WEBVTT 00:00:09.900 --> 00:00:12.300 Thank you for listening to this message from 00:00:12.300 --> 00:00:18.620 Lifehouse Church. Welcome to Lifehouse. Good 00:00:18.620 --> 00:00:22.019 to see you. If you're with us online this morning, 00:00:22.100 --> 00:00:24.460 it's good to have you there as well. It is good 00:00:24.460 --> 00:00:28.320 to be in God's house this morning. And how many 00:00:28.320 --> 00:00:33.000 know that we've been talking about reaching people? 00:00:33.399 --> 00:00:34.859 I don't know if you realize that or not, but 00:00:34.859 --> 00:00:37.399 last week we started this message series on Salty. 00:00:37.439 --> 00:00:39.520 And I just kind of want to reiterate. what they 00:00:39.520 --> 00:00:41.460 said earlier in the announcements, we've got 00:00:41.460 --> 00:00:43.420 these green balls up here. And what this is, 00:00:43.420 --> 00:00:45.810 is this accountability. Look at these two. This 00:00:45.810 --> 00:00:49.329 is accountability. If you invite someone to LifeHouse, 00:00:49.450 --> 00:00:51.670 if you invite them to know Jesus, what we want 00:00:51.670 --> 00:00:53.950 you to do, stop at the connection station. They 00:00:53.950 --> 00:00:55.770 got a magic marker out there. Get a green ball. 00:00:56.009 --> 00:00:58.869 Put their initials on there and the date and 00:00:58.869 --> 00:01:01.689 put it in this aquarium because we want to pray 00:01:01.689 --> 00:01:04.650 over those we invite to LifeHouse, right? And 00:01:04.650 --> 00:01:06.629 if you happen to lead someone to the Lord, I 00:01:06.629 --> 00:01:08.290 want you to put their name on there. And when 00:01:08.290 --> 00:01:09.969 you put an orange one in here, I want you to 00:01:09.969 --> 00:01:11.250 gather a bunch of people because we're going 00:01:11.250 --> 00:01:12.890 to celebrate, right? Somebody comes into the 00:01:12.890 --> 00:01:15.329 kingdom of God. kingdom of God celebrates, we 00:01:15.329 --> 00:01:18.510 celebrate. So that's what these are for. We're 00:01:18.510 --> 00:01:19.950 going to be talking about this all week long 00:01:19.950 --> 00:01:24.049 and actually all month long, going in to four 00:01:24.049 --> 00:01:26.930 to five weeks here. And we're praying that God's 00:01:26.930 --> 00:01:29.989 word penetrates your heart. And I started this 00:01:29.989 --> 00:01:33.989 mess series last week and I started to talk about 00:01:33.989 --> 00:01:37.109 becoming salty. Turn to somebody, say salty. 00:01:38.439 --> 00:01:41.480 Now, listen, when I say become salty, I don't 00:01:41.480 --> 00:01:44.079 mean salty in the normal sense. How many know 00:01:44.079 --> 00:01:46.760 you can get salty and that means you're frustrated 00:01:46.760 --> 00:01:49.739 with somebody? You're aggravated. Thank you. 00:01:49.760 --> 00:01:51.359 Thank you. I got a witness. I got two witnesses, 00:01:51.620 --> 00:01:54.620 all right? Aggravated about a situation, right? 00:01:54.760 --> 00:01:57.560 Or a person, don't look at him right now. Or 00:01:57.560 --> 00:02:00.739 a circumstance, right? And you're salty about 00:02:00.739 --> 00:02:03.459 that situation. But that's not what we're talking 00:02:03.459 --> 00:02:05.400 about here at LifeHouse. We're talking about 00:02:05.400 --> 00:02:07.959 being salty for Jesus. We're talking about being... 00:02:08.039 --> 00:02:11.000 actually salt and light for Jesus. And we want 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:14.520 to live out what Matthew 5, verse 13 says, 13 00:02:14.520 --> 00:02:17.139 through 16. It says this, you are the salt of 00:02:17.139 --> 00:02:19.780 the earth. Say, I'm salt. I'm going to get this 00:02:19.780 --> 00:02:21.860 in your spirit. I'm salt. You are the salt of 00:02:21.860 --> 00:02:23.680 the earth. But if the salt has lost its taste, 00:02:23.840 --> 00:02:26.659 how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no 00:02:26.659 --> 00:02:28.379 longer good for anything except to be thrown 00:02:28.379 --> 00:02:50.250 out and trampled under people's feet. Salt and 00:02:50.250 --> 00:02:53.389 light. in the right combination to reflect our 00:02:53.389 --> 00:02:56.530 Lord Jesus, our Savior, right? Salt and light 00:02:56.530 --> 00:02:59.990 that causes others to see God's work in us and 00:02:59.990 --> 00:03:04.789 not glorify us, but glorify Him. Kind of deflection. 00:03:04.870 --> 00:03:07.669 I want you to be deflectors for Jesus. You do 00:03:07.669 --> 00:03:10.030 the good works, they see it, they begin to glorify 00:03:10.030 --> 00:03:12.389 God, and the glory goes right to God, right? 00:03:12.530 --> 00:03:15.789 We kind of want to redefine the meaning of salt 00:03:15.789 --> 00:03:18.860 life. How many like the salt life? How many beach 00:03:18.860 --> 00:03:21.060 people we got in the house? Yeah, a whole bunch 00:03:21.060 --> 00:03:23.780 of you, right? We want to redefine that, and 00:03:23.780 --> 00:03:26.319 we want you to live salt life here at LifeHouse. 00:03:26.379 --> 00:03:28.580 And last week, we determined this. This is all 00:03:28.580 --> 00:03:30.180 going to take place. This is all going to happen 00:03:30.180 --> 00:03:33.060 with us as a culture and as a church. And a couple 00:03:33.060 --> 00:03:35.759 things we need to get in place to do that. First, 00:03:35.879 --> 00:03:39.219 you got to decide. You got to decide. How many 00:03:39.219 --> 00:03:41.259 know change does not come unless you make a decision 00:03:41.259 --> 00:03:43.449 about something? You've got to make a decision. 00:03:43.590 --> 00:03:45.909 It starts off with a decision. It all starts 00:03:45.909 --> 00:03:47.849 with a decision. Secondly, you've got to get 00:03:47.849 --> 00:03:51.490 in step with the Holy Spirit. We don't want you 00:03:51.490 --> 00:03:53.150 going out and trying to reach people on your 00:03:53.150 --> 00:03:55.949 own. That's a scary ordeal. We want you to reach 00:03:55.949 --> 00:03:57.930 people with Jesus in step with the Holy Spirit. 00:03:58.110 --> 00:04:00.009 When the Holy Spirit is speaking to you, when 00:04:00.009 --> 00:04:02.050 he's guiding you, when he's directing you. So 00:04:02.050 --> 00:04:03.830 one, you've got to make a decision. Two, you've 00:04:03.830 --> 00:04:05.490 got to get in step with the Holy Spirit. And 00:04:05.490 --> 00:04:09.389 three, you need a plan. You've got to have a 00:04:09.389 --> 00:04:12.139 plan. And that's what salty is all about. Not 00:04:12.139 --> 00:04:14.979 just the word salty, but the acrostic salty. 00:04:15.259 --> 00:04:20.019 S -A -L -T -Y. Salty, right? We're going to use 00:04:20.019 --> 00:04:22.639 this word all month long, and it's an acrostic 00:04:22.639 --> 00:04:26.360 to help you remember the plan. You got to know 00:04:26.360 --> 00:04:29.160 the plan that God has. You got to go out there 00:04:29.160 --> 00:04:31.339 with a plan to reach people for Jesus. So this 00:04:31.339 --> 00:04:33.540 morning, today, we're going to start with the 00:04:33.540 --> 00:04:38.279 letter S. S, right? Which stands for start a 00:04:38.279 --> 00:04:40.699 conversation. Look at the person beside you, 00:04:40.699 --> 00:04:41.759 tell them, I'm going to start a conversation 00:04:41.759 --> 00:04:44.339 with you in just a little while. I'm going to 00:04:44.339 --> 00:04:46.240 do it. I'm going to start a conversation with 00:04:46.240 --> 00:04:48.019 you in just a little while. It's good to warn 00:04:48.019 --> 00:04:50.240 people, right? Start a conversation. You got 00:04:50.240 --> 00:04:53.959 to start a conversation. We can't tell someone 00:04:53.959 --> 00:04:57.540 about Jesus if we're not talking to them, right? 