KEY SCRIPTURE: John 4:25 KJV” The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.”

At this moment the Samaritan woman, was asking about the coming Messiah. She had put away the hostilities, misunderstanding and was now ready to accept the Messiah. What made the Lord so successful? The following was the approach and steps the Lord took to share the good news with her

1.The Lord started the conversation by asking her for water.

2. Although the woman sounded hostile, the Lord did not answer her in line with her answers but made reference to giving her living water.

3.The Lord kept talking about the great benefit of the living water.

4. The Lord led by the Spirit revealed her secret life to her.

5. She was now ready to talk about worship, the Lord corrected her about how to worship in truth and in Spirit.

6. By this time, she was also ready to receive the Messiah.

The above way of communicating the gospel is a very powerful means of bringing the gospel

 to others.

We could adapt it and use our approach. We may apply the following way.

1. Develop a conversation with the one you meet or visit

2. Turn your conversation from natural physical things to matters of the good news and life

3. Do not argue with the person, yet continue talking about the great saving power of the gospel through our Lord Jesus.

4. Ask the Holy Spirit for a specific word for the person

5. Be careful about how you communicate this personal message, though you can just state it if you are used to receiving such messages.

6. At this point he is ready to accept the Lord, Lead him then to Christ.

Dear one our Lord has called us to win our World for Him. Please make a decision today to win others for the master. Join the army of Christ committed to winning others into His kingdom. There are many ways of communicating the gospel so, develop your fellowship with the Spirit and take a stand for Christ in sharing His message to many. It is great privilege to be in the center of the will of God.

THOUGHT:  WISE IS HE WHO WINS THE LOST

FURTHER STUDIES

Prov. 11:30 KJV” The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.”

Dan 12:3 KJV” And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 4:24 KJV” God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

Our key scripture reveals that God is a Spirit.

Spirits are supernatural or immaterial beings, who exist in a state far and beyond this world of time, space and matter. Spirits have the ability to convert into material yet they are not material. They can appear in the natural world and disappear from it. Spirits function within a state of infiniteness and by higher laws than that of our material world.

 The finite mind cannot fully conceptualise the Spirit beings or the Spirit world (1 Corinth 1:21-23). Faith is what helps the natural beings to relate with the Spirit beings. Spirits must only reveal themselves to the natural beings before they can know them (John 1:18). The natural must accept the Spirit by faith (Heb 11:3).it is on this wise that God can be related to by faith (Heb 11:6). We must worship Him by faith.

Our heavenly father is the father of spirits and needs our absolute surrender. Heb 12:9 KJV” Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? Our heavenly Father is not just a spirit. He is the source of all spirits. We must worship Him and exalt Him above all.

An important point to notice is the influence of the Holy Spirit in worshipping the Lord. Christians have been made alive unto God, from the dead by the power of the Holy Ghost (Eph 2:1). The Holy Spirit, through our recreated Spirit enables us to worship the Father. It is the Holy Spirit who reveals the Father to us. John 14:16 KJV “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever;” We learnt in our earlier studies that worship must be done in Holiness. It is the Holy Spirit who sanctifies the believer for an acceptable worship.1Pe 1:2 KJV “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:” Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.”

 Every true worship of the child of God can only be done through the enabling of the Spirit. The man without Christ offers empty worship.  The Holy Spirit is our comforter or helper, so ask Him to lead you in your worship

THOUGHT:  WORSHIP IS DEMANDED BY GOD, BECAUSE, IT GIVES GOD HIS RIGHT PLACE IN OUR LIVES

FURTHER STUDIES

Isa 26:9 KJV “With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.”

Rom 8:26 KJV” Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 4:23 KJV “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.”

Spiritual worship is a worship based on the word of God and is inspired by the Spirit of God. It is a worship in faith. Faith   acknowledges that you are right in the presence of God as you worship. Such a person does everything for God, with conviction and certainty. He is not a religious worshipper. What is the difference between a religious worshipper and a spiritual one?

 The religious worshipper uses the act of worship as a means to please God or to have God’s approval over his life., but the spiritual worshipper does so as an appreciation of the many goodness of God as, well as a means of expressing God’s greatness unto Him.

