October 22, 2023 / The Mission

Welcome to Walk in the Truth podcast. How do we know where to find answers to the toughest

questions in life? While the simplest answer is the Bible, where do we start this search

and how do we discover this truth? Today, in this teaching podcast, John Meador, lead

pastor of Cross City Church, takes a specific text of the Bible and helps us find truth

for the life we're searching for. We're so glad that you're with us this morning

as always. Please take your Bibles and turn to John chapter 15 today as we continue our

John 15 · chapter mention

series on the Holy Spirit. Today's title, The Mission, The Mission of the Holy Spirit.

And our mission, you'll find that they're the same and one mission that God has created

for us and has for the Holy Spirit in us. John chapter 15 verse 12 through 27, by the

John 15:12–27

way, we have Bibles that are available for people at the doorways as you come in these

three major exits that are at the table. And they're labeled as Bibles that you can take

and use or you can take and keep. Whatever it is, if you need to keep it, you go right

ahead. But we are putting page numbers on the screen that will help you know what page

to get to. If you're not familiar with the Bible, then you'll be able to find the page

number and this one is on page 1079. And I want to caution you that not all of your Bibles

have that same verse and passage, that's that same page number. Just to make sure you know

about those hardback Bibles that we have at the back, page 1079. Let's stand together

as we read God's word. This is a long passage of scripture. So I want you to sit tight for

a moment as we read verses 12 all the way through the end of the chapter of John chapter

John 15 · chapter mention

15. Now John 15, the first part of this chapter is known for the abide passage where Jesus

said abide in me and I in you and if you abide in me and I in you, you bear much fruit and

so prove to be my disciples. Last week we spent some time on abide, what it means to

remain in Christ. And I'll just familiarize you with this. Number one, we abide in Him

personally, we abide in His word, we abide in His love and that's a big deal for us.

So Jesus says all that and then He gets into verse 12 where He's preparing His disciples

to go out into a hostile world. How many of you know the world is sometimes hostile towards

believers in Jesus Christ? Some of you know that, most of you do and the reality is the

disciples were about to go that way. Let's look at the beginning in verse 12 of John

15. Jesus said, this is my commandment that you love one another just as I have loved

you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lays down his life for his friends. You're

my friend if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves for the slave

does not know what his master is doing but I have called you friends for all things that

I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. That's an amazing statement. Verse

16, you did not choose me but I chose you and appointed you that you would go and bear

fruit and that your fruit would remain so that whatever you ask of the Father in my

name He may give you. This I command you that you love one another. You're kind of getting

the idea that Jesus is focusing a lot on love at this point aren't you? Verse 18, if the

world hates you you know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the

world the world would love its own but because you're not of the world but I chose you out

of the world because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you

a slave is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me they will also persecute

you. If they kept my word they would keep yours also. But all these things they would

do to you for my name's sake because they do not know the one who sent me. If I had

not come and spoken to them they would not have sinned but now they have no excuse for

their sin. He who hates me hates my Father also. If I had not done among them the works

which no one else did they would not have sinned but now they have both seen and hated

me and my Father as well. But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in

their law. They hated me without a cause. Now Jesus says all that to get to this place

in the last two verses. When the helper comes whom I will send to you from the Father that

is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father he will testify about me and you will

testify also because you have been with me from the beginning. Lots of passages. Big

messages for us today. Let's bow together. Father we ask you in Jesus' name speak to

us from your word. Father I pray that your Holy Spirit would shine light not only on

the word that we're reading about but the whole of scripture and also on our hearts.

Father show us what we need to see today. What we need to grab hold of. What we need

to apply to our lives. Father help us to see what your work in us looks like. We ask this

in Jesus' name and everybody said amen. Please be seated. Well this is a really really long

passage of scripture and tackling this you have to summarize some of this and we will.

