Jesus was a Soul-Winner

First of all, I just want to thank Pastor Stucky for another opportunity to preach. And our scripture reading was in John chapter 4, and I thought it was fitting because we're in our fourth soul-winning event. And who better to teach us than the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, Jesus is the word of God, but then we have the words of Jesus Christ here. And you know, we've all been out soul-winning, but just imagine you get to be the silent partner of Jesus Christ. And that's why I really like this passage. And we get to see the instructions and the interactions that he has with this woman in John chapter 4. The title of my sermon is called Jesus was a soul winner. Jesus was a soul winner.

So we're there in John 4:1. And the Bible says, "When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples," here we see that the self-righteous people hear of the works of God. They hear of the works that are being done. And guess what happens? and why what type of works they hear about. Bible says in Matthew 28:19, Matthew 28:19, we see that the disciples were the ones that actually did what Jesus Christ told them to do. And that's why the Pharisees have heard of those works. Matthew 28:19, the Bible says, "Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost." So, we see that they actually fulfilled that sending. And we are here to do the same thing. We're here, we're preaching the gospel. And what do we do when we preach the gospel? It says, "Go and teach all nations." We're actually teaching sinners and the lost souls the Bible way to heaven. That's what we're doing. We're showing them, we're teaching all nations.

Mark 16:15. Look at Mark 16:15. We're going to see the same thing with baptism. And you're going to realize why they ended up baptizing people because God actually told them, Jesus actually told them to baptize. The Bible says in Mark 16:15, "And he said unto them, go ye in all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved and he that believeth not shall be damned." So a lot of people like to use baptism as part of salvation. And I'm sure you probably heard that and I can just easily disprove this with the word of God. We got to compare scripture with scripture. We understand the importance of baptism. But is baptism part of the gospel? Is that what we're going is that part of our sending in part of the gospel?

1 Corinthians 1:14. 1 Corinthians 1:14, we have some scripture that actually teaches us something different. And the Bible says here in 1 Corinthians 1:14, "I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius, lest any should say that I baptized in my own name, and I baptized also the household of Stephanas. Beside, I know not whether I baptized any other. For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with the wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect." So if baptism was part of salvation, then Paul failed in preaching the gospel. And he said not Paul not to baptize but to preach the gospel. So we see here clearly that baptism is not a part of the gospel. But should we get baptized after salvation? You know, should we do this? Well, you should get baptized to be right with God. You know, that's a commandment of God. And we want to be doing what we're commanded after we get saved. We want to be keeping God's commandments. And you know, the reason is, you know, people ask, "How soon should I get baptized?" as well. You can see people getting baptized immediately after they believe.

Let's go to Acts 10:45. Acts 10:45, we can actually see an interaction with Peter and he goes to the household of Cornelius. We can actually see that there wasn't a delay when it came to getting baptized. Acts 10:45 and it says here, "And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished and many as came with Peter because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?" And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord, then prayed they him to tarry certain days. So, we shouldn't forbid water. This shouldn't be something that we're hindering. We're stopping people. Should be something that we're encouraging people and even commanding people to do. We shouldn't not be holding back people from baptism. So you see how Peter commanding people to get baptized after salvation and I remember leading a man to the Lord in the Philippines and I had the pleasure to actually see him get baptized as well. I saw him enter the church. I saw him get involved. I saw him come out soul-winning with him and his wife and it's just an awesome thing to see that progression.

