The Explicit Gospel
Transcript
It's kind of mean, isn't it? That bumper video gets you all hungry, and now it's going to feel like two and a half hours before I get done preaching. Happy Mother's Day. We're excited this morning. We are just glad to be continuing our extraordinary series. Maybe some year we'll get it together and preach official Mother's Day sermons, but we haven't done that yet, and we're not starting this year.
So if you are all amped up to talk about moms, moms are great. All right, grab your Bibles, go to Psalm 103. We're in the third week of our extraordinary series, and we're going to keep walking through. What we've been talking about is that we are called and designed by God, that God has designed the world to work in such a way that the normal, ordinary parts of our lives are to be used for His eternal, glorious purposes, so that our normal going to work, our normal tending to our families, our normal parenting, our normal being a co-worker or tending to our yards, like just all the normal weight of life that is on us, God has intended to use for His extraordinary, eternal purposes to see people come to know Him.
And one of the things that we're talking about, what we'll be talking about today is the fact that as Christians, we said in our first week that we have one Job as the church, that we're to be disciples who make disciples, and that encompasses a lot, but what we're talking about today is the fact that as Christians, we're supposed to tell other people about Christ. That as Christians, we're supposed to, called to, commissioned to, sent to, tell other people about Jesus. There's a comedian named Jim Gaffigan, who in one of his stand-up specials, goes, you know, everybody having a good time tonight? You know, I really, it's really important to me that everybody's comfortable and having a good time, and that's why I'd like to talk with you about Jesus Christ.
And like, everyone starts laughing, because that's a good joke. Because as soon as he says that, no one in the room is comfortable anymore. Like, it immediately makes everyone uncomfortable, and that's one of the things he goes on to say, is that in some ways it makes religious people even more uncomfortable. Christians become even more uncomfortable. I'm that way. If I'm listening to a stand-up special, or I'm watching a TV show, and they start talking about Jesus, I immediately knot up inside.
And he said, there's nothing worse than having a stranger come up to you and say, I want to talk to you about Jesus. He's just like, no, how about we don't? It's kind of the point of his jokes here, and it's true. And for us who are Christians who are called to talk to other people about Jesus, there's this tension of like, I don't want to be weird. This is awkward. I don't know how to, how do I start this conversation?
This is difficult. There's, look, I'm a pastor. It's weird for me. It's weird for me to tell people I'm a pastor. I just try to dodge that in conversations. I met some of my neighbors.
We were having a great conversation. We were talking. And then he told me what he did for a living. He said, what do you do? And I was like, well, I'm a pastor. I really want to just say I run a firework store because I do do that twice a year.
But I said, I'm a pastor. And they went, oh. And they just froze. It was, I really felt like a lobster had just fallen out of my mouth. It would have been the same reaction. They just sat there, and it was almost like you can see every once in a while, I feel like people are thinking, did I say a cuss word?
Did I talk about beer too much? Like, I don't know. Like, it just feels like it makes, and to bring up Jesus, it's the same kind of thing. It's like, I don't know how to do that. It feels really difficult. And what we're talking about is that God has designed our ordinary lives to be used to see people come to know him, come to love him, worship him, follow him, to see others around us submit their life to Christ.
And to have their eternities impact through the normal things we do. So what we're looking at today is how do we share the gospel in a normal, helpful way? How do we share the gospel? How do we point people to Jesus? How do we tell people about the cross? How do we tell people about the resurrection?
How do we tell people about their sin and need for a savior in a way that fits into a normal, ordinary life where you're friends with people, you're intentionally being around your neighbors and your coworkers? How do we do that? Because we're supposed to. Recall just what we looked at last week that in Deuteronomy it says that God, I'm going to be your God. And it says to put this on your wrists and your forehead. And that's what we said as Christians.
We're supposed to not just wear Christianity on our sleeves, but on our face. Like it's supposed to be a normal part of who we are. And so what we're going to do is we're going to look at the starting place for us as Christians to point people to Christ. We're going to look at the starting place. Then we're going to go to Colossians after we look in Psalm.
And we'll spend a little bit of time looking at actually how. Like practically, how do we do this? So let me pray for us this morning before we begin to read the text. And then we'll dive in. God, we thank you this morning that the gospel is news worth sharing. That we are called to tell people about Christ.
But that it's good news that we get to tell them. I pray, Lord, that in this time we have this morning that you would help us to remember how good that news is. And then you would equip us to begin to share it with others. We love you. We praise you in Jesus' name. Amen.
Psalm 103. It's on page 288 if you have one of the white Bibles that's in the row with you. This is by David. And David is praising God in this Psalm. And I think it's a helpful just kind of a look at where's the starting place for us to want to tell people about Jesus. Where do we begin?
And so he starts this way. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless his holy name. So he says, bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless his holy name. Now we use the word bless differently than he's using it here most of the time.
Most of the time when we say bless, we mean to do something nice for. Or to endow. To give. To give a gift. Someone's blessed with. Like, that was such a blessing that you gave me ten dollars.
Oh, this pizza when I was hungry is such a blessing. We use it like God's really blessed that person. And we mean they have a boat. Or we'll say God's really blessed that person like with physical attributes. Like Shaquille O'Neal, basketball player. He was not blessed with acting ability, but he was blessed with athletic ability.