I'm going to summarize the first six or eight verses that we read in the text with one point

and then we're going to zero in on the last two verses about the helper the Holy Spirit

but everything in scripture is in its proper context. John 14 is all about Jesus introducing

the power of the Holy Spirit which he calls the helper another one like myself. John 16

he's also doing the same thing focusing on the encouraging helping ministry of the Holy

Spirit. That's why we know John 15 the abide passage is also talking about the Holy Spirit.

He's abiding in us and we're in him. We're supposed to abide in him personally abide

in his commandments or his word abide in his love. We looked at all that last week. This

text is also about abiding. It's about the Holy Spirit reminding us about things we need

to remember before we go to war. I don't know if you've ever been a fan of war movies.

Sometimes I get into war movies and I go through a season of time when I watch several of them

and almost every kind of historical war narrative will also have some famous speech by a general

or a president or the leader of that army getting the troops ready for battle. And maybe

you remember some of these movies where you see these unfold. Usually the message is here's

who we are. Here's what the enemy is. Here's what the mission is. Go and take the territory

or go lay your life down for the cause. Now I use that illustration because Jesus is preparing

to depart from the disciples in his death, burial and resurrection. But he's also preparing

the Holy Spirit for them or preparing them rather I should say for the Holy Spirit in

their lives. And he's saying you're going to see more things happen. You're going to

do more after I leave than you did before I left because the Holy Spirit is living inside

of your life. That's what he says in John chapter 14 verse 12. Greater things than these

John 14:12

you shall see because I go to the Father and I leave the helper with you. So he's getting

them ready to go out and do battle. He's reminding them of things they need to be reminded of

before they go to war. He's prepping them before they go out into a hostile world. Now

we live in that hostile world right now. Sometimes in our world where we are right now geographically,

specifically here, we don't feel the hostility of the world the way many feel that hostility

in other places in the world. But we still feel the opposition of those who do not love

Christ, who do not love God, who do not know or love the Word of God. We really are in

battle whether we know it or not. Now Jesus is preparing the disciples for battle in the

same way he will prepare us for living for him in a hostile world. There are some things

we need to remember about ourselves. There are some things we need to remember about

Jesus himself. There are things we need to remember about our mission. That's what we'll

talk about today. First of all this text reminds us of who we are. It reminds us of who we

are. If you go through verses 12 through 19 you'll see the reminders of who we are based

on what Jesus says to us. Did you know the Holy Spirit always is at work reminding us

of who we are? Reminding us of what we've been called to, reminding us of who Jesus

is. Let's just look at a few of these passages here. Look at verse 12. Put your finger on

verse 12 if you have it up in your Bible. There's a phrase there that says, just as

I have loved you. Jesus is reminding the disciples before he departs, I want you to remember

I love you. Twelve times in John 14 and 15 the word love is used. This is the really

weighty word love here. This is the word agape. This is unconditional love, not friendship

love. That's not what Jesus is alluding to. He's alluding to that unconditional commitment

to them. I love you with an everlasting love. I love you with unconditional love. You are

loved, he says to his disciples, before they go out into that hostile world. I want you

to remember that Jesus says that about all of his disciples, including you. It's not

just John 3.16, God so loved the world. It's also Jesus in John chapter 15 that says, I

John 15 · chapter mention

love you. I think it would be important for you to remember that today and I want to ask

you to repeat these words with me for just a moment if you would. I am loved. Those three

words. You want to say that with me? That's what Jesus' perspective is for his disciples

right now. I am loved. Let's say it together. I am loved. I want you to remember those words

when you face opposition in a world that doesn't love you. In a world that doesn't love Christ.

Doesn't love the truths that we embrace because of Christ. I want you to remember that you

are loved when people reject you, when friends reject you, when family rejects you, when

the world rejects you. That's what Jesus is preparing his disciples for. You are loved.

