Worth Dying For: The Stories We Tell

Venture. How are we doing today? We good. God's been good to

me, He's been good to you. If I haven't met yet, my

name's Tony and one of the pastors on staff here and I help direct our

next Generation ministry. Those are that's our Kids pastor, our Young Adults pastor,

our youth pastor, and I move up Sunday. I just want to

say I'm really proud of them. They Pastor Kiley's one of the greatest kids

pastors I've ever worked with. Seeing Pastor Johnny is crushing it with the youth

ministry and you know, graduating high school it gets pretty tricky finding community and

whatnot. I'm very proud of Pastor Claire for the community she's built with our

Young Adults Ministry. I'm just thankful for him, thank for Pastor Brandon and

I for letting me share today. And I'm thankful for you because you're here

on a sunny day in June where it's fifty nine degrees. My goodness.

Hey, We're in the middle of a series titled Worth Dying for. We

are studying the Book of Acts and specifically one person that is the Apostle Paul.

Paul was a church Planter, a missionary, wrote the majority of the

New Testament. And Paul, as Pastor Brandon described last week, stood trial

before King Agrippa in the city of Cesarea on his way to Rome, where

he would be eventually imprisoned and then murdered for his faith. And Paul is

presenting the gospel message, the good news about Jesus too, the king.

He's presenting what God's done in his life. And the person Paul is addressing,

King Agrippa, comes from a lineage of people who don't receive the Gospel

warmly. The great grandfather of King Agrippa wanted Jesus murdered as a baby.

The grandfather of King Agrippa had John the Baptist beheaded. His father had had

martyred or murdered the first Apostle, James. So it's not I just don't

see how this is going to work out well for Paul. As I'm reading

this text where in Acts chapter twenty six Versus twelve through sixteen a days you

open up your bibles. You know today's message isn't really just a deep exegetical

teaching and unpacking of scripture. Really, it's going to be more of a

challenge for every person in this room. It doesn't matter where you're at in

your journey of faith. There's something that I believe all of us in this

room can do, and we're gonna unpack that today. Acts Chapter twenty six,

verse twelve through sixteen. Paul is speaking to King Agrippa and he's sharing

his testimony, his story of how he came to faith. Verse twelve.

One day I was on such a mission to Damascus, armed with the authority

and commission of the leading priests. About noon, your majesty, I was

on the road, A light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shone

down on me and my companions. We all fell down. I heard a

voice saying an aramaic Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It

is useless for you to fight against my will. Saul was Paul's former name.

Who are you, Lord, I asked, and the Lord replied,

I am Jesus, the one who you are persecuting. Verse sixteen. Now

get to your feet, for I have appeared to you to appoint you as

my servant and witness. You are to tell the world what you have seen

and what I'll show you in the future. If you're taking notes, write

this down. The title of today's message is the stories we tell. The

story we tell you. Back ahead and close your eyes. Let's pray Heavenly

Father, I lift up venture, I thank you for every person in the

room and an online and God, I just ask that there would be no

distraction for the next few moments, that whatever is running through our minds,

whatever we're thinking about, that time would almost stand still. God, that

every heart would be open, and that you would speak. And it doesn't

matter where people are at in their journey of faith. Today, Lord,

we've come to honor you where they hear your voice, not mine, in

Jesus name, Amen, it's by show of hands. Have you ever been

captivated by someone who shared a good story before? Do you have any friends

that are really good storytellers, Like they love to share a good story.

They could take that action of peeling an orange and make it an incredible story

profound. Maybe I'm thankful for those people in my life, But vice versa.

Have you ever been around someone who's just not a good storyteller but they

think they are, and when they go to share the story, they're like,

I can't wait to tell you, and they build it up, and

then they share the story. In the entire time, You're trying to connect

the dots, and then you start having thoughts like this, dude, what

is for dinner tonight? I just my tabs are still expired. It's been

three months. I don't know. I'm gonna get pulled over. I'm gonna

That was the thought I had last week. And you know I've been around

those people. It's because I am one of those people. All the parents

in the room. If you have a four or five year old, or

had one point you ever observed them tell a story before, makes no sense

whatsoever. A bunch of compound thoughts, compound sentences. Nothing makes sense.

