[0:00] Good morning church. You guys have had your coffee so I'm glad.
[0:11] All right well thank you Melissa for letting people know that we are the leftovers that are still here so feeling really good. Glad that Cole just stepped out so he didn't hear that so that's good that's good. You guys have a copy of the scriptures. We are in John 4. Taking a second look at this story, second part of the woman at the well and call to think about life as missionaries and it's a wonderful section that we follow on. We just completed our missions a week and we will continue in that theme this morning so I'm glad that you're here this morning and why don't we ask the Lord to teach us speak to us. Bless this time so would you join me in prayer.
[1:04] Lord the psalmist writes open my eyes then I might be hold wonderful things out of your law and Lord we would ask that this morning that you would open our eyes you'd open our hearts Lord we would we would hear your voice you would have our ear Lord if there's things that that you want to speak to us individually would you would you communicate that through your word through your spirit Father I pray that we would experience something of your presence here this morning Lord it's good to be here to meet with you we ask for your help now we know that we engage in in a spiritual battle the enemy would love for us to be distracted and think about other things but Lord you have given us your word to direct our feet to order our lives and Father to to know you better and so I pray that we would do so this morning it'd be an act of worship it'd be a great beginning to this week in your name we pray Lord
[2:13] Jesus amen well an aspect of John's gospel that I absolutely love is the fact that we get a chance to observe these conversations that Jesus is having we saw in chapter 3 he spoke with Nicodemus then we saw two weeks ago this interaction with the Samaritan woman in John chapter 4 and really as we're as we're observing these are not monologues these are dialogues and we're getting a chance to see how Jesus interacts with people and and I hope that you're having a sense of wow I'm getting to know the Lord better getting to know him again and and I feel that way as we observe these conversations we'll see another one coming up in chapter 6 is as Jesus has a discussion with a crowd and I love these conversations I love that Jesus uses common things in life to as bridges towards to speaking about the gospel think about this the greatest intellect that has ever walked planet earth uses ordinary things to talk about the extraordinary I love that with Nicodemus talking about physical birth Nicodemus you need to experience spiritual birth through faith in me and with the woman at the well hey I've got something better than well water and Jesus wasn't talking about spring water he was talking about living water that which totally satisfies and so we observe that Jesus uses just ordinary things to talk about the extraordinary beauty of the gospel and it really ought to give us confidence as we see this that if this is how Jesus bridged into talking about eternal matters that we can actually do that in fact it's not as complicated as sometimes we we make it out to be in our minds that we can actually talk about the fact that Jesus came into the world to save sinners the gospel is accessible both to speak about and to offer to others well I love also as we consider these first two conversations Jesus has in John's gospel we have really the spectrum represented between these two people we have this elite teacher Nicodemus and then we have on the other end of the spectrum this outcast this this nobody we don't even know her name seeing as sort of the scum of the earth we also have the spectrum of both a Jew as well as a Gentile represented and that juxtaposition of these two conversations that declares to us this that the gospel is for everyone amen and we see that right at the start in John's gospel and in fact what we're going to find this morning at the end of the narrative the final thing said of Jesus he's declared to be the Savior of the world and that statement only shows up twice in Scripture it also shows up in 1st John chapter 4 verse 14 but I love the fact that this narrative ends with Jesus being declared the Savior of the world this is a lesson that Jesus wants his men to get right at the beginning a very Jewish contingent of men hey the gospel is for everyone and right now we're thinking about the Gentiles we're thinking about these Samaritans so this morning we pick up the scene at the well following this conversation that Jesus has with this outcast woman and I think this story this morning is going to help us all in terms of thinking about this life we have been constricted into this missionary life just as it did for this woman so let's begin here in verse 27
