Living What You Preach || State Road Church Of The Nazarene

Thank you everyone. All this group, thanks so

much. They get here early, early in practice

and we appreciate that, don't we? So I had some

folks with some funny names growing up. There

was a kid a couple years older than me, his name

was Sonny Afternoon. Sonny Afternoon. There was

a girl who was one of our rivals and her name

was Story Love or Love Story. And one that I

always thought was just a little bit like, I

don't know, maybe I just felt like maybe mom

and dad didn't have a whole lot of creativity.

Robert Bob Robertson. Robert Robertson. Robert

Robertson played on my baseball team. In fact,

in case you're wondering, I was a catcher and

Robert Robertson played first base. So I knew

Robert Robertson pretty well and in fact I grew

up in a very small community, so small that pretty

much everybody knew where everybody lived. and

Robert Robertson lived on one of the major roads

that we would take to get into civilization because

I grew up in the middle of nowhere and it wasn't

the end of the earth but you could see it from

there and we drove down this road most of the

time to go to civilization called Monroe Mills

and Robert Robertson lived on Monroe Mills. In

fact, there was like one stop sign on all of

Monroe Mills, and he lived pretty close to that

stop sign, and that was close to the state route.

So he's kind of in between the stop sign and

that state route. So we went by there all the

time. I knew that was where Robert Robertson

lived, and sometimes I would think about Robert

Robertson while I was driving by his house, and

one day everything was very different, because

as we drove on Monroe Mills, as we came to Robert

Robertson's house, It was on fire. And it looked

like everybody was home. Because I played baseball

with Robert Robertson, I knew all of the cars

that his family drove and they were all there

parked by the road and it seemed like they were

all home and we pulled the car off the side of

the road and left it running and sprinted up

to the front door and began beating on the front

door. And after a little while, Robert Robertson's

dad came to the front door and he said, hey,

it's dinner time. What do you all want? And we

said, your house is on fire. And he said, it's

OK. It's just some buildup creosote. It's the

first fire of the year, and it's just some creosote

that's in the chimney. And it's all good. I'd

like to get back to dinner, if you don't mind.

And I'm like, you don't understand. It's. I understand

that it might have started off as some creosote

that was built up in the chimney, but that's

not what it is now. Your house is on fire. And

he's like, I really don't have time for this.

We're fine. I really just want to get back to

dinner. And I said, would you please come outside

and just look up with me? And if you still want

to maintain that it's all good, then that's fine.

But just come out here and look up at the roof

with me. So he came out the front door and he's

standing in his socks and he kind of leans back

and looks up with this look on his face like,

okay, I hope that you're happy now. And he looks

up and realizes that in fact his house is on

fire. What probably did start off as a creosote

fire in the chimney had spread and his house

was on fire. So you can imagine how quickly his

calm, we're fine, changed into something radically

different. We hadn't gotten out of the car that

day and run up to his door to scare him We got

out of the car that day and ran up to his door

to save him If your neighbor's house was on fire

and you knew that they were inside, even if it

was dinner time, you wouldn't wait for being

in the right mood or for the perfect sentence

structure. You would get out of your car. You

would run to the door. You would beat on the

door. You would warn them, not out of judgment,

not out of anger, but because you love them too

much to allow them to perish and sit silently

by. Ephesians chapter four is where we've been

through our series on the apes, apostles, prophets,

evangelists, shepherds, teachers. And I want

to take kind of take one step back for a second

and give you a bigger pericope. That's a big

fancy word for this passage of scripture. I'm

going to give you a bigger pericope today and

then we're going to kind of drill down on evangelists

here for a second. So here is Ephesians chapter

four. I'm going to pick up in verse one. Therefore,

anytime you see the word therefore, you need

to ask, what's it there for? See, you guys are

so bright. And in this case, so Paul has been

talking about some important things. He's been

talking about the unity of believers. He's been

talking about their call to live as God's new

creation and the importance of humility, patience,

and love. That's what he's spent three chapters

now talking about. And then after he's done talking

about unity, living as new creations, the importance

of humility, patience, and love, he says, therefore,

as a prisoner, For serving the Lord beg you to

live a life worthy of the calling that you have

been called by God Always be humble and gentle

be patient with each other Making allowance for

each other's faults because of your love make

every effort to keep yourself you Keep yourself

unified in the spirit binding yourself together

with peace For there is one body, one spirit,

just as you've been called to one glorious hope

for the future. There's one Lord, one faith,

one baptism, and one God and Father who is over

all and in all and through all. However, he has

given each one of us special gifts through the

generosity of Christ. That is why the scripture

says when he ascended into the heights, He led

a crowd of captives and gave gifts to his people.

