Carl and Scott Shifting Perspectives 7 Spiritual Maturity - Sharing the Gospel

welcome to shifting perspectives

biblical conversations about topics that

matter let's get to

[Music]

it all right so we've been talking

through these signs or marks of

spiritual growth or spiritual maturity

and we've gotten to one that um think is

pretty important and that is caring

about sharing the

gospel I mean I know for a lot of people

that's okay well what does it mean what

share the gospel well does that mean

that I got to give my testimony does

that mean that I need to you know

memorize a bunch of Bible verses you

know what is the gospel I mean I guess

we probably ought to start there yeah

you know and and the gospel message is

so simple and as it said you know the

the Bible can be an inch deep or or deep

enough to drown an elephant if you step

into it the gospel message you know the

Saving Grace of Jesus Christ he come to

love us you know and that salvation

process is something honestly that most

kids even under 10 have the ability to

comprehend and understand right the

Simplicity of the Gospel message that is

included really when you know when we

talked about the Bible a few weeks ago

and we talked about the importance of

the Bible and how we called that the

Crimson thread right that as you're

reading the bible really from beginning

to end you see the gospel narrative

being played out Old Testament New

Testament gospels life of Jesus letters

that we have in the in the New Testament

that are describing the importance of

the gospel and so for a person to become

more spiritually mature or grow in their

faith it should matter about sharing the

gospel with someone else yes and in the

title of it caring about sharing says so

much more because sometimes I think we

feel we need to share out of a Duty or

an obligation to God right which yes

sort of but really his his relationship

if you look at God's relationship to us

why did he do what he did why do we have

a Plan of Salvation is because he cared

loved us and when it's caring about

sharing I got to look at you and care

enough about you that I want to share

not out of obligation but out of out of

a genuine Christian Godlike love that he

showed towards this center right towards

the next center right and that I think

is where when we get that mindset

mindset that I care enough about you

that I want to share this with you

exactly when we begin to think and and

you know often times we'll see um it's

kind of like a brush fire right um we

live we live around here in the in the

Ozarks and you've seen you know what one

small simple spark can turn into and

often times a person comes to their own

salvation their own relationship with

Christ of receiving that gospel and

they're and they're excited about that

for a moment and then what normally

takes over fear takes over oh well

what's that person going to think about

me and what's this going to think about

me and now we're now we're putting on

the scales my reputation or my fear over

the aspect that that person needs the

exact same thing that you just received

that that person needs the gospel just

like you needed the gospel and that's

why that caring is so important because

what motivates us more obligation

requirement an

expectation or love a genuine love

genuine love and so I think the reality

is you know we can talk theologically

for a moment about um you know a passage

is like Romans 10:13 right it says all

Romans 10:13

that call upon the name of the Lord

shall be

saved we could stop there and say that's

an exciting verse I love the simp that's

that Simplicity you were talking right

so simple all of those who will yield

their lives recognizing their need for a

savior and call on the name of the Lord

he promises that he will meet them there

and that they will be saved and

salvation is so much more than just I

got my ticket to Eternity salvation is

transforming it's life changing it's

delivering it is all of those things but

you know what's interesting about that

is is that we we can stop there with the

Simplicity or we can look at the next

few verses and

recognize the only reason why somebody

can do that is because somebody cared

enough to love them the next past just

says well how will they

know how can they believe unless someone

Proclaim MH somebody's got to care

enough yes and so that's a mark of

spiritual maturity that I'm now

beginning to care about the soul the

Eternal Soul of the person that's in the

cubicle next door or the person who uh

cut you off in traffic oh gosh you know

I'm uh yeah let's not talk about the

driving aspect and how much people

frustrate me you know I'm a control free

I won't even ride with

people but that's absolutely right that

person needs the needs the gospel that

you have I love the idea of um you since

you brought that up the the fish symbol

that everybody's got on the back of

their car the bumper sicker that says

honky if you love Jesus and and then in

the middle of that you're you're

pounding on the steering wheel mad at

that person and and or or you cut some I

mean

just if we changed our perspective

yes how much further could the gospel go

and that's why we're doing this shifting

perspectives podcast is to you know to

try to understand this isn't something

that we're saying we've conquered and

we've done this is a process for you and

I as we grow as much as we're we're here

to walk people through the Journey with

us as we continue to grow through

through the Journey that God's got in

front of us and our challenges

absolutely you know I've always related

to to this is you know if there if I'm

standing in the middle of a desert and

it's hot and it's dry and the wind is

blowing and I walk over a sand dun and

you find this person there that is on

their last breath and they are

dehydrated and they are are severely

sick and I happen to have four four jugs

of water with me right you know am I

right or am I wrong what does the loving

thing to do to say would you like some

water or to leave them alone right and I

might need this water if I offer you

this water you know and you say no

thanks that's spring water and I only

want the purified stuff that's your

choice right for me to show the love

that I'm requireed to show I offer that

to you and that's the same thing as the

gospel the world needs the message of

Jesus Christ that's right the world is

starving for we see the the the world

around us it's starving for us and you

know we are to carry that water to them

hand them to him because guess what

God's water doesn't run out that's right

yeah he's living water exactly yeah

absolutely and you know I think I think

I think for some that's part of the

reason why you know for Corinth Baptist

church for our church you know we have

we have a tagline that we put on our

Facebook page on our website on all of

our logos on on everything that says you

know it says that we are ordinary people

just like you yes and we love

Jesus and we want to love you too

because that's the big of really what

we're trying to do ultimately everything

revolves around the gospel yes this

Christianity the spiritual maturity

spiritual growth doesn't do anything for

us until we recognize that it's all

about the gospel we want to be gospel

Centric people we want to be a gospel

Centric church and we want to love

people the way that Jesus loved us and

sometimes that's hard it is cu I'm

pretty unlovable sometimes I always said

that every now you know and I thought

you were going to say it you know just a

just to to get it out there but but

every one of us can be a little bit

unlovable absolutely but every one of us

are asking for other people to love us

exactly even in our Brokenness Even in

our Brokenness that's right and I'm so

thankful and I know that you are too

that Jesus came walked this earth born

of the Virgin perfect sinless life on a

journey to a cross to bear your sins and

my sins ultimately in the Tomb Rose from

from the grave seated at the right hand

of the father for broken people yes just

like you and me yeah and just like you

all exactly you got anything you want to

add to that I don't think I can add to

that I and that's the picture of the

gospel and that's the picture of why we

care about sharing the gospel amen come

back with us next week we'll talk a

little bit more about some of these

things God bless you good night