All right, I'm just going to make sure I'm not. Sir, we're getting a little bit started, a little bit late. Apologies for that technical difficulty.
Can you hear me? No? Can everyone hear me? Okay. Good? All right. Can we just go ahead and pray?
Dear Heavenly Father, we're so grateful that we can come before you together this morning as a church.
To hear, listen to your word, and just really think about how we can proceed in this assignment which you've given to us.
And we ask, Lord, that you humble us this morning, that you instruct us, that you deliver us from every pride.
And Lord, give us clarity on how we can proceed in your work. We pray all this, Lord, in Christ's name. Amen.
Amen. Amen. Sweet. So, is it? Yeah, I did. I did. Okay.
So, I was told to come talk about personal evangelism here and now.
And when I was told, I was just wondering, I was like, oh my goodness, of all the unqualified people, they would think about me.
So, it's indeed a privilege to be before you here this morning just to talk about this topic of evangelism and what it means for us as a church.
So, I just want to, this is kind of like my outline.
What is evangelism? Why bother about it? Why should we care?
Just some biblical principles to think about as we move forward.
Some practical ways to approach personal evangelism.
Personal evangelism, addressing the barriers to personal evangelism.
I'm going to just spend some time praying, if that's okay.
So, right away, let's just go ahead and define what evangelism really is.
I feel like we need to, first of all, know what we're talking about before we can move forward.
I'm not going to pretend that I know Greek. I do not know Greek.
So, I looked up this Greek word.
Apparently, it's from the Greek word whatever that is.
I don't know what that is.
But, that Greek word, which is the root of evangelism, means gospel or good news.
And, in this context, personal evangelism means personally sharing with your friends or your neighbors the good news of Christ.
So, I'm just going to just, we're just going to talk about, well, what does that look like?
Why should we do that?
Personally engaging our friends and neighbors in this gospel issue.
So, why bother?
And, I came up with this reason.
No one can be neutral towards God.
You're either for Him or against Him.
Not us here as a church, but also everyone else in the world.
Our friends at work, at school.
You're either for Him or opposed to Him.
I'm going to look at John 3, 17 and 18.
And, to save us time, I just kind of like put all the verses here so we can just read together.
God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.
Whoever believes in Him is not condemned.
But, whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
So, we see two fates, two possibilities, not three.
We see belief in Christ or we see the people who stand condemned.
So, either you believe and if you don't, you stand condemned.
There's no one who's neutral.
And, it's a tendency for me personally sometimes to think about, maybe my friends, you know, they're not Christians, but they're really good people.
And, they'll be okay.
But, this passage tells us otherwise.
That, if they're not in Christ, they will not be okay.
They stand condemned.
And, that's who we were before we came to know Jesus.
We stood condemned.
So, as much as we want to be loving and thinking about our friends as people who are not necessarily Christians, but good, that's not the case.
Without Christ, they stand condemned.
And, that's why it is a very important topic.
It's a very important conversation to be had with them.
Because, outside of Christ, again, they stand condemned.
That's why we care.
But, secondly, in addition to not being neutral, we have been commanded by our Lord to go about this.
I like this passage because, obviously, it's one that everyone knows about, you know, evangelism.
But, it highlights a couple of things that I want to draw our attention to.
I'm going to read it.
Matthew 28, 16 to 20.
Now, the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.
And, when they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted.
And, Jesus came and said to them,
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And, behold, I am with you always to the end of the age.
Something that really draws my attention is verse 17, actually.
It says,
When they saw him, this is just after, you know, Christ had been crucified,
he resurrected and he appeared to them.
And, some believed and so some worshipped.
But, some others doubted him.
But, both to those who believed and worshipped and to those who doubted,
he gave them this command.
He didn't call the ones who worshipped aside.
He said,
You guys are strong believers.
Go tell people about Jesus.
Those who doubted, those who worshipped,
all together, he sent them.
And, there's a tendency for us to think,
I'm not as solid.
You know, I feel like I need to get more grounded as a believer
before I can go tell people.
I need to know things.
But, to those who worshipped and to those who doubted,
he sent them all together.
And, he gave them this command to go and make disciples.