He reminds them of who they are. Loved individuals. But there's another line here that says, I

have called you friends. You see that in verse 15? No longer do I call you slaves, but I

have called you friends. And there you know that Jesus is emphasizing the relational aspect

of how we interact with him. We are his friends. That kind of intimacy can't come out of religion

and it can't come out of a system of do's and don'ts, a list of things that you have

to avoid or you have to run to. It's a relationship where we know that we are actually loved by

God and we are friends of God. Now that title, friends of God, is a tough one for some of

us to handle. I remember a few years ago, the song came out called, I am a friend of

God. And man, I love that song, but there are a lot of people that said, man, I do not

like to sing that song because somehow that song makes God seem smaller in some way. But

I say the other aspect of that is, it's not that the song makes God look small. It's that

the song makes God's love look big for us. It's really big. I have loved you and I've

called you friends. Think about what that means to be called by Jesus a friend of God.

I didn't say this. I didn't come up with this on my own. Jesus said this to his disciples,

no longer do I call you slave, you are in a relationship with me and I have called you

friends. If you jump down to verse 16, he says something else. He said, you didn't choose

me, I chose you. Now some people really take off on the predestination idea of this. You

didn't choose me, but I chose you. But Jesus is not in this context talking about predestination.

He's not talking about that kind of choosing. He's basically saying, it wasn't you that

woke up to who needed who. I knew you needed me and I chose you to be a part of my life.

Of all that he could have chosen, he chose us. Now that's an amazing thing to me. Have

you ever watched someone get chosen for something that they really wanted badly? Have you ever

seen the emotion that comes out of their lives when they realize they've just been chosen?

Have you ever watched the NFL draft? I mean these guys play football for four years, wanting

to be on a certain team. And of course the draft is this big thing. Everybody wears the

bling and the expensive suits and family members are around and phone calls are waiting and

phones are in their hand waiting for some professional team to call a football player.

And as soon as their name is called by the NFL commissioner, they leap up and they go

and they hug the commissioner who they've never met before in their life out of sheer

joy because they're going to be millionaires and because they're going to play for this

football team and they feel pretty good at not being left out. They've been chosen. And

then have you ever been in a little league baseball? Diamond where there are 10 or 20

guys out there and they pick the captains and you're terrible at baseball so you just hope

they choose you to be on their team. And when they finally choose you then you're really

grateful that somebody cared enough or wanted you on their team. Or have you ever watched

a bride walk down an aisle and a groom at the front? And the bride is beautiful of course

in her wedding gown and the groom is trying to hold the tears back in some way. His eyeballs

are sweating. He's not really admitting to crying but his eyeballs are sweating. And

it's all about he chose her and she chose him and the emotion of those moments is really,

really big. I wonder what the disciples felt when God the Son looked at them and said,

I chose you. You're here because I chose you. And I don't have any problem applying this

passage to every believer because we know that God did choose us to be a disciple of

his to be a father of his. You are chosen. And those that were about to go out and live

in that hostile world needed to know we're loved, we're friends, we're chosen for this.

This is the life that God has called us to. And finally there's another line there and

that's in verse 19. You are not of this world. You're not of this world. You're going to

be going places, doing things where you're not going to feel at home. Where you're not

going to be welcomed as being home. You're not of this world. There's a greater world

to come. You're just here on this earth right now, this short period of time, serving me

whom I love, whom I've chosen, whom I've called friends. You're just serving me right now

at this time in your life. You're not of this world. These disciples didn't need to go to

war wondering who they were, where they were headed, if they died. They needed to know

the answers to those questions so that they could step out into battle after Jesus left

them and left them the Holy Spirit and they could go serve the King. You know I find that

I need those kinds of things too. I don't know if you've ever been in a place in your

life where people are just rejecting you and they're not loving you much and you need to

hear from the Lord, you're loved by me. And it really doesn't matter what anybody else

says, you're loved by me. And there are times when you don't know if you really have any

real friends or not. We have this phrase, you know who your real friends are when you're

going through hardship and difficult times. I tell you the only real friend you'll have

is Jesus crying. There'll be some that get close but nobody that gets that level of loving

you like He will love you. You're friends of God. Sometimes you need to know when no

one else is choosing you and no one else is selecting you for anything and no one else

seems to want you for any purpose in life, you need to remember you've been chosen by

