Personal Evangelism Here and Now

All right, I'm just going to make sure I'm not. Sir, we're getting a little bit started, a little bit late. Apologies for that technical difficulty.

Can you hear me? No? Can everyone hear me? Okay. Good? All right. Can we just go ahead and pray?

Dear Heavenly Father, we're so grateful that we can come before you together this morning as a church.

To hear, listen to your word, and just really think about how we can proceed in this assignment which you've given to us.

And we ask, Lord, that you humble us this morning, that you instruct us, that you deliver us from every pride.

And Lord, give us clarity on how we can proceed in your work. We pray all this, Lord, in Christ's name. Amen.

Amen. Amen. Sweet. So, is it? Yeah, I did. I did. Okay.

So, I was told to come talk about personal evangelism here and now.

And when I was told, I was just wondering, I was like, oh my goodness, of all the unqualified people, they would think about me.

So, it's indeed a privilege to be before you here this morning just to talk about this topic of evangelism and what it means for us as a church.

So, I just want to, this is kind of like my outline.

What is evangelism? Why bother about it? Why should we care?

Just some biblical principles to think about as we move forward.

Some practical ways to approach personal evangelism.

Personal evangelism, addressing the barriers to personal evangelism.

I'm going to just spend some time praying, if that's okay.

So, right away, let's just go ahead and define what evangelism really is.

I feel like we need to, first of all, know what we're talking about before we can move forward.

I'm not going to pretend that I know Greek. I do not know Greek.

So, I looked up this Greek word.

Apparently, it's from the Greek word whatever that is.

I don't know what that is.

But, that Greek word, which is the root of evangelism, means gospel or good news.

And, in this context, personal evangelism means personally sharing with your friends or your neighbors the good news of Christ.

So, I'm just going to just, we're just going to talk about, well, what does that look like?

Why should we do that?

Personally engaging our friends and neighbors in this gospel issue.

So, why bother?

And, I came up with this reason.

No one can be neutral towards God.

You're either for Him or against Him.

Not us here as a church, but also everyone else in the world.

Our friends at work, at school.

You're either for Him or opposed to Him.

I'm going to look at John 3, 17 and 18.

And, to save us time, I just kind of like put all the verses here so we can just read together.

God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.

Whoever believes in Him is not condemned.

But, whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

So, we see two fates, two possibilities, not three.

We see belief in Christ or we see the people who stand condemned.

So, either you believe and if you don't, you stand condemned.

There's no one who's neutral.

And, it's a tendency for me personally sometimes to think about, maybe my friends, you know, they're not Christians, but they're really good people.

And, they'll be okay.

But, this passage tells us otherwise.

That, if they're not in Christ, they will not be okay.

They stand condemned.

And, that's who we were before we came to know Jesus.

We stood condemned.

So, as much as we want to be loving and thinking about our friends as people who are not necessarily Christians, but good, that's not the case.

Without Christ, they stand condemned.

And, that's why it is a very important topic.

It's a very important conversation to be had with them.

Because, outside of Christ, again, they stand condemned.

That's why we care.

But, secondly, in addition to not being neutral, we have been commanded by our Lord to go about this.

I like this passage because, obviously, it's one that everyone knows about, you know, evangelism.

But, it highlights a couple of things that I want to draw our attention to.

I'm going to read it.

Matthew 28, 16 to 20.

Now, the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.

And, when they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted.

And, Jesus came and said to them,

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,

baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

And, behold, I am with you always to the end of the age.

Something that really draws my attention is verse 17, actually.

It says,

When they saw him, this is just after, you know, Christ had been crucified,

he resurrected and he appeared to them.

And, some believed and so some worshipped.

But, some others doubted him.

But, both to those who believed and worshipped and to those who doubted,

he gave them this command.

He didn't call the ones who worshipped aside.

He said,

You guys are strong believers.

Go tell people about Jesus.

Those who doubted, those who worshipped,

all together, he sent them.

And, there's a tendency for us to think,

I'm not as solid.

You know, I feel like I need to get more grounded as a believer

before I can go tell people.