It was not, what we see here was not a suggestion.
What we see here was not based on any conditions.
The only condition, he told them, he was like,
You know what?
I'm with you.
Go do this.
I'm in charge of everything.
I'm in charge of all of the world.
I'm in charge of all of creation.
Because I am in charge.
Go.
In confidence.
So, again, we see a clear command.
Not a suggestion.
Not an option.
A clear command to everyone who calls him or herself a believer.
To those who are solid.
To those who are doubting.
To those who are shaky.
To those who are not even really, really sure.
He sent all of them together to go.
And, because of this command he gave to every believer.
What we find is that this command is ingrained into our purpose here on earth.
And, permit me to say that if we're not obeying or walking along in accordance with this command.
We're not only in disobedience.
But, we're probably risking purposelessness on earth.
I want to draw attention to 2 Corinthians 5, 14-15 and also to verse 20.
For the love of Christ controls us because we have concluded this.
That one has died for all.
And that's Jesus.
Therefore, all have died.
And he died for all.
That those who live might no longer live for themselves.
But for who for their sake died and was raised.
He died so that while we live, we wouldn't have to live for ourselves.
So, by virtue of his death, our life on earth now has a new purpose.
Right?
And it's now for the sake of the person who died.
So, what is this purpose that is for the sake of the person who died?
That we may be, in verse 20, ambassadors.
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ.
God making his appeal through us.
And this is Paul saying, we implore you on behalf of Christ.
Be reconciled to God so you can really live out this command of being an ambassador.
And this, brethren, is the purpose of the Christian life.
This is why after we came to Christ, God didn't call us right back to himself right away.
He left us on earth so that we can live this out.
He left us on earth so that this work of redemption can continue.
He has done everything that needs to be done.
He died on the cross.
And that is our seal.
Right?
That is what we look at.
And we're convinced that God is actively redeeming the world.
But how does he actually make this happen?
He works through us in making this happen.
And this is the purpose of Christian living.
Living for his glory.
Living to be an ambassador.
Living to exhibit his majesty in all of creation.
And again, I'm going to repeat.
It sounds a little bit too direct.
But if we're not working with this in mind,
we are risking purposelessness on earth.
And it might be a wasted life.
That's why we bother about this issue of evangelism.
Now I want to bring our attention to some biblical principles.
Just to guide our thinking.
And the first one is that unbelief is much deeper than it seems.
There's a tendency for us to see,
oh, they don't believe in Jesus.
Well, I can just talk to them and maybe they would.
But I want to draw our attention to the gravity of unbelief.
How deep it is.
And it's this parable that actually,
to me personally,
it helps me see this very clearly.
And I'm hoping it will help you guys see it as well.
Before I just get to verse 22,
I'm just going to give a little summary of the parable
before we get to that passage.
So there's this rich man who is very rich.
And Lazarus, who is very, very, very poor.
And the Bible tells us that every day Lazarus would be at his gates,
you know, eating the crumbs
and the dogs licking his wounds and his sores.
So these are two different people,
the rich man and Lazarus at his gate.
And eventually they both die.
So the poor man died
and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side.
The rich man also died and was buried.
And in Hades.
Being in torment,
he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off
and Lazarus at his side.
And the rich man called out,
Father Abraham, have mercy on me
and send Lazarus to dip
the end of his finger in water
and comb my tongue.
For I'm in anguish
and in this flame.
But Abraham said,
Child, remember that in your lifetime
you received good things.
Your good things.
And Lazarus in like manner
received bad things.
But now he is comforted here
and you are in anguish.
And besides all this,
between us and you,
a great chasm has been fixed
in order that those
who would pass from here to you
may not be able
and none may cross from here to us.
And he said,
Then I beg you, Father,
to send him to my father's house.
This is the rich man saying,
Abraham, please send Lazarus
to my father's house.
For I have five brothers
so that he may want them
lest they also come
into this place of torment.
But Abraham said,
They have Moses and the prophets.
Let them hear him.
And he said,
No, Father Abraham,
but if someone goes to them
from the dead,
they will repent.
Perhaps if they see someone
who rose from the dead,
they might be convinced
and they will repent.