00:04:57.779 --> 00:05:01.120 If we're not willing to speak to them, if we're 00:05:01.120 --> 00:05:04.300 not willing to get in a dialogue with someone 00:05:04.300 --> 00:05:08.680 else. And a dialogue is a conversation where 00:05:08.680 --> 00:05:11.879 somebody is speaking and another person's listening 00:05:11.879 --> 00:05:15.019 or somebody's listening and then somebody's speaking. 00:05:15.060 --> 00:05:17.399 It kind of goes back and forth. It's like a ping 00:05:17.399 --> 00:05:20.459 pong match, right? One volley's up and the other 00:05:20.459 --> 00:05:23.379 one returns it. And it's a dialogue. We got to 00:05:23.379 --> 00:05:27.879 get into a dialogue with people. And right now, 00:05:27.939 --> 00:05:29.639 this is not a dialogue. I don't know if you know 00:05:29.639 --> 00:05:31.740 that or not. I get you to say stuff once in a 00:05:31.740 --> 00:05:34.449 while. But this is pretty much monologue. I'm 00:05:34.449 --> 00:05:36.769 speaking and you're listening. Unless you're 00:05:36.769 --> 00:05:38.050 on your phone chatting with somebody, right? 00:05:39.490 --> 00:05:41.589 You know who you are out there. I can see you 00:05:41.589 --> 00:05:45.509 from up here, right? Before church, you were 00:05:45.509 --> 00:05:47.949 dialoguing with somebody. Probably after church, 00:05:47.949 --> 00:05:49.670 you'll dialogue with somebody. Maybe on the break, 00:05:49.790 --> 00:05:53.329 right? There's talking that's taking place. Dialogue 00:05:53.329 --> 00:05:55.970 is that meaningful conversation where you're 00:05:55.970 --> 00:06:00.490 engaged in speaking and just as engaged in listening 00:06:00.490 --> 00:06:03.779 with someone else. Oscar Wilde says this, ultimately 00:06:03.779 --> 00:06:06.980 the bond of all companionship, whether in marriage 00:06:06.980 --> 00:06:11.439 or friendship, is conversation. It's dialogue. 00:06:12.060 --> 00:06:15.379 Listening and talking to each other. Reaching 00:06:15.379 --> 00:06:19.040 for people, people for Jesus requires us to start 00:06:19.040 --> 00:06:25.100 a dialogue with somebody about God. A Jesus monologue 00:06:25.100 --> 00:06:29.399 won't cut it. I cannot engage in what I call 00:06:29.399 --> 00:06:32.100 a Jesus monologue or a Jesus elevator speech 00:06:32.100 --> 00:06:35.139 and expect to win anybody for Jesus. Now, first 00:06:35.139 --> 00:06:36.220 of all, let me ask, how many of you know what 00:06:36.220 --> 00:06:38.339 an elevator speech is? Raise your hand. If you're 00:06:38.339 --> 00:06:39.639 online, I want you to put it in the chat. Good, 00:06:39.720 --> 00:06:41.180 about half of you know what an elevator speech 00:06:41.180 --> 00:06:42.899 is. If you don't know what an elevator speech 00:06:42.899 --> 00:06:45.540 is, it's when you get in, I mean, when you get 00:06:45.540 --> 00:06:47.500 in an elevator at one landing, and let's say 00:06:47.500 --> 00:06:48.680 you get in at the first floor and you're heading 00:06:48.680 --> 00:06:51.060 to the fifth floor, you got about 60 seconds, 00:06:51.180 --> 00:06:53.620 right? Maybe a little better than a minute to 00:06:53.620 --> 00:06:55.319 whatever you're going to say to somebody, you 00:06:55.319 --> 00:06:56.879 got to get it said. How many know when you get 00:06:56.879 --> 00:06:58.279 in an elevator, there's a captive audience? I 00:06:58.279 --> 00:06:59.879 love it. It's amazing. They can't get away from 00:06:59.879 --> 00:07:02.920 you, right? And you get in the elevator, you've 00:07:02.920 --> 00:07:05.120 got a captive audience in there, and you've got 00:07:05.120 --> 00:07:08.180 60 seconds. And people practice this in business 00:07:08.180 --> 00:07:10.740 all the time. Can you get across what you want 00:07:10.740 --> 00:07:12.899 to say in 60 seconds or less before they can 00:07:12.899 --> 00:07:15.100 actually escape and run away from you when they 00:07:15.100 --> 00:07:18.240 get out right of the elevator? It's true. And 00:07:18.240 --> 00:07:21.319 we're not called to really do what I call hit 00:07:21.319 --> 00:07:24.540 and run for Jesus. Listen, if I say hit and run 00:07:24.540 --> 00:07:26.360 in any kind of statement, how many know that's 00:07:26.360 --> 00:07:27.779 a bad thing? That's not a good thing, right? 00:07:28.100 --> 00:07:30.259 We don't want to do hit and run evangelism for 00:07:30.259 --> 00:07:32.779 Jesus. We want to really get engaged in a dialogue. 00:07:33.000 --> 00:07:36.180 We don't want to do a 30 -second spew about something 00:07:36.180 --> 00:07:39.379 about Jesus and just walk away. I've had this 00:07:39.379 --> 00:07:41.339 happen to me personally. I just actually had 00:07:41.339 --> 00:07:43.639 it happen not that long ago. I had a gentleman 00:07:43.639 --> 00:07:46.839 who came up to me. out on the, just out on the 00:07:46.839 --> 00:07:50.379 sidewalk. And a gentleman came up to me and immediately, 00:07:50.699 --> 00:07:53.180 he didn't say anything. He just started talking. 00:07:53.379 --> 00:07:55.740 And he started doing his Jesus elevator speech. 00:07:55.899 --> 00:07:57.779 And I thought, well, okay, this is cool, right? 00:07:57.899 --> 00:07:59.879 And he's trying to make a convert out of me. 00:07:59.959 --> 00:08:02.959 And he just come up and he's going, you know, 00:08:02.959 --> 00:08:04.519 he's going on and on and on and on and on and 00:08:04.519 --> 00:08:07.339 on about Jesus stuff. And I'm like, okay. And 00:08:07.339 --> 00:08:10.300 he didn't let me get it worded edgewise. And 00:08:10.300 --> 00:08:11.899 I had to wait till he took a breath. I knew he 00:08:11.899 --> 00:08:14.920 had to breathe sooner or later. Right? He took 00:08:14.920 --> 00:08:17.519 a breath, you know, and I said, hey, I said, 00:08:17.540 --> 00:08:19.519 I'm a believer. I'm a follower of Jesus. I'm 00:08:19.519 --> 00:08:21.560 a Christian. I thought he'd go like, man, that's 00:08:21.560 --> 00:08:24.279 awesome. High five, brother. Right? He didn't 00:08:24.279 --> 00:08:27.779 believe me. He didn't. He didn't believe me. 00:08:27.819 --> 00:08:31.480 He just kept on going. He kept, I don't know 00:08:31.480 --> 00:08:33.940 if I look like a hardened atheist. I don't know 00:08:33.940 --> 00:08:36.000 if I look like I've been involved in a lot of 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:37.919 sin at the moment. I'm not sure what was going 00:08:37.919 --> 00:08:41.320 on, but he just kept rolling with it. And I couldn't 00:08:41.320 --> 00:08:43.080 say anything, so I just listened. I let him practice 00:08:43.080 --> 00:08:45.840 his spiel, right? He did his whole thing. And 00:08:45.840 --> 00:08:47.679 you know, he didn't engage in a conversation. 00:08:48.679 --> 00:08:51.120 It was a Jesus monologue. It was hit and run 00:08:51.120 --> 00:08:53.399 evangelism. He just wanted to get another spiritual 00:08:53.399 --> 00:08:55.639 notch on his belt, right? I talked to one more 00:08:55.639 --> 00:08:58.039 person about Jesus and I'm gonna keep on going. 00:08:58.179 --> 00:09:00.919 He didn't care who I was. He wasn't interested 00:09:00.919 --> 00:09:04.299 in what I thought. He didn't care. He wasn't 00:09:04.299 --> 00:09:06.220 worried about one thing I had to say. Nothing, 00:09:06.360 --> 00:09:09.860 right? We can't approach people in that kind 00:09:09.860 --> 00:09:12.679 of manner. They're not a project. We gotta care. 00:09:13.669 --> 00:09:15.509 You know what? I don't know. Maybe he was afraid 00:09:15.509 --> 00:09:18.350 of a real conversation or maybe he was taught 00:09:18.350 --> 00:09:21.509 to do it that way. I'm not sure. But we've got 00:09:21.509 --> 00:09:24.210 to engage in dialogue. If we're going to lead 00:09:24.210 --> 00:09:26.590 people to Jesus, we got to listen to who they 00:09:26.590 --> 00:09:28.750 are. We got to care about the person that we're 00:09:28.750 --> 00:09:31.669 talking to. We got to be genuinely interested. 