And Shaquille O'Neal can stand flat-footed and dunk a basketball. He does not have to jump. He can stand and dunk. So every time you watched him dunk a basketball and then dance around and flex on people, it wasn't that impressive. It was like me lowering the goal to six feet and then dunking on some neighborhood kids and being like, what? How do you like them apples?
That's what he was doing. And really it was just that he's blessed with the height that he had. He's blessed with the wingspan that he had. He's blessed by God. But that's how we usually use that word.
But that's not how David's using the word here. When he uses it here, what he means is praise. Worship. So when he says bless the Lord, O my soul, what he means is praise, honor, glorify, place value on, lift up. And what's beautiful about that word and all the times we're told to praise God is that you cannot truly praise something without enjoying it. Praise without enjoyment is not praise.
It's flattery. To praise something but actually not mean it is flattery. When you eat a meal and it does not taste good and you can see the person who made it staring at you and you're like, mmm, this, this is fine meal. You cook this. Of all the things I've eaten, this is most recent. Like what?
You're trying to dodge the, but if you just went out of the way, this is so wonderful. This tastes so good. Oh my goodness. Like it's like you're, it's, you don't mean it. It's not genuine praise. It's not real to you.
But, but actual enjoyment leads to genuine praise. Actual enjoyment leads to genuine praise. This is why people will talk about the things that they love. This is why people will talk about the people that they've fallen in love in a certain way. Like they, it just, it gets all gushy and it just floats. Like that's what he's saying.
He's saying soul, so enjoy God that it rolls over in praise, in song, in worship, lifting him up. So enjoy, so be satisfied, so be filled up by God that it's overwhelming and we have to say something. You ever just looked at a sunset and you just, you, it's natural for you to just hit the person next to you and go, look at that. And you just say things that you didn't need to say. It's so orange. But that's natural.
That's the overflow of enjoying something, being captivated by it. And that's what he's saying. Oh, my soul. And, and the Bible here, the soul is the most real part of you. The deepest, most true who you are soul. The part of you that was designed to exist for an eternity.
That's your soul. So he's saying at the deepest, darkest, most real part of me, bless the Lord. Bless the Lord. Oh, my soul and all that is within me. Bless his holy name. And then he says, bless the Lord.
Oh, my soul. And forget not all his benefits. This is the starting place for a Christian to share the gospel with others. Is that you would so enjoy God that it would overwhelm you and roll up in normal life for you to worship him and glorify him and that you would not forget all of his benefits. That's where it begins for us to share the gospel with someone else. That's where it begins for us to point someone else to Jesus.
That we remember the benefits of Christ. That we remember the benefits of God. He keeps going to list some of the benefits. Forget not all his benefits. Who forgives all your iniquity. It means that you're sinful.
You're busted. You're broken. You're dark. You're twisted. You've been actively participating in the rebellion of the world against God. And he forgives that through Christ.
Who heals all your diseases. Everything in you that's twisted and wrong. He fixes. He mends. Who redeems your life from the pit. That you were going to spend an eternity in hell separated from God.
And he redeems it. He buys you back. Who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy. Meaning that he wraps love around you. He makes love the first thing people see about you. Because he's crowned you with it.
And mercy meaning that we don't get from God what we deserve. Who satisfies you with good. So that your youth is renewed like the eagles. That he makes us new. And that in him we're satisfied. He says don't forget his benefits.
That's the gospel. For us as Christians. We believe that the soul was designed to exist for an eternity. That we were made to exist for an eternity with God. And that humanity rebelled against God. And that now every person will physically die.
But our souls will exist for eternity. Either with the joys of heaven. And a relationship with Christ. Or in the despair pain and punishment of hell. There are no other options. Our souls will exist for eternity.
That was the way God originally designed them. But we believe that Jesus Christ came. That he loved us so much. That he died for us. To pay the penalty for our sin. To offer us forgiveness.
And that what he says here. Our benefits are genuine actual benefits of the gospel. That our sins are no longer held against us. That as a Christian because of Christ. You stand before God freely forgiven. That he heals what's broken in you.
That he satisfies you. That everything else that we would chase after in this life. And in this world will not fill us up. But he will. That he satisfies us with good. And that we are now wrapped in and covered by his love.
And his mercy for an eternity. That's the gospel. And that's the news we're called to share with people. That's why the gospel just is a word that we've brought over from another language. That just means good news. It's about an event that happened.
That Jesus Christ came. That he died on a cross. That he was placed in a grave. That he rose again. And that through his death. We can be free.
Forgiven. And offered grace. It's news. It's an event that happened. That we get to share with other people. That Christ forgives.
That he redeems. That he makes us new. And that he satisfies us. Some of you in the room. Some of us as Christians at times. Go through seasons where we don't tell anyone about Jesus.
And I think quite often it's because we've forgotten the benefits. We've forgotten how good the news is. We've ceased to enjoy him on such a soul level that it rolls up in praise naturally and fully in our lives. For those of you in the room who are not Christians. Let me say very clearly to you. We want Jesus for you.
And make no qualms about that. Because I believe fully that Christ is the best thing you will ever get. That he does fully satisfy your soul. That he does forgive of sin. That he does fix what's broken in us. That he does mend us and redeem us.
And that we are headed for an eternal hell without him. But he loved us so much that he didn't leave us there. And he didn't give us what we deserved. But he took what we deserved on himself on a cross to set us free. We want Christ for you. You're welcome to be around.
To keep checking that out. You're welcome to be around and say, I don't know if I buy that yet. I don't know if I see that yet. I don't know if I believe that yet. You're welcome here. To be a part of a community group.
