Do you Believe Everything you Read?
The God Vacuum • Sermon • Submitted
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Let me read something to you, the English is a little outdated, but I think we can get at this. This is talking about people who get married in the right way “Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject to them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them. ” How does that impact you? Does that change if I tell you that it’s a quote from Doctrines and Covenants, the formative doctrinal book of the Church of Latter Day Saints? It doesn’t really have any impact on you, does it? It shouldn't! It’s written by a man who claimed, but did not have, special revelation from god. It’s a book that espouses actions that you and I find repugnant and contrary to our morality and ethics. It means nothing to you. Runs off you like water off a duck’s back. I would guess that you’ve already forgotten what I just read.
So, if that verse didn’t impact you at all, then let me ask you this: why do you quote a Bible passage to someone who doesn’t accept the Bible as true? I mean, it happens so easily. “All things work for the good!” “Homosexuality is an abomination.” “Everything in moderation.” Ok, that last one isn’t even in the Bible, but your mom probably said it enough that it felt like it was. But sometimes the quotes are meant to be really upbeat, “A kind of love” or “a woman” or “a real David and Goliath story.” And maybe it’s more than off-handed comments. Maybe you get into a real conversation and open your Bible app for someone and talk about how narrow the gate is for heaven and wide the path is for hell.
Especially when you are sharing your faith with someone who doesn’t have the same faith, you can come across as if you are wielding the Bible like a sledgehammer - ready to crush any disagreement (picture of protesters). You might even be a great ambassador for your Bible, able to conjure a passage for every objection from abortion, to homosexuality, to pride, to care for community and the environment, to money and power. But, here’s what I’ve found as I look into the face of someone I’ve just judo-chopped with a particularly pithy and penetrating Bible passage: I’ve closed the door. I’ve skipped over the really important work of listening to the questions that are really being asked, the real hurt or the real doubts.
Self-diagnosis: what are some signs that you’ve become a good ambassador for your Bible at the expense of being an ambassador for Jesus?
But, man, do I feel like an authority! I’ve just beat my former friend into submission. I haven’t gotten it wrong and I’ve eliminated for myself the need to actually think critically about my own faith and what I believe. I’ve come across as confident, not thoughtful, self-assured, not critical, self-righteous, not compassionate.
And if you have become an ambassador of your Bible, it’s possible that you haven’t been a great ambassador for your Savior. The two are not always the same.
Understand me, that’s not to say your Bible isn’t powerful and effective. God promises it is. He calls it a sword, living and active (), it is the power of God for those who believe () , it is the means by which someone comes to faith (). Lay on top of that the fact that the Bible is the most accurately transmitted and translated books of history, bar none. In fact, it is literally in a category of its own. Listen to this quote from Josh McDowell,
Understand me, that’s not to say your Bible isn’t powerful and effective. God promises it is. He calls it a sword, living and active (), it is the power of God for those who believe () , it is the means by which someone comes to faith (). Lay on top of that the fact that the Bible is the most accurately transmitted and translated books of history, bar none. In fact, it is literally in a category of it’s own. Listen to this quote from Josh McDowell,
17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.
12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
One gets the impression from reading current scholars who deny inerrancy that some recent factual finds have forced them to the conclusion that they must now give up inerrancy. Just the contrary is true. More of the Bible stands confirmed today and more problems are explainable than has been the case for centuries. Discoveries from the Dead Sea, from Sumeria, from Nag Hammadi, and more recently from Ebla provide more support than ever before for the position [Christians] have long held.
What impact does the power and reliability of Scripture have on your confidence as you read it and share it’s main message?
But hear this clearly, the Bible isn’t an authority to someone who doesn’t already believe it! In the courtroom of their mind, the Bible is inadmissible, giving a Bible passage to that person is contempt of court. Did you hear that in the story of the Samaritan Woman? Look again at what she says when she goes back to to town?
29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?”
