[0:00] Let's turn this evening to John chapter 4 and from verse 28 we'll consider the verses from there down as far as verse 42.
[0:13] John 4 at verse 28. So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ? Or it could be translated, can this not be the Christ?
[0:30] They went out of the town and were coming to him. That's the people of the town, of course. Now this morning we looked briefly at some of what it means for Jesus to be a prophet or what the office of Jesus as a prophet is about.
[0:48] How he reveals to us by his word and spirit the will of God for our salvation as the catechism summarizes it. We finished that this morning by just briefly referring to the fact that the Lord's people are also to be prophets for him.
[1:08] We saw in the morning that the essence in the meaning of prophet is that a prophet was appointed by God to be a spokesman for him. All the prophets of the Old Testament, they were appointed by God.
[1:21] God put words in their mouths. They then gave these words over to the people and therefore revealed to them God's will, God's purpose, God's plan for them.
[1:32] It was God's word that was relayed through the prophet as the mouthpiece of God, if you like. And what we're looking at this evening is how that same principle applies to the Lord's own people in their witness for him in this life.
[1:49] Whatever form that witness takes is not just simply by speaking to people about their salvation, their savior, but in every way that's open to us acceptably to show Christ to the world, we are in that sense acting as as prophets.
[2:08] We are being mouthpieces, if you like, for God. God, of course, doesn't. This is the difference with that. Listen, the Old Testament, God doesn't come and put words in our mouths and we say these exact words to people.
[2:24] That's not what happens even in preaching the word. The word we have now is written. It's a complete written word, this revelation from God. And what we do is we take the word in preaching and try to bring out the meaning of these passages and in that way apply the word and its teaching.
[2:44] But the word itself is the word. It's not our word. It's the word of God. And in a similar fashion in regard to witnessing for Christ in the world, living as his people, what we're seeking to do is bring the truth of the gospel to people who need Christ.
[3:02] People who need to be saved. People who have sometimes perhaps never even heard of who Jesus Christ is. And we mustn't assume that these kinds of people just exist in our big cities or in places in our nation, that they don't exist around us or in our island.
[3:22] And they do. And in fact, not only that, but there are a significant, sizable group of people who don't believe that God exists and who'd want to promote atheism instead of the gospel.
[3:37] The principle is that we bring the gospel to the world. We don't wait for the world to come to the gospel. We don't wait for people to show up in church without thinking of, firstly, bringing the gospel to them if they don't themselves come to hear the gospel in church.
[3:58] Now, that's going to mean perhaps a number of preliminary steps. We had a conference yesterday on evangelism in Stornoway which dealt with some of these issues.
[4:10] We need perhaps some preliminary steps. We need these in regard to our young people. We need them in regard to older people as well. There are courses that are run. There are things like we've done ourselves with Christianity Explored or Discipleship Explored.
[4:28] Other ways by which we try to bring people into contact with the gospel, with the Lord's people, first of all, even before they actually come to a church service.
[4:41] But be that as it may, we have to actually take the principle, first of all, and believe it. Because some people actually think that this is not the business of the church, to actually hold kinds of meetings or have certain types of events other than formal church worship services.
[5:06] And that evangelism is simply the preaching of the gospel. Yes, you invite people to hear the gospel. If they don't come, well, they don't come. But the evangelism the church is mandated to engage in is simply the preaching of the gospel and nothing else along with that.
[5:27] Now, it's very difficult to read the Bible and actually come to that conclusion. We were told at the conference yesterday by one of the speakers that he met an elder in town who actually, when he was asked, are you going to the conference by one of the speakers, said, no, I don't believe in such a thing at all.
[5:47] That's trying to do the Lord's work for him. Well, you're trying to fit that kind of attitude and that kind of approach into the mind of this woman of Samaria.
[5:58] It's impossible. We will see, hopefully, tonight that this woman teaches us that the attitude that says, well, if people don't come, that's their business, but that's as far as we can go.
[6:11] This woman wouldn't have stood for that at all. In fact, I'm going to refer back to an incident that happened in the book of Numbers before we come to look at this woman herself.
