1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:01,008
Good morning.

2
00:00:03,744 --> 00:00:12,711
We've been going through a series of lessons for last two weeks concerning Jesus, the
master evangelist.

3
00:00:13,452 --> 00:00:28,274
We've seen the example of Jesus from John chapter four, from his interactions, from his
travel, from his statements throughout this chapter, and we're going to conclude that

4
00:00:28,274 --> 00:00:30,426
study this morning.

5
00:00:30,506 --> 00:00:32,307
By way of a review,

6
00:00:32,618 --> 00:00:42,285
We notice that as an evangelist, Jesus did not let culture close doors to souls.

7
00:00:42,687 --> 00:00:46,144
He did not allow the world to

8
00:00:46,144 --> 00:00:53,267
him to dictate who he could reach with the truth of God's Word.

9
00:00:53,267 --> 00:00:59,570
Then consider as well Jesus overcame fatigue in order to reach the lost.

10
00:00:59,570 --> 00:01:14,717
Jesus did not consider his own personal scenario, his own personal energy level to be a
determining factor as to whether or not he would evangelize and reach those with the truth

11
00:01:14,717 --> 00:01:16,030
of God's Word.

12
00:01:16,030 --> 00:01:21,162
Consider as well that Jesus began by engaging in friendly conversation.

13
00:01:21,162 --> 00:01:36,357
He spoke to the woman who was there at the well in Samaria, and he spoke to her as if she
was someone worthy of being spoken to, much in contrast to the way many of the Jews would

14
00:01:36,357 --> 00:01:38,697
have approached that situation.

15
00:01:38,758 --> 00:01:43,369
Jesus also chose a time when others were not around.

16
00:01:43,507 --> 00:01:52,322
So many times we find inopportune times and we imagine that's the only moment we'll have
so we must take it right then.

17
00:01:52,989 --> 00:02:05,593
Sometimes we should be patient and we should look for the appropriate time to have that
interaction then consider as well Jesus was not put off by potentially offensive

18
00:02:05,593 --> 00:02:06,133
statements.

19
00:02:06,133 --> 00:02:14,585
The woman stated things concerning him as a Jew, concerning his understanding and his
beliefs, though she didn't know him.

20
00:02:14,979 --> 00:02:20,107
And those statements could have been considered offensive by many and yet,

21
00:02:20,509 --> 00:02:24,550
Jesus didn't let that inhibit him from teaching her the truth.

22
00:02:24,550 --> 00:02:28,621
Jesus offered her something more than she had.

23
00:02:28,762 --> 00:02:34,343
Jesus recognized that he had something that she did not have.

24
00:02:34,604 --> 00:02:39,765
She may have been more well off than Jesus was in physical matters.

25
00:02:39,765 --> 00:02:41,046
We don't know.

26
00:02:41,626 --> 00:02:44,967
But we know this, Jesus had something she didn't have.

27
00:02:45,107 --> 00:02:47,449
And that was the living waters of life.

28
00:02:47,449 --> 00:02:51,953
Jesus had to point her in the right direction.

29
00:02:51,993 --> 00:03:02,602
Just because someone assumes that they know what you mean, that they know what you're
talking about, doesn't mean that they do.

30
00:03:03,069 --> 00:03:09,683
Jesus pointed her in the right direction and he pointed her towards the truth of God's
Word.

31
00:03:10,243 --> 00:03:16,407
Jesus also did not ignore sins that potentially would close the door.

32
00:03:16,875 --> 00:03:23,115
This woman was a woman who had had four husbands and the man she was with right then was
not her husband.

33
00:03:23,115 --> 00:03:25,395
She is living in fornication.

34
00:03:25,395 --> 00:03:35,855
She's had four husbands before this point, and yet Jesus didn't allow that to be a reason
not to present the gospel to her.

35
00:03:35,935 --> 00:03:47,329
He also did not allow that to be a situation that just remained untouched and off-limit so
that he could reach her with the gospel.

36
00:03:47,830 --> 00:03:51,931
Rather, he dealt with the situation right up front.

37
00:03:52,232 --> 00:03:58,915
But then consider as well that Jesus emphasized sincerity and truth.

38
00:03:59,516 --> 00:04:06,479
If we emphasize as we reach people with the gospel, truth, and yet we're hypocrites.

39
00:04:06,707 --> 00:04:10,329
And we don't hold the gospel in sincerity.

40
00:04:10,329 --> 00:04:15,582
We don't hold the gospel and teach the gospel and obey the gospel in our own lives.

41
00:04:15,582 --> 00:04:17,813
We just expect others to do it.

42
00:04:18,633 --> 00:04:22,255
We will not be a master evangelist like Jesus.

43
00:04:23,316 --> 00:04:36,683
But if we teach people that sincerity and feeling like they're doing what God would have
them to do is enough, and we ignore truth,

44
00:04:37,587 --> 00:04:40,609
we will most certainly not be like Jesus.