I need to know things.

But, to those who worshipped and to those who doubted,

he sent them all together.

And, he gave them this command to go and make disciples.

It was not, what we see here was not a suggestion.

What we see here was not based on any conditions.

The only condition, he told them, he was like,

You know what?

I'm with you.

Go do this.

I'm in charge of everything.

I'm in charge of all of the world.

I'm in charge of all of creation.

Because I am in charge.

Go.

In confidence.

So, again, we see a clear command.

Not a suggestion.

Not an option.

A clear command to everyone who calls him or herself a believer.

To those who are solid.

To those who are doubting.

To those who are shaky.

To those who are not even really, really sure.

He sent all of them together to go.

And, because of this command he gave to every believer.

What we find is that this command is ingrained into our purpose here on earth.

And, permit me to say that if we're not obeying or walking along in accordance with this command.

We're not only in disobedience.

But, we're probably risking purposelessness on earth.

I want to draw attention to 2 Corinthians 5, 14-15 and also to verse 20.

For the love of Christ controls us because we have concluded this.

That one has died for all.

And that's Jesus.

Therefore, all have died.

And he died for all.

That those who live might no longer live for themselves.

But for who for their sake died and was raised.

He died so that while we live, we wouldn't have to live for ourselves.

So, by virtue of his death, our life on earth now has a new purpose.

Right?

And it's now for the sake of the person who died.

So, what is this purpose that is for the sake of the person who died?

That we may be, in verse 20, ambassadors.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ.

God making his appeal through us.

And this is Paul saying, we implore you on behalf of Christ.

Be reconciled to God so you can really live out this command of being an ambassador.

And this, brethren, is the purpose of the Christian life.

This is why after we came to Christ, God didn't call us right back to himself right away.

He left us on earth so that we can live this out.

He left us on earth so that this work of redemption can continue.

He has done everything that needs to be done.

He died on the cross.

And that is our seal.

Right?

That is what we look at.

And we're convinced that God is actively redeeming the world.

But how does he actually make this happen?

He works through us in making this happen.

And this is the purpose of Christian living.

Living for his glory.

Living to be an ambassador.

Living to exhibit his majesty in all of creation.

And again, I'm going to repeat.

It sounds a little bit too direct.

But if we're not working with this in mind,

we are risking purposelessness on earth.

And it might be a wasted life.

That's why we bother about this issue of evangelism.

Now I want to bring our attention to some biblical principles.

Just to guide our thinking.

And the first one is that unbelief is much deeper than it seems.

There's a tendency for us to see,

oh, they don't believe in Jesus.

Well, I can just talk to them and maybe they would.

But I want to draw our attention to the gravity of unbelief.

How deep it is.

And it's this parable that actually,

to me personally,

it helps me see this very clearly.

And I'm hoping it will help you guys see it as well.

Before I just get to verse 22,

I'm just going to give a little summary of the parable

before we get to that passage.

So there's this rich man who is very rich.

And Lazarus, who is very, very, very poor.

And the Bible tells us that every day Lazarus would be at his gates,

you know, eating the crumbs

and the dogs licking his wounds and his sores.

So these are two different people,

the rich man and Lazarus at his gate.

And eventually they both die.

So the poor man died

and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side.

The rich man also died and was buried.

And in Hades.

Being in torment,

he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off

and Lazarus at his side.

And the rich man called out,

Father Abraham, have mercy on me

and send Lazarus to dip

the end of his finger in water

and comb my tongue.

For I'm in anguish

and in this flame.

But Abraham said,

Child, remember that in your lifetime

you received good things.

Your good things.

And Lazarus in like manner

received bad things.

But now he is comforted here

and you are in anguish.

And besides all this,

between us and you,

a great chasm has been fixed

in order that those

who would pass from here to you

may not be able

and none may cross from here to us.

And he said,

Then I beg you, Father,

to send him to my father's house.

This is the rich man saying,

Abraham, please send Lazarus

to my father's house.

For I have five brothers

so that he may want them

lest they also come

into this place of torment.