[6:22] Because it really, I think, it actually captures what we want to do by way of a preliminary thought in getting this right in our minds.
[6:33] At that stage in the history of the people, Moses was told by God to actually put the tent of meeting in a certain place and appoint elders, appoint people who would be leaders in the leadership of the people at that time.
[6:50] And he said to them to consecrate themselves and go out to the tent. So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord. And he gathered 70 men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tent.
[7:03] This tent was the tent of meeting where the Lord met with Moses and with people. So the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him and took some of the spirit that was on him and put it on the 70 elders.
[7:18] And as soon as the spirit rested on them, they prophesied. See, they became prophets. They started speaking in the name of the Lord, but they did not continue doing it.
[7:29] Now, two men remained in the camp. That's where all the people would be, apart from these 70 that had gone out with Moses to the tent. They remained. These two men remained with the majority of the people, one named Eldad and the other named Medad.
[7:45] And the spirit rested on them. They were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent. So they prophesied in the camp. And a young man ran and told Moses, Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.
[8:00] And Joshua, the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth, said, My Lord Moses, stop them. And here is this great reply of Moses. Are you jealous for my sake?
[8:13] Would that all the Lord's people were prophets, that the Lord would put his spirit on them. You see, what this view was, was that because these men were not with the rest out in the tent of meeting, and they were prophesying amongst the people, this was simply something that had to be stopped.
[8:35] It was out of the ordinary. It didn't fit in with what these people themselves, this young man especially, and Joshua especially, was thinking. Joshua was thinking, these people are not here with us.
[8:46] They're not with the 70. They're not in the tent of meeting. What are they doing prophesying amongst the people? And he said, Moses, my Lord Moses, stop them.
[8:57] Put a stop to this. And Moses said, would that all the Lord's people were prophets. Indeed. Would that all the Lord's people were prophets.
[9:11] Would that all the Lord's people saw it as their business to be prophetic in their lives. That doesn't mean having special gifts to see into the future. But prophets in the sense of bringing the message of the gospel to those around them.
[9:28] Living the message of the gospel. Speaking the message of the gospel. Because that's what it means to be a witness for Christ.
[9:38] To be a prophet in that sense of it. For the Lord. For the Lord. And you can see that carried into effect in what you read here about this woman.
[9:49] First of all, there's a new purpose in her life. She's excited at this particular moment. The woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did.
[10:09] Now, what's the significance of her leaving her water jar and going over to the town? Other people find different ideas by which to interpret that reference to leaving her water jar.
[10:23] But just think of what Jesus had been saying to her at the well. Hershey, they're still at the well. Jesus had asked her for a drink. He then came to reveal himself to her by way of saying that he had living water to give.
[10:38] Not just this ordinary type of water. When you take all of that with you, you can see that the reason she left her water jar was that she had a new purpose in her life.
[10:49] She had come out to draw this ordinary water to fill her water jar and take it back to the town. But she now had better water. She had spiritual water. And the water that she was now going to carry back to the town was the eternal life that Jesus had given her.
[11:08] It will be in you, said Jesus, a spring of water or a well of water springing up unto everlasting life. And this woman is taking that water.
[11:19] She's left her water pot. She's got a new purpose in life. Her old water is left behind, if you like. And now that her life has new meaning, she is really desperate to convey this to the people of the town.
[11:34] They need to know about this. They need to know about what has happened to her at this well. They need to know that she has now got something far more than she originally came out to the well for.
[11:46] She came empty of spiritual water. She's going back filled. She came to draw ordinary water. She's going back with a spiritual one. She left her water pot.
[11:59] And you can detect, surely in the words, an excitement in her voice. And that's probably also part of what we should see in her leaving her water pot.
[12:10] She didn't really think about it anymore. She was so filled with what Jesus had become to her. She was so taken up with what had happened in meeting this Savior.
[12:24] She left her water pot. She was just excited to go and tell the people of the town about this. She has a new purpose in life and excitement over Jesus.
[12:37] Do we have that? Or if we've had that, have we lost some of it? Have we lost most of it?
[12:48] Are we as excited now with this Jesus as we were when he came and revealed himself to us first? Do we have that in our hearts tonight?