45
00:04:41,369 --> 00:04:56,579
Jesus made it clear that God was looking for those to worship Him who would worship Him in
spirit, in heart and attitude, and in truth in accordance with His Word.

46
00:04:56,915 --> 00:05:07,258
And Jesus would hold his teaching to this woman accountable for both the sincerity and the
truth that God required.

47
00:05:07,378 --> 00:05:10,099
Jesus also identified the Savior.

48
00:05:10,459 --> 00:05:14,920
Jesus didn't point her to a list of doctrines.

49
00:05:15,100 --> 00:05:18,981
Jesus didn't point her to a list of laws.

50
00:05:19,021 --> 00:05:24,403
Jesus did not try and marry her to the Jewish culture.

51
00:05:26,341 --> 00:05:37,438
Jesus brought her to a Savior because the thing that the woman needed was salvation.

52
00:05:38,620 --> 00:05:53,330
And through the Savior, she would find the law, and she would find the ordinances, and she
would find the commandments, and she would find the church, and she would find the kingdom

53
00:05:53,330 --> 00:05:55,150
through the Savior.

54
00:05:55,837 --> 00:05:58,551
Jesus identified the Savior to her.

55
00:05:58,813 --> 00:06:03,822
Jesus also used one contact to lead to many others.

56
00:06:04,427 --> 00:06:17,518
Once the woman realizes that he is the Messiah, she immediately goes into the city to tell
all those who are in the city who will listen to her that she has found the Messiah.

57
00:06:17,518 --> 00:06:23,203
And they need to come out and decide for themselves if he is the one.

58
00:06:23,203 --> 00:06:27,306
So she calls upon them to come and see.

59
00:06:29,141 --> 00:06:38,977
But then consider as well that Jesus took advantage of a spiritual opportunity at the cost
of physical loss.

60
00:06:40,019 --> 00:06:52,046
Jesus points out to his disciples that it is more important for them to feast on spiritual
things than physical things.

61
00:06:52,387 --> 00:06:58,551
That it is more important to focus on spiritual matters than physical matters.

62
00:06:59,655 --> 00:07:02,678
You cannot be a master evangelist.

63
00:07:02,678 --> 00:07:05,602
You cannot be an evangelist like Jesus.

64
00:07:05,602 --> 00:07:09,085
You cannot be someone who's seeking and saving the lost.

65
00:07:09,085 --> 00:07:18,094
If every single time there's a physical matter that comes up, spiritual matters get set
aside to deal with the physical thing.

66
00:07:20,519 --> 00:07:24,120
Jesus will emphasize that to his disciples.

67
00:07:24,981 --> 00:07:30,983
Jesus believed that there are always souls ready for harvest.

68
00:07:31,924 --> 00:07:47,190
Jesus looked at a city that was filled with Samaritans, outcasts from the Jewish society,
worse than dogs according to the Jewish teachers, those who were living in sin,

69
00:07:47,190 --> 00:07:49,231
religiously speaking.

70
00:07:49,405 --> 00:08:03,744
Those who were worshiping without being in accordance with the commandments of God,
religiously speaking, and Jesus didn't see those individuals as impossible to reach.

71
00:08:05,384 --> 00:08:14,911
Rather, he saw them as a field white under harvest, ready to be reached with the gospel.

72
00:08:17,973 --> 00:08:26,620
Hopefully, if you're a member of this congregation, you have a bookmark in your Bible, and
you've been filling it out.

73
00:08:28,201 --> 00:08:37,576
purpose of that bookmark is people who you know who were lost.

74
00:08:38,737 --> 00:08:42,338
You're putting their name on that bookmark.

75
00:08:43,480 --> 00:08:48,442
Now for clarity, you're not turning that bookmark over to anybody else.

76
00:08:48,963 --> 00:08:51,123
You're not handing that bookmark in.

77
00:08:51,224 --> 00:08:56,086
That bookmark's not going to Eddie, it's not going to me, it's not going to Justin, it's
not going to anybody.

78
00:08:56,086 --> 00:08:57,367
It's going to you.

79
00:08:58,697 --> 00:09:06,791
That bookmark is for you to look at, dwell upon, pray about.

80
00:09:07,572 --> 00:09:23,291
By name, every single person on that bookmark, you need to be praying, if you know they're
lost, you need to be praying that somehow, some way, that the Lord will reach them with

81
00:09:23,291 --> 00:09:24,381
the gospel.

82
00:09:25,542 --> 00:09:27,293
And you need to be doing it every day.

83
00:09:29,351 --> 00:09:36,927
And at some point in time, something will occur in the life of one of those individuals.

84
00:09:38,697 --> 00:09:57,675
death of a family member, the hospitalization of someone, maybe them going into the
hospital, an accident, a life-altering event, a child being born.

85
00:09:58,676 --> 00:10:07,089
And when that happens, you're going to get with Eddie or you're going to find one of the
contact cards that we've got in the back.

86
00:10:07,625 --> 00:10:09,376
and you're gonna start filling it out.

