Will You Be My Mouthpiece?
- Heidi Eva Jones
- Feb 28, 2023
- 9 min read
Volume 12 Issue 2
Greeting in His Name,
Have you ever been challenged to share your faith? Fearful you won't say the right thing, afraid of rejection. We all have had those feelings when it's time to communicate with someone about our Lord. Or, maybe you are new to the faith or not a believer at all; continue to read it may call you to find out who this Jesus is and what He can do to change your life. The woman we will meet in the blog had a life-changing experience simply because - She heard - She went - She shared. Thus, it will take consistent prayer for those who are saved to reach the ungodly. And it's always promising when we ask God to bring folks across our pathway. Well, enough of that. Today's blog is entitled Will You Be My Mouthpiece? Hope you find some inspiration, conviction, and queries.
shalom and love,
heidi
Let's look at the woman at the well. In your spare time, read through the whole of John chapter 4, and you will get an even better understanding of being a mouthpiece for the Lord.
John 4:27-30, 39-42
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.
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 [a]the Christ, the Savior of the world.”
I once heard Tony Evans share a story about preaching on a street corner. He said that because he had no pulpit, he took it to the streets. This should be an "ouch" for most couch potato preachers who don't currently have a pulpit. Shame on us! But anyway, he was preaching hard one day, and a guy came up and threaten him to stop and then put his hand in his pocket. Tony Evans didn't know if this guy had a weapon, so his mind drifted for a moment, and he thought, ' has God called me out of the ministry?' But just as Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane - not my will but thy will be done, rose up in his spirit and Tony Evans began to preach harder. He was God's mouthpiece. Ready to do battle through the preached word. It is said he preached so hard the guy had to back off. If only we open our mouths and do as the late Senator John Lewis encouraged, "SAY SOMETHING, let's get into some GOoD trouble!" Come on, y'all, let's get noisy for Jesus.
Just this week, I had a very disturbing event happen at work. How many of you know that miscommunication is a hazard? Miscommunication can destroy relationships. It can cause disaster, harm, and interruptions. Well, that is what my week was trying to turn out to be. But as I read the full passage of scripture (John 4), I saw in God, in His Word, a way to counteract the hazards of miscommunication. It is simple – listen. Listen for the voice of Jesus. Ask Him to show you the way. I can’t say that my situation is fully resolved, but I can say it happened for the express purpose of getting this message out. God will take roundabout ways to show us how to be a mouthpiece, an ambassador, and a child of the King.
In this passage of scripture, taken in its full context, I saw in this woman her ability to rise above what we call her mess. Even as you read through the scripture, you can see that she was on a path with destiny. Just look at verse 4, Jesus said, I need to go to through Samaria. Jesus knew she needed to hear, and I’m so glad that this event is not exclusive to this woman at the well, but Jesus will and has gone out of His way to speak to you-and-I. She heard Jesus. If you look back over the scripture, you may think that she heard Jesus in verse 15; the woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.” You may even think she heard Jesus in verses 19 and 20 when she says, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.” But it really wasn’t until she exclaimed in verse 25 that the Messiah to come would tell them all things. It was not until then she heard. Her recollection kicked in, she pondered His conversation, and she heard his wisdom and found herself being set free by the one who helped her recognize in verse 26, I am He.
The man she was talking with was the one long-awaited Messiah to bring deliverance. He was the expected king of the Davidic line who would deliver Israel from foreign bondage and restore the glories of its golden age. She heard Him, the anointed one. She heard Him. The one mentioned in Deuteronomy 18, as the God given prophet from amongst his own whom God would put His words in His mouth and He would tell us all that God commanded. She--heard--Him. Do you hear Jesus? Do you hear our Savior calling-- to rise up? To shake off the prison clothes of this world and its devices. To remove the shackles of our dungeons of despair. Jesus is calling for us to drink the living water. The water that quenches every spiritual thirst. Do you not know when your spirit man is satisfied, it aids your fleshly man from easily falling prey to sin and evil? Don’t believe me – look at the great cloud of witnesses mentioned in Hebrews 12, assuring us if we only follow the example of scripture which says, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12 also tells us don’t grow weary and to be like a Kingdom that cannot be shaken. Jesus is calling for us to drink the living water. You can't be a mouthpiece unless you have heard the Savior and believe His Word.