And Abraham said to him,
If they did not hear Moses
and the prophets,
neither would they be convinced
if someone should rise from the dead.
I don't know if you saw
what I saw in this passage
about unbelief.
Abraham,
the rich man is here saying,
you know,
maybe if you just send someone
from the dead,
give them all the evidence
they need on earth,
maybe, perhaps,
they will repent.
And Abraham tells him,
No, not really.
They have the prophets.
They have Moses.
They have all they need.
They don't repent
in the face of all of that evidence.
They probably won't repent
if they see a dead man
rise from the grave.
And what does that tell us?
It tells us that
it's not a matter of evidence.
I don't know about your circles,
but in my circles,
I'm a scientist,
and in my circles,
it's all about the evidence.
Well, what's the evidence?
And there's a tendency for me
to feel like I have to produce
all this evidence.
And even when I can produce
enough evidence,
boom,
they will come to know Jesus.
And here Abraham says,
No, really.
Even if someone
comes from the dead,
they probably will not believe.
What does that tell us
about unbelief?
That is deeper
than evidence.
It's not about your ability
to come up with
a very, very convincing claim.
If people are not believing,
it's because of something deeper.
And this passage draws us to
what that thing is.
2 Corinthians 4 verse 4.
I'm just walking us through passages
so we can see
what the Bible says
about this issue.
2 Corinthians 4 verse,
For the God of this world
has blinded their eyes.
In their case,
the God of this world
has blinded the minds
of the unbelievers
to keep them from seeing
the light of the gospel
of the glory of Christ.
So we see why
just coming up with evidence
is not enough.
We'll not cut it.
Here's why the God of this world,
the enemy,
has blinded their eyes.
It's a spiritual issue.
It is more spiritual
than we think it is
a lot of times.
It is much deeper than that.
So what does this mean for us?
We dare not proceed
trusting in our own strength
because it's so deep.
If a man is steeped in unbelief,
it is so deep
that we can't afford
to move towards that
in
our own strength.
It is,
it's in fact,
impossible.
Right?
So we dare not trust
in our own strength
because unbelief is so deep.
We can't go about this
just saying,
you know what,
I'm just going to just say things.
So that's the one,
that's another principle.
The third principle
I want to bring to our attention
is
when a person comes
to believe in Jesus,
it is a miracle.
Because it's so deep,
the spiritual blindness
is not something physical.
when that veil is in fact
taken off
of the eyes of people,
we rejoice.
Right?
That's why the angels rejoice
because it's a big deal
that that veil
will be taken off
and people will believe.
So what?
It's a miracle.
Now the fourth principle
is the fact that
God doesn't need us
to do this.
Right?
He has chosen,
but He has chosen to use us.
Sorry about that typo.
He has chosen to use us.
And this in fact
is a gift of God's grace.
And I want to draw attention
to Saul's conversion
just to demonstrate this fact.
Again, Saul persecuted
a lot of Christians
and eventually on his way
to Damascus
to persecute more Christians,
what happened?
In Acts 9,
a very bright light
from heaven
struck him
and he went blind.
And God literally
preached to Saul.
What does this tell us?
He doesn't need us.
He could do
what He wants to do
with or without us.
So we need not feel
like this thing
is dependent on us.
He will save people
if we choose to disobey.
He can do that
and He did that in Acts 9.
He saved Saul.
And we see what Saul
did for the kingdom.
He did not need
any man.
Now some men
were used eventually
but that initial
conviction
was God literally
meeting Saul
on his way to Damascus.
So it's
unbelief is deeper
than it seems.
We dare not proceed
trusting our own strength
because it's deep.
And when a person
believes in Jesus
we rejoice
because it's a miracle.
And God doesn't need us
but He has chosen
to use us
and it's
ridiculous
I think
that He would choose
to use me and you
such weak
and broken people
to undertake
such
a profoundly
spiritual task.
it is a gift
of grace
and we don't take it
for granted
we pursue it.
Now practical ways
to approach
personal evangelism.
It's easy to think about
well okay
now
I know
it's important
why bother
while it's important
we need to like
do this.
What are some ways
to think about this?
How can we do it?