87
00:10:09,556 --> 00:10:22,805
And their name's gonna come off your bookmark and go into the contact card with name,
address, contact information because something has happened in their life that is a reason

88
00:10:22,805 --> 00:10:28,709
for the congregation to reach out to them with compassion cards.

89
00:10:30,010 --> 00:10:37,255
Only at that point when something occurs in their life are they going off your bookmark
list and into

90
00:10:37,255 --> 00:10:40,256
something that lets the congregation know about them.

91
00:10:40,256 --> 00:10:46,579
You may say, wait a minute Aaron, is it alright if a husband and a wife both have the same
name on their list?

92
00:10:46,579 --> 00:10:47,659
Sure!

93
00:10:48,600 --> 00:10:52,041
Is it okay if I have two lists because I got 20 people?

94
00:10:52,041 --> 00:10:53,181
Sure!

95
00:10:54,095 --> 00:10:55,942
So long as you're gonna pray about them.

96
00:10:56,763 --> 00:10:59,335
So long as you're gonna be thinking about them.

97
00:10:59,364 --> 00:11:07,047
So long as you're gonna be thinking about how they can be reached with the gospel and
looking for opportunities

98
00:11:07,657 --> 00:11:08,979
because that's what that list is.

99
00:11:08,979 --> 00:11:11,311
That is a list of opportunities.

100
00:11:12,433 --> 00:11:21,545
And you're not going to be entirely responsible for getting that person all the way
through a Bible study and all the way through baptism and all the way through maturity as

101
00:11:21,545 --> 00:11:22,346
a Christian.

102
00:11:22,346 --> 00:11:26,351
Your responsibility is putting their name on the list and praying for them.

103
00:11:28,049 --> 00:11:30,520
looking for an opportunity to sow the seed.

104
00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:41,603
So when that contact card gets filled out, because of whatever event has happened in their
life, they're going to go onto the contact list and they're going to be reached out to

105
00:11:41,603 --> 00:11:46,264
through this congregation with cards about whatever the situation is.

106
00:11:46,665 --> 00:11:48,545
A loved one that's been lost.

107
00:11:48,945 --> 00:11:52,646
A reason that they've had to go to the hospital for surgery.

108
00:11:52,786 --> 00:11:54,287
An ailment that they had.

109
00:11:54,287 --> 00:11:55,527
Something.

110
00:11:57,343 --> 00:12:10,732
Because the reality is this, we recognize and Rob emphasized in his training, most people
don't care what you know until they know whether or not you care.

111
00:12:12,033 --> 00:12:19,798
And so that's an opportunity for this congregation to express care and love to that
individual in whatever they have going on.

112
00:12:20,860 --> 00:12:26,173
But until then, they're on your bookmark and you're not turning that bookmark in.

113
00:12:26,581 --> 00:12:33,716
They're there for you to think about, pray about, and look for the opportunity to reach.

114
00:12:34,237 --> 00:12:43,683
Jesus saw joy in the future of both the sole winner and the sole one.

115
00:12:43,964 --> 00:12:47,706
Turn back, if you will, to John chapter four if you're not already there.

116
00:12:48,587 --> 00:12:53,030
In John chapter four, we're gonna actually begin reading in verse 31.

117
00:12:53,030 --> 00:12:54,731
In the meantime,

118
00:12:54,761 --> 00:12:56,311
his disciples urged him.

119
00:12:56,311 --> 00:13:04,254
So the woman's gone back into the city, she starts to tell the city and all the people
there about the fact she's found the Messiah.

120
00:13:04,254 --> 00:13:13,736
As this has occurred, as Jesus has finally finished talking with this woman, the disciples
are arriving back from the city, they had gone into the city to buy food.

121
00:13:14,136 --> 00:13:24,293
So they arrive back where Jesus is, they observe him talking to this woman, and in the
meantime, they urged him saying, Rabbi,

122
00:13:24,293 --> 00:13:25,123
eat.

123
00:13:54,101 --> 00:13:55,431
for harvest.

124
00:13:55,552 --> 00:14:03,116
Jesus is saying, you know, in the physical world what you do is you wait till the right
time of year.

125
00:14:03,116 --> 00:14:07,598
You put the seed in the ground and you sit around and you wait.

126
00:14:07,598 --> 00:14:18,384
I'm sure that most farmers would not appreciate me categorizing it as you sit around and
wait, but you wait until you don't go dig up the seed the next day.

127
00:14:19,565 --> 00:14:23,787
But Jesus said, don't tell me we've gotten more time.

128
00:14:23,881 --> 00:14:26,153
Don't tell me we have to wait.

129
00:14:26,153 --> 00:14:28,615
Don't tell me there's no opportunity.

130
00:14:28,615 --> 00:14:31,717
He says the fields are wide unto harvest.

131
00:14:32,298 --> 00:14:35,961
It's time to go reap the field.

