WEBVTT 00:00:00.839 --> 00:00:04.480 Thank you everyone. All this group, thanks so 00:00:04.480 --> 00:00:08.679 much. They get here early, early in practice 00:00:08.679 --> 00:00:16.679 and we appreciate that, don't we? So I had some 00:00:16.679 --> 00:00:20.420 folks with some funny names growing up. There 00:00:20.420 --> 00:00:22.960 was a kid a couple years older than me, his name 00:00:22.960 --> 00:00:29.320 was Sonny Afternoon. Sonny Afternoon. There was 00:00:29.320 --> 00:00:33.479 a girl who was one of our rivals and her name 00:00:33.479 --> 00:00:38.920 was Story Love or Love Story. And one that I 00:00:38.920 --> 00:00:41.280 always thought was just a little bit like, I 00:00:41.280 --> 00:00:43.159 don't know, maybe I just felt like maybe mom 00:00:43.159 --> 00:00:44.840 and dad didn't have a whole lot of creativity. 00:00:46.259 --> 00:00:53.380 Robert Bob Robertson. Robert Robertson. Robert 00:00:53.380 --> 00:00:57.299 Robertson played on my baseball team. In fact, 00:00:57.539 --> 00:01:00.920 in case you're wondering, I was a catcher and 00:01:00.920 --> 00:01:05.459 Robert Robertson played first base. So I knew 00:01:05.459 --> 00:01:08.239 Robert Robertson pretty well and in fact I grew 00:01:08.239 --> 00:01:12.260 up in a very small community, so small that pretty 00:01:12.260 --> 00:01:15.599 much everybody knew where everybody lived. and 00:01:15.599 --> 00:01:18.900 Robert Robertson lived on one of the major roads 00:01:18.900 --> 00:01:22.079 that we would take to get into civilization because 00:01:22.079 --> 00:01:25.200 I grew up in the middle of nowhere and it wasn't 00:01:25.200 --> 00:01:26.780 the end of the earth but you could see it from 00:01:26.780 --> 00:01:29.659 there and we drove down this road most of the 00:01:29.659 --> 00:01:32.219 time to go to civilization called Monroe Mills 00:01:32.219 --> 00:01:36.459 and Robert Robertson lived on Monroe Mills. In 00:01:36.459 --> 00:01:39.239 fact, there was like one stop sign on all of 00:01:39.239 --> 00:01:42.319 Monroe Mills, and he lived pretty close to that 00:01:42.319 --> 00:01:44.780 stop sign, and that was close to the state route. 00:01:45.000 --> 00:01:46.659 So he's kind of in between the stop sign and 00:01:46.659 --> 00:01:50.400 that state route. So we went by there all the 00:01:50.400 --> 00:01:52.480 time. I knew that was where Robert Robertson 00:01:52.480 --> 00:01:54.640 lived, and sometimes I would think about Robert 00:01:54.640 --> 00:01:56.599 Robertson while I was driving by his house, and 00:01:56.599 --> 00:01:59.180 one day everything was very different, because 00:01:59.180 --> 00:02:04.239 as we drove on Monroe Mills, as we came to Robert 00:02:04.239 --> 00:02:10.400 Robertson's house, It was on fire. And it looked 00:02:10.400 --> 00:02:14.699 like everybody was home. Because I played baseball 00:02:14.699 --> 00:02:17.120 with Robert Robertson, I knew all of the cars 00:02:17.120 --> 00:02:19.319 that his family drove and they were all there 00:02:19.319 --> 00:02:22.300 parked by the road and it seemed like they were 00:02:22.300 --> 00:02:24.979 all home and we pulled the car off the side of 00:02:24.979 --> 00:02:27.419 the road and left it running and sprinted up 00:02:27.419 --> 00:02:30.159 to the front door and began beating on the front 00:02:30.159 --> 00:02:34.419 door. And after a little while, Robert Robertson's 00:02:34.419 --> 00:02:37.460 dad came to the front door and he said, hey, 00:02:37.479 --> 00:02:40.039 it's dinner time. What do you all want? And we 00:02:40.039 --> 00:02:43.860 said, your house is on fire. And he said, it's 00:02:43.860 --> 00:02:46.939 OK. It's just some buildup creosote. It's the 00:02:46.939 --> 00:02:49.560 first fire of the year, and it's just some creosote 00:02:49.560 --> 00:02:53.000 that's in the chimney. And it's all good. I'd 00:02:53.000 --> 00:02:54.960 like to get back to dinner, if you don't mind. 00:02:55.759 --> 00:02:58.770 And I'm like, you don't understand. It's. I understand 00:02:58.770 --> 00:03:00.990 that it might have started off as some creosote 00:03:00.990 --> 00:03:02.949 that was built up in the chimney, but that's 00:03:02.949 --> 00:03:06.530 not what it is now. Your house is on fire. And 00:03:06.530 --> 00:03:08.430 he's like, I really don't have time for this. 00:03:09.090 --> 00:03:12.289 We're fine. I really just want to get back to 00:03:12.289 --> 00:03:14.590 dinner. And I said, would you please come outside 00:03:14.590 --> 00:03:17.909 and just look up with me? And if you still want 00:03:17.909 --> 00:03:20.710 to maintain that it's all good, then that's fine. 00:03:20.889 --> 00:03:23.810 But just come out here and look up at the roof 00:03:23.810 --> 00:03:26.930 with me. So he came out the front door and he's 00:03:26.930 --> 00:03:29.610 standing in his socks and he kind of leans back 00:03:29.610 --> 00:03:31.669 and looks up with this look on his face like, 00:03:31.810 --> 00:03:33.770 okay, I hope that you're happy now. And he looks 00:03:33.770 --> 00:03:36.050 up and realizes that in fact his house is on 00:03:36.050 --> 00:03:39.389 fire. What probably did start off as a creosote 00:03:39.389 --> 00:03:42.530 fire in the chimney had spread and his house 00:03:42.530 --> 00:03:48.330 was on fire. So you can imagine how quickly his 00:03:48.330 --> 00:03:53.250 calm, we're fine, changed into something radically 00:03:53.250 --> 00:03:58.060 different. We hadn't gotten out of the car that 00:03:58.060 --> 00:04:03.620 day and run up to his door to scare him We got 00:04:03.620 --> 00:04:05.479 out of the car that day and ran up to his door 00:04:05.479 --> 00:04:09.449 to save him If your neighbor's house was on fire 00:04:09.449 --> 00:04:11.610 and you knew that they were inside, even if it 00:04:11.610 --> 00:04:13.990 was dinner time, you wouldn't wait for being 00:04:13.990 --> 00:04:16.790 in the right mood or for the perfect sentence 00:04:16.790 --> 00:04:19.410 structure. You would get out of your car. You 00:04:19.410 --> 00:04:21.410 would run to the door. You would beat on the 00:04:21.410 --> 00:04:23.509 door. You would warn them, not out of judgment, 00:04:23.930 --> 00:04:26.410 not out of anger, but because you love them too 00:04:26.410 --> 00:04:29.110 much to allow them to perish and sit silently 00:04:29.110 --> 00:04:33.490 by. Ephesians chapter four is where we've been 00:04:33.490 --> 00:04:38.199 through our series on the apes, apostles, prophets, 00:04:38.500 --> 00:04:40.980 evangelists, shepherds, teachers. And I want 00:04:40.980 --> 00:04:43.579 to take kind of take one step back for a second 00:04:43.579 --> 00:04:46.519 and give you a bigger pericope. That's a big 00:04:46.519 --> 00:04:49.199 fancy word for this passage of scripture. I'm 00:04:49.199 --> 00:04:51.319 going to give you a bigger pericope today and 00:04:51.319 --> 00:04:53.980 then we're going to kind of drill down on evangelists 00:04:53.980 --> 00:04:56.379 here for a second. So here is Ephesians chapter 00:04:56.379 --> 00:04:59.399 four. I'm going to pick up in verse one. Therefore, 00:04:59.899 --> 00:05:02.040 anytime you see the word therefore, you need 00:05:02.040 --> 00:05:05.019 to ask, what's it there for? See, you guys are 00:05:05.019 --> 00:05:08.350 so bright. And in this case, so Paul has been 00:05:08.350 --> 00:05:11.069 talking about some important things. He's been 00:05:11.069 --> 00:05:14.089 talking about the unity of believers. He's been 00:05:14.089 --> 00:05:16.769 talking about their call to live as God's new 00:05:16.769 --> 00:05:19.829 creation and the importance of humility, patience, 00:05:20.009 --> 00:05:21.810 and love. That's what he's spent three chapters 00:05:21.810 --> 00:05:24.589 now talking about. And then after he's done talking 00:05:24.589 --> 00:05:28.509 about unity, living as new creations, the importance 00:05:28.509 --> 00:05:31.389 of humility, patience, and love, he says, therefore, 00:05:32.470 --> 00:05:36.810 as a prisoner, For serving the Lord beg you to 00:05:36.810 --> 00:05:40.189 live a life worthy of the calling that you have 00:05:40.189 --> 00:05:42.990 been called by God Always be humble and gentle 00:05:42.990 --> 00:05:45.750 be patient with each other Making allowance for 00:05:45.750 --> 00:05:48.269 each other's faults because of your love make 00:05:48.269 --> 00:05:52.189 every effort to keep yourself you Keep yourself 00:05:52.189 --> 00:05:54.569 unified in the spirit binding yourself together 00:05:54.569 --> 00:05:57.350 with peace For there is one body, one spirit, 00:05:57.490 --> 00:05:59.269 just as you've been called to one glorious hope 00:05:59.269 --> 00:06:01.129 for the future. There's one Lord, one faith, 00:06:01.470 --> 00:06:04.370 one baptism, and one God and Father who is over 00:06:04.370 --> 00:06:07.769 all and in all and through all. However, he has 00:06:07.769 --> 00:06:10.230 given each one of us special gifts through the 00:06:10.230 --> 00:06:12.750 generosity of Christ. That is why the scripture 00:06:12.750 --> 00:06:15.439 says when he ascended into the heights, He led 00:06:15.439 --> 00:06:18.560 a crowd of captives and gave gifts to his people. 