But Abraham said,

They have Moses and the prophets.

Let them hear him.

And he said,

No, Father Abraham,

but if someone goes to them

from the dead,

they will repent.

Perhaps if they see someone

who rose from the dead,

they might be convinced

and they will repent.

And Abraham said to him,

If they did not hear Moses

and the prophets,

neither would they be convinced

if someone should rise from the dead.

I don't know if you saw

what I saw in this passage

about unbelief.

Abraham,

the rich man is here saying,

you know,

maybe if you just send someone

from the dead,

give them all the evidence

they need on earth,

maybe, perhaps,

they will repent.

And Abraham tells him,

No, not really.

They have the prophets.

They have Moses.

They have all they need.

They don't repent

in the face of all of that evidence.

They probably won't repent

if they see a dead man

rise from the grave.

And what does that tell us?

It tells us that

it's not a matter of evidence.

I don't know about your circles,

but in my circles,

I'm a scientist,

and in my circles,

it's all about the evidence.

Well, what's the evidence?

And there's a tendency for me

to feel like I have to produce

all this evidence.

And even when I can produce

enough evidence,

boom,

they will come to know Jesus.

And here Abraham says,

No, really.

Even if someone

comes from the dead,

they probably will not believe.

What does that tell us

about unbelief?

That is deeper

than evidence.

It's not about your ability

to come up with

a very, very convincing claim.

If people are not believing,

it's because of something deeper.

And this passage draws us to

what that thing is.

2 Corinthians 4 verse 4.

2 Corinthians 4:4

I'm just walking us through passages

so we can see

what the Bible says

about this issue.

2 Corinthians 4 verse,

For the God of this world

has blinded their eyes.

In their case,

the God of this world

has blinded the minds

of the unbelievers

to keep them from seeing

the light of the gospel

of the glory of Christ.

So we see why

just coming up with evidence

is not enough.

We'll not cut it.

Here's why the God of this world,

the enemy,

has blinded their eyes.

It's a spiritual issue.

It is more spiritual

than we think it is

a lot of times.

It is much deeper than that.

So what does this mean for us?

We dare not proceed

trusting in our own strength

because it's so deep.

If a man is steeped in unbelief,

it is so deep

that we can't afford

to move towards that

in

our own strength.

It is,

it's in fact,

impossible.

Right?

So we dare not trust

in our own strength

because unbelief is so deep.

We can't go about this

just saying,

you know what,

I'm just going to just say things.

So that's the one,

that's another principle.

The third principle

I want to bring to our attention

is

when a person comes

to believe in Jesus,

it is a miracle.

Because it's so deep,

the spiritual blindness

is not something physical.

when that veil is in fact

taken off

of the eyes of people,

we rejoice.

Right?

That's why the angels rejoice

because it's a big deal

that that veil

will be taken off

and people will believe.

So what?

It's a miracle.

Now the fourth principle

is the fact that

God doesn't need us

to do this.

Right?

He has chosen,

but He has chosen to use us.

Sorry about that typo.

He has chosen to use us.

And this in fact

is a gift of God's grace.

And I want to draw attention

to Saul's conversion

just to demonstrate this fact.

Again, Saul persecuted

a lot of Christians

and eventually on his way

to Damascus

to persecute more Christians,

what happened?

In Acts 9,

a very bright light

from heaven

struck him

and he went blind.

And God literally

preached to Saul.

What does this tell us?

He doesn't need us.

He could do

what He wants to do

with or without us.

So we need not feel

like this thing

is dependent on us.

He will save people

if we choose to disobey.

He can do that

and He did that in Acts 9.

He saved Saul.

And we see what Saul

did for the kingdom.

He did not need

any man.

Now some men

were used eventually

but that initial

conviction

was God literally

meeting Saul

on his way to Damascus.

So it's

unbelief is deeper

than it seems.

We dare not proceed

trusting our own strength

because it's deep.

And when a person

believes in Jesus

we rejoice

because it's a miracle.