To ask questions. To argue with people. You're not going to offend us. We'll forgive you if you do. We're Christians. We're supposed to.
You're welcome to be here. But I want to be clear. We want the gospel for you. Christians in the room. You kind of have two options. Either you don't actually believe this.
You don't actually enjoy, partake in, understand, have the benefits of the gospel overwhelming your soul. So that you have no real desire to share it with other people. You either don't believe it or you've forgotten it. Or you do believe it. But when we do not have any desire to intentionally see other people come to know Christ, we cannot claim to love them.
We cannot believe that the soul exists for an eternity in either heaven or hell. That we deserve wrath from God. But that Jesus took wrath on our behalf. That's what we read a second ago. That he was the propitiation. It just means that he took wrath on our behalf.
And if we believe this but have no desire to reach people with the gospel, we actually cannot claim to love them. Or to care about them. Penn and Teller, they do magic. One of them is kind of a staunch atheist. And one of the things he says from time to time is that he appreciates it when Christians tell him about Jesus. He doesn't believe it.
But he appreciates it. Because he knows that's hard for them. And he knows that if they don't, how much would they have to hate him to actually believe that and have no desire to tell him. But the starting place for us is that we would so enjoy Jesus and so remember his benefits that we couldn't keep it in. There's no way we could so see that he forgave us of our sins. That none of us are worthy.
Some of you are in here and you have no desire to share the gospel with people. It's because you believe the gospel was, hey, come be good. That's not good news. I've got good news for you. Behave for the rest of your life or God will crush you. Let's pray.
That's not the gospel. That's not good news. The good news is that you could not behave. You were not good enough. You are not smart enough. You have made a shipwreck and a train wreck of your life.
And Jesus comes and takes the full force of the shipwreck that you deserve, the train wreck that you deserve. He was crushed for our iniquities. He was broken for our sins so that we could not receive what we deserve. That's mercy. And we're crowned with it. This is a...
I love our community groups because they're just small collections of a bunch of train wrecks that get together and talk about how good Jesus is. Flip over to Colossians chapter 4. See, it begins with us being so overwhelmed by Christ, so overwhelmed with the goodness of the gospel that we can't help but share with others. That we want this for everyone. That it's so true to us, so real to us. We said last week that if that's not the case, you just need to spend more time with Jesus.
You need to go to work on your soul. You need to remember how good he is. It's a starting place. Now we're going to look at a process. So if I'm there, if I love Jesus, if I'm overwhelmed by the gospel, I'm just seeing this.
I'm remembering and knowing that he's so good. Now the question is how do I do this because it feels really difficult. We're going to look at Colossians. I love this section. Paul's just gotten done in Colossians chapter 3. He's writing a letter to the church.
He's just gotten done talking to parents and wives and husbands and basically what would be bosses and workers in our time. And he's just kind of saying live your life in a normal way that Christ is at work. And then he says, okay, as you're doing that, okay, here's how to kind of walk that out in a way to see more people come to know him. And so pick up in verse 2. Colossians chapter 4, verse 2. It's on page 573 if you have one of the white Bibles.
Paul's in prison at the time because he's been sharing the gospel with people. People may look at you weird. You're not going to get arrested right now. And he says that I may make it clear which is how I ought to speak. Okay. First step, pray.
He says continue steadfastly in prayer and pray for us that God would open a door for the word. So the first step to trying to see people come to know Jesus is to pray, which is just cheating. And it's wonderful. God loves your neighbors so much that he sent his son to die for them. Ask for his help. God loves your coworkers so much, your classmates so much, your best friend from high school so much that he sent his son to die for them.
That he might redeem them and bring them back to himself. That he might re-welcome them into the family. Begin to ask God. Make them yours. Open up a door. But that's what he says.
He says pray that a door might be opened for the word to declare the mystery of Christ on account of which I'm in prison. So what he says is pray, but don't just pray that they meet Jesus. One of the things people sometimes, it's like they're praying for their neighbors. God, you do something to save them. And it's like, I want, it feels like God at some point would just look at you and go, yeah, I made you their neighbor. Go talk to them.
Go be their friend. Like, I want to see this person who's my cousin come to know Jesus. Yeah, they're your cousin. Go start talking to them. So what you start praying for is not just that they would come to know Christ or they would, you know, you begin to pray.
Sure, pray that they have a vision and just show up to you. Pray that they watch a YouTube video and come and know Christ. That's great. But you also are going to be praying that God will open a door for you to share the gospel with them. So what he says is pray for a door for the word.
That's the Bible. That I might declare. That's with your mouth. Out loud. To their face. Specifically their ears.
That I might declare the mystery of Christ. So that you would use the Bible to point them to Jesus. That through scripture you would help them see the gospel. The mystery of Christ. Which is that God would use Christ to redeem us. That's what he's talking about.
So, second thing. You pray. And the second thing is you need to know some Bible. You don't have to have it memorized. Although having some sections memorized is very helpful. But at least know where to go.
Know where to take somebody. Know where to show them some stuff. And just depending on the situation, some of that makes more or less sense. And is easier or more difficult. One of the nice things is you can carry a Bible around in your phone or in your purse. In your phone.
You have a Bible in your phone that you can easily pull up. Look stuff up. Try to show somebody something. Rather than always having to carry a physical Bible with you. Although you'd look awesome. And I support that.
