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Teaching podcast from the Eagle Community Church of Christ in Mont Belvieu, TX.
God in our in our walk. Amen? Amen. We've been going through the series, The Invitation and this is a series that's leading us up to the story and again, that's going to start August 16. Believe it's the date on that.
John Gunter:We just got books in. We don't have all of them in yet. I think we were still waiting on one more box. If you haven't gotten yours next week, get them. If you still need to order some, that's not a problem.
John Gunter:We can order more. I think I ordered, I don't know, 10 or 12 extra already and so, let's keep those going. But we've been talking about just kind of preparing people for, the story and what we've been talking about is very simple. We talked about how easy it is just to invite that a lot a lot of things in life you experience because someone else invites you into that and it's not like you have to have some kind of theology degree or anything like that. All you have to do is say, hey, come look.
John Gunter:Come see. Come see for yourself. Sometimes, we put the weight on weight of the world on ourselves and think, well, I need to be able to explain everything. When I've reminded you of is that even those of us who've gone got degrees in it, just realize how much we don't know and so we don't know everything but as we walk, we we get closer to god. We understand more and our lives are changed and because of that, we should be able to share that that we can tell other people, hey, come and see.
John Gunter:I use the example. How many of you have visited a new restaurant because somebody said, hey, come see this place? How many of you have tried different things in life because somebody said, hey, you ought to do this? I'll tell you something personal about my wife. I'll pause so she gets real nervous.
John Gunter:My wife does not like raw tomatoes. I see me either. I see some, I can't believe that. The other day, Clint Johnson brought some raw tomatoes that he swore she would love and he was Last name. He was so convincing.
John Gunter:That's C L I N T, Johnson. He was so convincing about it that she actually tried a raw tomato. She still does not like raw tomatoes. But because Clint said over and over how good they were, she was at least open to it. And it's crazy that that's that's how it works.
John Gunter:Even if I don't think I like something, I will try it because of a recommendation. Should I go eat that Indian food in that sketchy gas station? Yes. Yes. It was Clint and Tristan and Madison and Emily said it's good.
John Gunter:It may or may not be good to me. But because they said, come and see, this is good, I'm open to the idea. And that's as easy as it is just bringing people to Jesus. When we talk about Simon and Andrew, Andrew said, come and see. We found the Messiah.
John Gunter:He didn't have to convince him. He didn't have to give all the explanation. All you have to do is say, come and see. That's how you invite people to church. You know that?
John Gunter:Come with me. Just come and see. Now, we know and we understand that everybody that comes and sees is not going to enjoy. Yes? If Jesus gave that invitation and a lot of people said no, that should take the pressure off of you, right?
John Gunter:You don't you don't have to think, oh my goodness, I'm I'm I'm only three for 10. I'm batting 300. No, it's it's okay. We invite and see because Jesus has changed our lives. I use crazy examples like restaurants because I think that gets into our mind because imagine going through life and you never had a recommendation about anything.
John Gunter:How would you find I mean, you would still live your life. You would still experience different things, but would your life be the same? Would it be as full? The the hardest thing for us when we moved down here was, you know, when you drive when you move six hours away from where you're from, alright, now which doctors do I go to? So what are the what are the ways I could find out which doctors I need to go to?
John Gunter:Try them all out in the yellow pages? Wait, hold on. So, the yellow pages were It doesn't exist. That's a bad example, Clint. You could try all of those out or we we had some some fantastic ladies here who said, I work with these people.
John Gunter:This is who you need to try out and they were right and I have been blessed because of it and I promise you, if you think beyond even restaurants and goofy things in your life, you have experienced a richer, fuller life because somebody said, come and see. Today, we are going to be reading from John chapter four and we're talking about a woman who Jesus meets and she starts this conversation and he he said, he he tells the lady or ask her. He says, alright, go get your husband and she says, well, I have no husband and he said, well, that's exactly right because you've had five and the one you're with right now is not your husband. And there was no reason that Jesus should have known that. And she knew it.