132
00:14:35,961 --> 00:14:52,285
But then he says in verse 36, and he who reaps receives wages and gathers fruit for
eternal life that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.

133
00:14:53,479 --> 00:15:02,666
Jesus makes it clear as he speaks concerning reaching the lost that there is a benefit
that comes to the sower.

134
00:15:03,507 --> 00:15:10,592
There is a benefit that comes to the one who reaches the lost soul.

135
00:15:10,592 --> 00:15:12,874
You say, oh, I'm getting paid.

136
00:15:12,874 --> 00:15:15,556
There's a bounty on souls.

137
00:15:16,277 --> 00:15:17,458
How much do I get?

138
00:15:17,458 --> 00:15:19,243
Is it a thousand dollars a soul?

139
00:15:19,243 --> 00:15:20,623
Is it $1500?

140
00:15:20,623 --> 00:15:22,263
Can I get $20,000?

141
00:15:22,263 --> 00:15:23,983
What is a soul worth?

142
00:15:23,983 --> 00:15:25,983
I've been told a soul is worth everything.

143
00:15:25,983 --> 00:15:27,491
How much can I get?

144
00:15:29,247 --> 00:15:31,718
Brethren, we're not in the business of bounty hunting.

145
00:15:34,987 --> 00:15:39,527
But Jesus isn't talking about physical things, is he?

146
00:15:39,607 --> 00:15:42,507
Consider again what he says.

147
00:15:42,507 --> 00:15:51,811
He says, he who reaps receives wages and gathers fruit for eternal life.

148
00:15:54,075 --> 00:16:08,122
Jesus says there is someone taking account of the individuals who are reaching the lost,
who are sowing the seed, and who are reaping lost souls and bringing them to salvation,

149
00:16:08,122 --> 00:16:09,673
and it's God.

150
00:16:15,371 --> 00:16:18,432
Paul will write about this over in Corinthians.

151
00:16:19,393 --> 00:16:26,396
He will write concerning those who sow and those who reap, those who plant and those who
water.

152
00:16:27,336 --> 00:16:35,620
And Paul will make the point that there's a reward for those who are laboring in the
field.

153
00:16:36,701 --> 00:16:38,481
And it's the Lord's field.

154
00:16:38,982 --> 00:16:41,062
So who pays the laborers?

155
00:16:41,443 --> 00:16:42,793
The Lord does.

156
00:16:44,223 --> 00:16:52,793
Paul will emphasize that there is a reward for those who reach lost souls and it's an
eternal reward.

157
00:16:55,271 --> 00:17:09,624
Jesus will emphasize to His disciples that there was joy in the future of both the sower
and the soul who is one by the one working in the Lord's vineyard.

158
00:17:10,645 --> 00:17:17,171
Jesus emphasizes that they need to look at souls as an opportunity.

159
00:17:17,513 --> 00:17:28,134
You see, the reason why Jesus is emphasizing this is because of the Jewish mindset, at
least in my mind, Jewish mindset that says these people aren't worth anything.

160
00:17:30,117 --> 00:17:35,322
Have you ever tried to make a living by gathering things that aren't worth anything?

161
00:17:37,833 --> 00:17:48,772
Now around here, if you set some metal out on the side of the road, and it's anywhere
close to trash day, and the sun goes down, and the metal's still there when the sun goes

162
00:17:48,772 --> 00:17:50,973
down, it won't be there when the sun comes up.

163
00:17:51,614 --> 00:17:56,718
Because while you may not consider that object worth something, somebody does.

164
00:17:57,099 --> 00:18:02,502
Somebody knows they can get paid by picking up that metal and taking it to a recycler.

165
00:18:03,507 --> 00:18:04,668
So what are they doing?

166
00:18:04,668 --> 00:18:10,911
Every night before the trash runs, they're out looking for that object.

167
00:18:12,113 --> 00:18:17,276
They see value in what someone else has thrown away.

168
00:18:17,276 --> 00:18:20,196
The Jews had thrown away the Samaritans.

169
00:18:21,539 --> 00:18:28,362
And Jesus is saying to His disciples, you don't throw away souls.

170
00:18:30,481 --> 00:18:34,858
You look at the souls that everyone else considers worthless.

171
00:18:34,858 --> 00:18:38,964
You look at the people that everyone else considers a lost cause.

172
00:18:38,964 --> 00:18:46,314
You look at the individuals who everyone else considers to be unworthy of the gospel, and
you go reach them.

173
00:18:48,181 --> 00:18:54,294
So as you look at that list and you think about the people you know.

174
00:18:58,789 --> 00:19:03,947
Don't withhold the drug addict from the list.

175
00:19:05,915 --> 00:19:09,077
Don't withhold the alcoholic from the list.

176
00:19:10,438 --> 00:19:14,901
Don't withhold the person living in adultery from the list.

177
00:19:15,702 --> 00:19:22,706
Don't withhold the person of Indian descent who's uh a Buddhist from the list.