Romans Road. This is something people use periodically. And have taught periodically. As a way to help people see the gospel clearly. From the book of Romans. I'm just going to put these up on screen.
For someone who's saying, okay. I just want. I need to know a little more Bible. Before I can talk to people about Jesus. There you go. Write those down.
That's actually the order that they tell you to do Romans Road in. But it just basically says you're a sinner. Jesus is good. Here's how to be saved. Isn't that awesome? It's really awesome.
That's kind of how that works. That's kind of how that walks through in Romans. And it's very good. It's a helpful way. It's short verses to kind of show them. This is the gospel.
So this would be. You had a little more time. Someone says, all right. I want to hear this thing. You know, you talk about Jesus all the time. You said you want to.
Like, show me what you're talking about. And then you can go to Romans. It's one book. You can flip around. So for people who write down stuff.
You got about ten more seconds. To write those down. Okay. There's more like five. All right.
Ephesians 2. These are other ones. Ephesians 2. Eight through ten. It's a shorter section. These would be easier to memorize.
You can memorize. All of these are helpful. Colossians 1. 19 through 23. John 3. 16 through 19.
These are just ways to show somebody. Here's what the Bible says about this. So it's not just you. But you're actually trusting God to work through his word. So that you can declare the mystery.
You're going to show him the word. And you're going to say. Let me explain what that's saying about Jesus. So he says. Pray. That God would open a door for the word.
That there would be an opportunity for you to do this. That God would open a door. That you'd be looking for that door to be open. That means that you're building a relationship. You're around somebody. And then there's an opportunity.
There's a door open for it. That you'd be ready. That you'd have some of this prepared. You'd know. And this is kind of what I would show him in the word. This is what I would tell him about Christ.
I used to have a family friend. My mom told me one time. She said. Show me the young lady's name. And she said. That they had asked that.
I would be praying. That our family would be praying. That she would meet a good man. And I remember telling my mom. Not going to pray that. Because if she meets a good man right now.
That's not going to work out. She's a hot mess. And a good man's not going to mess with that. So I'll pray. She'll get some of her acting. She'll get together.
And that's rude. And that was mean to say. I know. I've repented some. Of things. But.
There's a little bit of that. That we would want to know a little scripture. We'd want to know. We'd want to be prepared. As we're praying that God would open a door. That we'd be prepared.
Now. That does not mean. Some of you say. Well I'm not ready. I'm not ready to share the gospel. You know who some of the best people.
At sharing the gospel. And bringing their friends around. And telling people about Jesus are. And our church family. It's the people who just became Christians. You know why?
They hadn't forgotten the benefits. And they hadn't taught themselves out of it. And you know what? People who just became Christians do. All the dadgum time. Oh I don't know.
They say that all the time. Someone says. What about this? Oh I don't know. We have people who are Christians show up. And go.
Hey. I was talking to my friend. And they brought up this whole point. About this thing. That I've never heard of. And it's just train wrecked me.
For about a week. And I'm like. What's up? And we talk. We study the scriptures together. They get to go back.
They get to bring stuff. They learn and grow through it. Some of the people who are the most. And least likely to share the gospel. Somebody's been a Christian for 45 years. And they keep saying.
Well I'm not really prepared. I'm not really ready. And it's like. That's nonsense. Go share the gospel. Go point people to Jesus.
Just don't forget the benefits. Of how good he is. It's good news. And it really is. Okay. Know the Bible.
Declare the mystery of Christ. That you would be able from scripture. To say. Here's how the gospel works. It's not just know the Bible. So that you can say.
Here's a rule from the Bible. But it's know the Bible. In a way that you can say. Here's how Jesus saves us. Here's how he redeems. Here's how he forgives.
So that's what he says. To declare the mystery of Christ. This is verse 3. On account of which. I am in prison. That I may make it clear.
Which is how I ought to speak. And he says. Walk in wisdom towards outsiders. Those are people who are not. In the church. Making the best use of the time.
Let your speech always be gracious. Seasoned with salt. So that you may know. How you ought to answer each person. Walking in wisdom towards outsiders. Is pretty much what we're talking about in this series.
Making the best use of the time. That we would. You're only here for a limited amount of time. You're only around people who don't know Jesus. For a limited amount of time. We're just saying.
Make the best use of it. Be intentional with it. If you have a 9 to 5 Job. If you work retail. If you go to class. Realize you're going to be in that class for so long.
You're only going to be at work so long. If it's retail. You're only going to have those co-workers for so long. Because they're only going to work for 3 months. Make the best use of the time. Get to know them.
Become friends with them. Ask them questions. Invite them to do stuff. It's only been summer so long. Invite people for cookouts. And to come swim.
And make a friend who has a pool. And then invite other people to their house. To go swim. Make the best use of it. Be intentional with your time. Make invitations.
Try to ask people to come hang out. To eat a watermelon. To do whatever. Be intentional with the time you're given. That's what he's saying. Walk in wisdom.
Means make wise decisions. One of the things we've been doing in our group. We've been hanging out. Inviting people to go do stuff. We were going to have a board game night. One of the guys in our group is a forester.
And he's trying to invite some of his people. To come hang out with our group some. And they're foresters. They walk around in the woods with trees all the time. And we just basically told him. Look.
Probably don't invite them to board game night. Because that might be weird for them. They might not like board games. Invite them when we do chili cook off night. Or you know. Like be wise.