John Gunter:This was a Samaritan woman. Jesus, a Jew, her a Samaritan, and they, did not even talk to one another. It was kind of scandalous. A, for him to be talking alone with a woman, and then it just exponentially expands that knowing that she is a Samaritan woman and so, she has this encounter and she is kind of transformed because Jesus knows things that he should not know But we're gonna pick up in verse 27 this morning of John four, and watch what happens here. Just then his disciples came back, they marveled that he was talking with a woman.
John Gunter:No one said, what do you seek or why are you talking with her? They, I guess, just kind of watched, like, what what is happening here? It says, 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? And remember, Christ means Messiah, sent one of God.
John Gunter:I know we say Jesus Christ a lot in in the way that it almost sounds like first and last name. Could this be the one who God has sent to save the world? That's what she's saying. This man just told me all that I ever did, is this the Messiah? They they went out of the town and were coming to him.
John Gunter:Now, when you think about people going and bringing others to Christ, do you think the best person to do this is the woman who's had five husbands and the one she's living with right now is not her husband? Yeah, we all just got our toes stepped on, didn't we? As often, we make those judgments internally where god does not make them. Was she the most qualified? Why not those disciples that had gone off?
John Gunter:You know, they're the ones that lived with Jesus and and were around him all the time. You don't you think they would be the best to go out and tell people, hey, come see this guy. But god uses those who we don't often think about. And I wanna stop right there in just a second because often when we're talking about these kinds of things, we sit and think, well, I'm glad they're over there so they can tell people about Jesus because I can't do it. I'm not trained.
John Gunter:I'm not the right person. I've got a past or maybe my present isn't real good, so I can't do it. That is a lie straight from Satan. You understand that? This woman encountered Jesus.
John Gunter:Nothing has changed about her life. She's still living with all of this, and she said, I've got to go tell people about the Messiah. Could this be him? Because he's known these things he shouldn't have known. And it said the people were all coming to him.
John Gunter:Notice, she left the jar behind. The thing she came to do, she came to the well that day, and it says she came at a time where most people would normally come. Right? You you probably heard sermons on that. There's a reason this woman is showing up at the time she's showing up because I wanna kind of avoid all the rest of them.
John Gunter:Not that any of us have ever been in the grocery store and duck down an aisle because we right? I've seen y'all do it. I have never done it. But she she came with the goal in mind to just get water. All of a sudden, upon meeting Jesus, water was not a worry in her life.
John Gunter:She left the jar because Jesus was more important and telling other people about him was much more important. Can you believe that? That's what it says. She left the jar to go tell people what was going on And and she says it this way. She just asked the people, can this be the Messiah?
John Gunter:Again, she doesn't lead with, here's all the answers. I love information. I love learning. You know, give give me your your best argument for this. She simply asked a question, can this be the Messiah?
John Gunter:So, next time you recommend a restaurant, maybe you could say, could this be the best Indian food in a gas station you've ever eaten? Come and see. That's exactly how she invited people to Jesus. She didn't say believe this because. She said, go check out for yourself.
John Gunter:Often when Jesus encountered the religious, elites of the time, said, have have you not read? Or had you've read it before, but I'm telling you, I'm explaining this. Alright. Just go check out, recheck out what is there, compare for yourself. Is this the Messiah?
John Gunter:But can you imagine going out to people and saying, they know, again, they know what's going on in your life. Small towns, you have to live in communities. This is not a secret who this person is. But she gets over that to say, Is this the Christ? And so, I want you to notice also, Jesus crosses a line that a lot of people would have said should not have been crossed.
John Gunter:Jesus talks to this woman which is scandalous to for a a male to be talking to a female alone. You ever been there? Y'all don't be alone. You need to be in public spaces. Keep that door open.
John Gunter:Yes? That that was on the that's that's absolutely what your mama said, wasn't it? That's exactly what Jesus was facing even talking to this lady in public around the well. That was the that was the level of it. Okay, this is this is a little bit scandalous and again, add in that she is a Samaritan but Jesus crosses that line.
John Gunter:Why? You think she's important to him? Do you think she is important to him? Do you think you are important to God? Yes.
John Gunter:Do you think that person that you have been thinking about through this series is important to God? Because if you think that, all you have to say is come and see. Come and see what what God is doing. Check out for yourself. I don't have all the answers.