00:06:18.879 --> 00:06:21.839 Notice that it says he ascended. This clearly 00:06:21.839 --> 00:06:25.120 means that Christ also descended to the lowly 00:06:25.120 --> 00:06:27.879 world. And the same one who descended is the 00:06:27.879 --> 00:06:30.639 one who ascended higher than the heavens so that 00:06:30.639 --> 00:06:33.019 he might fill the entire universe with himself. 00:06:33.480 --> 00:06:36.120 Now, these are the gifts Christ gave to the church, 00:06:36.160 --> 00:06:39.360 the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, 00:06:39.839 --> 00:06:43.199 the pastors. It's a bad translation. Shepherds 00:06:43.199 --> 00:06:46.990 is a better translation. and teachers. These 00:06:46.990 --> 00:06:49.689 are the gifts that he's given. Their responsibility 00:06:49.689 --> 00:06:52.170 is to equip God's people to do his work and to 00:06:52.170 --> 00:06:54.810 build up the church, the body of Christ. This 00:06:54.810 --> 00:06:57.769 will continue until we all come to such unity 00:06:57.769 --> 00:07:00.470 in our faith and knowledge of God's son that 00:07:00.470 --> 00:07:02.769 we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to 00:07:02.769 --> 00:07:06.240 the full and complete standard. Christ. So this 00:07:06.240 --> 00:07:09.540 morning here's the big idea. Evangelism is not 00:07:09.540 --> 00:07:12.680 just about proclamation, it's about formation. 00:07:13.319 --> 00:07:15.980 Ephesians 4 talks about walking worthy of the 00:07:15.980 --> 00:07:18.839 calling that we've been given and a worthy walk 00:07:18.839 --> 00:07:21.959 means that we live out the message we share and 00:07:21.959 --> 00:07:24.959 we help others to do the same. That Christ is 00:07:24.959 --> 00:07:27.920 being formed in them, that's the goal of evangelism. 00:07:28.259 --> 00:07:31.279 Not that we just tell them the good news, but 00:07:31.279 --> 00:07:34.709 that Christ gets formed in them. I don't know 00:07:34.709 --> 00:07:37.389 about you, but I think that we often treat evangelism 00:07:37.389 --> 00:07:41.810 like it's somebody else's job. For the most part. 00:07:43.209 --> 00:07:46.529 It's easy for us to assume that only the outgoing, 00:07:46.790 --> 00:07:49.470 the trained, the stage gifted are called to be 00:07:49.470 --> 00:07:53.550 evangelists. And we sometimes, probably not you, 00:07:53.550 --> 00:07:55.689 I know that you're not these people, but you 00:07:55.689 --> 00:07:57.730 know somebody like this who will use excuses 00:07:57.730 --> 00:08:00.680 like... that's not my gift. I know that's not 00:08:00.680 --> 00:08:03.379 us. Nobody here would say that's not my gift, 00:08:03.639 --> 00:08:05.980 that's not my calling. I know that. I get it. 00:08:06.279 --> 00:08:08.439 No one of us would say that, but there are people 00:08:08.439 --> 00:08:12.660 who would say, that's just not my gift. Or, another 00:08:12.660 --> 00:08:15.439 good one is, I just don't want to offend anybody. 00:08:17.670 --> 00:08:20.129 Everybody thought that somebody would do it. 00:08:20.410 --> 00:08:22.670 Somebody knew that it was their responsibility. 00:08:23.050 --> 00:08:25.230 Somebody could have done it, but nobody did it. 00:08:25.649 --> 00:08:28.389 Somebody got frustrated because nobody did what 00:08:28.389 --> 00:08:31.129 somebody should have done. In the end, everybody 00:08:31.129 --> 00:08:33.549 was annoyed with somebody because nobody took 00:08:33.549 --> 00:08:35.950 action even though they all assumed that somebody 00:08:35.950 --> 00:08:40.309 else would do it. Sounds like who's on first? 00:08:41.830 --> 00:08:44.529 The moral is this if you see something that needs 00:08:44.529 --> 00:08:47.029 to be done don't wait for somebody else be the 00:08:47.029 --> 00:08:51.509 somebody who does it One of the biggest ways 00:08:51.509 --> 00:08:53.549 I see this being lived out in the church today 00:08:53.549 --> 00:08:57.029 is how we've relegated evangelism to the church 00:08:57.029 --> 00:09:01.289 I Know that we're not these people but certainly 00:09:01.289 --> 00:09:04.889 you have heard somebody who at least Acts like 00:09:04.889 --> 00:09:07.789 they believe this that I have this friend. I 00:09:07.789 --> 00:09:11.860 have this family member. I I have this a associate, 00:09:12.019 --> 00:09:15.320 this colleague of mine, and they really need 00:09:15.320 --> 00:09:17.639 Jesus. I mean, how many of you can think of somebody 00:09:17.639 --> 00:09:19.659 that they just like, I mean, they really need 00:09:19.659 --> 00:09:21.419 Jesus. I mean, there are people, we all need 00:09:21.419 --> 00:09:24.740 Jesus, but like, this person really needs Jesus. 00:09:25.100 --> 00:09:27.360 So we come up with this idea that if I can just 00:09:27.360 --> 00:09:30.419 get them to church with me, that the church will 00:09:30.419 --> 00:09:32.559 take care of all the problems and that the church 00:09:32.559 --> 00:09:35.000 will lead them to Jesus and then we'll be all 00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:36.799 good, right? I mean, you know somebody like that. 00:09:36.799 --> 00:09:39.399 I know it's not us, but you know somebody who's 00:09:39.399 --> 00:09:41.559 like, you know what? It's the church's responsibility 00:09:41.559 --> 00:09:45.559 to lead people to Jesus. So if I get them to 00:09:45.559 --> 00:09:48.879 the church, Pastor Phil will talk to them about 00:09:48.879 --> 00:09:52.139 Jesus. And if I'm given the opportunity, understand 00:09:52.139 --> 00:09:53.899 that you're right. I will talk to them about 00:09:53.899 --> 00:09:57.179 Jesus. But you also understand that just because 00:09:57.179 --> 00:09:58.679 they're here doesn't mean that I'll have the 00:09:58.679 --> 00:10:02.299 opportunity to have the conversation. Right? 00:10:05.519 --> 00:10:08.159 And just kind of an interesting thought. Do you 00:10:08.159 --> 00:10:12.299 know that in the early church that nobody got 00:10:12.299 --> 00:10:16.820 saved in the church? Now you talk about a bummer 00:10:16.820 --> 00:10:18.879 pastor's report. Like one of the things that 00:10:18.879 --> 00:10:21.799 we report on every year is how many people were 00:10:21.799 --> 00:10:24.360 saved in the church that year. We're required 00:10:24.360 --> 00:10:26.720 to report on that. And we have to estimate how 00:10:26.720 --> 00:10:28.480 many people were sanctified in the church every 00:10:28.480 --> 00:10:30.620 year. We report on the people who are being saved 00:10:30.620 --> 00:10:35.059 in the church. So the early church would have 00:10:35.059 --> 00:10:40.220 failed miserably because nobody was saved in 00:10:40.220 --> 00:10:47.460 church. Nobody. So when we got together as a 00:10:47.460 --> 00:10:50.220 church, the reason that we got together is because 00:10:50.220 --> 00:10:52.039 the world was a tough place. I'm talking the 00:10:52.039 --> 00:10:55.190 early church. The world was a tough place and 00:10:55.190 --> 00:10:57.090 people are being persecuted and literally put 00:10:57.090 --> 00:10:59.590 to death for their faith in Jesus because they 00:10:59.590 --> 00:11:02.250 won't shut up and stop talking about him. So 00:11:02.250 --> 00:11:04.389 people are dying because of their faith in Jesus. 00:11:04.649 --> 00:11:06.750 And we would get together and encourage one another 00:11:06.750 --> 00:11:08.710 and equip one another and say, you know what, 00:11:08.730 --> 00:11:11.370 we're going to make it. And I may not be able 00:11:11.370 --> 00:11:13.570 to solve all your problems, but you at least 00:11:13.570 --> 00:11:15.370 know you're not alone. And we're in this together. 00:11:15.389 --> 00:11:17.549 And if you need something, I'm here for you. 00:11:18.570 --> 00:11:20.929 I mean, I really do mean that. If there's something 00:11:20.929 --> 00:11:22.889 that I have, you'll benefit from it. It's yours. 