Being Famous In the Kingdom of God

The Product of Missions:
Being Famous in the Kingdom of God (4:25-44)

Introduction: (Give context then read text)

My hope for our church is that we would develop a missionary culture and a world Christian attitude by being world Christians. World Christians are people who take an active interest in the spread of the gospel to the nations.

Life can be a real roller coaster, full of ups and downs and twists and turns don’t you agree? One day you’re toting an umbrella and jumping puddles and the next day you’re in a foreign country with sweltering heat… riding an elephant.

Look at Jesus’ life for example; in chapter three he’s in Jerusalem, the city of God, thriving in his ministry, teaching no less then Nichodemus, the (archon) ruler and (didaskolos) teacher of Israel. Then, in the very next chapter, he is alone at a well in the Samaritan desert unable even to draw water out for himself, having to depend upon the aid of a lowly Samaritan woman (which is not lawful for Jews to do).

What a variety of fortunes life has for us with God is the author of our fate. Where will He take you in the next week, month or year?

Nichodemus and the Samaritan woman are polar opposites in terms of pedigree and social standing in 1st century Palestinian life; no greater disparity between classes existed there. He was a Jewish teacher of the Law and she was an outcast of Samaria.
This extreme disparity between the two illustrates the radical implications of what Jesus taught about the God’s sovereignty in regeneration. We are all equally unable to save ourselves from the wrath of God regardless of our social status and birth right. God is not a respecter of persons!

Only God can draw people to Himself. Whether they are noble or ignoble, prince or popper; whether it is in the cover of night or in the height of day, in a city or in a wilderness- no one can resist his grace that draws them to his son.

vv. 25-26: The Foundation for missions is not cultural transformation, nor is it medical aid, nor famine or disaster relief, nor the advance of Christendom or the spread of Western technology. The foundation is Jesus the Messiah.

The woman’s statement regarding the coming messiah who will be a teacher of truth and righteousness reveals her knowledge of the Samaritan religion and the lingering Jewish messianic hope within the Samaritan religion. This is what missiologists a contact point for the communication of the gospel to another culture.

This is the idea is that all world religions trace their origins back to Babel and that therefore there is residual truth (not a saving truth) in all religions that can become contact points for sharing the gospel (peace child, Paul in Athens). When you’re out sharing the gospel, look for these contact points, they’re a great way to build on the grain of truth albeit in lies that resides in all men’s consciences.

vv. 27-30: There are four categories of people in this story who represent four categories of missionaries:
1. Jesus: He represents the cross cultural missionary. There are those in our day who argue that the age of cross-cultural missions is over and that what is needed to complete the great commission is indigenous missionaries. They say Indian missionaries to India, Chinese missionaries to China, Africans to Africa, Canadians to Canada….

But don’t forget, “prophet has no honor in his own country.”

What we need to finish the task of missions in this age is for Indian missionaries to go to the Anglos of North America, for Koreans to go to the West Coast Native people, for Pilipinos to go to Japan and other nations, for Africans to go to Europe, for Canadians to the Middle East and die….

What a blessing it is for us to be at Gateway, with the world coming to us- we have the rare opportunity to be indigenous missionaries as well as cross cultural missionaries without having to leave our homes.

Gateway is the kind of city Paul chose to carry out his church planting policy. He went to cities (not suburbs or rural communities) that were strategically located for international travel in order to carry the gospel beyond those cities.

When we do missions to residents of Whalley- to the Sudanese, the Vietnamese, the Spanish, the Punjabs, the Koreans, the Single moms, the Poles, the Hungarians, we touch the whole world. We should take advantage of our strategic location and become a training ground and sending location for world missionaries. Why not?

2. The Second category of missionary is the Samaritan woman: she represents the lost sinner, saved and sent. She went from being the social pariah ostracized by an ostracized race to becoming the first recorded evangelist in the New Testament.

(This fact mitigates against any claim of tampering or editing of the gospels by later generations of church leaders as is argued by such conspiracy theories as the Da Vinci code. If such editorializing had occurred at the hands of patriarchic, male chauvinistic clergy, they would most certainly have at least changed the Samaritan woman into a Samaritan man to protect the image of the Disciples who are contrasted negatively by this woman’s conversion and subsequent ministry).

But after a divinely ordained meeting with the messiah, the Samaritan woman went from social pariah, to church planter, evangelist, missionary, community catalyst for change…. She is the prototype for the majority Christians who are the, “…not many wise, not many noble,” God chooses this worlds rejects!