And let's go to John 4:3. Let's just continue reading from John 4. You just keep a mark there because we're going to keep going back as I want to get through the whole passage. The Bible says he left Judea and departed again into Galilee and he must needs go through Samaria. So we got caught preaching and we left them all. So you see here they started hearing of the works of the disciples of Jesus Christ and what happened Jesus Christ got out of there. So sometimes when you feel a little bit of that persecution it's okay to just go to a different place. You know you don't need to we learn this from Jesus Christ. He left Judea when the Pharisees started hearing of the works and departed again into Galilee and he must needs go through Samaria and Jesus knows that they are onto him right they know okay something's happening we in the Philippines and we saw the the I shared this at the first sowing event that we got caught by the guards and we realized that they're on to us we just went to a different place you know we kind of let it calm down we let things settle a little bit and then we went back and it was fine so sometimes we have to leave the place we're in and just go sow into other people and you know we see that the woman in John 4 doesn't recognize him. So what do I see about this? I see that sometimes you know you're trying to share the family trying to share the gospel to those that you love and you see that they're not receptive. Sometimes you got to go to people that don't recognize you. You know sometimes you go to people that you know they might not have known about you. They don't have heard of the works. We see this about the woman. And you know you have Jesus saying when they persecute in a city flee to another just go to another place. Just keep going.

And it's important to note that when we go sowing, we're there to reach specific people. And who was Jesus looking for specifically? Let's look at Luke 19:10. Luke 19:10. The Bible tells us who Jesus came to specifically look for. And that's what we have to do. Sometimes, you know, people get caught up with the desire to see, you know, their close relatives or close family saved. And I completely understand that desire. But we see Jesus Christ coming for different types of people that actually had something that we see that very few people have. So a lot of people think that they're right. A lot of people think they're righteous. A lot of people think they're actually not lost. We see here in Luke 19:10, it says, "For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." So we want to help people that are lost. Imagine going out to someone and be like, "Hey, could I help you find your way?" And they're like, "Well, I'm not lost. I'm fine. I'm not looking to I'm not lost. I know where I am. I know where I'm going." And you know, people who are sick, the Bible says they need a physician. Jesus was a soul winner. That's the title of my sermon. Jesus was a soul winner. He came to seek and to save those that are lost. So like I said, imagine going to someone this he's not lost. Why would you try and help that person? You know, people need to understand that they're lost. People need to know that they are sick.

In Matthew 9:12, Matthew 9:12, the Bible actually puts this all together. And you see Jesus even kind of, you know, looking past those people that actually think that they're okay. The Bible says in Matthew 9:12, "But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Jesus was a soul winner and he didn't come to call the righteous. So that's something that we have to take note of. And you know, we're here to learn from Jesus. We're here to learn how he did things. And this passage is great to show us that. And you know, people that think they're righteous, we know that everybody that's unsaved is lost. We know that everyone that's unsaved is unrighteous, but they actually have to understand that they're unrighteous. And that's the important part of soul winning.

So, we're going to continue in John 4:5. John 4:5 says here, "Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour." So we see Jesus getting tired. It's normal. Jesus sat to rest, right? It's like 12:00. It's he's tired. He's been traveling. And what happened? Says in verse 7, "There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink." So, I just love how quickly Jesus enters into a conversation with this woman and he starts a conversation straight away with someone that's approaching him. So, that's something that we can learn from Jesus Christ. He wasn't afraid to just start a conversation with someone that doesn't recognize him.

Matthew 10:7, you don't have to turn there, but the Bible says, "And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand." So, it's something we don't necessarily have to be super structured like we're going to have to go like what if someone walks past you, you know, what if someone's around you? Maybe God's brought that person in that for that time for you to talk to them. So, we don't just preach at the door. And that's something that I'm learning myself to be a little bit more flexible to realize, you know, if people are walking by as I go, I need to be preaching. We can also approach people.

