Sermon
Wisdom and Salt
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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Welcome to Church of the Advent. If you are new here, we're so glad to have you.
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I'm the assistant pastor here, Dan Bielman. Our senior pastor, Tommy Henson, is away on sabbatical.
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He has one week left, and I haven't heard anything about how a sabbatical is going until yesterday.
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I ran into him at the Maryland Renfest, and all I'm going to say is that his report was it's the best thing he and his family have ever done.
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So, for all of you who have taken on extra responsibility because our pastor has been gone this summer, thank you so much.
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It was so worth it. So worth it.
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So, yeah. So, we've had a chance to hear from a number of different pastors this summer.
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I've had a few opportunities to preach, and with my opportunities, we've been preaching through, thank you, Luke,
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through Luke chapter 4, no, excuse me, Colossians chapter 4, verses 2 to 6.
Luke 4 chapter mention Colossians 4:2–6
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And the reason why we're in Colossians is because a while back we started Colossians, never quite finished.
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So, our goal this summer was to finally finish it. So, finally, yes.
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So, there are other verses in Colossians chapter 4 that we're not going to be discussing tonight,
Colossians 4 chapter mention
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and that's because they're frankly hard to preach.
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There are a lot of greetings from Paul to different people in the Church of Colossa,
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and there's actually great stuff in there.
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So, if you'd like to, you can study, grab a commentary, and check it out on your own.
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As for preaching, we've actually taken parts of those greetings and worked it into previous sermons.
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So, we're not going to preach that part of the chapter.
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Now, in June, we looked at verse 4, actually verse 2,
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and we explored what praying continually might look for us.
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And I suggested that continuous prayer is akin to making ourselves present to God,
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making ourselves present to Him.
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In July, we noted how prayer comes from, leads into mission.
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Paul asks for prayer as he preaches the gospel.
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So, we pause to define and explore the meaning of the word gospel.
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What is the gospel?
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Well, concisely put, the gospel is the life-transforming message of salvation from sin
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and all its consequences through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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The gospel is both a declaration and a summons,
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announcing what has been done for us in Christ,
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and calling us to repentance, faith, and submission to His Lordship.
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And tonight, we're going to look at verses 5 and 6.
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We're going to see that Paul extends the mission of proclaiming the gospel
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to the Colossians, the people in the church in this town of Colossa.
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And by extending it to Him, the spreading of the gospel, He extends it to us as well.
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After unpacking the verses for a bit, we're going to talk about how to share the gospel
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by looking at Jesus' interaction with Samaritan woman in John chapter 4,
John 4 chapter mention
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which we heard Amy read for us tonight.
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And by looking at that interaction, we're going to see the roles that
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vulnerability, listening, and testimony have when we share the gospel.
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Vulnerability, listening, and testimony, or story.
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But before we begin, I'd like to say first that because we're talking about sharing the gospel,
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I'm speaking primarily to those here who are Christians.
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But that doesn't describe all of us, I understand.
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Some of us in this room are skeptical of the claims made by Christianity.
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And you're here because you're either visiting, or because a friend invited you,
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or because you've been attending for a while, because you find this to be your community,
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and yet you still have yet to fully accept the claims made by Christianity,
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all the things that this community believes.
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If that describes you, then there's a chance that you'll be offended by some of the things
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I have to say tonight.
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So I would ask you just to withhold judgments until the very end.
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Let me come around at the end and address some things that I think will ease your discomfort.
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In the meantime, we're glad you're here.
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Father, we wouldn't be Advent without you.
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And we're grateful that you can be a part of this family discussion.
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So let's pray.
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Father, would you open our ears and our minds and our hearts to hear and receive your word?
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Lord, and open up your word tonight to our ears and our eyes, our minds and hearts,
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that we might fully trust and believe in you and find you to be more beautiful
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at the end of this evening than at the beginning.
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Thank you for teaching to us through your word.
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We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
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Let's look at some of Paul's exhortations to the Colossians.
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Remember first that the book of Colossians is a letter.
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It's a letter written to a church.
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This church is in the little town of Colossa.
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It's a little town in what's now the Turkish Peninsula, what was once called Asia Minor.
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And the issue that the church in Colossa had was they believed the gospel.
