John Chapter 4:39-42

God wants to use you.

He wants to use everybody in this room. And guys, if just half of us would commit to spreading the good news, we would turn the triad right side up. Look who the Lord used in here. One lady with a shady past. Well, it's a good thing she didn't know that God doesn't use people like that. It's a good thing nobody told her that God wouldn't use somebody like that. Well, it's a good thing that she didn't know God doesn't use people who've been divorced. Good thing Jesus didn't realize she had been divorced, huh?

No, He knew, and He used her anyway. You know, whether your past is shameful or colorful or horrible or good, it doesn't limit what God wants to do with you now. Welcome to Cross the Bridge with David McGee. David is the senior pastor of The Bridge in Kernersville, North Carolina.

Today, we have a special guest in our studio. Welcome, Pastor DA Brown. Bob, God wants us to be contagious, not contagious with the cold, but contagious with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And the more we fall in love with Jesus, the more excited we are about telling others. Listen to this. Listen to your passion. Get fired up to tell other people about Jesus.

That sounds good, DA. And as we do that, we'll impact the lives of those around us in ways that we can't even imagine. So now, let's listen as David McGee continues his teaching, Make a Difference. Now, we've been talking about the woman at the well in John chapter four. We've been going through the chapter here. Verse 39 says, And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him.

Because of the word of the woman who testified, He told me all that I ever did. Again, guys, look who Jesus is using. You keep coming back to that, Pastor. Right, I do.

You know why? Because I don't think we get it. I don't think we realize that God wants to use you. I mean, we look at pastors and go, well, yeah, you know, God wants to use Him. And sometimes we even make the mistake of thinking, well, it's obvious why God wants to use Him. And sadly, some pastors go on and on about why God is using them. Because they're this, because they're that, because they're so highly educated. I had nothing against education, and I studied the Word, and I've studied it for years.

But I think when we use that as a reason not to be active in serving the Lord, that's not what God intended. Look where He picked these disciples from. Did He pick them from Jerusalem, from the schools of the rabbis?

No. Eleven of them came from the Galilee region, which was known for, well, modern-day English for their partiers. That's where the partiers hung out.

That's where the people who weren't really interested in spiritual things hung out. Oh, He did get one from Judea. That was Judas. God wants to use the foolish the foolish things to confound the wise. He wants to use every person in here. Do you realize that to God nobody is unusable? Look at Peter. When he denied Jesus, did Jesus go, well, you know what, you're done. You're just, it's not going to work out for you. I'm sorry.

We're going to have to let you go. That's not what he did. He actually went out of his way as they were sent. He said, go to the disciples and Peter, special invite for the guy who denied the Lord. The amazing thing is that from Peter's denial made him usable. Before the denial, God couldn't use him. You know why? Because Peter had a lot of pride. He had a lot of spiritual pride.

You can see it in the discussions. You know, are you guys going to leave me? And Peter would say, well, you know, maybe all these guys, but not me, Lord.

But when Peter broke, when Peter realized he could no longer put faith in Peter, man, Peter became a great tool in the hands of the master. So where that describes you, maybe you're still in religious pride. Maybe you're sitting out there this morning going, why is God using that guy? You know, if you ask anybody else here, they'll go, I don't know. I mean, still give you the same answer I do. Or maybe you're in a place where you've been through a hard time and you messed up and you've denied the Lord.

And maybe you're thinking you're unusable because of that. Nothing could be further from the truth. You've come to the place where your pride and your trust is not in your flesh. See, and often Christians do this. They put their trust in their ability to follow the Lord.

Don't do that. Put your trust in the Lord's ability to lead you. See, if you put your trust in your ability to follow the Lord, you're going to live a Christian life that is filled with disillusionment and perhaps bitterness. But if you have your trust in Him to lead you, man, it's going to be just a joyous adventure as you follow the Lord as He continually pulls you back into the path when you wander off.

And one of the reasons this excites me, one of the reasons I get excited about this passage and some similar passages and the fact that God has done a work in my life and has done a work in other people's life is because, well, it's just the awesome thing about being a Christian. You never know when God's going to show up. You never know who God's going to use. And if He saved me, there's nobody He can't save. And if He saved one, He can save them all. Do you realize there's not one person that you know that is beyond the reach of the Gospel, the very one that you're tempted to look at and go, man, no way would He ever come to the Lord? That's the one God wants to use.

This is just awesome stuff. I mean, to realize you never know when God's going to save somebody. There may be somebody sitting in here this morning that's not saved that when we finish up will be saved. There may be more than one. You can live in the constant expectation that God is going to do something radical in your life.

