We Believe in the Power of Everyday Evangelism (Colossians 4:4-5)

[0:00] Good morning, First Family. If you're watching this video, that means that inclement weather has hindered us from gathering together at worship today. My name is Andy Childs. I serve as the Assistant Executive Director of your Georgia Baptist Mission Board.

[0:14] And my wife Melissa and I have the privilege of being members here at First Baptist with you. And I'm so grateful to Pastor Brett for the opportunity to bring God's Word today. And I want to pray for him and the others on the mission trip, and that they'll be able to return safely.

[0:27] And want to pray right now for us, because obviously if we're enjoying this video together, this time of worship, via social media and all technology things, that means we are in our homes and many of us are probably without power.

[0:40] So let me take a moment and just pray for us. Lord, I come to you and I thank you for your goodness and grace. And I thank you for our Pastor Brett and Lord for our staff here, the deacons, the leadership at First Baptist Toccoa.

[0:52] And Lord, today I pray especially as we are in our homes. Lord, many of us are probably without power. Lord, I pray that you would give us grace, that you give us patience. Lord, I pray specifically for the first responders, for the power linemen and women, those who are working hard to restore our power and all of the things we take so for granted.

[1:11] Lord, keep them safe. Lord, give them wisdom. Lord, I pray now in these few moments as we come to your Word, Lord, we would be reminded it is significant. It matters that we gather and worship.

[1:21] But Lord, the fact is we can worship you wherever we are. And that your Word can speak into our hearts, into our minds. And Lord, it can live out in our lives even in moments like this when we are interrupted, when there's disruptions, when things are not the way we had intended or hoped they would be.

[1:38] So Lord, in spite of all of these distractions, Lord, let us meet you in these moments. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, First Family, you know that Pastor Brett and our staff have been walking us through a series talking about core values and talking specifically about what we believe, these core commitments that define us as First Baptist Church.

[2:01] And if you recall, we've talked about the authority of Scripture, the power of prayer, and the importance of community. It's important that we all are reminded that prayer and Scripture and community are all an expression not only of what we believe and what we do corporately as a church, but they've got to be reflected in our own individual lives as well.

[2:22] Well, this morning, I want to take a few moments and talk about another one of those core commitments, and it's simply this. We believe in everyday evangelism. We believe in everyday evangelism.

[2:34] Now, I know for most of us as believers, if we were honest, the word believe doesn't frighten us. The word everyday doesn't frighten us.

[2:45] But when I said the word evangelism, some of us kind of went, oh, here we go. Because here's the thing. Too often we think evangelism is the call of someone else. Evangelism is the gift of someone else.

[2:58] Evangelism is the responsibility of someone else. But the fact is, those of us who know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we are all called to be ambassadors for Christ. We are all called to be salt and light.

[3:12] We're all called to be fishers of men. And so this morning, I want to take a few moments and talk about the fact that if we're going to be not only the church, but if we're going to be the followers of Christ that we ought to be, then we've got to embrace the call to everyday evangelism.

[3:28] Now, I know in my own life, just like you, oftentimes when there's an opportunity to talk about Jesus, I may think, well, there's probably a better place. Maybe there is even a better time.

[3:42] Sometimes I even think there may be even someone better than me that could answer someone's questions even better. So what happens is we tend to default away from evangelism. And I want to encourage you, the fact is the enemy steals this joy from us and we don't even know it.

[3:56] In other words, we hear evangelism and we become afraid. We hear evangelism and we become concerned. We hear the word evangelism and we step away when in fact, if we would have clarity and if we would be on mission and we would seize those moments, we would see the joy of the Lord and we would personally see the power of the gospel at work right in front of us even as we sow the seeds of the gospel.

[4:21] So as we take a few moments and think about this whole idea of we believe in everyday evangelism, the question is, what does that look like? I mean, it's one thing when we're on a mission trip.

[4:32] It's one thing when we're having vacation Bible school. It's another thing when we're at church on Sunday or Wednesday. There are those moments when evangelism, there are those moments when talking about the gospel, talking about Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection, talking about the fact that that message is not just religious, but it's relational and it's not just global, but it's personal.