John Gunter:Nobody does. But come and see for yourself what God has done for me. And again, God will cross those lines for us. I love that in scripture, what God never does is use the person we would pick. Right?
John Gunter:We talked about David just the other day. David was the last one that would have been picked. Let's pick this tall one. He's grown. He looks he looks muscular.
John Gunter:Let's pick him and god said, that little ruddy one over there smells funny. Let's go with him. Some of you are the little ruddy ones that smell funny. Let's be honest. God wants to use you.
John Gunter:Yes? That that should free you up. God wants to use you. You don't have to have audience. All you have to be is someone who says, come and see and and god has a habit of doing using our past to reach people.
John Gunter:Have you ever done that? You've been through something hard. Maybe it maybe it's sin. Maybe it's loss. You've lost someone and been able to reach somebody through that.
John Gunter:Have you ever done that? And you wouldn't choose any of that. But now that you've experienced it, you're able to reach someone in a way that you could have never reached them before. And and god does that often. In Mark chapter five, Jesus heals this man who was filled with these evil demonic spirits and when Jesus talked to him, he said, my name is Legion.
John Gunter:Our name is Legion because there are many. There are a bunch of demons within this person. And Jesus cast them out. And this this is the story where they say, hey, can we go into the pigs? And Jesus like, yeah, sure.
John Gunter:Why not? And the pigs all drowned and we go, what was that all about? Yeah? But it says, as Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. He wanted to go with Jesus.
John Gunter:He wanted to spread the story about Jesus. I wanna hang out with this guy who just cleansed me of all of this. And Jesus did not permit him. We go, what? But Jesus said, go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how he has had mercy on you.
John Gunter:Says that he went away and began to proclaim to the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him and everyone marveled. I want you to think about this for just a second. Because it's a very simple request. Right? If Jesus healed you and you said, Lord, I wanna follow you.
John Gunter:Let's go. And he says, nope. Hold up just a second. Think about it this way. Jesus was not, he he had kinda crossed some boundaries here into some different places to heal this man in the first place.
John Gunter:Who do you think is gonna believe this person more? If he would've gotten in the boat and gone with Jesus to another place where nobody knew him and he said, hey, this guy's been healed of all these demons. Okay. Do I believe him? Do I not?
John Gunter:Or is it his friends and family who have lived around that guy and seen his life and known that guy is demon possessed, but now I look at him and he is clean. Who do you think is more likely to go, okay, Now I understand, I know, and I believe. Yeah. So, often time, what we allow, I think, Satan to do is to hold up our past, those things that we know I'm ashamed of and we hear this this morning, we all have them. Say that with me.
John Gunter:We all have them. You understand that? So, if you're sitting here thinking, well, I'm the only one in here. No, you're not. No, you're not.
John Gunter:But Satan will keep reminding you of those things to help you feel unworthy or unable. What if you led with those things? That's a different way to think about it, isn't What I have found out in life is that when you lead with those things, everything changes. I told the story several times when I first got here, but I was at conference one time where Joe Beam, he's a marriage counselor. He he talked about he'd studied for a long time.
John Gunter:I think he'd gone back about two hundred years where revivals have happened and what he counted as a revival is something where the church started growing, something happened that the church started growing and not only did the church start growing but it it expanded even into the community. And he said, in every single circumstance where that happened, the catalyst for the thing that started it off was that leaders of the church and you can classify that as ministers, elders, deacons, bible class teachers, all those people. The catalyst of all that was when those leaders started sharing their sins and their struggles. And that feels a little backwards, doesn't it? Like we a lot of us have grown up in churches where we feel like, I need to keep that hidden so nobody knows.
John Gunter:Yes? But what happens when leaders share sin and struggle? You break down those walls. Everyone becomes okay. In our mind, in my mind, I have this scenario where I'm the only one.
John Gunter:You ever had a funny story where you found out somebody else has dealt with the same thing and you could really laugh because I thought I was the only one. It's the same thing with with sin or struggle. If I feel like I'm the only one, I'm isolated. Once those walls break down, all of a sudden, growth occurs. Part of that story that I tell, we had been in a small group for, I think it was the second year or something like that.