Notice that it says he ascended. This clearly

means that Christ also descended to the lowly

world. And the same one who descended is the

one who ascended higher than the heavens so that

he might fill the entire universe with himself.

Now, these are the gifts Christ gave to the church,

the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists,

the pastors. It's a bad translation. Shepherds

is a better translation. and teachers. These

are the gifts that he's given. Their responsibility

is to equip God's people to do his work and to

build up the church, the body of Christ. This

will continue until we all come to such unity

in our faith and knowledge of God's son that

we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to

the full and complete standard. Christ. So this

morning here's the big idea. Evangelism is not

just about proclamation, it's about formation.

Ephesians 4 talks about walking worthy of the

calling that we've been given and a worthy walk

means that we live out the message we share and

we help others to do the same. That Christ is

being formed in them, that's the goal of evangelism.

Not that we just tell them the good news, but

that Christ gets formed in them. I don't know

about you, but I think that we often treat evangelism

like it's somebody else's job. For the most part.

It's easy for us to assume that only the outgoing,

the trained, the stage gifted are called to be

evangelists. And we sometimes, probably not you,

I know that you're not these people, but you

know somebody like this who will use excuses

like... that's not my gift. I know that's not

us. Nobody here would say that's not my gift,

that's not my calling. I know that. I get it.

No one of us would say that, but there are people

who would say, that's just not my gift. Or, another

good one is, I just don't want to offend anybody.

Everybody thought that somebody would do it.

Somebody knew that it was their responsibility.

Somebody could have done it, but nobody did it.

Somebody got frustrated because nobody did what

somebody should have done. In the end, everybody

was annoyed with somebody because nobody took

action even though they all assumed that somebody

else would do it. Sounds like who's on first?

The moral is this if you see something that needs

to be done don't wait for somebody else be the

somebody who does it One of the biggest ways

I see this being lived out in the church today

is how we've relegated evangelism to the church

I Know that we're not these people but certainly

you have heard somebody who at least Acts like

they believe this that I have this friend. I

have this family member. I I have this a associate,

this colleague of mine, and they really need

Jesus. I mean, how many of you can think of somebody

that they just like, I mean, they really need

Jesus. I mean, there are people, we all need

Jesus, but like, this person really needs Jesus.

So we come up with this idea that if I can just

get them to church with me, that the church will

take care of all the problems and that the church

will lead them to Jesus and then we'll be all

good, right? I mean, you know somebody like that.

I know it's not us, but you know somebody who's

like, you know what? It's the church's responsibility

to lead people to Jesus. So if I get them to

the church, Pastor Phil will talk to them about

Jesus. And if I'm given the opportunity, understand

that you're right. I will talk to them about

Jesus. But you also understand that just because

they're here doesn't mean that I'll have the

opportunity to have the conversation. Right?

And just kind of an interesting thought. Do you

know that in the early church that nobody got

saved in the church? Now you talk about a bummer

pastor's report. Like one of the things that

we report on every year is how many people were

saved in the church that year. We're required

to report on that. And we have to estimate how

many people were sanctified in the church every

year. We report on the people who are being saved

in the church. So the early church would have

failed miserably because nobody was saved in

church. Nobody. So when we got together as a

church, the reason that we got together is because

the world was a tough place. I'm talking the

early church. The world was a tough place and

people are being persecuted and literally put

to death for their faith in Jesus because they

won't shut up and stop talking about him. So

people are dying because of their faith in Jesus.

And we would get together and encourage one another

and equip one another and say, you know what,

we're going to make it. And I may not be able

to solve all your problems, but you at least

know you're not alone. And we're in this together.

And if you need something, I'm here for you.

I mean, I really do mean that. If there's something

that I have, you'll benefit from it. It's yours.

I'm not going to hold on to anything tightly

because people matter to me more than all of

that stuff. And then how did people come to faith

in Jesus? Because like thousands would be saved.