[4:52] There are times when that just makes more sense. But what about the everyday part? What does it look like when we're not at church, when we're not on a mission trip, when we're not on a choir tour, when we're not at youth camp, when we're not at vacation Bible school?

[5:06] What does it look like in everyday life to be the follower of Jesus that reflects the gospel and tells the gospel, verbalizes the gospel, calls people to repentance, as Paul would say, we've been given the ministry of reconciliation, imploring people to be made right with God.

[5:25] Well, the good news is the Bible gives us a snapshot of this. As a matter of fact, the Apostle Paul in the book of Colossians chapter number four, we get to the end of that chapter and Paul's giving some instructions. And what's interesting is that Paul, as he's writing to the believers at Colossae, the Colossians, a place that he's not been, people that he doesn't know, and yet he's heard about how they've trusted Christ.

[5:47] He's heard about how the gospel has changed their life. He encourages them to stay in the gospel. And then toward the end of his letter, in chapter number four, Paul really gives a picture of what it looks like to live on mission every day in our lives.

[6:01] He gives a snapshot of everyday evangelism for every believer. So if you have your copy of scripture, I want you to turn with me to Colossians chapter four, whether it's on your phone or on your iPad, or you actually have a print Bible, let's go to Colossians chapter four and look at just two verses, verses four and five.

[6:20] And here's what the scripture says, Colossians chapter four, beginning in verse number five. Paul says, walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.

[6:32] Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. Just two verses, Paul's concluding his letter here.

[6:44] He's encouraged them. He's talked about putting on the new self. He's talked about how we're alive in Christ. He gives some final instructions. But right here toward the end of his letter, he reminds them and he reminds us, what does it look like when you and I who've been saved, when you and I who've gone from death to life, from darkness to light, what does it look like when we live on mission every day, understanding that evangelism, the telling of the good news of Jesus Christ, the verbal clarity of the fact that without Christ, the Bible says, no one is righteous, no, not one.

[7:17] And the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. What does it look like when we live that out every day? Obviously, we can't preach every day.

[7:28] We don't have revival services every day. We don't have small groups every day. We don't have 20 minutes or 15 minutes or 45 minutes. Sometimes it's just a moment. So what does that look like?

[7:39] Well, I want to use these two verses to walk through just a couple of simple principles that help us know how we live out this core commitment. We believe in everyday evangelism.

[7:50] First thing I want you to notice there in verse number five is he says, walk in wisdom. And then catch this. This is really interesting. Walk in wisdom toward outsiders. Now, isn't that interesting that Paul's writing to the church, he's writing to believers, and he doesn't say, hey, it doesn't matter what those people outside the church say.

[8:08] Who cares? They're not on the know. They don't know what we know. They've not experienced what we've experienced. So we don't really care what their opinion is. No, he says the opposite. He says, walk in wisdom toward outsiders.

[8:20] Now, who are the outsiders? It's not just those who live in a different town or a different city. It's not just those who maybe have a different food preference or different music preference.

[8:31] No, literally what he's talking about, the outsiders in this text, is talking about those who are outside the faith. Your family members who are not yet believers. Your neighbors, your coworkers, the people you go to school with, the people that you see every time you go in and get a cup of coffee, the people who are yet lost and have not come to Christ.

[8:54] Those are the outsiders. And Paul literally says to the Colossians and to us, walk in wisdom toward outsiders. So here's the first simple principle. Others matter.

[9:05] See, church, if we ever begin to think that somehow it doesn't really matter about anybody else. Hey, I've got Jesus. My family's got Jesus. Some of my close friends have got Jesus. I'm good. Forget everybody else.

[9:16] Then we are no longer like Jesus. We're not reflecting his mission. Because Jesus said, I came to seek and save those who are lost.

[9:27] So when we think about this idea of others matter, we're reminded that Paul here is writing from prison to people that he's never met. He's a Jew.