And God doesn't need us

but He has chosen

to use us

and it's

ridiculous

I think

that He would choose

to use me and you

such weak

and broken people

to undertake

such

a profoundly

spiritual task.

it is a gift

of grace

and we don't take it

for granted

we pursue it.

Now practical ways

to approach

personal evangelism.

It's easy to think about

well okay

now

I know

it's important

why bother

while it's important

we need to like

do this.

What are some ways

to think about this?

How can we do it?

And I want to draw

attention to just

one

task

we have

because there's so many

things to think about

and it's easy to get

overwhelmed

well like

there's just a lot of pieces

but only one thing

is required of us

in this issue

of personal evangelism

and it's that we share

and what does that mean?

We open our mouths

and talk

that is the only thing

required of us

now what happens

after then

might not necessarily

be

our duties

in terms of like

how

the word we share

convicts them

into righteousness

or to truth

our one job

is to share

and I think about

that passage in scripture

where it talks about

the farmer

the farmer goes out

in the morning

plants his seeds

and he goes to bed

right?

He's not worried about

we the scientists

we think about

well what happens

when that seed

is in the soil

and like

the different things

that need to come together

for that seed

to germinate

and like be a fruit

but the farmer

is not

he's probably not educated

he's like

I'm just going to

plant that thing

and go to bed

and that's the attitude

we're called

to have

in this issue

of evangelism

we just talk

and we go to bed

literally

we talk

and we trust God

to use our speech

right?

God takes a seed

and the next day

some sort of fruit

comes out

the farmer has

no idea

how that happens

and we

have no idea

how that is going to happen

well he's got

the farmer

has to wake up though

and plant that seed

and that's what

we're called to do

that is the one job

we have to share

now

there's just some points

I just try to note

and these are things

that have helped

me even thinking about

this thing

this idea of

occupying all streets

I know this is like

an Occupy Wall Street

but that's like

not as

fancy as this

Occupy Wall Street

well what does that mean?

each of us here

we're all on

different streets

some are students

some just have

regular jobs

some are

some are stay at home moms

some are professors

we're all on

different streets

that God has like

put us

right now

and it's important

that we think about

well what does that

what does evangelism

mean for me

on my street

right now?

I'm in medical school

right now

what does that look like

for me

in medical school

interacting with my friends

my classmates

my professors

what does that look like

for me?

and we have to take

that's such an important step

that we take

a step back

and figure out

well what does that

mean for me?

well I'm not a pastor

yes

and that is good

because God's

glory

has to reach

it has to seep

into every facet

of life

right?

God's glory

has to literally

seep into

every facet of life

and that's why

we can't all be pastors

right?

some people

in the engineering field

have to hear the gospel

some people

I've heard one pastor

actually say

we are all pastors

we all are

we all minister

exactly

but when I say pastor

I don't mean like

in the sense of having

a church

that we pastor

I'm sorry about that

I needed to clarify

yeah we're all pastors

we're all missionaries

right?

in a sense

and that is our

primary calling

and what does

being a missionary

as an engineer

look like?

what does being a missionary

as a medical doctor

look like?