The other day, my daughter is telling me a story and it ended with

her and Dora across the bridge together. I don't know who Dora is,

why she's in our home, she is, she's there. I love good

storytelling, you know. The Apostle Paul was a good storyteller. You'll read

in the Book of Acts. Every moment he had to share the gospel,

he would seize the opportunity to speak about Jesus and what God has done.

As I studied the scripture for church this week, as I was writing this

message, I found myself having attention to the point honestly where I started getting

pretty frustrated with myself. I was examining an issue at tension that I have

and and maybe you're here today you also have the same tension as I do.

Paul is just so willing and so open to talk about Jesus in every

sphere he's in. Why is it that as men and women of the faith,

we shy away from the greatest story and news ever told? We shy

away? Listen, today's not about shame. It's not about me trying to

attempt to convict you all all the Holy Spirit to do it he desires.

But just think about this. I was getting so frustrated because we have this

story where I was lost in my life and I was caught up in things

I shouldn't have been, and I didn't I didn't know who I was.

But there was this moment where Jesus crossed my path, embraced me forgave me

of my sin, and everything changed in my life from that moment. Everything

didn't become easier, but things changed. And if you follow Jesus, that's

your story too. And this story is so profound. This story is a

story worth telling, worth discussing. Yet we're honest, we don't. We

don't as much as maybe we need to, or as much as we should.

As you read Acts twenty six, Paul is in a room filled with

royalty, loyalty, and a king. Notice how Paul, as he's sharing,

he captivates his audience, not with eloquence, not with exaggeration, but

simply the power of his message. Your story and my story contains great power,

not because of what I've done, not because of how much I've overcome,

not because what I did, But it's because of the God of the

story, who published that story, who crossed my path, who guided my

life, who healed me and freed me and rescued me. It is the

God who gets the glory of the story. It is not Tony. It

is Jesus. Yet when we paint the story to look like we are the

heroes I did it. Praise God for your attempt, and praise God for

your endurance. But might I remind you it is the strength of God inside

of you that's helped you. It is the power of the Holy Spirit working

in you. Your story has life, Your story has a value, it

has a meaning, it has purpose. Think about this. Your story can

contain elements which are keys to the freedom of the person hearing your story.

You have that your testimony. If you don't know what that word is or

unfamiliar with it, it's the summitive of your life. It's your life.

Really, we find in fade people break it up in three portions. It's

the life you have before Christ, or had before Christ. It's that moment

of conversion where you gave your life to Jesus, and then it's your life

now with Jesus and walking with him. It's your testimony. And some of

you already might be thinking this story, Pastor, I grew up in a

Christian home. I think I got saved at like three years old watching Veggie

Tales. I don't know. My story isn't crazy, Like my parents weren't

wild and we just went to Disneyland every summer. Like that's my story,

Pastor, it was. It's good, nothing crazy. Look at you minimizing

your story. Have you ever considered that maybe God placed you in that family

for a reason, who loved Jesus and served Jesus, and you, my

friend, have stood the test of time. In a world that denies Jesus,

that refuses Jesus. That you stood, unshakable, unwavering, still following

him today, that's a story worth telling. Or maybe you're here and you

might think to yourself, my story is just not that wild either. I

just had a good life gave my life to Christ. Might I remind you

that your story is so valuable that Jesus gave his life for it so that

someday you and I would share about him. That is the work of God

in your life. Might I remind us too, your story doesn't need to

be crazy. It needs to be relatable. You don't have to have this

crazy, Hollywood esque of a life. Maybe you're here and you might feel

disqualified. I gave my life to God, but I still have all these

struggles and I don't want to be a hypocrite and just tell people I'm living

good. Praise God that you gave your life to Him in the midst of

what you're going through and that you're working out the process of the word.

We use sanctification of becoming holy because God says become holy because I am holy.

Thank God that you're following him now. That could be your story your

story is about him and why as the apostle, Paul calls us to live

a life worthy of the calling we have received. Notice the format. Paul

shares a story. Next twenty six, you guys still with me? We

alive. Paul begins his testimony before the king by relating to his royalty.