[12:59] Do I have that in my heart tonight? As I had when the Lord Jesus Christ came into my life and showed me this living water that was in himself. And took me away from the things of this world, from the waters of this world, which can never satisfy your soul.
[13:17] There's the question that you have to put and I have to put to myself tonight. Am I really excited with Christ? Am I excited enough with Christ, so excited as I should be, that I can't keep myself from telling others about it?
[13:31] That I can't keep myself from being a prophet who will go and say to people, Will you not come and see for yourself this Jesus that I am enthusing over?
[13:48] And then she went to the town and she exhorted. Excitement is there, but so is the exhortation. Because she said, Come, see a man who told me all that ever I did.
[14:00] Is this not the Christ? Now there are a number of points in relation to that that we have to think of. She went directly to these people and spoke to them and exhorted them.
[14:17] Now I don't mean to say from that. We can't just conclude from that that everybody is cut out to be an eloquent speaker for Christ. And there are some people that are far better and far more gifted at speaking to people about their Savior, about the Lord, about salvation, than other people are.
[14:37] We know ourselves, if we're honest with ourselves, where our gifts lie. But the point is that in giving us life, Christ himself will have us to relate that in some way or other to those people that are in the world, whether in our families or out within our neighborhood, in our workplace or wherever it might be.
[15:03] We are to be prophets for Christ. Because this woman, you see, didn't, as some people might say, that what we really need is that everybody should pray earnestly for revival.
[15:21] Never mind this outreach business. Never mind this personal evangelism business. Never mind this discipleship business. Never mind this idea of holding conferences as to how to do evangelism.
[15:33] Never mind evangelism itself and all those practical details and events that the church is setting up. Let's just get together and pray that the Lord will bring revival.
[15:44] And it will come as in days done by. That's not what this woman did. She didn't immediately think, now I have to go home and I have to pray that the Lord will bring revival to my town.
[16:02] That the people of my town will come to know the Jesus that I've come to know. She went straight to them. She went directly and said to them, Come and see a man who told me all things that I ever did.
[16:21] Of course, it is God alone who saves. Of course it is God alone who can change people's lives. We're not suggesting for a single moment that engaging in any work of evangelism in a practical way is itself going to convert people.
[16:40] That's God's work. And none of us can do that work. And it would be foolish in the extreme to try. But God works through means.
[16:57] And God has mandated his church. As Jesus said at the end of Matthew's gospel. Go and make disciples of all nations. Does that not mean more than stay at home and pray about it?
[17:10] Or go to prayer meetings and pray about it there? That's absolutely vital. Don't for a moment mistake what we're saying. It's not for a moment to decry or to actually belittle prayer.
[17:22] Or to tack prayer on to something that you're doing for the Lord. As if prayer is just something that's an additional extra. You pray first. You pray second. You pray third.
[17:32] But you don't just pray. You don't just leave it to prayer by itself. This woman shows us that.
[17:46] She went and said this to the people. She invited them. She exhorted them to come to Jesus. And you'll find that in John elsewhere as well.
[17:57] Of course right back at the beginning there. When you find the first disciples mentioned there. One of the two who heard John speak and follow Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.
[18:11] He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, we have found the Messiah. He brought him to Jesus. You see John is taking note of all of these things that were happening in his day that he saw for himself.
[18:27] And this woman as she came to know Jesus. She immediately went and said, I have to tell the people of my town about this. I can't stand and not do this.
[18:39] She went and said this to them. Now you see, her focus is on Jesus himself. She left her water. She went into town.
[18:50] Come see a man who told me all that ever I did. Is not this the Christ? She didn't talk about her faith. She didn't talk about her repentance. She didn't talk about the change in her life.
[19:02] She didn't talk about any such things. Though she could have actually set her mind on that first. The focus is on Christ himself.
[19:21] I hope all our studies of God's word are Christ centered. If not, then I'm failing in my duties. Why do they need to be Christ centered?
[19:32] Because Christ is the center and the substance of the gospel. We can talk about faith. We can talk about justification. We can talk about sin.