Make good decisions with the people you're around. You're building with. You know. Like some people. The best thing to invite them to. Is a Sunday morning.
They grew up in the south. They're churchy. They think this is great. Some parts of it. Some people. Let's invite them to a community group.
Some people. Let's invite them to a cookout. Just hang out at your house. Play video games. Be wise. Make the best use of the time though.
I will tell you this. That a lot of people. Will say. Well. Everybody in the south. Is already a Christian.
Everybody's already a Christian. No. Because of statistics. And math. And the fact that that isn't true. It's just not.
Now there are a lot of people. Who tell you they're Christians. And that's just because. Christmas Vacation. Is their favorite movie. And they grew up in the south.
And they think. I'm a Christian. Because. Yeah. The south. And.
Sure. I had a friend in high school one time. I was talking with him. He played football with me. And I asked. One time.
I was like. Are you a Christian? He said. Yeah. I'm black. I was like.
I didn't know. That's how that worked. You have a different version of the Bible. Than I do. But people do that.
We just have this kind of. I'm a Christian because. My uncle was a deacon. I'm a Christian because. I used to be a part of a Lutheran church. Like I.
Just. There's a lot of people. Who just would say that. But actually aren't. Just keep. Being friends with them.
Keep inviting them. The other thing that people will say. Because we're in the south. Is look. If they wanted to meet Jesus. They'd be here.
They'd show up. There's a thousand churches. If they actually wanted to become Christians. They would show up. And here's what I want you to know. A lot of them.
Don't want to become Christians. Because you're right. They want to become Christians. They know where to go. They don't want to become Christians. They just need to.
And it's good news. So why do you care what they want? If it's ultimately good. I could. We could take a Sunday. And line up all the people.
Who've become Christians in our church. We've only been around for a little while. We have a lot of people. Who were far from Jesus. Not in a church. Had no desire to become Christians.
I got to talk to one a couple weeks ago. We mentioned him the other day. Where I asked him. What his thoughts were on. God or spirituality. Before he became a Christian.
And he said. Oh I just thought it was stupid. Didn't think God exists. Thought all that sounded dumb. But he'll walk up here.
And say I'm so glad. That people came and harassed me. And got and became friends with me. And told me about Jesus. And wouldn't let me get off with lame excuses. And kept inviting me to stuff.
And I had. I'm so glad I had to sit and think. I'm not sure I want to be this person's friend anymore. Or. Because they're annoying. And then eventually I met Jesus.
And it's actually good news. We can line up Christian after Christian. Who's new believer in our family. And we can line up people who've been Christians for years. Who could say the same thing. But.
Says. Walk in wisdom towards outsiders. Making the best use of the time. And let your speech. Always be gracious. Grace.
You know what grace means? Grace means that you don't get what you deserve. That God blesses us. Above and beyond. What we earned. But also to be gracious.
Just to be kind. Be friendly. Be forgiving. Be gospel in your speech. We could. We say we're a gospel centered community on mission.
We could just as easily say we're a grace. Centered community on mission. It's the same thing. That Jesus forgives. So it just says let your speech be gracious.
Be a forgiving person. Be kind. Seasoned with salt. So that you may know how you ought to answer each person. Okay. Seasoned with salt means that the gospel is a part of how you normally talk.
You're gracious in your speech. And your speech is seasoned with salt. Now. Your speech isn't just salt. You ever seen a street corner preacher? Maybe just in a movie.
Street corner preaching. If you don't know Jesus you're going to hell. If you know Jesus you don't have to. Repent and know Jesus. Basic good street corner preaching. All of that is true.
It's just all salt. So it's not very tasty. It's just all. It's just aggressive. It's just. Now sometimes that works because it's true.
Sometimes it's what people needed to hear. But primarily you just season yourself with salt. You just include the gospel and things. It's salt in everything. That's why he says season it with it. Salt in all of your food.
All the food that tastes good. Salt in it. It's in your butter. It's in your cake. Somebody when we were talking about this said it's not in LaCroix. Well LaCroix tastes terrible.
If you don't know what LaCroix is you have done well in life to dodge it. But how do we do that? How do we season our speech with salt? How do we include Jesus in normal conversations? Because that still feels really hard. Because that's what we're going to talk about now.
How do we do that? Because the truth is you're going okay. Have Jesus be a part of normal way. I talk to people as I'm walking in wisdom with outsiders. As I'm building relationships. I'm going to talk about Jesus some.
But how? Because it's not like you can be like. Yeah that's a really interesting point you made about the NBA final. You know who else is a slam dunk? Jesus. Yeah that's a really interesting piece of news about Comey.
But have you ever thought about getting fired up for Jesus? Like it just. It's like how do I do this in a normal conversation? Because it just feels like I'd be a weirdo. How do I do that? I'm glad you asked.
First thing. Be a real friend. Be real friends with people who don't know Jesus. Like an actual friend. Like these are the people you want to hang out with. You will call them.
You will do stuff with them. They will call you. If they have problems they'll pick up the phone and call you. You're an actual friend. Because then this becomes way easier to take. And you talk a lot more.
But step one is get to know people who don't know Jesus. And be a real friend. So we're talking about all the ordinary stuff of life. Hobby with people who don't know Jesus. Get to know your neighbors. Invite them for things.
Become real friends. The second one is have Christ actually impact your life. So that it's normal for you to talk about it. So that when you're talking with your friends about normal friend stuff. Like you might be mentioning your budget. Well if Christ doesn't affect your money.
