An Unexpected Harvest.

     Have you ever met someone for the first time who was rather abrasive?  In other words, someone who is unfriendly almost from the minute you start speaking to them?  I think we all have.  But one of my favorite stories about this sort of thing is found in John 4, where Jesus meets an unfriendly woman.

     In begins in verse 5.  "So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.  Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.  A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.”  For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.  Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans." (John 4:5-9 NKJV)

     There are reasons for this woman's response, but the one we will focus on is firstly, her ethnicity.  She was a Samaritan and Jesus was a Jew.  In those days Jews and Samaritans did not get along with each othr well, and would avoid each other when possible.  So her first response is "Why are you talking to me?"  But His response completely confuses her.

     "Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”  The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water?  Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?” (John 4:10-12)

     She sort of sounds like she's asking Him, "Who do you think you are?"  But Jesus is not nettled.  His mission is not, at least mainly, to get a drink of water.  He's opening the door to explain some things which this woman has never heard before.  She's either uncomfortable, or grumpy, or both, but that is not Jesus' concern.  He has other priorities.

     "Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:13-14 NKJV)  The woman misunderstands what Jesus says her, however, and assumes he means drinking water.  So "The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.” (John 4:15 NKJV)

     Jesus knows everything about everyone.  So He issues a command that He knows this woman cannot execute, not in spite, but to show her Who He is.  "Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.”  Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.”  (John 4:16-19 NKJV)

     A bit unsettled, the woman attempts to change the subject.  "The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.  Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.” (John 4:20 NKJV)

There is no stopping Jesus though, and He tells her that the location of your worship is far less important than the location of your heart.  "Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.  You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.  But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.  God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”  (John 4:21-24 NKJV)

Finally the woman states that the Messiah will soon clarify everything they need to know, and Jesus issues His ultimatum, "I'm that Person."  "The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.” (John 4:25-26 NKJV)

     Now I'll let the story tell itself without comment for a few verses.  "And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why are You talking with her?”  The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?”  Then they went out of the city and came to Him.  In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.”  But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.”  Therefore the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?”  Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.  Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!  And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.  For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’  I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.”
And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.  And many more believed because of His own word." (John 4:27-41 NKJV)

     Jesus knew something that each of us needs to grasp.  That woman was broken, and a little bitter, probably.  After all, she had had five husbands!  He knew that what she needed was a revelation of grace, and the living water that only He could give.  She needed the gospel.   So even though she was an unlikely conversation maker, He patiently worked through the walls she tried to put up around herself, in love, not in spite, and was able to reveal His identity, not only to her, but to her city.

     Everywhere we are surrounded by people who have at least one thing in common with the Samaritan woman.  They need Christ.  As God's children, it is our job to carry the gospel to the farthest reaches of the globe, which He has promised to help us with.  But there are many who are harder to minister to and are not friendly or pleasant to converse with, or are even hard to want to minister to, for reason of sinfulness in their lives.  But the fact is that but for God's grace, we'd be in the same mess.  We need to ask for God's help in breaking down the harmful walls around others.  Be assured, He will help.  Jesus sees a field that's "white", or ripe, for the harvest.  He's planted the seeds in our hearts, now let's go and distribute them, and reap even the unexpected harvest.

A fixated focus.

     Looks like the Mayans were wrong...again.  In spite of movies and opinions about 2012, 2013 has arrived, and with it comes all the opportunities and challenges of a new year.  It's very exciting to think about what might happen in the upcoming year.  But today we'll look at a passage from scripture that should provide encouragement for us in this year and in the years to come.

     One of the hardest things people struggle with is a feeling of aloneness.  Let me clarify what I mean by aloneness, however.  The aloneness I'm describing makes a person feel alone in their struggles, as if he or she is the only one who has ever gone through it.  Although I cannot look at every person's heart individually, I do know that everyone, from pastor to layman, has their own individual spiritual struggles.  But that's not to put any shame on anyone.  Just because you struggle, be it with temptation, fear, doubt, or anything else, does not mean you're a worse Christian than someone else.  It means you're human, and what's more important than condemning yourself for your struggle is this.  Look at 1 Peter 5:8-11.

     "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.  Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.  But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.  To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.  (NKJV)

     Did you catch that?  You're not alone.  Someone else on earth has gone through the same thing as you are going.  That person may be me, or someone else.  But you're not alone, nor are you inferior to all other Christians.  The most "perfect" of us has been there.  The fact is that the enemy has recycled his strategies.  You're not going through something he hasn't tried on someone else before.  In fact, listen to the words of Ecclesiastes 1:9-10

"That which has been is what will be,
That which is done is what will be done,
And there is nothing new under the sun.
 Is there anything of which it may be said,
“See, this is new”?
It has already been in ancient times before us. (NKJV)

    Sure, the enemy is persistent enough, but the fact is that he tries the same things over and over.  He'd like to destroy you or at least distract you, but you can resist him.  "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." (Ephesians 6:11 NKJV)  If you're just struggling with your own carnal flesh, someone else has struggled there too.  The basic struggles of humanity have always been the same.  They just appear in different forms and at different times.  But there's no shame on you because your Christian walk isn't always smooth sailing.  Let me put it this way:  Jesus won the war, and gave you His armor and His strength to fight His battles (and yours).  He never promised you that your life would be a bowl of cherries, but He did say He'd be with you through the pits.

     "Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—" (Ephesians 6:13-18 NKJV) and also, "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2 NIV 1984)

     Jesus struggled with temptation, and had to resist the devil.  You'll have do the same.  It won't always be easy, but as long as you're reading and following the Word, keeping Jesus as your focus, and trusting Him and His promises (regardless of what emotion or the enemy tells you), you'll find that your struggles will be easier to work through.  Plus, when you fail (and we all will sometime), you can rely on God to forgive you, meaning you should repent, pick up, and move on.  You're not alone.  So take your struggles to God.  "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.  Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:15-16 NIV 1984)

     So whatever happens in 2013, remember that Jesus loves you, and trust Him to do all He said He would.  He hasn't failed yet.

(NKJV Means New King James Version)

(NIV 1984 Means New International Version 1984)