Sunday
Morning Bible Study
August 7, 2005
Introduction
In John 4,
we have the record of an incident at a small city in Samaria.
The disciples had gone into the city to find some food while Jesus sat down by
the community well. There Jesus met a Samaritan woman. The fact that there was
a meeting at all was pretty fascinating. The chances of a meeting like this
were pretty slim. The woman had a couple of things working against her.
1. She was a Samaritan. The Samaritans were half-breeds – part Jewish and
part pagan. Their religion was also a half-breed – a mixture of Judaism and
strange doctrines. Jewish people typically loathed the Samaritan people.
2. She was a woman. It was not an accepted practice in those days for men
to talk to strange women. It just wasn’t considered proper.
3. She was a woman with a reputation. She wasn’t very lucky when it came to
love. She had been married five times, all failures. She was currently living
with a man who wasn’t her husband. You could say she had issues.
But meet, they did. The woman was surprised that Jesus was paying any
attention to her. She was more surprised that Jesus knew all sorts of things
about her, even though they had just met.
Jesus knew that she was a woman who had deep needs – a “thirst” if you
will. And she had learned to live her life trying all sorts of things to
satisfy those deep needs inside her heart. And she was still needy. But when
she met Jesus, she found out how to have that emptiness in her heart filled. She
had met her Savior.
:27 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?"
They didn’t understand why Jesus would be talking with this woman, but they
weren’t about to be the one to ask a stupid question of Jesus.
:28 The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said
to the men,
It’s interesting that she doesn’t talk to the women. They probably wouldn’t
have anything to do with her.
:29 "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could
this be the Christ?"
:30 Then they went out of the city and came to Him.
The woman said that Jesus knew of all the things that the woman had done. This
woman had problems with men. I wonder if some of the men went initially went
out to find out if Jesus knew what they had done with the woman.
:31 In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, "Rabbi,
eat."
They had just come back from MacDonald’s with everyone’s orders for lunch.
:32 But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not
know."
:33 Therefore the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought
Him anything to eat?"
They wonder if someone had ordered a pizza.
:34 Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me,
and to finish His work.
the will – thelema – choice,
inclination, desire, pleasure
who sent – pempo – to send
Lesson
The servant’s food
Illustration
Parrot Wouldn't Talk
A lady is looking to purchase a pet for companionship, and so goes to the
local pet shop to purchase a cat or such. However, when she arrives, she is
intrigued by the beautiful young parrot on a perch by the counter. “Will this
parrot talk?” she asks the owner. “Oh yes, this parrot comes from a long line
of excellent talkers. In two weeks, he will be mimicking your speech like he’s
having a conversation with you.” The lady excitedly purchases the bird in a
large cage (for a handsome fee) and takes it home. Two weeks later, she comes
into the store. “This bird you sold me hasn’t said a word!” The owner looks
puzzled. “I can’t understand it, that is our best talker. He should talk when
he swings.” “What? You didn’t sell me a swing!” The owner happily sells her a
swing for the bird’s cage. But, two weeks later, she returns with the same
complaint. “I really can’t understand it, he should talk after exercising on
the ladder,” the owner says. Frustrated that he didn’t tell her this before,
she buys the ladder. Two weeks later, ...you know. The owner says, “something is
wrong, because when he climbs the ladder, and gets on his swing, and looks into
the mirror, he definitely should be talking!” She buys the stinkin’ mirror, and
in 2 more weeks... In she walks with the cage, containing the swing, ladder,
mirror... and one dead parrot with its legs up in the air. “Here’s your mute
bird and all the junk you sold me - all I want is my money back!” The owner was
dumbfounded. “Lady, this is the first parrot that has ever come back - didn’t
the parrot say any words at all??” “Well, now that you mention it, he did, say
one thing,” she said. “He said, ‘Doesn’t, that, shop, sell... Bird food?!?’”
It’s not wrong to have hunger. It’s
not wrong to feel like you need something.
We need to eat. We all have a
hunger that needs to be filled.
Illustration
A preacher visits an elderly woman from his congregation. As he sits on the
couch he notices a large bowl of peanuts on the coffee table. “Mind if I have a
few” he asks. “No, not at all” the woman replied. They chat for an hour and as
the preacher stands to leave, he realizes that instead of eating just a few
peanuts, he emptied most of the bowl. “I’m terribly sorry for eating all your
peanuts, I really just meant to eat a few.” “Oh that’s all right” the woman
says. “Ever since I lost my teeth all I can do is suck the chocolate off them.”