and we all have to

work that out

secondly

we need to establish

relationships with people

and this is such

an important piece

that I feel like

it's often forgotten

and it's just like

very very cliche

I hate saying this thing

but I might have to say it

because I feel like

it passes a very

important message

the fact that people

don't know how much

you know

people don't care

how much you know

until they know

how much you care

it's not biblical

but it's kind of true

bees and lived experience

they don't want to

really know how much

they don't care

how much you know

until they know

that you actually care

and that's why

this relationship aspect

is very important

and that's why

before even proclaiming

this gospel to them

we have to demonstrate

that we actually love them

so we don't just

have this assignment

and we just go about

saying this thing

but the gospel

is lived out

right

it's lived out

and it's proclaimed

so if you're proclaiming it

and not living it out

we have to think about that

right

so like

how can we

establish relationships

with people

right

and engage them

in this conversation

right

so relationships

and the good news

is that

we all have people

we're connected with

in one way or the other

right

there's nobody

who's hopefully

not connected to anybody

right

we all have relationships

and

and that's what's cool

about personal evangelism

and that's why

I'm really glad

that in this series

of global missions

we're starting with this

because

if you go

to a different country

you might have to learn

the language

right

you have to like

establish new

and fresh relationships

but right now

you all have people

who you work with

you have neighbors

who you talk with

you have co-workers

right

and these are all

existing relationships

so now we think about

how can we

take advantage

of this

relationships

that are already existing

these people who already know

that we care about them

how can we go even deeper

in these relationships

so we establish relationships

and thirdly

this idea of active engagement

and I've heard a lot of people

say well

you know

I won't really bring it up

until like it comes up

it's going to come up naturally

the conversation is going to come up

and often times

it won't

you know why

it's an awkward conversation

to have

so no one is going to

bring it up

and say well

you tell me what you think

I want to know

sometimes now

sometimes

people bring it up

and they ask you just

randomly

like

Kelechi

like tell me about the gospel

that has happened like

once

or twice

in my life

and I'm 24

which is not that old

but

but

yes

that could happen

and God is good

and God is gracious

and God might be working

behind the scenes

and cause them

to ask you that question

but sometimes

a lot of times

most times

they won't

right

so what do we do

we bring it up

right

we

we

we become active about it

we

we push it

that sounds bad

because

I know Americans

don't like to push

like we just like

you know just do your thing

I'm doing my thing

and just we'll be cool

but no no no

because there's so much

at stake

we

move

we

initiate

so active

engagement

I like to think about it

one conversation at a time

I grew up in Nigeria

and

what is big in Nigeria

is soccer

football

we call it football

you guys call something else football

I don't know what that is

but we call soccer football

and when we play football

in Nigeria

you have the goalie

you have the defenders

you have the midfielders

you have the strikers

right

the job

is for

the defenders

to take that ball

to the net

now that ball

has to go

through the defenders

to the midfielders

to the strikers

and the strikers strike

that's why they call it strikers

they strike into the net

of the other team

but why the defender's role

is so important

is that they initiate

that pass

right

that first pass

they pass it

and pass

by pass

pass

by pass

somehow

after many minutes

sometimes

after 90 minutes

right

hopefully

the ball gets there

but sometimes

it might take 90 minutes

sometimes it might take 5 minutes

sometimes it takes 2 minutes

sometimes seconds

but often times

it takes longer

and that's the same thing

we're dealing with here

one conversation

at a time

one conversation

at a time

and we pass it on

right

I've had friends

in school

that I've been chatting with

so engaging them

on this topic

and they're like

yeah

3 years ago

in college

my roommate

brought that up

and we had a conversation

about it

and I'm like

thank God

for that roommate

he's passed the ball

to me

now I have to be faithful

I have to bring it up

thank God

I brought it up

and who knows

5 years from now

when he becomes a resident

hopefully another resident

will be faithful

and bring it up

and eventually

hopefully

maybe 10 years

that ball

will get to the net

so what do we do

we advance

one conversation

at a time

what would it look like

if every one of us here

is faithful to that

what would it look like

if the

however many Christians

1 billion

I don't know

what would it look like

if that

the millions of Christians