[19:43] We can talk about all of these things as they are so necessary to talk about and to preach about. And you have to preach about them. And we need to bring them before people in our day.
[19:54] But they have to be things that connect with Christ. And Christ has to be seen. As set above every other topic. And when we witness to Christ, we're not going to present ourselves.
[20:10] We're not going to say, well, you're not going to come and see what a great church we have. What a great congregation we have. What wonderful fellowship we have. How united we are. How many new faces we've got this week.
[20:22] These things may all be true. But your business and my business in being Christians is to reveal Christ.
[20:32] To bring Christ through our lives in the world. And we have to think about that and how to do that. It doesn't come without putting thought into it.
[20:45] It's not something that you just say, oh, well, I'll just leave it and the Lord will show me in his own time and in his own way. And then I'll go and witness for him. You have to think of the needs of the day.
[20:57] The needs of your neighborhood. The needs of your family. The needs of your workplace. The needs of our nation. You have to think of all that exists around you as in the present providence of God.
[21:11] And say, how can I be a Christian in that? How can I be a prophet for Christ in that? How can I show Christ in my life? In the most effective way.
[21:23] Still God is going to do the converting. Still God is going to bless. And without his blessing it comes to nothing. But you and I have to do it. And leave the blessing to God.
[21:35] She went. And this is what she said. She focused on Christ. Not herself. Or anything else. And the response is actually tremendous, isn't it?
[21:49] They went out of the town and were coming to him. And we'll see in a moment how Jesus used that to refer to harvesting and to a spiritual harvesting of souls.
[22:01] But you notice the response. That the town, virtually the whole of the population was just making its way in response to the woman's exhortation to where Jesus was.
[22:13] It's really interesting. And I must confess I'd never noted it until preparing for this evening study. The disciples had gone into town to get food.
[22:28] They had left Jesus by himself there. That was fine. They had gone into town to get food, which was obviously necessary for them. But they came back without anyone at all of the townspeople but themselves.
[22:46] Did they think these are just Samaritans. They have no relation to this Jesus who is our master. They're just Samaritans. Of course, Jews and Samaritans were, of course, in a bad relationship and had been for many years.
[23:03] Did these disciples simply say, we're here for food, we're not here to speak for Jesus? Well, maybe. But it's interesting that they came back with only the food that they had gone to buy.
[23:16] She brought the town to Jesus. She, by what she said and by God's blessing, over what she said, they were all, they went out of the town and were coming to him.
[23:33] The disciples had brought none back. And she, by her witness, by her testimony, by her prophetic announcement, this was the response of the people.
[23:50] There's a new purpose in her life. When a new purpose comes into your life, that needs to be communicated. There's a sense in which it communicates itself.
[24:01] People see a change when lives are changed from God. People see that. We know that. Nevertheless, this is a woman who couldn't leave it at that.
[24:11] She just went and spoke for Jesus, about Jesus, to people who needed Jesus. And then you notice Jesus gives a new definition to harvest.
[24:24] We're going to go through this more quickly. When these people were coming out of the town to him, and Jesus had said, of course, about food and so on to the disciples after they urged him to eat.
[24:36] Then he said, Do you not say there are yet four months and then comes the harvest? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes and see that the fields are white for harvest.
[24:48] Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life. I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored and you have entered into their labor.
[24:59] Now, many things in that we're not going to go into tonight. Some of the references there are not just all that easy to work out what exactly Jesus meant about this. Someone sowing and reaping and others entering into their labor and so on.
[25:10] But this is clear enough. The people who were coming out, streaming out from this town called Sychar, to the well where Jesus was, to go and meet with him. Jesus was saying to the disciples, Here's a harvest.
[25:25] Here is a field ripe for harvest. Here is something remarkable happening. Not a natural harvest.
[25:38] Not wheat or barley or any such thing. But people. Living people. And Jesus says to them, to the disciples, That's actually a field ripe for harvest.
[25:55] In Edinburgh, Victorian times, Conditions were appalling in some parts of Edinburgh, As in many other places, Especially in the big cities of our nation.
