[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church, Alfred, Georgia. This is the next message in our series on the book of John, entitled, Jesus is God.
[0:14] Don't you praise the Lord that we serve a holy, holy Lamb of God, amen? Someone who died on the cross, paid our price, and did all that we could be saved. I thank God for the Lord Jesus and what he did when he died on that cross.
[0:27] Take your Bible, if you would, and turn with me to John chapter 4. We're going to look at Christ, the Savior of the world. That's who he is. That's what he did. And praise the Lord for that song and the wonderful truths there.
[0:41] John chapter 4, if you would, and we'll start in verse 27. I'm excited to know that Jesus paid my sin debt. I'm excited to know that he is not on a cross anymore.
[0:54] He has arisen. He is seated in heaven. He is crowned with glory. And someday, like the song said, we will cast our crowns before him. I hope you know Jesus as your personal Savior.
[1:04] If you don't, today is your day. Today, you can receive the free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who died on the cross. Look with me, if you would, at John chapter 4 and verse 27.
[1:17] If you're taking notes, number one, I want you to write down the marvel of it all. The guys, the disciples are in shock. They can't believe what they see.
[1:27] Look, if you would, in John chapter 4, verse 27. And upon this came his disciples and marveled that he talked with the woman. Yet no man said, what seekest thou, or why talkest thou with her?
[1:40] The woman then left her water pot and went her way into the city and said to the men, Come see a man which told me all things that ever I did. Is not this the Christ?
[1:50] Then they went out of the city and came unto him. I want you to imagine these guys are Jews. And the Jewish people don't talk to women, number one. If you were to travel around the world, you would go to several places in the world that still have church services where men sit on one side of the room and women sit on another side of the room.
[2:08] And that was their culture. And they didn't talk to the women very much except your own wife. And then, of course, you don't talk to a Samaritan woman. And probably this woman is probably a woman of pretty bad reputation.
[2:22] She's at the well at a time nobody else is there. She comes here in the middle of the day and Jesus finds her at the well. And the guys show up and they say, what in the world? Jesus is talking to a Samaritan woman.
[2:37] Jesus is talking to a Samaritan woman. They wanted to ask some questions. I mean, their brains are buzzing like crazy. They might have been whispering among themselves and they're saying, what in the world is going on?
[2:47] For those of us that are missionaries or have been or going to be or those of you who live around other people, this is a great lesson in cross-cultural evangelism. This is Jesus reaching across to another culture to tell them because this is a Jew stepping across a cultural boundary to witness to a person that is of another culture.
[3:08] But here's what he's really saying. Salvation is for the entire world, not just the Jews. That's some kind of shock to them. I mean, they are kind of believing that, hey, this is ours.
[3:22] We are the people and we have the gospel and we have the truth and we have God and he is our God. But the God of the Bible is not the Jewish God and he's not the American God.
[3:36] He's the God of the entire world. And that's what's being stated in this story. If you got your Bible, and I hope you do, take your Bible. The verses will be up here, but you need to look these things up and write them down in your Bible and take some notes to learn this.
[3:50] Watch what happens. Watch what happens in the Bible. Did you know that God chose a people in the Old Testament called the Jewish people? The sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He chose that nation and they were his special people.
[4:03] And those special people had a job to do. And I want to walk you through that. Now, while I walk you through that, can you just go ahead? I'll give you a hint. But realize that today we are God's chosen people.
[4:15] Realize that today we are the people that God's using. And we could make the same mistake they make if we're not careful. And as an individual local church, we need to be very careful to stay focused on what he wants us to do.
[4:29] Or we could be finding ourselves as a church not enjoying all that God has for us. The Jews and Israel somehow got off track and forgot why they were the chosen people.
[4:41] Would you open your Bible to Amos chapter 3 and verse 2? Some of these you won't be able to find. So just write them down and check me out later. You won't be able to keep up. But Amos chapter 3, the guys in the back can. Amos chapter 3 and verse 2.
[4:53] You only have I known of all the families of the earth. God said, I picked you. You're my people. You're the only one I picked you. The only one I got this special relationship with.