[9:37] They're Gentiles. And yet their heart for them, his heart for them is huge because they know Christ. And he says, and I celebrate that. But he also reminds them, be conscious of those in your circle of influence, those in your city, those in your neighborhood, those in your family, those in your life who are not yet followers of Jesus.

[10:01] Others matter. I think about what God taught Peter in Acts chapter number 10 and verse number 28. It says, and he said to them, this is Peter speaking, you yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or visit anyone of another nation.

[10:15] But God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean. So see, Peter kind of was at first distant from the Gentiles and he realized by God revealing to him that others matter.

[10:30] Even those who are not like us. Even those who don't believe yet like us. Even those who may mock the cross. Even those who deny Jesus that other people matter. Why? Because our ultimate mission as individual followers of Christ, the ultimate mission of the church is not just to gather for ourselves, but it's to gather so that we can go and share the gospel of Jesus Christ to outsiders.

[10:53] To those who have yet to trust Christ as Lord and Savior. Throughout Paul's writings, we see that believers are pushed to be aware of the perception of those outside the church. In other words, how do people in Toccoa, how do people in your family, how do people in your school, how do people in your workplace, how do they view you as a follower of Christ?

[11:15] How do they view us as a church? Do they see us as selfish? Do they see us as only concerned about ourselves? Do they see us judgmental rather than desiring to see them come to Christ?

[11:27] Here's some things Paul said. He said in 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 12, your daily life may win the respect of outsiders. Your daily life. Isn't that interesting?

[11:38] 1 Timothy 3, verse 7, he's describing church leaders. He said they should have a good reputation with outsiders. See, here's the thing. When we understand that others matter, we live our life in such a way that we push people forward rather than trying to fight with them.

[11:57] In other words, we push them toward the cross rather than pull them away from the cross. We desire to see them know Christ and His forgiveness and His grace rather than rejoicing or kind of getting a smirk on our face about, man, God's judging them.

[12:11] That's what they deserve. We choose to live in the grace of God. We value others. As a matter of fact, Paul says to the Philippians in chapter number 2, verse 3, he says, do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better, more important than yourselves.

[12:31] So he says here in Colossians 4 as we're unpacking these words, he says, walk in wisdom toward outsiders. So in other words, others matter. And I'm so grateful that here at First Baptist we are demonstrating that corporately and individually with things like Hope for the Hungry, with the mission trips that we do, with the Vacation Bible school we do, with the way that we serve our community, whether it's first responders or school teachers, I'm so grateful that we're putting into action this principle that's easy to agree with, but sometimes it's hard to live.

[13:02] Others matter. But I want you to notice the second thing in verse 5, he goes on to say as we're walking in wisdom toward these outsiders, the last part of verse 5, he says, making the best use of time.

[13:15] Isn't that interesting? Making the best use of time. So in other words, Paul recognizes that all of us have limited time. We have limited moments with those who are outsiders, so when we have those moments with the outsiders, those who are not followers of Jesus, we ought to make the most of it.

[13:31] It shouldn't be that we just talk about the ball game or the weather, catch that, that we ought to talk about Christ. It's interesting because when Paul writes this, there's a very precise word that he uses when he says, making the best use of the time.

[13:47] There are two different Greek words that he could have used. He could have used the word chronos, which has to do with chronological time. That is, the seconds, the minutes, the hours. But that's not what he chooses to use.

[14:01] So it's not just that Paul's saying, make the most of those minutes, make the most of those hours, but literally he uses the word keros, which emphasizes defining moments.

[14:11] So literally what Paul says at the end of verse 5 in Colossians 4, making the best use of the time could be literally translated, buy up the defining moments that are set before you.

[14:25] And I started thinking, how do I know when there's a defining moment? How do I know what that looks like? Well, the way I know is that every moment that we talk about Jesus, every moment that we help a person understand that the gospel is not just something to agree with theologically or intellectually, but it's got to be personal to us that every time we do that, we are potentially stepping into a defining moment for that person.