A religious worshipper goes through the motions and tradition of worship without any sense of reality. The religious worshipper worship without any deep love and surrender to God.  Worship is a love affair and proceeds naturally from the heart of the spiritual worshipper.

The misery of religious worship is that it is dry and emotionless. The religious worshipper can leave the place of worship and tell lies without blinking his eyed. A religious worshipper leaves the place of worship to continue with a fight he had stopped in order to go to church.

 God has no use for religious worshippers, for no effort of man meets God’s approval. (Isaiah 64:6) It is only those who have acknowledged the mercy and grace of God, and counts on that only, can give God an acceptable worship (Eph 2:8,). If you are a religious worshipper then please repent and accept the grace of God demonstrated through our Lord Jesus Christ, so you can offer a true spiritual worship unto God.

It is a bliss of wonder to really offer a spiritual worship. (Ps 16:11) Your whole being gets enveloped in His presence. This makes God very real and worthy of our total surrender. It is at such a moment that we encounter supernatural provisions and God will surely communicate His mind to you. (Acts 13:2) God our father longs for such worshippers and our inner man also craves for it. Let nothing deprive you of true sincere worship unto the Lord.

THOUGHT: SPIRITUAL WORSHIP PLACES YOU IN THE CENTER OF GOD WILL

FURTHER STUDIES

Acts 13:2 KJV “As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.”

Psalms 16:11 KJV “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”

KEY SCRIPTURE; John 4:21 KJV “Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.”

When the Samaritan woman came to terms with who Jesus was, as well as the message Jesus was trying to communicate to her, she started talking about the Jew’s view about the appropriate place of worship. The Lord answered her by figuratively correcting her error about what worship is. Many people even now still do not understand what worshipping the Lord is. Many thinks worship is playing songs of praise in a slow mode. Others associate with the processes of observing a Christian service. This has made many to confine worship to some particular location. They say this is where we hold our worship.

What is worship? Worship is a practical or a demonstration of your praise unto God. In praises, we sing or talk about God’s greatness, power and His exaltation. In worship we act out these things. It is expressing one’s praise, by certain actions.  In bowing to Him, we are saying in a practical way that He is very great.

Worship is any form of demonstrating our praises unto God. Let’s consider Rom 12:1 from the International standard Version of the bible.” I therefore urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercies, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices that are holy and pleasing to God, for this is the reasonable way for you to worship. By this verse we see worship as everything we do to honour God our father. Even sweeping in the house of God or anywhere, could be an act of worship

 Worship in the Old Testament is the Hebrew word ‘Shackhah’, which means to bow down. Bowing down is a demonstration of your praise. Again, a more extensive meaning of worship, as seen in Rom 12:1 refers to everything we do to honor God. Worship unto the Lord must be done with a pureness of heart. Any act of worship without the purity of heart is no worship in the first place. Psalms 29:2 KJV” Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.”

Some acts of worship, involves dancing, clapping, bowing.2Sa 6:14 KJV “And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod.” Worshipping is therefore not limited to one particular location. It can and must be done anywhere and at any time. The whole lifestyle of a Christian is an act of praise unto God. We show that in all we do, yet when we come together as a body we demonstrate it through joyful jubilation in dancing, bowing down and any more.

THOUGHT:  TRUE WORSHIP IS HEAVEN’S PROTOCOL TO ACCESS ALL THAT GOĎ HAS FOR US.

FURTHER STUDIES

John 4:23 KJV “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.”

Gen 24:26 KJV “And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 4:19 KJV “The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.”

We have learnt in our previous studies that the walls of the church building is not the focus of the Christian activities, but rather to go out there where the sinners are.

 The walls of the church building is to bring us together, equip ourselves for the real Christian work. Your Christianity must be practised at your places of work.

Go to the homes, the market, the bars, where the sinners are. The Holy Spirit is the Lord of the harvest, and so He gives us success, as we depend on Him. (Matt 9:38) The Lord’s success came when the Holy Spirit began to probe deeply into the hidden life of the woman. She came to terms with what the Lord was saying and said, I perceive you are a prophet. She then started talking about the right ways to worshipping God.

