How to Tell Someone about Jesus with Compassion & Conviction (John 5)

In John Chapter 5 Jesus reveals that He will judge all people based on their true faith in Him or lack of it, He shares about the ways His message has been confirmed, and explains a few reasons why some fail to come into a saving relationship with Him. Come to Rockwell Church to be encouraged that sharing your faith with compassion and conviction can help change people’s lives. 

John 5:19-46

1. Future Judgment by Jesus of All People  (v.19-29)

2. Faithful Witnesses to Jesus (v.30-32)

   a. Confirmed by John the Baptist (v.33-35)

   b. Confirmed by Jesus Works (v.36)

   c. Confirmed by The Father (v.37)

   d. Confirmed by Scripture (v.38-39)

3. Failing to Come to Jesus (v.40)

   a. Continuing to not Love God (v.41-42)

   b. Caring more about Others (v.43-44)

   c. Confident in Wrong Message (v.45-46)

The WELL Faith Podcast offers encouraging, Bible-based messages from Pastor Chris Teien and guests. New sermons are released every Sunday. Replay episodes are marked with an asterisk. Find us online at ChrisTeien.com and Rockwell.Church in Virginia, MN. Email comments to wellfaith24@gmail.com

Transcript

Chris T 0:16

All right. So how to tell someone about Jesus with compassion and conviction? Alright. So when we think about that, you know, people can tell how excited you are to share Christ. I mean, if I was going by your house and I saw smoke pouring out, I wouldn't walk by and go, hey, um, I don't know, it's none of my business, but you might might want to check your house. I I'm not really sure. It's none of my as opposed to pounding on the door, going, hey, I might be wrong, but I think your house is on fire. You might be in danger. Should I call somebody to help? What can we do? Um, I I just walk by and I see this, this is happening, and I know that this could turn out really bad. And I know that it's my responsibility to say something, whether you want to hear it or not. And so, with that kind of urgency, uh, with that kind of conviction, because you care about that person would hate for anything bad to happen to them, you tell them the message. You tell them that message. You tell them about Jesus because you care about them, because you are convinced. That's where the conviction comes from, is you are convinced that Jesus is the way to be saved for all eternity, and also the way to live an abundant life now. That you uh love God and God's love flows out of you into other people's lives, and it gives you a compassion for other people. So we've been going through John chapter five, and so I've got a bunch of verses I'm gonna read through before we get to communion, and so I'll try not to talk too fast, but I hope it I hope it goes well. So uh anyway, when we think about Jesus and Jesus' future judgment, a future judgment by Jesus of all people. I mean, think about that. People that have not received Jesus Christ are going to stand before him and be judged for their belief or lack of belief. And uh, those of us who have believed in Jesus will be judged for what we've done to help build God's kingdom, what we've done to serve Jesus. So in John chapter 5, I'll review some of what was last week. But you'll remember in the context here that Jesus healed the lame man on the Sabbath, and he told the guy to pick up his mat and walk. And he did. So when he did that, the Pharisees, the religious leaders of the day, uh cross-referenced in Luke chapter 6, verse 2, the religious leaders said, Whoa, what are you doing? You're breaking the you're breaking the law. You can't be carrying your mat on the Sabbath. And so this guy is like, um I was lame and now I'm walking, and the guy that healed me told me to carry my mat. And they're like, Who told you to do that? And they're like, he's like, uh, that guy. And so the Pharisees then came against Jesus. So Jesus had told the told the guy that was healed, um, you know, stop sinning or something worse may happen to you. So uh, you know, he wasn't perfect, but he was healed. And uh he pointed to Jesus, and then the Pharisees harassed Jesus. So what we read in John chapter 5 in the context is Jesus in defensive mode against his persecutors, against the Pharisees. But we learn things out of what Jesus said, and that's what is important. So, okay, um, so again, the Pharisees are accusing Jesus. Jesus gave them the this answer: Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself, he can do only what he sees his father doing, because whatever the father does, the son also does. For the father loves the son and shows him all he does. Yes, he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. So Jesus is um throwing a little wood onto the fire, because not only is Jesus explaining, you know, what authority and why he's doing these things, but he's also saying that he is equal with the Father, which was blasphemy, um, according to Old Testament law, punishable by death. And so the Pharisees are getting even angrier at what Jesus was saying. But here, Jesus, we see, uh, not in defensive mode, but we see this trinity that the Father and the Son, and we know the Holy Spirit, work together in unity. They are on the same page, they agree with what they're doing. So Jesus just doesn't do his own thing, but he