00:11:23.570 --> 00:11:25.509 I'm not going to hold on to anything tightly 00:11:25.509 --> 00:11:27.909 because people matter to me more than all of 00:11:27.909 --> 00:11:30.750 that stuff. And then how did people come to faith 00:11:30.750 --> 00:11:33.610 in Jesus? Because like thousands would be saved. 00:11:34.309 --> 00:11:36.149 Well, how did they come to Jesus? I'm so glad 00:11:36.149 --> 00:11:39.830 that you ask. It's because people would take 00:11:39.830 --> 00:11:42.110 their relationship with Jesus and then they would 00:11:42.110 --> 00:11:43.950 go out into the streets and they would talk about 00:11:43.950 --> 00:11:47.820 Jesus out there. So on Monday morning when they 00:11:47.820 --> 00:11:49.820 were around the water cooler instead of talking 00:11:49.820 --> 00:11:52.320 about the Cleveland Browns they talked about 00:11:52.320 --> 00:11:55.139 Jesus Instead of talking about the fact that 00:11:55.139 --> 00:11:56.820 you know what the Browns look pretty good in 00:11:56.820 --> 00:11:59.019 preseason They didn't get fired up about that. 00:11:59.019 --> 00:12:02.299 They got fired up about Jesus and That's what 00:12:02.299 --> 00:12:05.070 they want to talk to you about they would go 00:12:05.070 --> 00:12:07.409 to the bagel shop and pick up their cup of coffee 00:12:07.409 --> 00:12:10.049 in their newspaper in a bagel and they would 00:12:10.049 --> 00:12:12.250 talk to you about Jesus and if you would have 00:12:12.250 --> 00:12:14.129 a conversation with them they'd say hey sit down 00:12:14.129 --> 00:12:16.549 with me I want to talk to you about Jesus I want 00:12:16.549 --> 00:12:18.929 to tell you how good that he is and mothers would 00:12:18.929 --> 00:12:20.769 get around and they watched their children play 00:12:20.769 --> 00:12:23.169 with their dreidel and while their children are 00:12:23.169 --> 00:12:25.049 playing with their dreidel they would talk about 00:12:25.049 --> 00:12:28.549 how good Jesus was and people got saved outside 00:12:28.549 --> 00:12:31.990 of the church in the early church no one was 00:12:31.990 --> 00:12:35.789 saved in the church But we've relegated the work 00:12:35.789 --> 00:12:41.990 of evangelism to the church. And we just, we 00:12:41.990 --> 00:12:44.110 don't really talk a whole lot about Jesus outside 00:12:44.110 --> 00:12:47.809 of these walls. Sometimes, if we're real honest, 00:12:47.830 --> 00:12:49.870 we don't even talk about Jesus a whole lot inside 00:12:49.870 --> 00:12:52.929 of these walls. But certainly not outside the 00:12:52.929 --> 00:12:56.889 walls. And it gets relegated to the church. Bottom 00:12:56.889 --> 00:13:02.980 line is this, evangelism starts with you. Evangelism 00:13:02.980 --> 00:13:07.320 starts with me. Evangelism starts when we realize 00:13:07.320 --> 00:13:10.720 that it's not somebody else's responsibility, 00:13:10.779 --> 00:13:13.179 it's my responsibility to talk to people, to 00:13:13.179 --> 00:13:15.879 my friends, my family members about Jesus and 00:13:15.879 --> 00:13:20.039 to make sure they know how good he is. Paul opens 00:13:20.039 --> 00:13:22.379 up Ephesians 4 with this plea to everybody in 00:13:22.379 --> 00:13:25.840 the body of Christ, I beg you to lead a life 00:13:25.840 --> 00:13:29.460 worthy of your calling for you have been called 00:13:29.460 --> 00:13:33.950 by God. Calling includes the call to share the 00:13:33.950 --> 00:13:36.450 good news now this word that's in there is worthy, 00:13:36.509 --> 00:13:38.789 right? I want you to be worthy of the calling 00:13:38.789 --> 00:13:41.710 So I want to make sure that we're clear on one 00:13:41.710 --> 00:13:44.370 thing that does not mean that you have to earn 00:13:44.370 --> 00:13:47.409 Your calling that's not what we're talking about 00:13:47.409 --> 00:13:49.110 at all It means that we should live our life 00:13:49.110 --> 00:13:51.789 in a way that reflects the value of being called 00:13:51.789 --> 00:13:55.929 by him Because that's a big deal in the way that 00:13:55.929 --> 00:13:59.120 we live our lives should reflect that While it's 00:13:59.120 --> 00:14:01.059 true of all believers, today we're talking about 00:14:01.059 --> 00:14:03.960 evangelists. So evangelists, here's the way that 00:14:03.960 --> 00:14:06.059 the Bible would describe what an evangelist is. 00:14:06.480 --> 00:14:10.379 It's a herald of the good news who communicates 00:14:10.379 --> 00:14:15.039 and calls people to respond. So you just communicate 00:14:15.039 --> 00:14:18.759 the good news and call people to respond. But 00:14:18.759 --> 00:14:24.059 too often, we stay silent. Now, I'm going to 00:14:24.059 --> 00:14:25.759 see how brave you are, all right? This is the 00:14:25.759 --> 00:14:29.980 bravery test. So when we're talking about evangelism 00:14:29.980 --> 00:14:34.240 How many would say that one of the reasons that 00:14:34.240 --> 00:14:39.779 I don't do that much is? Because I fear rejection 00:14:39.779 --> 00:14:47.679 That's fair How many would say the reason I don't 00:14:47.679 --> 00:14:51.240 do that much is because I feel unqualified I 00:14:51.240 --> 00:14:53.679 don't feel like I have a good approach. I don't 00:14:53.679 --> 00:14:55.840 have a good system to do it and I would do it 00:14:55.840 --> 00:14:58.039 If I had a good way of doing it, I would talk 00:14:58.039 --> 00:15:00.600 about it. I just don't feel qualified. How many 00:15:00.600 --> 00:15:03.259 feel like, I don't do that as much as I should 00:15:03.259 --> 00:15:05.940 because I get discouraged when people don't respond 00:15:05.940 --> 00:15:08.419 to what I'm trying to do. I mean, I'm faithful 00:15:08.419 --> 00:15:11.360 to do it and I talk to people about Jesus and 00:15:11.360 --> 00:15:13.539 there's just like no fruit whatsoever. So why 00:15:13.539 --> 00:15:15.519 do I waste my time doing it? So I get a little 00:15:15.519 --> 00:15:19.480 bit discouraged, right? Anybody like that? Let 00:15:19.480 --> 00:15:23.379 me take you back to 1956. There were these five 00:15:23.379 --> 00:15:26.879 young missionaries. Jim Elliott was one of them. 00:15:26.940 --> 00:15:28.759 There was another guy, one of his friends by 00:15:28.759 --> 00:15:31.419 the name of Nate Saint. I just think his name's 00:15:31.419 --> 00:15:34.340 great. I mean, who doesn't want a name like Nate 00:15:34.340 --> 00:15:37.440 Saint? I mean, come on. Just an awesome name. 00:15:38.299 --> 00:15:42.240 And three others. They felt deeply burdened to 00:15:42.240 --> 00:15:45.480 share the gospel with the Wodani tribe in Ecuador. 00:15:46.360 --> 00:15:48.980 So, they were warned ahead of time, hey, this 00:15:48.980 --> 00:15:51.320 is a dangerous group of people. They don't know 00:15:51.320 --> 00:15:53.580 anything about Jesus. They've never heard that 00:15:53.580 --> 00:15:56.730 name. but they believed that Jesus was worth 00:15:56.730 --> 00:16:00.529 the risk. So they went and for months they worked 00:16:00.529 --> 00:16:02.710 and they finally made contact with some of the 00:16:02.710 --> 00:16:06.090 tribe and they were speared to death on the riverbank. 00:16:07.049 --> 00:16:09.090 The very first time that they met people from 00:16:09.090 --> 00:16:13.730 that tribe. It looked like a failure but many 00:16:13.730 --> 00:16:15.950 of you know the story. Years later Jim's wife 00:16:15.950 --> 00:16:19.149 Elizabeth and Nate's sister Rachel returned to 00:16:19.149 --> 00:16:22.090 the same tribe and this time hearts were opened. 00:16:22.440 --> 00:16:25.960 The man who killed Nate became a follower of 00:16:25.960 --> 00:16:28.539 Jesus, and he was one of the key leaders in the 00:16:28.539 --> 00:16:31.379 tribe at that point. Because somebody believed 00:16:31.379 --> 00:16:33.820 evangelism was worth more than their comfort, 00:16:34.259 --> 00:16:36.539 because somebody believed faithfulness outlives 00:16:36.539 --> 00:16:39.919 the messenger, they went and did what God was 00:16:39.919 --> 00:16:42.659 calling them to do. Evangelists don't always 00:16:42.659 --> 00:16:45.759 see immediate fruit, but their calling is to 00:16:45.759 --> 00:16:47.500 live the message, speak the truth, and equip 00:16:47.500 --> 00:16:50.000 the church to do the same. That's exactly what 00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:52.919 Paul is describing in Ephesians chapter 4 verses 00:16:52.919 --> 00:16:56.639 1 through 13. So what does it look like for us 00:16:56.639 --> 00:17:00.159 to live a life, to walk a life that's worthy 00:17:00.159 --> 00:17:04.180 of an evangelist? Number one, this is true of 00:17:04.180 --> 00:17:06.819 all of us. I know that there are some who are 00:17:06.819 --> 00:17:08.779 called and gifted in the church to be evangelists. 