"Prepping the Soil: Engaging the Lost"

Part 3 of a series titled "Changing Soils"

 

The BIG Idea:

 

God has intentionally placed us around the people in our lives to share with them about Jesus. It is important to have intentional conversations that discover spiritual interest. John 4 shares how Jesus did this in his encounter with the woman at the well. Let's be equipped and empowered to take next steps with the people we are called to pray for, serve, and lead to Jesus.

¹⁷ Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. ¹⁸ Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, ¹⁹ namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their wrongdoings against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. ²⁰ Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. --II Corinthians 5:17-20 (NASB)

Matthew 13:3-23 is the "Parable of the Sower." Jesus identifies the four types of soils.

 

The Path = "Not Interested"

 

The Rocky Soil = "Too Shallow"

 

The Thorns = "Too Busy"

 

Good Soil = "Fruitful"

 

John 15:5-17 is the illustration Jesus shares of how He is the Vine, and we are the branches.

 

"Remaining" means to stay connected to God. Jesus will bear much fruit through His followers. Jesus will answer our prayers. Jesus will be glorified through our large amount of fruit. Jesus will produce through us fruit that will last.

 

The entire faith journey can be summed up simply--"Remain in Christ and allow Him to remain in you."

 

Experience is way more powerful than information.

 

Prayer is not optional for the follower of Jesus.

 

Disciple making is not something we do. It is who we are as a new creation in Christ.

 

"Where do I start?"

 

Oikos (ho-kahs) = the natural network of friends and family that you "do life" with daily.

 

Two natural reactions:

 

-        All my "oikos" (ho-kahs) are already followers of Jesus.

-        I've tried to share with my "oikos" (ho-kahs) already and they are not interested.

 

*Read John 4

 

When she first met Jesus, she had a spirit of fear. He was a Jew, and she was a Samaritan.

 

She shouldn't even be talking to Jesus because they are alone and that was unacceptable.

 

She is there at noon, the heat of the day, because she is not welcomed by other women.

 

She may have been a victim and NOT a sinner. (The Two Schools of Rabbinic Thought)

 

-        Rabbi Hillel was progressive and taught that a man could "put away" his wife for simple things such as burning supper one night, or anything that seem unseemly in the eyes of the husband.

 

-        Rabbi Shammai had a narrower interpretation of grounds for divorce.

 

o   In Matthew 5:31-32, Jesus publicly sides with the interpretation of Rabbi Shammai.

 

-        If a woman is divorced on a whim by Hillel's way of thinking, her husband is forcing her into adultery. She would be left with few options under that interpretation.

 

-        She understands grace for the first time because of Jesus.

 

We can learn to transition casual conversations to meaningful ones. The secret is to ask good questions.

 

Key question for a spiritual transition - "Has anyone ever prayed for you about that?"

 

Drip God into the conversation and make it a spiritual one.

 

This is NOT about "preaching" opportunities. It is about everyday conversation because Jesus is real and alive to you.

 

Jesus didn't share everything she had ever done, just enough for her to know He was sincere.

 

A message discovered is more powerful than a message delivered.

 

We learn and obey more when we discover something ourselves. A disciple maker wants to help others do the same.

 

The disciples learned something that day as they experienced and participated in the ministry of repentance and reconciliation that would go on giving for the rest of their lives for others to experience Jesus too.

 

 

 

Questions for Reflection:

 

What is the most important of these two things for our faith journey--Information or Experience? Why?

What are the two most common responses when we ask ourselves about who is in our friend circles and who in that circle of friends needs to know about the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

 

What are some things from today's message about the Samaritan woman at the well from John 4 that you may have never considered before about her story?

 

It is important for followers of Jesus to learn to transition our casual conversations into what type of conversations?

 

What is a key question for a "spiritual transition" in a conversation?

 

When do we learn and obey more in our spiritual journey?