Jesus starts this conversation in verse 8 says, "For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat." So, you know, sometimes you don't even have a silent partner with you, but that's okay. You know, we can just still enter and still start sharing the gospel with people. In verse 9, it says, "Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans." Jesus answered and said unto her, "If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water." So Jesus doesn't waste any time. So that's what I really like about the presentation of Jesus Christ. He just asks for water. He just starts that conversation. Water takes time to draw. So we see that little bit of us asking people at the door. We ask them, "Can I have a bit of your time? Can I show you?" And we use the tracts the same way how Jesus started a conversation to break the ice. We use those tracts to break the ice in the same way. And we don't just give the tracts. We're not just there to just give the tract and then just leave. You know, we want to get to the serious question. Soon as Jesus asks the question, the woman starts talking to him and he's already asking her. He's already talking to her, hey, you know, if thou knewest the gift of God. So, it's just something that we can learn about how Jesus actually really wants that person that lost sinner that, you know, we're going to see later on that he, you know, she was a sinner. You know, we know that about her and we're all sinners. But that's what made this interaction very specific.

And what else did Jesus say? What else did he say? Thou wouldest have asked of him. So, that's why I want to really look at this because what does it mean to call upon the name of the Lord? It just simply means to ask him for the gift. You know, a lot of people complicate this topic and I don't like getting criticized by people that criticize me for me following, you know, the structure that Jesus Christ laid out in his word. And I do get criticized for it and we will face this. But a lot of times people kind of hear things and they sound nice, but you know, sometimes we always have to get grounded in the Bible and we have to go back to the word of God. And Jesus, the soul winner told this woman to ask for the gift. We also tell people to ask for this gift. Jesus said this in another place also in Matthew 21:22. Matthew 21:22. Let me just show you that the Bible is clear about the reason how someone receives that gift is by asking for it. The Bible says in Matthew 21:22, "And all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." And that's including salvation. You ask in prayer, and if you believe it, you receive it. That includes the gift of eternal life. Jesus said all things. What happens after someone knows the gift and asks? He gives them the living water. So that's why we're just going to be going on that specific trajectory that Christ is laying out here so we can actually learn from the greatest soul winner, Jesus Christ. And I really don't care what people's opinion is on this topic. A lot of people want to, you know, bring up various things. But the Bible actually says even in Psalm, look at Psalm 145:18. Psalm 145:18. And we're just going to see here that the Bible actually clearly, it's not in my notes, but just want to show you Psalm 145:18. The Bible says here, "The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth." What are we trying to do before we ask people to call upon the Lord? We want to show them the truth. They need to call upon the Lord in truth. It's not this one, two, three, repeat after me that haven't understood anything. They're not calling upon the Lord in truth. They just want to just, you know, they want to ask in a prayer. They're hoping maybe I pray. But we want people to be calling upon the Lord in truth. Thou knewest the gift of God. The gift of God. You need to know it and then you ask for it. Does that make sense?

So, let's just continue here. The Bible wants to show us. Let's look at 2 Corinthians 4:13. 2 Corinthians 4:13 just to show this because it's I think it's a really important topic because a lot of people are afraid to include this in their presentation because they might be thinking well you know I don't want these people to trust in the prayer but you know let's just throw everything that we've heard from people aside things that might sound good and we just got to get back to what the Bible says 2 Corinthians 4:13 we having the same spirit of faith according as it is written I believed and therefore have I spoken we also believe and therefore we speak. So we see that these people believe that they spoke. That will renew the gift of God. People say that it's you know you only need to believe that it's a gift. That's all you need to do. You just have to believe that it's living water and that's all. But the Bible says you would have asked of it. So let's just continue. And the Bible says we see in Romans 10:13. Romans 10:13. We really like to use this our soul winning. But when do we use it? We use it after they understood the gospel after they've changed their mind, we like to use this passage, Romans 10:13. And obviously Jesus said, "If you had known, you would have asked of him." Romans 10:13, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." So if you remember Paul's salvation in the same way, what did God use? God used a soul winner. To get to Paul, we know he used Ananias in Acts 22:16. Acts 22:16. And you have other passages where it says you have not because you ask not. You have all these passages where in Luke 18 you have that sinner saying Lord be merciful to me a sinner. So he's using his voice and then he gets justified. We have the thief at the cross saying Lord remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. We have all these examples of people that actually believe and after they believe they called upon the name of the Lord. So Romans 10:13 says here for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Then Acts 22:16 says, "And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord." So he understood the gospel. It's just someone had to just explain to him that you need to call upon the name of the Lord. We actually had my wife was just reminding me that there was a woman that visited First Works Baptist Church and she had understood the gospel and then pastor said, "Why are you here?" She said, "I'm not saved. I just want somebody to lead me in a prayer so I can just call upon the name of the Lord. I understand it but I just want someone to lead me in a prayer." So there's a lot of times when these things you might think well you know what's it mean? Well we just you know we can just simply show them how they can ask and just by praying. You know a lot of people don't understand that that all they have to do is just ask for it and in all things whatsoever ye ask believing ye shall receive. And obviously it's the blood of Jesus Christ that washes us of our sins when we call upon the Lord. But we call upon the Lord in truth. You know, when you do it in truth and you've understood it and you call upon the Lord, the Lord saves you.

