There are many people that are going to hell because we are avoiding stop signs.

              Stop signs are erected by God in our lives so that we will stop and spend some time with people.

              Some stop signs we see clearly.  We will stop for our families; we will stop for our friends.  We will stop for our jobs and stop for organizations we support.  We stop for vacation and stop for those we love.  All of these stop signs are clear to us.

              But we are running some stop signs.  There are some out there that we are not seeing.  Why?  Because we are not looking for them.  They show up in unexpected places.

              Have you ever had the situation of driving down the road and having your wife say, “You just ran a stop sign!”  To which you replied, “Where was it?”

              So also in the spiritual world we find that God has stop signs up.  We see some of them, but others we miss.  Why?  Because the stop signs are not where we expect them.

              This is illustrated in the life of Jesus in John 4:4, “Now he had to go through Samaria.”

              Why did he have to go through Samaria?  It was the custom for strict Jews to have no dealing with the Samaritans.  They would walk around Samaria to avoid contact with the people and with the property.  The Samaritans were like Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses to the Jewish people.  They had a similar belief system, but it was enough different that they did not include the Samaritans in their group of approved people.  The Samaritans believed that only the first five books of the Old Testament were inspired and that God wanted them to worship on Mount Gerazim, not in Jerusalem. 

              And the Jewish leaders went further.  They not only disapproved of their theology, they disapproved of the people.  The Samaritans were a mixture of Gentile and Jewish blood.  The Jews were afraid that contact with them would make them unclean.  So they walked around their area.

              So why would anyone have to go through Samaria?

              The main reason someone might have to go through Samaria was to save time.  If a person had an appointment or needed to make a wedding or funeral, they might go through Samaria.  They would just drive through as quickly as possible and not stop to chat or associate with anyone who lived in that area.

              Jesus did not go through Samaria to save time.   Verse 40 clearly shows that Jesus was in no rush to go through Samaria. “So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days.” John 4:40.

              If Jesus didn’t have to go through Samaria to make a meeting, why did he have to go through Samaria?

              The only other answer was to meet the Samaritan woman.

              I would like to note three things about this woman that are worth highlighting at this point.

              First, she was a Samaritan.  I don’t know about you, but when I see a group of people with a different skin color or a group of people who speak a different language, I don’t normally see a stop sign telling me to stop and talk to them.

              Second, she was a woman.  The people of that day had strict moral codes.  You didn’t meet with someone of the opposite sex alone and carry on a conversation with them.  This was taboo and could ruin your reputation.

              Third, she was a sinner.  She had previously had five husbands and was now living with a man.

              I want to stop here for a moment.  One attitude I find among some people in our community is that they would not be welcome in our church.  They believe that people would look down on them and talk about them because they live together or are doing drugs or have a police record. 

              If you feel in that category, I want you to know that though some in the church might put out that attitude,  Jesus will stop and help you, just as he did with this Samaritan woman.

              Is there any truth to the concerns of those who level this charge against us?  Do we put up walls between ourselves and those we know who are not living right?  Do we avoid contact with people who have major problems? 

              If so, you may be avoiding major stop signs because you are not expecting Jesus to ask you to stop and help those people.

              But he very well may be!  No matter how well we dress, no matter how much money we make, no matter how nice our home or how long we have had our job, underneath we are all sinners in need of God’s grace through Jesus Christ.

              Jesus came into this world on a mission.  He came to seek and to save those who are lost.  If you are seeking those who are lost, you will find them.  They will be the ones who have the stop sign. 

They may not dare approach you because they assume you are unapproachable. Isn’t this what the woman at the well tells Jesus? “The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)” John 4:9, NIV.  She would never have dared offer a drink to Jesus and she is shocked that Jesus spoke to a Samaritan, a woman and a sinner to ask for any kind of contact with someone like her.

It is part of our mission to seek those who are lost.  Jesus sought out tax collectors, zealots, fishermen, prostitutes, immoral people and came with a firm message, you need to turn from your sin, and a grace message, it’s not too late for you to be forgiven and receive help through Jesus Christ.

Jesus was not the only one who stopped.  The woman stopped as well.  She could have run away or avoided conversation.  But she stopped. 

What happened when she stopped to listen to Jesus?  She found out that there were things about Jesus that were different than was expected.  She indicates this when she says, “Why are you asking me for a drink of water?” 

You might be here today with a wrong image of Jesus.  You have never studied him for yourself, you may never have read any of the four books written about his life,  Matthew, Mark, Luke or John.  I challenge you to stop and to get to know the Jesus of the Bible by reading the Bible.

She also found that Jesus was willing to listen to her questions.  For Jesus, questions were not a bad thing.  How can someone learn unless they ask questions?  In a society where women, especially bad women, were encouraged to be quiet, she find Jesus receptive to talk to her and help her with her questions.

Do you have questions?  Email them to me or ask your friends that you came with.  Jesus welcomes questions.  He wants you to believe in Him, to trust in Him.  He wants to answer your questions, so don’t be afraid to ask.

Finally, she found that her sin did not stop Jesus from reaching out to her.  He knew what she had done.  But God especially sent Jesus, not to condemn the world, but to save it. 

We all are worth saving and we all need saving.  We can be saved through faith in Jesus Christ.

Today I am going to stop and introduce you to someone who had a stop sign on his head.  Jesus stopped and spoke to him.  He listened and received Christ.  And today he wants to follow Him in baptism.