00:09:32.009 --> 00:09:34.570 We have to care about someone enough to engage 00:09:34.570 --> 00:09:37.470 in authentic, I care about you, Jesus conversation 00:09:37.470 --> 00:09:41.320 with them. A dialogue that's taking place. And 00:09:41.320 --> 00:09:43.480 if you don't really care about that person, if 00:09:43.480 --> 00:09:46.820 you don't really want to be there in a conversation 00:09:46.820 --> 00:09:48.799 with them, they'll pick it up. How many of you 00:09:48.799 --> 00:09:51.120 can pick up when someone's not really there to 00:09:51.120 --> 00:09:54.679 not engage with you whatsoever? They'll let you 00:09:54.679 --> 00:09:58.159 know that. They just came out of a teen youth 00:09:58.159 --> 00:10:00.820 camp. It was teen and juniors together, youth 00:10:00.820 --> 00:10:02.580 camp. And I'll tell you, I used to work with 00:10:02.580 --> 00:10:06.539 teenagers and they... Adults, y 'all as adults, 00:10:06.639 --> 00:10:08.600 you're very kind, right? If somebody's doing 00:10:08.600 --> 00:10:10.759 something that you don't really care for, you're 00:10:10.759 --> 00:10:12.360 pretty good about like just playing it off and 00:10:12.360 --> 00:10:14.480 like, and then you go away and talk about them 00:10:14.480 --> 00:10:17.940 later. Teenagers don't do that. They'll tell, 00:10:18.039 --> 00:10:20.240 they'll let you know right up front, right? When 00:10:20.240 --> 00:10:22.220 you're not being authentic, they know, they'll 00:10:22.220 --> 00:10:27.679 pick it out. We gotta use words. When we wanna 00:10:27.679 --> 00:10:30.019 reach people for Jesus, we gotta use your words. 00:10:30.279 --> 00:10:33.389 Say, use your words. We tell little kids that 00:10:33.389 --> 00:10:37.330 all the time, right? Little kids who run around, 00:10:37.429 --> 00:10:39.070 they're grunting at people. They're going, uh, 00:10:39.190 --> 00:10:40.990 uh, uh, right? They're grunting at what they 00:10:40.990 --> 00:10:42.690 want. How many know, right? Two, three years 00:10:42.690 --> 00:10:45.110 old, going, uh, uh, uh, uh, right? And parents 00:10:45.110 --> 00:10:47.250 going there, use your words. Use your words. 00:10:47.450 --> 00:10:49.190 I say it all the time here at church, right? 00:10:49.389 --> 00:10:51.289 Use your words. That's what they're doing, you 00:10:51.289 --> 00:10:54.929 know? The kids going, uh, uh, uh. You can't do 00:10:54.929 --> 00:10:59.309 that. You can't run around grunting and grumbling 00:10:59.309 --> 00:11:03.070 and groaning underneath your voice, right? Huffing 00:11:03.070 --> 00:11:05.190 and puffing your way through life. And then, 00:11:05.210 --> 00:11:08.009 oh, by the way, I wanna talk about Jesus. You 00:11:08.009 --> 00:11:10.830 gotta use your words. You gotta get in a dialogue. 00:11:11.330 --> 00:11:15.269 You gotta start a conversation. Jesus did this 00:11:15.269 --> 00:11:18.950 all the time. He started conversations. He started 00:11:18.950 --> 00:11:20.870 conversations when it was socially acceptable. 00:11:21.480 --> 00:11:23.860 and when it was not socially acceptable. He started 00:11:23.860 --> 00:11:27.419 conversations at an expected time, and he would 00:11:27.419 --> 00:11:29.500 start conversations at an unexpected time. He 00:11:29.500 --> 00:11:31.639 really would. He'd do it in all kinds of places. 00:11:31.779 --> 00:11:33.860 He'd do it with all kinds of people. He'd do 00:11:33.860 --> 00:11:37.240 it with tax collectors. He would do it with sinners. 00:11:37.539 --> 00:11:39.639 He would do it with religious leaders. He would 00:11:39.639 --> 00:11:42.259 do it with beggars. He would do it with thieves. 00:11:42.500 --> 00:11:45.019 It didn't matter. Those who were in great authority 00:11:45.019 --> 00:11:47.220 and those who had no authority at all and had 00:11:47.220 --> 00:11:50.720 nothing to offer him whatsoever, he started conversations. 00:11:50.759 --> 00:11:54.139 And on a particular day, he starts a conversation 00:11:54.139 --> 00:11:57.879 with a Samaritan woman, which in his day was 00:11:57.879 --> 00:12:01.720 taboo socially. If you've got your Bibles, turn 00:12:01.720 --> 00:12:21.470 to John 4, verse 1. It says this, Jesus is on 00:12:21.470 --> 00:12:23.649 the move, right? He's leaving Judea. He's heading 00:12:23.649 --> 00:12:25.889 to Galilee. And he's got to go through the area 00:12:25.889 --> 00:12:28.350 of Samaria. And he came to the city of Samaria, 00:12:28.409 --> 00:12:30.769 which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground 00:12:30.769 --> 00:12:34.370 that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now, Jacob's 00:12:34.370 --> 00:12:36.870 well, this is a physical well, like a well you 00:12:36.870 --> 00:12:40.269 get water out, right, was there. Jesus, therefore, 00:12:40.389 --> 00:12:42.710 being weary from his journey, sat thus by the 00:12:42.710 --> 00:12:45.509 well. It was about the sixth hour. And a woman 00:12:45.509 --> 00:12:47.929 of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to 00:12:47.929 --> 00:12:51.309 her, give me a drink. This is the conversation. 00:12:51.830 --> 00:12:54.009 He starts speaking, right? He gives her words. 00:12:54.110 --> 00:12:56.769 Give me a drink. For his disciples had gone away 00:12:56.769 --> 00:13:00.840 into the city to buy food. Jesus is doing what 00:13:00.840 --> 00:13:03.960 he did. He traveled. He was an itinerant, what 00:13:03.960 --> 00:13:06.700 you would call preacher, speaker, rabbi, right? 00:13:07.039 --> 00:13:09.500 Undercover son of God at this point in time. 00:13:09.700 --> 00:13:12.759 And he's traveling from Judea to Galilee. And 00:13:12.759 --> 00:13:15.519 he stops in the area of Samaria at the well of 00:13:15.519 --> 00:13:18.820 Jacob. And while he's there, the disciples go 00:13:18.820 --> 00:13:21.539 to get food. And this is probably about a 17 00:13:21.539 --> 00:13:24.580 mile trek. He's probably in about 17 miles when 00:13:24.580 --> 00:13:26.659 he gets to this point. And they're there for 00:13:26.659 --> 00:13:29.039 a respite. They're there for a rest along the 00:13:29.039 --> 00:13:31.759 journey. journey. And this conversation begins 00:13:31.759 --> 00:13:36.019 with a Samaritan woman, which is taboo, but it's 00:13:36.019 --> 00:13:38.159 how he starts the conversation. It's super interesting. 00:13:39.059 --> 00:13:41.700 He looks at this woman and he says, give me a 00:13:41.700 --> 00:13:46.659 drink. That's it. Just give me a drink. Now, 00:13:46.720 --> 00:13:48.919 honestly, as I looked at this at first glance, 00:13:49.000 --> 00:13:50.700 I thought, well, that's an interesting way to 00:13:50.700 --> 00:13:52.740 start a conversation. Maybe even just a little 00:13:52.740 --> 00:13:55.250 bit awkward, right? I thought to myself, what 00:13:55.250 --> 00:13:58.230 if I was standing at a soda machine and I was 00:13:58.230 --> 00:14:00.649 spanning, right, all my choices and I'm getting 00:14:00.649 --> 00:14:02.570 ready to spend that two bucks. It used to be 00:14:02.570 --> 00:14:04.649 a buck, but now it's two bucks, right, to get 00:14:04.649 --> 00:14:06.769 a soda or to get a drink of some kind. And I'm 00:14:06.769 --> 00:14:08.870 deciding whether to do Mountain Dew or should 00:14:08.870 --> 00:14:10.610 I get vitamin water? You know, should I get something 00:14:10.610 --> 00:14:12.129 healthy? And I'm standing getting ready to make 00:14:12.129 --> 00:14:13.470 a decision and somebody walks up behind me and 00:14:13.470 --> 00:14:18.210 says, give me a drink. I mean, I don't know what 00:14:18.210 --> 00:14:23.779 I'd do, right? I only got two bucks. right? Give 00:14:23.779 --> 00:14:26.720 me a drink. And some of you would probably just 00:14:26.720 --> 00:14:28.059 ignore him like, oh, they're on their Bluetooth 00:14:28.059 --> 00:14:30.000 talking to somebody else. I don't know, right? 