does what he knows that the Father and the Holy Spirit want him to do, and the Holy Spirit does what he knows the Son and the Father would want him to do, and the Father is working out his plan in accordance with the Son and the Spirit, and together they're on the same page. And as believers, we too have an opportunity. As we spend time in God's word and pray through things, we have an opportunity to be on the same page as what God is doing too. And it's a wonderful thing when we don't run ahead of God, it's a wonderful thing when we don't um lag behind with what God is doing when we fall behind or sit on the couch and not go do what God wants us to do. And so not only does Jesus say that the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does, but that uh show him greater works and do greater works so that you will be amazed. And Jesus raised people from the dead, Jesus did miracles, Jesus healed people, Jesus did all of these things. As uh we read through the completed New Testament, the completed gospels, we know the whole story of the things that were written down that Jesus did. The scripture actually says if there wouldn't be enough books to record everything Jesus did and said, but the things that were important were given to us in the book, and we need to be people of the book. We need to read it and understand it and live it out and share it with others. And then Jesus says, For just as the father raises the dead and gives them life, so even the son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. Moreover, the father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the son, so that all may honor the son just as they honor the father. Whoever does not honor the son does not honor the father who sent him. Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged, but has crossed over from death to life. So that's I think that's where we stopped last week. So uh you could hear more about this passage if you go online and you can listen or watch the video and um more about that. But crossed over from death to life. Those people who hear the word and believe upon Jesus have eternal life, not just fire insurance so that when you die, you get an extended play mode, but uh quality of life that you enjoy now. A way of living where we not only think about the physical, temporal, temp, the temporary things of today, but the things of eternity, just like when I mentioned during the prayer time, that we would have vacation Bible school opportunities that are eternally significant, that kids might get saved, that parents might get saved, that they would be able to look back at a point in their life and maybe say, Well, I went to Rockwell Church and they taught me about Jesus, or my kid went to vacation Bible school and they gave him some information and shared Jesus, and he came home and told us about it, and we looked into it and we believed upon Jesus, and now we're totally committed to following Jesus. So we have eternal life because some people got together for vacation Bible school, or some people kept a church going up here on the on the rocks on the hill at uh Rockwell Church. So many things that we have opportunity to do with the resources that God has given us, and it's very exciting to be part of it. And then Jesus says, Very truly I tell you, the time is coming and now is come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. The dead, the spiritually dead, spiritually dead without Christ, become spiritually alive, and Jesus transforms their life. He says, For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to also have life in himself, and he has given him authority to judge, because he is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out, and those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. So don't get confused about this, those who have done what is good, because there are certain people that think that they can work their way into heaven. So they they live the list and they do a bunch of religious things and they think, you know, on a scale, if you were to tip it one way or another, I'm more good than bad. So therefore, Jesus should accept me. But actually, if you don't receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, repent of your sin uh and believe upon Jesus. If you're just doing good works and doing your own thing, that isn't enough. But there will be a day. There will be a day when every dead person uh will be brought back to life so that they can stand before the Lord in judgment. So there is the great white throne judgment where Jesus judges Satan, the fallen angels, and unbelievers. And the result of the judgment, if they do not have Jesus, and obviously they don't have Jesus, or they wouldn't be at the great white throne judgment in Revelation 20 is that they are thrown into the lake of fire and eternally condemned. So 2 Corinthians 5.10 says that believers go to the judgment seat of Christ or the Bima seat judgment, where they are judged for what they did to build his kingdom and are rewarded. Which means that every time we step out in faith to share our faith, every time we sacrifice financially to give, to support the ministry or a church or to further the kingdom, to help build the kingdom of God, um, when we live out our faith for Jesus, that is all