God. Chosen by God. Sometimes you just need to remember you're not of this world. This

world is not where you're going to feel comfortable. It's not where you're going to live your best

life. It's not where you're going to have everything go your way. You are not of this

world. God's called you out of this world for a greater world. Aren't you glad there

is a greater world than this one? I am. Remember who you are. Remember who you are. Secondly,

Jesus says basically when the helper comes in verse 26, whom I will send to you from

the Father, that is the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will testify

about me. In other words, He reminds us of who we know. He reminds us of who we know.

The Holy Spirit is going to consistently testify about the Lord Jesus. You're saying, well

wait a minute, now I've already read the scriptures that tell me about Jesus, so how is the Holy

Spirit going to tell me about Jesus? And the answer is He's going to tell you more about

Jesus than you can possibly imagine. He's going to tell you more about Jesus than you

could learn from reading a book or hearing the word of someone else. The word testifies

an important word. It means to witness, to tell the truth of what one has seen or heard.

Have you ever had a friend that knew someone famous and you wanted to know what's that

person like, that famous person? What's that celebrity like? What's that pro football player

like? That professional musician like? What are they like? I want to know what they're

like. And since you know them, you tell me what they're like. And we're curious about

it. We want to know what are they really like? Because you know you can ask the Holy Spirit

the same question about Jesus. He will testify to us about Jesus. When you want to know more

about Jesus, who do you ask? The Holy Spirit. And the mission of the Holy Spirit is to tell

us more and more about Jesus Christ. He'll remind you of all that I said. He'll teach

you all things that I said. That's what Jesus said in John 14 about the Holy Spirit. And

here he uses the word testify to tell the truth about what one has seen or heard. Now

because of the Holy Spirit in my life, and because of the Holy Spirit in your life, you

can know Jesus personally more than any other historical person on the planet. I mean I

know about George Washington or Abraham Lincoln, but I don't know them. I know about them because

I've read about them. I know about Michael Jordan. Not because I have walked with him

or because I have interacted or conversed with him. I just know about him. I might know about

Nelson Mandela, but I don't know him. I just know about him. I don't know Elon Musk. I

just know about them. But I know Jesus not just because I've read a book called the Bible.

I know Jesus not just because I am aware of what others have said about him. I know Jesus

personally because Jesus lives inside of my life in the power of the Holy Spirit. I know

him personally. I know Jesus. That's something to get excited about. It's something to get

excited about that the Holy Spirit is always testifying about Jesus Christ and is part of

the indwelling work of the Holy Spirit in your life. What do you think the Holy Spirit

has seen and heard and knows about Jesus over all time and all eternity? And the answer

to that is everything. Remember God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. One God,

three persons. They're co-eternal. They're co-equal. They're coexistent. That means the

Holy Spirit knows everything about God the Father and God the Son. And the Bible says

that the ministry of the Holy Spirit here, Jesus said, he will testify to you about me.

He'll tell you the truth about Jesus Christ. Now how does he do that? Well in one sense

he does a great deal of that through scripture. Remember scripture is inspired by God. It

is Holy Spirit given. We looked at that a few weeks ago. I want you to go to 1 John

for just a moment. 1 John chapter 1 verses 1 through 4. That's on page 1218 by the way.