who are on the earth

are faithful to that

are saying

you know what

I'm going to be faithful

to this

and bring it up

wherever I go

and every Christian

all around the world

is passing the ball

right

and your co-worker

who starts work tomorrow

with you

you bring it up

and hopefully

his previous co-worker

brought it up

and as he moves through life

different believers

are bringing it up to him

how amazing would that be

one conversation

at a time

and I brought this up

because

sometimes it takes years

sometimes

you don't even see the fruit

sometimes the defenders

are out here being distracted

and the strikers

go and scar

and they're like

oh wow

that's true

that was the pass I made

you know

sometimes it might not happen

in our lifetime

and that's the patience

required

in personal evangelism

so you might have to

bring it up in conversations

and one approach

I found helpful

is asking questions

personally

because you might

wonder

well how do I bring it up

what do I even start

I don't even know

what

what can I even say

and I like asking questions

sometimes out of the blue

like

hey man

what

you know

how did you

I mean

what did you grow up

did you like

grow up going to church

or not really

and you probably say

not really

like oh

why was that

and you probably

give some response

and you ask

why

and you keep asking why

and you keep talking

I mean it sounds simplified

but it works

because when you ask why

there's a genuine interest

in like

finding out why

and when you ask these questions

you listen

again this is not

the bible right

this is just

a personal approach

that I've used

and obviously

it could work in different ways

but this is one way

that has really helped me

in my journey

just asking all these questions

and listening to learn

listening in a way

just starting to see

like you care about

what your life look like

and then what I found

is that

after talking for a while

people get tired

of talking about themselves

a little bit

sometimes

and

they want to hear

you talk about yourself

and so they ask you

well what about you

and then you like

take your time

and you smile

are you sure you want to know

and then you share

well that's

a little bit simplified

but that just gives an idea

of how

just one approach

asking a lot of questions

with a genuine interest

to know and learn

about these people

and then over time

who knows

perhaps

because you've asked them

so many questions

and they've talked about themselves

perhaps they would listen

to you talk about yourself

they'll listen to you

talk about what gives you

hope and fulfillment

and these questions

could come in different shapes

and sizes and forms

but thinking actively

I challenge you

as you move to work tomorrow

just thinking

how can I

just bring this up

using work

how can I like

bring this up

in what way

everyday thinking about that

like

how can I do this

and also praying about it

like God

can you just open

let me see

let me see a way

in which I can bring this

to the table

this conversation

and I found that God

is faithful

in answering that prayer

especially

about creating room

for us to see

how we can engage people

or if you have a home

you can invite people over

maybe step out

of your comfort zone

maybe you're the kind of person

who likes to have people

in your space

maybe

maybe you could try that

have people over

at your home

cook something for them

and just talk to them

and get to know them

now addressing some barriers

to personal evangelism

I have to move

because we have like

five minutes to go

but this is like the end

now there are a couple of

things that we think about

that kind of hinder us

like I don't want to be

that person

I don't want to be

I don't want to be that weird

like that's just weird man

and people start avoiding you

and stuff like that

and I'm sorry

you might have to be

that weird person

you probably will be

that weird person

and that's fine

you know

I remember reading

when I became a believer

and it was like

the scariest article I read

and you know

he was like

the moment you become

a Christian

you give up your rights

to be cool

that was like

the first sentence

in that like

in that article

I was like

oh my god

what did I just get into

and that is just truth

because if we're

really trying

not to be weird

I'm sorry

we'll miss the point

and we'll just

waste our lives

and

we are following

a lot of people

who are weird

Jesus was strange

and he said some things

and like

hundreds of people

just walked away

like this dude

is crazy

eat my flesh

and drink my blood

and they walked away

like this dude

is weird

and

that is

the person

we're following

right

it is going to be weird

what's one second

I'm just going to round up

and then we'll go

have some questions

you can see

I'm still a struggling Christian

and I brought up

that passage right

earlier

about the people

who doubted

who were struggling

and he still

sends them

so it doesn't matter

you're struggling

you're saying

yeah we're all struggling

in fact if you think

you're not struggling

then

I don't know

