JUST WALK ACROSS THE ROOM FOUR WEEK EXPERIENCE

Week 1 : The Single Greatest Gift

Message 1

Introduction

(PPT Slide 1 /Just Walk across the room campaign Graphic, Week 1)

I am so glad that you are here today. Because today we are going to begin a four-week experience that is going to radically change the way you and I perceive evangelism – how we go about sharing our faith with people who have still to come to know Jesus.

Evangelism – For some of you, just hearing that word sends a tremor of terror up your spine. You’re sitting there wondering if I’m going to make you come up here at some point and give a personal demonstration of how to share your faith with a person who doesn’t know Jesus.

If I have just described you .... please relax.

I’d venture a guess that this four-week experience will be unlike anything you’ve ever read, seen, heard about evangelism. Here is why I say that. The type of evangelism we’ll be exploring involves:

No formulas

No scripts

No quizzes, tests, or on-the-spot demands for huge chunks of memorised information.

Intrigued yet??

The new thing we will discover together is this: evangelism, can be as simple as taking a walk across a room. And taking a walk across a room is something we can all do, wouldn’t you agree?

I will explain more about the walk-across-the-room imagery in a moment, but for now, I want to introduce you via video to the author of the next 4 weeks series, Bill Hybels. He will set the stage for our time together this morning and then we will get into the content for week one.

(Excerpt from Message Video Excerpt, Week One)

Did you catch the gist of his closing statement: “If we would all do just the small thing that we can do, we would touch a lot more lives!!”

If you’re a follower of Jesus, isn’t this essentially what you want most .... to touch the lives of the people you know – the people you love – who are living their lives far from God?

The “Just walk across the room” metaphor that serves as the key concept for the book we have been mentioning over the past few weeks has its roots in a story that’s about this very thing. It’s a story about one person who was living far from God. But then one day, his entire world got upended because a Christ-follower touched his life. And guess how it all began? {PAUSE}.............................

With a walk across a room.

Bill Hybels had been invited to a lunch event. As he and other guests entered the hotel ballroom where the event was to take place and found their seats, they were asked to introduce themselves to the other folks around the table. Bill didn’t know the other members of his table group but immediately noticed how diverse they all were .... just in terms of their ethnicity, age and so on.

Seated directly across from him, there was a tall African-American gentleman ... this was a big man, a bit like a front row rugby forward. When he said his name, it was distinctly Muslim. Then the next person, and the next person and they started their meal. At one point in the meal, the African- American Muslim made ey contact with Bill and mouthed the words “ I love your books!” Here is how Hybels writes it:

I looked over my shoulder to see if there was another famous author standing behind me. There wasn’t, so I said “Me?”

He said, “Yea, you! We’ll talk later..” He had this huge grin on his face, but still thought that he had confused me with someone else. So after lunch he pulls me off to one side and says, “I now understand this is probably a little confusing because you assume I am a Muslim .... Let me tell you a quick story.

“ I have been a Muslim my whole adult life. Being an African Muslim in a Southern City – and being in the profession that I am in is not always easy. As you might imagine, I have some struggles in social settings.

He said “In the profession I’m in, we have a lot of cocktail parties, and a lot of evening events; and the natural course for me at these parties is that I am served a drink, I get some hors d’oeuvres, and I try to make business contacts in the room. Inevitably I wind up standing alone at most parties until enough time has elapsed and I feel like I can gracefully make an exit... and then I subtly leave. This whole dynamic is just something I have learned to live with.”

The Muslim man went onto to tell Bill that one night, when he was at such a party, he found himself with a drink in one hand, a plate of food in the other, standing all by himself as usual. Sure, there were groups of people gathered throughout the entire room, talking, laughing, engaging in conversation about this or that – but he was there with no one to talk to, and nothing to do. Except to stand there looking out of place.

At some point during the party, the Muslim man noticed a guy standing on the other side of the room who was in the middle of conversation with people of his own colour and his own “kind” The guy looked away from his own group and saw our Muslim friend standing all alone just ten feet away. He was perplexed that this guy would even care to notice him, but what happened next would utterly shock him.