[6:18] John records just then the disciples came back they marveled that he was talking with a woman but no one said what do you seek or why are you talking with her so the apostles here are stunned to see that Jesus is talking to a woman they have just returned from purchasing food and in Sychar in a village nearby but no one seems to have the guts to speak up right perhaps there they see the woman she's still there it's a little bit awkward they don't want to make the situation anymore off so they avoid it they don't speak into it which is a very different scene that we see later on like in Matthew's Gospel in chapter 19 when when families are bringing children to Jesus the disciples speak up like parents what are you doing stop and Jesus rebukes them but here they don't they don't quite have the the guts to speak up here it would have been very indecent in this culture for a rabbi to speak with a woman in public culturally unfortunately women were seen as less than men how bad was it in this day it was so bad that that there were some rabbis that saw that it was just as bad to educate your daughter in the Torah as it would be to selling them into prostitution like that's how disgusting the culture was towards women in this day and yet what we see from Jesus is he saw value in all people whether you're male whether you're female you're all created in the image of God and his actions demonstrate that and I think the disciples here they learn a key lesson on this day that that the mission of God to rescue sinners it emanates out of a genuine love for people your first point this morning for you note takers that missions begins when we are broken in our spirit and we see the lostness of man and it starts with this genuine love for people and how do the disciples learn this lesson did Jesus tell them no they just observed him they just watched what he did and I would say missions is caught primarily values are caught I think for parents here our kids know what we love they know that which we value as they observe our lives they know it I've played many a board game with my children over the years we love to play board games but my chief aim is not to turn my family into gamers it's not to turn my family into athletes although we spend a lot of time dribbling balls and kicking goals and we haven't done a lot of I have six daughters we haven't done a lot of this but my my main aim is not to turn my children into scholars or or even farmers or entrepreneurs my chief aim as a parent is to train them in this missionary life to see them as missionaries in all of life and really that's God's purpose for us church amen says in Ephesians 2 that were his workmanship created for good works it says in 2nd Corinthians 5 that we're ambassadors that God makes his appeal through people and the disciples here they observe Jesus behaving as a missionary God and they learn from that and so parents our kids they learn not what I always say so much it's what we do it's what we do had a conversation with Wade Altmaier a few months back and he was talking to you sharing with me about how when he was a child that he and his four brothers five of them his father would take them down to the mission monthly and it's just what they did as a family and they would put on the service and they would interact with the men and it was just what they did and today you have five brothers some who are in full-time ministry but all of them serving the Lord loving the Lord and the generations of ministry that follows like it was caught missions in that family was caught our kids know what we love and perhaps this interaction with this woman on this day was one of the most powerful sermons Jesus ever preached simply by his example well this woman also echoes this same lesson that missions it it it emanates it's activated out of this genuine love for people because we see here in her life look at verse 28 to 30 it says so the woman left her water jar went away into town and said to the people come and see a man who told me all that I ever did can this be the Christ they went out of the town and were coming to him so notice the order here she experiences grace in the eyes of Jesus and in turn she now becomes a missionary and that's generally how it works you experience the kindness of God and now you have something to share with someone else it's like experiencing a great meal and then you're like oh I've got to tell someone I've got to tell them where they can get this food you got to try this restaurant it's it's it's amazing in fact she's so altered by this experience that the Lord would interact with her that he would not condemn her that he would be kind and allowing her sin to be revealed and still loving her in the face of this it says here that she leaves her water jars perhaps she's maybe just it's it doesn't even matter maybe she's just thinking I can't I don't have time to carry I'll come back I need to get to town I need to tell folks hey I think the Messiah is here and who does she go tell and this is what's so striking about this story she goes into the town she goes to the people that perhaps have ignored her maybe abused her maybe maligned her treated her harshly unkindly for all intents and purposes we could say that that there were folks there that that were in the category of enemy and these are the people she went to go and share with she goes to those who excluded her to share Jesus so they could be included by God so wonderful picture and this outcast here she transcends her hurt and possibly even her hatred of people these people those who were unkind to her to share with them the good news that Jesus has arrived it's kind of a scene that's a little bit foreign to us fourth I think culturally in America this is foreign we are a nation of grudge holders we're a nation of retaliators we're a nation of hoarders of folks that tend to find something good and don't want others to know about it we retaliate you cut me off I'm gonna break check you or I'm gonna have words for you I'm gonna have symbols that I'm gonna share with you you've been unkind to me I'm gonna ignore you for the rest of your life or worse I'm gonna maybe begin to write things online and share things through social media the fact that this woman went to these folks she rebelled against all convention here because people matter you know what Jesus says sermon on the Mount Matthew 544 he says but I say to you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you why because when we do that it says that we'll be sons of our father essentially with that we will look like our dad when we behave that way towards others those that perhaps have maligned us have been unkind to us we will look like our dad because you know what our dad does he brings a son up and he does it for everyone whether you're good whether you're evil he blesses all and we look something like him when we transcend the fact that somebody has slighted us or been unkind to us because we have something of eternal value that we need to give them I love the example in 1956 the Haroni people in the rainforest of