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And over time, they were being tempted by outsiders, outside teachers,
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to begin to accept other things as true.
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Stuff from folk religion, stuff from Judaism.
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They started to mix it all in, and they were surrendering the riches of the gospel.
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Now, though Paul warns against influence from the outside,
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at the same time, he calls the Colossians to be a witness to those outside the church.
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He tells them, in verse 5, to walk in wisdom towards outsiders.
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In the first three chapters, we see Paul explaining how our minds are renewed.
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And wisdom is the middle space between thoughts and actions.
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Wisdom enables us to determine just how our new way of thinking should be put into effect.
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Don't adopt the worldview of outsiders, yet at the same time,
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stay engaged with your fellow citizens to win them to Christ.
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And be aware of how your actions color your testimony.
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Next, he says, in verse 5, make the best use of the time.
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Make the best use of this moment.
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Well, what moment is this?
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What's the time in between?
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The already, but not yet.
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The time after Jesus inaugurated the kingdom of God and his rule
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through the death and resurrection of Jesus.
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And that time when it will be fully consummated when he comes again.
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So we're in this in-between time, and it's not going to last forever.
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Wise living is using the short time God has given us to his best effect.
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Next, he says, let your speech always be gracious.
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Or let your words, logos, be full of grace, charis, seasoned with salt,
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so that you may know how to answer each other.
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So that you may know how to answer each person.
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In other words, let your speech be winsome, not flat or insipid.
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You could say, let your speech be seasoned for each specific occasion.
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Or as the apostle Peter writes elsewhere,
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always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason
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for the hope that is in you.
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Yet do it with gentleness and respect.
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So to summarize, Paul is giving the Colossians instructions
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on how to have a public faith.
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Their faith wasn't meant to be private,
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constrained to an individual's own personal existence,
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not to be shared with anybody else,
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nor was it meant to be shared by this community.
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The church is not to be a fortress,
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bracing itself against the forces of culture in that city.
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Rather, the church was to be an outpost of the kingdom of God,
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proclaiming the hope and liberation found in Christ.
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And as the Colossians share the gospel,
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they must act wisely with urgency,
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wisely with urgency and with winsome, gracious speech.
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Well, what does this mean for us?
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How can we put into practice being winsome
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and gracious in our speech, seasoned with salt?
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Well, we're going to look at John chapter 4.
John 4 chapter mention
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We're going to look at how Jesus shares himself
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with the Samaritan woman.
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And we're also going to look at her response
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and how she shared her story.
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So our gospel lesson was the beginning of John chapter 4,
John 4 chapter mention
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but we're going to look at the whole chapter.
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It begins with Jesus traveling through Samaria.
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Now, Jews didn't travel through Samaria.
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It's just not something they did.
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And they didn't interact with Samaritans.
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There was a deep hatred for Samaritans.
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A rabbi from the first century wrote,
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he who eats the bread of the Samaritans
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is like one who eats the flesh of swine.
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What the rabbi is saying is that by nature of their race,
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a Samaritan can make you unclean.
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And yet Jesus passed through Samaria
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to seek out this one Samaritan woman.
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His visitation is like a reverse hospitality.
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He invites her into a conversation and relationship,
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breaking through the divisions of race,
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religion, gender, and lifestyle.
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And then he does something pretty great.
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He exposes his vulnerability.
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He's tired and he's thirsty,
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which is interesting, right?
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He's the creator of the world.
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He created water.
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He could probably create some more.
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It took a lot of energy to create the world.
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I'm sure he could come up with more energy.
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And yet to the Samaritan woman,
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he presents himself as tired and thirsty and needy
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for her sake.
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And this is our first lesson.
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Speaking with grace means making ourselves vulnerable.
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Imagine, if you would,
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a woman moves to the far side of the world
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to start a business in a country.
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It's a small nation state on an island,
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fairly well developed.
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There's a majority culture and a minority culture.
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The two cultures get along just fine,
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although the majority culture looks down
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on the minority culture.
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The majority culture,
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they have this interesting way of dressing.
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And the woman decides,
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well, I'm going to start a business here.
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I'm going to present myself to this culture
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as the culture presents itself,
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which I'm going to dress like them,
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which means they wrap themselves,
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not unlike a mummy.