John 4:11, let's continue. John 4:11. The woman saith unto him, "Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou this living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?" Jesus answered and said unto her, "Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." I love how Jesus is focused on his presentation. You know, he does just continue speaking about that living water. Even though she's like, "Are you greater than Jacob?" All these things. Sometimes you're going to get distracted. Sometimes people are going to bring up things in the present. Just get back to the gospel. You know, just try to defer straight back to gospel. tell him, "Look, I'll try and answer that question a bit later on, you know, if you're willing to, but just try to get back to the gospel." I love how Jesus gives us that example.

In verse 15, it says, "The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw." She asked for the water. And we see here that there's something that she hasn't yet done. She hasn't really understood that she's a sinner. So, she's getting a little bit confused where she's like, "I want that water." And then Jesus, I like how he just gets straight into showing this woman, hey, you're a sinner. First, this is what you have to understand. In verse 16, it says, Jesus said unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidest thou truly. The woman said unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. Remember we spoke about that already. We have to be worshiping God. We have to do things in truth. The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he. So she knew she was a sinner already. So he spoke to her. She knew that you know Messiah is when he comes you know they knew about it. She knew things already even though she was a Samaritan and didn't recognize Jesus Christ. And you know when you see this this shows which we when we go up to people we want to show them Jesus Christ. We want to tell them about the Lord Jesus Christ about the savior. We want to also prove that he's God. We see that she knew things about Jesus Christ. She knew some of the things and how did people know? Because someone already spoke to them. Someone already like laid some planted the seed in that place. And we show them we show people at the door that salvation is by faith alone and it's by faith in him and it's a gift. So we changed their mind to believe differently than what they believed when we got to the door.

And we're going to look at John 4:27. John 4:27. And it says, "And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?" So I really like here that the disciples at least stayed quiet. If you see somebody in a conversation and you see that people are talking, you know, you can stay quiet. And I like that the disciples didn't necessarily just marvel in themselves. They didn't necessarily join in or ruin that conversation. And that's why a silent partner needs to be a silent partner. You know, I've actually gone out with somebody that, you know, was my silent partner, but he just continually just kept talking over me and then I let him know afterwards and I said, "Look, you know, you have a lot of conversations in the Bible where, you know, Peter and John are going in Acts chapter 3 and you see that Peter's the one that has the dialogue. You know, you see people when they get sent out two by two, one person's the talker, one person's a silent partner." So, it's something that we need to respect as a silent partner. something that we need to learn to just stay silent, pray, and you know, if you're ready to speak or if that person looks at you and says, you know, would you like to say something, then it's a good time to speak. So, I like to keep that in mind. I like that the disciples didn't say anything here.