[14:53] You see, if all we do is talk about church and talk about values and talk about community and talk about prayer and even talk about Scripture, which are all core values and all matter, but we never explain to them how they can know the Jesus of the Scripture.

[15:08] They can know the one who answers the prayer. They can know the source of our community. In fact, we've missed the moment. Not just for us, but we've potentially, possibly caused them to miss a defining moment.

[15:22] So the second principle, we've talked about others matter, but the second part of verse 5 is simply this, time flies. Those defining moments which are captured in seconds and minutes and hours and days and weeks and months and years, those defining moments are contained within those chronological moments, but it's so easy to miss it, isn't it?

[15:43] Time flies. See, I think about this, gospel priority really does cost us something that's precious, something we can never get back, because if you and I are going to be the witnesses we ought to be, sometimes we have to pause when we don't want to pause.

[15:59] We have to listen when we don't want to listen. Sometimes we have to step into the messy and step into the sin and step into the brokenness of someone that we would rather avoid.

[16:10] We all know we have limited time. Yes, the big picture, limited time in life, but even limited time in the moments of a day, right? Maybe we're on our way and we're running late and we go in to grab a cup of coffee and that same person who's always in line is right there and maybe we say, hey, have a good day and they say, I hope so.

[16:29] I hope I do. And just by their tone, we're like, oh, I probably should pause for a moment, but I'm already running late. I just wanted a cup of coffee. I didn't want to have a gospel conversation, but yet God's giving you a keros.

[16:42] He's giving you potentially a defining moment. The fact is when we look at what the scripture says, James reminds us in chapter 4, verse 14, he says, what is your life? It's like a mist that appears for a little time and then it vanishes.

[16:58] Time does fly. I was thinking about the last couple of weeks how God has given us his unlimited love, his unlimited mercy, his unlimited grace, but the one thing God does not give any of us is unlimited time.

[17:12] So how are we going to use our time? And again, not just a week, a year, or a couple of nights, or a few hours on Sunday, but how are we going to use every day the 24 hours in a day that God has given us?

[17:25] The seven days in a week that God has given us? The 365 days in a year that God has given us? How are we going to make the most of it? Not just for our good, but for his glory.

[17:37] You see, I think about the fact that evangelism and encouragement have a cost. That sometimes we have to give up something else so that we can give someone else what they most need, which is compassion, which is grace, which is concern, which is being seen and heard and valued not just by us, but by the God who created them and reminded that no one is an accident, that even the vilest offender, even the one whose life is just such a train wreck and so far from God, the fact is they are not a mistake even though they've made mistakes.

[18:13] Time flies. But we've got to look for those opportunities to share the gospel, to encourage others in their faith. Others matter if we're going to be an everyday witness.

[18:26] Time flies. We've got to understand that so we can make the most of moments every day as a witness. Every day evangelism knowing that God doesn't promise us tomorrow.

[18:36] And then notice back again Colossians chapter 4 we're walking through these verses. Notice verse number 6 the first part. He says, let your speech always be gracious. Hmm.

[18:48] I've got to be honest as a Christian, as a husband, as a dad, as a pastor, as a leader in the Georgia Baptist Mission Board. The fact is there are times when my speech is not as gracious as it ought to be.

[19:04] And sometimes the very moment I ought to be most gracious I'm least gracious. I mean you know what I'm talking about. When someone's, you're trying to be kind and you say, hey can I pray for you for a moment?

[19:15] And they say, no I'd rather you not. What? What do you mean you don't want me to pray for you? What's wrong? You don't believe man you're going to hell. You may not say it but you think it, right? And here's the thing, even if we don't say it quite as harshly, if we think it, I promise you the next thing that we say does not come across as gracious or helpful or compassionate or mercy filled.

[19:35] Again, Paul says, let your speech always be gracious. Now think about this. Finding fault is easy but extending grace to others in spite of their weakness is not.

[19:52] We can all find fault. I mean my goodness, we find it with one another as believers. We find it with our spouses. We find it with our parents. We find it with our children. We find it with our pastors.