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But they don't look like mummies.
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The wrappings are beautiful.
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Many colors.
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They're scented wraps.
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They're gemmed.
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I mean, they go all out with these wraps.
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And it's from toe to head,
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or head to toe, right?
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You know, she doesn't think anything of it.
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She just does it.
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And she also observes the minority culture,
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which actually kind of look like us.
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They kind of dress like us.
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They don't wrap themselves.
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And then there's nothing to it.
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Now, over time,
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the woman starts to develop these nasty wounds
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all over her body.
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And she's not quite sure why.
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But she knows that the minority culture doesn't.
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They don't wrap their bodies.
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And they don't have these wounds.
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And so she starts to do some research
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into the history of this culture.
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Now, she learns that this minority culture,
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they're kind of given this nickname called the hairlings.
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And it used to be that everybody was like the hairlings.
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They didn't wrap themselves like this.
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And there was a time when everybody ate this particular fruit
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called hair fruit.
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And that's where the hairlings get their name.
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This is not a true story.
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You probably figured that out.
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The hair fruit looks disgusting.
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It looks like hairy brown fruit.
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There's nothing in its appearance that you would desire it.
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There's no beauty to it or smell.
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It just smells bad, looks bad.
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You wouldn't want to touch it.
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Although the hairlings have kept eating it.
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And there's something in the fruit
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that prevents these wounds from forming.
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At some time in this island's history,
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a large group of people decided,
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we don't want to eat any more of this fruit.
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These wounds developed.
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And it's because there's something in the soil
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that's causing these wounds.
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But they say, well, we'd rather just wrap ourselves.
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And cover the wounds.
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Then eat this fruit.
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And then they began to make the wrappings more elaborate.
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And so you have these two different cultures.
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Well, she thinks, like, why don't I just eat the fruit?
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And she does.
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And it actually tastes great.
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Even though it looks horrific.
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And so she goes around and realized
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everyone else has these wounds.
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And she's wondering, why don't you eat the fruit?
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Well, we're not going to eat the fruit
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because we're not hairlings.
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Like, why would we want to do that?
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Like, well, you should actually eat the fruit.
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Well, you don't eat the fruit.
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Like, yes, I do.
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How do we know?
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Like, well, just trust me.
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Eat the fruit and the wounds will go away.
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Like, how do you know?
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So how does she show, like, the whole culture
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that you should eat the fruit?
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Well, she unwinds the bandages
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and reveals the scars that were once there
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because of the wounds.
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She makes herself vulnerable
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so that she can tell everybody,
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taste and see that this fruit is good.
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It has healing power.
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Let me tell you a true story.
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It's about three men.
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One of them is a good friend of mine.
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He's a pastor of a church.
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And my friend is all about excellence.
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His preaching is excellent.
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He wants the music in his church to be excellent.
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The children's ministry to be excellent.
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The architecture to be excellent.
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Everything needs to be excellent.
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And so one day he decided
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we should have a missions conference
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and that needs to be excellent.
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You realize he wants to be excellent
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because of his own ego, right?
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Yes.
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Because he wants to be viewed as excellent.
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But the church's motto is
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our church is about excellence
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because it attracts people to the beauty of Christ
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and inspires them.
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So they're going to have
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an excellent missions conference
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and they hire an excellent missions speaker,
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or at least I assume he is.
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And he's fairly well known
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in the, I guess, missions conference world.
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At the time.
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And he's very excited.
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And at the last minute,
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the speaker has to bail out
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because he's really old.
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So he can't come.
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So the missions agency says,
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don't worry.
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We have somebody else who can come.
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He's going to do all the speaking.
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And my friend is like freaking out.
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Like, it's not going to be good.
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This thing is not going to be excellent.
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It's going to be miserable.
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And people are going to look
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and think bad of me, right?
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So the guest speaker comes
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and he's a missionary to Africa.
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And you know what he does?
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He spends a half hour
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talking about how difficult it is
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to live in this part of the world.
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How hard it is to live in a mud hut
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with the poisonous snakes
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and how much of a chore it is.
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Just to get water.
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Just to get clean water
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and to cook food.
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I mean, they don't have any time
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for actual like missionary stuff.
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And it's just a chore.