[5:04] You are the Jewish people. In Deuteronomy chapter 7, verses 6 and 7, he said, Thou art an holy people unto the Lord God.
[5:15] The Lord hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself above all people that are upon the earth. The Lord did not set his love upon you nor choose you because you are more in number than any people.
[5:26] You are the fewest of all. Now look here. God's people, the Jews. God chose them. They're unique. They're the special chosen people of God. And they are.
[5:36] By the way, God's not through with them. He has further plans for them in the future. But they are the chosen people. Now here's the culture clash. Those people somehow had forgotten what the blessings were.
[5:49] But with blessings come responsibilities. Now look this way just a second. I find Americans that think, man, we are the people, aren't we? We're God's country.
[6:00] We're God's people. Our church is God's church. We're really special. We've been blessed more than anybody else in the world. And we can get almost the same attitude. So hang on and see what the word of God had to say about that.
[6:11] Look if you would in Genesis chapter 12, verses 1 through 3. This is where God gives a special covenant, a promise, a pact to Abraham. And look what he says to him, the Jewish people.
[6:23] By the way, that's why we believe and pray for Israel. While we want to stand with Israel as a people. Look at Genesis 12, 1 through 3. Now the Lord had said unto Abram, get thee out of thy country and from thy kindred and from thy father's house unto a land that I will show thee and I will make of thee a great nation.
[6:43] I will make of thee a great nation. Underline great nation. I will bless thee. Underline bless thee. Then he says, and make thy name great. Boy, put that underline that.
[6:53] Make thy name great. God said, Abraham, I got big plans for you and all of your descendants. I have big plans. I will make a great nation of you. I will bless you. I will make your name great.
[7:04] But here's what I really want you to circle. I want you to put some arrows pointing at it. I want you to underline it. It says, and thou shalt be a blessing. Put that, and thou shalt be a blessing.
[7:18] Blessed to bless. Blessed to bless. Can you say that with me? How about that? Blessed to bless. How many of us could say we are a blessed people? Say that. Are we blessed to bless?
[7:30] Some of us think we're blessed to soak it up. We're blessed to enjoy it. But we were blessed to be a blessing. Verse 3 said, and I will bless him that bless thee and curse him that cursed thee.
[7:42] And in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed. God said, I'm going to bless everybody who blesses you. And by the way, the whole world is going to be blessed. And by the way, they have been and are being blessed through them.
[7:54] Look, if you would, in Acts chapter 3, verse 25. I'll quit jumping around in just a minute. But look at Acts 3, 25. You are the children of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with our fathers.
[8:05] Say unto Abraham, and in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Everybody, all peoples, all nations, all ethnic groups are going to be blessed through you and through your seed.
[8:19] But they used God's blessings selfishly. And they lost many of God's blessings on them. Which our churches across America are doing.
[8:32] I constantly hear reports of churches closing. I hear of churches having lost the power of God, losing their buildings, merging and closing. And it's going to happen to anybody when they don't understand why we are blessed.
[8:46] We are blessed to be a blessing. Look, if you would, with me. In Romans chapter 2, I believe it is. Verse 1.
[8:58] What advantage then hath the Jew? What profit is there of circumcision? And I'm sorry there. I've got a typo here in my notes. So you're not going to get that verse right unless you're real smart.
[9:08] What advantage then hath the Jew? What profit is there of circumcision? Much every way, chiefly because unto them were committed the oracles of God. Do you know where we got the Bible?
[9:20] We got it through Jewish people. God's people. He used the children of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob to give us the very oracles, the word of God.
[9:32] In John chapter 4 and verse 22, right in the passage you've already been in last week, did you notice what it said? Salvation is of the Jews. Salvation is of the Jews.
[9:43] Did you know God used his people to get the gospel to us, to get Jesus to it, to get salvation to us. The Jews were used by God to bless the world.
[9:56] But salvation was never only for the Jews. But somewhere along the way when you start seeing all God's doing for you, you start thinking, aren't we special?