Well, how did they come to Jesus? I'm so glad

that you ask. It's because people would take

their relationship with Jesus and then they would

go out into the streets and they would talk about

Jesus out there. So on Monday morning when they

were around the water cooler instead of talking

about the Cleveland Browns they talked about

Jesus Instead of talking about the fact that

you know what the Browns look pretty good in

preseason They didn't get fired up about that.

They got fired up about Jesus and That's what

they want to talk to you about they would go

to the bagel shop and pick up their cup of coffee

in their newspaper in a bagel and they would

talk to you about Jesus and if you would have

a conversation with them they'd say hey sit down

with me I want to talk to you about Jesus I want

to tell you how good that he is and mothers would

get around and they watched their children play

with their dreidel and while their children are

playing with their dreidel they would talk about

how good Jesus was and people got saved outside

of the church in the early church no one was

saved in the church But we've relegated the work

of evangelism to the church. And we just, we

don't really talk a whole lot about Jesus outside

of these walls. Sometimes, if we're real honest,

we don't even talk about Jesus a whole lot inside

of these walls. But certainly not outside the

walls. And it gets relegated to the church. Bottom

line is this, evangelism starts with you. Evangelism

starts with me. Evangelism starts when we realize

that it's not somebody else's responsibility,

it's my responsibility to talk to people, to

my friends, my family members about Jesus and

to make sure they know how good he is. Paul opens

up Ephesians 4 with this plea to everybody in

the body of Christ, I beg you to lead a life

worthy of your calling for you have been called

by God. Calling includes the call to share the

good news now this word that's in there is worthy,

right? I want you to be worthy of the calling

So I want to make sure that we're clear on one

thing that does not mean that you have to earn

Your calling that's not what we're talking about

at all It means that we should live our life

in a way that reflects the value of being called

by him Because that's a big deal in the way that

we live our lives should reflect that While it's

true of all believers, today we're talking about

evangelists. So evangelists, here's the way that

the Bible would describe what an evangelist is.

It's a herald of the good news who communicates

and calls people to respond. So you just communicate

the good news and call people to respond. But

too often, we stay silent. Now, I'm going to

see how brave you are, all right? This is the

bravery test. So when we're talking about evangelism

How many would say that one of the reasons that

I don't do that much is? Because I fear rejection

That's fair How many would say the reason I don't

do that much is because I feel unqualified I

don't feel like I have a good approach. I don't

have a good system to do it and I would do it

If I had a good way of doing it, I would talk

about it. I just don't feel qualified. How many

feel like, I don't do that as much as I should

because I get discouraged when people don't respond

to what I'm trying to do. I mean, I'm faithful

to do it and I talk to people about Jesus and

there's just like no fruit whatsoever. So why

do I waste my time doing it? So I get a little

bit discouraged, right? Anybody like that? Let

me take you back to 1956. There were these five

young missionaries. Jim Elliott was one of them.

There was another guy, one of his friends by

the name of Nate Saint. I just think his name's

great. I mean, who doesn't want a name like Nate

Saint? I mean, come on. Just an awesome name.

And three others. They felt deeply burdened to

share the gospel with the Wodani tribe in Ecuador.

So, they were warned ahead of time, hey, this

is a dangerous group of people. They don't know

anything about Jesus. They've never heard that

name. but they believed that Jesus was worth

the risk. So they went and for months they worked

and they finally made contact with some of the

tribe and they were speared to death on the riverbank.

The very first time that they met people from

that tribe. It looked like a failure but many

of you know the story. Years later Jim's wife

Elizabeth and Nate's sister Rachel returned to

the same tribe and this time hearts were opened.

The man who killed Nate became a follower of

Jesus, and he was one of the key leaders in the

tribe at that point. Because somebody believed

evangelism was worth more than their comfort,

because somebody believed faithfulness outlives

the messenger, they went and did what God was

calling them to do. Evangelists don't always

see immediate fruit, but their calling is to

live the message, speak the truth, and equip

the church to do the same. That's exactly what

Paul is describing in Ephesians chapter 4 verses

Ephesians 4:1–13

1 through 13. So what does it look like for us

to live a life, to walk a life that's worthy

of an evangelist? Number one, this is true of

all of us. I know that there are some who are

called and gifted in the church to be evangelists.

This is true of every last one of us regardless

of that calling. You might say, well, I'm off

the hook because I'm more of a shepherd. Hey,

that's awesome. This is still true of you too.