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And they have experienced disillusionment
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and wonder why we're even there.
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And then he sits down.
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He sits down.
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And my friend is like,
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that is the worst missions conference,
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the most uninspiring missions conference speech
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I've ever heard.
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We're supposed to hear about
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thousands of souls being rescued.
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Let me tell you about the third man.
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There's a man who was sitting on the front row
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and he'd been sitting on the front row
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Sunday after Sunday,
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listening to my friend's sermons.
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But his heart wasn't changing.
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He was an agnostic, committed agnostic.
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You can't know if there really is a God.
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But he did admit,
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I will admit there might be a God.
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If I can meet one person
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who actually believes this stuff.
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And you know what happened
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at the end of that missions conference?
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This man put his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ
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for the first time.
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Because he heard how hard it was
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for this person to live out his calling
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as a Christian,
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as a missionary.
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And he put his faith in Christ.
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It's not our excellence that inspires people
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and attracts them to the beauty of Christ.
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Listen to Henry Nouwen.
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He wrote in his book,
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The Wounded Healer,
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it is not the task of the Christian leader,
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and I'm just going to change it to Christian.
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It is not the task of the Christian
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to go around nervously trying to redeem people,
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to save them at the last minute,
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to put them on the right track.
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The Christian is to make visible in daily events
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the fact that behind the dirty curtain
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of our painful symptoms,
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there is something great to be seen.
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The face of him in whose image we are shaped.
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It's not our excellence that attracts people
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to the beauty of Christ.
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It's our brokenness.
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And through that,
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people see the beautiful, healing,
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saving power of our Lord Jesus.
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So the first thing was vulnerability.
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The second thing that is to inform our sharing the gospel
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is the second thing we learn is listening.
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Gracious speaking begins with listening.
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Listening shapes what we say.
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Jesus' conversation with the Samaritan woman
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continues in verse 9.
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It reads like this.
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The Samaritan woman said to him,
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How is it that you, a Jew,
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ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?
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It's a good question.
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From here, in verse 9 through verse 24,
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you can see Jesus doesn't seem to feel the need
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to share the whole gospel with Herod,
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to share the whole story of Israel,
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how God created everything
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and then from everything chose a family,
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a people, Israel,
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to fill and spread the blessings of God
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throughout the entire world.
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No.
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He only says those parts
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which address the issues
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that this particular woman is facing.
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And that makes sense, right?
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Because he's interested in this person.
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He's interested in this person
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with very specific and very real concerns,
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those that arrive from her own day-to-day experiences
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in a particular time and place and culture.
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And her questions stem from the tensions
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between her ethnicity and Jesus'
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her culture and his,
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her religion and his,
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specific things that she hopes for
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or feels deep shame about.
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If our speech is to be seasoned with salt,
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we can expect to be the same way.
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Otherwise, we won't hear the other person
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and they become less than a person
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and more of a project.
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And they'll pick that up right away, won't they?
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A friend of mine learned this lesson
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in the most difficult of ways.
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He was training to be a hospital chaplain,
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which I've heard about hard jobs.
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This is one of the hardest I've ever heard of.
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And he went in to visit a young man that was dying.
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He was around 19 or 20 years old.
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And there's no question he was going to die.
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And so he thought it was his job
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to bring hope to this young man.
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So he shares him the whole gospel,
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how God created,
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and this is a great story.
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And it's a true story.
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And it inspires me.
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And I think it inspires you too,
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how God created the world good and perfect.
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And he made man to flourish and to fill the earth.
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And how man rebelled
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and rebelled against the lordship and kingship of God,
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which brought all kinds of trouble,
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which brought sin into the world and death
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and broke everything, the environment,
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our relationships with each other,
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our relationships with ourselves
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and our relationship with the Lord.
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But God sent his own son to restore
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and renew and to redeem and to fix.
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If we put our hope and trust
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and faith in Jesus Christ,
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we'll be unified to him.
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And then in one day, like after we die,
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we'll get resurrection bodies
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and live eternally with God.
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And that's what he shared with him.
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And it's all true.
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But you know what this man's reaction was?
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Get out.
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And he raised his voice much more than that.
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And his family joined him.
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Get out of this room.
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I don't want a resurrection body.
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I want this body.
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I don't want to die.