She doesn’t share a Bible passage. It’s not a ready-made answer. It’s incredibly transparent. Everyone in town knew what she she had done. That’s why she was at the well by herself. But what she had done was not who Jesus had remade her to be. She couldn’t help but talk about it!
Look again at then at and . What role does Scripture and Bible knowledge play in these witnessing events?
Which is the crux of this whole sermon series. “The God Vacuum.” This series isn’t strictly for you, not most of you, anyway. If you have walked away from God in the past and are just now starting to poke around again, and you’re doing it here, at one of our sites or online, I’m so glad you’re here. But for most of you, these messages aren’t to satisfy your idle curiosity, they are to equip you to go and talk to someone.
You know that Jesus has made you whole. That his death and resurrection, that his perfection laid over the top of you has answered the biggest questions in life. Questions of origin, meaning, purpose and destination.
Origin: you come from God. Made by him, fashioned by him, created with care and dignity. More than that, you were remade when God made Jesus’ death your death, when he made Jesus’ resurrection your resurrection. Through the power of the Word and through Baptism, you have been born a second time. Recreated to reflect the image of God himself.
Meaning: Your meaning is independent of you. In other words, it can’t be diminished because of a choice you make or lifestyle you’ve lived. You have meaning because the ransom on your head, the bounty placed because you were a slave, has been paid by the holy precious blood of God.
Purpose: You have it and you know it. You know it because if you didn’t have purpose, you wouldn’t be here. We’ll look forward to celebrating your victory in heaven later this week. Good works have been laid out for you like clothes on the bed. Your purpose is to draw closer to God as you live out the gifts that he’s given you among friends, coworkers, classmates and neighbors. Gifts of self-sacrificial love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Your purpose is to be the voice that calls others to a relationship with Jesus. Your purpose is big. It’s invaluable. It’s uniquely yours.
Destination: Every human being passes through a single door. A door that hides a mystery. But not to you. You know what’s on the other side. A room that’s been set aside for you and all those who know Jesus as the lamb who was slain. In terms of “where are we going” there’s no doubt for you, no uncertainty.
Jesus alone gives answers to the fundamental questions of the human existence. Without Jesus, you are adrift in the slurry of worldviews and philosophies that don’t offer one single coherent answer. You have the answers. They don’t. How can you keep it to yourself!
17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.
Which of these four fundamental questions is most difficult to answer for the people in your life?
How do you start that? How do you get into that conversation? It starts with prayer. Let me show you a prayer that I’ve used and have never had a “no” answer to. “Lord, lead me to a conversation about you that is so obvious I can’t miss. Let me see with your eyes anyone who needs the answers only you provide.” Then get ready. You will find yourself next to somebody in the break room, or at the grocery story (don’t go hiding in your phone to flip through instagram or play a game) and say something like this, “Man, yesterday at church, we talked about how Christians are sometimes better ambassadors of the Bible and not such good ambassadors for Jesus. I don’t know how I feel about that. How does it strike you?” And then be quiet. Be quiet and listen. Ask questions based on what that person says. Ask them how they came to their conclusions. Ask them if they’ve always felt that way or if something happened that led them to that conclusion. Then, finally, ask them if they ever considered an alternative. That might look something like this, “I wonder if you’ve ever considered what an ambassador for Jesus would look like?”
Terrified just thinking about it? Good. You wouldn’t be normal if it didn’t feel scary. You wouldn’t be normal if it didn’t feel easy to mess up or like you weren’t the right person or you didn’t have the right words. But let’s imagine the conversation with Gordon Ramsey, “What inspired you to make that meal for the judges?” “Well,” Ramsey says. “Today’s actually the first time I’ve ever cooked. I haven’t ever really been in a kitchen before today. But I watched a lot of youtube clips.” No way. He practiced. He got in the game, he made mistakes, he tried again. Now, most of us won’t be the Gordon Ramsey of witnessing. But how do you think the short order cook started out? Or the home chef? They got there because they got into the game, they practiced, they didn’t let mistakes keep them from trying again.