She did what the disciples failed to do because they were more concerned about their own bellies. She went into that same city seeing that the fields are ripe for the harvest and preached the truth where the Disciples had been silent.

I wish that our church was a church of similar conviction as this Samaritan woman having a passion and a preference to store up treasures in heaven by reaching the lost with the only message that will rescue them from the torment of eternal damnation rather then a church of self serving silent disciples who do their religious duties but miss abundant harvest that is ripening all around us.

3. That brings me to the third category of missionaries- the Disciples: they represent people who are continuing to accumulate the truth by being with Jesus and learning from him, but they do nothing with it; they’re satisfied with their PhD’s and to keep Jesus to themselves. When surrounded by a city of lost souls, they go shopping!

They are the material minded believers, their first opportunity to preach the gospel to another people and they blew it because, why preach to Samaritans? Why show kindness to an immigrant? Why smile and show kindness to someone who’s different because they weren’t born here and dress differently? They thought they were in the city to buy meat. Read vv. 31-34.

What absolute ignorance! I mean, Jesus told them they would see the heavens opened and the angels ascending and descending and truly they have, they’ve seen water turned to wine, they’ve seen miraculous works, the clearing of the temple, the teaching with authority….

But they’re no better then the blind Pharisees who could not behold the Lamb of God; they may be worse than even Nichodemus who was ashamed to come to Jesus during the day; they were no better then the jealous disciples of John the Baptist worried that someone else’s ministry was doing better than theirs; they were worse then the Samaritan women- at least her first act was one of kindness to the very people who had victimized and ostracized her (notice she went to the men of the city).

I fear first of all for myself, as well as for you, as one who must give account for the ministry entrusted to me as a shepherd of His flock that I… that we are more like those disciples then we are like that Samaritan women.

But that can change. After Pentecost those same lazy, worldly, spiritually blind disciples became Spirit empowered Apostles and went on the lay the foundation of the church by their own bodies, the seed of the gospel was watered by their blood and their willingness to take the gospel as far as providence would allow them. Thomas went to India, Mark to Egypt, Peter to Babylon, John to Patmos… Where might some of us go?

4. Then there were the Samaritans- the lost masses: Read vv. 35-42, the unreached people groups who are literally dying for someone to come and tell them about Jesus. These masses will become the cross cultural missionaries, they will become the future home missionaries and church planters, they will become the future martyrs. “Look at the fields they’re already ripe for the harvest.”

Do you know that it is possible to finish the missionary task in our lifetime? I don’t mean that it is possible for us to ever complete the task of evangelism, but that it is possible to finish the task of bringing the gospel to the unreached nations- the ethnos; that every tribe and nation and tongue will have an indigenous witness to the gospel in their own culture, language, and dialect.

The Church is bigger then people think. Consider these simple numbers:
· In Ad 100 there were 360 unbelievers for ever 1 believer (60 000 unreached people groups or 1 congregation for ever 12 lost people groups).
· By Ad 1000 the ratio of unbelievers to believers decreased to 220 unbelievers to every 1 believer (50 000 unreached people groups or 1 congregation for ever 5 lost people groups). That is a 62% decrease in the ratio over a period of 900 years.
· In 1980 there were 11 unbelievers to every 1 believer (17 000 unreached people groups or 162 congregations to every 1 unreached people group).
· By 1989 that ratio had decreased to 7 unbelievers to every 1 believer (12 000 unreached people groups or 416 congregations to 1 people group). That means that the 9 years between 1980 and 1989 saw the same expansion of the church 62% that took 900 years in the first millennium of the church.

To use John Piper’s words, “…there is empirical evidence the gospel will penetrate the nations and that it is happening in our lifetime.” Remember Jesus’ words in Matthew 24:14, “And the gospel will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, then the end will come.”

Conclusion:
vv. 43-44: here’s my point, the command to preach the gospel is nearly fulfilled- that means that Jesus’ return is very near. So why are we labouring for something that may be destroyed in the blink of an eye?

Why do people love this world and seek fame here? This world cannot love us back. But the love of Christ compels us to obey his command to preach the gospel to the nations. A prophet has no honour in this world! If you want to be famous, you need to go to the nations- that is the only labour that will withstand the judgment that is about to poured out on planet earth.

So go to Hungary. Choose a lost people group and begin praying for them. Maybe that’s all you have to do for global missions- or maybe God will see your heart and bring you to them.

Volunteer at the church. Use the gifts that God has given you. Teach Sunday school, do an arts and craft at VBS or help with the sports camp- it won’t get you any fame hear, but it will earn the words that matter, “Well done good and faithful servant.” And that is the only fame that matters.