rewardable, and we will receive rewards for that at that judgment. What are you doing to earn and gain those rewards as you think about what am I doing to build the kingdom of God? So, all right, so future judgment of Jesus of all people. That's kind of scary to think. Kind of scary to think that you know you would stand before Jesus and be judged. Jesus knows everything you ever did, everything you ever thought, and the motivation that you did it. And Hebrews 9 27 says, Each person is destined to die once. And after that comes judgment. And you may think, well, I believed upon Jesus, I'm secure in my faith. I the Holy Spirit bears testimony in my heart that I'm truly a child of God, so I'm good. Thank you. I feel I feel good about it. So um, but what about your coworker, your friend, your family member, your neighbor, and those people that don't know about Christ? So are you praying for an opportunity? Are you looking for an opportunity? Uh sometimes the opportunities just come and you um just know that it's time, and other times it seems odd to try to force it upon someone. Like maybe I should have more urgency. But I haven't like run out in front of people on their writing mowers and told them to stop. Because if they were to die this very minute, they might not go to heaven. So there's all sorts of things that you can say and all sorts of interesting conversations that you can weave in at the at the opportune time. I think I shared this during Sunday school. Maybe I shared this before. But there was a time when I was at the uh I was at a mall on the second floor looking over this Jeep that was a giveaway you could raffle that was being like raffled off. And so I was looking at it. And there was a guy next to me too. So uh, you know, there's a lot of lonely guys in malls waiting for their wives to come out of the stores. So, but nonetheless, um I'm like, what do you think your chances of when in that jeep are? He's like, uh, probably about the same as getting hit by lightning twice in the same spot. And uh I'm like, what do you think your chances of going to heaven are? And he looked at me like, what? So I shared about Christ, and um, he took my gospel, my gospel booklet, and he seemed interested. So he did not pray to receive Christ that very moment, but I felt that that was an opportune time. I just I just felt that I should, you know, share Christ with that person. And I think I've shared before that I was in a coffee shop one time and I was overwhelmed by the desire to give the FedEx driver a how to find God New Testament. I I do not know why. So, but sometimes the Holy Spirit can lead you and give you this urge that you just need to tell somebody and to share that message. Are you ready to share that message? And if you do, do you think, okay, this person could die and then go stand before God? Um, God could use me right now because I am full of God's love and I'm fully convicted that that is the right thing to do. So, all right, so uh number two, faithful witnesses to Jesus. So Jesus is telling the Pharisees, hey, you know, I'm not just saying this about myself. So there's like, let me let me list off, let me list off a few, a few things that are supporting my claim here. Again, he says that I myself can do nothing, I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself, but him who sent me the Heavenly Father. If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true, but there's another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is true. And so, and then he names some things. So he names John the Baptist as one, one person who was testifying about him in the beginning. So John the Baptist was proclaiming the message of repentance, and then Jesus came, and then Jesus said, This is the guy that I've been telling you about. And so Jesus was affirmed and promoted and upheld and taught about by John the Baptist. And so verse 33. Um he said, You have sent to John to the Pharisees, and he has testified to the truth, not that I accept human testimony, but I mentioned it that you may be saved. John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his life. So he's saying to these Jewish religious leaders that there was a time when John shared things that you liked. You like to hear about it, you like to hear about what he was saying about what God the Father was doing, and so you were excited to be in that light. You enjoyed it. Um now the they probably didn't understand it fully, or maybe they would have turned and believed. But so Jesus is saying, remember, John, there was a time when you really enjoyed John's teaching, you really enjoyed what John taught about eternal life and sin. And so confirmed by John the Baptist. Um then confirmation by Jesus' work. So as Jesus was out doing these things, people saw that he was more than just a regular guy, that he was able to turn water into wine, that he was able to feed a multitude with a few, with some bread and some fish, that he was able to heal people and bring them back from the dead and do all these things. And he he taught like no other person had taught before. And people were amazed. In verse 36, I have testimony weightier than that of John, for the works that the Father has given me to finish, the very works that I am doing, testify that the