Here's the first thing that is what it looks

like to walk worthy as an evangelist. Number

one, you have to live what you preach. Would

you say that with me? Live what you preach. Philippians

1 .27 says, let your manner of life be worthy

of the gospel of Christ. What does that mean?

That means that everything that we do in our

life should reflect the gospel of Jesus. So when

I go to work on Monday morning, I should work

like my life needs to reflect the fact that my

life is connected to Jesus and if I don't work

in that way I make Jesus look bad so I'm gonna

go give it a hundred percent because my life

needs to look different because I'm in relationship

with Jesus I need to treat my wife differently

because I'm in relationship with Jesus. What

does it say to my wife if I'm like on Sunday,

man I love Jesus. Jesus is so good. He's so amazing.

He's the Lord of my life and I don't treat my

wife with respect. What it says to her is there's

a disconnect there because you can't you can't

say hey I love Jesus and not have that impact

the way that you live your life. That it needs

to impact every part of our life that we need

to live what we preach 2nd Timothy 4 or 5 says

do the work of an evangelist fulfill your ministry

your message must match your lifestyle Many of

you have heard the expression preach the gospel

at all times use words if necessary It's often

attributed to st. Francis of Assisi Not st. Francis

the sissy the st. Francis of Assisi Do you know

that there's no evidence he ever said that? In

fact, a lot of people would say that he probably

didn't say it. And one of the things that I think

has happened is that it kind of creates a dichotomy

in our minds. And I think that it actually is

more telling about what we believe in the church

today than we realize. Because we've kind of

stepped into this time in this culture where

we... We will say things like I want to I'm gonna

be an evangelist by the way that I live my life

But I'm not gonna talk to people about Jesus

like I I'll live it out I'll treat my wife better

and I'll work really hard and I'll do those things

and and maybe somehow that they'll know that

I'm a Christian because I do those things really

well and then they'll They'll come ask me right

though. They'll eventually come ask me what makes

you different and maybe that's true But so we

think that if I if I just live a good life And

if I get that part right, then I'm doing the

work of being an evangelist. That I don't have

to necessarily preach the gospel, but I'll preach

the gospel and I'll just do it with my lifestyle,

but I'll never get to the point that I tell people

the claims of the gospel. I think that's a major

factor in the church right now. There was a generation

really in the 1970s, 1980s, some of you will

remember this immediately when I start talking

about it, you'll be like, Yep, he's telling the

truth. And unfortunately, that generation of

people have pretty much disappeared in the church.

I am thinking of several examples of this right

now, people that many of you would know. If I

gave you their names, you'd be like, yep, that's

absolutely true. But they were the kind of people

that they talked about the claims of the gospel

with their family and with their friends. They

would talk about... This is what Jesus says and

this is what Jesus can do for you and you can

have a relationship with him. For the most part

that's gone in the church today. It's hard to

find. Now there are people who are trying to

live it out. I get that. I don't discredit that

at all. But I think the point is that we need

to have both of those. Yes our lifestyle needs

to be different. but we still need to preach

the gospel of Jesus. We still need to tell people

the good news of Jesus, that they can have hope

in Jesus, that their life can be changed in Jesus.

Saint Francis of Assisi, yes, he lived a life

that was exemplary, but he also was known to

actively preach the gospel, and he did not see

those as being separate endeavors. But he saw

that both of those were important. Part of the

Great Commission is to go into all the world

and show them that you're decent people. And

by that what I mean is that you should keep your

mouth shut, don't rock the boat, tell people

what they want to hear. That's the Great Commission,

right? I mean obviously that's not what Jesus

said. But sometimes we act like it and we live

like it. The Great Commission is actually to

go into all the world and preach the gospel to

all of creation. You can't really fulfill the

Great Commission without a clear proclamation

of the gospel of Jesus. Let me run that by you

again. You cannot fulfill the Great Commission

without a clear proclamation of the gospel of

Jesus. Sure, absolutely. Our lifestyle needs

to match what we're preaching. I get that. We're

talking about that, but we still have to proclaim

the gospel of Jesus. That's why Paul presses

the urgency of it in Romans 10 -14. This is what

it says, how then can they call on the one that

they have not believed in and how can they believe

in the one in whom they have not heard? And how

can they hear without somebody preaching to them?