we're all struggling

and that's just truth

I don't know

what to say

and this is like

a very important one

I give some suggestions

right

asking questions

like

what do you think

you know

hey what do you think

about that

hey what gives you hope

in life

hey what's

what gives you purpose

and as the answer

you just go deeper

press into that

well why

and ask many more

why questions

many more wondering questions

like you know

I'm just wondering

I see you do this

why do you do that

why are you so

scared

why are you so anxious

just asking why

and that really

unpacks what people think

and sometimes

we're just afraid

of having these conversations

because we don't know

what they're going to say

but people just

answer

and you keep asking

and over time

hopefully

by them answering

they've told you

a lot about themselves

they've let you

into your lives

and you can let them

into yours as well

now I want to bring

still on this conversation

I don't know what to say

I want us to consider

Apostle Paul

now Apostle Paul

was something similar

to an attorney in his day

very eloquent

but

he brings this up

now the Corinthians

from what I read

did a little bit of research

on these people

people would travel

to Corinth

these professional orators

they would go

and have all these speeches

and people would pay

to go listen

to these orators

so the Corinthians

were I guess

known to love this thing

this eloquence

and all that

but here's what Paul says

Paul says

and I

when I came to you brothers

I did not come

proclaiming to you

the testimony of God

with lofty speech

or wisdom

for I decided to know

nothing among you

except Jesus Christ

and him crucified

and I was with you

in weakness

and in fear

and much trembling

this is Paul

saying this

right

and my speech

and my message

were not implausible

words of wisdom

but in demonstration

of the spirit

and of power

so that your faith

might not rest

in the wisdom of man

but in the power of God

and Paul is here saying

guys

when I came

I didn't have all the words

I wish I did

but I intentionally

I just

I didn't have it

but I proclaimed

one thing to you

Jesus

and him

crucified

and I didn't want to

talk about anything

I didn't want to talk about

much else

and here's why

so that when you

eventually believe

it won't be that

Paul's eloquence

brought you to faith

right

so that your faith

will be

purely

on Jesus

and that's why

worrying so much

about well

how can I put this

in this eloquent way

doesn't really help

what do we do

we just proclaim

Jesus

it's a simple message

we're all broken

we're all messed up

God really loves us

and he wants to fix this

and how does he fix this

he changes us

one by one

that is the gospel

he died

so that the consequences

of our foolishness

will come upon us

and he took that

upon himself

so that we

will live for him

that's the gospel

and Paul said

when I came to you

I didn't have to

I didn't really need

to come up with

all this

you know

super logical

and eloquent things

I just

proclaimed Jesus

and him crucified

and that's what

he calls us to do today

again

I don't know what to say

consider what Paul said

Jesus and him crucified

start there

and over time

we'll work with you

I don't want to be rejected

again

the person we're following

was rejected

in fact

killed

I don't think we're at that point

where we're getting killed

yet

but this is who we're following

because he was rejected

there's a decent chance

we will be

and we need to embrace that

and move forward

and find hope

and faith

and the fact that he

who matters most

has accepted us

right

right

so we cling

and that's why it's important

to cling to him

so tightly

so that when we're rejected

we have something

to latch into

the love of Christ

so action steps

what do we do

we pray

we think about people

in our lives

we pray for them

we spend time

praying for them

I encourage you

before you even have

the conversation

pray for them

take two minutes

take one minute

pray for them

pray that their hearts

will be open to it

pray that their hearts

will be broken

pray

and then

you know what

just go

literally

literally

just go

and I want to end

with this story

it's my senior year

in college

and

I

it was spring

I was going to graduate

in May

May 2015

so it was spring

this was January 2015

it was a Friday

I got a text

from my friend

I didn't see the text

but the text came in

on Friday night

it was like

yo Kelechi

let's hang out

tomorrow

please tell me

you're on campus

let's hang out tomorrow

that's the way

your text was

literally

please tell me

you're on campus

let's hang out tomorrow

I didn't see the text

Friday

but I saw it

Saturday morning

Saturday morning

I saw it

I'm like

oh yeah sure

let's hang out

later tonight

and

so I came back

at like 3pm that day

and I got an email

you know

from the

school's president

you know

and you know

usually if someone

passes away

we get an email

you know

oh

you know

we regret to announce

the death of this person

and

and so that name

was my friend's name

the person

whom I just texted