00:17:08.819 --> 00:17:11.160 This is true of every last one of us regardless 00:17:11.160 --> 00:17:13.279 of that calling. You might say, well, I'm off 00:17:13.279 --> 00:17:15.660 the hook because I'm more of a shepherd. Hey, 00:17:15.660 --> 00:17:17.680 that's awesome. This is still true of you too. 00:17:17.900 --> 00:17:20.319 Here's the first thing that is what it looks 00:17:20.319 --> 00:17:23.220 like to walk worthy as an evangelist. Number 00:17:23.220 --> 00:17:26.559 one, you have to live what you preach. Would 00:17:26.559 --> 00:17:32.220 you say that with me? Live what you preach. Philippians 00:17:32.220 --> 00:17:35.519 1 .27 says, let your manner of life be worthy 00:17:35.519 --> 00:17:37.779 of the gospel of Christ. What does that mean? 00:17:37.799 --> 00:17:40.140 That means that everything that we do in our 00:17:40.140 --> 00:17:44.279 life should reflect the gospel of Jesus. So when 00:17:44.279 --> 00:17:46.980 I go to work on Monday morning, I should work 00:17:46.980 --> 00:17:50.250 like my life needs to reflect the fact that my 00:17:50.250 --> 00:17:53.029 life is connected to Jesus and if I don't work 00:17:53.029 --> 00:17:56.150 in that way I make Jesus look bad so I'm gonna 00:17:56.150 --> 00:17:59.450 go give it a hundred percent because my life 00:17:59.450 --> 00:18:01.569 needs to look different because I'm in relationship 00:18:01.569 --> 00:18:05.250 with Jesus I need to treat my wife differently 00:18:05.250 --> 00:18:07.890 because I'm in relationship with Jesus. What 00:18:07.890 --> 00:18:10.490 does it say to my wife if I'm like on Sunday, 00:18:10.650 --> 00:18:14.710 man I love Jesus. Jesus is so good. He's so amazing. 00:18:14.769 --> 00:18:17.049 He's the Lord of my life and I don't treat my 00:18:17.049 --> 00:18:21.450 wife with respect. What it says to her is there's 00:18:21.450 --> 00:18:24.809 a disconnect there because you can't you can't 00:18:24.809 --> 00:18:27.730 say hey I love Jesus and not have that impact 00:18:27.730 --> 00:18:32.019 the way that you live your life. That it needs 00:18:32.019 --> 00:18:33.799 to impact every part of our life that we need 00:18:33.799 --> 00:18:36.359 to live what we preach 2nd Timothy 4 or 5 says 00:18:36.359 --> 00:18:39.299 do the work of an evangelist fulfill your ministry 00:18:39.299 --> 00:18:44.180 your message must match your lifestyle Many of 00:18:44.180 --> 00:18:46.380 you have heard the expression preach the gospel 00:18:46.380 --> 00:18:49.880 at all times use words if necessary It's often 00:18:49.880 --> 00:18:55.099 attributed to st. Francis of Assisi Not st. Francis 00:18:55.099 --> 00:19:00.640 the sissy the st. Francis of Assisi Do you know 00:19:00.640 --> 00:19:06.200 that there's no evidence he ever said that? In 00:19:06.200 --> 00:19:08.440 fact, a lot of people would say that he probably 00:19:08.440 --> 00:19:12.019 didn't say it. And one of the things that I think 00:19:12.019 --> 00:19:14.640 has happened is that it kind of creates a dichotomy 00:19:14.640 --> 00:19:18.680 in our minds. And I think that it actually is 00:19:18.680 --> 00:19:20.859 more telling about what we believe in the church 00:19:20.859 --> 00:19:24.900 today than we realize. Because we've kind of 00:19:24.900 --> 00:19:27.500 stepped into this time in this culture where 00:19:27.500 --> 00:19:31.710 we... We will say things like I want to I'm gonna 00:19:31.710 --> 00:19:34.269 be an evangelist by the way that I live my life 00:19:34.269 --> 00:19:36.670 But I'm not gonna talk to people about Jesus 00:19:36.670 --> 00:19:39.809 like I I'll live it out I'll treat my wife better 00:19:39.809 --> 00:19:42.009 and I'll work really hard and I'll do those things 00:19:42.009 --> 00:19:44.309 and and maybe somehow that they'll know that 00:19:44.309 --> 00:19:47.069 I'm a Christian because I do those things really 00:19:47.069 --> 00:19:50.289 well and then they'll They'll come ask me right 00:19:50.289 --> 00:19:52.230 though. They'll eventually come ask me what makes 00:19:52.230 --> 00:19:55.769 you different and maybe that's true But so we 00:19:55.769 --> 00:19:59.019 think that if I if I just live a good life And 00:19:59.019 --> 00:20:01.960 if I get that part right, then I'm doing the 00:20:01.960 --> 00:20:04.700 work of being an evangelist. That I don't have 00:20:04.700 --> 00:20:09.619 to necessarily preach the gospel, but I'll preach 00:20:09.619 --> 00:20:11.299 the gospel and I'll just do it with my lifestyle, 00:20:11.359 --> 00:20:13.579 but I'll never get to the point that I tell people 00:20:13.579 --> 00:20:17.380 the claims of the gospel. I think that's a major 00:20:17.380 --> 00:20:21.380 factor in the church right now. There was a generation 00:20:21.380 --> 00:20:25.480 really in the 1970s, 1980s, some of you will 00:20:25.480 --> 00:20:27.240 remember this immediately when I start talking 00:20:27.240 --> 00:20:29.309 about it, you'll be like, Yep, he's telling the 00:20:29.309 --> 00:20:33.089 truth. And unfortunately, that generation of 00:20:33.089 --> 00:20:36.269 people have pretty much disappeared in the church. 00:20:38.089 --> 00:20:40.490 I am thinking of several examples of this right 00:20:40.490 --> 00:20:43.089 now, people that many of you would know. If I 00:20:43.089 --> 00:20:45.089 gave you their names, you'd be like, yep, that's 00:20:45.089 --> 00:20:47.410 absolutely true. But they were the kind of people 00:20:47.410 --> 00:20:50.589 that they talked about the claims of the gospel 00:20:50.589 --> 00:20:54.430 with their family and with their friends. They 00:20:54.430 --> 00:20:57.450 would talk about... This is what Jesus says and 00:20:57.450 --> 00:21:00.089 this is what Jesus can do for you and you can 00:21:00.089 --> 00:21:02.109 have a relationship with him. For the most part 00:21:02.109 --> 00:21:08.569 that's gone in the church today. It's hard to 00:21:08.569 --> 00:21:11.589 find. Now there are people who are trying to 00:21:11.589 --> 00:21:13.990 live it out. I get that. I don't discredit that 00:21:13.990 --> 00:21:16.950 at all. But I think the point is that we need 00:21:16.950 --> 00:21:19.450 to have both of those. Yes our lifestyle needs 00:21:19.450 --> 00:21:22.599 to be different. but we still need to preach 00:21:22.599 --> 00:21:25.619 the gospel of Jesus. We still need to tell people 00:21:25.619 --> 00:21:27.740 the good news of Jesus, that they can have hope 00:21:27.740 --> 00:21:31.559 in Jesus, that their life can be changed in Jesus. 00:21:31.839 --> 00:21:36.259 Saint Francis of Assisi, yes, he lived a life 00:21:36.259 --> 00:21:39.680 that was exemplary, but he also was known to 00:21:39.680 --> 00:21:42.660 actively preach the gospel, and he did not see 00:21:42.660 --> 00:21:45.460 those as being separate endeavors. But he saw 00:21:45.460 --> 00:21:48.440 that both of those were important. Part of the 00:21:48.440 --> 00:21:50.259 Great Commission is to go into all the world 00:21:50.259 --> 00:21:53.200 and show them that you're decent people. And 00:21:53.200 --> 00:21:55.180 by that what I mean is that you should keep your 00:21:55.180 --> 00:21:58.200 mouth shut, don't rock the boat, tell people 00:21:58.200 --> 00:22:01.220 what they want to hear. That's the Great Commission, 00:22:01.380 --> 00:22:06.539 right? I mean obviously that's not what Jesus 00:22:06.539 --> 00:22:11.920 said. But sometimes we act like it and we live 00:22:11.920 --> 00:22:15.009 like it. The Great Commission is actually to 00:22:15.009 --> 00:22:19.630 go into all the world and preach the gospel to 00:22:19.630 --> 00:22:24.130 all of creation. You can't really fulfill the 00:22:24.130 --> 00:22:26.349 Great Commission without a clear proclamation 00:22:26.349 --> 00:22:34.029 of the gospel of Jesus. Let me run that by you 00:22:34.029 --> 00:22:37.170 again. You cannot fulfill the Great Commission 00:22:37.170 --> 00:22:41.369 without a clear proclamation of the gospel of 00:22:41.369 --> 00:22:46.710 Jesus. Sure, absolutely. Our lifestyle needs 00:22:46.710 --> 00:22:49.890 to match what we're preaching. I get that. We're 00:22:49.890 --> 00:22:52.930 talking about that, but we still have to proclaim 00:22:52.930 --> 00:22:58.890 the gospel of Jesus. That's why Paul presses 00:22:58.890 --> 00:23:01.569 the urgency of it in Romans 10 -14. This is what 00:23:01.569 --> 00:23:04.130 it says, how then can they call on the one that 00:23:04.130 --> 00:23:06.269 they have not believed in and how can they believe 00:23:06.269 --> 00:23:09.099 in the one in whom they have not heard? And how 00:23:09.099 --> 00:23:11.400 can they hear without somebody preaching to them? 00:23:11.440 --> 00:23:14.640 The answer is obvious. They can't hear unless 00:23:14.640 --> 00:23:17.779 somebody speaks and that someone isn't just the 00:23:17.779 --> 00:23:21.599 pastor. It's not the missionary. It's not just 00:23:21.599 --> 00:23:26.440 the naturally bold. It's that someone's you and 00:23:26.440 --> 00:23:34.220 that someone's me. So. Our lifestyle needs to 00:23:34.220 --> 00:23:37.059 match our message. We still need to tell the 00:23:37.059 --> 00:23:40.470 message. And when our lifestyle doesn't match 00:23:40.470 --> 00:23:43.230 the message, then what we call that is hypocrisy, 00:23:43.309 --> 00:23:46.289 and hypocrisy undermines the gospel. An evangelist 00:23:46.289 --> 00:23:48.450 doesn't just proclaim the good news, they embody 00:23:48.450 --> 00:23:53.069 it, they live it. Number two, humility, gentleness, 00:23:53.269 --> 00:23:56.450 and patience. 