And let me assure you, I've seen it time and time and time again, just when you think the night is endless, just when you think it is so dark that you'll never see the light again, the dawn breaks and the Lord intervenes and He comes into your situation and He breaks the bondages and He shatters the darkness. And that's an exciting way to live. That's the expectation I live in. I'm not going, eh, I hope I make it by the skin of my teeth.

I hope I get in. How you doing? I'm just hanging on. And then you're wondering why more people don't want to come to the Lord. That doesn't get me excited to see somebody, eh, I'm just hanging on.

I'm trying. I used to be happy and then I got saved. And this people getting saved and people being touched, it hasn't happened just once in John 4. We're seeing it week in and week out, people getting saved, lives being changed.

I don't want to be that anyway. And now, you know, I constantly, the Eeyore thing, because that is so appropriate, but there's so many Christian Eeyores, that'll never work. We used to have one that went here and I think it was just to keep me dependent upon the Lord. Every time I would present a plan and say, hey man, we're excited.

You know, we were all in the old building, we ended up adding three services and I mean, we were all slammed into a little teeny room and, you know, and I'd say, hey man, we're going to add another service here. Nobody's going to come. No, you know, I really feel, I mean, I feel like this is a God thing. I really feel like it's the Lord to do this.

That's not the Lord. I don't want to be an Eeyore. I want to be a Tigger. Amen. The world has enough Eeyores. What the world needs is some Christian Tiggers.

I'm going to go watch some more Pooh movies and get that bounce thing down, man. You know, people are looking for truth. They are looking for truth. And yes, we have to present sin. We have to talk about sin. We have to talk about the need for the Messiah and our sinful nature and our fallen nature, but we don't stop there. And this woman probably got uncomfortable with the conversation that Jesus had, but he didn't stop there. He gave the answer.

He is the answer. Do you realize why Christians aren't afraid to talk about their past? It's because when they come to Jesus, their past is gone. It no longer matters. See, that's how, you know, I can talk about the fact that I used to mess up.

Why? Because my past is no longer painful because of Jesus, I'm able to say goodbye to my past. I'm not stuck in some cycle. I've been set free of all that bondage, all the mistakes, all the failures, all the pain. Jesus says, we're done with that. That's why they call it the good news. Amazing.

All our mistakes, boom, gone. Verse 40, so when the Samaritans had come to him, they urged him to stay with them. And he stayed there two days and many more believed because of his own word. See, they heard the words of Jesus, and it is critical. It is absolutely critical that as believers, and especially as new believers, that we get into the word of God, that new believers are placed in a church that teaches the word of God. And when we were traveling around all over the country and we were seeing a lot of people come to the Lord, it was hard sometimes knowing they were going to be attending a fellowship that didn't teach the Bible. Oh, they taught out of the Bible. I mean, they, you know, would teach a verse or two on Sunday morning, but they weren't actually in the scriptures. Verse by verse, chapter by chapter. We had people call us back and say, hey, you know what? My youth leader said this born again thing is just an emotional experience that's not necessary.

Man, you ought to talk about breaking my heart. The word of God is important. So often in scripture, you see the teaching of the word of God brings about revival. And here the revival comes about, this one woman's testimony. And in it, not only did she get changed, but look at that. She's changing her world. She's changing her world. You know how the world can get changed? If each of us change our world, our particular sphere of influence, if you will, if each of us is willing to step out in faith and see God do a work in our lives, it would blow your minds to know what God wants to do with you.

And it's good. We'll be right back with more from David McGee on Cross the Bridge. Right now, here's a word from associate pastor D.A.

Brown. Hey, Bob, we're excited to be here and listen to the teaching. I want to pray for some people in our listening audience today, specifically these cities in California, Rincon, Rio Linda, Salinas, San Ardo, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara.

God, we thank you for the people in these cities today. We pray that they would tune in and be encouraged in your word. Lord, help them have an open heart that you want to speak directly to them. God, that you want to forgive them of all their sins.

And Lord, you want to use them to be a blessing to other people so others can be forgiven too. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.

Thank you, brother. And now, let's get back to David McGee as he continues teaching verse by verse. Verse 42. Then they said to the woman, now we believe it, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world. That's awesome because we've gone from early in the chapter Jesus talking about salvation as of the Jews to them realizing that the door is now open for them, for Gentiles. Gentile is anybody who's not Jewish.