The guy actually excused himself from his conversation, turned away from the group, walked all the way across the room, stuck out his hand to the Muslim man, introduced himself and then asked for the Muslim gentleman’s name.

From there the conversation unfolded so smoothly.... so naturally. They talked about their mutual profession. They talked about their families. They talked about business in general and sports and all sorts of things. Eventually – in this same conversation – the issue of faith came up.

Our African-American friend told Bill that at that point in the conversation, he became a little reticent ...he just assumed that there would be an unfavourable reaction when the other guy learned he was a Muslim. But he took the risk, and to his surprise, the guy said, “Well I am a Christian, but truth be told I know nothing about Islam. I wonder if you would do the courtesy sometime – maybe over breakfast one day – of giving me a basic outline of your faith system... you know, why you committed yourself to Islam. Hearing your story would be pretty interesting to me.”

The Muslim man almost fainted! Can you imagine his surprise when he saw a Christ-follower in a social setting like that operating with such openness and grace?

Well, the two men agreed to meet for breakfast the following week, and the conversation that ensued was incredible. The Christian man felt free to ask questions about Islam, and the Muslim man felt free to answer them.

That meeting led to another meeting the following week. And another one after that. And another. For weeks on end, these two men got together over cups of coffee so that one follower of Jesus, could take an interest in a man living far from God.

At some point in this series of breakfasts, an interesting thing happened. The Muslim man realised that this Christian guy had been a good listener all this time ... week after week after week. He hadn’t judged the Muslim man’s life choices. He hadn’t wedged his own agenda into their conversations. He just kept showing up with a listening ear and a genuine interest in the Muslim man’s life.

I’ll let the Muslim man give you the rest of the story, as he told it to Bill at the luncheon that day:

I really didn’t remember that much about the Christian faith. I’d been a Christian at some point in my childhood, but the racism in our community had infiltrated my family’s church. Eventually, we just left the faith altogether. Doesn’t take a genius to know when you’re not wanted. But for some reason I was prompted during one of our breakfast meetings to say, “You’ve been such a good listener all this time ... would you be willing to refresh my memory on the Christian faith?”

From there, it all happened so easily and respectfully and sensitively. And to make a long story short, many months later, after determining that Christianity was the superior faith system, I committed my life to Jesus Christ! And it has made an unbelievable change in my life, Bill. I am part of a local church now, and that is where I came across some of the books that you’ve written. I can’t tell you the difference this whole thing has made in my life .... and in the lives of all my family members.

PPT Slide 2/Week one premise, “The single greatest gift...”

Friends, the single greatest gift Christ-followers can give to the people around them is an introduction to the God who created them, who loves them, and who has a purpose for their life. Nothing beats it – not monetary gains, not job opportunities, not recognition or accolades.

And when you boil it all down, this is what evangelism amounts to: constantly watching for ways to give this single greatest gift to someone else’s life. And because he was open being used by God, guess what happened?

God used him.

Today we begin the process of understanding how exciting it is, that in making ourselves available to God – he chooses to use us. I hope that this is something that you, me, all of us desire. And the first step in being used by God is being willing to extricate ourselves from our Circles of Comfort and stretch out a hand to a person who needs the hope that Christ alone can offer.

Now, back to the walk-across-a-room idea. Let us take a closer look at how this whole thing unfolded. What will it take in order for us to give this “single greatest gift” to someone we know?

Point 1 : Enter the Zone of the Unknown

PPT Slide 3/Point 1: Be willing to enter the Zone of the Unknown

Think about this with me for a moment. One Christ-follower in a social setting was standing in what we calling a conversational “Circle of Comfort”. He was in a circle where it was easy to relate, where it was easy to converse, where there was no threat ... in other words, nothing ‘unsafe’ could happen. He had every reason in the world to continue talking in that little circle he was in. It was a “Circle of Comfort”, a place we’ve all frequented, right?

Yet he looked across the room and he saw someone – really saw someone – who was standing alone and perhaps needed a little encouragement or an ounce of friendship.

Not only did he look and see, but he felt something and then heard something from the Holy Spirit – something like, “Why don’t you go over there and extend a hand of friendship to the guy on the other side of the room”

So he saw the situation. He felt something. He heard a prompting – ostensibly from the Holy Spirit of God. And then he actually said to the people who were standing with him in the Circle of Comfort, “Excuse me for a minute.”