John Gunter:And I I had decided that that's what we needed to do to begin the the small group year. Is we were going to share some struggles, Katie and I, for the group. We had a close group. It was it was an appropriate time. And, and and so we did.
John Gunter:And I didn't know where that would go because I grew up in a church where you better hide that or somebody's gonna use it against you. Yeah. And then at the end of that, one of the ladies there said, me and my husband will share next week. Every single one of us shared. And that was beautiful.
John Gunter:And you talk about a close knit group Because once you break down those barriers, once you you understand it's not about all those things I'm ashamed of because I am just a sinner in need of a savior. And as Kendrick said earlier, God's covered that. Everybody say that. God's covered that. You got it?
John Gunter:Internalize it. Use it. The next time you are feeling less than or I can't do it, god has covered all of those things. You don't have to be perfect. We're not looking for people out here who are, right?
John Gunter:Jesus said, I came to care for the sick, right? Those who are healthy don't need a don't need a physician. I came to care for the sick and that's what we do. We are sick people looking for sick people. Now, we wanna follow god.
John Gunter:I had a professor one time say, you know, we would say, the the church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints. And he said, you know, but not everybody needs to be in ICU all at once. Amen, right? Like we can all agree with that. And what I say is is is some of these days, you're gonna need to care for me because I'm struggling.
John Gunter:Other days, I'm gonna be caring for you because you're a struggle. And that's life. You understand that? That is life. You get to the end of every week and you go, man, I wish I'd have done this or hadn't done that or whatever.
John Gunter:Every single week and it keeps coming, doesn't it? We don't get to pause. Evan 13, we sang happy birthday to him last week. I'm still upset that he's 13. Yeah?
John Gunter:Life keeps happening, but God goes with us everywhere. And so if we can cast aside these feelings of I'm not good enough, I've got this path, I've got all of this stuff, I think we can really change things. I think we need to also act with some urgency. We need to, just as this lady did, she left her jar and went. Sometimes, all those things we've been talking about hold us up and like, well, when the perfect time comes, how many times in your life have you said, well, this is the perfect time.
John Gunter:Everything is right. I've got everything cleared up in my life. That time just is elusive as everything, isn't it? Because it's not happening. In hospice, once you get put on hospice, which I deal with, you need to have conversations that you might not have wanted to have.
John Gunter:Every once in a while, I'll go into a home and someone will say, Don't say the word hospice in here. And I'll go, I understand, but I also think there's a time to deal with those things. There's a time to act, to react, to have conversations, and let's be the people who leave our water jar and go and share the news about Jesus. And so I wanna encourage you, parents, you are not perfect. You know that?
John Gunter:Of course, you know that. But your kids need you as imperfect as you are. Your kids need you to show you the way show them the way to Jesus. You understand that? And if you're open with them about questions, about concerns, my my kids ask tough questions at times.
John Gunter:Logan's the one that will ask all those tough questions. He asked me one here probably a year ago. He said, if god loves everybody, does he love Satan? Never consider that. I'll just be honest with you and if you've got that answer, please let me know and I will take credit for it.
John Gunter:Your kids need you whether you have all the answers or not. Whether it's parenting, whether it's bringing them to Jesus, new believers. If you are new to Christ, for some reason, the church for a long time has looked at new believers like, you don't need to get out there. Once you know something, then, we'll turn you loose. The study say that the new believer is so excited about Jesus and that's the best person in your church to go tell other people about Jesus.
John Gunter:Amen. They're they're like the the the lady with five husbands. They have the most reason to go tell people about you. Look what look what this man has done in my life. He has sometimes we we stop them as a church.
John Gunter:New believers, we wanna turn you loose. If you're excited about Jesus, go tell people. In church, what are we waiting for? Let's quit stalling. Let's quit stopping.
John Gunter:Let's go. This lady wasn't an expert. The man with the demons wasn't an expert but all he had to say, all she had to say was, go see what this man has done. In verse 31 of John four, meanwhile, the disciples were urging him saying, Rabbi, eat but he said to them, I have food to eat that you do not know about. Jesus always messing with people, isn't he?