[20:02] We find it with our small group leaders. We find it with ourselves, right? Listen, I can be my worst critic sometimes. But Paul knew that oftentimes the brunt of that negativity, the brunt of that lack of compassion is directed to those who don't know Christ.

[20:21] And can I tell you the enemy loves when we do that. The enemy loves when we make those who are not yet followers of Christ. We make non-believers. We make people who would say I am not a Christian. Maybe they say they're an atheist.

[20:32] Maybe they say they don't know what they believe. Maybe they have some other religion. The enemy loves it. Satan, the deceiver, loves it when we speak to them or we look at them with disgust and disdain.

[20:44] That's not what Jesus did. Whether it was the woman at the well or Matthew in the tax collector's booth, Jesus had compassion. We see over and over that he spoke to those no one else would speak to.

[20:58] He valued those no one else valued. He saw those that no one else saw. And friends, can you imagine what would happen here at First Baptist if we allowed that Christ-likeness to truly develop in us?

[21:12] That the least of these are seen and heard. That the movers and shakers and leaders who seem to have it all together, that they are seen and heard not for their accomplishments, not for their wealth or their power, not for their influence, but as a person who has needs.

[21:30] A person who is lonely. A person who sometimes is confused and desperate because it doesn't matter what's in your bank account. If your soul is empty, your life is empty.

[21:41] You see, I think about verse number six and I realize this principle is true. If we're going to live as everyday evangelists, if we're going to live out on mission everyday, there's got to be encouragement, not judgment.

[21:54] Verse six says, let your speech always be, and that word, gracious. The root word of gracious obviously is grace. That's that unmerited favor. And isn't it interesting that Paul says your speech should always be that way?

[22:11] Well, here's the fact. you and I can't always be gracious apart from the grace of God in our life working in us and through us. So when we talk about encouragement, not judgment, it's not just us.

[22:26] It's the power of the Spirit working in and through us. That we should always seek to give people encouragement even when they don't deserve it. That even when they deserve the judgment of God, just like I deserve and you deserve, that rather than saying, well, I'm going to tell them what they deserve.

[22:43] Let's tell them about the good news, the grace of God, right? Our pastor, Pastor Brett, often reminds us that there is bad news, that we all have sinned and we're separated from God.

[22:55] There's worse news. Worse news is there's nothing we can do about it. We can't be good enough. We can't be religious enough. We can't go to church enough. And then there's good news.

[23:07] The fact that Jesus Christ did for us what we could never do. That Jesus died on the cross for my sin, for your sin, for the sin of that neighbor, that co-worker, that person at the restaurant that you see, that person who's apart from Christ.

[23:21] And then there's the best news and that is that God's forgiveness and mercy is not just a generic general kind of thing, but it's personal and it can change our life. That whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

[23:34] See, there's got to be encouragement, not judgment. And then notice finally verse 6, the last part, we're talking about everyday evangelism, that we believe in that, that we believe that every one of us at First Baptist Church, Toccoa, Georgia, every one of us who've trusted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we ought to be on mission, not just during mission trips and not just seasonally, but every single day.

[23:57] That we ought to live in the reality that others matter, that time flies, and in making the most of that time, we give encouragement, not judgment. Then finally, I want you to notice verse 6, he says, seasoned with salt.

[24:10] That is, our speech should be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. Isn't that interesting? Seasoned with salt, so that you know how to answer each person.

[24:26] See, here's the thing. The more we talk, the more is known about us, even beyond what we're talking about. In other words, it's one thing, if we're talking about Georgia football, or we're talking about Clemson or Auburn or whatever team we're for, and we're having that conversation, and some of you go, man, they really love Georgia.

[24:42] They're really, well, that's obvious from our words, but sometimes, oftentimes, in the way that we talk about those things, there's more things discovered about us. For example, when we go to Arizona to visit Melissa's family, it doesn't take people long to realize we're not from around there.

[24:59] When they begin to hear our southern accents, especially when Emily was little, and she would come, and they thought it was the cutest thing to hear Emily talk and her southern drawl and that sweet little southern voice, they're like, oh, get her to say something else, say something else.