00:14:30.179 --> 00:14:32.480 You know, but it was kind of awkward. It was 00:14:32.480 --> 00:14:34.500 a little bit, it was a little strange response, 00:14:34.639 --> 00:14:37.299 but Jesus knew exactly what he was doing in this 00:14:37.299 --> 00:14:40.000 conversation starter. He really did. He, first 00:14:40.000 --> 00:14:41.700 of all, he knew that he was talking to a Samaritan 00:14:41.700 --> 00:14:44.519 woman. He knew that was taboo according to society 00:14:44.519 --> 00:14:48.139 that day. Jews had no dealings. with Samaritans 00:14:48.139 --> 00:14:50.059 and Samaritans with Jews, they were actually 00:14:50.059 --> 00:14:52.960 considered almost enemies of one another. They 00:14:52.960 --> 00:14:55.379 had deep differences that was very historical 00:14:55.379 --> 00:14:58.580 in nature that went back many, many, many, many 00:14:58.580 --> 00:15:01.320 years. And there was this divide socially between 00:15:01.320 --> 00:15:05.159 the two. And he knew the social biases he stepped 00:15:05.159 --> 00:15:07.519 into this conversation. He knew what she was 00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:10.620 thinking. He knew that this was not a thing that 00:15:10.620 --> 00:15:14.519 normally took place. And he also knew that it 00:15:14.519 --> 00:15:18.320 was just not good in general for a Jewish man 00:15:18.320 --> 00:15:21.940 to speak to a woman, let alone a Samaritan woman. 00:15:22.159 --> 00:15:25.659 And Jesus breaks all those social barriers and 00:15:25.659 --> 00:15:29.000 he starts a conversation, not with chitchat like 00:15:29.000 --> 00:15:32.419 we normally do, right? But he asked for a drink 00:15:32.419 --> 00:15:35.980 from the well. Now you gotta understand, this 00:15:35.980 --> 00:15:37.659 Samaritan woman, you gotta think about what's 00:15:37.659 --> 00:15:39.720 running through her mind. She's like, why is 00:15:39.720 --> 00:15:42.519 this guy talking to me? Why is this Jewish man 00:15:42.519 --> 00:15:44.919 even speaking to me? And she's got two choices 00:15:44.919 --> 00:15:48.460 at this point. She can either engage in a conversation 00:15:48.460 --> 00:15:50.740 with Jesus. She either has to, because Jesus 00:15:50.740 --> 00:15:52.980 said, made a kind of a demand on her, right? 00:15:53.200 --> 00:15:56.029 Or she can walk away. and just pretend he didn't 00:15:56.029 --> 00:15:57.870 even say anything. She's only got two choices. 00:15:57.970 --> 00:16:00.409 And Jesus knew because he kind of placed the 00:16:00.409 --> 00:16:02.350 demand, she was probably wondering, why is he 00:16:02.350 --> 00:16:03.990 speaking? She might even been a little aggravated 00:16:03.990 --> 00:16:05.909 about the whole thing. Why is he talking to me? 00:16:05.990 --> 00:16:08.350 Why is this all happening? What in the world's 00:16:08.350 --> 00:16:10.429 going on? She's probably thinking, this doesn't 00:16:10.429 --> 00:16:13.669 happen. This isn't supposed to happen. And Jesus 00:16:13.669 --> 00:16:16.429 knew this was gonna lead. He said something that 00:16:16.429 --> 00:16:19.710 was gonna start a conversation, even if it was 00:16:19.710 --> 00:16:22.190 a little bit awkward at the beginning. And in 00:16:22.190 --> 00:16:24.850 verse nine, the woman responds. It says, the 00:16:24.850 --> 00:16:27.009 woman of Samaria said to him, how is it that 00:16:27.009 --> 00:16:30.970 you, being a Jew, ask a drink of me, a Samaritan 00:16:30.970 --> 00:16:33.669 woman? For Jews have no dealings with Samaritan. 00:16:34.309 --> 00:16:37.370 She points out the obvious. She points out that 00:16:37.370 --> 00:16:39.950 this is messed up. This doesn't happen. We don't 00:16:39.950 --> 00:16:43.990 do this kind of thing, right? And it's on. The 00:16:43.990 --> 00:16:48.049 conversation's engaged. This conversation, right, 00:16:48.149 --> 00:16:51.649 was so out of the norm. And Jesus says something 00:16:51.649 --> 00:16:55.429 and she's got to respond. She's thinking, this 00:16:55.429 --> 00:16:59.529 is not good. Why is this happening? And she states 00:16:59.529 --> 00:17:02.750 it. And Jesus answers her. The conversation starts. 00:17:03.049 --> 00:17:05.210 This is no longer a monologue. It's a dialogue. 00:17:05.450 --> 00:17:07.869 And Jesus answered and said to her, if you knew 00:17:07.869 --> 00:17:10.650 the gift of God and who it is who says to you, 00:17:10.750 --> 00:17:14.589 give me a drink, you would have asked him and 00:17:14.589 --> 00:17:19.759 he would have given you living water. He starts 00:17:19.759 --> 00:17:22.940 the conversation with a request, almost a demand, 00:17:23.200 --> 00:17:25.980 right? Which results in a question from her, 00:17:26.099 --> 00:17:29.160 which piques her curiosity to all this and why 00:17:29.160 --> 00:17:32.140 this is happening. And then Jesus flips the script. 00:17:32.460 --> 00:17:35.579 He says, if you would have, if you had known 00:17:35.579 --> 00:17:37.940 who was talking to you, you would have asked 00:17:37.940 --> 00:17:40.859 me for a drink of water and I would have given 00:17:40.859 --> 00:17:46.359 you living water. Curiosity peaked. intrigued, 00:17:46.359 --> 00:17:49.380 engaged completely, right? They're on their way 00:17:49.380 --> 00:17:52.740 to have a conversation. And listen, if you can 00:17:52.740 --> 00:17:55.460 get somebody intrigued in your conversation, 00:17:55.759 --> 00:17:58.160 you're gonna have a conversation. If you can 00:17:58.160 --> 00:18:00.440 say something that helps that person realize, 00:18:00.640 --> 00:18:02.619 you know what? There's some kind of hidden gold 00:18:02.619 --> 00:18:04.400 here. I don't know what's going on in this conversation, 00:18:04.619 --> 00:18:06.359 but there's something under the surface and I 00:18:06.359 --> 00:18:08.519 wanna know what it's about. If you can get somebody 00:18:08.519 --> 00:18:10.480 engaged and they're like, you know what? They're 00:18:10.480 --> 00:18:12.299 talking about something I really need, right? 00:18:12.359 --> 00:18:14.730 Living water. Where do I get living water? her. 00:18:14.769 --> 00:18:18.230 You know, he, Jesus, he spoke and she was in. 00:18:18.650 --> 00:18:21.890 Curiosity was piqued, right? Interest was piqued, 00:18:21.890 --> 00:18:25.730 and this conversation was on. And Jesus drew 00:18:25.730 --> 00:18:28.990 conversation, something, he started with something 00:18:28.990 --> 00:18:31.990 that we all want. We want to know what the gift 00:18:31.990 --> 00:18:36.980 of God is for us. Amen? I do. I want to know 00:18:36.980 --> 00:18:39.160 what the gift of God is for me. I want to know 00:18:39.160 --> 00:18:42.559 where I can get living water, living water that 00:18:42.559 --> 00:18:45.440 can be inside of me and continue on in me. I 00:18:45.440 --> 00:18:49.160 want to know that. Living water. It's what I 00:18:49.160 --> 00:18:53.160 want. I want that. I do. I think some people 00:18:53.160 --> 00:18:55.279 check out of our conversations sometimes because 00:18:55.279 --> 00:18:58.079 we never pique their interest. Right? We never 00:18:58.079 --> 00:19:00.180 get in a conversation where they're interested 00:19:00.180 --> 00:19:02.200 in what we have to say. I think sometimes we're 00:19:02.200 --> 00:19:04.259 afraid to say something that's life -changing 00:19:04.259 --> 00:19:06.599 in the moment. Something that might grab them 00:19:06.599 --> 00:19:09.720 in the second, right? And pull them in and draw 00:19:09.720 --> 00:19:13.220 them into a conversation. But Jesus goes right 00:19:13.220 --> 00:19:17.839 into it. And he makes it intriguing. Makes him 00:19:17.839 --> 00:19:20.630 intriguing. Now, this whole message series is 00:19:20.630 --> 00:19:22.490 about you getting out there and getting in conversations 00:19:22.490 --> 00:19:24.769 and starting a