[16:13] Ecuador they murdered five missionaries and we know this story you've grown up in the church Jim Elliot others but it's Jim's wife and then the sister of Nate Saint another martyr who go back and live with those people and bring them the good news it's supernatural love they retaliated in love and kindness and its gospel power and that's the scene that we have when this woman says I'm gonna go back into the town the place that has excluded me and tell them the good news who's unspoken message do you suppose is more powerful on loving people is it Jesus speaking to this woman or is it the woman speaking to the town I think it's a toss-up honestly I think both of them are wonderful but church without loving people there's no mission and I think it's a matter of prayer that we have to be praying often it's so easy to think of the other as the enemy especially when you live now in an age where you're often being accused of being the enemy it has to be a matter of prayer that you're talking to the
[17:34] Lord about this Lord keep my heart soft to people help me see them as you see them I love the illustration Scott has shared a few times that you know when he sees an unbeliever thinks man that's a POW that's a prisoner of war they belong to the enemy I got to think of them like that they're gonna behave as such and Lord give me grace for that individual well let's continue verse 31 says meanwhile the disciples were urging him saying rabbi eat but he said to them I have I have food to eat that you do not know about so the disciples said to one another has anyone brought him something to eat and Jesus said to them my food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work these disciples they're still shocked they are gobsmacked that Jesus was speaking to a woman in public only thing perhaps they can think about food let's talk about food I want to talk about what we just observed but you know a little awkward moment of silence what do we talk about you know what it's like you don't know what to talk about you talk about the weather hey it's really it's really rained a lot lately man it's been some some really wet rain you know really moist out there and the disciples they're like who's hungry Jesus you hungry we got you a sandwich and Jesus responds well wait a second I have a secret stash of food essentially is what he says and they're just like who got jeep I had a little PTSD reading this because I grew up with a sister who was a food rationer and come Halloween three days afterwards I was out it's like April and she still has fun-sized snicker bars I'm like where did that come from that's not what's going on here but just full disclosure I think the disciples actually are a little bit put out they just tracked a couple miles to call 12 of them to shop they're back and he's saying hey I've I actually have food but again Jesus isn't talking about physical food here just as he talked to Nick and Demis I wasn't talking about physical birth or to the woman about spring water he's saying my food is actually to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work and actually what Jesus is doing here for us is he's answering an objection we may have internally as we consider this life of mission and maybe you're thinking we're talking about mission again we did that last week we're done J and yet this is the lifestyle we've been called into it's an everyday thing majority of us are missionaries in Jerusalem in Spokane and I love that Jesus is addressing I think an internal objection we have which is what that the missionary life a life devoted to ministry is actually a life of duty it's a life of misery it's a life of boredom because what Jesus is doing his is comparing comparing the missionary life with physical food he's saying hey a life devoted to making much of me is satisfying you ever had a meal and afterwards it was amazing meal you're just like I mean we've got Thanksgiving coming up some of you guys are already like pre-fasting ready for that meal right and after that meal you're just like oh it satisfies but food satisfies typically for about six hours and Jesus here he's saying my food that which satisfies is to be used of me to see people move from death to life that's satisfaction for a lifetime and he's really saying hey this life of ministry the missionary life is a satisfying life there is great joy in that type of life it's participation in God's eternal and I and I use this word loosely game and I only say game because I feel like we live in this culture where everything's virtual and everybody's escaping through some sort of virtual entertainment game of some form and yet God saying this is the real event this is the real thing participate in this global rescue mission that I want you to be a part of and it's satisfying