In verse 28, the Bible says, the woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? So, the woman didn't care about her water pot. You see that? She came for water. She came with a scope in mind. She thought she was going to do something and, you know, Jesus just changes your directory. Just changes your life. You know, you want to go and preach the gospel now. And then we see that there's things that, you know, she needed temporarily. She just thought, hey, there's something more important than this. And nothing in the Bible is there by accident. I really like Pastor Tim Dice from Vision Valley Baptist Church and he was saying that the reason why things are in the Bible, we have to take note that if it's important enough for God to put it in the Bible should be important enough for us. So there's a lot of details and that's why I'm doing an expository sermon today where I'm going through verse by verse because I don't want to leave something out cuz everything's important. God's word is important. We have to look at this and we see that she left her water pot and went. So there's something to learn from that. So, you know, and if it's in scripture, like I said, it's if it's good enough and important enough for God, it should be important enough for us. So, you know, we have to really take note. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Every single word of God is important. So, she went soul-winning right after salvation. A lot of people think, well, first I need to dig my roots really deep and then I can start bearing fruit. Well, we see here she's just going straight at it. You know, she's just doesn't waste time. Leaves her occupation. She goes straight away and she's trying to prove to people that this is the Christ. And sometimes, you know, we do need to leave our work. Sometimes we do need to leave our occupations and our earthly occupations for a time to go and preach the gospel. So, we can learn that.

Verse 30 says, "Then they went out of the city, and came unto him." In the mean while while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat. But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat? So they didn't ask, "Did you get saved?" They're not really interested too much into knowing what type of conversation Jesus had. They're just thinking about earthly food. You know, they want to take care of him. And obviously, it's they're thinking about his well-being. And Jesus said, "I need to work." And Jesus knows why he's saying this because there's a lot of people coming. There's going to be a lot of people that actually hear the word and actually are going to be coming to Jesus Christ in this passage. And that woman had an impact. And the disciples didn't know this, you know, that that woman really did something special here. And he tells them to stay focused. Hey, I must work the works of him that sent me. Just stay focused.

In verse 34 says, Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. Soul-winning is a work, right? We don't it's laborers, you know, a laborer works. You know, don't undermine or depreciate the importance of soul-winning that it's actually work. And you know, God is going to reward us for the work that we're doing. So God sent his only begotten son into the world to save the world. John 3:17, you don't have to turn there. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. So God's will is for people to get saved and the work his soul-winning. That's how God planned it. I'm going to show this later on. And there are people who need to hear this.

Let's continue in verse 35. Verse 35. The Bible says here in verse 35, "Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest." So we see a lot of people, they like to delay. You know, I'm going to go soul-winning later on. Maybe there's a soul-winning place that I'm going to go and hopefully that's going to be more receptive. But now is the time to go soul-winning. You know, now is the time to even go and sow if you need to sow. And can you imagine this sight? All those people from that place are coming to Jesus Christ. Says, look up, you know, look up upon the field. Look at all these people coming. You know, it's we're ready to start the work. Look up. Lift up your eyes. Look on the fields. We need to lift up our eyes and look on the fields and look at people that actually can get saved today. And I pray that more people will be able to join us at soul-winning. And I'm really glad to see more people coming to these sort of events because it's really encouraging, you know, to have more laborers and, you know, I'm praying for more laborers. And even yesterday in our sowing time, we had more laborers. So, it's just a blessing.

Verse 36. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. So, if you get someone saved today, you're going to receive wages, you know, and that's just something that should motivate us. You know, a lot of people think, well, you should have been motivated by the eternal rewards. But you had Peter saying to Jesus, you know, what's in it for us? We've forsaken all to follow thee. You know, what's going to happen to us? You know, we have Jesus saying, you know, great is your reward in heaven if you get persecuted. So Jesus is actually letting you know, hey, there's something that's going to be waiting for you. So desiring or even having that outlook that, hey, I'm going to receive wages for if I reap unto everlasting life. That should motivate us. Amen. Amen. So if we get someone today saved today, like I said, you're going to receive wages and you gather fruit unto everlasting life. The fruit is the salvations. Jesus says you gather fruit unto everlasting life. Brother Brydon in the second soul-winning event, if you look at it on our YouTube page, you can actually see that explained full detail that that fruit is actually salvations. That it's not just your way of living. It's actually gather fruit unto life eternal. And that Jesus is speaking in the context of those people that were coming and they were going to get them saved. The seed is the word of God. We see this from the parable of the sower in I think it's in Luke 8. We see the parable of the sower. We sow the word and when we share the Bible, when we share Bible verses, we actually share the word of God. And it takes work to sow. Those that know agriculture, they know that if you're going out there and sowing, it takes work. And it takes work to sow. And in Melbourne, we have to realize we're going to be sowing most of the time. And don't get discouraged and realize, well, I'm not getting people saved. You know, I just got to share one Bible verse. You know what good is that going to do? You know, this is necessary. The Bible says we're going to rejoice with whoever comes after us to reap. You know, we're going to rejoice together.