And I want to draw
attention to just
one
task
we have
because there's so many
things to think about
and it's easy to get
overwhelmed
well like
there's just a lot of pieces
but only one thing
is required of us
in this issue
of personal evangelism
and it's that we share
and what does that mean?
We open our mouths
and talk
that is the only thing
required of us
now what happens
after then
might not necessarily
be
our duties
in terms of like
how
the word we share
convicts them
into righteousness
or to truth
our one job
is to share
and I think about
that passage in scripture
where it talks about
the farmer
the farmer goes out
in the morning
plants his seeds
and he goes to bed
right?
He's not worried about
we the scientists
we think about
well what happens
when that seed
is in the soil
and like
the different things
that need to come together
for that seed
to germinate
and like be a fruit
but the farmer
is not
he's probably not educated
he's like
I'm just going to
plant that thing
and go to bed
and that's the attitude
we're called
to have
in this issue
of evangelism
we just talk
and we go to bed
literally
we talk
and we trust God
to use our speech
right?
God takes a seed
and the next day
some sort of fruit
comes out
the farmer has
no idea
how that happens
and we
have no idea
how that is going to happen
well he's got
the farmer
has to wake up though
and plant that seed
and that's what
we're called to do
that is the one job
we have to share
now
there's just some points
I just try to note
and these are things
that have helped
me even thinking about
this thing
this idea of
occupying all streets
I know this is like
an Occupy Wall Street
but that's like
not as
fancy as this
Occupy Wall Street
well what does that mean?
each of us here
we're all on
different streets
some are students
some just have
regular jobs
some are
some are stay at home moms
some are professors
we're all on
different streets
that God has like
put us
right now
and it's important
that we think about
well what does that
what does evangelism
mean for me
on my street
right now?
I'm in medical school
right now
what does that look like
for me
in medical school
interacting with my friends
my classmates
my professors
what does that look like
for me?
and we have to take
that's such an important step
that we take
a step back
and figure out
well what does that
mean for me?
well I'm not a pastor
yes
and that is good
because God's
glory
has to reach
it has to seep
into every facet
of life
right?
God's glory
has to literally
seep into
every facet of life
and that's why
we can't all be pastors
right?
some people
in the engineering field
have to hear the gospel
some people
I've heard one pastor
actually say
we are all pastors
we all are
we all minister
exactly
but when I say pastor
I don't mean like
in the sense of having
a church
that we pastor
I'm sorry about that
I needed to clarify
yeah we're all pastors
we're all missionaries
right?
in a sense
and that is our
primary calling
and what does
being a missionary
as an engineer
look like?
what does being a missionary
as a medical doctor
look like?
and we all have to
work that out
secondly
we need to establish
relationships with people
and this is such
an important piece
that I feel like
it's often forgotten
and it's just like
very very cliche
I hate saying this thing
but I might have to say it
because I feel like
it passes a very
important message
the fact that people
don't know how much
you know
people don't care
how much you know
until they know
how much you care
it's not biblical
but it's kind of true
bees and lived experience
they don't want to
really know how much
they don't care
how much you know
until they know
that you actually care
and that's why
this relationship aspect
is very important
and that's why
before even proclaiming
this gospel to them
we have to demonstrate
that we actually love them
so we don't just
have this assignment
and we just go about
saying this thing
but the gospel
is lived out
right
it's lived out
and it's proclaimed
so if you're proclaiming it
and not living it out
we have to think about that
right
so like
how can we
establish relationships
with people
right
and engage them
in this conversation
right
so relationships
and the good news
is that
we all have people
we're connected with
in one way or the other
right
there's nobody
who's hopefully
not connected to anybody
right
we all have relationships
and
and that's what's cool
about personal evangelism
and that's why
I'm really glad
that in this series
of global missions
we're starting with this
because
if you go
to a different country
you might have to learn
the language
right
you have to like
establish new
and fresh relationships
but right now
you all have people
who you work with
you have neighbors
who you talk with