Father has sent me. So, and so he was confirmed by the Father. Um, so when Jesus was baptized, um nobody knows who could hear the voice, Jesus heard the voice. Um, John probably heard the voice. I don't know if everybody else could hear it, but when Jesus was baptized, a voice, this is my beloved son, whom I well pleased, listen to him. And so the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me, and you have never heard his voice nor nor seen his form. So the father is a testimony of what who Jesus is and the importance of Jesus. And so they were all about God the Father. So that that's all on their radar, that's all there really was. So they were waiting for a Messiah, but Jesus didn't fit the mold. So they were waiting for a religious leader that was gonna come in and uh take over that uh throw off those Roman, throw off those Roman oppressors and make um Jerusalem his kingdom and uh you know great days ahead for for God's people. And so uh Jesus didn't fit that mold. He was more concerned about an eternal kingdom than he was a temporary earthly kingdom, confirmed by scripture. So the old and the new testament pointed to Jesus. So does not, or nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. You study the scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life, and they are the very scriptures that testify about me. They did study the scriptures diligently, but you know what the Pharisees were looking for? They were looking to make sure that all the rules that they had added on to Scripture were good, and maybe they needed to find some more rules because they were all about living the list. So they wanted to burden the people with the legalistic um's and don'ts of the things you could and couldn't do, how far you could walk or carry something on the Sabbath. I mean, again, this guy had gotten in trouble for carrying his mat, and now, since Jesus told him to carry his mat, now he's, you know, being confronted. And this is Jesus' response to those Pharisees, as I mentioned before. But do you study the scriptures diligently? Because in them you have eternal life and you have a manual for living, and uh you have guidelines for living your life in a way that pleases God, so that you can experience victory and abundant blessing and help transform other people's lives. Do you read scripture that way? Do you look at scripture and think, you know, I'd be really excited if I could share this message with somebody? I'd be really excited if I could share this teaching with someone. And then do you pray that God would give you somebody to invest your life into, to a younger Christian, to disciple, to um share what you know about Christ. So when we think about people that fail to come to Jesus, there are many, many times. I've told people about Jesus, and sometimes it has not been has not been well received. So I'll tell you, I'll tell you the depths of one time that I've told someone about Jesus. So um years ago we went to um with um the other church over there, Chisholm, um took the youth to uh this Sun Life Evangelism Missions training for a week. And we were there for a week. And so we went out and we shared our faith. So two-thirds of the kids would go out and share their faith, and one third would stay behind and pray. And the next day, uh one-third would not differ, one third would stay and pray, and two-thirds would go out and share their faith. And so there was one day where we were supposed to write evangelistic letters, evangelistic letters, and so my parents got divorced, and my dad got custody when I was little, and so I didn't really see my biological mother from the time I was, I don't know what, like six until I was 18. And then when I was 18, my stepmom gave me her number and I called her up. And uh so we kind of had uh a connection, saw her sometimes. So I don't know, I was maybe like 26 or something like that on this evangelism training thing, maybe 28. Um, I sent her a letter. It was not well received. She told me to never talk to her again because I sent her this letter. It wasn't even, I didn't accuse her of anything, it was just a well, if you were to die, I think one of the Kennedys died in a plane crash, and I think I said something like, Was it Bobby Kennedy? If he had died without Christ, um I put that in the letter, sent the letter. I didn't think that it was gonna blow up, but then she'd never talk to me again. So I tried to send her cards and nothing. She never talked to me again. And then I'm not sure, Sand of March. I get a call from the head of Penn County coroner. It says, We're sorry to inform you your mother's dead. And I'm like, who? And so I know really nothing about the woman. So I know that she chose to reject Christ, or he chose to reject me. And so I didn't know what to do. So I gave the rights over to her brother. Um, I would have gone to a funeral if there would have been one because I was interested in know what kind of life that she lived. But sometimes when you share Jesus with people, it might uh you know cut off a relationship. You might suffer some form of persecution, you might miss out on a job opportunity, you might not get that promotion, so you might not be warmly received by your neighbors. So um things can happen. But on the other hand, think of what happens when