conversation. So here's what I 00:19:24.769 --> 00:19:26.730 wanna do. I wanna get you to practice this right 00:19:26.730 --> 00:19:28.650 now, just for a second, right? And you might 00:19:28.650 --> 00:19:29.630 be thinking, well, how in the world am I gonna 00:19:29.630 --> 00:19:31.890 do that? I want you to get the person beside 00:19:31.890 --> 00:19:33.750 you intrigued. Now, this is gonna be okay if 00:19:33.750 --> 00:19:35.650 you know the person beside you. If not, get ready 00:19:35.650 --> 00:19:38.569 for a very awkward moment, okay? But I want you 00:19:38.569 --> 00:19:40.450 to turn to the person right beside you right 00:19:40.450 --> 00:19:42.589 now, and I want you to smile at them. Go ahead 00:19:42.589 --> 00:19:45.329 and do it right now. And keep smiling at them, 00:19:45.349 --> 00:19:52.710 like awkwardly smiling at them. Come on. Just 00:19:52.710 --> 00:19:56.670 keep smiling at them. All right, come on. Wasn't 00:19:56.670 --> 00:19:59.710 that a little weird? Now, you did it because 00:19:59.710 --> 00:20:02.049 I told you to. But if somebody did that to you, 00:20:02.170 --> 00:20:04.049 do you know what you'd be thinking? You'd be 00:20:04.049 --> 00:20:07.589 thinking, why are they smiling at me? What in 00:20:07.589 --> 00:20:09.750 the world do they got going on in their head 00:20:09.750 --> 00:20:12.930 right now? It might be a little awkward, but 00:20:12.930 --> 00:20:14.809 you'd get a little bit intrigued, right? They'd 00:20:14.809 --> 00:20:16.730 just keep grinning at you and grinning at you. 00:20:17.029 --> 00:20:19.569 And you'd be like, do I know you? You know, you'd 00:20:19.569 --> 00:20:21.970 be saying something like that. Have we met before? 00:20:22.349 --> 00:20:23.950 Right, you'd be doing something along those lines. 00:20:24.029 --> 00:20:26.809 You can do something that intrigues people. Start 00:20:26.809 --> 00:20:31.089 the conversation. Just walk up beside them. Maybe 00:20:31.089 --> 00:20:33.269 get up, step and step with them. I mean, if you 00:20:33.269 --> 00:20:34.670 walk right up beside somebody who doesn't know 00:20:34.670 --> 00:20:36.049 you and you get step and step with them, they're 00:20:36.049 --> 00:20:37.349 just looking over you like, what's happening 00:20:37.349 --> 00:20:40.549 right now? And you can start off with hello. 00:20:41.869 --> 00:20:45.710 Say something intriguing. This happened to me 00:20:45.710 --> 00:20:48.569 years ago, many years ago. Well, actually not 00:20:48.569 --> 00:20:51.670 that long ago, but some years back. And I've 00:20:51.670 --> 00:20:53.869 told this story before. So if you've heard it 00:20:53.869 --> 00:20:55.490 before here at LifeHouse, please forgive me. 00:20:55.549 --> 00:20:59.769 I'm getting old, I repeat myself. But I was in 00:20:59.769 --> 00:21:01.710 a parking lot and I came out of a store. It was 00:21:01.710 --> 00:21:03.990 pretty close to closing time. It was getting 00:21:03.990 --> 00:21:07.079 close to about 9 p .m. and the store's getting 00:21:07.079 --> 00:21:09.640 ready to close. And I was walking to the bottom 00:21:09.640 --> 00:21:11.859 of this parking lot. And of course, the parking 00:21:11.859 --> 00:21:14.720 lot lights were on. And this car, as I get to 00:21:14.720 --> 00:21:16.299 the bottom of the parking lot where my car is, 00:21:16.359 --> 00:21:19.039 this car pulls in up towards close to the store 00:21:19.039 --> 00:21:21.779 and they put their window down and they yell 00:21:21.779 --> 00:21:24.500 one thing to me. I'm the only one in that aisle. 00:21:24.599 --> 00:21:27.200 I'm the only one almost in the parking lot. And 00:21:27.200 --> 00:21:31.099 they say, man of God. And I'm looking around 00:21:31.099 --> 00:21:32.700 like, who's the man of God I need to be looking 00:21:32.700 --> 00:21:35.109 at, right? And that's all they said. And they 00:21:35.109 --> 00:21:38.269 said it twice, man of God. And two things, I 00:21:38.269 --> 00:21:40.490 turned around, I did not recognize the car and 00:21:40.490 --> 00:21:42.849 I did not recognize the voice. Now I had two 00:21:42.849 --> 00:21:46.349 choices at that point, right? Hop in my car and 00:21:46.349 --> 00:21:49.009 just pretend I didn't hear that or walk back 00:21:49.009 --> 00:21:51.250 up the parking lot and see who's up there. I 00:21:51.250 --> 00:21:54.250 chose to say, I had to see who it was. I was 00:21:54.250 --> 00:21:56.750 so intrigued. I thought I might get shot and 00:21:56.750 --> 00:21:58.869 die and go to heaven right now, but I'm gonna 00:21:58.869 --> 00:22:01.339 walk back up, right? I'm gonna walk back up to 00:22:01.339 --> 00:22:03.980 the parking lot. And I walked up and this gentleman 00:22:03.980 --> 00:22:07.859 said, God sent me here to speak a word over you. 00:22:08.500 --> 00:22:11.660 And he spoke a word over me. I was so stunned. 00:22:11.680 --> 00:22:14.160 I never got his name and he closed the window 00:22:14.160 --> 00:22:16.759 and drove away. I stood completely stunned. It's 00:22:16.759 --> 00:22:18.099 only ever happened to me one time in my whole 00:22:18.099 --> 00:22:22.450 life. In the parking lot, it was crazy. And God 00:22:22.450 --> 00:22:25.450 met me right there, right under a light in a 00:22:25.450 --> 00:22:27.809 parking lot and spoke a word to me through somebody 00:22:27.809 --> 00:22:30.250 I did not know. And they delivered the message 00:22:30.250 --> 00:22:31.690 and they're like, whew, that's over with, right? 00:22:31.769 --> 00:22:35.269 And they took off. They left. They did an obedience. 00:22:35.589 --> 00:22:38.869 We got to start the conversation. We gotta be 00:22:38.869 --> 00:22:41.410 intriguing in it. And it can be just as small 00:22:41.410 --> 00:22:43.549 as a thing. And it might not look like that at 00:22:43.549 --> 00:22:46.210 all, right? It might not be that crazy kind of 00:22:46.210 --> 00:22:48.130 thing that takes place, but it could be something 00:22:48.130 --> 00:22:50.809 simple. It can be something as simple as a smile, 00:22:50.930 --> 00:22:53.630 right? You can step in step with them, walk up 00:22:53.630 --> 00:22:56.130 right beside them. You can start a simple, natural 00:22:56.130 --> 00:22:58.930 conversation with someone and move it towards 00:22:58.930 --> 00:23:01.390 the eternal as fast as you can. Move it towards 00:23:01.390 --> 00:23:04.029 something that they need eternally as quick as 00:23:04.029 --> 00:23:06.630 you can. Let them know what the gift is of God, 00:23:06.650 --> 00:23:09.359 right? Hey, I... I got a gift for you. I got 00:23:09.359 --> 00:23:12.619 something to give you, right? Make it intriguing. 00:23:13.720 --> 00:23:16.460 In verse 11, the woman said to him, sir, you 00:23:16.460 --> 00:23:19.259 have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. 00:23:19.579 --> 00:23:21.799 Where then do you get that living water? The 00:23:21.799 --> 00:23:24.240 conversation's going on. Are you greater than 00:23:24.240 --> 00:23:26.779 our father Jacob who gave us the well and drank 00:23:26.779 --> 00:23:29.359 from it as well as his sons and his livestock? 00:23:30.259 --> 00:23:34.220 She's in now. She's in the conversation. She's 00:23:34.220 --> 00:23:37.339 talking. She's pulling up history. How did that 00:23:37.339 --> 00:23:40.059 happen? A couple of things, a couple of things. 00:23:41.279 --> 00:23:44.660 Jesus knew where he was before he started the 00:23:44.660 --> 00:23:48.440 conversation. He knew he was in Samaria. He knew 00:23:48.440 --> 00:23:51.799 the history. of the peoples, right, between the 00:23:51.799 --> 00:23:55.259 Jews and the Samaritans. He knew the social bias 00:23:55.259 --> 00:23:58.599 that this woman would be coming from. He knew 00:23:58.599 --> 00:24:01.220 that she knew nothing about him personally at 00:24:01.220 --> 00:24:03.700 this point. She had no idea who she was talking 00:24:03.700 --> 00:24:06.200 to when this conversation started. He knew he 00:24:06.200 --> 00:24:08.660 was near water, right? And this could be a conversation 00:24:08.660 --> 00:24:12.099 point because we all need water. He knew all 00:24:12.099 --> 00:24:15.359 of it. He thought through. He was aware before 00:24:15.359 --> 00:24:17.579 he started the conversation. What am I saying? 