[10:09] Aren't we special? And you get off target. And by the time Jesus meets a Samaritan woman, the Jews that are walking around with him are like, we're the people and we're with you. But we don't know why you're talking to somebody that ain't one of us.
[10:21] They've turned that into chosen people being something ridiculous. They've chosen that into being the elected people being something ridiculous.
[10:32] Because all the way from the Bible, it's been all the way back to Isaiah. In Romans 3, 29, it says, is he the God of the Jews only? Is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also.
[10:44] In Isaiah chapter 45 and verse 22, Isaiah, the prophet, their prophet had said, and they knew what he said. Look unto me and be ye saved all the ends of the earth.
[10:55] For I am God and there is none else. You see, the Jews were to take the gospel to the world. The Jews were to take the gospel to the world.
[11:07] But they forgot that. They were blessed to be a blessing. And they had gotten off track. And so there's this parentheses in history where God sets aside his chosen people and picks another people to take the gospel until the rapture occurs.
[11:23] And they come back to finish up the job after they get jealous. That's a whole other lesson for you on another day. But look if you went at Isaiah chapter 42 and verse 6. Look what their job was.
[11:33] He said, I, the Lord, have called thee in righteousness and will hold thine hand and will keep thee and give thee a covenant for the people for a light to the who?
[11:44] To the who? Gentiles. You know who the Gentiles were? The pagans. You know who the pagans were? The non-Jewish people. You know who they were? They were the guys on the other side of the cultural division. Take the gospel to them.
[11:55] In Isaiah chapter 9 verses 4 through 6, I'm just going to skip down to verse 6 to get there quickly. He says, that they may know from the rising of the sun and from the west that there is none else.
[12:09] I am the Lord and there's none else. He said, man, I gave you guys the gospel. And you guys are to take the gospel to the world. And that's in their books. That's in the Old Testament books. And they've gotten off track.
[12:20] When you forget what God's doing and why he's blessing you, you forfeit your reason for existence and the blessings of God on your ministry. Would you look this way just a second?
[12:32] The Jewish nation, by the time we get to the New Testament, they're the old wine cloths. The New Testament, when you get to the New Testament, he's hardening their hearts. He's closing their ears.
[12:43] And he's saying, I can't use you as a nation anymore because you've forgotten what your purpose was. And before I go on, could I just say to you as a church at Vision Baptist, the blessings that God has given us has been because we understand as a church that it is our responsibility to lift Jesus high, to magnify the name of Jesus Christ, to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, to send missionaries around the world, to get the gospel to as many people as we can.
[13:09] Because we know that's his purpose. The second we lose that, we're going to lose our reason for existing. We're going to lose, what's a church for? What's a church for? What's his purpose?
[13:20] What's his goal? His goal is to magnify Jesus to the world. To the world. They'd forgotten that. So I want you to notice this. They couldn't believe it.
[13:31] They marveled. Jesus, what are you doing talking to her? She's not a Jew. What are you doing talking to her? She's not a Jew.
[13:42] She's a woman. And she's a Samaritan woman. She's on the other side of the culture. She's not one of your chosen people. She's not one of us. Have you ever fallen into that trap?
[13:55] Man, the church has allowed racism to divide us from other people. The church has allowed elitism to divide us from other people. The church has allowed social economic status to divide us from other people.
[14:07] But Jesus's goal was take the gospel to the world. Tell everybody what a wonderful savior you have in Jesus Christ. Amen. And there Jesus is.
[14:19] Just as natural as it can be. Sitting on the well. You can just imagine that well there. And he's kind of sitting there at the well. And she comes walking up. And as she walks up, he says to her, hey lady, why don't you give me something to drink?
[14:31] She said, what are you doing talking to me? I'm a Samaritan. You're not supposed to talk to me. And he said, well lady, if you knew who I was, you'd be asking me for the water. I don't see how you could do anything about giving me any water. You don't even have a bucket.
[14:42] He said, lady, I got water you don't need a bucket to get. And I got water that you won't ever thirst again. She said, whoa, you sure are talking awful cool there. I don't understand all that. She said, why don't you, since you're so religious, why don't you tell me where we're supposed to worship?