people fail to come to Jesus. When people don't come to Jesus, what does that mean for their eternity? Hopefully, one thing that it will mean is when they stand before the Lord, they won't say, How come Chris never told me? But instead they'll say, Chris tried to tell me, but I didn't listen. So don't let it be on you that you didn't tell someone about Jesus. So verse 40, Jesus says, Yet you refuse to come to me to have life. You refuse to come to me to have life. There's people who refuse to come to Jesus. So we've got a few more copies of the Tell Someone book written by Greg Laurie that I did not preach from the book, but I've referred to it a few times. And you can, if there's a copy out there, you can have it and read it, and maybe it will encourage you in your faith. Or maybe you want to get it online. Um Audible audiobook, or uh it comes as a Kindle book, or I think you can get it from Christian book distributors, tell someone by Greg Laurie. It's not even a very big book, but it's encouraging. So um, but he says, why some people don't really come to Christ? He said, What is the real reason as opposed to the excuse? Jesus gave the answer in the third chapter of John's gospel, and he said, This is the verdict, light has come into the world, but men love darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done before, has been done through God. John 3 19. He says, Many people just don't want to change. They want to continue as they always have. They may point to this or that excuse, but the bottom line is they don't really want to change, but we must not give up on them. So um continuing to not love God. So the Pharisees, they loved more about they loved religion more than they truly loved God. So Jesus says, I do not accept glory from human beings, but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. So wanted to lay down all those rules and enforce all those rules upon people and get on the guy that had been sitting sitting there lame all that time, and now he's he's he's he's walking, he's carrying his mat. And they can't celebrate that. No, they're not like, what happened? That's so awesome. I'm so happy for you. This is amazing. Praise God. You know, I can't imagine what it'd be like to be lame all that time and then to be able to walk again. We celebrate with you, but instead they're like, No, we don't care who you are or that you were lame and that you're walking and the miracle just happened. We want you to know that we are gonna impose fines and penalties and hardship on you if you carry that mat any further, so you may not carry your mat on the Sabbath. And you don't love God when you do that to people. That's not loving, that's not kind. And so many times we uh we feel comfortable sometimes living a list of rules when we when we're doing our own thing and we're not humbly submitting to what God wants, to who God is? Uh some people don't want to think that there's a higher power that they're accountable to. Uh, some people don't want to think that it matters what they do, that God sees and that God rewards, and God, in Hebrews, it says that God disciplines those whom he loves. So living our life in a way that honors God because we love him. I mean, what if we get to the point where we keep sinning over and over again, but we get to the point where we say, you know what, I don't want to do this again because I love God and I know that it doesn't please him, and I love God so much, I want to please him for who he is. So Jesus says, I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. Do you have the love of God in your hearts? It mate, it might make a difference in your motivation to share Jesus with others. So be caring more about what others think, caring more about others, Jesus says in verse 43, I've come in my father's name and you do not accept me. But if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe since you accept glory from one another, but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? So there are people that came and said they were the Messiah, and some rabbis would say, Oh, yeah, I agree, he's the Messiah. But Jesus comes and they're like, No, this guy, this guy's not. There's there's no way this isn't what we're expecting. So doesn't fit our mold. So um we're gonna reject Jesus. And so um Nicodemus, when we read in the Bible, Nicodemus met with Jesus secretly, uh, probably because he he was a Pharisee, and he probably cared with other what other people think, what they would think about him. So he kind of you know snuck out at night to have an interview with Jesus and say, Hey, are you the guy? I'm I'm real curious to know. And he must have been convinced because after Jesus died and was um in the tomb, Nicodemus was part of the uh working for the burial and everything. But anyway, it's to accept glory from one another. Sometimes what happens is that we care more about what our friends think, what our parents think, what our co-workers think, what our neighbors think, and so we want their approval more than we want the approval of God. And that will keep people from coming to Jesus. See, there's people that are confident in the wrong message. So they were raised up in a religious system, in a religious structure. Um, you know, we've uh been in this religion and