He reminds him of the upbringing Paul hat now he is a Roman. What

is he doing? He's finding common ground with who he's speaking to. But

then verse twelve, m it's just that moment where everything changes where God encountered

Paul. It was on that dusty road to Damascus at noon verse thirteen,

Your majesty, I was on the road, A light from heaven, brighter

than the sun, shone down on me. We all fell down, and

I heard a voice saying to me an aramaic Saul, Saul, why are

you persecuting me? It is useless for you to fight against My will.

This is the moment where it all changed for Paul. He says this,

I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. Those words changed Paul's life forever.

Why it was at that moment he recognized the deity of Jesus. He recognized

that Jesus was not damned to hell, but that he rose again from the

dead, that he died on the cross and now is alive. And now

Paul has been given the opportunity to live a life worthy of the calling he's

received. And notice how he lays out the mission he receives from God.

Verse sixteen, Jesus says to him, Now get to your feet where in

the Pacific northwest? So let's make it a little more and put on your

hocus. For I have appeared. My brother's a foot doctor, and he

told me about hocas for half an hour the other week. For I have

appeared to you and appointed you as my servant and witness. Tell people that

you have seen me, and tell them what I will show you in the

future. Jesus, what is he doing? He is calling Paul up.

This is not because humility was what wasn't proper for Paul. It's actually because

Paul had to go somewhere. Paul had to stand up. And I just

felt as I was writing this message, the word the Lord give me a

word for venture? Is that venture? We have to stand up, We

have to get going. This isn't just to cause anxiety. This is simply

to say there's a world that is dying and doesn't know the hope of Jesus.

We have to get going, we have to speak. Maybe you're here

and you think this ball passed or my conversions. Not like Paul. I

didn't get saved on a road to Damascus. I maybe gave my life to

God at an altar in a small group. It was nothing wild like this.

Don't discredit the work of God in your life. Thank Jesus that now

you have been given the opportunity to walk in freedom, to walk with authority,

to walk in a relationship with Him. And also you have been given

the authority to now understand and see the Kingdom of God. There's something that

happens when you give the life to Jesus that no one told me would happen

to me. When I gave my life to Christ in twenty ten, I

suddenly saw the world differently. I saw the brokenness of everyone around me.

I saw people are struggling. I saw that no one has it all together.

Then no one is perfect. And it was like suddenly the scales came

off my eyes and I just started seeing people through the lens of God.

They're broken, but they can be healed. They're lost, but they will

be saved. And God just began to show me the life people can live

when they're with him. May God grant you and I to see the kingdom

as he does. You have a story worth telling. Sometimes you have to

also remember when I say a story, I'm not saying you're gonna always have

the opportunity to sit over coffee and tell everyone how you summersaulted out of the

womb and this is how you were raised, and this is what happened in

your life, and how you got hurt playing t ball and all this and

your first breakup. No, I'm just your story can simply be a point

of relation, just something you've gone through, something you also have seen done.

And I felt as writing this, the Romans ten fourteen came into my

mind the reason why we share our stories. Romans ten fourteen. If you

don't have that scripture, I'll read it to you and lays out the need

for us to share our stories and our testimonies. How can they call on

him to save him unless they believe in him? And how can they believe

in him if they've never heard about him? And how can they hear about

him unless someone tells them. You know, I'm thankful for the opportunity I

have to tell people about Jesus. My life is a little unique though,

in that I do it on a weekly basis, and it's sometimes in a

church building and sometimes it's not. But I can't be in your workplace.

I can't be at all places at all times. I can't be sitting at

coffee with you and a friend. I am not in your home raising your

kids. I'm sorry, thank God, I'm not. I can't. There

is a mandate on our lives to share the Gospel, and it's not about

your eloquence or your biblical knowledge. Might I remind you the early disciples were

not the most educated men. They were fishermen. It is the power of

your testimony and the work of God that can speak into a life. How

do we solve this tension? I want to share, but I'm afraid i'll

I want to speak, but I don't know what to do. Let me

give you the solution. You still here here? It is drove to church

for this. I went to Bible College for this. I read books for

this moment. Right here, I do a audio books. I have a

d D even then. I actually now I have to have my wife free

to me. Sometimes it doesn't matter. You're ready, you're a solution.