1 Thessalonians 2, 7 through 8 00:23:56.450 --> 00:23:58.930 says, we were gentle among you, we were delighted 00:23:58.930 --> 00:24:01.089 to share with you not only the gospel of God, 00:24:01.130 --> 00:24:03.750 but also our lives as well. Evangelism isn't 00:24:03.750 --> 00:24:07.099 a performance, it's a service. A worthy evangelist 00:24:07.099 --> 00:24:09.799 walks humbly, speaks gently, and loves patiently 00:24:09.799 --> 00:24:13.339 even when the people reject the message. They're 00:24:13.339 --> 00:24:16.799 still humble and gentle and kind. Number three, 00:24:17.059 --> 00:24:21.259 boldness without harshness. Acts 4 .31 says they 00:24:21.259 --> 00:24:23.640 were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke 00:24:23.640 --> 00:24:27.119 the word of God boldly. Colossians 4 .6, let 00:24:27.119 --> 00:24:30.359 your speech always be gracious, seasoned with 00:24:30.359 --> 00:24:34.720 salt. Salt adds flavor. It preserves truth. It 00:24:34.720 --> 00:24:37.980 represents wisdom. So our words need to be engaging, 00:24:38.660 --> 00:24:42.140 preserving, and thoughtful. Leonard Ravenhill, 00:24:42.180 --> 00:24:48.299 anyone familiar with Leonard Ravenhill? A great 00:24:48.299 --> 00:24:53.819 theologian, he said this, we must learn to preach 00:24:53.819 --> 00:24:57.140 with broken hearts. We must evangelize with tears. 00:24:59.259 --> 00:25:02.730 We must learn to preach with broken hearts. We 00:25:02.730 --> 00:25:08.269 must evangelize with tears. You do know that 00:25:08.269 --> 00:25:12.730 we're not angry because people are lost. We're 00:25:12.730 --> 00:25:16.349 brokenhearted because people are lost. And there's 00:25:16.349 --> 00:25:21.230 a huge difference. Number four, faithfulness 00:25:21.230 --> 00:25:23.769 over fruitfulness. We've talked about this several 00:25:23.769 --> 00:25:30.259 times in the series. I'm not sure why it's such 00:25:30.259 --> 00:25:32.960 a sore spot with me. I mean, I know part of it 00:25:32.960 --> 00:25:37.119 and I don't need to go into all of that. Yes, 00:25:37.119 --> 00:25:38.900 we're supposed to be fruitful. There will be 00:25:38.900 --> 00:25:40.640 fruit when we're doing the things that we're 00:25:40.640 --> 00:25:44.079 supposed to do. The Bible talks about that. But 00:25:44.079 --> 00:25:47.900 we don't get to dictate our fruitfulness. God 00:25:47.900 --> 00:25:52.119 just calls us to be faithful. And he takes care 00:25:52.119 --> 00:25:54.019 of the fruitfulness. He's the Lord of the harvest. 00:25:54.099 --> 00:25:56.539 What's that about? Fruitfulness, right? But we 00:25:56.539 --> 00:25:59.329 have to be faithful. William Carey, does anybody 00:25:59.329 --> 00:26:02.309 recognize the name William Carey? He's known 00:26:02.309 --> 00:26:05.089 as the father of modern missions. Well, what 00:26:05.089 --> 00:26:08.990 makes you the father of modern missions? Well, 00:26:08.990 --> 00:26:12.710 I'm glad that you ask. So he was the very first 00:26:12.710 --> 00:26:17.690 person who went to another place to preach the 00:26:17.690 --> 00:26:20.490 gospel to another group of people. Specifically, 00:26:20.750 --> 00:26:24.089 Carey labored in India for a long, long time. 00:26:24.329 --> 00:26:26.910 But he showed up in India, he felt like he was 00:26:26.910 --> 00:26:30.930 called to India, and he worked for seven years, 00:26:31.609 --> 00:26:36.150 day in and day out, for seven years before he 00:26:36.150 --> 00:26:40.289 saw one convert. In those seven years, he translated 00:26:40.289 --> 00:26:42.390 the Bible into a bunch of different languages, 00:26:42.549 --> 00:26:46.150 he planted churches, he persevered, and without 00:26:46.150 --> 00:26:49.789 any noticeable results. This is what William 00:26:49.789 --> 00:26:53.190 Carey said. He said, expect great things from 00:26:53.190 --> 00:26:58.299 God. Attempt great things for God. Expect great 00:26:58.299 --> 00:27:01.220 things from God. Attempt great things for God. 00:27:01.960 --> 00:27:05.619 And William Carey was faithful. Some would look 00:27:05.619 --> 00:27:08.079 at his work in India and say that it was not 00:27:08.079 --> 00:27:11.180 fruitful, but he was faithful. God doesn't call 00:27:11.180 --> 00:27:13.539 us to produce the results. He calls us to be 00:27:13.539 --> 00:27:15.660 faithful. He handles the harvest. He's the Lord 00:27:15.660 --> 00:27:18.400 of the harvest. Galatians 6 and 9, do not grow 00:27:18.400 --> 00:27:20.680 weary in doing good. How many of you know that's 00:27:20.680 --> 00:27:26.019 a lot easier said than done? Do not grow weary 00:27:26.019 --> 00:27:30.039 in doing good. First Corinthians 3, 6 through 00:27:30.039 --> 00:27:32.940 7, I planted Apollos water, but God gave the 00:27:32.940 --> 00:27:35.619 increase. God gave the growth. God is in charge 00:27:35.619 --> 00:27:38.019 of the harvest. We're called to sow seeds again 00:27:38.019 --> 00:27:40.680 and again, whether or not we see results. Why? 00:27:40.759 --> 00:27:42.420 Because we're not called to that, we're called 00:27:42.420 --> 00:27:45.539 to being faithful. So we do what we're supposed 00:27:45.539 --> 00:27:49.079 to do, and we leave the results to Him. Urgency 00:27:49.079 --> 00:27:52.940 number five, urgency with compassion. Second 00:27:52.940 --> 00:27:56.920 Corinthians 5 20, we implore you be reconciled 00:27:56.920 --> 00:28:03.240 to God. Jude 1 23, snatch others from the fire. 00:28:06.039 --> 00:28:08.980 I don't know about you, but I think balancing 00:28:08.980 --> 00:28:12.779 urgency and compassion in evangelism is probably 00:28:12.779 --> 00:28:15.160 one of the trickiest things in the entire... 00:28:15.359 --> 00:28:17.960 business of living a life that's going to be 00:28:17.960 --> 00:28:20.019 honoring and pleasing to God. It's just so difficult 00:28:20.019 --> 00:28:22.559 because you're holding two emotional weights 00:28:22.559 --> 00:28:26.819 at the same time. Urgency says this matters now. 00:28:27.420 --> 00:28:31.960 Don't delay. Urgency says when you see Robert 00:28:31.960 --> 00:28:34.799 Robertson's house on fire, you pull the car off 00:28:34.799 --> 00:28:37.279 the side of the road, you leave the door standing 00:28:37.279 --> 00:28:40.380 open, you sprint to the front door, you beat 00:28:40.380 --> 00:28:43.680 on the door, and you say, I need your attention 00:28:43.680 --> 00:28:46.500 to this now. Your house is on fire. He's like, 00:28:46.640 --> 00:28:49.500 it's dinner time. I'm about to sit down and enjoy 00:28:49.500 --> 00:28:51.619 some fried chicken. And I'm like, you're going 00:28:51.619 --> 00:28:54.339 to be the fried chicken, pal. OK? You don't understand 00:28:54.339 --> 00:28:58.420 what I'm saying. It's going to be beef jerky. 00:28:58.420 --> 00:28:59.920 It's going to be your hide, pal. That's what 00:28:59.920 --> 00:29:02.140 I'm trying to tell you. That's urgency, right? 