Then it's going to be really hard for you to talk about it. But if he does. If you're actually submitting your money to Christ. Then it makes sense for you to bring it up. If Christ doesn't affect your marriage. Or your work.
Or how you pick a major. Then it's going to be harder to try to infiltrate. And put him in normal things. But if he does. If he's already at work in you. In all the normal ways of life.
It's easier to talk about him. I had a friend named Amir. I worked with at. This is just kind of a way to do this. But I had a friend named Amir.
Who I worked with at Sears in Lynchburg Virginia. And Amir was a Muslim. And we would talk a good bit. And one of the things I realized Amir did a lot in our conversations. We'd just be talking about normal stuff. And then he'd say.
Well I'm a Muslim. So. And then he would explain how Muslims think about that. Well I'm a Muslim. So. Here's how I would do that.
Well I'm a Muslim. So. Here's why I wouldn't be a part of that. I'm a Muslim. So. And just over and over.
And I got to learn so much about Islam. Just from him talking to me about. How he thinks about the world. And then I realized. I can do that. I can just say.
Well I'm a Christian. So. And you know what that does. It's just a small phrase. But it helps you.
In your normal talking with people. Bring up Christ in a way that's not. Aggressive or weird. Because here's what it is. What you're saying is. Can I share something about myself?
And I'm just talking about me. Someone's talking about marriage. Or they're talking about something with their kids. Or they're talking about. Something with school. Or how they're going to approach something.
And you just go. Well. I'm a Christian. Sometimes I would even just go. Well I'm a Christian. So I don't.
I think about that differently. And then just wait. Sometimes they go. Okay. They have no desire to talk about it. That's cool.
Sometimes they go. What do you mean? It's like. Well I'm glad you asked. But you have to have actual ways.
That Christ is at work in your life. For that stuff to make sense. But what it does. So here. Let me just. Let's.
We talk about how our culture works a lot. Let's just use culture against itself here. As we as Christians. Trying to point people back to Jesus. Our culture. U.S. culture.
Has pounded into your brain. That whatever you want to do. Whatever you want to be. Is right for you. That whoever you are. No one can step in and tell you.
You can't be you. That's been pounded into everyone. So as soon as you say. Well I'm a Christian. So. You've walked into a magical judgment free zone.
Sometimes. Doesn't always work with Christianity. But go for it. You've walked into a place. So now they're willing to listen to you.
Because you're just talking about yourself. Now. I say our culture has pounded that into our brains. The Bible doesn't. The Bible says. Some of the things you think are stupid.
And there are a lot of things you're wrong about. And you need Jesus. But. I'm a Christian. So I believe that.
But you may not. That's. You get to just talk about things that have. That are true to you. Real to you. In a way that isn't.
So if. If my friend Amir had constantly said. Well the Quran says this. So you need to change your behavior. Well the Quran says this. So you.
You're wrong about that. It'd have been harder to talk to him. But he would just say. I'm a Muslim so. The Quran says this. And then he would just apply it to himself.
In a way that I was willing to listen. And that's. Be real friends. Have Christ actually affect your life. So that it makes sense to bring him up.
And then the third one is just. Listen. And I'm going to give us a practical method for this. To try to help us out. But the third one is.
Listen. That we would actually just listen. I'm going to put this over here. It may mess me up. But. Everyone.
Has a story. A primary story. That. They use to define their life. And the world. Everybody does.
Everybody lives by a story. And here's what we're told about the. As Christians about the Bible. Is that there is a story. For the world. And that story falls along four plot lines.
Creation. Fall. Redemption. Restoration. That's the story of the world. That God created the world good.
In a relationship with himself. And that humanity rebelled from him. That we fell. In theology it's called the fall. That we rebelled and wallowed in sin. That's where racism.
And hatred. And murder. And murder. And greed. And lust. And infidelity.
And like everything comes out of. Us sinning. And rebelling against God. And in this place. God created the world good. And we broke it.
And that all of us as humans. Have joined in breaking the world. That it was harmonious. And beautiful. And every single one of us has partaken. In the fall.
That we've all joined the rebellion. Through lying. Through bitterness. Through talking about people behind their backs. Through stealing. Through pride.
You name it. Pick your poison. You're on this team. We deserve hell. We deserve to be punished for our rebellion. But it doesn't end with the fall.
The story of the Bible is the story of redemption. That God loved the world so much. That he came. And joined humanity. In the brokenness of the world. And took the brokenness of the world.
On himself. The most heinous thing. That has ever happened. In the history of humanity. Is not. When we rebelled against God.
It's when we killed him. But God was using that. To redeem. That he took the worst thing that's ever happened. And he turned it on its head. Because he's a God who's like that.
And he offers mercy and grace. To those who will place faith in Christ. And then there's restoration. That heaven is a return. To the garden. Heaven isn't a place where we float around.
In magical spirit bodies. That there's going to be a new earth. That he's recreating. What was broken. Creation. Fall.
Redemption. Restoration. And this story has been imprinted. On your soul. That there's something about this story. That you know is undeniably true.
That's why the best stories we tell. Follow this. The best stories we share with each other. Follow this. That's why when you watch a movie. And it's nice and happy.
And then it falls apart. And it stays fallen apart. Titted. Stays broken. And then it ends. And it goes black.
And it says fin. Because that's like a Parisian way to say. How you like that. Critics can tell you. Oh that's more like real life. But it hurts.