How do we get the Holy Spirit to take over our evangelistic work? Ask the Holy Spirit to show you what to say. Ask Him to give you any specific information about the person you are talking to. If you have not mastered the ability to distinctively know the voice of the Spirit, do not tell your enquirer that he or she is this or that, as a message coming from the Holy Spirit. I mean, if you receive a word concerning the person, you are talking to, but you are new to hearing the voice of the Spirit, then be very cautious about how you go about it. You  can speak to the one in a figurative way about it. Just use the scriptures in line with what you have received about the person to talk to him or her.

 If the word is true about him, it would make a lot of sense to him.

If you just say this and that is what you are, but happens not to be the case, then you would have defeated yourself.

Be very tactful about giving prophetic statements to your enquirers. Remember, always ask the Spirit about what to say.  As you grow in knowing the voice of the Spirit, you would have the ability to speak specifically to the person about what the Holy Spirit says about them. This would bring greater success in winning the lost.

In this light I encourage all children of God, to encourage their fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord, to get committed to winning men for Christ. Dear child of God, as much as we may want our churches to be filled up, the whole world lies before us, yet to be touched with the power of God. Once again it is a very big mistake for Christians to confine all our activities within the four walls of our churches. Jesus did not do that, and we must follow the path of our Lord. Go out there where the sinners are.

THOUGHT:  OUR WORLD WOULD HAVE BEEN TURNED RIGHT SIDE UP, IF THE CHURCH HAS CONCENTRATED OUR ACTIVITIES OUT THERE WHERE THE SINNERS ARE

FURTHER STUDIES

Acts 17:6 KJV” And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;”

Acts 4:33 KJV” And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 4:16 KJV” Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.”

Prophetic evangelism

(That is revealing the unknown matters of an individual)

always gets the most hardened sinner spot on, and brings them on their knees to surrender to the king of Kings. The Lord in the course of the discussions with the woman, went prophetic by asking the woman to go and call her husband. The woman said I have no husband. The Lord answered, that you have said the truth, because you have had five husbands, and the man with you at the moment is not your husband. You have indeed said the truth. She remarked, I perceive or can understand that, you are a prophet. I believe the Lord will want every child of God doing evangelism to function this way.

Many sinners would come to terms with the power and presence of God, if children of God would allow the Holy Spirit to work this way in their lives. The Lord said, as the Father has sent me, even so have I sent you. John 17:18. If we have all been given similar missions, then the abilities to fulfill it, should not differ. Why are most Christians not functioning in the supernatural power of the Spirit? It is as a result of a lower fellowship with the Holy Spirit.

Please note that, manifesting the supernatural power of the Spirit, has two dimensions.

1. Through the gift of the Spirit 1 Corinth 12:1-8

2. Through one’s developed Spirit man. 1 Corinth 14:4,14

 The Lord did not just function by the gifts of the Spirit, he functioned by building his Spirit man through fellowship with the Spirit.

This was seen in His deep prayer life. Please take notice of the following verse.1Corinth 14:4 KJV” He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth (builds up) himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.”

The man who prays in tongues or by the Spirit builds himself up. What aspect of himself does he built up? His Spirit man of cause. Every man is a Spirit, possesses a soul, and lives within a body 1 Thess 5:23. You can build up your spirit man, by practicing the things of the Spirit.1 Timothy 4’8 speaks of bodily exercise that has profit limited to the natural human body. Godliness that involves practicing the things of the Spirit, like prayer, fasting, studying God’s word in an intensive way, will definitely build up one’s spirit to catch or know whatever the Spirit wishes to reveal to an individual.

To be more effective in evangelism, we must engage more in the things of the Spirit.  The focus of Christian activities is not mainly about meeting in church, it is about manifesting Christ to a lost world.

We meet up in church as a place of equipping ourselves, for the work of the ministry; which is reaching out to the world. Ephesians 4:12. It is time the church of God reorients itself concerning her mission on the earth.

THOUGHT:  BUILD YOURSELF TO WIN A LOST WORLD

FURTHER STUDIES

Ephesians 4:11 ,12 KJV” And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:”

Jude 1:20 KJV” But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,”

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 4:11 KJV “The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?”