178
00:19:23,688 --> 00:19:27,810
Don't withhold the Hindu or the Muslim from the list.

179
00:19:28,331 --> 00:19:31,633
Don't withhold the Jehovah's Witness from the list.

180
00:19:31,773 --> 00:19:34,435
Don't withhold the Mormon from the list.

181
00:19:35,241 --> 00:19:38,178
Don't withhold the atheist from the list.

182
00:19:39,859 --> 00:19:52,974
We do not determine whether or not someone is ready to hear the gospel based upon our
thought on whether they will hear the gospel.

183
00:19:55,765 --> 00:19:59,239
We allow individuals to hear the gospel.

184
00:19:59,661 --> 00:20:01,624
We plant the seed.

185
00:20:01,624 --> 00:20:03,747
We water the seed.

186
00:20:03,747 --> 00:20:09,234
We look for opportunities to cause the seed to grow.

187
00:20:11,859 --> 00:20:15,143
and in good hearts it will.

188
00:20:16,406 --> 00:20:22,734
And sometimes those individuals will be in the most unlikely scenarios.

189
00:20:24,318 --> 00:20:25,518
Jesus

190
00:20:27,399 --> 00:20:40,843
in his ministry, spent an overwhelming amount of his time in two cities, one in Galilee
and one in Judah.

191
00:20:42,735 --> 00:20:56,701
One of those cities, Jesus in Matthew chapter 11, will condemn because he said if the
deeds that had been done in that city had been done in Sodom and Gomorrah, Sodom and

192
00:20:56,701 --> 00:20:59,994
Gomorrah would have repented in sackcloth and ashes.

193
00:21:02,569 --> 00:21:14,842
And the other city Jesus wept over and said, oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou who killest the
prophets and stones those who come to you.

194
00:21:17,023 --> 00:21:25,435
who God desired to bring under his wing as a mother would her chicks and you would not.

195
00:21:27,339 --> 00:21:34,509
Two cities where Jesus spent the vast majority of his time in ministry, Caesarea and
Jerusalem.

196
00:21:34,509 --> 00:21:39,494
Two cities that rejected him, one of which killed him.

197
00:21:42,845 --> 00:21:47,137
Yet Jesus comes to this Samaritan city.

198
00:21:49,363 --> 00:22:05,659
and he comes to a woman who's living in adultery and fornication and he comes to her and
she goes and tells the whole city and notice how the reaction is from this city.

199
00:22:08,063 --> 00:22:14,184
For in this saying is true, one sows and another reaps.

200
00:22:14,545 --> 00:22:18,866
I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored.

201
00:22:19,026 --> 00:22:31,259
Others have labored and you have entered into their labors." Jesus emphasizes that there
is joy for the soul winner and there is joy for the soul that is one, but Jesus also

202
00:22:31,259 --> 00:22:37,731
recognized that some conversions require time and more than one teacher.

203
00:22:40,647 --> 00:22:52,677
Jesus tells his disciples, you are about to observe someone reaping the harvest that
someone else sowed.

204
00:22:54,119 --> 00:22:56,060
You say, Aaron, who sowed it?

205
00:22:56,060 --> 00:22:57,701
We're not told.

206
00:22:58,302 --> 00:23:03,686
But we know this woman had familiarity going all the way back to Jacob.

207
00:23:05,393 --> 00:23:07,928
She was familiar with the Israelite history.

208
00:23:07,928 --> 00:23:11,194
She was familiar with the testimony concerning the covenants.

209
00:23:11,194 --> 00:23:14,279
She was familiar with the prophecies of the Messiah.

210
00:23:14,279 --> 00:23:15,301
Who sowed?

211
00:23:15,301 --> 00:23:18,606
The prophets of the Old Testament had sowed that city.

212
00:23:21,789 --> 00:23:25,162
Elijah had sowed that city.

213
00:23:26,123 --> 00:23:29,606
Elisha had sowed that city.

214
00:23:31,028 --> 00:23:34,490
Hosea had sowed that city.

215
00:23:36,052 --> 00:23:43,839
Old Testament prophets of old had sowed that city, and others along the way, prophets of
God, had sowed that city.

216
00:23:44,499 --> 00:23:52,298
And as a result, that city was looking and waiting as a whole city for the Messiah to
come.

217
00:23:54,151 --> 00:24:01,274
And unlike the Jews, they were actually ready for the Messiah to come.

218
00:24:02,235 --> 00:24:08,217
They hadn't built up a whole lot of ideologies about the Messiah.

219
00:24:09,218 --> 00:24:14,500
They just knew He was coming from God and that they were supposed to hear Him.

220
00:24:15,901 --> 00:24:21,703
So Jesus recognized that some conversions require time.

221
00:24:22,545 --> 00:24:37,851
and more than one teacher, where you will make a little headway with someone, where you
will plant the seed with someone, where you will create an opportunity to talk with

222
00:24:37,851 --> 00:24:40,982
someone, you may never get past that.