Jesus has called you to get in the game. Through practice, through trial and error, through prayer and devotion, what do you think is going to happen? You’ll get over the fear. You’ll learn from mistakes that you can only imagine now. You’ll learn to be an ambassador. You’ll learn to ask questions and be a good listener. You’ll figure out how to share Jesus and be direct but winsome. But that will only happen if you get off the bench!
I know this is a strange shift, but I promise it’ll come back. I’ll tell you that a nightmare that haunts me is that my son will be abducted. Because, if my son gets taken and they know anything about me, they aren’t asking for a ransom. They are selling him to traffickers and into a truly. Selling him to traffickers to live an unimaginable life. What would I do? I’ll tell you this right now: I’m handing in my two weeks notice because I suddenly have a new full-time job. I would stop at nothing. It would consume my life, finding and winning my son back. I wouldn’t take “no” for an answer, either. I’m not waiting for the FBI to get just the right shot. His kidnapping is not getting caught up in red tape. If someone has a shot, but they don’t pull the trigger… No way. No delay, no excuse, no holds barred.
Jesus has said to us, “My sons and daughters have been kidnapped and sold into slavery. You are the one I’ve put in charge of finding them. The one who can tell them that they are actually free, actually my child. How can you wait for the ‘perfect’ opportunity when I want you to take every opportunity?”
It’s time to rescue the hostages. It’s time for them to taste the freedom of which you drink so deeply. It’s time to be an ambassador for Jesus. You don’t have to thump your Bible, you don’t have to throw chapter and verse at them - that might not even mean much to them. But Jesus will. The one who gave his life for you, for them the one who enslaved himself to free you, free them, the one who volunteered for the executioner’s block in order to give you meaning, purpose and destination longs to give the same things to those who so desperately seek it.
So, if that verse didn’t impact you at all, then let me ask you this: why do you quote a Bible passage to someone who doesn’t accept the Bible as true? I mean, it happens so easily. “All things work for the good!” “Homosexuality is an abomination.” “Everything in moderation.” Ok, that last one isn’t even in the Bible, but your mom probably said it enough that it felt like it was. But sometimes the quotes are meant to be really upbeat, “A kind of love” or “a woman” or “a real David and Goliath story.” And maybe it’s not even the off-handed comments. Maybe you get into a real conversation and open your Bible app for someone and talk about how narrow the gate is for heaven and wide the path is for hell.
Especially when you are sharing your faith with someone who doesn’t have the same faith, you come across as if you are wielding the Bible like a sledgehammer - ready to crush anyone in your way (picture of protesters). You might even be a great ambassador for your Bible, able to conjure a passage for every objection from abortion, to homosexuality, to pride, to care for community and the environment, to money and power. But, here’s what I’ve found as I look into the face of someone I’ve just judo-chopped with a particularly pithy and penetrating Bible passage: I’ve closed the door. I’ve railroaded any further chance of building a relationship. I’ve skipped over the really important work of listening to the questions that are really being asked. I’ve forgotten to sense the real hurt being suffered or the real doubts being surfaced.
But, man, do I feel like an authority! I’ve just beat my former friend into submission. I haven’t gotten it wrong and I’ve eliminated for myself the need to actually think critically about my own faith and what I believe. I’ve come across as confident, not thoughtful, self-assured, not critical, self-righteous, not compassionate.
And if you have been a great ambassador of your Bible, it’s possible that you haven’t been a great ambassador for your Savior. The two are not always the same. You hit your passage dead on and completely miss your Savior.
Understand me, that’s not to say your Bible isn’t powerful and effective. God promises it is. He calls it a sword, living and active, it is the power of God for those who believe, it is the means by which someone comes to faith. Lay on top of that the fact that the Bible is the most accurately transmitted and translated books of history, bar none. In fact, it is literally in a category of it’s own. Listen to this quote from Josh McDowell,
One gets the impression from reading current scholars who deny inerrancy that some recent factual finds have forced them to the conclusion that they must now give up inerrancy. Just the contrary is true. More of the Bible stands confirmed today and more problems are explainable than has been the case for centuries. Discoveries from the Dead Sea, from Sumeria, from Nag Hammadi, and more recently from Ebla provide more support than ever before for the position [Christians] have long held.