(We are still drawing lessons from Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman)

The Lord talked to her about the gift of God, that is the living water that will satisfy her thirst forever, yet, she was thinking purely about natural conditions. She asked, you don’t have any means of drawing out the water. Please note, the man without Christ is totally natural and is very oblivious to anything spiritual. Let us always learn from the master. He did not try to prove anything from the natural point of view. Your message is the word of God, and you must focus on the saving power of the word.

The Lord said the following John 4:13 KJV, Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again…  He added ,”but whosoever that would drink the water that I  give will never thirst again”. You must always bear in mind that it is the Holy Spirit who can convert an individual, and we must strictly follow His leading to bring the truth home to the individual. This is the reason we must pray diligently for the people we share the gospel with. From the Lord’s answers, we see that, He kept emphasising His superiority and His ability to bless, or save. He said the water He gives shall be in the one who receives it, a well of living water unto eternal life. No one ever spoke like our master Jesus. He said I have the ability to give eternal life.

When the woman kept hearing the wonderful and amazing things that Jesus could give her, she asked Him to give her the living water. Would this Samaritan woman have asked the master to give her the living water, if the Lord had tried to confront her error, and explained to her, about her lack of understanding.? All these things would not have mattered. I want to emphasize that, you must keep talking about the Lord’s ability to save. The word of God is the tool of the Spirit to save the lost. Human reasoning dies not save.

THOUGHT: KEEP TALKING ABOUT THE GOOD NEWS, FOR THAT RELEASES GOD’S POWER TO SAVE”

FURTHER STUDIES

Rom 1:16 KJV “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

John 4:15 KJV “The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 4:10 KJV “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.”

The Lord answered the woman’s negative remarks with a very positive message. He focused on himself as the gift of God, who is the Saviour of mankind.  He was presenting the truth and not fighting the error.

He did that by beautifully presenting himself as the ultimate solution to the heart cry of man.

 Men would feed on what is given to them, if you give solutions, they would take it, and if it is argument, they would go for it.

Do not spend time arguing with people. Project the super exceeding great power of our Lord Jesus Christ. Talk about his power to set men free from the bondage of sin, sicknesses and even the power of death. If he has a physical deformity, please do not be afraid to assure him, Jesus is present with you and will correct that deformity. I once met a man, on my usual personal evangelism work. This man had a hearing impediment. I assured him that, the Jesus I have come to talk to him, about is present with me, and will correct that problem. I checked to confirm that, he was really suffering from that condition. I then rebuked the demon to leave him. This man who had suffered from this condition for some years now, could hear perfectly from both ears. He immediately accepted my message.

Project Christ as the giver of peace. Eph 2:14 KJV “For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;” Tell your enquirer that if he has a troubled heart, the Lord Jesus would instill peace in him. Tell him that Jesus is the lamp of God, who took away our sins. No matter how sinful he has been Jesus will wash away all his sins. Isa 1:18 KJV “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Whatever you have done does not matter, because you were dead in your sins, today receive Jesus and have life.

Tell him that Jesus will set him or her free from addiction or any demonic bondage. Jesus said He came to set the captives free. If your life has been messed up by demons, that keep tormenting you, in your dream life, Jesus can set you free. I met a lady who shared her ordeal with demon spirits in the night, with me. She said, at certain nights a being or Spirit comes to sleep with her. This developed into an incurable urinary tract disease. Her life was very miserable. I shared the good news of our Lord Jesus with her and prayed with her. From that time, the night visitor stopped coming, and the urinary tract disease also stopped.

Back to our Lord Jesus and the Samaritan woman, He projected His superiority over ordinary water, make sure you bring Christ ability to save from all bondages to your enquirer.

If you have a condition that requires the Lord’s saving power, then receive this prayer by faith.

PRAYER

In the mighty name of Jesus, be loosed from any, and every bondage of the devil, RIGHT NOW. Be made completely whole in Jesus’ name. Amen.

FURTHER STUDIES

John 10:10 KJV “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

Hebrews 13:8 KJV” Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 4:10 KJV” 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.”

