DRAWING NEAR
MAY 16
Friendship Evangelism
The twelve apostles included "Philip" (Matt. 10:3).
Philip was probably a fisherman and acquainted with Peter, Andrew,
James, John, Nathanael, and Thomas prior to their all becoming
disciples. We first meet him in John 1:43-46, which says, "The next
day [after Jesus encountered Peter and Andrew], He purposed to go
forth into Galilee, and He found Philip, and Jesus said to him,
'Follow Me.' Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and
Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, 'We have found Him of
whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth,
the son of Joseph. . . . Come and see.'"
Those brief verses reveal two things about Philip. First, he had a
seeking heart. Apparently he and Nathanael had studied the Scriptures
in anticipation of the Messiah's coming. When Jesus said, "Follow
Me," Philip was ready. Jeremiah 29:13 describes such a person: "You
will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your
heart."
Second, he had the heart of an evangelist. The first thing he did
after his own conversion was to lead Nathanael to Christ. Imagine his
joy as he told his friend about the One for whom they had searched so
long!
I believe friendships usually provide the best context for evangelism
because you're introducing Christ into an already established
relationship of love, trust, and mutual respect. After all, it's only
natural to share the joy of your salvation with someone you love.
I pray that your joy overflows to those around you and that they are
drawn to Christ because of your testimony.
Suggestions for Prayer:
Do you have unsaved friends? If so, be faithful in praying for their
salvation and asking the Lord to use you as an instrument of His
grace. If not, ask the Lord to bring unsaved people into your life so
you can tell them about Christ.
For Further Study:
The Samaritan woman Jesus met at Jacob's well spoke of Him not only
to her friends, but also to the entire city. Read John 4:1-42.
What analogy did Jesus use in presenting the gospel to her? How
did Jesus describe true worshipers? What was the reaction of the
city people to the woman's testimony?
Drawing Near, Copyright 1993 John F. MacArthur, Jr.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
http://www.gty.org
~~~
John 4:1-42 (NKJV)
4:1 Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that
Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John
2 (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples),
3 He left Judea and departed again to Galilee.
4 But He needed to go through Samaria.
5 So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the
plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
6 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from
His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give Me
a drink."
8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.
9 Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You, being
a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?" For Jews have no
dealings with Samaritans.
10 Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and
who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked
Him, and He would have given you living water."
11 The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and
the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water?
12 "Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and
drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?"
13 Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water
will thirst again,
14 "but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never
thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a
fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."
15 The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not
thirst, nor come here to draw."
16 Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here."
17 The woman answered and said, "I have no husband." Jesus said to
her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,'
18 "for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is
not your husband; in that you spoke truly."
19 The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.
20 "Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in
Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship."
21 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when
you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the
Father.
22 "You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for
salvation is of the Jews.
23 "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers
will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is
seeking such to worship Him.
24 "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit
and truth."
25 The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is
called Christ). "When He comes, He will tell us all things."
26 Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."
27 And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He
talked with a woman; yet no one said, "What do You seek?" or, "Why
are You talking with her?"
28 The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and
said to the men,
29 "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could
this be the Christ?"
30 Then they went out of the city and came to Him.
31 In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat."
32 But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not
know."
33 Therefore the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought
Him anything to eat?"
34 Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent
Me, and to finish His work.
35 "Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the
harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the
fields, for they are already white for harvest!
36 "And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal
life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.
37 "For in this the saying is true: 'One sows and another reaps.'
38 "I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others
have labored, and you have entered into their labors."
39 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."
40 So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay
with them; and He stayed there two days.
41 And many more believed because of His own word.
42 Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, 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."
~~~
These devotions are posted with permission from John MacArthur's
first (1993) devotional work, _Drawing Near_, and they are also sent
out daily for free to several folks via e-mail.
In addition, John's second (1997) devotional, _Strength for Today_,
is also available free via e-mail only. _Strength for Today_ follows
the same format as what you have seen here from _Drawing Near_, but
with different monthly themes.
If you would like to receive daily devotions via e-mail from either
of these series, just let me know (via e-mail), and I will gladly add
you to the list(s) of your choice.
You can hear John MacArthur daily via the Internet by visiting:
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In Christ,
Peter
Peter G. Chase :: Columbus, Ohio, USA
pchase1@wideopenwest.com
STOP! Who do you think Jesus is?
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To forgive is to set a prisoner free, and to discover that the prisoner was you. -Alistair Begg
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