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My friend was so locked into a method
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that he missed a very real issue
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that this person right in front of him was dealing with.
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He was afraid to die.
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Listening frees us from a script,
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from our own agendas,
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from a project,
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and it helps us address the real fears
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that people have,
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real concerns, doubts, protests.
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Now, if you ask anyone who has come to faith
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as an adult,
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who didn't grow up in the church,
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the majority of time,
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they'll tell you,
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I came to faith because I had a friendship
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or relationship with a Christian.
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That's how it works.
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People come to faith through relationships.
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And relationships are established through trust.
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And trust is built through listening.
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So we share the gospel through being vulnerable,
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by leading with our brokenness,
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not with our excellence.
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We share the gospel by listening first
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and not feeling the need to share the whole gospel right away.
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The third way to have our speech be gracious
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is to have it be our story.
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We learn this from the woman's reaction.
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I'll read starting in verse 28 of chapter 4.
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So the woman left her water jar
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and went away into town
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and said to the people,
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come see a man who told me all that I ever did.
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Can this be the Christ?
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They went out of the town and were coming to him.
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We learn from the Samaritan woman
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that our testimony
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isn't primarily a list of doctrines and propositions
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that we need to subscribe to.
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It's a story about our encounter with a living person.
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In verse 39,
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many Samaritans from that town believed in him
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because of the woman's testimony.
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He told me all that I ever did.
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So when the Samaritans came to him,
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they asked him to stay with them
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and he stayed there two days.
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And many more believed because of his word.
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They said to the woman,
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it is no longer because of what you said that we believe,
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for we have heard for ourselves.
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And we know that this is indeed the savior of the world.
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Now a comforting thing about sharing our faith
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is that we're just making an introduction.
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And that we don't necessarily have to convince someone
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with our intellect or wit or rhetorical flourish.
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Jesus does that for us.
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We're introducing a person to a person.
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Verse 42,
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they said to the woman,
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it is no longer because of what you said that we believe,
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for we have heard for ourselves from him.
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And we know that this is indeed the savior of the world.
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Now I understand how difficult
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it is for many of us in Washington, D.C.
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to bear witness in our workplaces in particular.
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How do I know if I should bear witness?
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Will it cost me my job or reputation?
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How do I know what to say?
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How do I know when to say it?
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Well, the first thing to remember
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is that your work itself bears witness.
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The way you conduct yourself in your job,
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doing good work, being honest,
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showing kindness in a harsh landscape,
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doing good work,
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not giving into gossip or backbiting,
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doing good work.
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All of these things,
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especially doing good work,
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go a long way in bearing witness
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that there is something different about you.
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I mean, even Paul says,
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like even by not doing two things,
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do you stand out like stars in the universe?
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Don't complain and don't argue.
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Do everything without complaining and disputing
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and you will shine like stars in the universe.
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Okay, so after I do good work,
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I still have to say something, right?
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Like probably.
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And that is how people come to faith.
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It's through the word.
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It's through word.
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So how will you know what to say?
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How will you know what to say
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and when to say it?
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Well, just ask him.
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Just ask him.
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You feel nervous, right?
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Well, what do you do when you get nervous?
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I'll tell you what I do when I get nervous.
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As a musician,
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as a musician,
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if I'm nervous on the stage,
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well, I just rely on my training,
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rely on what I've learned and practiced,
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rely on some instinct,
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put my head down and just get the job done, right?
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Well, I'm behaving like I don't have a father.
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I'm behaving like I don't have a father
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who's willing to hear and give
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anything I should ask for.
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He is always there.
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I just have to make myself present to him.
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You know, maybe what God is primarily interested in
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when we share the gospel
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is that his children are completely dependent on him.
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And so we end where we began
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in chapter 4, verse 2 of Colossians.
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Continue steadfastly in prayer,
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being watchful in it with thanksgiving.
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Okay, a couple postscripts.
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The first is this.
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Some of you enjoy sharing the gospel.
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You're just like naturally gifted at it.
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For some of you, it's very difficult.
-
But I think most of us understand
-
it is all of our responsibility
-
to share the gospel.
-
Now, what if I told you
-
that there's a demographic
-
when they hear the gospel taught to them,
-
99 times out of 100,
-
they'll believe what you say.