00:29:02.660 --> 00:29:05.140 But that's not necessarily compassion. Compassion 00:29:05.140 --> 00:29:09.660 says, I care about you as a person, not just 00:29:09.660 --> 00:29:12.650 about your decision. And how many of you know 00:29:12.650 --> 00:29:16.109 it's so difficult balancing those two? So, like, 00:29:16.130 --> 00:29:18.490 on one hand, it's urgent. It's a matter of life 00:29:18.490 --> 00:29:21.289 and death. I mean, you leave the car parked on 00:29:21.289 --> 00:29:23.549 the side of the road, door standing open. You 00:29:23.549 --> 00:29:25.710 sprint to the front door. You beat on the door. 00:29:25.930 --> 00:29:27.569 Like, you've got to get out of the house. It's 00:29:27.569 --> 00:29:30.009 on fire. He's like, listen, pal, you need to 00:29:30.009 --> 00:29:32.269 calm down. We're fine. I'm about to have fried 00:29:32.269 --> 00:29:37.170 chicken. No, you don't understand. You don't 00:29:37.170 --> 00:29:39.289 understand the danger that's about to consume 00:29:39.289 --> 00:29:44.279 you. No, it's dinnertime. Just leave me alone 00:29:44.279 --> 00:29:52.380 and still Valuing the person Regardless of their 00:29:52.380 --> 00:29:54.779 decision even if they're like no, I'm gonna stay 00:29:54.779 --> 00:29:58.059 and eat my fried chicken Even though I know my 00:29:58.059 --> 00:30:02.119 house is on fire I'm gonna eat my fried chicken 00:30:02.119 --> 00:30:06.640 and still valuing them as a person If urgency 00:30:06.640 --> 00:30:09.180 dominates without compassion, people feel pressured, 00:30:09.339 --> 00:30:11.799 manipulated, and treated as a project. You know 00:30:11.799 --> 00:30:15.119 that because it's true for you. When you've dealt 00:30:15.119 --> 00:30:20.039 with somebody who is only urgent, you feel used. 00:30:21.920 --> 00:30:24.799 If compassion dominates without urgency, people 00:30:24.799 --> 00:30:28.359 will never hear a clear, timely call to respond 00:30:28.359 --> 00:30:32.940 to the gospel claims of Jesus. We'll be compassionate. 00:30:33.079 --> 00:30:37.240 We'll be kind. but they'll never know their house 00:30:37.240 --> 00:30:42.160 is on fire. Evangelism is absolutely serious. 00:30:42.359 --> 00:30:44.599 It's life and death, but we don't guilt people 00:30:44.599 --> 00:30:46.960 into the kingdom. We grieve for them and we call 00:30:46.960 --> 00:30:53.380 them in love. Number six, equip others for evangelism. 00:30:54.460 --> 00:30:57.500 Ephesians 4, 11 through 12, evangelist, here's 00:30:57.500 --> 00:30:59.519 why he's called them, to equip God's people to 00:30:59.519 --> 00:31:03.589 do his work in building up the church. How many 00:31:03.589 --> 00:31:05.210 of you know an evangelist? I mean, that's just 00:31:05.210 --> 00:31:06.809 like what they're gifted at. That's what God's 00:31:06.809 --> 00:31:10.849 called them to. They're fantastic at it. And 00:31:10.849 --> 00:31:13.069 I don't know about you, but sometimes when I 00:31:13.069 --> 00:31:15.609 think about people who are outstanding at evangelists, 00:31:15.910 --> 00:31:18.990 they're outstanding at evangelism in their own 00:31:18.990 --> 00:31:22.549 right. They do their thing. That's their thing. 00:31:22.549 --> 00:31:24.730 They're really good at it. They're fantastic 00:31:24.730 --> 00:31:27.349 at it. They lead people to Jesus. It's happening 00:31:27.349 --> 00:31:29.750 all the time. That's awesome. That's great. But 00:31:29.750 --> 00:31:32.490 that's not why God's given that gift to the church. 00:31:33.909 --> 00:31:37.309 In fact, in that respect, we're all called to 00:31:37.309 --> 00:31:39.049 do that. We're all called to be talking to people 00:31:39.049 --> 00:31:41.650 about Jesus. We should all have that enthusiasm. 00:31:42.089 --> 00:31:44.569 The reason he's called evangelist is to build 00:31:44.569 --> 00:31:48.029 up the body of Christ so that we all are better 00:31:48.029 --> 00:31:50.170 at doing that, that we all collectively work 00:31:50.170 --> 00:31:52.730 better at reaching people for Jesus. That's the 00:31:52.730 --> 00:31:55.880 role of an evangelist, right? It's not just that 00:31:55.880 --> 00:31:58.220 they're doing it as a lone ranger, but they're 00:31:58.220 --> 00:32:00.420 getting other people around them. They're bodybuilders, 00:32:00.539 --> 00:32:02.740 they're multipliers, they're trainers. They're 00:32:02.740 --> 00:32:05.180 helping other people to know how they can lead 00:32:05.180 --> 00:32:09.240 people to Jesus. 2 Timothy 2, 2, entrust to faithful 00:32:09.240 --> 00:32:11.480 people who will be able to teach others also. 00:32:11.819 --> 00:32:14.559 Evangelism isn't complete until the evangelized 00:32:14.559 --> 00:32:19.539 becomes the evangelist. So that's where this... 00:32:19.440 --> 00:32:22.299 idea of an evangelist comes into play. So evangelists 00:32:22.299 --> 00:32:24.160 aren't just leading people to Jesus, they're 00:32:24.160 --> 00:32:27.380 helping the church to understand and reach more 00:32:27.380 --> 00:32:30.099 people and helping the people who have just been 00:32:30.099 --> 00:32:33.240 reached to reach their friends with the gospel 00:32:33.240 --> 00:32:36.599 claims of Jesus. That's why we practice. So I'm 00:32:36.599 --> 00:32:39.240 going to give you a breakdown of evangelism, 00:32:39.380 --> 00:32:41.279 all right? And some of this you're going to recognize. 00:32:42.059 --> 00:32:48.039 So evangelism is this. Step one, present the 00:32:48.039 --> 00:32:52.259 gospel. How long should you spend on that? Do 00:32:52.259 --> 00:32:54.619 I even have this on the screen? I do, look, present 00:32:54.619 --> 00:32:58.220 the gospel. On average, I would say you should 00:32:58.220 --> 00:33:00.740 spend about 30 seconds presenting the gospel. 00:33:00.740 --> 00:33:03.299 What do I mean by the gospel? The good news of 00:33:03.299 --> 00:33:11.400 Jesus. Just this week, I met with somebody, doesn't 00:33:11.400 --> 00:33:14.859 matter who, but I met with somebody. They're 00:33:14.859 --> 00:33:19.240 hurting, they're broken right now. Just the Lord's 00:33:19.240 --> 00:33:21.559 given me the opportunity to speak some life into 00:33:21.559 --> 00:33:24.160 them and and I cherish the opportunity to do 00:33:24.160 --> 00:33:27.839 that and they came in and They used to be a part 00:33:27.839 --> 00:33:31.000 of a church and had a relationship with the Lord 00:33:31.000 --> 00:33:34.259 and they've made some choices And in their mind, 00:33:34.299 --> 00:33:38.019 they're absolutely Unredeemable and unforgivable. 00:33:38.019 --> 00:33:41.140 That's the word that they used That I can't be 00:33:41.140 --> 00:33:47.369 redeemed So the Good news of Jesus is very simple, 00:33:48.049 --> 00:33:50.549 right? So I looked at this person and I said, 00:33:50.609 --> 00:33:53.509 what in the world could you possibly have done 00:33:53.509 --> 00:34:01.809 that would make you unredeemable? I mean, I just 00:34:01.809 --> 00:34:04.089 want them to talk about it because I already 00:34:04.089 --> 00:34:06.650 know the answer, right? There's nothing that 00:34:06.650 --> 00:34:08.889 you could have done that makes you unredeemable. 00:34:09.869 --> 00:34:11.650 So I'm like, what in the world could you have 00:34:11.650 --> 00:34:14.989 done that would make you unredeemable? And they 00:34:14.989 --> 00:34:17.010 told me something. They said, this is what it 00:34:17.010 --> 00:34:21.769 is. This is what makes me unredeemable. Oh, God 00:34:21.769 --> 00:34:26.170 can forgive that. And it also helps when you 00:34:26.170 --> 00:34:28.849 can back it up with scripture, right? So here's 00:34:28.849 --> 00:34:31.230 an example of how God did forgive that. And if 00:34:31.230 --> 00:34:33.190 God forgave it for this person, He'll do the 00:34:33.190 --> 00:34:36.690 same for you. He's no respecter of person. That's 00:34:36.690 --> 00:34:40.730 not unredeemable. He's waiting with open arms. 00:34:40.969 --> 00:34:43.690 So 30 seconds, just give them the good news of 00:34:43.690 --> 00:34:46.210 Jesus. How's it going to be best received? If 00:34:46.210 --> 00:34:48.230 you can talk to them about the good news of Jesus 00:34:48.230 --> 00:34:52.210 where they're living. So have conversation with 00:34:52.210 --> 00:34:54.210 them and where they say, this is what I'm struggling 00:34:54.210 --> 00:34:56.170 with and I feel like I'm unredeemable because 00:34:56.170 --> 00:34:59.750 of this. Speak into that and tell them, no, no, 00:34:59.750 --> 00:35:02.329 no, see, you've got it all wrong. He's ready 00:35:02.329 --> 00:35:05.250 to forgive. He's willing to forgive. He wants 00:35:05.250 --> 00:35:07.610 to be in relationship with you. It's that simple, 00:35:07.730 --> 00:35:11.070 right? 30 seconds, tell them the gospel, the 00:35:11.070 --> 00:35:13.809 good news of Jesus. Share your one minute testimony. 