1 John 1:1–4

It's always helpful when you read the Gospel of John to also have the first epistle of

John open because John comments so much on what he says in the Gospel of John and the

epistle of John. And here he says something about how we know Jesus in great detail. Verses

1 through 4 of chapter 1. He says what was from the beginning and what we have heard

and what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked at and touched with our hands concerning

the word of life. And the life was manifested and we have seen and testified and proclaimed

to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us. What we have

seen and hear we proclaim to you also so that you too may have fellowship with us and indeed

our fellowship is with the Father and with the Son Jesus Christ. John is saying you have

the clearest, most intimate, most documented history of a person in the whole planet and

it's Jesus Christ. No other person in history has had more words written about him such

detail as we have about this person Jesus Christ. And it's all designed for us to have

a personal knowledge of Jesus and the Holy Spirit wants us to read the Scriptures and

to know him personally and it's part of his mission. Now who gave us this book that we

hold in our hands? It's Holy Spirit inspired. For you to close the Bible and just wander

around wondering about Jesus is to ignore what the Holy Spirit is saying to you every

day about the person of Jesus Christ. Why would I look somewhere else when the Bible

says I'm going to tell you what you need to know about the Lord Jesus Christ? Now Jesus

says about the ministry of the Holy Spirit something else. The Holy Spirit, the helper

will carry on the role of helping you know Jesus in a greater and more full way. A greater

and a more full way. He won't tell you about a different Jesus. He'll tell you about Jesus

in a deeper way. And I do this through all the ways we've already talked about. He prompts

us, he leads us, he convicts us, he inspires us, he encourages us. The Holy Spirit inside

of us will continue to help us know more and more about Jesus. It'll always be deeper,

it'll always be more personal, always be more intimate. There's an old song that many of

us have heard before and it's about Jesus and me in a garden. And he walks with me and

he talks with me and he tells me I am his own. Those are just three phrases to that

of Jesus. Those three phrases represent what the Holy Spirit does inside of our lives.

Because every single day that we walk in a relationship with Jesus Christ, it's the Holy

Spirit that helps us know here's what Jesus wants you to do. Here's what Jesus wants you

to say. Here's how he wants you to live. It's really not about knowing something factually,

it's about knowing someone intimately and personally. The greatest thing that you can

realize from the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit is that you can walk with Jesus and

you can talk with Jesus and you can hear him say what you need to hear him say about your

life. Can we just take a moment and just be grateful for the indwelling work of the Holy

Spirit in our lives. Can you just take a moment and say thank you for living inside of me.

Because we can in our own minds get really far away from that intimate walk. We can become

kind of desensitized to it. We can become kind of dead in our spirit without the indwelling

power of the Holy Spirit reminding us you're walking with him, you're talking with him,

listen to him. Jesus also says in the very last line of this text that the Holy Spirit

will remind us of who we talk about. He'll remind us of who our conversation needs to

be about. More specifically he'll remind us that we are to testify ourselves about Jesus.

Notice what it says in the very last line of that text. And you will testify also. Remember

the previous verse says the Holy Spirit will testify to you about me. And now he says that

you will testify also about Jesus because you have been with me from the beginning.

Now Jesus is not talking about the beginning of beginnings. He's not talking about Genesis

1. The Holy Spirit has been there in the beginning of all beginnings. But you have been, Jesus

says, you have been in the beginning of my ministry. You have seen me from the day I

called you. You've seen everything I said and did in that three year ministry. Now you

will talk about me to others. Now I want to make sure that you understand today that our

mission in life, in following Jesus, is also to help other people follow Jesus. And the

ministry of the Holy Spirit is also to help people come to know about Jesus. When I say

that the ministry of the Holy Spirit and the ministry that we're called to are one and

the same, I mean they're one and the same. We are to testify about Jesus Christ. Testify

about him. Tell other people about what you know about him and tell other people of how

you know him. And often the best way to do that is not from a preacher preaching as much

as I love to preach, as much as other preachers love to preach, as easier as it would seem

for hundreds or thousands to hear someone preach about Jesus, the best way to communicate

Jesus is not just through preaching but through conversation. When you have a conversation

with someone else about Jesus Christ. Keep in mind, it's not just preachers who are indwelt

by the Holy Spirit. Right? It's everybody who is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Every single

believer is given the Spirit of God and that's where we understand the mission of the Holy

Spirit and the mission we have been given are one and the same and he compels us to

talk to people about Jesus. But more than that, he goes before us and works in their

hearts before we have a chance to talk to people about Jesus and amazing things begin

to happen. Let me just give you some thoughts to think about in this thing that we're to

do and to talk about Jesus. First of all, we talk about Jesus because it's our mission.