John Gunter:Like, what? You brought food? You we just had to leave and go get food and you had food? He said, so the disciples said to one another, has anyone brought him something to eat? Jesus said to them, my food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.
John Gunter:Oh, that's good. What drives me, what sustains me, what gives me energy is to do the will of him who sent me and accomplish his work. I'll be honest with you, I don't I don't say that. What fuels me is that chicken fried steak I may have in a little bit, right? There are other things in life that often fuel me instead of accomplishing what god would have me do.
John Gunter:Now, I I I don't wanna make you feel bad about that. What I think we often do is we get so caught up in what we're doing, we forget about the mission. And the mission is growing closer to god, bringing other people to him and so whatever you just got because sometimes what we do is we think, if I'm not out there knocking on doors or you know, being a missionary in another country, I'm failing some way. You're not. Kendrick is out spreading the love of Jesus Christ when he's a police officer.
John Gunter:I am out spreading the love of Jesus Christ when I'm coaching soccer. You are out spreading the love of Christ when you are working as electrician, when you're working as an engineer, when you are working as, when you are out in, we all have that responsibility. That is the mission. That should fuel us. I'm sure the disciples go, okay, wow.
John Gunter:What do I do with that? He said, do you not say there are yet four months then comes the harvest and so what what Jesus is saying here is it's just a common understanding that between planting and harvest is about four months. That's what he's referring to. They all would have known what he's talking about. What do you mean?
John Gunter:Four months. We all say that but Jesus then says, look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, look, and see the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life. There's there's there there's a little hint that I'm not talking about going out and gathering grain right now. So that the sower and reaper may rejoice together for here the saying holds true, one sows another reaps.
John Gunter:I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored and you have entered into their labor. Jesus says, now is the time. It's not later. It's not four months from now.
John Gunter:We're always say, well, after this, I'll I'll get it together then we'll do it. Jesus said, look up. The time is now. You didn't plant this. You didn't control any of it but go out.
John Gunter:Invite. Bring people in. Look up. And a lot of times, that's what we need church is vision because we've stopped looking. Only thing I look at a lot, it feels like a lot of times my calendar.
John Gunter:I told you, if it's not on my calendar, it doesn't exist until twelve midnight one night and I go, oh, yeah, I meant to I should have done this a week and a half ago. For some reason, I'm now I'm now remembering that. And so sometimes we're so busy, we we've lost the vision. And Jesus just says to his disciples, look, now is the time. Let's do this.
John Gunter:Jesus talking about physical food versus the spiritual nourishment. I wish we were a people who were driven by spiritual nourishment. I wish I was more that way sometimes because again, it it it is anybody get done with a meal and as soon as you're done with a meal, you're thinking, when's that next one? Some of you that's foreign to you. Some of us, hey, let's plan this out.
John Gunter:I know I need at least three today. What time we thinking? And and I'm in that moment so stuffed, I couldn't eat another thing in the first place but I want to know kind of when how do we plan? It's almost like your body doesn't act right unless you know when that next meal is coming. But but sometimes we get caught up in those things in in the physical but are we pursuing also the spiritual and Jesus, I don't think is is is talking about some kind of just feeling here.
John Gunter:I think he's really, he's living it. That he you you've been nourished by that. Anybody had something great happen at work or in life and it just gave you so much energy to do something. Yeah? You've been there.
John Gunter:Somebody told you something awesome. You got some test results that were fantastic. You were skipping, right? You you've experienced that. It is a it is a physical thing that all of a sudden your body is, hey, let's go.
John Gunter:And so that's what I think Jesus is talking about that this is part of really a spiritual journey that we're all on. That I can be nourished by this if we would just see it. Oftentimes, what we do is we look and we judge. When even when we're inviting people. I said this, I think last week or the week before.
John Gunter:Often what we do is we look around and we think, does this person or this family fit? That is the wrong question. That is completely the wrong question because what we're doing in that moment is judging, are they at the right place? Should I, you know, should it be later when they get their thing and we and we, we do the same thing for ourselves and we do it to other people. Well, they don't fit.
John Gunter:Do they look like us? Do they vote like us? Do they, you know, whatever. It's a young young family. We want young families.
John Gunter:Do we want old families? I do. Amen? But we sit and judge. That can happen on the soccer field as well.