-
And they'll be joyful to hear it
-
and accept it and believe it.
-
What if there's a demographic
-
that was like that?
-
Would you share the gospel with them?
-
Well, do you know who I'm talking about?
-
Children.
-
Our children.
-
Our children.
-
Now listen,
-
the scriptures are entirely clear
-
on this matter
-
that if a family has children,
-
this is like from the beginning
-
in the Old Testament
-
all the way to the end of the New,
-
it is the responsibility
-
of the family
-
to impart the faith
-
to the children.
-
Well, this is a family.
-
This is a family.
-
It's everyone's responsibility
-
to proclaim the gospel
-
to our children.
-
But here's the great thing.
-
They're going to believe you.
-
They're going to believe you
-
and they're going to accept it.
-
So listen,
-
Jane has had a really hard time
-
finding people to teach our children
-
at this hour,
-
this coming fall.
-
A number of our longtime teachers
-
have had to step down
-
for various reasons.
-
Now, perhaps you've been waiting
-
on the sidelines
-
and been wondering,
-
what can I do
-
to be a part of this church?
-
How can I fit in?
-
How can I help?
-
Maybe you've been
-
a member a long time
-
and have been standing
-
on the sidelines.
-
Maybe you've been coming
-
for a long time.
-
I would encourage you
-
to talk to Jane.
-
I'd implore you
-
to talk to Jane
-
because you're going to
-
you're going to
-
have success
-
as a teacher
-
of the gospel.
-
And yeah,
-
please talk to Jane.
-
So the second postscript
-
is the thing
-
I said at the beginning.
-
There's some of us here
-
that don't believe
-
in the gospel.
-
And perhaps some of this
-
sharing of the gospel
-
sounds kind of insidious.
-
Wait, you're just like
-
kind of forcing
-
your beliefs on people?
-
Shouldn't they be free
-
to choose and decide
-
for themselves?
-
That sounds like aggrandizement
-
at the best.
-
Well, let me tell you
-
if that's the way you feel
-
or inclined to feel,
-
why that doesn't quite work.
-
And I'm indebted
-
to Pastor Tim Keller
-
for this.
-
It doesn't work
-
for a number of reasons.
-
The first,
-
it doesn't work emotionally.
-
It doesn't work emotionally
-
for this reason.
-
If you had
-
a really nasty form
-
of cancer
-
and there was
-
a rare cure
-
that you discovered,
-
would you not
-
share it
-
with as many people
-
as you could?
-
Like, of course.
-
Yes, emotionally
-
you are,
-
you have to.
-
And you know what?
-
There are atheists
-
that agree
-
with this very point.
-
You know Pendulet?
-
He's a comedian.
-
There was a video
-
that a lot of Christians
-
saw back in 2009.
-
It's a video of himself.
-
I think he was like
-
in his home.
-
And he said this
-
after encountering
-
somebody on the street
-
who was trying
-
to evangelize him,
-
he said,
-
I've always said
-
that I don't respect
-
people who don't proselytize.
-
I don't respect that at all.
-
If you believe
-
that there's a heaven
-
and a hell
-
and people could be
-
going to hell
-
or not getting eternal life
-
and you think
-
that it's not really
-
worth telling them this
-
because it would make
-
it socially awkward
-
and atheists
-
who think people
-
shouldn't proselytize
-
and who say
-
just leave me alone
-
and keep your religion
-
to yourself,
-
how much do you
-
have to hate somebody
-
to not proselytize?
-
How much do you
-
have to hate somebody
-
to believe
-
everlasting life
-
is possible
-
and not tell them that?
-
So emotionally
-
we're required
-
to share the gospel.
-
That makes sense, right?
-
Now let me tell you
-
why it doesn't work
-
intellectually.
-
It's because of this.
-
Like we all have
-
our own views
-
of the world,
-
of truth,
-
of reality,
-
of life,
-
of God,
-
of faith.
-
And the view
-
that says
-
you shouldn't
-
share your view
-
of faith
-
with another person
-
is itself
-
a view.
-
So we're not
-
talking about
-
one person
-
kind of dominating
-
everybody
-
with their viewpoint
-
and trying to evangelize.
-
We're talking about
-
two competing
-
worldviews.