It's not closed on the Jewish people, but it's now open to the Gentiles. And they heard the words of Jesus, and it caused them to believe. Jesus is the Savior of the world. He's not just the Savior of people in Kernersville or of North Carolina or of the United States. God's not just doing a work in America.

He's doing a work all over the world. And guys, we need to realize and understand, I think a lot of the ecumenical stuff is very, very dangerous today. And that's every church everywhere joining together despite their differences. There's churches out there that don't believe what I believe about salvation. I can't join hands with them.

Now, we can disagree on some of the other things, but not on the central issues. But do you understand that we, along with unbelievers, we share one simple thing? We all need a Savior. We all need a Messiah. And Jesus is the only true Savior. We have this bond, if you will, this identification with everybody we see and we meet. And the moment we begin to arrogantly think, I've got it and you don't, something's gone wrong.

Something's gone horribly wrong. See, whether somebody is here this morning listening on the radio, listening through the internet, or on the other side of the world, Jesus is their Savior. He desires to save them. If only they will come to Him. If only, and this is the thing, anybody who's willing to humble themselves can be included in the plan of salvation, all those who willfully stand in pride will be left out.

It's the humble. Those willing to say, you know what, I have messed up. I do need forgiveness. I do need a Savior.

And let me say something bold here. If it offends you, then you probably need to hear it more. God has no use for Christian snobs. He has no use for Christian snobs. And you know what, as a pastor, I see too much of that going on.

I see people who look down their noses at people who need salvation as if they didn't need it, as if they weren't as desperate for the forgiveness of their sins. Man, that's just wrong. That's just wrong. And I know, I mean, people have come to me and they've said, you know what, I'm not comfortable with a pastor who talks about the fact that he sins sometimes.

You might want to go somewhere else. Now, I'm not approving of my sins. I hate my carnal nature. I'm not approving of your sins. I'm not saying you're okay with your sins. No, we need to be sanctified. We need to be drawn close to the Lord. But you know what, the fact that I remember that I'm a sinner helps me to reach out to those that have not received his amazing grace yet. And the only way a Christian can make himself unusable is pick up this snobbery, pick up this pride. It stinks in the nostrils of God.

And it's an interesting thing. Early on, you think, well, yeah, Jesus died for some people, but you don't think it includes you. And then you come to that day where you go, oh, you know what, Jesus died for me, that I can be forgiven.

But then you're supposed to mature. From that to you know what, Jesus died for the world. He died that he would reach other people. And you begin to be involved in that and reaching out.

I want to give you a few scriptures. We're going to run through them pretty quick. Some of you are familiar with them. This is called the Roman road. If you've got a pen and you've got a piece of paper, then jot these down. If you don't have a piece of paper, write in your Bible. It's okay to write in your Bible, okay? Even though you're not King James, it's okay to write in your Bible and take notes.

It's a good thing. Roman, this is called the Roman road. If you'll write these down and if you write them in your Bible, see, then you've got them in your Bible. And then if you're sitting with somebody, you can say, hey, let me share some verses with you. This lays out the plan of salvation. Romans chapter 3 10, as it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one.

Now we're going to move quickly through. Romans 3 23, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans chapter 5 8, but God demonstrates his own love towards us and that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5 12, therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world and death through sin and thus death spread to all men because all sinned.

In other words, when Adam fell, we all fell. Romans 6 23, for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ, Jesus, our Lord. Two more Romans 10, nine and 10, that if you confess with your mouth, the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart, that God has raised them from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes unto righteousness and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation. I want to point out something says, confess and believe, and you will be saved. It doesn't mention baptism.

It doesn't mention abiding or being faithful. Believe, confess, receive. Romans 10 13 says, for whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. And that's the Roman road.

Write it down. You may even want to memorize some of these verses, but that's enough to lead somebody to a prayer of salvation. And God wants to use you.

He wants to use everybody in this room. And guys, if just half of us would commit to spreading the good news, we would turn the triad right side up. Look who the Lord used in here. One lady with a shady past. Well, it's a good thing she didn't know that God doesn't use people like that. It's a good thing nobody told her that God wouldn't use somebody like that. Well, it's a good thing that she didn't know God doesn't use people who've been divorced. Some of you woke up on that one, didn't you? Good thing Jesus didn't realize she had been divorced, huh? No, he knew. And he used her anyway.

You know, whether your past is shameful or colorful or horrible or good, it doesn't matter. It doesn't limit what God wants to do with you now. One of Jesus' favorite words has come. In Isaiah 55 one, he says, Does anyone thirsty come and drink?