you have co-workers
right
and these are all
existing relationships
so now we think about
how can we
take advantage
of this
relationships
that are already existing
these people who already know
that we care about them
how can we go even deeper
in these relationships
so we establish relationships
and thirdly
this idea of active engagement
and I've heard a lot of people
say well
you know
I won't really bring it up
until like it comes up
it's going to come up naturally
the conversation is going to come up
and often times
it won't
you know why
it's an awkward conversation
to have
so no one is going to
bring it up
and say well
you tell me what you think
I want to know
sometimes now
sometimes
people bring it up
and they ask you just
randomly
like
Kelechi
like tell me about the gospel
that has happened like
once
or twice
in my life
and I'm 24
which is not that old
but
yes
that could happen
and God is good
and God is gracious
and God might be working
behind the scenes
and cause them
to ask you that question
but sometimes
a lot of times
most times
they won't
right
so what do we do
we bring it up
right
we
we become active about it
we
we push it
that sounds bad
because
I know Americans
don't like to push
like we just like
you know just do your thing
I'm doing my thing
and just we'll be cool
but no no no
because there's so much
at stake
we
move
we
initiate
so active
engagement
I like to think about it
one conversation at a time
I grew up in Nigeria
and
what is big in Nigeria
is soccer
football
we call it football
you guys call something else football
I don't know what that is
but we call soccer football
and when we play football
in Nigeria
you have the goalie
you have the defenders
you have the midfielders
you have the strikers
right
the job
is for
the defenders
to take that ball
to the net
now that ball
has to go
through the defenders
to the midfielders
to the strikers
and the strikers strike
that's why they call it strikers
they strike into the net
of the other team
but why the defender's role
is so important
is that they initiate
that pass
right
that first pass
they pass it
and pass
by pass
pass
by pass
somehow
after many minutes
sometimes
after 90 minutes
right
hopefully
the ball gets there
but sometimes
it might take 90 minutes
sometimes it might take 5 minutes
sometimes it takes 2 minutes
sometimes seconds
but often times
it takes longer
and that's the same thing
we're dealing with here
one conversation
at a time
one conversation
at a time
and we pass it on
right
I've had friends
in school
that I've been chatting with
so engaging them
on this topic
and they're like
yeah
3 years ago
in college
my roommate
brought that up
and we had a conversation
about it
and I'm like
thank God
for that roommate
he's passed the ball
to me
now I have to be faithful
I have to bring it up
thank God
I brought it up
and who knows
5 years from now
when he becomes a resident
hopefully another resident
will be faithful
and bring it up
and eventually
hopefully
maybe 10 years
that ball
will get to the net
so what do we do
we advance
one conversation
at a time
what would it look like
if every one of us here
is faithful to that
what would it look like
if the
however many Christians
1 billion
I don't know
what would it look like
if that
the millions of Christians
who are on the earth
are faithful to that
are saying
you know what
I'm going to be faithful
to this
and bring it up
wherever I go
and every Christian
all around the world
is passing the ball
right
and your co-worker
who starts work tomorrow
with you
you bring it up
and hopefully
his previous co-worker
brought it up
and as he moves through life
different believers
are bringing it up to him
how amazing would that be
one conversation
at a time
and I brought this up
because
sometimes it takes years
sometimes
you don't even see the fruit
sometimes the defenders
are out here being distracted
and the strikers
go and scar
and they're like
oh wow
that's true
that was the pass I made
you know
sometimes it might not happen
in our lifetime
and that's the patience
required
in personal evangelism
so you might have to
bring it up in conversations
and one approach
I found helpful
is asking questions
personally
because you might
wonder
well how do I bring it up
what do I even start
I don't even know
what
what can I even say
and I like asking questions
sometimes out of the blue
like
hey man
what
you know
how did you
I mean
what did you grow up
did you like
grow up going to church
or not really
and you probably say
not really
like oh
why was that
and you probably
give some response
and you ask
why
and you keep asking why
and you keep talking
I mean it sounds simplified
but it works
because when you ask why
there's a genuine interest
in like
finding out why
and when you ask these questions
you listen