Basically John the Baptist preceded Jesus' ministry and if you read John chapter 1, Jesus

John 1 · chapter mention

is being highlighted by John the Baptist. John the Baptist is pointing people to Jesus.

And in John chapter 1 verse 6 and 7 it says, there was a man sent from God whose name was

John 1:6

John. He came as a witness, that is someone who testified, to testify about the light

so that all might believe through him. Now John didn't just have a textbook, knowledge

of Jesus, he was Jesus' cousin and incredible things happened between the two of them, many

conversations. He knew Jesus personally and John the Baptist's testimony was to shine

a spotlight on Jesus and the first disciples of Jesus came to him because John the Baptist

said, look that's the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. Look, I'm not even

fit to untie his sandal. He who comes after me is greater than I am. And as John the Baptist

pointed to Jesus, testified about Jesus, those first disciples came to follow, put their

faith in, put their trust in Jesus Christ. Now they didn't do it just because of John

the Baptist, they did it because of who Jesus was and the power of the Holy Spirit was at

work drawing them to Christ. Can you imagine Christianity without that testimony and without

those disciples coming to faith in Jesus? All kinds of powerful things were happening

in the power of the Holy Spirit when John testified about Jesus. Do you know that when

you testify about Jesus, the Holy Spirit is already at work in their life in some way

and someone else has probably already deposited some truth in their life and they probably

have wondered in other ways about who is this Jesus and why do I need to know about him?

And when you step up and tell them about Jesus, usually that work has already been ongoing,

you're not the only one responsible for that. He will use you no matter how gifted or un-gifted

you are and you can count on that. When I was in college during my sophomore year after

the school was out, I stayed in that city where I lived, the college tent I was going

to school in and I got a job with a house builder. And so they put me on the roof and

I put roof decking up and then I put roofing up and they put me up on this house with a

guy named Willie. I've told you about Willie before, still one of the most unforgettable

characters in my life. Willie was, as I said, a roofer and he had long hair and a beard.

He was kind of a hippie kind of guy and I'm pretty sure he never ever bathed because I

could smell him on the other side of the roof. And I was really glad that the wind blows

pretty hard in Oklahoma because that was the only thing that made it bearable. And for

three days, one, during one housing project, for three days we were on that roof together

and the Lord began to convict me to witness, to tell Willie about Jesus. And I didn't know

how to witness, I didn't know how to tell people about Jesus. I knew Jesus but I didn't

really know how to share the gospel of Jesus very well. I didn't have any organized fashion

in which I could do that. But I knew that I was compelled to do that. I knew it was the

Holy Spirit compelling me to do that because I would never want to have a conversation

with Willie. So for those three days on the roof I began to talk to him just a little

bit about Jesus. And I remember when I got to what I thought was just about everything

I knew to share with him, I asked him a question. I said, Willie, you wouldn't want to ask Jesus

to be in your heart, would you? And my head was going like that when I asked the question.

It wasn't exactly the most compelling witness. You wouldn't want to have Jesus in your life,

would you? To my surprise, Willie looked at me and said, yes, I do want to invite Jesus

into my life. I said, really? You really do. And he said, I really do. That was the way

the conversation went. And I had to kind of think through that. I thought, okay, then

he's been talking to somebody else because I sure didn't help him that. And I actually

led him in a prayer and he invited Christ into his life. And the next day on the roof

he was singing a song. Willie was singing a song. He hadn't had a bath yet but he was

singing a song. And it was something like I've got a joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart.