So what’s wrong with being an ambassador for the Bible? Just what we talked about earlier, that it isn’t an authority to someone who doesn’t already believe it! If, in the courtroom of their mind, the Bible is dismissed out of hand as inadmissible, giving a Bible passage to someone is contempt of court. Did you hear that in the story of the Samaritan Woman? What does she say when she goes back to to town, “().”
That isn’t a Bible passage. It’s not a pat answer. It’s incredibly honest and vulnerable. Everyone in town knew what she she had done. That’s why she was at the well at the wrong time. But what she had done was not who Jesus had remade her to be. She couldn’t help but talk about it! You tell me who you more often talk to: people who have no frame of reference in the Bible or those who know what it says?
Which is the crux of this whole sermon series. “The God Vacuum.” This series isn’t strictly for you, not most of you, anyway. If you have walked away from God in the past and are just not starting to poke around at what he is, and you’re doing it here, at one of our sites or online, with us, we’re so glad you’re here. But for most of you, these messages aren’t to satisfy an idle curiosity on your part, they are to equip you to go and talk to someone, anyone who doesn’t know what you know.
You know that Jesus has made you whole. That his death and resurrection, that his perfection laid over the top of you has answered the biggest questions in life. Questions of origin, meaning, purpose and destination.
Origin: you come from God. Made by him, fashioned by him, created with care and dignity. More than that, you were remade when God made Jesus’ death your death, when he made Jesus’ resurrection your resurrection. Through the power of the Word and through Baptism, you have been born a second time. Recreated to reflect the image of God himself.
Meaning: Your meaning is independent of you. In other words, it can’t be diminished because of a choice you make or lifestyle you’ve lived. You have meaning because the ransom on your head, the bounty placed because you were a slave, has been paid by the holy precious blood of God.
Purpose: You have it and you know it. You know it because if you didn’t have purpose, you wouldn’t be here. We’ll look forward to celebrating your victory in heaven later this week. Good works have been laid out for you like clothes on the bed. Your purpose is to draw closer to God as you live out the gifts that he’s given you among your friends, at work, at school and in your neighborhood. Gifts of self-sacrificial love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Your purpose is to be the voice that calls others into a relationship with Jesus. Your purpose is big. It’s invaluable. It’s uniquely yours.
Destination: Every human being passes through a single door. A door that hides a mystery. But not to you. You know what’s on the other side. A room that’s been set aside for you and all those who know Jesus as the lamb who was slain. In terms of “where are we going” there’s no doubt for you, no uncertainty.
Jesus alone gives answers to the fundamental questions of the human existence. Without Jesus, you are adrift in the slurry of worldviews and philosophies that don’t offer one single coherent answer. You have the answers. They don’t. How can you keep it to yourself! How can they know unless you say something to them! ()
How do you start that? How do you get into that conversation? It start with prayer. Honestly, you aren’t ready to go rescue the hostages unless you know who the hostages are and how to rescue them. Let me show you a prayer that I’ve used and have never had a “no” answer to. “Lord, lead me to a conversation about you that is so obvious I can’t miss. Let me see with your eyes anyone who needs the answers only you provide.” Then get ready. Sit down at lunch tomorrow with somebody (don’t go hiding in your phone to flip through instagram or play a game) and say something like this, “Man, yesterday at church, we talked about how Christians are sometimes better ambassadors of the Bible and not such good ambassadors for Jesus. I don’t know how I feel about that. How does it strike you?” And then be quiet. Your heart will be in your throat and you’ll wonder if the air had been sucked out of the room, but be quiet and listen. Ask questions based on what that person says. Ask them how they came to their conclusions. Ask them if they’ve always felt that way or if something happened that led them to that conclusion. Then, finally, ask them if they ever considered an alternative. That might look something like this, “I wonder if you’ve ever considered what an ambassador for Jesus would look like?”
