemption and grace

Jesus engaged everyone based on the two great commandments

Those are

Matthew 22:37–40 “He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.””

When Jesus interacted with this woman he did it out of love for God and love for others

And when this woman, ran off, and trust I can just see her practically sprinting off to tell others

when she ran off to tell others of Christ she did it out of love

and with urgency

See it is with urgency and love that we should spread the message of hope to a dyeing world

we are the vessel, the ambassadors if you will

that are charged with spreading this message

Just as the woman did here

The way she posed the question,

is this the Christ?, put the ball in the court of the men and now made them wonder

what is all this excitement was about

so much so that

v30 says John 4:30 “They left the town and made their way to him.”

Now, lets pluck this section we just covered

everything from when the woman ran off to where I just finished up

Lets pluck that out because well that was a parallel event that occured at the same time as Jesus was addressing his diciples.

See the woman ran off as the diciples were coming up right

So now lets pick up at the end of 27 which is also the beginning of 31

The Excuses

If we are being honest sometimes its tough to share our faith

sometimes we are met with butter-flys or nervousness

not because we are ashamed of our faith

but maybe we are afraid of rejection

maybe we are afraid of what they will think of us moving forward

But let me reassure you brother and sisters

And honestly I am preaching to myself right now as well

If we are to take the example of Jesus, the woman at the well, or even the blind man

We must overcome that

See, we are not responsible for other people coming to faith

we are not responsible of whether or not they turn to Christ

That is between them and God

The only thing we are responsible for

is sharing and spreading the message

But its easy to get caught up in those lies

and its even easier to make excuses

We see right here that the disciples are still not fully understanding

Now they could understand why Jesus would have spoken with Nicodemus

But why to the woman....

remember, thats what they were thinking

She won’t be interested in Jesus

hes a profit and the messiah

why would she want to get to know him

she’s an outcast

she wont want to spread the message of love when she doesnt even know what that is herself

But… thats precisely who Jesus came to save

Luke 5:31–32 “Jesus replied to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a doctor, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.””

One of the first excuses we can make for not sharing the gospel is that

They wont be interested

When in fact the ones we think wont be interested may be the very ones that need Christ the most

Or how about Im too busy

John 4:31–32 “In the meantime the disciples kept urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.”

See the disciples were

rightfully so

worried about Jesus

When they left he was weary

Tired, thirsty, hungry

But Jesus, ceasing the opportunity

did not want to be distracted

Spreading the gospel isn’t something we should do only when it is convenient for us

remember we are spread the message with urgency

and Jesus here is not too busy or too hungry to continue his mission

But he said, “I have food to eat that you don’t know about.””

most likely reflecting on Deuteronomy 8:3 that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”

The disciples resting on this earthly plane we keep talking about

Where Nicodemus, the woman, and now the disciples hang out

while Jesus takes things to the next level

John 4:33 “The disciples said to one another, “Could someone have brought him something to eat?””

They are clearly now confused

Jesus is actually saying that we should never be too busy to spread the gospel

even if we are hungry and tired

because what sustains him,

and what should sustain us

is explained in V 34

John 4:34 ““My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work,” Jesus told them.”

Its almost as if Jesus is replenished at this point

That he got his second wind if you will right

See when he is speaking of food he is speaking of what sustains him

and we can relate right

Just think about how good we feel after a succesful fellowship

I know after leaving our mens night a couple of months ago

and leaving our New Years eve fellowship a couple of weeks ago

I just felt full

in a way that food or drink can touch

we were gathering together

sharing in his love together

and sharing his love with others

others that do not attend church here

and others that dont attend church anywhere

or lets think of the feeling we get when someone is baptized

or when we when have a great conversation with someone about the Lord

Doesn’t that make us feel good inside

And that is what Jesus is speaking of here

See when we do those things we are working along with Gods will and doing the things he wants us to do

And we can find strength in that right

See Jesus was sent to do Gods work, just as we are to do

But something Jesus was also able to do was finish his work

See God’s work

his plan

his desire

is to win as many souls back to himself as possible

to seek reconciliation and redemption for the world

and this work was done and finished by Christ!

upon that Cross

Now Jesus, having just spoken to the fact that we are never and should never be too busy to share the gospel and do God’s will

speaks of the harvest

and speaks against the excuse of

“Ill do it later”

John 4:35 ““Don’t you say, ‘There are still four more months, and then comes the harvest’?