again this is not
the bible right
this is just
a personal approach
that I've used
and obviously
it could work in different ways
but this is one way
that has really helped me
in my journey
just asking all these questions
and listening to learn
listening in a way
just starting to see
like you care about
what your life look like
and then what I found
is that
after talking for a while
people get tired
of talking about themselves
a little bit
sometimes
and
they want to hear
you talk about yourself
and so they ask you
well what about you
and then you like
take your time
and you smile
are you sure you want to know
and then you share
well that's
a little bit simplified
but that just gives an idea
of how
just one approach
asking a lot of questions
with a genuine interest
to know and learn
about these people
and then over time
who knows
perhaps
because you've asked them
so many questions
and they've talked about themselves
perhaps they would listen
to you talk about yourself
they'll listen to you
talk about what gives you
hope and fulfillment
and these questions
could come in different shapes
and sizes and forms
but thinking actively
I challenge you
as you move to work tomorrow
just thinking
how can I
just bring this up
using work
how can I like
bring this up
in what way
everyday thinking about that
like
how can I do this
and also praying about it
like God
can you just open
let me see
let me see a way
in which I can bring this
to the table
this conversation
and I found that God
is faithful
in answering that prayer
especially
about creating room
for us to see
how we can engage people
or if you have a home
you can invite people over
maybe step out
of your comfort zone
maybe you're the kind of person
who likes to have people
in your space
maybe
maybe you could try that
have people over
at your home
cook something for them
and just talk to them
and get to know them
now addressing some barriers
to personal evangelism
I have to move
because we have like
five minutes to go
but this is like the end
now there are a couple of
things that we think about
that kind of hinder us
like I don't want to be
that person
I don't want to be
I don't want to be that weird
like that's just weird man
and people start avoiding you
and stuff like that
and I'm sorry
you might have to be
that weird person
you probably will be
that weird person
and that's fine
you know
I remember reading
when I became a believer
and it was like
the scariest article I read
and you know
he was like
the moment you become
a Christian
you give up your rights
to be cool
that was like
the first sentence
in that like
in that article
I was like
oh my god
what did I just get into
and that is just truth
because if we're
really trying
not to be weird
I'm sorry
we'll miss the point
and we'll just
waste our lives
and
we are following
a lot of people
who are weird
Jesus was strange
and he said some things
and like
hundreds of people
just walked away
like this dude
is crazy
eat my flesh
and drink my blood
and they walked away
like this dude
is weird
and
that is
the person
we're following
right
it is going to be weird
what's one second
I'm just going to round up
and then we'll go
have some questions
you can see
I'm still a struggling Christian
and I brought up
that passage right
earlier
about the people
who doubted
who were struggling
and he still
sends them
so it doesn't matter
you're struggling
you're saying
yeah we're all struggling
in fact if you think
you're not struggling
then
I don't know
we're all struggling
and that's just truth
I don't know
what to say
and this is like
a very important one
I give some suggestions
right
asking questions
like
what do you think
you know
hey what do you think
about that
hey what gives you hope
in life
hey what's
what gives you purpose
and as the answer
you just go deeper
press into that
well why
and ask many more
why questions
many more wondering questions
like you know
I'm just wondering
I see you do this
why do you do that
why are you so
scared
why are you so anxious
just asking why
and that really
unpacks what people think
and sometimes
we're just afraid
of having these conversations
because we don't know
what they're going to say
but people just
answer
and you keep asking
and over time
hopefully
by them answering
they've told you
a lot about themselves
they've let you
into your lives
and you can let them
into yours as well
now I want to bring
still on this conversation
I don't know what to say
I want us to consider
Apostle Paul
now Apostle Paul
was something similar
to an attorney in his day
very eloquent
but
he brings this up
now the Corinthians
from what I read
did a little bit of research
on these people
people would travel
to Corinth
these professional orators
they would go
and have all these speeches
and people would pay