it's always been that way. Uh so um I'm just gonna stay there. I don't really care about the facts, I don't care about the Bible. Um, this is what my parents did and my grandparents did, and we're just gonna keep doing it. Jesus says, verse 45, do not think I will accuse you before the father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. So even in Genesis 3.15, we read about um Jesus. But uh nonetheless, scriptures in the Old Testament uh talked about Jesus. Moses talked about Jesus. We don't know if Moses was like up there uh in heaven accusing these people uh at the time or just the works that he wrote accused them, but nonetheless, the Pharisees were all about we're we're we're living whatever Moses said. You know, Moses is our guy, we're following what he gave us, and so um we just want to we just want to please Moses. We want to focus on Moses, and Jesus is like, dude, you're not even doing that right because Moses is accusing you of doing wrong. You should be believing upon me. Believing upon me. So um when we think about reasons that people might be rejecting Christ, there are many. And there's many good evangelists, how to share your faith books. So uh Bill Fay's shared Jesus Without Fear book has got this great uh, I don't agree with every way that he handles the things, but he's got like questions and answers and how to handle objections and um you know things that people will say. And one thing that I did like in his book is he said that, you know, you don't have to be successful leading someone to Christ to be successful. You're successful when you're doing what God wants you to do, to share your faith, and you leave the results up to the up to God, up to the Lord. So somebody might receive Christ just right then and there, and other people might be a period of time. Uh might take many people to share their faith before these people come to Christ. But what is important, and we're about to have communion, what is important is that we examine ourselves, 2 Corinthians 13 5, examine yourselves to see whether you're in the faith. Test yourselves, or don't you realize this about yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you unless indeed you fail to meet the test? Is Jesus in you? Is Jesus in you and will you share your faith? So um Jesus wants you to find someone to tell. The Son of Man came to seek and to save those who are lost. That was Jesus' mission. Could it be yours too? John 5 33 again. Um, you sent investigators to listen to John the Baptist. His testimony about me was true. Um so Jesus said, I say these things so that you might be saved. So I think we went through this before, but I'm just gonna highlight um Dan Spader and uh Dave Garda from Sun Life had um made a Bible study booklet called 33 Things That Happen at the Moment of Salvation. And it was based on um Lewis Barry Chafer's Systematic Theology. He was one of the founders of Dallas Theological Seminary. So I'm not gonna go into depth, I'm just gonna read the 33 things to see if that doesn't get you a little excited to share your faith, because this is what happens when somebody gets saved. So uh they are forgiven, they become a child of God, they have access to God, they're reconciled, justified, placed in Christ, and acceptable to God. They now have a heavenly citizenship, they're of the family and household of God and in the fellowship of the saints. They're within the much more care of God, they're glorified in a heavenly association and on the rock, Christ Jesus. They are a part in the eternal plan of God, they're redeemed, they're in a living relationship with God, they're free from the law, they're adopted, they're brought near, they're delivered from the power of darkness. They have an entrance into a new kingdom, a gift from God the Father to Christ. They're circumcised in Christ, they're a member of a royal and holy priesthood, a chosen generation, a holy nation, a peculiar people. They have his inheritance, the inheritance of the saints. They have light in the Lord, they are united to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They are blessed with the first fruits of the Holy Spirit, they are complete in him, they are possessing every spiritual blessing. When God, through his grace, saved us, he instantly imparted his life and righteousness to us. So, in about two minutes, I'm gonna need you to turn the lights off, Jerry. So, all right, he wants us to tell someone how to acquire a new life. In Ephesians 2, it says, Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins, used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil, the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nation. By our very nature, we were subject to God's anger just like everyone else. But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much that even though we were dead, because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. And then if you read on it, it says, Only by God's grace that you've been saved in Ephesians chapter 2. And number three, tell someone where to go for the best life. Jesus said in John 10, all who came before me were thieves and robbers, but the true sheep did not listen to them. Yes, I'm the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. Let's watch a video. Got the sound on there?