John Gunter:Sorry to use a lot of soccer things. That's where my life is outside of ministry. I shouldn't say it that way, should I? That's ministry too. But often you can look at a kid and and think, oh my goodness, this is going to be a practice or a game because they're not listening or something and then they have the best game they've ever had.
John Gunter:I noticed a weird thing in high school. My coach would would do this crazy thing. Hopefully, you had a coach like this too so you can relate. But I played first base and my coach would hit ground balls just as quick as he could hit them. And then when you didn't feel every one of them, he would yell, play like you're going to play in the game.
John Gunter:And my first thought was, I'm never going to have this many balls hit to me in three seconds in a game. I thought that, I didn't say it. Okay? But often, when we were warming up for a game, if we practice terribly, we were gonna have a fantastic game. I don't know if it was the pressure, I don't know what was happening, I I can't explain it.
John Gunter:But if we look like garbage warming up, we're probably gonna have a pretty good game. So, what that should tell you, if you were looking as a as a a bystander, you can't judge off of off of things like that and that's true for people. Don't be the person that walks around going, well, I don't know if you fit perfectly into our church. Guess what? You don't fit perfectly into the church at large, right?
John Gunter:But because we serve Jesus Christ who cleanses us all, we all fit. Yes? Amen. So, don't go out looking for the perfect person. Go out looking for people.
John Gunter:Jesus said, the harvest is there. You didn't plan it. You didn't prepare it. Let god handle that. Again, another thing that should take the pressure off.
John Gunter:Let god handle all that. You just go, you invite. In verse 39, back in John four, many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony. He told me all that I ever did. That's all she said.
John Gunter:He told me all I had do ever did. I said, okay, we need to see this. So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days, and 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 savior of the world. What did she have to prove to them?
John Gunter:What did she prove to them? Nothing. All she said was come and see. This woman who had five husbands and the one she was living with wasn't her husband and everyone knew it, and it was a problem. But now, because of what Jesus had done for her, now all of these people are coming and seeing, and her testimony worked.
John Gunter:Because it's not about her. Just like it's not about me. It's not about you. It is opening the door, a door that would not have been opened. Again, I used simple examples of restaurants or doctors or things like that.
John Gunter:But once you open that door for someone to go in and experience, that is off of you. That is something for them to see and have their life changed or not. Some will, some will not. But open that door, make that invitation, just ask. And that's why we're we're we're doing this.
John Gunter:Because the story we're gonna lead people from Genesis through Revelation. And if you've ever thought, oh, I'd like to study the Bible more, I just don't know how. We're gonna start here and we're going to this is going to be an just a crack in the door for the rest of life for you. Because as we go and and you're going see the big picture, you're going go, oh, I want to dive deeper and you're going to be able to because we're not covering all of scripture. You're gonna be able to see this and anybody that you invite will be able to come through this with us.
John Gunter:And so your job in someone's story is just a point. Not at yourself, not at the preacher, not at the elders, but just a point to Jesus and say, look what he has done for me. And if you can do that, you can lead someone to Christ. Because your job is to open the door, allowing them to walk through and to experience what the savior has done for us. Has Jesus done something for you in your life?
John Gunter:Has Jesus done something for you in your life? And you are boring so I have to be honest with you. We we work on that. Y'all y'all seem to unsure. I just want to ask again.
John Gunter:Yes. I hope so. Should we share that with others? Yes. Thank you.
John Gunter:Let's do that. We're gonna offer a time of invitation this morning. I am always looking forward to praying with people and so if you want to pray together, I want to be a praying church. I know there's stigmas about coming forward. I won't share anything you won't share but I'd love to pray with you this morning.
John Gunter:If you feel like I'm not on the right road, I can't even imagine inviting somebody right now. You may be the perfect person that God wants to use to invite someone. You know that. You didn't learn anything else this morning. That ought to be it.
John Gunter:We'd love to pray with you. Love to encourage you. Love to to share our walk with you. If you haven't been baptized in the name of Jesus, what are you putting between you and Christ? That is so important.
John Gunter:Begin that walk with him today. We love to walk with you when you come as we stand.