And He Had To

John 4:4 “And He had to pass through Samaria.”

John 5:19 “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of His own accord, but only what He sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.”

Matt 3:17 “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

John 4:7 There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.”

John 4:9 The Samaritan woman said to Him, “How is it that You, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria? (for Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)”

John 6:35 “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, & whoever believes in Me shall never thirst.”

Ps 46:10 “Be still, & know that I am God.”

Eph 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”

Eph 2:5 “Even when we were dead in our trespasses, [God] made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved.”

Luke 12:12 “For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

Matt 10:20 “For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”

Jn 4:39-42 Many Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to Him, they asked Him to stay with them, & He stayed there two days. And many more believed because of His Word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, & we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

John 4:28-29 So the woman left her water jar & went away into town & said to the people “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”

Here is what we need to develop & keep in mind as we encounter people in our outreach:

Presence – if we encounter someone for a few minutes, make sure they feel like you are spending time with them.

Prayer – make sure you do not rely on habitual patterns of setting up, & that you & the team are prayed up. Pray for all unbelievers you encounter, with them & once they leave. Watch for all opportunities to share Christ.

Plan – be careful with routine; develop a Spirit-inspired strategy to reach people.

Preparation – don’t wing it; prepare to be more effective at sharing your faith by thinking about your own relationship with the Lord. If you need to make adjustments in your walk, that too is preparation.

Persistence – don’t give up! Where you are is where God has called you to be. Use the words of John 4:4 “And He had to pass through Samaria.” Is there an urgency in your ministry? Are you where you have to be?