00:24:17.779 --> 00:24:19.539 When you're going to start a conversation, with 00:24:19.539 --> 00:24:22.640 someone, take a look around you before you start 00:24:22.640 --> 00:24:25.119 to talk. Take a look around you before you start 00:24:25.119 --> 00:24:28.259 the conversation. Know where you are. Know generally 00:24:28.259 --> 00:24:30.480 who you're talking to, the general audience that 00:24:30.480 --> 00:24:33.779 you're speaking to. Get a hold of some social 00:24:33.779 --> 00:24:35.779 cues that are around you, the climate that's 00:24:35.779 --> 00:24:38.119 in the room, the climate where you're at, right? 00:24:38.279 --> 00:24:41.680 And lean into the Holy Spirit to start the conversation. 00:24:42.559 --> 00:24:44.660 Here's a great thing you need to understand. 00:24:45.220 --> 00:24:48.779 This does not all lean and lend on you. If you're 00:24:48.779 --> 00:24:50.960 walking with the Holy Spirit and you breathe 00:24:50.960 --> 00:24:52.859 the word to him, you say, Holy Spirit, I need 00:24:52.859 --> 00:24:55.200 you right now. I wanna start this conversation. 00:24:55.440 --> 00:24:57.680 I need your help. Help me in this conversation. 00:24:58.180 --> 00:25:01.099 How many in this house, you've got into a conversation, 00:25:01.160 --> 00:25:02.720 at the end of the conversation, you're thinking, 00:25:02.779 --> 00:25:05.440 I have no idea where all those thoughts and words 00:25:05.440 --> 00:25:07.920 came from. That was the Holy Spirit, had to be 00:25:07.920 --> 00:25:09.559 the Holy Spirit because it wasn't coming out 00:25:09.559 --> 00:25:12.099 of my brain, right? I just spoke those things. 00:25:12.200 --> 00:25:15.039 Get in that conversation. I go on hospital visits 00:25:15.039 --> 00:25:16.700 sometimes. Sometimes people will call me and 00:25:16.700 --> 00:25:18.640 say, hey, I got a relative in the hospital and 00:25:18.640 --> 00:25:20.940 I don't know who they are or I don't know who 00:25:20.940 --> 00:25:22.500 they are. They know, of course, they're a relative, 00:25:22.640 --> 00:25:24.279 right? But I don't know who they are walking 00:25:24.279 --> 00:25:25.859 in. They'll say, pastor, would you go visit them? 00:25:25.980 --> 00:25:28.000 And I'm like, sure, I'll go visit them. And they 00:25:28.000 --> 00:25:29.240 don't know the Lord. Would you lead them to the 00:25:29.240 --> 00:25:31.759 Lord? And by the way, they're about to pass from 00:25:31.759 --> 00:25:34.339 this life to the next. So I got to walk into 00:25:34.339 --> 00:25:37.380 a room, right, a hospital room, where the person 00:25:37.380 --> 00:25:39.720 A doesn't know me, the family around them may 00:25:39.720 --> 00:25:42.440 not know me, and I have no idea of this person's 00:25:42.440 --> 00:25:44.839 bias, hostility, or anything towards Christianity, 00:25:45.099 --> 00:25:47.359 and I got to start a conversation with them about 00:25:47.359 --> 00:25:49.059 the most important thing in their life, and that's 00:25:49.059 --> 00:25:51.960 if they've given their life to Christ. You got 00:25:51.960 --> 00:25:54.839 to pray and lean on the Holy Spirit. I'm usually 00:25:54.839 --> 00:25:56.920 desperately praying the whole way to the hospital, 00:25:56.960 --> 00:25:58.839 like, Lord, you got to help me with this, right? 00:25:59.200 --> 00:26:02.500 Give me the words. He's going with a plan, but 00:26:02.500 --> 00:26:04.539 I need the Holy Spirit because I need the words. 00:26:05.640 --> 00:26:08.599 Look at who's around you. Know where you're at. 00:26:10.380 --> 00:26:12.079 As I was thinking about this, I was thinking 00:26:12.079 --> 00:26:16.099 about Jesus. What if he swung into Sturgis, South 00:26:16.099 --> 00:26:18.619 Dakota, while one of the largest Harley Davidson 00:26:18.619 --> 00:26:22.720 rallies that's on the planet is taking place? 00:26:22.960 --> 00:26:26.700 What if Jesus rode in on his Harley to Sturgis 00:26:26.700 --> 00:26:29.440 and slid up beside somebody and said, give me 00:26:29.440 --> 00:26:31.839 a drink? How many know they wanted to hand him 00:26:31.839 --> 00:26:35.680 water? That had a whole different meaning in 00:26:35.680 --> 00:26:41.059 that context, right? If he had came into Sturgis, 00:26:41.099 --> 00:26:44.220 South Dakota, while there's thousands and hundreds 00:26:44.220 --> 00:26:46.960 of thousands of bikers there, he would have had 00:26:46.960 --> 00:26:49.920 to start the conversation different. It would 00:26:49.920 --> 00:26:52.140 have to look like something else. He might've 00:26:52.140 --> 00:26:54.339 slid up and say, you know what? I need a half 00:26:54.339 --> 00:26:57.849 inch wrench. My exhaust pipe on my bike is loose 00:26:57.849 --> 00:27:00.029 and I need a half inch wrench. You got a half 00:27:00.029 --> 00:27:01.869 inch wrench? And they'll hand him a half inch 00:27:01.869 --> 00:27:03.289 wrench. And he might've said, you know what? 00:27:03.309 --> 00:27:04.930 I know the one who holds all things together. 00:27:05.430 --> 00:27:07.730 I know the one who put it all together, right? 00:27:07.829 --> 00:27:10.109 I know the one who can keep it bound together. 00:27:10.680 --> 00:27:12.660 He might start the conversation in a different 00:27:12.660 --> 00:27:15.220 way. He might say, you know, do you got some 00:27:15.220 --> 00:27:18.240 leather softener? I've been wearing these chaps 00:27:18.240 --> 00:27:21.019 under my cloak. Come on, I need some leather 00:27:21.019 --> 00:27:24.039 softener. And by the way, I can give you, listen, 00:27:24.259 --> 00:27:26.579 if life is rubbing you the wrong way, I know 00:27:26.579 --> 00:27:28.299 the one that you need to go to this morning. 00:27:28.559 --> 00:27:32.420 Come on. How about some chrome polish, right? 00:27:33.599 --> 00:27:36.519 You got some chrome polish conversation starter. 00:27:37.400 --> 00:27:40.160 I need to remove the sin, right? Chrome polish 00:27:40.160 --> 00:27:42.920 is like, you can remove stains and sin with chrome 00:27:42.920 --> 00:27:46.480 polish, right? Jesus is the chrome polish. He 00:27:46.480 --> 00:27:48.279 just started the conversation in some other way. 00:27:48.920 --> 00:27:51.200 It would have looked different. Take a look around. 00:27:51.539 --> 00:27:54.220 Don't just go off of your IQ, which is your intellect, 00:27:54.339 --> 00:27:56.900 but go off of your EQ, which is your emotional 00:27:56.900 --> 00:27:59.220 intelligence, right? Pick up on what's happening 00:27:59.220 --> 00:28:02.200 around you. See what's going on. Rely on the 00:28:02.200 --> 00:28:06.299 Holy Spirit and start a conversation. Start it. 00:28:06.670 --> 00:28:09.150 Don't rely on your skills, right, or lack of 00:28:09.150 --> 00:28:11.609 conversational skills. Some of you might feel 00:28:11.609 --> 00:28:13.109 very skilled in conversations. Some of you are 00:28:13.109 --> 00:28:15.430 like, I hate getting into conversations, right? 00:28:15.950 --> 00:28:19.849 But rely on the Holy Spirit. Pick up on what's 00:28:19.849 --> 00:28:21.210 going on around you. Last thing I'm going to 00:28:21.210 --> 00:28:23.569 give you this morning, last thing. Be childlike. 