it's like food it will satisfy your soul you know Satan is called the prince of the air it says in 1st John 519 that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one so when we engage in the mission of God and we see people profess faith in Jesus Christ we're actually snatching them out of his kingdom forever it's a global rescue mission and you know what Satan hates us for that he hates us he hates the fact that I got to pray with a gal few years back who was a lifetime alcoholic and she's like for the first time somebody has told me there's a way out of this Satan hates that he hates when people are alerted to that which is true and to his goodness Satan hates that when I was in college my dad I know some of you have been affected by suicide it's a heavy subject my dad attempted taking his life when I was in college and he was unsuccessful the only time my dad has ever cried was when I walked into the hospital room after he was unsuccessful and saw him and he just he bawled and the tears were like tears of shame and it was just it was a moment of just realizing man the enemy is a deceiver and he just he lied to my father and so any chance we get to see people snatched out of his kingdom that's another element of the joy that he loses that he loses missionary life church the best it is the best well to cement this vision of life as a missionary to his men Jesus now gives them a metaphor so let's look at it now verse 35 he says do you not say there are yet four months and then comes a harvest look I tell you lift up your eyes and see that the fields are white for harvest already one who reaps is receiving wages and gathers fruit fruit for eternal life so the sower and reaper may rejoice together for here the saying holds true one sows and another reaps I tell you to reap for that which you did not labor others have labored who are the others Old Testament prophets
[26:06] John John the Baptist others have labored but you disciples have entered into now their labor Jesus now is going to give us or I'm going to at least make some observations about this missionary life I've got three of them or actually we could just say I have one observation said three different ways because you'll figure it out once you see all three you'll be like huh I think Jason's saying the same thing differently yes I am here's the first observation from this metaphor Jesus calling us to live life with a greater urgency the missionary life there should be an urgency in us he says you say there are four yet four months and then comes a harvest and this may have been a proverb kind of a proverbial saying of the day it may have indicated the season in which we find it could have been December four months from then March the barley harvest April is the wheat harvest but the essence of that statement Jesus is confronting a wrong mindset because they're saying oh we got four months then the harvest we got four months to rest we got four months to relax we've got plenty of time because it's not harvest time yet seeds are planted it'll be a while before we have to really sweat we need to rest for a while and what Jesus saying is no no that's the wrong way to think in fact he says look I tell you lift up your eyes and see that the fields are white for harvest that the wheat is mature it has like a white sheen to it Jesus may have been making an illusion we don't know for certain but but the Samaritans they were they were dressed in white I shared with you a couple weeks ago there's like 800 of them still today in present day in our present day they still wear white today it's just their their clothing and perhaps there is an illusion here to the fact that you have these Samaritans all dressed in white all heading in the direction of the well where Jesus and his men are and he say look up and there's this just this stream of white heading in their direction the woman told the town about
[28:44] Jesus and the crowd is coming out to meet Jesus church we don't live in the age of anticipation any longer and though we're waiting for the Messiah to show up okay we live in the age of proclamation that Jesus has come that he has paid the debt that he has resurrected Messiah has come he's already died for your sins there's ministry for us today look up look all around you there's need everywhere lift up your eyes I think we need to constantly be in a posture of reformation personally living with this posture of Lord if there's something I'm doing that's taken away from me being available to you and others convict me that I might turn from that it's like that weight holding me back from running the race let me put that away because I want to be available for people one of my best friends probably my longest lifetime friend is a sports junkie off the charts