Are you feeling terrified right now thinking about that conversation? Good. You wouldn’t be normal if it didn’t feel scary. You wouldn’t be normal if it didn’t feel easy to mess up. You wouldn’t be normal if you didn’t feel like you weren’t the right person or you didn’t have the right words. But let my pretend a conversation with LeBron James. Let’s imagine the conversation with a reporter after he hits the game winning shot, “What does it feel like to have won that game against all odds and with the pressure on.” “Well,” James says. “Today’s actually the first time I’ve touched a basketball. I haven’t ever really been in a gym before today. But I watched a lot of youtube clips and really got the hang of it at home.” No way. He practiced. He got in the game, he made mistakes, he tried again. Now, most of us won’t be the LeBron James of witnessing. But how do you think the Varsity starter got where she did? Or the JV bench sitter? They got there because they got into the game, they practiced, they didn’t let mistakes keep them from trying again.
Jesus has called you to get in the game. Through practice, through trial and error, through prayer and devotion, what do you think is going to happen? You’ll get over the fear. You’ll learn from mistakes that you can only imagine now. You’ll learn to be an ambassador. You’ll learn to ask questions and be a good listener. You’ll figure out how to share Jesus and be direct but winsome. But that will only happen if you get off the bench!
I know this is a strange shift, but I promise it’ll come back. What would you do if you found out that on the way to school or at daycare tomorrow, your child was abducted? I’ll tell you that a nightmare that haunts me is that my son will be taken. Because, if my son gets taken and they know anything about me, they aren’t asking for a ransom. They are selling him. Selling him to traffickers to live an unimaginable life. What would I do? I’ll tell you this right now: I’m handing in my two weeks notice because I suddenly have a new full-time job. I would stop at nothing. It would consume my life, finding and winning my son back. I wouldn’t take “no” for an answer, either. I’m not waiting for the FBI to get just the right shot. His kidnapping is not getting caught up in red tape. If someone has a shot, but they don’t pull the trigger… No way. No delay, no excuse, no holds barred.
Jesus has said to us, “My sons and daughters have been kidnapped and sold into slavery. You are the one I’ve put in charge of finding them. The one who can tell them that they are actually free, actually my child. How can you wait for the ‘perfect’ opportunity when I want you to take every opportunity?”
It’s time to rescue the hostages. It’s time for them to taste the freedom of which you drink so deeply. It’s time to be an ambassador for Jesus. You don’t have to thump your Bible, you don’t have to throw chapter and verse at them - that might not even mean much to them. But Jesus will. The one who gave his life for you, for them the one who enslaved himself to free you, free them, the one who volunteered for the executioner’s block in order to give you meaning, purpose and destination longs to give the same things to those who so desperately seek it. “Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them.” x How does that section impact you? Does that change if I tell you that it’s a quote from Doctrines and Covenants, the formative doctrinal book of the Church of Latter Day Saints? It doesn’t really have any impact on you, does it? It shouldn't! It’s written by a man who claimed, but did not have, special revelation from god. It’s a book that espouses actions that you and I find repugnant and contrary to our morality and ethics. It means nothing to you. Runs off you like water off a duck’s back. I would guess that you’ve already forgotten what I just read.
So, if that verse didn’t impact you at all, then let me ask you this: why do you quote a Bible passage to someone who doesn’t accept the Bible as true? I mean, it happens so easily. “All things work for the good!” “Homosexuality is an abomination.” “Everything in moderation.” Ok, that last one isn’t even in the Bible, but your mom probably said it enough that it felt like it was. But sometimes the quotes are meant to be really upbeat, “A kind of love” or “a woman” or “a real David and Goliath story.” And maybe it’s not even the off-handed comments. Maybe you get into a real conversation and open your Bible app for someone and talk about how narrow the gate is for heaven and wide the path is for hell.