[14:55] He said, lady, let me just go. Let's just get down to the root of it. You ain't saved. Why don't you go get your husband? I ain't got a husband. That's a good thing you said that. You ain't. You got five guys. You've been married five times.
[15:06] You got you living with ain't your husband. Wow. You must be somebody special. Oh, I am. I'm Jesus Christ, the son of God sent from God. She can't believe it.
[15:16] You say, well, that's all we know all that story. You've heard that. Do you understand what was going on? He was witnessing to somebody that wasn't his kind. He was witnessing to somebody across the cultural divide.
[15:27] He was witnessing to somebody that he didn't know about Jesus. Could I just stop and say, you ought to witness this week. And you don't have to have some contrived seven to nine o'clock on Tuesday night witnessing time.
[15:39] You don't have to have a Saturday morning witnessing time. You can sit on a well and talk to the person that comes to you. You can bring up subjects that'll just pique their interest, make them be interested. You can have a conversation and tell them what Jesus means to you.
[15:53] That was natural and everything just going on. And by the way, once she got saved, you heard the story, I'm sure, Thursday night. But once she got saved, it was just as normal and natural for her to go run off and tell everybody what just happened.
[16:07] Why is it that we are so closed mouth about all the great things that have happened to us? Why don't we, if you'd won the lottery, you'd be telling people. If you got an engagement ring, you'd be telling people.
[16:18] Hey, if you got a new job, you'd be telling people. If you got a new car, you'd be making sure they could see where it was. But it's Jesus and you're quiet about it. Run and tell people about Jesus.
[16:28] That was the marvel of it. The second thing I see in the story, look at chapter four, verse 31. I see the motivation. Why is Jesus doing what he's doing? You see, what's going on is they get there and he's hungry and they know he's hungry.
[16:42] He's supposed to be hungry. He is a human. He does get hungry. And he says to them, look, chapter four, verse 31. In the meanwhile, his disciples prayed to him saying, master, eat.
[16:53] But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that you don't know. Hey guys, I got something to eat y'all don't know about. They're probably thinking to themselves, I wonder if anybody, verse 33, I wonder if anybody brought him a sandwich.
[17:04] I wonder if somebody else made it to the store and got back quicker than we did. I wonder where he got that food to eat. Verse 34, he said, but my meat's to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work.
[17:17] His motivation was more important than his belly. His motivation was more important than his physical needs. He had something to do far above what normal people understand.
[17:31] Jesus hungered to do his father's will. He came to seek and save that which was lost. He came as a servant. He came to show people the father. He came to earth to finish his father's work.
[17:46] And I wish, if I really need your attention in just a minute. Do you understand this? Salvation is the father's work. Salvation is the father's work.
[17:57] You didn't come to him and you can't do anything to save you. And you can be baptized all the times you want to be baptized. And you can give all the money you want to give. And you can do all the good stuff you want to give.
[18:09] But salvation had to have Jesus come and do it. Because it was Jesus who came and paid the price. He was the lamb that was nailed to a tree. Salvation is the work of God. It starts in God's heart.
[18:20] And Jesus will continue to do exactly what his father has planned until he says it's finished on the cross. All through the book of John, you're going to hear him say, not the hour.
[18:31] It's not the hour. But I came for the hour. I'm here for the hour. But it's not the hour. But on the cross, he's going to say, done. Finished. Salvation. Bought and paid for. Father, I've done your will.
[18:42] I've finished your will. I've accomplished your task. Salvation is from God. I'd just like to stop and say to you. I'd like to ask you a question. How often do you consider God's will for your life?
[18:55] I'm not talking about some emotional feely, feely thing. I'm not talking about you going as a missionary. I'm talking about, you know, Jesus is following God's written plan for his life.
[19:06] God's written out a plan. And by the way, all through the book of the Bible, you're going to hear him say, as it was written, that's what he's doing. As it was written, that's what he's doing. And you and I have the word of God. And you and I know that God has a plan.
[19:17] But I question how often you go through the day during the week and you think, I want to please God today. I want to manage my money like God wants it managed. I want to manage my time like God wants my time managed.
