“To open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.” Isaiah 42:7 (NIV)
One of the great opportunities God gives us as Christians is to share the Gospel message of hope, joy, and forgiveness. That we would realize Jesus wants to change you and change others through you. But isn’t that narrow-minded? That there is this one right way to God?
Imagine that your family member has a horrible disease, a disease that can’t be treated by any medical treatment. But then everything changes. A new treatment that is effective to treat that family member’s disease is available. How would you react? You are going to want to tell everybody. If they asked you to do a testimonial about that treatment for a commercial–would you do it? Absolutely you would, without any hesitation you would.
Now if someone sees that and they don’t really agree that this treatment is as good as you think, they might disagree with you about what you are saying, but they’re not going to call you narrow-minded because you might be wrong, you might be wrong, but you are not narrow.
God invites us to be part of His work in the world, in our family, and in our community. Let’s look at a couple lessons from a life-changing encounter Jesus had with a Samaritan woman at a well:
BEING PART OF WHAT GOD IS DOING IS FOOD FOR YOUR SOUL
Where does this idea come from? It came from Jesus. “Meanwhile His disciples urged Him, ‘Rabbi, eat something.’ But He said to them, ‘I have food to eat that you know nothing about.’ Then His disciples said to each other, ‘Could someone have brought Him food?’ ‘My food,’ said Jesus, ‘is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.’” John 4:31-34 (NIV)
The disciples want Jesus to have a bite to eat. But Jesus talks about other food. Jesus says: When you do what God wants you to do, it’s like eating a meal.
My wife Alta Lynn and I recently had a great celebration meal. I had Red Snapper with this amazing sauce. Then for dessert, we had an ice cream sundae where you pour the chocolate and nuts on it yourself. I am sitting there with Alta Lynn, making those guy noises that you make when food is really good.
It is great when you have a really good meal you just enjoy and savor. Don’t you just love some of those meals? I know some of you could make those same noises if I had just said Rosas or Taco Villa meals. Jesus says: When you obey God, and do His will, and you participate in what He is doing in the world, it’s a meal. It brings you focus and life and energy. The opposite is also true: It also means we can wither away because we are not participating in what God is doing.
He told her, ‘Go, call your husband and come back.’ ‘I have no husband,’ she replied. Jesus said to her, ‘You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.’” John 4:16-18 (NIV)
‘“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?’ They came out of the town and made their way toward Him.” John 4:29-30 (NIV)
There is this myth that one day if you will get your act together, and once you have your life together, then God will use you and you can do things for God. So all you need to do is go to all the classes, learn it all, then God is going to use you. Isn’t it great that this woman didn’t buy into that myth?
Can you imagine the mess she’s got to deal with? OK, first I need to find husband #1—what was his name? Got to fix all that. Then kids, how many did we have? Then 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th husband. I’ve got to go visit with the guy I am living with right now and move on. I got to get my life together. Got to clean up all the messiness. I’ve got a lot of confessing to do. Got to go apologize to all those wives whose husbands I was with. and I need to get in about 6 Bible studies. Someday I’m going to be useful for God. No. Now is the time. She just realizes: God has forgiven me, God loves me. I need to share my story of what God has done. She just starts testifying in the world about God immediately.
TESTIFYING ABOUT JESUS BRINGS LIFE CHANGe
“Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me everything I ever did.’”John 4:39 (NIV). Why did they believe? This woman told her story. She wasn’t trained, she wasn’t a pastor. She had a messy life. That’s all she had. And she went and just told her story, and the town responded. The city changed.
Let’s think about it. There are, in your relationships, people you know and who are in your family, people you think: I’d like to talk to them but they’d never be interested in Jesus. They’re not going to change. But it does happen, and there is a big impact.
“So when the Samaritans came to Him, they urged Him to stay with them, and He stayed two days. And because of His words many more became believers. They said to the woman, ‘We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.’” John 4:40-42 (NIV)
They just respond to Jesus. Jesus stays two days more and they keep bringing their friends and family, and people they go to school with and work with—you’ve got to hear this. They just cared and testified. This woman shared: Here is Jesus, and here is what He has done. So all these people come to Jesus and give Jesus a title. Jesus is not just a Jewish savior, not just a Samaritan savior, not just an American savior–He is the Savior of the World.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Tell your story. There is power in it. Testify. Whatever God has forgiven you for, whatever God has healed you of, whatever God is in the process of doing, tell it. Tell your story. Be real and honest because it has tremendous power. You never know who God loves, you never know who will love God back. You never know.