to go listen
to these orators
so the Corinthians
were I guess
known to love this thing
this eloquence
and all that
but here's what Paul says
Paul says
and I
when I came to you brothers
I did not come
proclaiming to you
the testimony of God
with lofty speech
or wisdom
for I decided to know
nothing among you
except Jesus Christ
and him crucified
and I was with you
in weakness
and in fear
and much trembling
this is Paul
saying this
right
and my speech
and my message
were not implausible
words of wisdom
but in demonstration
of the spirit
and of power
so that your faith
might not rest
in the wisdom of man
but in the power of God
and Paul is here saying
guys
when I came
I didn't have all the words
I wish I did
but I intentionally
I just
I didn't have it
but I proclaimed
one thing to you
Jesus
and him
crucified
and I didn't want to
talk about anything
I didn't want to talk about
much else
and here's why
so that when you
eventually believe
it won't be that
Paul's eloquence
brought you to faith
right
so that your faith
will be
purely
on Jesus
and that's why
worrying so much
about well
how can I put this
in this eloquent way
doesn't really help
what do we do
we just proclaim
Jesus
it's a simple message
we're all broken
we're all messed up
God really loves us
and he wants to fix this
and how does he fix this
he changes us
one by one
that is the gospel
he died
so that the consequences
of our foolishness
will come upon us
and he took that
upon himself
so that we
will live for him
that's the gospel
and Paul said
when I came to you
I didn't have to
I didn't really need
to come up with
all this
you know
super logical
and eloquent things
I just
proclaimed Jesus
and him crucified
and that's what
he calls us to do today
again
I don't know what to say
consider what Paul said
Jesus and him crucified
start there
and over time
we'll work with you
I don't want to be rejected
again
the person we're following
was rejected
in fact
killed
I don't think we're at that point
where we're getting killed
yet
but this is who we're following
because he was rejected
there's a decent chance
we will be
and we need to embrace that
and move forward
and find hope
and faith
and the fact that he
who matters most
has accepted us
right
so we cling
and that's why it's important
to cling to him
so tightly
so that when we're rejected
we have something
to latch into
the love of Christ
so action steps
what do we do
we pray
we think about people
in our lives
we pray for them
we spend time
praying for them
I encourage you
before you even have
the conversation
pray for them
take two minutes
take one minute
pray for them
pray that their hearts
will be open to it
pray that their hearts
will be broken
pray
and then
you know what
just go
literally
just go
and I want to end
with this story
it's my senior year
in college
and
I
it was spring
I was going to graduate
in May
May 2015
so it was spring
this was January 2015
it was a Friday
I got a text
from my friend
I didn't see the text
but the text came in
on Friday night
it was like
yo Kelechi
let's hang out
tomorrow
please tell me
you're on campus
let's hang out tomorrow
that's the way
your text was
literally
please tell me
you're on campus
let's hang out tomorrow
I didn't see the text
Friday
but I saw it
Saturday morning
I saw it
I'm like
oh yeah sure
let's hang out
later tonight
and
so I came back
at like 3pm that day
and I got an email
you know
from the
school's president
you know
and you know
usually if someone
passes away
we get an email
you know
oh
you know
we regret to announce
the death of this person
and
and so that name
was my friend's name
the person
whom I just texted
that morning
right
so apparently
he was killed
by a car
at 4.30am
Saturday morning
he sent a message
at 8pm
he was killed
4.30am
and I sent a message
at 9am
and I responded
not knowing
what had happened
and he was gone
but
the hope I had
was that
he came to know
the Lord
you know
the summer before
however
I was just thinking
this guy's here today
and he texts me
and he dies
like
5 hours
however many hours later
and I'm thinking about
wow
we don't have as much time
as we think we do
and I began to think about
a lot of my friends
in college
whom I'd never
ever engaged with
and I was wondering
like can I really
can I really say
I love these people
and the one thing
I claim to believe
they need
I don't tell them
about it
it's either
I don't really
love them
or I don't really
believe they need
this thing
either
I didn't
I don't
like literally
there was no other
explanation I could
come up with
either I don't
love them
or I don't think
they need
the gospel
in other words
they'll be fine
without it
and so
that just really
challenged me
in college
I had a job
in Boston
and I just
called them up
I'm like yo
I can't
I can't come
I have to