[19:27] I'm here to serve God. Jesus said, boys, they said, hey, Lord, we got something for you to eat. He said, I don't need it. I got something bigger than that. My motivation is to do the will of my father and to finish his work.
[19:40] And I would ask you this question. Do you want to realize that God has a plan for your life? Do you realize you're not just some accident bobbling around here on the earth? Do you realize that even though you're not called to be a missionary or a pastor, God wants to use you for a purpose.
[19:54] And you are much more than just a number, a person, a human. You're somebody God has a plan for. Jesus is following his plan. Do you manage your time and your resources in your life, your relationships, as though you were living for him more than for yourself?
[20:12] Do you ever consider that he has a work for you to do with your life? Do you really think it's about you? Do you really think the food's for you and the life's for you and the money's for you?
[20:25] Do you ever think there's something bigger than me involved here? It is the father and it is his will. Do you consider serving God to be your weekend part-time duty?
[20:38] You know, I'm afraid most of us serve God on a part-time basis. It's like, all right, we'll show up for Sunday morning. And when I get through with Sunday morning, I've done my duty. Or maybe I'll give you all day Sunday, I've done my duty.
[20:50] Or maybe even I'll give you Sunday and Thursday, I've done my duty. When he wants an every day, all day, every minute, all minutes commitment from our life. You ought to wake up tomorrow morning saying, I'm to live to the glory and the honor of Jesus Christ today.
[21:04] And you ought to go to your workplace saying, hey, I'm here to do the will of my father to finish his work. I'm here. I have a motivation much higher than making a paycheck. Much higher than taking care of my wife.
[21:15] Much higher than a 401k. I have something bigger than that. Number three. Third thing I see in the chapter. Would you look at this? Chapter 4, verse 35. There's the privilege of the harvest.
[21:28] Look at the privilege. Verse 35. Don't you guys say that there's still four months and then comes the harvest? Isn't that how y'all talk? Don't you guys say, hey, the harvest will be about September, October.
[21:39] Isn't that what y'all say? He said, but I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields for they are white already to harvest. And he said, he that reapeth receiveth wages and gather fruit unto eternal life.
[21:51] And that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And here it is the saying true. One sows and another reaps. I send you to reap that whereupon you bestowed no labor.
[22:02] Other men labored and you were entered into their labors. And think about these verses. These are fantastic verses. It's a harvest. We're here just picking up the fruit of what he's done.
[22:15] We're here just picking up the fruit of what he's done. It says, and it says, they're white already to harvest God. The Holy Spirit prepares the harvest. Jesus died.
[22:25] Jesus paid the debt. The Holy Spirit convicts people. I just go around and pick it up where he's been working. Amen. You ever remember the story? You ever remember the story of when Jonathan, the armor bearer, kills 20 guys?
[22:38] And he and his armor bearer goes behind him. And he's swinging his sword and they're dying. He's knocking them down. And the guy comes along behind him with a spear and he stabs them. And he gets another one.
[22:49] That's exactly where I fit in this whole deal. It's not me doing the work. It's him doing the work. It's, hey, if you could really relax and talk about Jesus if you knew this. I'm not the one going to get them saved.
[22:59] It's not how smart I am. Not how convicting I can speak. Not how tricky I am with my words. It's God that's doing the work. And I'm just going to tell him about Jesus. Boy, that's a pretty good way to think about it.
[23:10] They're white. It's white already. It's ready. All you got to do is go pick it. And by the way, he said it will bring great joy to all of us. He said, he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.
[23:22] He said that one sows and another reaps. We don't all have the same ministry. You know, I'm just going to go out there. There's no competition here. There's no, man, I led five people to Christ and you hadn't led but two people to Christ.
[23:33] There's none of that. Because the truth is all the work was done by God. God, it's white unto harvest. Jesus died on the cross. The Holy Spirit's doing the convicting. I'm just carrying the news. I'm just telling people about Jesus.
[23:44] We work as a team. He did and does the work, but we get to participate. He said, I sent you to reap whereon you bestowed no labor. You understand what's happening here?
