September 19, 1999
The Day of Great Opportunity

Text: John 4: 34-35
"My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest."

In spite of its wickedness, this is a day of great opportunity. This is a day where we can do great things for God. To make us aware of these opportunities the Bible says, "Open your eyes and look at the fields. They are ripe for harvest" (34). Let this truth register in your soul and great changes will take place in your life.

These words were spoken by Jesus to His disciples who were so self-centered and concerned about the less important matters of life they lost sight of what was going on around them. Jesus was trying to give them a broader picture of what He had in mind for them. Here is the setting in which Jesus confronted His disciples with this mighty challenge.

He was traveling through Samaria on His way from Judea to Samaria. It was high noon. He was tired and sat down outside the city of Sychar by Jacob's well. The disciples went off to town to buy food. Sitting there alone by the well a Samaritan woman came to draw water. "Would you give me a drink of water?" Jesus asked the woman. She was shocked that He, a Jew, would speak to her, a Samaritan woman. This led Jesus and the woman into a deeper conversation. In their short time together Christ described her life. She had been married five times and the man with whom she was living was not her husband. This knowledge of her past so astounded the woman and made her so uncomfortable that she began to talk about other secondary religious subjects such as where was the proper place to worship. She finally tried to end the conversation by making reference to the time when the Messiah would appear and all of their questions would be answered. It was then that Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."

The woman was not sure who Jesus was but she knew that He was no ordinary traveler. With the information that He claimed to be the Messiah she was off to tell her family and friends of her experience with Jesus. In the meantime the Lord's disciples returned and urged Jesus to eat. They were concerned about Him. He looked tired and weak. To take nourishment was necessary if they were going to remain physically strong. Jesus seems to have declined their invitation for lunch and said, "I have food to eat that you know nothing about." This was another of His statements which was difficult for the disciples to under- stand. Jesus continues, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish His work. I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest! In other words, the Lord pointed out to the disciples that this was a day of opportunity to do great things for God.

It wasn't long before the Samaritans arrived to meet this person who claimed to be the Savior of the world. The woman Jesus had talked with at the well had told them about this man who told her everything that she ever did. Then she raised the question, "Could this be the Messiah?" It was the woman's witness that brought them to Jesus. They needed to see for themselves. At their request, Jesus stayed with the Samaritans for two days and led them to a personal conviction that He was the Savior of the world.

This woman whom Jesus met at the well is more than a person he converted to be one of His people. She is a symbol of the masses of spiritually needy people in every generation who are saying in one way or another, "Give me water that can quench my thirst." (15). If Christ has quenched your thirst, He is speaking this Word to you, "Go tell your family and friends what I have done for you. Tell them that I alone am the Savior of the world."

This is the primary message that needs to come from the lips of Christians in our day, whether it be from the pulpit at a worship service or in our individual witness during the week.

Why then do we not use the opportunities better than we do in pointing people to Christ as the Samaritan woman did? Here are a few questions to stimulate our thinking.

1. Could it be that we have not met Christ ourselves? We have belonged to the Church for a number of years, know a great deal about Him, but have not met Him. If that be the case, then it makes sense that there would be other matters more important even in our religious life. There might be very important projects that are essential in making the denomination or congregation run more effectively but they are not the main issue of reaching out to the lost with the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ. We talk to people about the Christian life before they become Christians and it does not make sense to them. If my friend has lived in an unbelieving home and has learned to swear each time he opens his mouth, what good does it do for me to tell him to stop swearing? Profanity is a part of his vocabulary.

If two denominations working more closely together is a good witness for Christ in our world this is fine but it means very little to the person who does not know Christ. These two denominations mean no more to him or her than the Rotary and Lion's Clubs. We can have our secondary projects, but we cannot give them top priority. But if we do not believe that only in Christ is a person brought into a living fellowship with God, we will major in minor projects. It is a difficult question to answer but could it be that many who confess Christ as Savior are not sure that He alone is the only way into a living relationship with God? If that be the case then it is understandable that the Church is not fired up in spreading the Gospel.

2. As believers in Christ, have we open\ed our eyes to see the opportunities around us? Remember from our text, the disciples were more concerned about getting some food into Jesus' body than worrying about all those Samaritans. Does that describe us? There are many Christian people who are doing some marvelous things in the name of Christ and His Church but never talk to anyone about Christ. They work with the underprivileged people, and certain Jesus told us to do that, but they say little or nothing to them about Christ. We work with Moslem people who come to us from war-torn lands teaching them the English language, providing them with living quarters, and this we should do. Such effort is to be commended but it is also necessary to remember that the Moslem must be told about Jesus. It is true that in some cases we must first provide for the physical needs before we have an opportunity to tell about Christ, but if we never get to the point of sharing the Gospel, we have done little more than any non-Christian group could and are doing. Jesus is telling us to open our eyes to the primary mission of God's people to share Christ.

3. Have we grown discouraged in telling others about the Savior? We have tried so often with relatives and friends to be used by the Holy Spirit to bring them to Christ, but they will not listen. Often they become offended when we talk to them about their relationship with God.

4. Finally, we grow weary. Listen to Jesus at this point, "One sows and another reaps. I send you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labors" (38). How true it is that we might never see the fruits of our labors in telling others about Christ, but that does not mean it was done in vain. I can personally testify to the truth that I have often reaped where others have planted. During my years in the ministry it was a joy to watch people come to faith in Christ. When you began to share the Gospel with many of these people it was evident that faithful mothers and fathers had been diligent in teaching God's Word to their children in the formative years of their lives. The parents, with broken hearts, had seen them walk away from Christ and His Church. "Where have we gone wrong?" was their question. Then, years later, something happened and that Word came alive in their sons' and daughters' hearts. It is then that some of us have had the privilege of leading these people those last steps and watch them become great people of God. One sows and another reaps. Never forget that. Your labor is not in vain.

This is the day of great opportunity in Christ's Church. This good word spoken by our Lord will change our lives and give us new priorities if we will only permit Him to open our eyes and show us what a day of opportunity this is to be used by God to do great things for Him.

Amen.

Rev. Homer Larsen
Christian Crusaders