And there's something inside of you. That says no that's terrible. No no no no no. It doesn't just end terrible. Good. Good.
Good wins. There's something inside of us. That screams that. So let me give you some examples. There's a little boy. Who's born into a beautiful loving family.
But a mean wizard kills his parents. He has to learn magic. To defeat this wizard. Ultimately he has to die. In order to break the wizard's power. That sound like anything?
Then he rises from the grave. Death defeats the wizard in that act. And the sun shines again. And everything's magical. And then we go to the train station. And hug our children.
Like that's. Let's do another one. There's a guy. He loves his daughter. She gets taken. He has a particular set of skills.
He kills everyone. They hug and everything's great. Until she gets taken again. There's a ten year old boy. And he's a prince. And everything's wonderful.
And some old lady comes to his house. And says. Can I live with you? He answers the door. Even though he's a prince. And he's ten.
Can I stay with you for. In exchange for a rose. He's a capitalist. He says no. She turns into a wizard. Enchantress lady.
And then turns him into a monster. And says. You've got to learn how to fall in love. With someone. Otherwise you'll stay this forever. He does.
Boom. Sparkles. Tears. Magic. Hugs. Kisses.
And a remake. Creation. Fall. Redemption. Restoration. In West Philadelphia.
Born and raised. On a playground. Where I spent most of my days. Chilling out. Maxing. Relaxing.
Or cooling. Or shooting some people. Outside of the school. When a couple of guys. Who were up to no good. Started making trouble.
In my neighborhood. Got in one little fight. My mom got scared. She said. You're moving with your auntie. And your uncle.
To Bel Air. All the good stories. All the good stories. Follow this. And we begin to listen. Because the thing is.
For those around you. Their story follows this as well. Because it's imprinted. On our souls. That we all. Have this playing out.
In our lives. Because sin. Is the problem. That has wrecked. Everything. You were designed.
Good. And right. And sin. Wrecked it. That's everybody's story. And everyone is looking.
For a redeemer. Who will fix. The problem. Let me give you an example. I had a friend. I used to work with him.
Hadn't seen him in a while. His story played out like this. And I got to know this. As I listened to him. And talked to him. Over time.
He was married. When he was about 19. Divorced when he was 22. He was in his 40's. At this point. And what was broken.
With him. As he could define it. And as he would experience it. As he could explain it. Is that he was meant. For love.
And marriage. And relationship. And family. And that had been. Lost. He was on online dating sites.
This isn't a critique of those. But I'm just telling you a story. Every. Wink. Nudge. Click.
Smile. Swipe. Was a chance at a redeemer. That someone was going to come fix. What was broken. And when he had a lady in his life.
He was up here. And when she was gone. He was down here. Because what he needed. Was someone to ride in. And fix this problem.
So that he could be full. And loved. And complete. And that was his story. Now as I began to listen to this.
And as we begin to listen to those around us. We now have a way. To naturally begin to see. Where the gospel intersects. With this story. Was he designed for love.
Can we agree or disagree with that. One of the things we're going to do. As you listen to your friends. And your neighbors. Is where can I agree. And where do I have to disagree.
Absolutely agree. You were designed to be loved. In a way that you cannot even imagine. And that has been robbed from you. We believe that God existed in Trinity. He was God the Father.
God the Son. God the Holy Spirit. That when he created the world. He didn't create it. Because he needed beings to love. But he created it.
Because he is loving. And he's invited us into that love. We believe that. That lines up with the creation story. That we know and believe. And hold true and dear.
The story that's the story of our lives. Of those who have become Christians. That this is now the true gospel story for us. So we could agree with that. It's torn up by sin. That that love has been shattered because of sin.
Absolutely can agree. I have to disagree here. And this is the place where you will disagree with most everyone that you are walking with. A woman's not going to fix that. The biggest issue he had was that he needed to be heaven. An overwhelming love.
He needed to be crowned with it. He needed to be wrapped in it. He needed to have an eternity of comfort and joy and love. That comes only through Christ. That's the restoration he needed. And without that.
He was going to place so much pressure on any female that came in his life. She was going to buckle and crumble. And it was going to be another train wreck. Because she was never going to be Jesus. Take one of your friends. Maybe you don't know the whole story.
You just know they move from Job to Job and city to city. They're looking for that dream Job. And maybe you start to learn, okay, it's actually because they believed that they were meant to do something that fulfilled them. And gave them a purpose. Made them whole. And so they keep moving from Job to Job.
They keep looking for career to career. They keep trying to find the thing that will finally make them want to wake up in the morning. And once they find it. The magical Job. Where the boss is amazing. Then they'll be in heaven.
They'll be full. They'll be complete. They'll be whole. This will fix it. See, what you're listening for is who do I think I'm supposed to be? Who was I designed to be?
Who was I made to be? What broke it? What destroyed it? What's hell to me? Who's the savior? What's heaven?
And as we begin to listen to our friends. As we begin to see this play out. We begin to know how to share the gospel with them. I believe you were created for a purpose. And I know why you never found it. Because the job was never going to do it.
You needed Christ to come in to show you. You need the creator to tell you what you were created for. And only in Christ will you ever fully be. This plays out in anything. You can take a staunch militaristic atheist. We're rational, intelligent beings.
Who've created science and art and all these wonderful things. But if they're militant, maybe religion's the problem. It hymns people in. It promotes ignorance. It harms society. But through science and reason, we can reach utopia.