The answer is obvious. They can't hear unless

somebody speaks and that someone isn't just the

pastor. It's not the missionary. It's not just

the naturally bold. It's that someone's you and

that someone's me. So. Our lifestyle needs to

match our message. We still need to tell the

message. And when our lifestyle doesn't match

the message, then what we call that is hypocrisy,

and hypocrisy undermines the gospel. An evangelist

doesn't just proclaim the good news, they embody

it, they live it. Number two, humility, gentleness,

and patience. 1 Thessalonians 2, 7 through 8

says, we were gentle among you, we were delighted

to share with you not only the gospel of God,

but also our lives as well. Evangelism isn't

a performance, it's a service. A worthy evangelist

walks humbly, speaks gently, and loves patiently

even when the people reject the message. They're

still humble and gentle and kind. Number three,

boldness without harshness. Acts 4 .31 says they

were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke

the word of God boldly. Colossians 4 .6, let

your speech always be gracious, seasoned with

salt. Salt adds flavor. It preserves truth. It

represents wisdom. So our words need to be engaging,

preserving, and thoughtful. Leonard Ravenhill,

anyone familiar with Leonard Ravenhill? A great

theologian, he said this, we must learn to preach

with broken hearts. We must evangelize with tears.

We must learn to preach with broken hearts. We

must evangelize with tears. You do know that

we're not angry because people are lost. We're

brokenhearted because people are lost. And there's

a huge difference. Number four, faithfulness

over fruitfulness. We've talked about this several

times in the series. I'm not sure why it's such

a sore spot with me. I mean, I know part of it

and I don't need to go into all of that. Yes,

we're supposed to be fruitful. There will be

fruit when we're doing the things that we're

supposed to do. The Bible talks about that. But

we don't get to dictate our fruitfulness. God

just calls us to be faithful. And he takes care

of the fruitfulness. He's the Lord of the harvest.

What's that about? Fruitfulness, right? But we

have to be faithful. William Carey, does anybody

recognize the name William Carey? He's known

as the father of modern missions. Well, what

makes you the father of modern missions? Well,

I'm glad that you ask. So he was the very first

person who went to another place to preach the

gospel to another group of people. Specifically,

Carey labored in India for a long, long time.

But he showed up in India, he felt like he was

called to India, and he worked for seven years,

day in and day out, for seven years before he

saw one convert. In those seven years, he translated

the Bible into a bunch of different languages,

he planted churches, he persevered, and without

any noticeable results. This is what William

Carey said. He said, expect great things from

God. Attempt great things for God. Expect great

things from God. Attempt great things for God.

And William Carey was faithful. Some would look

at his work in India and say that it was not

fruitful, but he was faithful. God doesn't call

us to produce the results. He calls us to be

faithful. He handles the harvest. He's the Lord

of the harvest. Galatians 6 and 9, do not grow

weary in doing good. How many of you know that's

a lot easier said than done? Do not grow weary

in doing good. First Corinthians 3, 6 through

7, I planted Apollos water, but God gave the

increase. God gave the growth. God is in charge

of the harvest. We're called to sow seeds again

and again, whether or not we see results. Why?

Because we're not called to that, we're called

to being faithful. So we do what we're supposed

to do, and we leave the results to Him. Urgency

number five, urgency with compassion. Second

Corinthians 5 20, we implore you be reconciled

to God. Jude 1 23, snatch others from the fire.

I don't know about you, but I think balancing

urgency and compassion in evangelism is probably

one of the trickiest things in the entire...

business of living a life that's going to be

honoring and pleasing to God. It's just so difficult

because you're holding two emotional weights

at the same time. Urgency says this matters now.

Don't delay. Urgency says when you see Robert

Robertson's house on fire, you pull the car off

the side of the road, you leave the door standing

open, you sprint to the front door, you beat

on the door, and you say, I need your attention

to this now. Your house is on fire. He's like,

it's dinner time. I'm about to sit down and enjoy

some fried chicken. And I'm like, you're going

to be the fried chicken, pal. OK? You don't understand

what I'm saying. It's going to be beef jerky.

It's going to be your hide, pal. That's what

I'm trying to tell you. That's urgency, right?

But that's not necessarily compassion. Compassion

says, I care about you as a person, not just

about your decision. And how many of you know

it's so difficult balancing those two? So, like,

on one hand, it's urgent. It's a matter of life

and death. I mean, you leave the car parked on

the side of the road, door standing open. You

sprint to the front door. You beat on the door.