SPEAKER_00 33:26

In the Bible, there's a guy named Abraham, and the very first thing God says to him is, Go. Leave everything you've ever known. Go to an unknown and uncharted place, and I will bless you, and you will be a blessing. Go, Abraham. And then there's Moses. God meets him in the desert and speaks to him and says, Go, Moses, go to the place you came from, to the people where you once were. Go because I am sending you. Go and help my people find freedom and redemption. Go, Moses. And then there's Jeremiah, the prophet. He's young, he's inexperienced, he's afraid. And God says, Go, Jeremiah, I'm with you. And then there's Elijah, Esther, Ezekiel, Ruth, and many others who heard the call of God to go, and they went. And then the final words of Jesus to his disciples before he ascended into heaven. Go. I've heard it said that you can be comfortable or courageous, but you can't be both. That's true for Abraham, true for Moses, true for Jeremiah, true for you, and true for me. See, in the Bible, there are comforting words like forgiveness, freedom, and redemption and adoption. But in the Bible, there are also commanding words like repent, believe, follow, and go. Maybe that's the words you need to hear today. To go. Go across the room. Across the hall. Go across the street. Go across the campus. Go across the city, the nation, go across the world. Go. It's important for us to remember that this isn't just a command to go, this is an opportunity. An opportunity to bless and to bring hope and to be salt and to shine light in dark places and to give to others what was first given to us. See, we don't just go because that's what good Christians do. We go because two thousand years ago, God looked down on a broken and hopeless and hurting world. And he looked on with compassion. And then he looked at his son, his one and only son, the one and only person who could do anything about it. And he looked at him and he said, Go. And he did. He lived, he died, he rose, and now he rings. And now we go. Because he did it first. He moved from heaven to earth so that we could move from comfort to courage. And so that's my prayer for you. Not just that you would move to a new city with a new zip code, but that you would move from comfort to courage. That we would all move from complacency to urgency. My prayer for you is that the most beautiful thing in the world to you would not be cars, clothes, and careers, but the gospel of Jesus Christ, to know him and to make him known. And my prayer for you is that today you would put your yes on the table and you would leave it there. To go wherever and whenever God leads you to go. And so I can't promise that it'll always be exciting, can't promise it'll always be easy, can't promise it'll always make sense, but I can promise you this. It will always be worth it.

Chris T 37:16

What would I do? What would and so these how to find God New Testaments that we have, there's another case on the way, and we'll just keep ordering them as you share them. But right in the front, it says how you can know God, and it talks about some of the things we've talked about and uh who Jesus is and what we need to do, and then there's a big arrow here that says what you need to do in order to receive Christ. It says, one, recognize and confess that you're a sinner, and then there's a couple of paragraphs about that. Two, recognize that Jesus died on the cross for you, and there's information about that. Three, repent of your sin. Uh, four, receive Christ into your life, and then it has a suggested prayer, um, which is, and maybe you are watching or here and you want to receive Christ, you now believe the message, and you want to know for sure that you're saved. It's not the words of the prayer, but a prayer is a great way to invite Christ in your life. And the suggested prayer in the How to Find God New Testament is Lord Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner. I've broken your commandments and fallen short of your standards. Right now I turn from that sin and ask you to come into my life, be my Lord, savior, friend, and God. I put my faith in Jesus Christ and in him alone to save me from my sins. Thank you for loving me and calling me in Jesus' name. I pray. Amen. And if you prayed that prayer, let us know so we can get you one of these and help you to grow in Christ. And then there's all sorts of uh talks about now that you're in Christ, uh, how you can live the Christian life and what God wants from you. And so it's the whole New Testament and lots of notes and resources. And so it should be easy for you to just be a messenger and to share what's in the book. You don't have to make up the message on your own or remember just a bunch of po a bunch of points. Just lead them from the book through the book and read it together.