In our discussion of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman, the woman reacted repulsively to the Lord’s first statement. The Lord Jesus did not give up talking to her.

 When an enquirer repels your introductory statement, please don’t give up, ask the Holy Spirit for the appropriate word to follow up on the first one. The Lord Jesus took the conversation from the ordinary material things like water into the supernatural as living water that makes the drinker never to be thirsty again. Anytime you engage anyone in sharing the word please be in charge of the conversion. Do not allow the enquirer to control the discussion, with strange things. Bring everything back to the course you have planned

Now, in case you introduced the gospel to a neighbour asking him, ‘ that, what is next after he died? He may say that, after one dies that is the end of everything. (This answer means he is not saved) You can help him by telling him that, when one dies, it means the Spirit has left his body, for it is the presence of the Spirit in the man that gives him or her life. Jas 2:26 KJV” For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” What will happen to his Spirit that has now left his body?

 It will go to heaven, if he accepted Jesus, or go to hell if he did not.

Read the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-30. Explain to him that, this is a real event, that occurred because the Lord referred to real names. Jesus would not use names of people and the Fathers if the event is not a true story.

 The rich man died as a sinner and so was carried into hell.

Luke 16:22 KJV.  ” And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;” Explain to him that Apostle Paul says if he (as a child of God) dies or leaves this body he will be with the Lord in Heaven Philippians 1:23, 2 Corinth 5:1.

From the above exposition, the only way for him to escape eternal damnation in hell is to receive forgiveness of sins and life from Jesus, by believing in Jesus. Joh 3:16 KJV ” For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Show Him how to accept Jesus into his life. He must do the following

1. Accept he is a sinner who needs a Saviour Rom 3:23

2. Repent of his sins

3. Believe in Jesus Mark 6:12

4. Accept Him by confessing him as Lord. Rom 10:9,10

All these could be summarised in the following verse.

Rom 10:9 KJV” That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

Tell him if he will do what Rom 10:9 says, he would be sure of where he would be going after death.

He may say the following prayer after you.

PRAYER

Dear Lord Jesus, I believe you died for my sins, and you rose again for my justification, I confess you as my Lord and accept you as my Saviour.

FURTHER STUDIES

John 3:3 KJV “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

John 1:12 KJV” 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:”

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 4:9 KJV “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.”

When the Lord requested for water, the woman said, how come that you a Jew ask me a Samaritan to give you water. Don’t you know we Samaritans and the Jews have nothing in common? The woman raised a barrier to any further comment from the Lord. She was saying in effect, we have nothing doing with you, and so don’t talk to me. Her response was simply negative.

Responses vary as there are a number of humans. As we meet people to share the gospel with them, they would put up varying responses. Responses fall within two extremes. It would either be negative or positive. Most people express a rather receptive attitude towards the word of God. They are ready to hear what the scriptures teach. To do what the bible says is the real challenge. This is where your prayers must bring about, the changes.

Negative responses are always not the same. There are those who would just be very cold towards you. They would not express complete outrage, but would not listen attentively. Their attitude is that, just finish speaking and let me go ahead with what I’m doing. To such people let them respond to questions you pose to them. If you do the talking alone, without any feedback, he or she would just close the mind and would not hear or follow you in any way.

There are also those who would negatively respond by opposing the very foundation of the word of God. They have preconceived notions about the scriptures. Don’t be hysterical about such people, I have realised that most people who oppose the word do not read the whole passage, but would just read a line or two and generalise the whole thing. To answer such people please read the whole chapter and you would see the right answer there. Such outright opposes are in the minority.

Always be ready for any response. In the Jesus story, the woman’s negative response did not stop the master, but rather He used it to go to His next point. Your concern in sharing the gospel is not to win an argument but to help the individual, make a decision for Jesus. The Holy Spirit is always ready to help us. Trust that He would assist you to give the right answers to your enquirers. Amen

THOUGHT:  BE EVER READY TO GIVE OUT THE GOSPEL

FURTHER STUDIES

March 16:15 KJV “”And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”

2Timothy 4:2 KJV “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”