I thought, where did he learn that song? And I didn't know Willie for long during that

season. We went on to other roofing places and he went somewhere else other than where

I went. And I didn't have any conversations with him but I knew something happened on

that roof and I knew I was responsible for it in the sense of the results. About 35 years

later I'm preaching at that college, Oklahoma Baptist University. I've been invited to preach.

I told the story about Willie and a lady came up to me and she said, well is it this housing

development in this particular area? And I said, that's exactly where it was. She goes,

I know Willie. I said, how do you know Willie? She said, my father hired him. He was the

one that owned the housing development that you worked for. And I said, how is he? She

said, he's led a completely different life. He is completely a believer and he is an onfire

believer. I said, really, really he is. All these years later. Now who's responsible for

that kind of thing? The Holy Spirit of God. You testify because it's your mission. But

the Holy Spirit's mission is the same, to energize people and prepare them for the gospel

that you share with them so that after you share with them, God will use that in a powerful

way. We talk about Jesus because it's our mission. We talk about Jesus also because

of our love for others. If you keep reading in John chapter one, it's very evident that

those who first saw Jesus introduced their loved ones to Jesus, their brothers and sisters.

The Bible says in John one verse 40, one of the two who heard John speak and followed

him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He found first his own brother Simon and said

to him, we found the Messiah. And you know the rest of that story. Peter's life was dramatically

transformed. Have you ever wondered where the New Testament church would be today if

the apostle Peter had never come to Christ in the first place? It was his brother that

pointed out the Messiah is here. The Messiah is here. Now I have to tell you, sometimes

we have family members that are far from Christ and maybe a little reluctant to hear you talk

about Jesus anymore, but I want to ask you to be patient. At some point, you're going

to have the opportunity to testify about Jesus. And who knows all the work of the Holy Spirit

in their life prior to that. Just be faithful to do that. One of our great stories here

in Ulysses is a choir member whose husband was without Christ for 38 years. The first

38 years of their marriage, she did not know Jesus and she faithfully prayed for him and

everybody else prayed for him. One day her husband came to faith in Jesus and as a believer

in Jesus, I see them almost every Sunday. It's really an amazing story. Yeah, give it

up for the Lord. It's never too late to talk to people about Jesus. Sometimes we talk to

people about Jesus when we're asked to talk to them about Jesus. In John chapter 12 verse

John 12:20

20, there were some Greeks in the region where the disciples were working and one of them

came up to Philip and began to ask him saying, and here's a great line, a famous line in

the scriptures. It says, sir, we wish to see Jesus. In other words, we heard that you know

Jesus. Can you help us find Jesus? Sometimes people actually ask you that question. And

you need to be prepared to say, I would love to introduce you to Jesus Christ. I was at

a funeral about six weeks ago and there's a guy that he and his wife came to Christ

back when I was pastoring in Irving, Texas. And I was overjoyed to see them and give them

a hug and realize they're still walking with Christ, still faithful to him. But their stories

are great. When we were having home groups and I was actually leading a home group and

one night this group said, we want to meet in another person's home next week. And I

said, sure. Why do we want to do that? But that's okay. We'll do that. And they said,

well, it's a guy that's never been to our church before. He's a detective in the police

department. He's kind of big. He's kind of gruff, but he insists that they host it next

week. And so I said, okay, we'll host the Bible study there. And I showed up and this

guy was at least as tall as I am. He weighed about 300 pounds and he was one of those police

guys that was real hard line, real straight shooter. I mean that in a number of ways.