[23:56] Did you know that when I go out and when I stepped into Peru all those years ago, 23 years ago or whatever, and I stepped into Peru and God started letting me see people get saved.
[24:07] You understand it wasn't me doing the work. I was just picking up the harvest. That's what he's saying. He's saying, guys, you see me talking to this Samaritan woman? All of y'all ought to do that.
[24:17] And you don't have to feel all kind of weird pressure about it. And you don't have to have a class on 29 ways to convince people to get saved. You don't have to have some slick presentation. Because the harvest is white and I'm doing the work.
[24:30] And all you got to do is make the announcement and I'll do the work. And some of you will sow and some of you will reap, but we'll all rejoice together. We didn't do anything to save them. The Father did. Jesus paid the price.
[24:41] We just announced what he's doing and rejoice together. We ought to remember it's not our work. It's not a competition. We're reaping where we didn't sow and where we didn't labor.
[24:52] No man stands alone. Before I go to the last thing here to talk, last two things I want to show you. Can I just say to you that for many years I felt this enormous pressure. Like it was all me.
[25:03] And I had to have the slickest answers and the coolest answer. And the slickest brochure and the coolest gospel track. I had to be the slickest preacher and the best preacher because it was all about me.
[25:14] And the truth of the matter is it's never about us. It's about the Father. It's about the Son. It's about the Holy Spirit. It's about what he did. And the facts are he's just allowing me to get involved.
[25:25] He said, you boys didn't. He said, Austin, you didn't sow and you didn't even labor. I'm just letting you pick up the harvest. I'm letting you get involved. And what I did, that ought to thrill us.
[25:36] Look if you would at the fourth thing. Witnessing of your faith. Verse 39. Chapter 4, verse 39. And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman which testified, he told me all that I ever did.
[25:51] So when the Samaritans were coming to him, they besought him that he would tarry with them. And he abode there two days. And many more believed because of his own word. And said unto the woman, now we believe. Not because of thy saying.
[26:02] For we have heard him ourselves. And know that this indeed is Christ, the Savior of the world. I just want you to, today when you go home, this week as you go to work, the neighbors that live around you and the friends that you have, it ought to come as a natural, normal thing to talk to them about Jesus.
[26:23] I find Jesus sitting on a well talking to a woman and telling her he can provide living water. I find a woman getting saved and running to her friends, probably her ex-husbands.
[26:37] And maybe this lady kind of did some prostitute work. I'm not sure. But she runs to the men, which is kind of against the culture. And she says to the men, this guy knows everything I ever did. Could he be the Christ?
[26:50] And all those men are like, oh my soul. If he knows everything, I think I'll go see him too. Go check that out. And she just goes and tells them what God's doing in her life. And they come and they get saved. You know, witnessing ought to be a natural part of our lives.
[27:03] It's like breathing. And we just talk to people about Jesus. We just tell them what Jesus has done in our life. We just tell him what the word of God says. We just share that he is working in us and we carry the gospel.
[27:15] Nothing contrived. He spoke with the woman from his heart about the truth. The woman went and told the men what Jesus had done in her life. They came and spoke with Jesus. I find this highly interesting.
[27:28] This is a cross-cultural thing. Jesus' ministry is only going to last three to three and a half years. And he spent two whole days with Samaritans. Two whole days.
[27:40] Now, when you figure he's only going to live a little over, he's only going to minister a little over 1,000 or 1,200 days. He gave two whole days to these people. It's not a waste of time when you witness to people.
[27:53] It's not a waste of time when you share the gospel. You say, well, they didn't get saved and they didn't pray the prayer. That wasn't your job. Now, was it? Your job was to sow the seed. Your job was to water the seed.
[28:05] Your job was to get involved. But it's the Lord who's going to do the work. The pressure is not on you. Share the gospel with others. Last thing I want you to see.
[28:16] Very last phrase in verse 42. Very last phrase. Christ, the Savior of the world. Those are most beautiful words you can imagine.
