Experiencing the Gospel: A Life Transformed

Last time we met, we listened in on the conversation between Jesus and the woman at the well. Jesus gave her the good news about Himself and the freedom to worship in Spirit and truth.

What she does next shows us the power of God’s transforming word. She left her water pot and ran into the city to tell them the good news. Jesus planted His word in her heart, and she bore witness because the word prompted her to ask them to come and see.

Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I did. Could this be the Messiah? They came out of the town and made their way toward Him. John 4:28 NIV.

God is invisible and divine. He is life-giving and unknowable unless God reveals Himself, and He did. Such knowledge is too profound to keep to yourself.

Gospel in Action

Meanwhile, back at the well, the disciples have returned. They’re surprised to see the woman, but say nothing. Oblivious to what is happening, they’re more concerned with feeding Jesus, for they know He’s hungry. Jesus refocuses their attention.

“My food,” said Jesus, “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. Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so the sower and the reaper may be glad together.” John 4:34-36 NIV.

The gospel was “in action,” and they didn’t see it.

The invitation to believe is for those who hear the good news. The Holy Spirit gently approaches the sinner and kindly informs them that they need a Savior. They need to be reconciled to God, to be forgiven, and to allow Him to redeem them.

Gospel Personified

A restored relationship with the Lord empowers us to rejoice and persuade others to come and see the Messiah for themselves. One sows and another reaps in the move of the gospel.

Isn’t this the will of the Lord?

They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because you said; no, we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.” John 4:42 NIV.

The transformed soul is perfect for evangelizing. People will absolutely see a changed life. The woman at the well received spiritual insight that propelled her to tell others. Revelation of Christ Himself leaves the soul new, refreshed, and loved.

Gospel Experienced

It’s not the sort of thing you gain from secondhand experience. Believe it yourself. Having been unseen, it is now seen. Once unheard, and now heard. Once unknown and now known. This is the gospel in action. Salvation is personal.

Who wouldn’t joyfully share this good news?

And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. 1 John 4:14 NIV.

Supernatural knowledge or intimate understanding of the Holy changes us. Something of eternal value takes the place of what seemed so important before. By her testimony alone, the other Samaritans came to Jesus, physically and spiritually, seeking the truth.

He did not disappoint.

Jesus stayed there two days, and many more believed, not just because the woman told them, but because of their own first-hand experience.

Gospel Produces Faith

The Word of God proceeded from the lips of the Son of God. God’s word stimulates faith. They heard, they saw, and they believed. The Savior was not for the Jews alone, but for everyone.

Chapter 4 of John’s Gospel offers a glimpse of what happens when the Spirit empowers people to share the good news. We see in a real and personal way the sower and reaper rejoicing.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” Rom 1:16-17 NIV.

Look!

An effective transforming force propelled the unbeliever to believe. The lost is found. Like someone rescued from a burning house or drowning in the deepest sea, the Savior saves.

God’s deliverance of sinners from the eternal consequences of sin is real. Believers trust in and rely on the truth: Jesus Christ, the Messiah, is the Savior of the world. This invitation is open to everyone, with no exclusion.

Christ Jesus reveals the heart of God: He loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

Gospel Harvest

What’s planted in the soul: knowing Christ personally and intimately reaps a harvest of joy as we journey to the heart of God.

When we learn the truth about Christ, we’re amazed at His intimate knowledge of our hearts. He wants to save us more than we want to be saved. Who can rescue us from ourselves other than the Lover of our souls?

The believer, once marked for destruction, bears the mark of the Holy Spirit – the Giver of life through Jesus Christ!

Let the sower and the reaper rejoice!

In Conclusion

Once you discover for yourself the power of the Gospel, you can’t keep it to yourself. You want to share it. If our hearts are unchanged and our lives are still in sin, then it is impossible to draw near to Jesus.

Before we met Christ, it was an unrequited love, but now it’s mutual.

The gospel is alive, active, and life-changing. Praise the Lord? Can you see it?