[25:12] Well, it didn't matter what she was talking about, whether she was talking about, you know, Tekoa or she's talking about the mountains or the lake. They knew that, they were hearing those words, but beyond the words was her accent.

[25:25] Beyond the words was who she was past what she was saying. And Paul understood that as he's talking to the Colossians, again, they're Gentiles, he's a Jew, he understood there were some things in the conversation that would be clear, but then there were things that were known more beyond just what we say, that how we say it.

[25:42] That's why he says in verse 6, the last part there, seasoned with salt. And you think about salt. Salt is purifying. Salt is sustaining.

[25:54] Salt is penetrating. So in other words, he says, don't think that what you're saying doesn't matter. We've all heard talk is cheap. Well, that's not true, is it? Talk's not cheap.

[26:06] Some of us, the greatest wounds of our heart and life came from something someone said about us or to us that was so piercing. I've always said whoever wrote that little rhyme, sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me, they are crazy and they are a pathological liar, right?

[26:23] You know what I'm saying? Because it's true. Man, you can say 15 nice things to someone and they forget those, but you say something cutting or biting about them or their spouse or their children and all of a sudden it's like you can't get that out of your mind.

[26:35] You can't unhear it. Paul knew that. So Paul knew that if we're cutting with our words in one moment and then in another moment we're trying to tell that person about the grace of God and the love of God and the mercy of God and the forgiveness of God, that person doesn't hear the grace because they've been scarred by the judgment.

[26:58] So last principle is simply this as we think about everyday evangelism, talk is not always cheap. It just isn't. Talk is not always cheap.

[27:09] Those flippant conversations, those coarse jokes, that negative gossip, they are literally a waste of words and not only is it a waste of words, but that kind of talk is dangerous because that talk can cause someone to miss the most important thing that we say about Jesus Christ.

[27:25] Christ. So talk is not always cheap. Ephesians 4 verse 29, Paul says this to the Ephesians, he says, don't use foul or abusive language.

[27:37] Let everything you say be good and helpful so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. That's something I've been working on for a long time.

[27:48] I want to speak truth, but I want to speak truth with grace. Where that really drove home to me was years ago. I was teaching through the book of John and I got hung up in chapter 1 because John chapter 1 talks about how the Word, with a capital W, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

[28:08] So the Word of God that was with God in the beginning became flesh and dwelt amongst us. We beheld the glory of God, John says. And then he says this, full of grace and truth.

[28:20] Isn't that interesting? Because I don't know about you, but oftentimes I kind of see and I don't mean to, but just practically I see grace and truth as almost fighting one another.

[28:31] Or I see grace and truth as grace is over here at one end and truth is over here. And you know, there's been times I've been guilty saying, hey, I'm just going to speak the truth. Well, but am I speaking it with grace?

[28:43] Or other times I'm over here on this side and I'm like, man, I just want to be kind and compassionate. I just want to be full of grace. But I'm not dealing with truth. Well, the rest of the book of John shows us what it looks like in the life of Jesus to see how grace and truth are not competitors, but they are co-laborers in the work of God in our lives.

[29:06] That the grace of God gives us what we do not deserve. The truth of God shows us what we do deserve and in understanding what we ought to have, the wrath of God, the judgment of God, and instead we have the grace of God, the grace becomes even more powerful but also we don't lose sight of who God is, that He is holy and He is righteous and He is just.

[29:28] See, here's the thing. Paul understood that for many of those outsiders that he says we're to be wise toward, it would do us well to realize that for many of them we're the only Jesus they'll ever see.

[29:43] So when we claim to have the Spirit of God living with us, we claim to be a follower of Jesus, we claim to be a Christian, we claim to be in the light, we claim to know the grace of God and yet none of that's reflected in our life.

[29:54] There's no light, there's no hope, there's no grace, there's no mercy. It's confusing and conflicting to those outsiders. You see, the goal is simply this.

[30:07] The goal is that for those outsiders who are outside the faith of Christ, who are outside the body of Christ called the church, the goal is for the outsider to become an insider through trusting Christ as Lord and Savior.