And he just really said what he thought. And his name was Mike. And I said, Mike, it's

nice to meet you. And he said, great, you can sit right over there. And he kind of took

over, you know? And so we had the Bible study. And after the Bible study, Mike, who didn't

say much during the Bible study, said this to the people. He said, thank you all for

coming. You're all dismissed. We want the pastor to stay behind. And I thought, am I

being detained? I don't know what's happening here. And he said, no, no. Said, we have a

question for you. And I said, okay. And we sat down together at the couch. He and his

wife and myself. And he said, all these other people know Jesus in a way that I don't know

Jesus. He said, you're going to tell me how to know Jesus that way. I said, yes sir, I

will do that for you right now. And I shared the gospel with Mike and his wife. Her name

was Leslie. And we got down on our knees. That big dude got down on his knees next to

that coffee table and we prayed to receive Christ. It was one of those great moments

where you know God has been at work in somebody's life and they have asked you to tell them

about Jesus and what are you going to do? But say, yes, I'll tell you about Jesus. And

they're still serving Christ to this day. Isn't that great? Isn't that amazing what

God does in a person's life? We talk about Jesus when we're asking. We talk about Jesus

because He told us to. Acts 1-8, do you remember that passage? Acts 1-8, but you will receive

power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem

and in all Judea and Samaria, even to the remotest part of the earth. Jesus said, I'm

going to give you the Holy Spirit and you're going to go everywhere you can to tell people

about Jesus. And Pentecost happened in Acts chapter 2. The Holy Spirit came, Peter stood

Acts 2 · chapter mention

up and preached. Peter, who hadn't been to theological school, he'd been to fishing school

but not theological school. He'd walked with Jesus for three years, but he stood up and

preached a powerful message under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And they said, what must

we do? What do we need to do? And he said, repent. Come to faith in Christ. He said,

be baptized. He said, all these things are so important for you and you too will receive

the gift of the Holy Spirit. And 3,000 people were saved that day. And it began the modern

day Christian movement that we had. Why? Because Peter was obedient to the mission he was called

to and the Holy Spirit was faithful to open the doors in that way. You see what Jesus

is saying in these words that we find in John 15? As beloved friends, you're chosen out

of this world to serve him and you're on a mission with the power of the Holy Spirit

to tell other people about Jesus. And he leads you and he motivates you and he inspires you

and he helps you step up when those open doors happen. But you need to remember you're in

a hostile world. Remember who you are. Remember who you know. And remember who you talk about,

Jesus Christ. Be prepared today for the opportunity that He may give you today or tomorrow or

the next day. And you don't do it alone. The Holy Spirit inside of you will help you in

every way and He'll be at work in their life as well. Let me give you a few invitations

today. The same I always give you, number one. If you've never placed your faith and

trust in Jesus, you know about Jesus but you don't know Him. Not personally. And I would

encourage you to stop by our decision stations and just ask the question, how do I know Jesus

personally? How do I put my faith and trust in Him for the forgiveness of sins and to

have a relationship with Him? Help me answer those questions and that's what we love to

do. So stop by the decision station on your way out. Second invitation is if you're a

guest, I would love to have you visit our guest reception room. We're outside the center

exit doors across the hallway. I'll tell you a little bit about our church. I'll share

a little bit of good news with you about what Jesus Christ does in our lives. And I'll

invite you to take next steps with us if that's what you want to do. Thirdly, I want you to

invite someone to come with you. It's amazing how asking people to come with us when we

worship the Lord sometimes turns into great opportunities for them to hear the gospel

and for them to have a chance to make a decision for Christ. Some of you are really, really

steady, strong invitors. I want to invite you to invite others and there are cards as

you leave today that you can use to invite other people. So glad that you joined us today.

I want you to stand with me as we pray and as we close our service out. Father, thank

you so much for the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Thank you so much that we know more about

Jesus, the cause of your indwelling spirit. Lord, today help us to have the boldness and

confidence to talk about Jesus where we go, wherever we go, with whomever we are with.

Lord, today I pray for those that are wondering if they've ever come to the place of knowing

Jesus personally. Give them boldness and give them the confidence to talk to us today, to

talk to someone at this decision station and to get that answer of knowing Jesus personally.

Bless us today as we go to serve you. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. God bless you. Have

a great Lord's Day.