00:28:23.670 --> 00:28:26.930 Be childlike in starting a conversation. We should 00:28:26.930 --> 00:28:28.950 be childlike in starting conversation. Well, 00:28:28.990 --> 00:28:30.390 what do I mean by that? Well, let me read you 00:28:30.390 --> 00:28:32.710 Matthew 18, verse one. It says this. At that 00:28:32.710 --> 00:28:35.009 time, the disciples came to Jesus saying, who's 00:28:35.009 --> 00:28:37.250 the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? This is 00:28:37.250 --> 00:28:38.849 the disciples. These are the very mature disciples 00:28:38.849 --> 00:28:41.470 of Jesus. Who's the greatest? And calling to 00:28:41.470 --> 00:28:43.589 him a child, he put him in the midst of them 00:28:43.589 --> 00:28:45.970 and said, truly I say to you, unless you turn 00:28:45.970 --> 00:28:48.029 and become like children, you'll never enter 00:28:48.029 --> 00:28:50.470 the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself 00:28:50.470 --> 00:28:53.650 like this child is greatest in the kingdom of 00:28:53.650 --> 00:28:58.059 heaven. Disciples are arguing. Who's the greatest? 00:28:58.460 --> 00:29:00.880 Who's the greatest disciple ever? It's what happens 00:29:00.880 --> 00:29:02.180 when you get a bunch of guys together, right? 00:29:03.599 --> 00:29:07.720 And Jesus pulls out a child and sets him on his 00:29:07.720 --> 00:29:11.079 lap. And he says, boys, unless you get like this, 00:29:11.220 --> 00:29:15.299 unless you get the humility of a child, you're 00:29:15.299 --> 00:29:16.799 not even going to see the kingdom of heaven. 00:29:18.420 --> 00:29:22.400 Start every conversation from a position of humility. 00:29:23.059 --> 00:29:26.450 Start with humility. I see more than my fair 00:29:26.450 --> 00:29:28.690 share of Christians come into a conversation 00:29:28.690 --> 00:29:31.529 and they come in acting like they're the greatest 00:29:31.529 --> 00:29:34.769 in the kingdom of God. They come in acting like 00:29:34.769 --> 00:29:36.690 they got all the answers and you don't have any 00:29:36.690 --> 00:29:38.589 of the answers. They don't come in listening. 00:29:38.730 --> 00:29:42.750 They come in with this spiritual pride or arrogance 00:29:42.750 --> 00:29:45.250 or whatever you want to call it into the conversation. 00:29:45.980 --> 00:29:48.680 right? And there's no humility there. Listen, 00:29:48.859 --> 00:29:50.880 if you want a good thing to do before you get 00:29:50.880 --> 00:29:53.299 in a conversation with somebody about Jesus, 00:29:53.519 --> 00:29:55.980 you need to stop and you need to ask yourself 00:29:55.980 --> 00:29:58.759 to remind yourself of something actually, right? 00:29:58.920 --> 00:30:01.160 I need to remind myself that I'm a sinner saved 00:30:01.160 --> 00:30:03.640 by grace. And it's only by the grace of God that 00:30:03.640 --> 00:30:07.059 I'm here, right? That I was lost and by the grace 00:30:07.059 --> 00:30:09.319 of God, I'm found. You got to remind yourself 00:30:09.319 --> 00:30:12.380 that I got nothing. I have nothing to give you. 00:30:12.460 --> 00:30:14.500 I have nothing to give anybody else outside of 00:30:14.500 --> 00:30:18.269 Jesus Christ. I have nothing of eternal value 00:30:18.269 --> 00:30:21.630 within me that I can spew out into you. I don't 00:30:21.630 --> 00:30:25.250 have anything. It's all him. It's God's grace. 00:30:25.289 --> 00:30:28.109 It's his sacrifice. He paid a dear price for 00:30:28.109 --> 00:30:31.049 all this, right? With his blood. You remind yourself 00:30:31.049 --> 00:30:34.950 of all those things and who you are and what 00:30:34.950 --> 00:30:37.109 God's done for you before you start to go into 00:30:37.109 --> 00:30:39.910 a conversation. And you'll come into that conversation 00:30:39.910 --> 00:30:44.369 with humility. Understand this. Humility is not 00:30:44.369 --> 00:30:47.569 weak conversation. Humility is not timid conversation. 00:30:47.930 --> 00:30:51.130 Humility is not mindless conversation. It is 00:30:51.130 --> 00:30:54.490 not low self -esteem conversation. It is the 00:30:54.490 --> 00:30:58.349 power of God within you. It's humility. It is. 00:30:59.130 --> 00:31:03.289 It's the power of God in the conversation. Humility 00:31:03.289 --> 00:31:05.970 takes me out of the conversation and moves the 00:31:05.970 --> 00:31:10.250 conversation to him. Amen? It's true. It's true. 00:31:10.720 --> 00:31:15.059 the worship team would come. Jesus heard these 00:31:15.059 --> 00:31:17.599 disciples, right? They're getting all fired up 00:31:17.599 --> 00:31:20.339 about who's the greatest. And he said to the 00:31:20.339 --> 00:31:21.980 two -year -old, a child, I don't know if it was 00:31:21.980 --> 00:31:23.960 two or three or what it was, but he said to the 00:31:23.960 --> 00:31:28.039 child in front of him, my two -year -old granddaughter. 00:31:28.810 --> 00:31:30.630 is at the house. She'd come up to stay with us 00:31:30.630 --> 00:31:33.710 for her Maisie, Mia and Maisie. Mia's two and 00:31:33.710 --> 00:31:35.750 Maisie's four. And they've come to our house 00:31:35.750 --> 00:31:39.869 to stay for a few days. And Mia, she's only two 00:31:39.869 --> 00:31:42.750 years old. And she never, you know, I've got 00:31:42.750 --> 00:31:44.309 into conversations with Mia and they're very 00:31:44.309 --> 00:31:45.910 short conversations because she can only say 00:31:45.910 --> 00:31:48.410 one or two words at a time. But do you know what 00:31:48.410 --> 00:31:50.690 I never get from Mia? Mia never, well, there 00:31:50.690 --> 00:31:53.849 she is. She knew I was talking about her. All 00:31:53.849 --> 00:31:57.369 right, she's crying. All right. but she's two 00:31:57.369 --> 00:31:59.190 years old and I've never got into conversation 00:31:59.190 --> 00:32:01.329 with Mia and thought, you know, I just don't 00:32:01.329 --> 00:32:02.809 know what this kid's motives are when they're 00:32:02.809 --> 00:32:05.549 talking to me. I'm not sure about this person, 00:32:05.609 --> 00:32:07.690 right? I don't talk to Mia and I'm thinking, 00:32:07.730 --> 00:32:09.589 you know, I think there's a lot of pride built 00:32:09.589 --> 00:32:11.930 up back in there. Two -year -olds don't do that. 00:32:12.309 --> 00:32:13.890 They'll come to you humbly, they'll come with 00:32:13.890 --> 00:32:15.829 arms open or they'll scream their head off because 00:32:15.829 --> 00:32:17.910 they don't like you and run the other way. But 00:32:17.910 --> 00:32:20.069 it's all from a place of humility. Now, if you 00:32:20.069 --> 00:32:21.349 get in a conversation with a three -year -old, 00:32:21.410 --> 00:32:23.829 that's a different story. But two -year -olds, 00:32:23.849 --> 00:32:26.690 this is how they do it, right? We come into the 00:32:26.690 --> 00:32:32.009 conversation with humility. We come in just all 00:32:32.009 --> 00:32:35.309 pride set aside, knowing who I am, knowing that 00:32:35.309 --> 00:32:38.509 I'm redeemed, right? That my hope, can I tell 00:32:38.509 --> 00:32:40.609 you, there's no way to come into a conversation 00:32:40.609 --> 00:32:42.950 somewhere between pride and humility. I don't 00:32:42.950 --> 00:32:44.609 know if you know that or not. There is no way 00:32:44.609 --> 00:32:47.150 in between. You're either gonna come into a conversation 00:32:47.150 --> 00:32:49.029 with pride or you're gonna come into it with 00:32:49.029 --> 00:32:51.319 humility. As a matter of fact, try to find a 00:32:51.319 --> 00:32:53.920 word that actually describes the in -between 00:32:53.920 --> 00:32:56.000 state. Some people are like, oh, pastor, you 00:32:56.000 --> 00:32:58.059 know, I have some pride, but I have some humility, 00:32:58.259 --> 00:33:00.920 and I'm kind of both. What is that, pride -ility, 00:33:01.180 --> 00:33:04.759 you know? I don't know. What is that? There is 00:33:04.759 --> 00:33:07.799 no word for that. You're either coming in in 00:33:07.799 --> 00:33:12.079 pride or you're coming in in humility. Even Jesus 00:33:12.079 --> 00:33:15.559 started conversations from a posture of humility. 