[26:13] And Thomas Guthrie, A famous free church minister, Who came to minister in what is now St. Columbus in Edinburgh, That was first of all called Old Grey Friars, Before a new church was built, Which came to be St. John's, And then came afterwards to be called St. Columbus.
[26:32] But that whole parish, At that time, around 1840, Was an absolutely appalling place to live. Absolutely filled with drunkenness, Prostitution, All kinds of debauchery.
[26:47] One person said, Having gone from the church there, To a close, A lot of, Very pressed, Close together, Apartments, Or, Living places, Just hovels really, That he had taken bread, To people who were just, So poor, They were starving.
[27:08] And then shortly after, He noticed a mother, Who should have given that to her children, She was trying to sell, The bread that she'd been given to live on, In a local, Drinking house, To try and just, Just get more drink.
[27:23] It's an appalling place. And Thomas Guthrie, Was appointed the minister, Of old grey friars, In that parish, That was called the Cowgate then.
[27:36] And if you look at, Where St. Columbus Church is today, You can't do it as much anymore, But if you've got old, Photos of Edinburgh, Right back to those times, You could see, There's an open sort of area there, You could see from, Where St. Columbus is, Looking down over Victoria Street, Across the back there, Where, In the old days, That Guthrie was, He was describing these, These places people lived, And down in that area, Absolutely appalling.
[28:03] And he was standing there, Just looking down one day, And just, Thinking about, How, How, How am I going to go about, Ministering to these people, How am I going to bring, A change into these people's lives, What am I going to do, With such an appalling amount, Of human misery.
[28:22] And he felt a tap on his shoulder, And who was this, But Thomas Chalmers, And Chalmers stood there with him, And he was just silent for a while, And then he said to Guthrie, A beautiful field, sir, A beautiful field, sir, A very, Good field of operation, Indeed.
[28:52] What do we think of, When we see people living in misery? Maybe they're well dressed people, Decent people, But misery without Christ, Misery in their sins, Or even people whose lives, Have become a mess, What do we think of, Is our first thought, The thought of, Condemnation, Do we just find fault, With these people, And say that's a terrible thing, That's not an awful way, To live your life, Or do we think like Chalmers, What a beautiful field, For the gospel, What a field that is, Ripe for the gospel, We can't come away, From this woman of Samaria, And what she did, Going back to Sychar, And the exhortation, She gave to these people, Without ourselves, Surely being moved, To be prophetic for Christ, To be active prophets for Christ, To actually see,
[29:54] The world in which we live, And people's lives in it, And people's conditions, Whatever they are, But they're without Christ, And therefore, As Chalmers said, That's a beautiful field, Of operation, That's a place, Absolutely ripe, For the gospel, Because without the gospel, They'll die, And if they die, They will spend, Forever in hell, That's the gist of it, If you and I saw somebody, Tomorrow, When you're out for a walk, Reading a book, Or, On their phone, Walking towards, The cliff tops, Oblivious to the fact, That they were getting near, And near, Stepping off the cliff, You wouldn't actually, Just casually, Turn away, Or walk to the other side, You'd shout at them, And say, Look, Watch where you're going,
[30:55] Turn, From the path you're on, But we meet people, Every day friends, And hell is written, All over their foreheads, And we don't notice it, We meet people, Every day, And they're walking, Steadily towards hell, And they're going to spend, Eternity in hell, If they don't have Christ, And if we don't tell them, About Christ, Who's going to tell them?
[31:25] We have to be, Prophets, For Jesus, We have to have, This woman's, Sense, Of the need, Of her people, And we have to come, And constantly, Ask ourselves, How can I be a prophet, Today for Christ?