Some of the things we tend to fill our hunger with can make us feel a
little sick afterwards. It’s important
to fill our hunger with something healthy.
There is one thing that won’t make you sick. Doing God’s will.
If you are not a Christian today – if you have not asked Jesus to forgive
you of your sins and asked Him to be the Lord of your life – the will of God is
simple. God’s will is for you to believe
in Jesus.
(John 6:28-29 NKJV) Then they said to Him, "What shall we
do, that we may work the works of God?" {29} Jesus answered and said to
them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He
sent."
God wants you to know that Jesus Christ died on a cross in
order to pay for your sins.
He paid for your sins because He didn’t want you to have
to pay for them by going to hell. He
died in your place. And now all He asks
is for you to turn to Him, trust Him, and follow Him.
If you are a Christian – then the food you are looking for involves finding
out God’s will for your life, and doing it.
Note: Jesus didn’t say His food was to do the
will of “God”, but the will of the One “who sent” Him.
The emphasis is on the fact that He’s been sent. He’s been
given a purpose.
Fulfillment comes from knowing that God has a purpose for
you, finding that purpose, and then doing it.
God wants to “send” you.
It may be to your family. It may
be next door. It may be to work. It may be to Mexico,
Guatemala, or
even Russia.
But God has something for you to do.
And that feeling of being “full” isn’t going to come until
you start doing what God has created you to do.
How do I find where God wants to “send” me?
It starts by praying
(Mat 9:37-38 NKJV) Then He said to His disciples, "The
harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. {38} "Therefore pray
the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."
It is clarified by studying the Scriptures
(2 Tim 3:16-17 NKJV) All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,
and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness, {17} that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped
for every good work.
One of the goals of the Servant School that starts up in
September is to help you find your calling – to find out what kinds of things
God has for you – and then to help you learn to do them.
:35 "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!
look at – theaomai – to
behold, look upon, view attentively, contemplate (often used of public shows);
to view, take a view of; to learn by looking, to see with the eyes, to perceive
white for harvest – did you notice in the move “The Harvest” how the
fields of wheat changed color over time, from green to golden? It’s that change of color that told the
farmer it was time to reap. Why didn’t
Jesus say the fields were “golden” for harvest?
Because the fields of people coming out of the city were probably
dressed in white. It was the people
Jesus was concerned about, not a field of wheat.
We are always making excuses as to why we can’t serve the Lord or do what
He says. We might say things like, “Now
is not a good time – perhaps in a couple of months”. But Jesus says if you will open your eyes,
you will see that the time for the harvest is NOW.
: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.
:37 "For in this the saying is true: 'One sows and another reaps.'
The work is about sowing and reaping.
We sow seeds when we tell people about Jesus. We reap a harvest when we help a person come
to the place of giving their life to Jesus.
Sometimes we sow seeds and may not always see the results. Other times we have the joy of helping a
person trust in Christ though we may not be able to take credit for all that
God has done in their life.
:38 "I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others
have labored, and you have entered into their labors."
Lesson
Lift up your eyes (vs. 35)
It seems that our lives get awfully busy.
We get so consumed in our day-to-day routines that we don’t often stop to
look around us and notice the people.
I’m sure the disciples were busy and hassled as they went into the city to
buy food for the tour group. I’m sure
all they looked for was a good deal on lunch.
The disciples had gone into the city and come out with a sack full of
burgers.
This woman went into the city and came out with a harvest.
I wonder if it doesn’t have something to do with what you’re looking for.
It certainly doesn’t seem to have much to do with training – the woman had
just met Jesus. The disciples had been
with Jesus for a bit longer.
“The world has more winnable people than ever before ... but it is possible
to come out of a ripe field empty-handed.”
- Donald McGavran.
Illustration
You perhaps have heard of the old sales managers’ device of holding up a
large piece of paper with a small orange spot down in one corner. He says to
his salesmen, “What do you see?” They all report that they see that orange
spot, and he says, “That’s your weakness as a salesman. You see the spot and
don’t see all of the open opportunity before you.”
What are you looking for? Do you see
the opportunities to serve God in front of you?