[30:15] Sports Center ESPN fantasy sports I mean he just he knows he loves it he also loves the Lord he's a good pastor and he was so convicted over this at one point where he actually went on a sports fast for a year he gave up watching sports because for him he found that he was giving so much intellectual space to this hobby this passion that he wasn't always available to think about people to serve people to be with people because he was often hoarding away to watch the game now I know some you're like Jay I do a Bible study with like ten guys watching the game like I redeem it but for my friend he's like I'm gonna give it up and it's just being sensitive to the spirit of God when he when he moves in our life but for him it's like man I don't want to I don't want to miss being part of this eternal rescue mission and I feel like this has gotten in the way for a season take that for whatever it's worth but I hope you have the scene in your mind's eye of these Samaritans they heard from the woman and now the crowd is approaching can you just see them Jesus men and they're just and he's just like it's coming guys you know half mile see it quarter mile there they're coming men they're gonna have questions are we ready are you ready the cloud kicking up I just there's like there's anticipation here as we as we consider this scene and I think the point is for these guys for us if we look if we will but just look man there are opportunities everywhere there there are there are missionary opportunities everywhere and I would suggest to us that you just figure out where you already do life because there's people already that you are connected to so the beauty of this morning is me not telling you that you need to know now add something more just redeem what already is present I love I don't know if you guys were all here last week first hour but Scott shared about how just in their HOA there's some things that need to be organized and if you know Pastor Scott you know he will organize and he offered himself said I can organize that I can help write something for us I can join you know our homeowners association leadership that would be wonderful and what those leaders those other leaders don't realize it's a trick because what Scott's gonna do he's gonna invite them into his home and then he's gonna sit down with them and then he's gonna be redemptively curious and then he's gonna just listen and they're gonna ask a really good question and then they're gonna share their entire life and then he's just gonna be so nice and so kind and then maybe he'll pray for them and all of a sudden they're gonna be sitting here going I need to know more just find where where you have opportunity to be present with people and keep your eyes up like look up don't get stuck in whatever the immediate thing is the temporary thing because the
[33:42] Lord may have you connected with that individual for that moment for that season so that you can be his presence you can you can share good news we are in a global rescue mission yes here in Spokane we need to live with urgency James says in James 414 that life is vapor it's vapor it's like this about 15 years ago I was in Costco and I had this really strange thought I don't think I ever share this with Julie but I was buying telephones for our home the kind that you plug in and I actually had this thought I said to myself as I was buying these because it had a few extra I'm like I'd said these are the last phones I'm ever gonna buy at Costco like that you plug in I just had that sense of like I'm not gonna have to ever buy these again and I wanted to mark the moment I know this is inside my brain I'm going I was I was like life is temporary I'm never gonna buy these kind of phones again I know it's a very obscure but that's what happens in my brain I'm always thinking about man life is precious life is short and I think this is this is this metaphor of the harvest live with urgency the opportunity it's present it's everywhere I think the second principle we can or observation we can gain here is not just to live with urgency but we're called to participate we're called to be participants not observers listen to what verse 36 says already one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life so that the sower and the reaper may rejoice together who rejoices at the harvest the sower and the reaper both of them those catch this that are invested in the harvest there is greater joy when we are part of a success any success in life amen when you get to participate there's joy in that right sports great your team won the championship but you were on the bench and yeah it's kind of cool you're part of it but man it would have been so nice to be able to contribute just a little bit right just just a little bit better anything in life this church has like over abundance of mechanics unfortunately they all work on airplanes and I don't own one of those but it's how great when you put your your mind and your and your skills and and you repair something then it's like it flies like I did that I got to got to do that or some of you guys you you build stuff beautiful things homes and barns and I build gates I kind of tapped out at gates I have about a half dozen if you need a gate I create spaces in our fence where I can just put a gate because I can build that and it's like if you come over to our house I'll probably show you my collection of gates but there's something satisfying about doing right participating I mean I could pay someone but man when I get to do it when I get to be involved in the process and that's that's in this metaphor there's joy in participation and our our culture church it encourages observation become a consumer an observer and it's a massive cash industry I actually drove a gal a few months back who was just adorned with all sorts of anime stuff Japanese cartoon stuff I don't know I don't recall it was Pokemon or what but I was just curious I was like man I said man you must really like whatever this you know stuff she was wearing you must be into that and this was her response she says I'm a super fan I never heard the term before a super fan what's a super fan and then she started talking about fandoms there's there's a whole group of folks that just they don't create anything they just follow and observe and purchase and it was kind of sad it's like you haven't even really