In verse 37, it says, "And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours." So remember, when we are to go and to seek and to save that which is lost. And don't underestimate the importance of soul-winning. Don't underestimate the importance of sowing. You know, you're going to be going to someone's door and you're going to be talking to them and you ask them, "What do you think someone has to do to go to heaven?" And they're going to be telling you, "Well, be a good person." And you ask them, "Do you think you're a good person?" They say, "Yeah, I think I'm a pretty good person." So that person doesn't think they're lost. That person doesn't think they're a sinner necessarily. And you just take them to one passage. You take them to Revelation 21:8 and it says, "all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone." Do you think that person once they hear that and understand, wow, I'm a sinner and I'm on my way to hell. Do you think that person will still say to someone, I'm a pretty good person. Most likely that word of God is already that seed that you sown is already working in that person's heart, realizing, hey, I'm actually not good. I'm actually a sinner. You know, I need to be saved. And then that next person comes along and they're just ready to hear it. But see how important our sowing was. It's incredibly important.

And just let's continue. And I just want you to turn to let's look at verse 39. But before we go there, what I like about this story, I like that the woman knew what Jesus was talking about because someone else had already been there. You know, even though she doesn't recognize him, someone planted the seed. those people that she spoke to, they hey, this is indeed that very Christ. Like how how do they know all these things? Because someone else labored. And that's why Jesus said, I sent you to gather where you bestowed no labour. Someone else labored. So somebody did labor in that place. And that's why we have to realize that there is importance in laboring. Even in Melbourne, it's not right now the reaping time, but we're laboring. And even though there are some people that do get saved and we've seen people get saved, it is really important for there to be laborers that actually sow. So someone can come along and reap and then we're going to rejoice together one day.

Verse 39. And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did. So we see many of the city believing because of that soul winner. You know, because of Jesus Christ, they believed. Verse 40. So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days. So Jesus was there. What did he do? He continued soul-winning. You know if you see that there's an opportunity they just he just continued going. The title of my sermon is Jesus was a soul winner.

Verse 41. And many more believed because of his own word; And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world. How did they know all these things? Someone else told them about it. Someone else got to share those Bible verses that actually taught them these things. And then they get to hear it, and they get to someone else gets to reap. And the woman didn't convince everyone. Sometimes you're not going to convince people, but many believe because of her. But she definitely sowed the word of God. You know, she's the one that like got them into that search. You know, they started coming towards Jesus Christ. She started them on that journey, on that search for the truth. Jesus preached to them also and they believed when they heard him.