[31:54] How am I going to bring, The gospel, To these people? A new definition, Of harvest, Let's take that, Into our minds, Tonight, Let's let it sink, Into our minds, Let's not lose sight, Of what this, This Christ himself, Is saying, About these people, Of Samaria, Of Sychar, The Jews, Despised them, As we said, Maybe that's why, The disciples, Didn't think it worth, That while, To tell them about Jesus, There are plenty, People in the district, Of point tonight, That maybe, Sadly, In my own thoughts, At times, And in your own thoughts, Would be just, Not the right person, To see in church, Or to come, To tell them, About Jesus, Let's put that, Out of our minds, As well, And like this woman, Say,
[32:55] Come, Come, And see, This man, Come, And meet this Jesus, And whatever way, We do that, And all that we're trying, To do, In the congregation, Is really hope, About that, Our, Our young people's meetings, Our point to life, Our, The ABC club, The courses, That we've run, Even right through, To women's meetings, WFM, And parent, And toddler, And even the creche itself, Where all of these facilities, You might say, Are not strictly speaking, Presenting the gospel, But yet they are, Preliminaries, They are, Part of what we're seeking, For people to come, To know Christ, And they are, Supportive, Of the gospel, And that's the whole purpose, If that's not the purpose, For them ultimately, Then by all means, Let's get rid of them, If they're just providing, Something of a social service,
[33:57] Not saying that that itself, Is wrong, But if that's the primary purpose, Of them, By all means, Let's question the validity, Of them, But if they're there, To bring Christ, To young people, And old people alike, If that's the purpose, For them, If they're drawing people, Or if the intention, Ultimately is that people, Get drawn to Jesus, And Jesus be presented, To them, Then that's what we're about, That's what a church, Ought to be about, That's what a congregation, Ought to be about, A congregation of prophets, Presenting Christ, To a lost world, And then he speaks, It speaks here about, A new intake, Of converts, Because these women, These people, Who listened to the woman, Who responded to her word, Many Samaritans, Verse 39, Came from that town, And believed in him, Because of the woman's testimony, He told me all,
[34:59] That ever I 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 his word, They said to the woman, It is no longer, Because of what you said, That we believe, For we have heard, For ourselves, And we know that this is indeed, The saviour of the word, Now very quickly, They believed because, Of her testimony, They actually accepted, Her testimony, So they came, To Jesus, They obviously saw, A change, In her life as well, Maybe this woman, Would be, A very unlikely candidate, After all, Jesus had said to her, You've had five husbands, And the one you've got, Just now, Is not your own husband, She had a very shady lifestyle, You wouldn't expect, That that type of woman, Would be, A prophet, Or a disciple, Or a missionary, To her own people, But that's how God does things, Let's pray for, The unlikelies, As we might call people, Not only in our district, But in our land,
[36:00] People who might think, Are unlikely ever, To respond to the gospel, How do we know that? Maybe Richard Dawkins, Will be the next, Great missionary, We have to pray for that, God changes, The unlikelies, Into, Prophetic, Witnesses, For himself, And then they ask Jesus, To stay with them, Now that fits into, The theology, Of John, In the gospel, Of the whole issue, Of abiding, You know that word, In the av, It follows with us, It's a great word, And we can keep it, In our minds, It's not just simply, Staying with them, It's the same thing, In essence, But somehow, The word abiding, Has come to have, This very rich meaning, In our theological vocabulary, Even, In the hymn writer, For example, Abide with me, And, You have this, Here as well, In this, Emphasis, That Jesus, Stayed with them, Or abode with them, For two days,
[37:02] And that's really, Saying something, Precious to us as well, When you come, To know Christ, For yourself, It's not just, Something important, To go, It's not just simply, Important to go, And tell people, And be a witness, To Jesus, There's actually, Something else, That comes, In a sense, Really before that, But certainly, Always along with that, And that is, That you keep Jesus, With you, As he puts it, In chapter 15, Abide in me, And I in you, Except you abide in me, You cannot, Bear fruit, You can do nothing, Of that kind, So for every, Convert, Our, Our, Burden for them, Must be, That we teach them, The importance, Of maintaining, The relationship, With Christ, Of maintaining, A quality, Communion, With Christ, In their lives, And you do that, By your own,