just stay
back in campus
and hang out
with my friends
and so
for a full year
I worked
as a campus
missionary
but that's not
what we're called
to do
but the reason
why I shared
that story
is for you
to think about
the fact
that your
co-worker
or your
classmate
tomorrow
might in fact
be gone
by Tuesday
and I'm not
saying this
to scare anyone
but I'm saying
this to
just proclaim
reality
but the life
we live
is very brief
last night
before I went
to bed
I looked up
a message
from my friend
that a
classmate
of ours
passed away
on the
first of
November
and I'm just
thinking about
I wonder
if his
friends
shared this
thing with him
before he
passed away
he went to
eat
and
he complained
of stomach
upset
and he was
gone
by the next
day
he died
and I'm not
saying this
is just
cast
a veil
of hopelessness
and fear
and panic
but just
for us
to understand
that this
is an
urgent call
we don't
have time
we really
do not
have time
and we
have to
move about
this with
a sense
of urgency
so I
want to
just spend
one minute
because we
need to
go up
and just
pray
what was
your question
it wasn't
a question
okay
great job
thank you
my name
is Rico
and I've
been traveling
west
to the
industry
where
helping
and able
to see
the
cancer
and the
way I
approach
even people
that I
meet next
to me
like a
starbucks
whatever
is I'll
just ask
them is
there
anything
you need
prayer for
so at
work
the co-workers
if someone's
going through
a hard time
or anything
or even
sometimes
just saying
is there
anything
I pray
for you
and then
pray for
them
there
and
well
another thing
that we
want to
think about
is when
we're
ministering
to someone
or sharing
the gospel
to someone
think about
how do I
want to be
a religion
and hear
the gospel
and even
within that
is like
the greatest
commandment
ask God
God will you
teach me to
love you
with all my
heart
and soul
and will you
teach me to
love my
neighbor
as I
know
because we're
loving our
neighbor in
the way he
calls us
to and
encourages us
and one
last verse
within that
is in
Colossians
312
where
it's a
combination
of asking
the Holy
Spirit
to teach
us this
and it's
also being
mindful of
and it
really is the
fruit of the
spirit
is therefore
as God
chosen people
fully and
dearly love
both yourself
with compassion
kindness
humility
gentleness
and patience
and so
as we're
ministering
as we're
sharing the
gospel
and evangelizing
just being
that kind
passion
gentle
and thinking
about being
in their
shoes
the way
I want
to do
but
it makes
a big
difference
in real
life
too
as you
were saying
is God
plants the
seeds
he uses us
to plant
the seed
not for
them to know
Christ right
at that
moment
we share
that gentleness
we share
what the
gospel is
and even
going back
to Genesis
126
God
created us
in his
image
and one
of my
other favorite
verses is
Psalms 37
20
Psalm 37
4
the light
in the
Lord
will give
you the
desires
of your
heart
and that's
God
what Jesus
did is
to restore
him
thank you
yeah and
these are
I mean
that's
absolutely
correct
it really
does matter
how we
proclaim it
and again
it has to be
done in
love
in gentleness
in compassion
because that's
how Christ
dealt with us
that's really
how he did
it with us
and think
about a
Samaritan
woman
as he
engaged
her
in compassion
she had
multiple
husbands
and he
didn't come
yelling
he knew
all about
that
but there
was a love
there was a
you know
I'm with you
there was a
sense of
solidarity
with this
person
and that's
what
we're called
to do
so let's
just spend
one minute
I just want
to encourage
you just
right now
in this
time
just think
about
five people
three people
that you
want to
be praying
for and
you want
to start
working
towards
engaging
with
just think
about them
dear lord
we thank you
lord for
the gift
of evangelism
we have
this grace
you've given
to us
you've
decided to
use us
broken
and weak
people
to
work
alongside
you
in this
redemption
plan
and it's
a beautiful
thing
and often times
lord we're
for different
reasons
we take it
for granted
and we
choose not
to obey
and sometimes
we just
we might even
just waste
our lives
just pursuing
other things
I want to pray
for these people
whom we have
thought about
that first of all
you will be
working in your
heart
changing them
saving them
but also
that you
will give us
the boldness
to actively
bring it up
to be
uncomfortable
give us the
willingness
may we be
willing to be
that weird
person
we consider
christ on the
cross
and whatever
whatever shame
comes with
being that weird
person
help us to
embrace that
because christ
embraced death
on the cross
for us
and since we're
crucified with him
may we be
willing to die
to our pride
in ourselves
for the sake
of others
we thank you
for this time
we pray all this
lord in christ's
name
amen
thanks for trying
to get a hold
of ours
and
you
and
we
to
you