Like, you've got to get out of the house. It's

on fire. He's like, listen, pal, you need to

calm down. We're fine. I'm about to have fried

chicken. No, you don't understand. You don't

understand the danger that's about to consume

you. No, it's dinnertime. Just leave me alone

and still Valuing the person Regardless of their

decision even if they're like no, I'm gonna stay

and eat my fried chicken Even though I know my

house is on fire I'm gonna eat my fried chicken

and still valuing them as a person If urgency

dominates without compassion, people feel pressured,

manipulated, and treated as a project. You know

that because it's true for you. When you've dealt

with somebody who is only urgent, you feel used.

If compassion dominates without urgency, people

will never hear a clear, timely call to respond

to the gospel claims of Jesus. We'll be compassionate.

We'll be kind. but they'll never know their house

is on fire. Evangelism is absolutely serious.

It's life and death, but we don't guilt people

into the kingdom. We grieve for them and we call

them in love. Number six, equip others for evangelism.

Ephesians 4, 11 through 12, evangelist, here's

why he's called them, to equip God's people to

do his work in building up the church. How many

of you know an evangelist? I mean, that's just

like what they're gifted at. That's what God's

called them to. They're fantastic at it. And

I don't know about you, but sometimes when I

think about people who are outstanding at evangelists,

they're outstanding at evangelism in their own

right. They do their thing. That's their thing.

They're really good at it. They're fantastic

at it. They lead people to Jesus. It's happening

all the time. That's awesome. That's great. But

that's not why God's given that gift to the church.

In fact, in that respect, we're all called to

do that. We're all called to be talking to people

about Jesus. We should all have that enthusiasm.

The reason he's called evangelist is to build

up the body of Christ so that we all are better

at doing that, that we all collectively work

better at reaching people for Jesus. That's the

role of an evangelist, right? It's not just that

they're doing it as a lone ranger, but they're

getting other people around them. They're bodybuilders,

they're multipliers, they're trainers. They're

helping other people to know how they can lead

people to Jesus. 2 Timothy 2, 2, entrust to faithful

people who will be able to teach others also.

Evangelism isn't complete until the evangelized

becomes the evangelist. So that's where this...

idea of an evangelist comes into play. So evangelists

aren't just leading people to Jesus, they're

helping the church to understand and reach more

people and helping the people who have just been

reached to reach their friends with the gospel

claims of Jesus. That's why we practice. So I'm

going to give you a breakdown of evangelism,

all right? And some of this you're going to recognize.

So evangelism is this. Step one, present the

gospel. How long should you spend on that? Do

I even have this on the screen? I do, look, present

the gospel. On average, I would say you should

spend about 30 seconds presenting the gospel.

What do I mean by the gospel? The good news of

Jesus. Just this week, I met with somebody, doesn't

matter who, but I met with somebody. They're

hurting, they're broken right now. Just the Lord's

given me the opportunity to speak some life into

them and and I cherish the opportunity to do

that and they came in and They used to be a part

of a church and had a relationship with the Lord

and they've made some choices And in their mind,

they're absolutely Unredeemable and unforgivable.

That's the word that they used That I can't be

redeemed So the Good news of Jesus is very simple,

right? So I looked at this person and I said,

what in the world could you possibly have done

that would make you unredeemable? I mean, I just

want them to talk about it because I already

know the answer, right? There's nothing that

you could have done that makes you unredeemable.

So I'm like, what in the world could you have

done that would make you unredeemable? And they

told me something. They said, this is what it

is. This is what makes me unredeemable. Oh, God

can forgive that. And it also helps when you

can back it up with scripture, right? So here's

an example of how God did forgive that. And if

God forgave it for this person, He'll do the

same for you. He's no respecter of person. That's

not unredeemable. He's waiting with open arms.

So 30 seconds, just give them the good news of

Jesus. How's it going to be best received? If

you can talk to them about the good news of Jesus

where they're living. So have conversation with

them and where they say, this is what I'm struggling

with and I feel like I'm unredeemable because

of this. Speak into that and tell them, no, no,

no, see, you've got it all wrong. He's ready

to forgive. He's willing to forgive. He wants

to be in relationship with you. It's that simple,

right? 30 seconds, tell them the gospel, the

good news of Jesus. Share your one minute testimony.