John 7 37, he says, If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. And notice that these people who heard the woman, they didn't just stop there. They went and they heard the words of God and they got plugged into God. How many people have gotten saved because of this one woman? At that time and over the years, people who have referred to this passage, people who've heard it taught that were drawn to the Lord. One woman who was willing to leave or pass behind and instead of being trapped by our failures was set free to share the good news. Not only impacted her life but impacted the lives of others. That's our final life lesson.

Our faith should not only impact our life but the lives of those around us. This is what's supposed to happen. The saying is, Healthy sheep reproduce healthy sheep. We're compared to sheep in the Scriptures. This is something that is a normal thing.

This is not abnormal. This is what's supposed to be happening in the life of every Christian, of every believer. Acts chapter 1 8, 1 verse 8 says, But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.

Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth. That word power is dunamis. It's where we get our word for dynamite. We need the power of the Holy Spirit to tell others. And I guess there's three kinds of people here this morning. There's people who for the first time I've heard, you mean it's not about being the best you can be? It's not about earning your way into heaven? It's not about doing the best you can and hoping for the best?

No, it's not. Do you even, would you consider that good news? If you've been painting that picture, I'm sorry, but it's a false one. That doesn't infuse me with hope when somebody says, If you just try harder, God will accept you. That's the good news? No, the good news is He's asking you to come this morning, just as you are. He understands. He understands you've messed up. He understands you've made mistakes. He understands that you've failed, but He still makes the invitation to you. And there's two other people groups, I guess, in here.

One would be those who say, You know what? I am saved, but you know what? I'm not doing what I'm supposed to be doing for the kingdom. I've been freshly convicted this morning from God's word that I'm supposed to be sowing, and I desire to have God's power in my life so that I can be witness. See, we talk about the Holy Spirit doing this and doing that. This is a key verse. It tells us why we get filled with the Spirit so that we can be witnesses. And there's a third group, a group that frightens me, a group that knows the grace, knows the forgiveness, and doesn't care about the lost.

That frightens me. I don't understand it. I don't understand somebody not wanting to be a part of what God is doing. I don't understand somebody that could look at somebody who's having a hard time in sin and not offer them the hope that Jesus gave them.

I hope that doesn't describe you this morning. And if it does describe you, my prayer for you this morning is that God will break your hard heart so that you might weep and pray over the lost. We're supposed to be like Jesus, and it was Jesus, His love for the world that drove Him to the extreme in the agony of the cross. Do we cry over the lost? Do we pray over the lost?

Probably not enough. And with every beat of our heart, 60, 70 times a minute, with every beat of our heart, a lost person is slipping off into an eternity without God. May the Lord forgive us as individuals and corporately for not sharing the good news more than we do. But maybe you're sitting here this morning and you've never heard the gospel like this.

You never heard that you come to Him and He doesn't work. You've been thinking you've got to be so good for so long, then you can come to the Lord. Friend, that's not the good news. The good news is you can come this morning with your burdens, with your mistakes, with your failures, and you can be forgiven. And that's the invitation Jesus gives you. Friend, do you know for sure that your sins have been forgiven?

You can know right now. I want to lead you in a short, simple prayer, simply telling God you're sorry and asking Him to help you to live for Him. Please pray this prayer with me out loud right now. Dear Jesus, I believe you died for me, that I could be forgiven. And I believe you were raised from the dead, that I could have a new life. And I've done wrong things. I have sinned.

And I'm sorry. Please forgive me of all those things. Please give me the power to live for you all of my days. In Jesus' name.

Amen. Friend, if you prayed that prayer according to the Bible, you've been forgiven. You've been born again. So congratulations, friend.

You just made the greatest decision that you will ever make. God bless you. If you prayed that prayer with David for the first time, we'd love to hear from you. You can visit crossthebridge.com to receive our First Steps package with helpful resources to help you begin your walk with Christ.

Or you can write to Cross the Bridge at P.O. Box 12515, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 27117, and share how God is working in your life. Well, DA, before we go, what are some ways that we can bless our listeners?

That sounds good, Pastor DA. And again, it's been great to have you with us on the program today. But tell us, what else can our listeners find on crossthebridge.com? If you're not able to make it to the end of the program, why not join us for our live stream at 10 a.m. Eastern Time, or on Thursday nights at 7 p.m. Eastern Time? Just visit crossthebridge.com and click on our live stream link. There, you'll experience a live service from David's Home Church, The Bridge, in North Carolina. Again, that website is crossthebridge.com. Thanks again for listening, and join us next time as David McGee continues teaching verse by verse in the Gospel of John.