-
And in saying
-
like a Christian
-
shouldn't share
-
the gospel,
-
well really what is being said
-
like my worldview
-
should prevail.
-
Okay?
-
So that's why
-
intellectually it doesn't work.
-
Let me give you
-
a third reason
-
to pause
-
in judgment,
-
to pause
-
in being offended
-
when people share
-
the gospel with you.
-
It's this.
-
It's probably
-
because they love you.
-
It's probably
-
because they love you.
-
Now some share
-
the gospel
-
not out of love.
-
Some share
-
out of greed
-
or for some
-
other reasons.
-
But nine times
-
out of ten
-
I'm going to guess
-
they share it
-
because they love you.
-
And I learned
-
this lesson
-
personally
-
from a Muslim.
-
I learned it
-
from a Muslim.
-
When I lived
-
in Vienna,
-
Austria
-
I was
-
a part
-
of a church
-
who had
-
an English
-
conversation
-
class
-
or English
-
conversation
-
cafe
-
and I got
-
to befriend
-
two guys.
-
One
-
his name
-
was Mohammed
-
he was from Iran
-
and the other
-
his name
-
was Wade
-
he was from China.
-
He really liked
-
Dwayne Wade
-
so he calls
-
himself Wade.
-
And the three
-
of us
-
had a really
-
great friendship
-
going
-
for a while.
-
And I could tell
-
that Mohammed
-
was trying
-
to convert
-
me
-
to Islam
-
and I wasn't
-
quite sure
-
what to think.
-
I guess
-
flattered?
-
I don't know.
-
But you know
-
Mohammed
-
really loved
-
Wade.
-
And now
-
you should know
-
this about Wade
-
he had like
-
a deep
-
ennui
-
a sadness
-
a depression
-
he just looked
-
at the world
-
and felt hopelessness
-
and Mohammed
-
his heart
-
broke
-
for Wade
-
and so
-
he tells me
-
Daniel
-
well I'll just
-
do it in
-
American accent
-
sorry
-
Daniel
-
I really love
-
Wade
-
I'm concerned
-
for him
-
and I want
-
to do
-
something for
-
him
-
but I
-
think
-
it's just
-
too far
-
to go
-
from
-
his
-
worldview
-
to Islam
-
what if
-
I could
-
convert
-
him
-
to
-
Christianity
-
instead?
-
I think
-
that'd be
-
a much
-
easier
-
root
-
to peace
-
and happiness
-
and so
-
the three
-
of us
-
were together
-
and
-
Mohammed
-
was just
-
really hitting
-
Wade hard
-
like
-
Wade
-
I know
-
you're set
-
maybe you
-
should start
-
listening to
-
Dan
-
and maybe
-
you should
-
start listening
-
to his
-
pastor
-
and believe
-
the things
-
they say
-
about the
-
Lord
-
Jesus
-
Christ
-
thank you
-
I have
-
raised a lot
-
of money
-
and flown
-
my family
-
thousands
-
of miles
-
for you
-
to do
-
my job
-
for me
-
thank you
-
Mohammed
-
yeah
-
but you know
-
Mohammed
-
was doing
-
that out
-
of love
-
for me
-
to be
-
able
-
to see
-
that
-
from
-
a
-
third
-
person
-
perspective
-
yeah
-
so
-
again
-
if someone
-
tries to
-
share the
-
gospel
-
with you
-
it's probably
-
because they
-
love you
-
and you know
-
what
-
they love
-
you
-
because
-
they know
-
that they
-
are
-
dearly
-
loved
-
loved
-
by
-
God
-
and it's
-
demonstrated
-
in this
-
that Jesus
-
gave his
-
life
-
for them
-
that when
-
we put
-
our faith
-
and trust
-
in the
-
Lord
-
Jesus
-
Christ
-
we are
-
reconciled
-
with the
-
Father
-
he makes
-
us
-
one
-
with
-
Jesus
-
he adopts
-
us
-
as his
-
sons
-
and daughters
-
he gives
-
us a
-
seat
-
at his
-
table
-
and we
-
were promised
-
life forevermore
-
isn't that great
-
that's the message
-
that we
-
share with the
-
world
-
let's pray
-
for that
-
please
-
Lord
-
you