00:35:13.949 --> 00:35:16.789 Do you remember this little tool that I gave 00:35:16.789 --> 00:35:19.750 you? So that's your one minute testimony. So 00:35:19.750 --> 00:35:21.670 if it's a one minute testimony, how long should 00:35:21.670 --> 00:35:25.090 you spend doing it? I don't know, about 60 seconds, 00:35:25.269 --> 00:35:27.670 right? Probably not more than that. And this 00:35:27.670 --> 00:35:29.829 will give you a tool that you can say, this is 00:35:29.829 --> 00:35:31.309 what he's talking about. And if you want that 00:35:31.309 --> 00:35:33.630 tool again, let me know, I'll get it for you. 00:35:34.090 --> 00:35:36.909 That maps it out pretty well. So it just basically 00:35:36.909 --> 00:35:38.860 gives you all the stuff. And you should be able 00:35:38.860 --> 00:35:40.719 to do it in a minute. So you're gonna present 00:35:40.719 --> 00:35:44.679 the gospel. This is the good news of Jesus. This 00:35:44.679 --> 00:35:48.139 is how he can change your life. You're not unredeemable. 00:35:49.280 --> 00:35:52.800 That's the good news. Let me give you a testimony 00:35:52.800 --> 00:35:55.179 of how the Lord's done that. So one minute you 00:35:55.179 --> 00:35:59.260 spend on that. Step number three. So of those 00:35:59.260 --> 00:36:01.099 steps, how many of you think step number one's 00:36:01.099 --> 00:36:04.000 the hardest? To talk about this is the good news 00:36:04.000 --> 00:36:05.980 of Jesus. How many think that's the hardest part? 00:36:08.199 --> 00:36:10.119 How many of you think step number two is the 00:36:10.119 --> 00:36:12.179 hardest, where you say like, this is what he's 00:36:12.179 --> 00:36:16.860 done for me? Here's something I want you to think 00:36:16.860 --> 00:36:20.400 about. So step number two, they can't argue with 00:36:20.400 --> 00:36:25.679 you. They can't argue with you. It's your story. 00:36:26.079 --> 00:36:29.039 They can't possibly argue with you because they 00:36:29.039 --> 00:36:32.380 don't know your story. So it's like I would think 00:36:32.380 --> 00:36:35.639 number two would be pretty easy because it's 00:36:35.639 --> 00:36:38.269 my story. And if they try to argue with me to 00:36:38.269 --> 00:36:40.769 be like, listen, you don't know, all right? You 00:36:40.769 --> 00:36:43.489 can't possibly argue with me about this. You 00:36:43.489 --> 00:36:47.829 don't know. I think, just for me, I think number 00:36:47.829 --> 00:36:51.670 three is the toughest. And I think that that's 00:36:51.670 --> 00:36:53.670 where, in the body of Christ, I think that that's 00:36:53.670 --> 00:36:57.869 where we have the breakdown most often in evangelism 00:36:57.869 --> 00:37:01.190 is asking for a decision. I don't think it's 00:37:01.190 --> 00:37:04.099 hard to talk about how good Jesus is. I don't 00:37:04.099 --> 00:37:05.559 think it's hard to say, you know what, Jesus 00:37:05.559 --> 00:37:07.300 still loves you, even though you think you've 00:37:07.300 --> 00:37:09.440 done something that's unredeemable, I'm telling 00:37:09.440 --> 00:37:13.619 you, he loves you. I don't think that's difficult. 00:37:14.019 --> 00:37:16.119 I don't think it's difficult to say, hey, listen 00:37:16.119 --> 00:37:18.340 what he's done for me. I don't think that's difficult. 00:37:19.360 --> 00:37:21.619 But I think from number two to number three, 00:37:21.840 --> 00:37:28.079 I think, man, that's a big step. To say, okay, 00:37:29.239 --> 00:37:33.920 so what are you gonna do about it? What are you 00:37:33.920 --> 00:37:39.139 gonna do about that and And I think that this 00:37:39.139 --> 00:37:41.760 is where we fear rejection I think this is where 00:37:41.760 --> 00:37:44.460 we fear like I'm gonna offend somebody because 00:37:44.460 --> 00:37:46.980 now the balls in their court and here's the thing 00:37:46.980 --> 00:37:49.280 I want to remind you of they're not rejecting 00:37:49.280 --> 00:37:55.880 you They're rejecting him So if they're like 00:37:55.880 --> 00:37:58.219 no I want nothing to do with that you need to 00:37:58.219 --> 00:38:00.619 leave me alone. They're not rejecting you they're 00:38:00.619 --> 00:38:05.409 rejecting him It's like one of those things, 00:38:05.550 --> 00:38:09.030 would you calm down? Has anyone ever calmed down 00:38:09.030 --> 00:38:13.530 by being told that? No one, right? No one's ever 00:38:13.530 --> 00:38:16.329 calmed down from that. And in that moment, I 00:38:16.329 --> 00:38:19.329 get it, they're rejecting him, but it sure feels 00:38:19.329 --> 00:38:21.750 like they're rejecting me too, right? I think 00:38:21.750 --> 00:38:23.590 number three is the toughest. You could think 00:38:23.590 --> 00:38:26.510 something else is the toughest, but I think the 00:38:26.510 --> 00:38:28.309 point of saying, okay, what are you gonna do 00:38:28.309 --> 00:38:33.010 about that? I think that's where it gets tough. 00:38:34.630 --> 00:38:38.150 And what I would do and what I do do, see I said 00:38:38.150 --> 00:38:42.789 do do. It's like when I know I'm on step number 00:38:42.789 --> 00:38:45.130 one and I'm going into step number two, I'm already 00:38:45.130 --> 00:38:46.730 praying. I don't need to let them know that I'm 00:38:46.730 --> 00:38:49.429 praying, but I'm like, Lord, allow this moment 00:38:49.429 --> 00:38:52.030 to be fruitful. Allow this moment to connect 00:38:52.030 --> 00:38:57.329 with them. Because I know that it's coming. And 00:38:57.329 --> 00:39:00.829 I need the Holy Spirit's help, right? So I need 00:39:00.829 --> 00:39:02.789 the Holy Spirit's help because I'm gonna ask 00:39:02.789 --> 00:39:07.619 them for a decision. Number four, offer to pray 00:39:07.619 --> 00:39:10.079 for them and offer to pray for them regardless. 00:39:10.820 --> 00:39:12.920 If they say, no, I don't want to do that, can 00:39:12.920 --> 00:39:18.619 I pray for you? And pray for them. I followed 00:39:18.619 --> 00:39:22.280 these four steps. This is not a pat me on the 00:39:22.280 --> 00:39:25.940 back thing at all. Hundreds, if not thousands 00:39:25.940 --> 00:39:30.500 of times. I've done those four steps at least 00:39:30.500 --> 00:39:33.079 hundreds of times, probably thousands of times. 00:39:34.039 --> 00:39:37.119 and in thousands of times doing one, two, three, 00:39:37.119 --> 00:39:39.579 four. Do you know how many times somebody has 00:39:39.579 --> 00:39:43.420 said to me, no, you cannot pray for me? Two times, 00:39:43.659 --> 00:39:49.800 ever. One of them, one of them I actually wished 00:39:49.800 --> 00:39:55.320 I hadn't listened to him because he ended up 00:39:55.320 --> 00:39:59.119 dying shortly after that. And I wish I would 00:39:59.119 --> 00:40:00.900 have prayed for him anyways. I wish I would have 00:40:00.900 --> 00:40:03.099 said, and in hindsight I would have said this, 00:40:03.260 --> 00:40:06.320 I would have said, okay, that's fine. You don't 00:40:06.320 --> 00:40:08.219 want me to pray for you? I won't pray for you 00:40:08.219 --> 00:40:12.199 out loud as a way to respect you. You know, urgency 00:40:12.199 --> 00:40:14.920 and compassion, additive compassion. I won't 00:40:14.920 --> 00:40:18.440 pray for you out loud, but you can't stop me 00:40:18.440 --> 00:40:22.079 from praying for you. So I will leave your presence, 00:40:22.920 --> 00:40:24.800 and I'm still going to pray for you because you 00:40:24.800 --> 00:40:27.699 can't stop me from praying for you. But I won't 00:40:27.699 --> 00:40:32.860 pray with you. And one time, so really one time, 00:40:33.559 --> 00:40:36.320 the circumstances were, they were such that the 00:40:36.320 --> 00:40:37.820 person said, no, I don't want you to pray for 00:40:37.820 --> 00:40:41.000 me. I can still tell you what they were wearing. 00:40:41.119 --> 00:40:44.579 I remember it really well. I was on OSU campus 00:40:44.579 --> 00:40:47.280 with my friend Jeff Stump and that was the only 00:40:47.280 --> 00:40:49.079 other time I've ever had somebody say to me, 00:40:49.119 --> 00:40:51.559 no, you cannot pray for me. I've had lots of 00:40:51.559 --> 00:40:53.539 people say, no, I'm not ready to make that decision. 00:40:54.980 --> 00:40:57.119 But then it's always crazy to me because they'll 00:40:57.119 --> 00:40:58.679 be like, no, I don't want to make that decision. 