00:33:17.540 --> 00:33:19.839 As the team gets ready to play, I wanna read 00:33:19.839 --> 00:33:22.400 you one last scenario where Jesus starts a conversation. 00:33:23.200 --> 00:33:26.279 And this time, it's in a place where he's teaching 00:33:26.279 --> 00:33:30.539 and he's speaking. And he's rudely interrupted 00:33:30.539 --> 00:33:33.299 by a bunch of Pharisees because they drag a woman 00:33:33.299 --> 00:33:36.859 into his midst who was caught in the act of adultery. 00:33:37.500 --> 00:33:40.140 And in Jesus' day, if you were caught in the 00:33:40.140 --> 00:33:41.880 act of adultery, you could be stoned to death. 00:33:42.140 --> 00:33:43.920 If you were found guilty, you could be drug outside 00:33:43.920 --> 00:33:46.160 the city and literally stoned to death. And they 00:33:46.160 --> 00:33:48.559 drag this woman in before Jesus and they throw 00:33:48.559 --> 00:33:51.680 her at his feet. And they're there not for righteous 00:33:51.680 --> 00:33:54.500 reasons, but for other reasons to trip Jesus 00:33:54.500 --> 00:33:57.900 up. And listen to the conversation. John 8 says 00:33:57.900 --> 00:34:00.440 this. Now, early in the morning, they came again 00:34:00.440 --> 00:34:02.240 to the temple and all the people came to him. 00:34:02.319 --> 00:34:04.559 And he sat down and he taught them. Then the 00:34:04.559 --> 00:34:06.460 scribes and the Pharisees brought to him a woman 00:34:06.460 --> 00:34:08.659 caught in adultery. And when they had set her 00:34:08.659 --> 00:34:10.719 in the midst, they said to him, teacher, this 00:34:10.719 --> 00:34:13.039 woman was caught in adultery in the very act. 00:34:13.599 --> 00:34:16.699 Now Moses in the law commanded us that such should 00:34:16.699 --> 00:34:21.400 be stoned. But what do you say? This they said, 00:34:21.500 --> 00:34:23.900 testing him, that they might have something of 00:34:23.900 --> 00:34:27.099 which to accuse him, Jesus, right? But Jesus 00:34:27.099 --> 00:34:29.440 stooped down and wrote on the ground with his 00:34:29.440 --> 00:34:32.079 finger as though he didn't even hear. So when 00:34:32.079 --> 00:34:33.699 they continued asking him, he raised himself 00:34:33.699 --> 00:34:36.179 up and he said to him, he who is without sin 00:34:36.179 --> 00:34:38.420 among you, let him throw the first stone at her. 00:34:38.940 --> 00:34:41.139 And again, he stooped down and he wrote on the 00:34:41.139 --> 00:34:44.010 ground. Then those who heard it being convicted 00:34:44.010 --> 00:34:47.150 by their conscience went out one by one, beginning 00:34:47.150 --> 00:34:49.030 the oldest even to the last. I'm sure he was 00:34:49.030 --> 00:34:50.710 writing down their sin. We don't know that, but 00:34:50.710 --> 00:34:52.349 I kind of think Jesus was just writing their 00:34:52.349 --> 00:34:55.789 sin out, right, in the dirt. And Jesus was left 00:34:55.789 --> 00:34:58.449 alone. And the woman standing in the midst, and 00:34:58.449 --> 00:35:00.670 when Jesus had raised himself up and saw no one 00:35:00.670 --> 00:35:03.349 but the woman, he said to her, woman, this is 00:35:03.349 --> 00:35:06.329 a conversation, right? Where are those accusers 00:35:06.329 --> 00:35:09.829 of you? Where are those accusers of yours? Where 00:35:09.829 --> 00:35:13.880 are they at? Has no one condemned you? She said, 00:35:13.900 --> 00:35:17.460 no one, Lord. And Jesus said, neither do I condemn 00:35:17.460 --> 00:35:23.340 you. And sin, go and sin no more. Go and sin 00:35:23.340 --> 00:35:27.860 no more. He didn't trash her or thrash her. He 00:35:27.860 --> 00:35:29.539 didn't drag her outside the city. If anybody 00:35:29.539 --> 00:35:30.860 would have been justified, it would have been 00:35:30.860 --> 00:35:35.800 him because he was perfect, sinless. He asked 00:35:35.800 --> 00:35:38.889 her, where are your accusers? Is no one here 00:35:38.889 --> 00:35:42.329 to condemn you? And she says, no one, Lord. And 00:35:42.329 --> 00:35:44.989 he says, I don't condemn you either. But go and 00:35:44.989 --> 00:35:49.230 sin no more. Go and sin no more. Don't do this 00:35:49.230 --> 00:35:57.150 anymore. You can stand. Eternal impact starts 00:35:57.150 --> 00:35:59.889 with a conversation. Now, I know some of you 00:35:59.889 --> 00:36:01.750 are thinking, well, yeah, I love to serve people. 00:36:01.889 --> 00:36:04.469 You should. Here's what serving does for you. 00:36:04.550 --> 00:36:07.619 When you serve somebody, It gives you a platform. 00:36:07.699 --> 00:36:09.960 I'm standing on a platform this morning. It gives 00:36:09.960 --> 00:36:12.659 you a platform to speak the gospel to them. It 00:36:12.659 --> 00:36:15.099 gives you, it earns you some space, right? Earns 00:36:15.099 --> 00:36:19.039 you some cred, credibility with them to speak 00:36:19.039 --> 00:36:22.300 to them. But I have never served anybody, right? 00:36:22.480 --> 00:36:24.420 And never spoke a word and then come to Jesus. 00:36:24.679 --> 00:36:27.079 I've never served them so much that they fell 00:36:27.079 --> 00:36:28.860 on the ground and repented and said, Jesus, I 00:36:28.860 --> 00:36:31.699 want you to be my Lord. Never happened. It's 00:36:31.699 --> 00:36:34.420 a combination of both. Serve, absolutely. It's 00:36:34.420 --> 00:36:38.360 part of what we believe here. Serve, serve, serve. 00:36:38.840 --> 00:36:43.199 But you gotta speak. You gotta tell them why 00:36:43.199 --> 00:36:47.039 you're serving. I got a friend who lives out 00:36:47.039 --> 00:36:49.659 in Western PA and he's a minister and he's a 00:36:49.659 --> 00:36:52.699 really unusual guy. He was super into biking 00:36:52.699 --> 00:36:56.579 and hiking and anything outdoors and he became 00:36:56.579 --> 00:36:58.840 a minister and he built a church and he did the 00:36:58.840 --> 00:37:01.380 most unusual thing I've ever seen. He put a climbing 00:37:01.380 --> 00:37:04.380 wall on the back of the church, a climbing wall, 00:37:04.500 --> 00:37:07.289 little climbing wall. And on Friday nights, he 00:37:07.289 --> 00:37:09.570 would invite the public in for free and they 00:37:09.570 --> 00:37:11.309 could come in and climb on the climbing wall. 00:37:12.090 --> 00:37:14.530 And he would offer pizza, do all these things. 00:37:14.690 --> 00:37:17.289 And people eventually, he would just serve them. 00:37:17.329 --> 00:37:18.949 And eventually they would ask him like, why are 00:37:18.949 --> 00:37:20.809 you doing this for free? And he'd say, oh, let 00:37:20.809 --> 00:37:24.769 me tell you about that. Jesus saved me. Jesus 00:37:24.769 --> 00:37:27.510 gave to me. So now I want to give to you. And 00:37:27.510 --> 00:37:29.829 he would start a conversation with them. He's 00:37:29.829 --> 00:37:31.769 still pastoring today. His church keeps growing, 00:37:31.969 --> 00:37:35.300 keeps expanding. We gotta start the conversation. 00:37:36.059 --> 00:37:38.820 You gotta care about the person beside you, right? 00:37:39.000 --> 00:37:41.460 You gotta take, you gotta use some intel. You 00:37:41.460 --> 00:37:43.239 gotta look around you, take in what's going on 00:37:43.239 --> 00:37:45.579 around you, who's around you. You gotta ask the 00:37:45.579 --> 00:37:48.679 Holy Spirit and then you gotta start the conversation. 00:37:56.880 --> 00:37:59.739 Thank you for tuning in to this message from 00:37:59.739 --> 00:38:02.960 Lifehouse Church. We pray that you were impacted 00:38:02.960 --> 00:38:06.039 powerfully by this message. If you have been 00:38:06.039 --> 00:38:08.719 personally affected by our ministry and you would 00:38:08.719 --> 00:38:11.420 like to partner with us as we love God, love 00:38:11.420 --> 00:38:17.519 people every day, visit our website at www .lifehousecog 00:38:17.519 --> 00:38:18.460 .com.