[28:28] They're the most beautiful words you can imagine. Now, listen, let me tell you why. Somewhere along the way, Israel messed up. And Israel knew about the sacrifice.
[28:40] And Israel knew about the blood. And Israel knew about the lamb. And Israel knew so many things. But they kind of kept holding it to themselves. They weren't that interested.
[28:50] In fact, Nineveh was an exceptional story. The book of Jonah. And going out and telling others was an exceptional thing. Not the normal thing. In fact, most people today kind of act like, well, the Jews never were to take the gospel.
[29:04] They were just to illustrate it so people could come to them. I'm not really sure about that. They were to be the light of the Gentiles. They were to bless all the world. Not really so sure that's altogether true. But regardless, here's what happened.
[29:15] They were blessed to be a blessing. But they became blessed and soaked up their blessings. And they became a proud and an arrogant people. Like the church today.
[29:27] Like the church today. We're the elect. We're the chosen. God likes us. He don't like you. You should have been lucky enough to be one of us.
[29:41] It's almost the same attitude. But it says in the verse, Christ, the Savior of the world. This is the same John who's going to write 1 John chapter 2 and say, He's a perpetuation for our sins, but not ours only, but for the sins of the whole world.
[29:56] This is the same John. He's already repeated more than once that he is the Savior of the world. He's letting us know. He's not the Jewish God. And he's not the American God.
[30:07] He's the God of the universe. This is Jesus witnessing to a non-Jewish person. Salvation is for everyone. He's the Savior of the world, not just Jews.
[30:19] Now listen to what I'm going to say to you. Here's what goes on. We got the story of the Samaritan woman. This last part that we're looking at today, what's the purpose in the story?
[30:29] He's saying this is it. So you'll know that God's plan is that everybody hear the gospel and everybody be saved. That's God's plan.
[30:40] He wants the world to hear the gospel. That brings me to a question. It could be so easy for you to revel in the rich blessings of God here.
[30:52] We just listened to a beautiful song saying, they talked about the lamb on the cross, the lamb taking the laughter and the lash and the mocking. But then we talked about him, they sang about him being high and lifted up and a crown on his head and he is alive.
[31:06] And we talked about casting our crowns before him and we could come here and worship. And we got some people that were here this morning cleaning up the floors and they were in here this morning preparing songs for you. And they've prayed for this service and great things have happened.
[31:19] And there's a lot of people do a lot of work behind the scenes to keep this church going. And you can come and enjoy it. And you can say, we're blessed because we deserve to be blessed. No, we're blessed to be a blessing.
[31:34] So I ask you, do you pray for souls? Do you pray for souls around the world? Chris is preaching in Albania today. Does it matter?
[31:44] Does God care? I looked at, he's been sending pictures out all morning of people coming to church and worshiping God, a church full of young people excited about serving Jesus. Do you pray? Do you pray for the missionaries?
[31:56] Do you pray for the missionaries? They're standing and preaching all over the place. Just even the ones from our church, not counting the ones we support and all the others. Do you pray? Do you give offerings to help carry the gospel around the world?
[32:07] Boy, it is so easy to think that money is for me to go out to eat with. It's so easy to think that money is for me to really get this and that with. I got to take care of me. But Jesus said, hey guys, I have a work to do.
[32:20] I have meat to eat that you do not know of. I'm here to do the will of my father and to finish his work. Well, the will of my father is that the world, hear the gospel.
[32:31] And to finish his work, I'm going to have to help carry the gospel around the world. Are you giving to that? Are you offering your own life? You know, have you ever said, God, I'm willing to be a missionary? It's almost like, man, it's almost like an escape card.
[32:45] Somebody else goes to the missionary. We're like, I'll give five bucks just so I don't have to go. When's the last time you said, God, use me, send me. God, if you don't want me to go overseas, help me to find my neighbor and my friend that I can tell them about Jesus.
[32:58] God, use me to carry your gospel. I want to be a part. Christ is the savior of the world. Do you witness to other people around you? Have you allowed racism to creep into your life to a point that you don't want to witness it to somebody because of the color of their skin or the language they speak or the place they're from?