Be natural, Holy Well, before you get all upset with me, are

you saying deny the Holy Spirit's residence in you? No, I'm not saying

being natural in that sense. I'm just saying, how about we just not

be weird? How about we just be normal? I felt so bad the

other day. My wife and I were at the Alderwood Mall shopping. That's

what she loves to do. So are we going shopping? That's what she

says, We are going shopping? And this young woman, God bless her,

Her and her friend come up to Ariel and I were standing in line,

and she's behind us. She taps my shoulder and vehemently and says,

and just like just straight, just looks like she's like just drank like a

red bull or something. And Hi, this is my friend. So she's

speaking on her friend's behalf, who's for some reason I'm speaking. We're doing

a Bible study night, would you would you come to it? I was

so overwhelmed and I felt so bad because God us this girl she's going to

people she doesn't know, she didn't find herto a Bible study. And I

just looked at her and said, I'm good, thank you though. And

I felt so bad at that moment, and then like I just for the

next half hour, I was just sad. On date night, I was

sad. It was sad at pf chains, I was sad. But you

know what I was reflecting on that moment, You know what why I just

felt know, it just felt forced. It just didn't feel natural. She

didn't get to know my name, she didn't know who I was. And

sometimes sharing it's just simply a moment, just sharing your life, not just

as entirety. It's not always the opportunity for a complete recap. It should

feel natural, not forced. It's actually simple. Here's the issue we complicate

how to share our story. We think formulaic. We think if I miss

this, What if I miss this? What if I missed that? What

if I don't mention the name of Jesus? What if I actually just say

God and they don't even know I'm talking about Jesus. You've been there before.

You've been there before where someone's speaking to you and you're possibly uncomfortable because

it just doesn't feel natural to them. It feels like they're trying to sell

something to you or push something onto you. It feels forced. Here's some

I was just writing down. These are thoughts I was having, just natural

catchphrases. Here are natural moments. Things can come up in conversation. A

co worker or a friend confides to you talk about their struggle of anxiety,

and you say, man, hey, I've been there. You know what

really helped me is my relationship with Jesus. Let me explain to you what

what's helped in this season. If you have kids and it's Halloween season,

this is my favorite one I always do. It's just so easy. It's

just it's a layup. What are you doing for Halloween? I don't know.

We might be walking around the neighborhood. Hey, come by our church.

We're handing out candy tonight. We'd love to see you there. Suddenly,

I didn't even know you go to church. Yikes, but you know

they go. You go to church, and it just allows for natural conversation.

It's not forced, it's not manipulated. This is my favorite one.

Maybe you're a sports person and someone's telling you how much they just love the

Vegas nights and you suddenly think to yourself, oh my goodness, let me

tell you about my pastor he loves the Vegas nights. I don't know if

that moment will ever happen, but just think. To be natural, you

have to be confident. You have to be confident enough about discussing how the

Father has influenced your life, what he's done for you, the chains he

set you free from, maybe the current struggle that's still in your life,

and it's strenuous. Yet you have God with you along the journey. Paul's

life was he lived from a posture of being mission minded. He was constantly

feeling conviction and calling. Yet we also see in the scriptures there was love

and there was care. He cared for his recipients. He cared for who

he was speaking to. You know, when you care about who you're talking

to, it doesn't feel like task. You know, religion makes it feel

like task. Relationship makes it feel like this is natural. I don't I

want to do this. I want to share with you. It is a

privilege to hear, but to share I'm interested in you, it feels necessary.

These are the moments when we take a step of faith. Notice what

happens next when we do this though First Corinthians, chapter three. These are

the words Paul penned and his letter to the Church of corinth Paul had something

to say about this. Paul says, I planted the seed in your hearts,

and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow.

It is not important who does planting or who does uttering. It is important.