[38:04] Private devotions, By reading your Bible, By praying to Christ, You do it by attending, Prayer meetings, Maybe that sounds, Old fashioned, But I'm an old fashioned, Christian, And from that point of view, I'm an old fashioned, Preacher of the gospel, I believe in the prayer meeting, I believe in people, Coming together to pray, Because the Bible, Actually constrains me, To think in that way, That's not a matter of, What is or isn't fashionable, What is and isn't, Really the thing, In current theological thinking, It's all about, What Jesus says, And if Jesus says, It's important, That you abide in me, And that you use, All the means, That I've given you, To abide in me, Doesn't matter what age you are, It doesn't matter how, Early on you are, In your Christian life, Indeed in some ways, The earlier on you are, In your Christian life, The more important, Is to realize this, Keep close to Jesus, Seek his presence,
[39:06] Every day in your life, Don't imagine for a moment, That you can do anything, Effectively, Without him, Without a living connection, With him, He abode with them, For two days, And then finally, They became convinced, By that of who he was, They said, No longer just because, Of what you said, But we have heard, Him for ourselves, Or you could, Add the word him, I think there, For we have heard him, For ourselves, And we know that this is indeed, The saviour, Of the world, The Samaritans, Gave him this title, The saviour of the world, They were a despised people, At least in the eyes, Of the Jews, Looked at really, As pretty worthless, You wouldn't bother with them, As far as, Telling them about salvation, And God, They were just out with,
[40:07] The perimeter of God's people, And yet it is they, Who gave him this title, We have come to know, That this, Is indeed the saviour, Of the world, He has incorporated, Even the likes of us, Into his salvation, Nobody out there tonight, Is beyond the pale, Of Christ's reach, Is beyond, The arm of Christ, To reach out, And bring them into his kingdom, And in addition to that, It means, What they say here, Shows us quite clear, There is, There is no, Co-saviour, If you like, With Christ, That's, That's, Something that, Is, Set really, As a barrier, To the gospel, By so many people, In our age, People in churches as well, And certainly, The more kind of, Professional, Liberal theologians, You have to,
[41:08] You have to actually, Believe that Jesus, Is just one way to God, If you're going to be acceptable, To these kinds of people, And that kind of thinking, Is not just Jesus, Only, It's Jesus, And Islam, And Buddha, And all of these other, Religions, And even no religion at all, It's equally valid, Secularism, Yeah, You put it up there, Alongside Christianity, And alongside all the other things, And here's Martin saying, We have come to know, That this man, Is indeed, The saviour of the world, Absolutely, Excluding all others, And don't be ashamed of that, And don't be ashamed, Of confessing that, And holding to that, Because people can only be saved, Through the gospel, And the gospel, Is about Jesus, But then,
[42:09] Is he your saviour? He's the saviour of the world, They said, A saviour, Whose, Salvation, Embraces all kinds of people, But what good is that, To you and to me tonight, If you cannot say, He's my saviour, He's my personal saviour, I know him, As my personal saviour, Is verse 42a, The first part you experience, Where they can say, Where you can say, I know this, Not just because of, What you say to me, Or anyone else is saying to me, Even if an angel, Were to say it to me, It's not simply because of that,
[43:10] But I have heard him for myself, And there's the crux of it, People will tell you today, Jesus actually didn't exist, There's no proof, Outside of, What the Bible says, And they say that disparagingly, There's no proof, That Jesus actually existed, And even if he did exist, As a historical figure, He's no longer alive, Wasn't he crucified, He was put to death, And you don't believe in such things, As resurrection, I do, Every Christian here does, Why?
[43:46] Because we have heard him for ourselves, Because he has spoken to us, By his spirit, Because he has exercised his office, As a prophet, And revealed himself, And you know, If Jesus has spoken, Into your heart, I don't care what, Any atheist in the world says, And however much, It would be difficult, For you and I to prove it, In a sense you can't prove it, How can you prove it, The only way you can prove it is this, To experience it, For yourself, That's it, Is he, Your, Saviour too, Let's pray, Lord of God, We come before you, As needy sinners, We are always before you, As needy sinners, We need you in our lives, We need your presence,
[44:49] Every passing hour, We need you for life, And for death, We need you for every circumstance, In life, We need you for eternity, We pray, Oh Lord, That you would come, Even this night, And reveal yourself to us, And reveal yourself to us anew, And we pray, That you would grant that, As we leave this place of worship, That we will do so, Safe in the Saviour's hand, We pray this for his namesake, Amen.