Ask your small group, family members or Christian mentor to hold you accountable to speaking up this week. Plan together your next steps in sharing the freeing truths you have.
Especially when you are sharing your faith with someone who doesn’t have the same faith, you come across as if you are wielding the Bible like a sledgehammer - ready to crush anyone in your way (picture of protesters). You might even be a great ambassador for your Bible, able to conjure a passage for every objection from abortion, to homosexuality, to pride, to care for community and the environment, to money and power. But, here’s what I’ve found as I look into the face of someone I’ve just judo-chopped with a particularly pithy and penetrating Bible passage: I’ve closed the door. I’ve railroaded any further chance of building a relationship. I’ve skipped over the really important work of listening to the questions that are really being asked. I’ve forgotten to sense the real hurt being suffered or the real doubts being surfaced.
But, man, do I feel like an authority! I’ve just beat my former friend into submission. I haven’t gotten it wrong and I’ve eliminated for myself the need to actually think critically about my own faith and what I believe. I’ve come across as confident, not thoughtful, self-assured, not critical, self-righteous, not compassionate.
And if you have been a great ambassador of your Bible, it’s possible that you haven’t been a great ambassador for your Savior. The two are not always the same. You hit your passage dead on and completely miss your Savior.
Understand me, that’s not to say your Bible isn’t powerful and effective. God promises it is. He calls it a sword, living and active, it is the power of God for those who believe, it is the means by which someone comes to faith. Lay on top of that the fact that the Bible is the most accurately transmitted and translated books of history, bar none. In fact, it is literally in a category of it’s own. Listen to this quote from Josh McDowell,
One gets the impression from reading current scholars who deny inerrancy that some recent factual finds have forced them to the conclusion that they must now give up inerrancy. Just the contrary is true. More of the Bible stands confirmed today and more problems are explainable than has been the case for centuries. Discoveries from the Dead Sea, from Sumeria, from Nag Hammadi, and more recently from Ebla provide more support than ever before for the position [Christians] have long held.
So what’s wrong with being an ambassador for the Bible? Just what we talked about earlier, that it isn’t an authority to someone who doesn’t already believe it! If, in the courtroom of their mind, the Bible is dismissed out of hand as inadmissible, giving a Bible passage to someone is contempt of court. Did you hear that in the story of the Samaritan Woman? What does she say when she goes back to to town, “().”
That isn’t a Bible passage. It’s not a pat answer. It’s incredibly honest and vulnerable. Everyone in town knew what she she had done. That’s why she was at the well at the wrong time. But what she had done was not who Jesus had remade her to be. She couldn’t help but talk about it! You tell me who you more often talk to: people who have no frame of reference in the Bible or those who know what it says?
Which is the crux of this whole sermon series. “The God Vacuum.” This series isn’t strictly for you, not most of you, anyway. If you have walked away from God in the past and are just not starting to poke around at what he is, and you’re doing it here, at one of our sites or online, with us, we’re so glad you’re here. But for most of you, these messages aren’t to satisfy an idle curiosity on your part, they are to equip you to go and talk to someone, anyone who doesn’t know what
You know that Jesus has made you whole. That his death and resurrection, that his perfection laid over the top of you has answered the biggest questions in life. Questions of origin, meaning, purpose and destination.
Origin: you come from God. Made by him, fashioned by him, created with care and dignity. More than that, you were remade when God made Jesus’ death your death, when he made Jesus’ resurrection your resurrection. Through the power of the Word and through Baptism, you have been born a second time. Recreated to reflect the image of God himself.
Meaning: Your meaning is independent of you. In other words, it can’t be diminished because of a choice you make or lifestyle you’ve lived. You have meaning because the ransom on your head, the bounty placed because you were a slave, has been paid by the holy precious blood of God.