[30:21] See, again, I think the enemy has taken this idea of evangelism and we think we've got to be able to articulate all kinds of things and answer all kinds of questions. Well, what if they ask me about dinosaurs? What if they ask me about the different theories about the flood?

[30:35] What if this? What if that? Well, that may happen, but here's what I've learned. If we would just graciously and kindly guide the conversation back to the gospel, oftentimes the very person who may seem to be far from trusting Christ, if we stay on the message that we've been given to be reconciled to God, there's no way to be made right with God except through Christ, and we choose to do that consistently day in and day out, that our life and our lips, that our words and our deeds, that they line up together, that we will see the impact that Paul desires the Colossians to have, and he desires us to have.

[31:17] So as we think about this core commitment, we believe in the authority of Scripture. We believe in the power of prayer. We believe in the importance of community, but listen, we also believe in everyday evangelism that really is the responsibility of every believer.

[31:37] So as we think about what does it look like in your life to live out everyday evangelism? Just two simple thoughts, two questions.

[31:49] The first one is this, who is an outsider in your life? Who is someone who doesn't know Christ as Lord and Savior? It might be your spouse. It might be a sibling. It might be a cousin.

[32:00] It might be some other family member. It might be a neighbor. It might be a co-worker. It might be your best friend. Who in your life is an outsider with whom you can become more intentional about taking those chronological moments, those minutes, those days, those hours that you're hanging out and transforming those into keros, defining moments because they matter.

[32:28] You see, it really comes back to that, doesn't it? Do we really care about that person enough to tell them the truth of the gospel? So who in your life is an outsider who doesn't know Christ as Lord and Savior?

[32:39] Someone that you can be more intentional about gospel conversations. And listen, understand, our responsibility is simply to sow the seed of the gospel. The Lord is the Lord of the harvest. He's the one that changes lives, but He uses our little sprinkling of seeds, our little moments that we buy up those opportunities to talk about who Christ is and what He's done in our life.

[33:02] That's the first question. Who's an outsider that you can become more intentional about with gospel conversations, desiring to see them to go from being outside the faith to being inside the faith of trusting Christ as Lord and Savior?

[33:15] The second question is this, what everyday moments do you have? In other words, what's in the rhythm of your life, those everyday moments that you can see transformed into missional opportunities?

[33:28] I mean, when we go on a mission trip, we work hard. Not only do we want to make sure we know what clothes we need to bring and what the schedule is, but most of us, we spend time saying, Lord, help me be prepared. I know I've got to be flexible. Some things aren't going to go the way I think they're going to go.

[33:41] Lord, I want to be aware of people around me. Whether I'm doing a construction project, there's still lost people there. Or whether I'm going out and telling people about Jesus on purpose. Lord, help me be intentional. Well, we ought to have that same kind of focus, that same kind of intentionality in our everyday life.

[33:57] Those everyday moments, those patterns, those routines, those people in those places, that we go to day after day, week after week. How can we be more intentional? How can you be more intentional to transform those everyday moments into missional gospel opportunities?

[34:15] Now, it could be that as you listen to this message, you realize that you're one of those outsiders. Maybe you've been coming to church, maybe you've been coming with family members or friends, but the fact is when you think about Jesus Christ, He's kind of someone historically, He's someone important, He's someone that you believe in, just like you believe Abraham Lincoln existed or JFK existed, but you don't know Christ.

[34:42] Well, can I tell you that the Bible says not only does He want you to know about Him, but He wants you to know Him. That whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

[34:53] You say, well, what does that mean? It means that you recognize that Jesus did for you, that He did for us what we could never do for ourself. That He died on the cross for our sin.

[35:04] What is sin? It means missing the mark, literally. We miss the mark of God's standard of holiness. None of us are holy. Even the most righteous person who ever lived needed the grace of God. The Bible says the result of that, what we've earned, the wages of sin, what we deserve for that is death, separation from God.