223
00:24:42,383 --> 00:24:52,127
But you never know where someday down the road someone else will have the opportunity to
reap that harvest.

224
00:24:53,299 --> 00:25:02,461
We do not judge the value of sowing based upon one harvest.

225
00:25:04,073 --> 00:25:12,115
We judge the value of sowing based upon the fact that if no one sows, there is no harvest.

226
00:25:14,313 --> 00:25:20,865
then consider as well that Jesus rearranged his schedule when souls were at stake.

227
00:25:21,445 --> 00:25:33,489
You turn to verse 39 and we read, and many of the Samaritans of the city believed in him
because of the word of the woman who testified.

228
00:25:33,669 --> 00:25:36,590
He told me all that I ever did.

229
00:25:36,590 --> 00:25:39,241
That was her testimony, that's what she said.

230
00:25:39,241 --> 00:25:42,213
When she arrived in the city, she said, I found the Messiah.

231
00:25:42,213 --> 00:25:44,774
He's told me everything I ever did.

232
00:25:45,154 --> 00:25:48,776
And for some of them, that was enough.

233
00:25:49,237 --> 00:25:54,520
They believed that he was the Messiah based on her testimony alone.

234
00:25:54,520 --> 00:26:00,643
But then consider, so when the Samaritans had come to him, they urged him to stay with
them.

235
00:26:00,663 --> 00:26:03,124
And he stayed there two days.

236
00:26:03,885 --> 00:26:08,247
And many more believed because of his own word.

237
00:26:09,115 --> 00:26:12,197
As Jesus is headed somewhere.

238
00:26:12,197 --> 00:26:14,377
Jesus was headed to Galilee.

239
00:26:14,478 --> 00:26:17,559
Jesus had need to go through Samaria.

240
00:26:17,559 --> 00:26:22,321
Jesus was on His way somewhere and Jesus stopped.

241
00:26:22,821 --> 00:26:25,061
He stopped at a well to get a drink of water.

242
00:26:25,061 --> 00:26:28,904
He stopped at a well to eat a meal that was bought from a city.

243
00:26:28,904 --> 00:26:31,225
He didn't stop for three days.

244
00:26:31,505 --> 00:26:33,326
That wasn't the intent.

245
00:26:34,207 --> 00:26:35,187
And yet,

246
00:26:35,187 --> 00:26:42,635
when the opportunity arose, when there were souls that were willing to hear, Jesus
rearranged His schedule to stay.

247
00:26:44,629 --> 00:26:54,612
Does that mean that there's never going to be a time where the things that you have that
are urgent and immediate have to take precedence over a Bible study?

248
00:26:54,612 --> 00:26:56,434
There may be that time.

249
00:26:59,849 --> 00:27:12,147
But wouldn't it be of great value to know that there's someone else who you can hand the
Bible study over to so that the soul is not ignored while the immediate thing is taken

250
00:27:12,147 --> 00:27:13,068
care of?

251
00:27:13,789 --> 00:27:17,351
That's part of the reason why this is a congregational activity.

252
00:27:17,751 --> 00:27:28,759
Because you will find that there's gonna be a time where Justin is not available because
there is a wife having a baby and he needs to be at the hospital.

253
00:27:29,991 --> 00:27:36,594
And if there's a Bible study that needs to be had while Justin is at the hospital, someone
else needs to do it.

254
00:27:37,795 --> 00:27:45,378
There may be a time when I'm not available, a time when Justin's not available, a time
when someone else isn't available, and someone else has to step in.

255
00:27:46,419 --> 00:27:48,870
Jesus is teaching the disciples.

256
00:27:48,870 --> 00:27:50,541
Why is He teaching the disciples?

257
00:27:50,541 --> 00:27:54,063
Because there's coming a time when Jesus won't be available.

258
00:27:56,681 --> 00:28:00,504
Someone may say, I'm not equipped.

259
00:28:00,504 --> 00:28:01,375
I'm not ready.

260
00:28:01,375 --> 00:28:03,056
I don't know what to do.

261
00:28:05,159 --> 00:28:15,487
The time to prepare to harvest, the time to prepare to study with someone is before you
have to do it.

262
00:28:16,949 --> 00:28:23,355
If you wait to learn how to harvest until the harvest is there, you won't be ready.

263
00:28:23,355 --> 00:28:24,195
m

264
00:28:25,073 --> 00:28:30,985
Jesus had been spending time with His disciples training them so they would be ready.

265
00:28:32,346 --> 00:28:34,747
And yet He still had more work to do.

266
00:28:35,127 --> 00:28:42,090
They still had more learning that they needed because Jesus is having to point out to them
that there's even a harvest to be had.

267
00:28:42,890 --> 00:28:46,592
We all have more to learn.

268
00:28:46,912 --> 00:28:54,175
We all will always have more that we can develop and greater skill that we can achieve.

269
00:28:54,653 --> 00:28:56,183
in reaching the lost.