Verse 43. Now after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee. So we're going to look at the contrast. You've just finished sowing. you've just finished your Saturday time, Sunday time, and now you're going to go back into your, you know, back into your family potentially, back into the people that, you know, they think they're righteous, the people that don't think they're lost. And look what the Bible says here. Now after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee. For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country. Verse 45. Then when he was come into Galilee, the Galilaeans received him, having seen all the things that he did at Jerusalem at the feast: for they also went unto the feast. So the contrast was just immense. The contrast of you know the Samaritans you know and then the Jews people that you know Jesus came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. what happens when we go to our own country to Judea the reception is different you know people aren't that excited to hear you and you know I was talking to my wife on I think it was Wednesday and I said have you ever regretted just one time that you've gone soul-winning you know we've gone soul-winning hundreds of times I can never say I regretted it wow this is a tremendous waste of time but a lot of times when we talk to family when we talk to loved ones we do feel a bit of that like was this worth it you know we do feel that but we never are going to feel that when we're going out and preaching the gospel So, we have to keep that in mind. And we try to reach those that are caught up in false religion and they just don't believe it. They just don't believe it. And people might want to spend time with you. They still want to kind of get around you. They wanted to get around Jesus Christ, but they're just not believing it. You know, they're unwilling to change their minds.

Verse 46. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum. Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum. Jesus did a miracle. And what happened? What happened after he did that miracle? There was a person who still didn't believe. So Jesus does the miracle, he knows about the miracle. He's just still not believing. Verse 47. When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death. Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. So Jesus isn't very happy about what's happening because he knows this person doesn't believe. A lot of times people just they have that hardened heart of unbelief. And you know we have to realize that Jesus we saw through John chapter 4. Did Jesus do any miracles in Samaria with the Samaritan woman? Nothing. He just he didn't do miracles and we just see them actually believing and all these people want to see a sign. So Jesus wanted him to believe without that miracle. You know we believe because of the words of Jesus Christ. John the Baptist preached. We know John the Baptist didn't do any miracles. And you know they he was able to convince many people. He said that they should believe on him. You know, we don't do any miracles, but people believe our words because we go to them with the Bible, you know, and I didn't see any miracle to be convinced, you know. I had the word of God explained to me by a soul-winner and I put my trust in the Lord and I believed. You know, we're the Gentiles who have heard and we've actually received eternal life based on our belief and our confession with our mouth.

1 Thessalonians 2:16. 1 Thessalonians 2:16. We're going to be looking at, you know, this is always speaking about the Jews that actually didn't want them to go and preach. You know, they weren't happy with them going to the Gentiles. And 1 Thessalonians 2:16, it says, "Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost." So, if someone stops you from soul-winning, what's going to happen? You're not going to get people saved. So, what happens when you soul win? you can actually get people saved by saying forbidding us to speak that they would be saved. So, you know, a lot of people think, well, people can just get saved anyway. They've got the Bible, you know, they can look at stuff. It's like as soon as you get forbidden to speak to people that's going to hinder people from being saved. You know, who or what forbids you from speaking to people. You know, that's something that we have to realize that it might be friendships that forbid you, might be people that are speaking into your life that actually are forbidding you to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved. It might be even family or it might be commitments that you have that are forbidding you to speak to the Gentiles. And there's a lot of reasons why people don't go soul-winning today. And you know, a lot of things this is something that says to fill up their sins alway. Anything that forbids you or anyone that forbids you from going and preaching to the Gentiles is in sin. You know, so you know, if we're forbidden to speak, the Gentiles won't get saved. And we've learned that from here.

Let's look at John 4:49. John 4:49. Let's continue our Bible from our Bible reading here says here the nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth. Then inquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house. So we see the nobleman needing to see a miracle and he sees it and he believes and it's exactly in the same hour when Jesus said it's going to happen. He believed with his whole family. Verse 54, this is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when he was come out of Judaea into Galilee.

So we see here that the Jews require a sign. That's something that we're going to see, you know, that you see in Corinthians that the Jews require a sign. And that's what he wanted to see. He wants to see a miracle. Okay, I'll believe on him after a miracle. So, let's look at 1 Corinthians 1:21. 1 Corinthians 1:21. The Bible says here, "For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." So God is actually pleased when people believe when we go and when they hear our preaching. So God is the way you know God is our only way of going and preaching to people. Preaching might seem foolish but God's way is the only right way you know and God has chosen the foolishness of preaching. God has chosen that going out there and speaking to the Gentiles. That's what God's chosen. And he's also chosen two by two from house to house and we go in and we preach the gospel.