Back to the woman at the well. Jesus ministered to this lady, whom, according to Jewish standards, He should not be talking to. I am grateful that Jesus allowed us to be brought into this conversation because it shows us that He is concerned for all and that no matter the issue we have, He is well able to lead us to the rock that is higher than ourselves. He is able to give us the much-needed pep talk. He is able, only if we listen, to give us the much-needed wisdom to make it through any situation. This woman heard Jesus. The Word tells us if you have ears to hear – hear. It also tells us that the Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our pathway. Meaning God got a view of your life that you don’t. He has a perspective that could be of advantage to you if only you lean and depend upon Him. If only you seek Him with your whole heart. Let Jesus lead you, as the hymn says, all the way. This woman heard her deliverance flow out of the Savior, and it became living water in her belly, and then she did what many of us 'did' when we REALLY encountered Jesus; she went!
She heard! She went!
Will you go today? Will you share how God snatched you out of the enemy’s hand? Oops! Or has he still got you? At any point and time later that you want to commit or recommit to Jesus, my email is attached to this blog. But this lady was so profoundly affected by Jesus that she could not wait to get to town and share her blessing. Look at verse 29, come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” She was not silent – she could not keep it to herself. She was a runner – a witness for Jesus. She went. This woman probably had to walk a piece to get to town, unlike us today. So, that leaves us with no excuse. Everything we need that pertains to life and godliness we have within reach; it’s at the tip of our fingers. You don’t have to search for the truth of the Gospel like it’s unavailable; it is a matter of taking the TIME.
This is a side note: I often wonder how Paul would evangelize in our modern day. How he would take all the tools, we have to be an effective witness. He wouldn’t have to walk to the next town; he could drive, and better yet, he could conference call or Zoom, Snapchat, or Facebook live. How would he take all that we have and turn the world right side up since he has already turned it upside down?
Back to the woman at the well. She heard Jesus, and then she went. But as she went, she shared. SHE HEARD - SHE WENT - SHE SHARED! The powerful thing about her witness was that people took notice, and they began to move upon her words. Look at verse 30, Then they went out of the city and came to Him. You know how it is when someone tells you they got such and such over here for free – the word spreads like wildfire. Or there is an insane bargain over there – the store doesn’t have to worry it’s sold out within a matter of a blink of an eye. Or even a sourer note, we Christians are more prone to listen to our unsaved-no connection with Jesus-secular counterparts than to listen to the Savior, who has all power. Or better yet, his anointed pastors-preachers-teachers or just your ordinary sold-out believers. But, this woman must have given the most profound buy-in because verse 39-42 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.” 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 [meaning Jesus]. 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.
I had to go this long and maybe drawn out way because we cannot be an effective witness (mouthpiece) for Jesus unless we hear Him. Unless we have a 'went' in our spirit. Unless we are willing to share. You may feel everybody knows about Jesus, and yes, you are right. Many do. But many, even you who are reading, may not have had the gut-wrenching experience that makes you want to run and tell. That gut-wrenching experience that makes you want to throw up your hands and give it all [meaning your WHOLE life] to Jesus. That gut-wrenching experience that brings about life-long change. We must, and this is the perfect time as we head into lent to make a decision; for Christ, I live, and for Christ, I die. We must confess and repent of our half-heartedness and ask the Savior of the World to come into our lives. Live_Life is GOoD readers, do you hear? Are you willing to go? It’s time to be a mouthpiece. The time is drawing nigh; share the good news of Jesus Christ.
Will you be a mouthpiece for the Lord?
LIFE QUOTE
“Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world...would do this, it would change the earth."
-William Faulkner
Let Us Laugh!
Thanks for explaining the word “many” to me; it means a lot.
Hope to see you Next Month....
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