Do you remember this little tool that I gave

you? So that's your one minute testimony. So

if it's a one minute testimony, how long should

you spend doing it? I don't know, about 60 seconds,

right? Probably not more than that. And this

will give you a tool that you can say, this is

what he's talking about. And if you want that

tool again, let me know, I'll get it for you.

That maps it out pretty well. So it just basically

gives you all the stuff. And you should be able

to do it in a minute. So you're gonna present

the gospel. This is the good news of Jesus. This

is how he can change your life. You're not unredeemable.

That's the good news. Let me give you a testimony

of how the Lord's done that. So one minute you

spend on that. Step number three. So of those

steps, how many of you think step number one's

the hardest? To talk about this is the good news

of Jesus. How many think that's the hardest part?

How many of you think step number two is the

hardest, where you say like, this is what he's

done for me? Here's something I want you to think

about. So step number two, they can't argue with

you. They can't argue with you. It's your story.

They can't possibly argue with you because they

don't know your story. So it's like I would think

number two would be pretty easy because it's

my story. And if they try to argue with me to

be like, listen, you don't know, all right? You

can't possibly argue with me about this. You

don't know. I think, just for me, I think number

three is the toughest. And I think that that's

where, in the body of Christ, I think that that's

where we have the breakdown most often in evangelism

is asking for a decision. I don't think it's

hard to talk about how good Jesus is. I don't

think it's hard to say, you know what, Jesus

still loves you, even though you think you've

done something that's unredeemable, I'm telling

you, he loves you. I don't think that's difficult.

I don't think it's difficult to say, hey, listen

what he's done for me. I don't think that's difficult.

But I think from number two to number three,

I think, man, that's a big step. To say, okay,

so what are you gonna do about it? What are you

gonna do about that and And I think that this

is where we fear rejection I think this is where

we fear like I'm gonna offend somebody because

now the balls in their court and here's the thing

I want to remind you of they're not rejecting

you They're rejecting him So if they're like

no I want nothing to do with that you need to

leave me alone. They're not rejecting you they're

rejecting him It's like one of those things,

would you calm down? Has anyone ever calmed down

by being told that? No one, right? No one's ever

calmed down from that. And in that moment, I

get it, they're rejecting him, but it sure feels

like they're rejecting me too, right? I think

number three is the toughest. You could think

something else is the toughest, but I think the

point of saying, okay, what are you gonna do

about that? I think that's where it gets tough.

And what I would do and what I do do, see I said

do do. It's like when I know I'm on step number

one and I'm going into step number two, I'm already

praying. I don't need to let them know that I'm

praying, but I'm like, Lord, allow this moment

to be fruitful. Allow this moment to connect

with them. Because I know that it's coming. And

I need the Holy Spirit's help, right? So I need

the Holy Spirit's help because I'm gonna ask

them for a decision. Number four, offer to pray

for them and offer to pray for them regardless.

If they say, no, I don't want to do that, can

I pray for you? And pray for them. I followed

these four steps. This is not a pat me on the

back thing at all. Hundreds, if not thousands

of times. I've done those four steps at least

hundreds of times, probably thousands of times.

and in thousands of times doing one, two, three,

four. Do you know how many times somebody has

said to me, no, you cannot pray for me? Two times,

ever. One of them, one of them I actually wished

I hadn't listened to him because he ended up

dying shortly after that. And I wish I would

have prayed for him anyways. I wish I would have

said, and in hindsight I would have said this,

I would have said, okay, that's fine. You don't

want me to pray for you? I won't pray for you

out loud as a way to respect you. You know, urgency

and compassion, additive compassion. I won't

pray for you out loud, but you can't stop me

from praying for you. So I will leave your presence,

and I'm still going to pray for you because you

can't stop me from praying for you. But I won't

pray with you. And one time, so really one time,

the circumstances were, they were such that the

person said, no, I don't want you to pray for

me. I can still tell you what they were wearing.

I remember it really well. I was on OSU campus

with my friend Jeff Stump and that was the only

other time I've ever had somebody say to me,

no, you cannot pray for me. I've had lots of

people say, no, I'm not ready to make that decision.

But then it's always crazy to me because they'll

be like, no, I don't want to make that decision.