And everything will be wonderful. And we can intersect with that. We can say, yeah, we were. I agree with you. We have reason and logic. And people who are ignorant, we should teach them and train them and help them.
But I actually think that it's only through God's created purpose for us. Who invented reason and math and science and logic and all the things that are beautiful in the world. And the order that you so appreciate. It's only through Him that we'll actually reach fulfillment. And it just depends. It depends on what.
So a lot of times, just for example, you're listening with your friends. You may not get all four of them. You may just begin to pick up along the way. Here's what they think heaven is. It involves a boat. Expensive things.
Okay. So I've learned what heaven is. You begin to learn what messed it up. Or what's causing the problem. What's keeping them from that. But you can start realizing, okay, I can probably agree here some.
I can agree here some usually with what's messed up the world. Sometimes you might meet a Christian who they've put Jesus here. Husband. Well-behaved children. Peace and prosperity. And we have to say, yes, actually, maybe fringe benefits.
That's not the ultimate benefit of Christ. This may be some of your neighbors who you say are Christians. Jesus is a means to end that doesn't ultimately get them to the restoration they need for their soul. To save them from their sin. This is what we begin to listen. As you become real, genuine friends with people, you start listening to them.
What do they, creation, what do they assume the world should be like? What kind of person would they like to be? Who are their heroes? Fall. How do they describe their struggles and battles? What do they feel like is the biggest issue?
Where do they lack? What's hell to them? Redemption. Who's their savior? Who will deliver them from what's broken? Restoration.
What are their hopes? Long-term project they're working on? When will they finally be satisfied? And here's what drives me crazy and breaks my heart. Is when I hear Christians say things like, yeah, but they're happy. They already have something that they believe.
Christians say this to each other and to other people. Just do whatever makes you happy. You've got to do whatever you find in your heart, whatever fulfills you. That's not true. Because every one of us is plotting this out and picking a savior that only can short-term safe. At best.
Short-term safe. And then eventually, it's a train wreck. But we have a savior who redeems this story. You can play mine out on this. I'll do some confession here. Creation.
Born into a middle-class family. I did not hit a double. I was born on second base. Relatively intelligent. Relatively athletic. Highly attractive.
Just kidding. That was just for fun. All right. Stay focused. My whole life, I've just felt like I had potential. Like, if anything went wrong, I had no excuses.
So every ounce of any type of failure is on me. Anything that goes wrong in any situation I'm in, I have no excuse. I wasn't smart enough. I didn't try hard enough. I didn't think well enough. I didn't plan well enough.
So what saves me is hard work. Get up early. Go to bed late. White-knuckle it. Don't complain. Keep your head down.
Hard work. And ultimately, success. In any avenue I'm in. You can play that out over grades. You can play that out over sports. You can play that out over relationships.
You can play that out over my relationship with my wife. Or my children. Or my friends. Or this church. It's that story. Without Jesus.
And that's a terrible story. See, I believe. That when Jesus said it's finished, it was. That I don't have to be good enough. That I don't have something I have to prove. That I don't have to make right with all the stuff that I've been given.
That I can fail and that I have. And gee, this goes two ways really wrong for me. I fail and I end up feeling miserable and broken and depressed and worn out. But I don't let anybody know that. I just grind on. Because to quit is the ultimate failure.
Or I succeed. And I am arrogant and prideful. And a miserable human to be around. Without Jesus. But see, I believe.
That he interrupted my story. And it's a better story for it. And so I can with complete integrity. Try to force him into everybody's story I talk to. Because I think it will be a better story for it. With complete integrity.
I can argue with you. I can reason with you. I can say, hey, I'm a Christian. So can I tell you actually what I see going on here? And one of the beautiful things for us as Christians. Is that this is the story.
And this is everybody's story. And you begin to speak to something in someone's heart. That they didn't even realize was there. Can I tell you actually why you need a boyfriend so badly? What the Bible says about that? Can I tell you why you're so addicted to following your heart?
And what the Bible says about that? Can I just tell you as a Christian how I see this. And how I view this. And how we talk about this in my community group. And actually what I believe. If you actually got that job.
It might be the worst thing that ever happened to you. Because you'd watch your Savior die before your eyes. And then you'd have nothing to keep leaning into. And because I love you. I'm going to pray that that happens. And I get to be around.
So that I can point you to a better Savior. There's a quote from Tim Keller. He's a pastor in New York. He says, Jesus is the only Lord. Who if you receive him. Will fulfill you completely.
And if you fail him. Will forgive you eternally. And that's not true about anything else you put in that spot. And I don't know why on earth. We wouldn't begin praying. And walking with wisdom towards outsiders.
Making the best use of the time. And trying to as best we can. With all that we have. And every ounce of time and effort we have. To try to tell them. Your Savior is going to fail you.
But there's one that won't. Or you're going to fail your Savior. But there's one that will forgive you. Let's pray. God I want to thank you. I want to thank you that you fulfill us completely.
And that when we fail. You forgive eternally. And I thank you Lord. That for so many of us in this room. You interrupted our story. You dethroned our Savior.
Savior for a better one. A Savior that doesn't just sit on a throne. And command obedience. But a Savior that left the throne. And went to a cross. In obedience to his Father.
For the glory of God. And the salvation of souls. And God I pray. For all the false saviors in this room. That they would die. Never to rise again.
So that a Savior who comes from the grave. Can take their place. In Jesus name. Amen.