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Introduction:
Our greatest prospects for conversion are guests in our
assemblies. Having said this, we may be tempted just to sit back
and wait for non-Christians to just show up. That simply will not
work. Most non-Christians do not realize their spiritual needs.
Unless we say something that sparks a desire in them, they will
never come. But even those who do recognize spiritual needs do not
know where to look. There are churches on every corner. As far as
they are concerned, one is as good as another. Therefore, we have
to let them know about the Franklin Church of Christ. But how? For
help, I want us to turn to one of the most effective personal
evangelists found in scripture. Many people in this woman’s
hometown became believers because of this one woman’s work. I am
talking about the Samaritan woman in John
4. Because of an invitation she extended in John 4:29, many of the Samaritans in Sychar believed. If she could
be effective at this, so can we. Discussion: I.
Do not be hindered by your past. A.
When you consider who this woman is and how she had lived,
it is amazing that she ever went to the men of the city to
encourage them to come and see Jesus. She had been married five
times—five men had put her away. Now she was just shacking up
with a man (John 4:17-18).
But she was not hindered by that, she had found the Messiah and it
had changed her life, she wanted others to know about this Man. B.
Some people never do any inviting or recommending because
they know people have seen them sin. Why should anyone listen to
them about spiritual things? But who better to recommend and
invite than someone whose life has been changed by the gospel
message taught here? Granted, if you are continuing in sin, we do
not want you inviting folks. We want you to repent, changing your
life based on the gospel, and then start inviting immediately. II.
Do not be so caught up in earthly concerns that you do not
see others’ spiritual needs. A.
After just a few moments with Jesus, the Samaritan woman
went back into the city and started telling people about this Man
out by the well. Because of her work, many in the city were
converted (John 4:39-41).
The apostles, who had spent much more time with Jesus and had a
much greater understanding of who He was, had just gone into the
city and had absolutely no spiritual response from the Samaritans
(John 4:8). Why? Because they went into town to buy food, not to talk
to people about Jesus. They were so wrapped up in their daily
concerns that they did not see the spiritual opportunities.
Additionally, they probably just saw these people as Samaritans,
half-breeds with mixed religion who either did not deserve or
would not accept Jesus as the Messiah anyway. B.
How easy it is to get caught up in the daily pursuit of our
lives and forget that the people we are talking to have spiritual
needs. That checkout clerk may well be lost. Our co-workers are
still in their sins. Many of our family members still need the
gospel message. If we spend all our time just going into the city
to buy food, then we will never have the success the Samaritan
woman had. We have got to see the needs and act on them. III.
Make the invitation simple, not overwhelming. A.
When the Samaritan woman came into town, she did not run to
the men and tell them they had
to do anything. She did not make it a life and death issue. She
just made a simple invitation. “Come, see a Man…” she said (John 4:29). B.
We can follow that same example. Our invitations and
recommendations do not need to be surrounded by pomp and
circumstance or shored up by saying things like, “I want to talk
to you about one of the most important decisions of your life.”
Let’s face it. Do you want to make the most important decision
of your life today? Probably not; you will probably put that one
off for a while. Instead, just make a simple invitation and
recommendation. “Come, see a church …” According to Gallup
polls 1 out of 4 people who do not attend a church claim they
would visit if invited. We just need to give them the simple
invitation to “come, see a church…” IV.
Recommend a specific reason. A.
When the Samaritan woman went to the men of the city, she
did not just say, “Come, see a Man …” She provided a reason,
making a specific recommendation. She let them know this Man had
told her everything she ever did, could He be the Christ? She gave
them something specific to check out (John 4:29). B.
When we offer invitations and recommendations, we need to
make them specific and special. Instead of, “Hey, would you like
to come to church with me sometime?” We need to let people know
about something special. “If you like good singing, you ought to
come check out the Franklin Church of Christ.” “You have
wonderful kids. I’ll tell you something that has helped my
kids—the Bible classes at the Franklin Church of Christ.”
“You know what has helped me in my marriage more than anything
else? Spending time studying and learning the Bible. You ought to
come to church with me sometime and see what you could learn that
would help you out too.” Clearly some recommendations are
situation specific. But can you think of some general things that
you can recommend about the Franklin Church of Christ? V.
Once they come to check it out, let the church speak for
itself. A.
The Samaritan woman was really taking a chance. She
realized this Man was more than just a man, but would the others?
Or would they just get mad if He told them what He told her,
“You worship what you do not know.” (John 4:22)? She did not try to mold Jesus into her perfect idea of a
pleasing Savior. She just told people to check Him out. B.
We need to do the same. When we start inviting, we just
need to let Christ’s church speak for itself. We should not try
to make sure that the sermon is not going to be on a specific
topic. We should not make sure that our favorite song leader or
prayer is going to be leading during the worship. We need to just
let people know that they ought to check this church out and then
let it speak for itself. VI.
Be prepared, not everyone will believe. A.
The Samaritan woman had great success. However, we do need
to note that the text says many believed. It does not say that all
believed (John 4:39, 41). B.
When we invite and recommend, not everyone will come. Not
everyone who comes will pursue a study with us. Not everyone who
studies with us will be converted. But some will. Perhaps many
will. No one will unless we get out there and let people know
about what is going on here. VII.
Recognize the urgency to get this message out. A.
In John 4:28,
the woman saw the need to let other people know about this Man as
so urgent that she even left her waterpot at the well to go tell
people about Him. B.
I am certain it is more difficult for us to feel the
urgency. After all, if someone does not attend today, there is
always next Sunday, right? Not necessarily. We know we are not
promised tomorrow and neither are the people we meet (II
Peter 3:10). But, even if we do not think about that, we need
to consider the work we are doing. This work is important. We are
talking about souls. There are lost people around us. What are we
doing about it? We need to remember that we are not trying to get
numbers; we are trying to save souls. We are not trying to fill
this building; we are trying to fill heaven. This work is
important and we do not need to wait until next week to do
something about it, we need to do something now. Conclusion: We have access to over 100,000 people, very few of which are saved. But every single one of them needs to be. We need to let them know about the Franklin Church of Christ. We have learned that it takes about 100 invitations to eventually lead to 1 conversion. That means we, all of us, need to be busy inviting and recommending. We could have over 100 invitations this week if each of us will commit to invite at least one person. Who will you invite? If the Samaritan woman could do it, so can we.
Glory
to God in the church by Christ Jesus
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