that morning

right

so apparently

he was killed

by a car

at 4.30am

Saturday morning

he sent a message

at 8pm

he was killed

4.30am

and I sent a message

at 9am

and I responded

not knowing

what had happened

and he was gone

but

the hope I had

was that

he came to know

the Lord

you know

the summer before

however

I was just thinking

this guy's here today

and he texts me

and he dies

like

5 hours

however many hours later

and I'm thinking about

wow

we don't have as much time

as we think we do

and I began to think about

a lot of my friends

in college

whom I'd never

ever engaged with

and I was wondering

like can I really

can I really say

I love these people

and the one thing

I claim to believe

they need

I don't tell them

about it

it's either

I don't really

love them

or I don't really

believe they need

this thing

either

I didn't

I don't

like literally

there was no other

explanation I could

come up with

either I don't

love them

or I don't think

they need

the gospel

in other words

they'll be fine

without it

and so

that just really

challenged me

in college

I had a job

in Boston

and I just

called them up

I'm like yo

I can't

I can't come

I have to

just stay

back in campus

and hang out

with my friends

and so

for a full year

I worked

as a campus

missionary

but that's not

what we're called

to do

but the reason

why I shared

that story

is for you

to think about

the fact

that your

co-worker

or your

classmate

tomorrow

might in fact

be gone

by Tuesday

and I'm not

saying this

to scare anyone

but I'm saying

this to

just proclaim

reality

but the life

we live

is very brief

last night

before I went

to bed

I looked up

a message

from my friend

that a

classmate

of ours

passed away

on the

first of

November

and I'm just

thinking about

I wonder

I wonder

if his

friends

shared this

thing with him

before he

passed away

he went to

eat

and

he complained

of stomach

upset

and he was

gone

by the next

day

he died

and I'm not

saying this

is just

cast

a veil

of hopelessness

and fear

and panic

but just

for us

to understand

that this

is an

urgent call

we don't

have time

we really

do not

have time

and we

have to

move about

this with

a sense

of urgency

so I

want to

just spend

one minute

because we

need to

go up

and just

pray

what was

your question

it wasn't

a question

okay

great job

thank you

my name

is Rico

and I've

been traveling

west

to the

industry

where

helping

and able

to see

the

cancer

and the

way I

approach

even people

that I

meet next

to me

like a

starbucks

whatever

is I'll

just ask

them is

there

anything

you need

prayer for

so at

work

the co-workers

if someone's

going through

a hard time

or anything

or even

sometimes

just saying

is there

anything

I pray

for you

and then

pray for

them

there

and

well

another thing

that we

want to

think about

is when

we're

ministering

to someone

or sharing

the gospel

to someone

think about

how do I

want to be

a religion

and hear

the gospel

and even

within that

is like

the greatest

commandment

ask God

God will you

teach me to

love you

with all my

heart

and soul

and will you

teach me to

love my

neighbor

as I

know

because we're

loving our

neighbor in

the way he

calls us

to and

encourages us

and one

last verse

within that

is in

Colossians

312

where

it's a

combination

of asking

the Holy

Spirit

to teach

us this

and it's

also being

mindful of

and it

really is the

fruit of the

spirit

is therefore

as God

chosen people

fully and

dearly love

both yourself

with compassion

kindness

humility

gentleness

and patience

and so

as we're

ministering

as we're

sharing the

gospel

and evangelizing

just being

that kind

passion

gentle

and thinking

about being

in their

shoes

the way

I want

to do

but

it makes

a big

difference

in real

life

too

as you

were saying

is God

plants the

seeds

he uses us

to plant

the seed

not for

them to know

Christ right

at that

moment

we share

that gentleness

we share

what the

gospel is

and even

going back

to Genesis

126

God

created us

in his

image

and one

of my

other favorite

verses is

Psalms 37

20

Psalm 37

4

the light

in the

Lord

will give

you the

desires

of your

heart

and that's

God

what Jesus

did is

to restore

him

thank you

yeah and

these are

I mean

that's

absolutely

correct

it really

does matter

how we

proclaim it

and again

it has to be

done in

love

in gentleness

in compassion

because that's

how Christ

dealt with us

that's really

how he did

it with us

and think

about a

Samaritan

woman

as he

engaged

her

in compassion

she had

multiple

husbands

and he

didn't come

yelling

he knew

all about

that

but there

was a love

there was a

you know

I'm with you

there was a

sense of

solidarity

with this

person

and that's

what

we're called

to do

so let's

just spend

one minute

I just want

to encourage

you just

right now

in this

time

just think

about

five people

three people

that you

want to

be praying

for and

you want

to start

working

towards