[35:21] But the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. So it might be that right now you just want to in your heart say, Lord Jesus, I believe you died on the cross. I believe you died there for me.

[35:32] I believe you were buried and you rose again and right now I want to go from the outside looking in. I want you to be Lord of my life. I want my life to be changed by your life.

[35:43] I want your resurrection power to live in me. I want hope. I want forgiveness. I want purpose, Lord. I trust you as my Savior and my Lord. See, the Bible says it's very simple to trust Christ.

[35:57] as your Savior just by praying a simple prayer in your heart like that. But remember, it's not the words. It's not some incantation. It's not some abracadabra words. It's a full stop. It's a full surrender of all that you are to Him.

[36:09] And listen, if you've trusted Christ, do us a favor. Let us know that. We want to come alongside you and help you know that that's not the end of what God has for you. That's the beginning. It may be that you're listening to this message and the Lord's just putting on your heart that you need to write some names down.

[36:23] There are some people in your circle of influence. There are some outsiders that you're with on a frequent basis that you need to begin to not only pray for by name, but look for those moments because time flies.

[36:35] Look for those moments where you can give encouragement, not judgment. Look for those opportunities to make your talk matter, to let your words have weight about the truth of Christ. Maybe you just want to write their names down and maybe put it on a sticky note and put it by your mirror or maybe put a note in your phone.

[36:49] Maybe even send yourself an alert where every day or two those names come and you're just reminded to pray for them and not just pray, but then look for those moments. Look for how God wants to transform the chronological moments, the chronos moments into keros defining moments.

[37:03] He wants you to step in and be part of that. It might be that you know Christ is Lord and Savior and the fact is you've been visiting First Baptist for weeks or months and you need to join this church and so the next time we gather you need to come to Pastor Bread or even before them reach out to the church office or send an email, make a phone call or even use Facebook to send a private message and say, hey, you know what?

[37:22] I want to talk more about what it means to be part of what God is doing here at First Baptist because we believe. We believe in the authority of Scripture. We believe in the power of prayer.

[37:33] We believe in the importance of community and here at First Baptist of Koeh, we believe in everyday evangelism. Again, know that we're praying for you. I look forward to worship with you again soon.

[37:45] Pray for our pastor as he makes his way back home from a mission trip and Clay and Evan and Josh and Savannah, our staff as they continue to lead us well, our deacons, our small group leaders.

[37:56] What a blessing it is to be part of what God is doing right here at First Baptist Koeh. Let me pray for you and you stay warm, all right? Lord, we come to you. We thank you for these few moments just to gather virtually.

[38:08] How incredible it is that we can have your word taught and we can experience it together in this moment. And Lord, it's not the power of social media. It's not the power of technology.

[38:19] It's the power of your spirit and your word that makes this moment significant. And I pray, Lord, beginning with me. Lord, you have reminded me repeatedly in the last couple of weeks that I need to be more intentional as an everyday evangelist.

[38:34] Lord, I need to look for those opportunities to see that regular moment, that just pattern, that grabbing a cup of coffee, that getting a tank of gas, that eating lunch at that same place, and transform it into a defining moment.

[38:49] Lord, we thank you for our pastor, Brett. We thank you for his love for you. Thank you for how he is diligent to lead us, to model for us what it looks like to be committed to you. Lord, again, I pray for safety.

[39:00] I pray for physical warmth and spiritual warmth. Pray that we would be aware of those around us, even maybe right now, who maybe need a word of encouragement, whether it's walking across the ice and snow, carefully to say to a neighbor, hey, are you okay?

[39:15] Or whether it's, if our phones are working, being able to send a text just to say, I love you, I'm praying for you, let me know if I can help you. Lord, thank you that even in disruptions, you have a purpose.

[39:25] And ultimately, the purpose is to see those who are lost, found. Those who are hopeless, to know hope. Those who are in darkness, to know light. Those, Lord, who are without you, who are outside, Lord, to come inside the faith family.

[39:43] We thank you for your grace and love. Thank you for your word. We pray this, Jesus, for your glory. Amen. Amen.