00:40:58.719 --> 00:41:03.360 That's fine. Can I pray for you? Yes. I wish 00:41:03.360 --> 00:41:10.099 you would. Hello? Okay, I'll pray for you. And 00:41:10.099 --> 00:41:17.199 I'll pray for them. So, how many of you think 00:41:17.199 --> 00:41:19.820 that this week, if you were given an opportunity, 00:41:20.480 --> 00:41:26.619 you could do step one, two, three, four? I think 00:41:26.619 --> 00:41:32.150 you could. So, That's a simple approach that 00:41:32.150 --> 00:41:34.690 you can use. Number seven, unity in the church 00:41:34.690 --> 00:41:36.909 and in the community. How many of you have ever 00:41:36.909 --> 00:41:38.909 been a part of one of the Billy Graham crusades, 00:41:39.150 --> 00:41:43.329 like when Billy Graham was around? I wish everybody 00:41:43.329 --> 00:41:45.789 had the opportunity to be a part of those. So 00:41:45.789 --> 00:41:48.550 anytime that they were anywhere close, I would 00:41:48.550 --> 00:41:50.929 be a part of all the Billy Graham stuff that 00:41:50.929 --> 00:41:53.150 I could do. And one of the things that Billy 00:41:53.150 --> 00:41:56.070 Graham always was really big on was he would 00:41:56.070 --> 00:41:59.380 talk about church unity and city unity. And the 00:41:59.380 --> 00:42:01.659 way that they would go about that is they would 00:42:01.659 --> 00:42:05.380 come in like 18 months before a crusade and they 00:42:05.380 --> 00:42:07.420 would start meeting with church leaders and they 00:42:07.420 --> 00:42:08.980 would say, hey, we all need to be on the same 00:42:08.980 --> 00:42:13.460 page. And we can't be fighting against each other 00:42:13.460 --> 00:42:16.559 and this thing get off the ground. So we need 00:42:16.559 --> 00:42:18.699 all the church leaders to be on the same page. 00:42:18.989 --> 00:42:21.230 And if we need to help with some of that, we'll 00:42:21.230 --> 00:42:23.010 do that. And then next time, would you bring 00:42:23.010 --> 00:42:25.150 some of your church leaders? And they would say 00:42:25.150 --> 00:42:27.070 the same thing all over again. Hey, we need everybody 00:42:27.070 --> 00:42:28.929 to be on the same page. We've already talked 00:42:28.929 --> 00:42:31.289 to your pastors about this. And now we're talking 00:42:31.289 --> 00:42:33.050 to you as church leaders. But we all have to 00:42:33.050 --> 00:42:36.929 be on the same page. And Billy Graham and whoever 00:42:36.929 --> 00:42:39.190 it was that was in town and talking for him would 00:42:39.190 --> 00:42:42.429 say this. And this was almost like scripted. 00:42:42.429 --> 00:42:44.389 They would always say this. If we don't stand 00:42:44.389 --> 00:42:50.539 together, we will fall apart. When churches unite 00:42:50.539 --> 00:42:55.639 cities change Jesus prayed may they be one So 00:42:55.639 --> 00:42:58.239 that the world may believe that's John 17 21 00:42:58.239 --> 00:43:01.760 Ephesians 4 3 through 6 make every effort to 00:43:01.760 --> 00:43:05.940 keep yourself United in the spirit So here's 00:43:05.940 --> 00:43:08.559 the application for us today when churches work 00:43:08.559 --> 00:43:10.480 together feeding the hungry serving community 00:43:10.480 --> 00:43:13.280 praying in unity The world starts to believe 00:43:13.280 --> 00:43:17.110 the gospel we preach Unity isn't just important, 00:43:17.369 --> 00:43:21.869 it's evangelistic. Disunity discredits the gospel. 00:43:24.309 --> 00:43:27.210 It's not in the notes, it's a freebie. And one 00:43:27.210 --> 00:43:30.070 of the churches that I pastored, not the one 00:43:30.070 --> 00:43:32.150 you're thinking of but a different one, not this 00:43:32.150 --> 00:43:34.389 one, a different one, not the one you're thinking 00:43:34.389 --> 00:43:35.750 of. I told you it's not the one you're thinking 00:43:35.750 --> 00:43:38.590 of but a different one. Down the road from us, 00:43:38.650 --> 00:43:40.449 about eight miles down the road, there was a 00:43:40.449 --> 00:43:44.250 church that... just like everything they touch 00:43:44.250 --> 00:43:48.329 turned to gold. And so like all of my church 00:43:48.329 --> 00:43:49.909 leaders, they were a little envious of that. 00:43:49.949 --> 00:43:51.650 They're like, I still don't understand it. It 00:43:51.650 --> 00:43:54.590 doesn't matter what they do. It thrives. It's 00:43:54.590 --> 00:43:56.510 successful. If they put their hand to it, it's 00:43:56.510 --> 00:43:58.690 going to flourish. And I still don't understand 00:43:58.690 --> 00:44:01.250 what's going on with it. So they were talking 00:44:01.250 --> 00:44:03.889 about that in one of our vision meetings. And 00:44:03.889 --> 00:44:06.030 we were talking about just the fact that, hey, 00:44:06.030 --> 00:44:08.110 I still don't understand it. If they touch it, 00:44:08.170 --> 00:44:09.929 it turns to gold. And why is it different for 00:44:09.929 --> 00:44:12.110 us? And I didn't say a word. I was just kind 00:44:12.110 --> 00:44:14.530 of listening to the conversation. So one of my 00:44:14.530 --> 00:44:16.530 leaders is asking that question. Another one 00:44:16.530 --> 00:44:18.110 of my leaders said, you know what I think it 00:44:18.110 --> 00:44:24.070 is? He said, I think that it's the fact that 00:44:24.070 --> 00:44:27.010 I've never known a church that was more unified 00:44:27.010 --> 00:44:31.309 than they are. And I've never heard one of them 00:44:31.309 --> 00:44:33.889 say anything negative about anybody else in their 00:44:33.889 --> 00:44:36.889 church. And I've never heard them say anything 00:44:36.889 --> 00:44:40.400 negative about one of their church leaders. They're 00:44:40.400 --> 00:44:43.260 just always positive about each other He said 00:44:43.260 --> 00:44:45.820 I think that's what it is. I didn't say a word, 00:44:45.920 --> 00:44:47.579 but it's kind of sat there and listened and I 00:44:47.579 --> 00:44:51.619 said to myself You know, I think they're absolutely 00:44:51.619 --> 00:44:56.880 right So when we're unified if we're unified 00:44:56.880 --> 00:45:02.860 as a church that brings change and if we're unified 00:45:02.860 --> 00:45:05.579 with and I understand not every church in our 00:45:05.579 --> 00:45:08.050 community or quote -unquote church in our community 00:45:08.050 --> 00:45:11.309 we can't agree with them on everything because 00:45:11.309 --> 00:45:13.250 they don't agree with us on the stuff that matters 00:45:13.250 --> 00:45:15.690 but I'm saying the stuff that doesn't matter 00:45:15.690 --> 00:45:17.610 let's just forget about the stuff that doesn't 00:45:17.610 --> 00:45:19.909 matter and if they agree on the stuff that does 00:45:19.909 --> 00:45:23.349 matter let's be unified with them and let's together 00:45:23.349 --> 00:45:27.329 work to reach our community for Jesus right and 00:45:27.329 --> 00:45:30.409 that's how change really happens is when when 00:45:30.409 --> 00:45:32.489 we are unified and we work together with the 00:45:32.489 --> 00:45:35.500 people around us Ephesians 4 or 13, this will 00:45:35.500 --> 00:45:38.420 continue until we reach such unity in our faith 00:45:38.420 --> 00:45:41.119 and knowledge of God's Son that we will be mature, 00:45:41.260 --> 00:45:43.219 measuring up to the full and complete standard 00:45:43.219 --> 00:45:46.940 of Christ. When the evangelist equips, when the 00:45:46.940 --> 00:45:49.480 body is unified, when the people of God speak 00:45:49.480 --> 00:45:52.559 and live the truth and love, the church grows. 00:45:53.079 --> 00:45:55.599 Maturity in the church leads to effective missions 00:45:55.599 --> 00:45:58.599 outside the church. So here's the prayer that 00:45:58.599 --> 00:46:09.840 I want you to pray with me, all right? So here's 00:46:09.840 --> 00:46:14.760 the prayer I want you to pray with me. I'm going 00:46:14.760 --> 00:46:18.320 to pray the prayer. I just want you to decide 00:46:18.320 --> 00:46:19.980 if you can agree with all of it. If you can, 00:46:20.039 --> 00:46:21.599 when we're done, say amen. That'll just mean 00:46:21.599 --> 00:46:23.440 that I agree with all of that. I'll receive all 00:46:23.440 --> 00:46:26.780 of it. Then we're going to sing a song and then 00:46:26.780 --> 00:46:29.760 there'll be a benediction, okay? So I just want 00:46:29.760 --> 00:46:31.940 you to listen for a second and be like, okay, 00:46:32.179 --> 00:46:35.139 I can agree to all of that. And if you can, then 00:46:35.139 --> 00:46:36.559 the way that you're going to say I agree with 00:46:36.559 --> 00:46:41.090 all of that is what? You're gonna say amen. Let 00:46:41.090 --> 00:46:47.150 it be so. Here it is. Lord, make us faithful 00:46:47.150 --> 00:46:52.050 in our living so that our lives are a clear witness 00:46:52.050 --> 00:46:57.289 to your grace. Give us a spirit -filled message, 00:46:57.349 --> 00:47:01.690 not just words we rehearse, but truth alive in 00:47:01.690 --> 00:47:05.969 our hearts. Stir in us a willingness to train 00:47:05.969 --> 00:47:10.000 others To pass the torch of the gospel to those 00:47:10.000 --> 00:47:14.679 who will follow. Break our hearts for the lost. 00:47:16.380 --> 00:47:21.679 So that we see people the way you see them. Unite 00:47:21.679 --> 00:47:28.320 your church. One body. One mission. One voice. 00:47:29.739 --> 00:47:34.000 So that the world may hear and believe. In Jesus' 00:47:34.219 --> 00:47:34.340 name.