Jesus here could have been talking about some lost proverb

or he could have looked around the fields and added some agricultural truth

either way, jesus isn’t talking about grain or even harvesting season as that typically was to last closer to 6 months.

he is keeping the conversation on the spiritual level

see the food he was talking about is the obedience and wanting to do Gods will

and the harvest here is the souls and the fruit that are produced from that

He’s saying don’t wait to plant seeds then wait to harvest them

do it now!

If we keep saying we will witness or share our faith with this person tomorrow

tomorrow may never come

Its so easy to push it off to a more conveinat time

or more comfortable place

but what our Lord is saying here is to do it NOW!

Do not wait

Do not hesitate

Then.. as he looks back into the fields

he sees the Samaritans approaching

He sees all those that the woman had just witnessed to coming up the hill

and with them in mind

and based on his perfect timing

he points and directs the disciples attention to them and says

Listen to what I’m telling you: Open your eyes and look at the fields, because they are ready for harvest.”

He’s telling the disciples

there,

that is the true harvest

people are hungry for the gospel

they are hungry for new life

the kind of life that only Jesus can provide

they are ready, they just need harvesting

see the woman, had already planted the seed

and the diciples were going to get to reap

Jesus continues with

John 4:35–38 “. The reaper is already receiving pay and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together. For in this case the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap what you didn’t labor for; others have labored, and you have benefited from their labor.””

I read it somewhere that it takes someone hearing the gospel 18 times before they are ready make a decision to follow Christ

and I also recently saw in a google search

so yea, pretty academic,

that around 1 Billion people on this earth have not heard the gospel of have very little knowledge of it

if my math is right that comes out to about 18 billion times the gospel needs to be spread

and thats not to mention the ones that are believers but still need to hear it

We are all on the same team

John the Baptist planted

Jesus reaped

some of us are to plant

and some of us are to reap

now remember to reap means to gather

to bring in

and when we speak of reaping here

we are speaking of gathering and bringing those into the family of God

And do not be discouraged if you never see a soul won to Christ

Or if you never fully get to see the fruit of your labor

because its in the labor that we are also fulfilled

Becuase I can assure you

when we get to heaven we may run into someone that we crossed paths with

someone that later came to Christ based off of the labor you provided when planting that seed

and then you will receive your reward

which leads us to our final point

The Harvest

John 4:39–42 “Now many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of what the woman said when she testified, “He told me everything I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. Many more believed because of what he said. And they told the woman, “We no longer believe because of what you said, since we have heard for ourselves and know that this really is the Savior of the world.””

The woman's testimony

while short and sweet

and for all we know there could have been more said

But, her testimony and excitement for the Lord was all they needed to want to dig deeper

when they approached Jesus as he was finishing his discourse with the disciples

they dug deeper as they were introduced to Jesus personally

intimately

much like we are able to do through the pages of this book

then they became utterly convinced

The asked him to stay with them

and he did

then they no longer took the woman's word for it as they saw for themselves the life and grace that God provides through Jesus Christ

See our motivation for sharing the message of Christ is that we get front row seats to Gods work in people

And when God works in their lives

in your life

hope is found, instead of uncertainty

salvation, instead of slavery

peace, instead of misery

and grace, instead of judgement

So for those of us that have a saving relationship with Christ

Lets spread that message with Gospel Urgency

and for anyone in here that doesn’t

Don’t hesitate

Christ is waiting and willing to provide you with life like you have never felt before

life that is fulfilling

and life that satisfying

all we must do in return is admit that we have fallen short and realize our need for a savior

repent of our sins

and turn to him for grace

Let us pray!