accomplished anything but watched others do stuff and I don't think the Lord has called us to be super fans in fact I think he's called us to be participants he says in Matthew 9 very clearly verse 38 7 and 8 he says then he said to his disciples the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into the harvest we need laborers church every member at forth is a missionary amen amen and I get it it sometimes collides with our other objective of being comfortable but which one is going to satisfy you which one's going to be more joy inducing and for us to be participants a big part of that is that we would be equipped that we would be equipped what if I told you this week you're gonna have a conversation with someone co-worker neighbor they're gonna ask you about what you believe maybe crisis has come to their home into their life like what do you seem joyful what do you what what is Christianity why do you why do you why do you go to that church why do you read your Bible and you get a chance to share that what would you say if they asked you what do you love about Jesus so much what would you say are you prepared or does that thought scare you one of the reasons we do discipleship at 9 a.m. is to prepare you to help you we've all sorts of classes to help you in that regard to teach you God's word whether it's doctrine whether it's apologetics whether it's spiritual disciplines whether it's material you can take a new believer through like if you're not here 9 a.m. I would encourage you we don't do it just to fill time it's purposeful it's purposeful I think another reason just as an aside we need to be prepared we need to be available but another reason to be vigilant in fighting sin so that so that we are available to minister that we're filled with God's Spirit still remember a conversation years ago with a father who felt like he couldn't speak into his child's life because he was so a meshed in in sin in his life when it came time to minister he's like I can't do it I've been a hypocrite man we have to be vigilant church and we have to be encouraging exhorting one another in this we live in a world that wants to seduce us and tell us man joy has found other places often in dark things we need one another we need one another how's that how's that the dispensary again yesterday because I'm a new bedriver it's like it's every time I'm on the clock I'm at the dispensary there's so many ways that we can just get off the rails and not be filled with God's
[41:58] Spirit and then not be available to be participants to be used man there's joy in being used of the Lord church amen and as we're used it's not like look at me who gets the credit God gets the credit fact Paul said that in 1st Corinthians 3 he said hey I planted a Paul's watered but God gave the growth so neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything but only God who gives the growth but it's a delight to participate amen and that's why Lewis said hey play big parts without pride small parts without shame but man to be a part the final observation of this metaphor yeah let's live with urgency let's be participants and thirdly hey the Christian life this missionary life is not the lazy life the French author Jules Renard he says this about laziness he says laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired another definition related to believers when theologian writes the gross failure what is laziness as related to believers it's the gross failure to love
[43:21] God with all one's heart all one's mind all one's soul and catch this it is the tendency to do nothing in the face of opportunity and the lazy life it's so contrary to Paul's MO I think for Paul he experienced the forgiveness of holy God and it changed everything for him he's like I have a clean slate I have been forgiven for real I gotta tell some people because this is almost too good to be true it it revolutionized him he says in Colossians 1 28 him we proclaim warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom that we may present everyone mature in Christ for this I toil struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me I toil I labor to weary some effort here I struggle and that word is this idea of you are it says though you are competing in athletic competition there is exertion there's zeal present and
[44:37] Paul saying this is how I live this missionary life of the Gospel I'm gonna work hard for the Gospel and this metaphor tells us that the harvest the Christian life the metaphor of the harvest the farmer Paul said in 2nd Timothy 2 6 it is the hardworking farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops we're farmers I know I said I was gonna turn my kids into farmers spiritual farmers that's what we're called into and there's no such thing as a lazy farmer the lazy farmer is not a farmer hey I know that I married into farmers fruit farmers orchardists it's not a lazy lifestyle and that's the metaphor that we're given in terms of the Christian life you want to be a farmer you you don't say well four months and then it'll work look here's the lifestyle of a farmer I talked to my father-in-law he explained it to me it's like man I thought before because I grew up in the city I like man farming is the best you grow some stuff you sell it for a lot of money it's easy money it's not let me give you the life here's one year in the life of a farmer November this month if you're growing fruit what do you do you pick up tree props you mow your fertilize you treat for gophers and mice and then you weed spray that's just November