What is important is that God makes the seed grow. The one who

plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose, and both

will be rewarded for their hard work. We must be mindful of the work

of the Holy Spirit and his leading in those next few moments. Sometimes I

don't always have the opportunity to have a thirty minute conversation with someone and then

pray what we call in the church the Sinner's prayer with them and ask them

to receive Lord in Jesus in their heart. Sometimes all I have is a

thirty second window to plant a seed. That's it. And that's not that

I'm being disobedient to the Lord. Maybe that's just all I have at that

moment, and I want to seize the opportunity, because why it is not

all on me to water and to seed and to grow. It is God

who allows the growth. I love pastor Die does this all the time.

You ever notice how she challenges us to do these things and you think,

oh man, this is child O. Yeah, I think I could do

this. Here's my diabeal's challenge to you this week. Okay, you ready,

I challenge you venture, and I'm be honest. Don't don't pray it

if you don't mean it. Don't pray it if you don't want it,

because maybe you're not at a point yet to pray this prayer. And that's

fine. Add this prayer to your prayer life. And I just wonder what

God will do, Holy Spirit. I lay down my agenda this week.

Inconvenience me for your Kingdom, Holy Spirit, inconvenience me for you this week.

Today, this week, I prayed that prayer every day, and my

wife and I went down to Arizona to celebrate my brother graduating from med school.

He's a pediatrist. Now, I posted on Facebook that he's a pediatrist.

And what does our church family decide to do? Three people from our

church send me pictures of their feet and say, hey, can you send

this to your brother. Nope, I can't. It's called telehealth. Almost

considered blocking them. I thought that's not godly, so I prayed that prayer.

And my wife we have some friends down in Arizona, and there was

a day where we just kind of some free time. My wife took our

kids and went and met with her friend who has kids, and they went

to some trampoline park and I just felt, you know, I just wanted

to drive around Scottsdale, Phoenix enjoy it. And at one point, I

don't you know, this is TMI. I don't drink coffee past four pm.

I tried to be in bed by eight thirty every night, and for

some reason, I felt lead. It was like four twenty four thirty something

like that, and I decided to go to a coffee shop. And I

go to a random coffee shop I've never been to. I don't know anything

about it. And I grabbed my cup of coffee and I go to sit

outside. There's a ton of tables outside, and I sit on the side

of the coffee shop where it's a little bit quieter. I just felt like

at that moment, when God told me to just go to the coffee shop.

I didn't pull out my phone. I didn't want to do anything.

I just sat there. People are probably thinking this guy is a weirdo,

because now if you don't look at your phone, people think there's something wrong

with you. I was just sitting it's just enjoying life. And I overheard

on the other side outside there's two men, young adult men and mid twenties.

Looked like one gentleman was sharing his life to his buddy, his bro

and he's sharing everything and his issue with drugs, with lust, with pills,

and he's just unloading on his friend. And then decides to tell his

friend how he's an artist now and and he loves his art so much.

And then he kind of cops all the story. His friend's just listening.

The friend had no opportunity to even get a word in, so his friends

was nodding his head. And then he tells his friend, I suddenly started

going to church. It's where all these old guys are at, and they're

really nice to me. Now I'm giving you the tony version because there are

a couple of choice words in there that the young man used, And at

that moment I just felt God said, this is why I brought you here.

I need you to go speak to him. And it wasn't like a

you have to do this, It was like a conviction, like God,

I want to do this for you. And I go up to the man

he's talking to his friend. I just stand there and eventually I say,

Hey, my name's Tony. I'm not from here and you don't know who

I am, but hey, I couldn't help it over here. You're kind

of loud. I told him that you're kind of loud, and like all

the Greater Phoenix area knows what this man struggles with now and can help it

over here what you're going through. And and just for the next few moments,

I just wanted to share with him that God loves him, that God

has forgiven him if he would just give his life to Jesus. And I

reminded him, I'm so thankful you're going to church, but it's not religion

that will save you. It will be Jesus that will save you, and

Jesus will be the one who's to set you free. And then I felt

God gave me a couple of words for him, and I just started speaking

to him. And I'm watching this grown man just start to well up with

tears in his eyes, and his buddy's just nodding like jaw dropped to the

floor like so I finished talking. I didn't feel even led to that moment

to pray with him and lead him to Jesus. I just said, thanks

for your time, man, I just really appreciate it. He's crying.