That's fine. Can I pray for you? Yes. I wish

you would. Hello? Okay, I'll pray for you. And

I'll pray for them. So, how many of you think

that this week, if you were given an opportunity,

you could do step one, two, three, four? I think

you could. So, That's a simple approach that

you can use. Number seven, unity in the church

and in the community. How many of you have ever

been a part of one of the Billy Graham crusades,

like when Billy Graham was around? I wish everybody

had the opportunity to be a part of those. So

anytime that they were anywhere close, I would

be a part of all the Billy Graham stuff that

I could do. And one of the things that Billy

Graham always was really big on was he would

talk about church unity and city unity. And the

way that they would go about that is they would

come in like 18 months before a crusade and they

would start meeting with church leaders and they

would say, hey, we all need to be on the same

page. And we can't be fighting against each other

and this thing get off the ground. So we need

all the church leaders to be on the same page.

And if we need to help with some of that, we'll

do that. And then next time, would you bring

some of your church leaders? And they would say

the same thing all over again. Hey, we need everybody

to be on the same page. We've already talked

to your pastors about this. And now we're talking

to you as church leaders. But we all have to

be on the same page. And Billy Graham and whoever

it was that was in town and talking for him would

say this. And this was almost like scripted.

They would always say this. If we don't stand

together, we will fall apart. When churches unite

cities change Jesus prayed may they be one So

that the world may believe that's John 17 21

Ephesians 4 3 through 6 make every effort to

keep yourself United in the spirit So here's

the application for us today when churches work

together feeding the hungry serving community

praying in unity The world starts to believe

the gospel we preach Unity isn't just important,

it's evangelistic. Disunity discredits the gospel.

It's not in the notes, it's a freebie. And one

of the churches that I pastored, not the one

you're thinking of but a different one, not this

one, a different one, not the one you're thinking

of. I told you it's not the one you're thinking

of but a different one. Down the road from us,

about eight miles down the road, there was a

church that... just like everything they touch

turned to gold. And so like all of my church

leaders, they were a little envious of that.

They're like, I still don't understand it. It

doesn't matter what they do. It thrives. It's

successful. If they put their hand to it, it's

going to flourish. And I still don't understand

what's going on with it. So they were talking

about that in one of our vision meetings. And

we were talking about just the fact that, hey,

I still don't understand it. If they touch it,

it turns to gold. And why is it different for

us? And I didn't say a word. I was just kind

of listening to the conversation. So one of my

leaders is asking that question. Another one

of my leaders said, you know what I think it

is? He said, I think that it's the fact that

I've never known a church that was more unified

than they are. And I've never heard one of them

say anything negative about anybody else in their

church. And I've never heard them say anything

negative about one of their church leaders. They're

just always positive about each other He said

I think that's what it is. I didn't say a word,

but it's kind of sat there and listened and I

said to myself You know, I think they're absolutely

right So when we're unified if we're unified

as a church that brings change and if we're unified

with and I understand not every church in our

community or quote -unquote church in our community

we can't agree with them on everything because

they don't agree with us on the stuff that matters

but I'm saying the stuff that doesn't matter

let's just forget about the stuff that doesn't

matter and if they agree on the stuff that does

matter let's be unified with them and let's together

work to reach our community for Jesus right and

that's how change really happens is when when

we are unified and we work together with the

people around us Ephesians 4 or 13, this will

continue until we reach such unity in our faith

and knowledge of God's Son that we will be mature,

measuring up to the full and complete standard

of Christ. When the evangelist equips, when the

body is unified, when the people of God speak

and live the truth and love, the church grows.

Maturity in the church leads to effective missions

outside the church. So here's the prayer that

I want you to pray with me, all right? So here's

the prayer I want you to pray with me. I'm going

to pray the prayer. I just want you to decide

if you can agree with all of it. If you can,

when we're done, say amen. That'll just mean

that I agree with all of that. I'll receive all

of it. Then we're going to sing a song and then

there'll be a benediction, okay? So I just want

you to listen for a second and be like, okay,

I can agree to all of that. And if you can, then

the way that you're going to say I agree with

all of that is what? You're gonna say amen. Let

it be so. Here it is. Lord, make us faithful

in our living so that our lives are a clear witness

to your grace. Give us a spirit -filled message,

not just words we rehearse, but truth alive in

our hearts. Stir in us a willingness to train

others To pass the torch of the gospel to those

who will follow. Break our hearts for the lost.

So that we see people the way you see them. Unite

your church. One body. One mission. One voice.

So that the world may hear and believe. In Jesus'

name.