[46:15] December is orchard renewal month where you prepare to replace all of your bad trees I don't know what all's entailed in that but it's work December to March you prune you spray your tree shape you plant new trees April to June now you're dealing with frost protection so you're on high alert all night if freezing winds weather comes in you got to start your wind machines light your smudge pots in May you begin watering you deal with weed control mating disruption so you're putting out moth ferrano ferrmones everywhere June through July you're thinning there's more pruning you're putting up tree props it's a lot of work and then finally mid-July to October is harvest cherries pears and apples and then you just started all over again nobody says well we got four months and then let's work hard the farmer takes a month off crop will show you take off the wrong night during frost season you may lose your entire crop whatever you do church work hardly as for the Lord not for men and I think the best conversation we're ever gonna have in this life is when we see the
[47:36] Lord and if he says well done that will be the best but that conversation only follows at the end of that type of life that we thought about the harvest that we thought like farmers well let's finish up the story verse 39 to the end many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony he told me all that I ever did so when the Samaritans came to him they asked him to stay with them and he stayed there two more days and many more believe because of his word they said to the woman it is no longer because of what you said that we believe or we have heard for ourselves that we may know that this indeed is the savior of the world church this woman was willing to become a missionary and her harvest it bore fruit it bore fruit what if she had decided those people are my enemies and I'm not gonna share they're beneath me they don't like me I'm keeping my mouth shut and yet she spoke my final observation this morning and it's it just shouts to us here it's just that
[49:04] God in this missionary life he uses ordinary people he just uses ordinary people using ordinary words to bring life to a city it's just ordinary evangelism that's all it is and yet God moves what's what's fascinating here is that Jesus he didn't even do miracles in this Samaritan village in fact it just it says here many more believe because of his what his word his word church there is great power the eternal God of the universe has chosen to sovereignly move through the ordinary means of ordinary folks use an ordinary words and then a person's life their eternity may change forever it's remarkable Thursday night I picked up a gal from her first counseling session she shared like got in said yeah I got done with my first therapy session and got going through a lot and just and then asked you know what I did and I share with them I'm I'm a pastor at this really sweet church that's you guys feel that you feel that in the Logan neighborhood I invited her I don't know if she's here but I invite her and she was curious like well what do you guys do and I got to share the gospel with her I got to tell her I was like yeah and I was using his earthy languages I could with her and talking about you know it's like you had a crime you committed but somebody said I'm I'm gonna serve that time for you so you don't have to that's like Jesus that's what Jesus did for us and she had never heard the gospel and she was like that is so cool but she was saying it to me as though I had told her this secret of very important information and she was like that's the coolest thing ever and I was so convicted after that ride because I can get callous even about talking about the gospel and she reminded me I was refreshed in my spirit of like she saw she heard it for the first time and it was like he really did that and I was like Lord keep my heart there's so much power there we got something to share it's like a secret that's not a secret though we have got to get out church there is great joy in this missionary life truly amen and that's what we've been called to walk in together let me pray father we confess that we have competing interests in our hearts
[52:28] Lord you actually say in Psalm 119 that blessed is a man who walks with you with a whole heart and so Lord would you convict us if there is portions of our heart that are given to things that are small temporary where Lord it is somehow hindered our ability our capacity to be available to be sensitive to you Lord would you open our eyes Lord help us to lift our eyes and see the opportunities that are around us Lord would you would you help us to be redemptively curious with people that Lord we would ask questions because we care and we want to hear we want to listen we want to we want to know and father would you lead us of your spirit to know how to respond how to direct conversations back to your goodness your grace your love the fact that you are indeed the Savior of the world and Lord would you maybe even today would you cause us to be introspective to where the psalmist writes in Psalm 90 that we would number our days that we would get a heart of wisdom to live this missionary life today Lord help us to number our days life is precious the gospel is true let us live with urgency and father would you give us a commensurate amount of joy as we walk in a little bit more courage each day and father help us to know how to encourage one another in this refresh us when we're gathered so that when we scatter we can be about your business your name we pray amen