[33:16] Or maybe if they wear clothing that might be a symbol of some of the enemies of our country. Do you allow that to creep into your heart? Do you allow your social level to say, man, we don't want those people to hear the gospel.
[33:30] Do you ever do that? Don't do that. Don't do that. They came in on the scene and as they walked up, they were like, Jesus is talking to a woman and she's not just a woman. She's a Samaritan woman.
[33:43] Finally, when he gives them a break, they say, Lord, we brought you something to eat. He said, I don't need it. I have meat to eat that you guys don't know about. That's kind of an insult.
[33:57] I'm here to do the will of my father to finish his work. I want the world to hear the gospel. I want everybody to know Jesus died on a cross. That Samaritan woman went running to tell people about Jesus.
[34:11] We're going to dismiss. Will you give out a gospel track this week? One track? Will you make one invitation to a clue or an event this week?
[34:22] Will you pray one time? Will you look at a waitress when you're standing at the, when you're sitting at the restaurant and she's serving you, even if you don't talk to her and say, Oh God, do something and save that woman. Don't let her go to hell.
[34:32] Will you pick up a prayer card this week and say, God, there are missionaries around the world that need your power. Please use them when they speak. Will you take out your checkbook and look and say, Hey, is God honored in how I spend my money?
[34:46] Hey, there's a motivation far higher than anything we can imagine. And what a privilege you get to take part in what God's doing. I'm not doing it.
[34:58] Vision's not doing it and you're not doing it. He's doing it. And he said, come get on the team and you can't lose on his team. Get involved in the work. Father God, I love you.
[35:09] And I pray that your name would be magnified and glorified this morning. I pray you'd help us to pray for lost loved ones. I pray you'd help us to pray for our friends. I pray you'd help us to examine our checkbooks and see how we're given and how we're involved in what your work is.
[35:21] I pray God, you'd help us to check our motivation. I pray God that you would help us to be what you want us to be as a church. And I will magnify you and praise your holy name with every head bowed and every eye closed.
[35:35] There are some Christians that if you're honest, the Holy Spirit dealt with your heart this morning. You should get out of your seat right now and say, God, I am going to be praying for others and I am going to get more involved in carrying the gospel.
[35:46] And I am going to do more to get the gospel. You ought to come right now and say, God, I'm through playing and I mean business. I have a motivation that's higher. I have a motivation that's higher than anything else. I have a meat to eat that no one else knows of.
[35:58] I have to do the will of my father. And you ought to realize God has a plan for your life this morning. You ought to come and do that. You ought to come and say that. There are people in this room that ought to say, hey, I have had some attitudes about missions and carrying the gospel and reaching people.
[36:13] But the Holy Spirit deals with my heart right now and I'm surrendering that to let the Lord do a work. I challenge you to come and mean business. Some of you have lost people and you're not praying for people. You're not giving out gospel tracts and you ought to have the Lord ought to have dealt with your heart about that this morning, that you will just actively share Jesus around you wherever you go.
[36:31] Why don't you come and get a hold of God now? There might be some people in this room this morning and the truth is you do not know Jesus as your Savior. And if you were to die, you would go to hell. If you were to die, you're not sure that your sins have been forgiven.
[36:44] I want to help you. If you would say to me, Pastor, I don't know for sure, but I'd like to see some Bible verses. I'd like to be able to ask some questions. I don't want any pressure put on me. I don't want to be manipulated or forced into a decision, but I do have some questions and doubts and I wish somebody to help me.
[37:00] If you'd hold your hand up, I'd have somebody pray with you and show you from the word of God and answer your questions. Would there be anybody like that in the room? Would you just hold your hand up? Let me pray for you. Let me send somebody to help you. Would there be anybody? Father God, save people today.
[37:13] Magnify your name. Glorify Jesus. Glorify the word. God, help us this week to care about you and to share the gospel. And I'll give you great honor and glory and praise.
[37:24] You have been listening to Austin Gardner, Pastor of Vision Baptist Church. For contact information, location, service times, or more audio and video recordings, log and let's link to visit by www.visionbaptist.com.
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