He just thanks me. His buddy looks at me and says some things I

can't say out loud here and actually shouldn't say ever. But you know,

and that went about my way and just prayed for him on my drive to

go pick up my family. God set that man free. God made my

words speak to him. You know why, because maybe I planted to see

but maybe that young man has a mother who's been praying for him for twenty

years to come back to the Lord. And her and I we didn't realize

we were working in tandem in the Kingdom of God. Together. Some see,

some plants, some water, but it is God who allows the growth.

Might I remind you not every story has to be you getting up and

God got Maybe it's just you simply being willing, being available. Your willingness

could be the answer to someone else's prayers. Last week, I lost my

grandfather, and I lived a life where I didn't follow Jesus for quite some

time. My grandfather a few years ago pulled me aside. He loves Jesus.

He was an evangelist, He led many people to the Lord. He

pulled me aside a couple years ago, said every day you weren't following God,

I prayed for you. When he held me as a baby, The

Lord spoke to him that this young baby will serve me someday. I'm thankful

for his prayers over my life. I'm thankful that there's someone praying for me,

praying for you, praying for your coworker. Let it be us.

Lord. Here's how I wanna end. We have an enemy, the devil.

The Bible describes him as the father of lies. What does he love

to do? He loves to harm people and confuse people, and he loves

to deceive people. But on the other side of that enemy, we have

a God who defeated that enemy, who has still who's still won, who

conquered death, hell, and the grave, and reminds us in Revelations twelve

eleven that you and I now get to participate in this victory against the devil,

and they defeated him by the blood of the lamb, which was the

sacrifice of Jesus, and by their testimony. They did not love their lives

so much that they were afraid to die. Jesus defeated the enemy by his

death and resurrection. His blood is worth dying for. We defeat the enemy

when through the power of our testimony, when we speak of the goodness of

God and the miraculous of God, our testimony overcomes Satan's deceptions. Knowing and

remembering the work of God helps us helps those to live a life of freedom.

Would you bow your head and close your eyes. There's only one story

worth dying for, and it is the story of Jesus coming on the cross,

taking my sin and your sin being crucified, taking the penalty of our

sin, and then coming back to life and giving us life now with him

and forgiveness. And there's two people I want to pray for it today,

two groups of people. Maybe you're here and you don't know Jesus, but

you want to you're far from him, you know you are, and it's

time. Maybe someone one time it took you to church when you were a

kid you didn't know where you were gone, but you went with them.

Maybe someone a roommate or a dormmate, shared the Gospel with you. They

followed Jesus. Maybe there's a parent that's been praying for you. Maybe you're

here today and you have decided it is time for me to give my life

to Christ. If that's you, I'm not going to count to three.

I want to know who you are because I want to pray with you.

And this is a bold decision. It's require a bold response. That's you

and you want to give your life to Christ or return to him. We

just slip up your hand right now so I could know who you are,

so I could pray for you. An online you could type if that's you,

anyone in this room, thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

You can put those hands down for the rest of us. Would we stand

to our feet. I want to pray a prayer over you that this would

be a week of what we called to Vine intervention. There's power in your

testimony, there is power in your story. There is power because of the

name of Jesus interweaved and embedded in your story. May this be a weak

I pray over you of Holy inconveniences of moments where you will be able to

share, be able to speak, will be able to just be with someone

who needs to hear about Jesus. And I just want to pray the spirit

of boldness would overcome you and that you would just feel so led by the

spirit. Would you lift up your hands and let's pray together, Heavenly Father,

you see every hand lifted and every person in this room. God,

I am asking right now that you would pour out your spirit un Venture Church.

God, would we not live in fear? Would we not live in

shame? Would we not walk away from your truth? Would we not be

silent? God? We repent of business. We repent of distraction. God,

we repent of fear. May this be a weak God of holy and

divine appointments and the moments where we share your truth. I pray God that

you would speak through our people, You would speak through Venture Church, that

the Kingdom of God would grow person by person. This week, we thank

you, we love you, and like Paul, Lord, we commission our

church today to share of your good news, as your word promises in Matthew

twenty eight in the Great Commission, it's not suggested, it's mandate. We

love you, and we thank you in Jesus name. Amen.