270
00:28:57,164 --> 00:29:11,050
But the person who says, don't know how, so I'm going to stay home, y'all harvest, is the
person who will never be ready when the opportunity arises.

271
00:29:11,610 --> 00:29:17,392
We need to be training those, and we need to be training ourselves.

272
00:29:18,093 --> 00:29:23,795
Consider Jesus also knew that one person cannot reach all types of people.

273
00:29:24,071 --> 00:29:26,892
and that a team is more effective.

274
00:29:27,573 --> 00:29:33,256
Verse 42, then they said to the woman, now we believe.

275
00:29:33,377 --> 00:29:43,783
Not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard him and we know that he is
indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.

276
00:29:44,844 --> 00:29:50,347
The city comes out to hear Jesus and Jesus spends two days teaching the city.

277
00:29:51,531 --> 00:30:01,671
And afterwards, they come to the woman and they say, even those, by the way, who believed
on her testimony, the indication is, they say, now we believe.

278
00:30:02,111 --> 00:30:07,091
Not because of what you said, but because we've heard it for ourselves.

279
00:30:07,651 --> 00:30:19,011
And in this, you also see that you, as you study with someone, you are not...

280
00:30:19,817 --> 00:30:22,120
the greatest tool to reach the lost.

281
00:30:24,139 --> 00:30:25,259
Christ is.

282
00:30:26,401 --> 00:30:34,626
And it is your job to introduce that individual to Jesus Christ.

283
00:30:35,127 --> 00:30:52,859
To his authority, to his words, to his commandments, because the greatest evangelist that
this world has ever known is the person who you want reaching the lost with you.

284
00:30:55,015 --> 00:31:02,303
And so that is why as we sit down and we have Bible studies with people, we don't tell
them what to believe.

285
00:31:03,005 --> 00:31:05,006
We don't tell them what to think.

286
00:31:05,387 --> 00:31:07,259
We don't tell them how to worship God.

287
00:31:07,259 --> 00:31:11,033
We don't tell them what church is the right church and what church is the wrong church.

288
00:31:11,033 --> 00:31:15,358
We just simply open up the Bible and let them read it for themselves.

289
00:31:17,801 --> 00:31:25,808
because our testimony, our statements, our beliefs are not going to judge them in the
final day.

290
00:31:26,311 --> 00:31:28,431
Turn to John chapter 12.

291
00:31:31,966 --> 00:31:45,347
Jesus said to the Jews that were around him, beginning in verse 44 of John chapter 12, he
who believes in me believes not in him or in me, but in him who sent me.

292
00:31:45,347 --> 00:31:48,847
And he who sees me sees him who sent me.

293
00:31:48,847 --> 00:31:55,007
I have come as a light into the world that whoever believes in me should not abide in
darkness.

294
00:31:55,087 --> 00:31:59,707
And if anyone hears my words and does not believe,

295
00:31:59,931 --> 00:32:04,605
I do not judge him, for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.

296
00:32:04,605 --> 00:32:09,880
He who rejects me and does not receive my words has one that judges him.

297
00:32:09,880 --> 00:32:25,144
The word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day." Jesus said, if you reject me,
if you reject my words, it's not going to be me who judges you, it's going to be the words

298
00:32:25,144 --> 00:32:26,795
that I've spoken that judge you.

299
00:32:27,409 --> 00:32:35,634
Jesus has further pointed out that the words that he received, the words that he spoke,
didn't originate with him, they originated with the Father.

300
00:32:39,293 --> 00:32:42,804
in the account that Jesus gives of the rich man in Lazarus.

301
00:32:45,723 --> 00:32:49,166
Abraham speaks to the rich man as he is there in torment.

302
00:32:50,509 --> 00:33:02,462
And the rich man insists to Abraham, you will but send Lazarus back, my brothers will hear
and they won't come to this place because he had five brothers who were still alive.

303
00:33:03,303 --> 00:33:06,661
And he knew that if they had patterned their lives

304
00:33:06,661 --> 00:33:11,741
after the way they had been living when he was alive, they were headed for the same place
he was.

305
00:33:11,741 --> 00:33:19,474
So he wanted Lazarus to go back and to convince his brothers that they had come from back
from the dead and that they needed to repent.

306
00:33:21,533 --> 00:33:29,211
And Abraham's answer was, they have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them.

307
00:33:30,233 --> 00:33:34,858
And the rich man says, no, but Abraham, if you will send back one from the dead.

308
00:33:34,858 --> 00:33:43,967
And Abraham replies, if they will not hear Moses and the prophets, then they will not hear
the one come back from the dead.

309
00:33:46,507 --> 00:34:01,927
You see, the reason why the gospel, Romans chapter one verse 16, is the power of God unto
salvation to the Jew first and also to the Greek is because it is the gospel that converts

310
00:34:01,927 --> 00:34:03,307
men's souls.

311
00:34:03,787 --> 00:34:07,867
It is the gospel that converts men's minds.