Purpose: You have it and you know it. You know it because if you didn’t have purpose, you wouldn’t be here. We’ll look forward to celebrating your victory in heaven later this week. Good works have been laid out for you like clothes on the bed. Your purpose is to draw closer to God as you live out the gifts that he’s given you among your friends, at work, at school and in your neighborhood. Gifts of self-sacrificial love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Your purpose is to be the voice that calls others into a relationship with Jesus. Your purpose is big. It’s invaluable. It’s uniquely yours.
Destination: Every human being passes through a single door. A door that hides a mystery. But not to you. You know what’s on the other side. A room that’s been set aside for you and all those who know Jesus as the lamb who was slain. In terms of “where are we going” there’s no doubt for you, no uncertainty.
Jesus alone gives answers to the fundamental questions of the human existence. Without Jesus, you are adrift in the slurry of worldviews and philosophies that don’t offer one single coherent answer. You have the answers. They don’t. How can you keep it to yourself! How can they know unless you say something to them! ()
14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?
How do you start that conversation? It starts with prayer. Let me show you a prayer that I’ve used and have never had a “no” answer to. “Lord, lead me to a conversation about you that is so obvious I can’t miss. Let me see with your eyes anyone who needs the answers only you provide.” Then get ready. Sit down at lunch tomorrow with somebody (don’t go hiding in your phone to flip through instagram or play a game) and say something like this, “Man, yesterday at
Are you terrified right now? Good. You wouldn’t be normal if it didn’t feel scary. You wouldn’t be normal if it didn’t feel easy to mess up. You wouldn’t be normal if you didn’t feel like you weren’t the right person or you didn’t have the right words. But let my pretend a conversation with LeBron James. Let’s imagine the conversation with a reporter after he hits the game winning shot, “What does it feel like to have won that game against all odds and with the pressure on.” “Well,” James says. “Today’s actually the first time I’ve touched a basketball. I haven’t ever really been in a gym before today. But I watched a lot of youtube clips and really got the hang of it at home.” No way. He practiced. He got in the game, he made mistakes, he tried again. Now, most of us won’t be the LeBron James of witnessing. But how do you think the Varsity starter got where she did? Or the JV bench sitter? They got there because they got into the game, they practiced, they didn’t let mistakes keep them from trying again.
Jesus has called you to get in the game. Through practice, through trial and error, through prayer and devotion, what do you think is going to happen? You’ll get over the fear. You’ll learn from mistakes that you can only imagine now. You’ll learn to be an ambassador. You’ll learn to ask questions and be a good listener. You’ll figure out how to share Jesus and be direct but winsome. But that will only happen if you get off the bench!
I know this is a strange shift, but I promise it’ll come back. What would you do if you found out that on the way to school or at daycare tomorrow, your child was abducted? I’ll tell you that a nightmare that haunts me is that my son will be taken. Because, if my son gets taken and they know anything about me, they aren’t asking for a ransom. They are selling him. Selling him to traffickers to live an unimaginable life. What would I do? I’ll tell you this right now: I’m handing in my two weeks notice because I suddenly have a new full-time job. I would stop at nothing. It would consume my life, finding and winning my son back. I wouldn’t take “no” for an answer, either. I’m not waiting for the FBI to get just the right shot. His kidnapping is not getting caught up in red tape. If someone has a shot, but they don’t pull the trigger… No way. No delay, no excuse, no holds barred.
Jesus has said to us, “My sons and daughters have been kidnapped and sold into slavery. You are the one I’ve put in charge of finding them. The one who can tell them that they are actually free, actually my child. How can you wait for the ‘perfect’ opportunity when I want you to take every opportunity?”
It’s time to rescue the hostages. It’s time for them to taste the freedom of which you drink so deeply. It’s time to be an ambassador for Jesus. You don’t have to thump your Bible, you don’t have to throw chapter and verse at them - that might not even mean much to them. But Jesus will. The one who gave his life for you, for them the one who enslaved himself to free you, free them, the one who volunteered for the executioner’s block in order to give you meaning, purpose and destination longs to give the same things to those who so desperately seek it.