And obviously I just read through you from the King James Bible. And there might be people that still kind of a bit stuck on like maybe the New King James might be okay. But let's look at this passage in the New King James to see how perverted it is. And let's quickly read it in the New King James. And the Bible says, "For since in the wisdom of God the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe." He's calling the message actually foolish. So it's like this translation is not to be used. The preaching of the cross is not foolish. The preaching of the cross is not foolish. Preaching it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching. You know what? What seems foolish? It's where we're walking. Maybe we get laughed at. Maybe we get mocked. We're going to people, hello, you know, can I show you what the Bible says about going to heaven? You know, it doesn't look very like wow, you know, or inspiring. That's what it's saying by the foolishness of preaching. It's not the message that we're showing people that's foolish. And we're King James only for a reason, you know. And I reckon when all you heard that passage read, it just sounds terrible, doesn't it? It's like, what is this?

1 Corinthians 1:22. Let's look at the next verse. It says, "For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God." So Christ is the power and the wisdom of God. You know, we don't stumble at the word. We're not those disobedient people that stumble at the word. We know that it pleases God to save them that believe. So, we're not going to stumble at that.

And we're going to the last place to turn. We still looked at Romans 10. Let's go back to Romans 10. The last place we're going to turn, Romans 10:13. So, I can just recap. And we saw, you know, from the beginning, we saw, we spoke about baptism. We spoke about calling upon the name of the Lord for salvation. And obviously, this is what we want to really understand that Romans 10 gives it perfect. It tells us everything that we need to be doing. We've already looked at the example of Jesus Christ, how he preached the gospel. And Romans 10 just puts it clear cut for us. Says in verse 13, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? So if you don't call upon the Lord in truth, you know, it's not going to help you. And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? So how are they going to hear? The Bible says, "And how shall they hear without a preacher?" If you're getting forbidden to speak to the Gentiles, they're not going to be saved. You know, how will they hear without a preacher? And how will they believe in whom they've not heard? And how shall they call upon him in whom they've not believed? So you see that progression there? That's what we're doing. We're showing people where the preacher first getting sent out. And it says in verse 15, "And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!" Sometimes we need to just realize that the Bible's just at face value. That's exactly what happens. I had Phil say to me, "No, we're really glad that you, you know, you're organizing this because it's actually getting me out soul-winning more." So realize it's like it's something that it's in the Bible. How shall they preach except they be sent? And then it's like nobody sends people. Just send them out and they're going to be preaching. And it's like, "Oh wow, we're preaching. Why? Because we've been sent. I've been sent by Pastor Stucky to be, you know, organizing these events, organizing the soul winning, and we're getting out there and we're seeing the results of it." You know God thinks also says here how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things. So God thinks our feet are beautiful when we preach the gospel. When we do what we do we bring to people we bring glad tidings of good things. You know I overheard someone that you know had a chat with Phil was having a chat with someone and he said you know this actually sounds like really good news what you're saying to me. you know, I'm not sure if you believed it or not, but he's saying, you know what, this sounds really good. Well, it says we're bringing glad tidings of good things. That's what we're doing. And the gospel is good news.

And I hope that this encourages all of us. We're going to be going to the mall to preach the gospel because of all the rain. So, we had to change that from our door to door. But let us continue to do that work faithfully. Let's continue going and preaching the gospel. And I just pray that God's going to help us. We're going to just close in a word of prayer. Father God, thank you so much for this passage, Lord, from John chapter 4. And I want to thank you, Lord God, that we can clearly see, Lord, the way that you present the gospel and the way that you were able, Lord God, to seek and to save those that are lost. Please help us, Lord God, to follow your footsteps and to be faithful soul winners. And I pray that you bless the remainder of our day with soul-winning and fellowship later on as well. We thank you all these things in Jesus name. Amen.