312
00:34:08,047 --> 00:34:14,207
It is the gospel that reforms lives and not us.

313
00:34:15,463 --> 00:34:24,372
It is our responsibility to stand firmly on the Gospel and never depart from it.

314
00:34:25,593 --> 00:34:35,223
So that when they see the truth and hear the truth, they have an example to follow in
obeying the truth.

315
00:34:37,087 --> 00:34:43,859
From the master evangelists, we learn that personal evangelists are not politically
correct.

316
00:34:45,515 --> 00:34:48,358
Far, far from it.

317
00:34:49,320 --> 00:34:54,467
At times, their statements will be confrontational and offensive.

318
00:34:56,393 --> 00:35:02,779
They don't ignore difficult issues, and they never compromise the truth.

319
00:35:04,839 --> 00:35:09,329
If you look at your life and you say, you know what?

320
00:35:12,723 --> 00:35:15,976
I really have a hard time telling anybody they're wrong.

321
00:35:18,961 --> 00:35:20,700
I really struggle.

322
00:35:22,453 --> 00:35:28,082
to tell people the truth even when they ask me for it.

323
00:35:30,559 --> 00:35:34,629
then that's something you're going to have to work on before you start doing personal
evangelism.

324
00:35:37,021 --> 00:35:44,005
What I'm not saying is this, you're always ready to tell people the truth whether they
want to hear it or not.

325
00:35:47,019 --> 00:35:51,747
but you're always willing to tell them the truth when they ask.

326
00:35:52,891 --> 00:35:59,493
Consider as well that they don't pander to one group of people to the exclusion of
another.

327
00:36:02,065 --> 00:36:10,919
in this city and in this area, we have some incredibly rich people.

328
00:36:12,565 --> 00:36:15,303
who are lost and headed to hell.

329
00:36:17,065 --> 00:36:24,049
And it would be amazing for their souls' if they were reached with the gospel.

330
00:36:25,757 --> 00:36:33,532
And in this city, we have some very poor people who are lost and headed to hell.

331
00:36:34,633 --> 00:36:43,319
And it would be amazing for the benefit of their souls and their eternal lives if they
were reached with the gospel.

332
00:36:44,180 --> 00:36:49,123
And we better not pick one over the other because of their financial status.

333
00:36:49,844 --> 00:36:54,077
And we better not ignore one or the other.

334
00:36:54,387 --> 00:36:56,588
because of their financial status.

335
00:36:57,689 --> 00:37:04,813
There is no one too rich to hear the gospel, and there is no one too poor to hear the
gospel.

336
00:37:05,834 --> 00:37:15,219
They never show partiality for the powerful over the poor, or the socially elite over the
socially awkward.

337
00:37:15,819 --> 00:37:22,663
Like Jesus, they are willing to love the lost enough to tell them the truth.

338
00:37:26,441 --> 00:37:28,328
the denominational world.

339
00:37:30,761 --> 00:37:32,496
does not love the lost.

340
00:37:34,869 --> 00:37:39,190
Some people with denominational friends will say, Aaron, that's a really hard statement.

341
00:37:39,190 --> 00:37:45,383
I'm sorry, but you can't love someone who you won't tell the truth to.

342
00:37:47,881 --> 00:37:49,082
That's not love.

343
00:37:51,113 --> 00:38:04,411
But if we allow ourselves to be warped into thinking that we will convert souls without
the truth being told to them.

344
00:38:06,004 --> 00:38:07,217
We're lost.

345
00:38:09,525 --> 00:38:18,139
personal evangelists will learn from the master evangelist to be like him.

346
00:38:20,649 --> 00:38:26,881
And we need to as we examine our lives how to be like Christ.

347
00:38:27,862 --> 00:38:41,828
Many times in scripture, Paul, Peter, and others will write to the church and remind them
that their conversion was to Christ.

348
00:38:43,108 --> 00:38:49,951
Paul would write to the church and say, you have not so learned

349
00:38:50,315 --> 00:38:51,260
Christ.

350
00:38:53,035 --> 00:39:02,891
If you're here this morning and you're outside the body of Christ, if you're outside the
church for which He died, and you're outside salvation, and the blood of the sacrifice

351
00:39:02,891 --> 00:39:06,923
that can atone for your sins, don't stay there.

352
00:39:07,804 --> 00:39:20,231
Don't live outside of Christ, because there is coming a day where you will stand before
God and by His words you will be judged.

353
00:39:21,085 --> 00:39:36,563
rather instead be converted to Christ, be added to Christ, be obedient to Christ, and let
the Lord add you to the church where he adds all those who are being saved.

354
00:39:36,583 --> 00:39:46,058
If you're here this morning and you have need of the invitation of Christ to put Christ on
in baptism, to repent of your sins, or if you're a member of the body of Christ to correct

355
00:39:46,058 --> 00:39:50,995
your walk with God, why not avail yourself of that opportunity?

356
00:39:50,995 --> 00:39:52,713
as we stand and as we sing.