Now remember, he has no idea what is going to happen once he crosses the room and sticks his hand to this stranger. He doesn’t know what the conversation is going to be like. He doesn’t know what the reaction of the individual will be like. But he has already left the Circle of Comfort – there is no turning back now.

And so he walks ... probably praying every step of the way. He walks all the way across the room and enters into what we call the “Zone of the Unknown”. Have you ever been there – in the Zone of the Unknown? {PAUSE}

It’s in the Zone of the Unknown where God often does his best work! It’s in the Zone of the Unknown where the guy said, “Hi, I’m so and so... what’s your name?” And he struck up a conversation that quite literally changed the African American gentleman’s eternity, as well as the eternities of his wife and children -- WOW!!!

Can you believe how simple and straightforward this image is? Just a few steps to cross the room. But you tell me, how much spiritual, eternal, salvation impact did that one follower of Jesus have – just because he was willing to take these few steps?

I believe it was a staggering sum of impact, friends. I believe the gates of hell shuddered when he took the first step. In that moment, the angels in heaven probably began banners to unfurl with the names of the businessman and his family written on them the moment they crossed the line of new faith in Christ.

Here the question I want all of us to ponder, this morning, and over the next 4 weeks: what would happen if we were to take a few steps across a room, a short walk across our street, to stop and turn to our neighbour over our fence? Is it possible that we could actually impact someone’s eternal destiny – perhaps even that of their family? That we could change the course of an entire family history by simply taking a few steps toward someone who may heading for a Christ-less eternity?

Do you think that would be worth the risk of ten steps across the room?

When I was reading through a section of Just Walk Across the Room I found a quote that would stop all of us in our tracks: “The day Christ-followers like you and me stop taking walks across rooms in this manner, the day we stay glued to our Circles of Comfort, refuse to make the walk, refuse to enter the Zone of the Unknown ... the day Christ-followers like you and me stop doing this, it is lights out for the kingdom of God here on earth. It is the beginning of the end of redemptive history. It’s the slow defeat of the church – the bride of Christ. It is the end of the dream of Christ that people on earth would come to know him.”

Please listen carefully: as we look at this subject over the next 4 weeks, I want you to remember that one of the top priorities of the Holy Spirit in our lives is to turn every single person here – every single follower of Jesus into someone who would naturally walk across the room. Everyone.

Regardless of your age, regardless of your gender. Regardless of your colour, your personality type, your respective spiritual gift, your experience of kingdom-building initiatives to this point.

If you are a living breathing follower of Jesus, then the Spirit is asking you to walk. He’s asking me to walk. He’s asking us to make a difference in the lives of people we see each and every day. At work, at the school gates, in social settings, at the Gym, at our children’s sporstday. In the midst of our busy schedules. Wherever, whenever.

If you have submitted your life to Christ but wonder why you’re not just rocketing ahead in your spiritual development or your spiritual maturity, could it be that, for too long now, you have clung to your Circles of Comfort, refusing to even glance toward that Zone of Unknown, let alone take a walk into it?

It seems almost impossible to imagine, but there are people who have experienced the merciful forgiveness and soul-cleansing power of the gospel in their lives and then somehow contract a bad case of “spiritual amnesia” – at that point, they simply forget how personal the cross of Christ is to them.

They get wrapped up in their Circles of Comfort – warming themselves day after day from the glow of Christian community, focussing all of their energies and the people standing inside the circle .... never once turning around to acknowledge the isolated people standing across the room who desperately need a little injection of hope.

If you have made the choice to follow Christ – if you have found him to be the truth, if you have found what the Bible says to be the truth – then why would you – why would any of us – think that other people wouldn’t be interested in knowing about what we have discovered to be the most life-changing, heart-stimulating, eternity-altering relationship in our lives.

Friends, if you have been transformed by grace – if you have been bowled over by God’s gift of new life, as I thankfully have – and if you want to live your life as an expression of love for the great God you know – then I believe what God is saying to us in delivering this course is to increase our enthusiasm and introduce as many people as possible to the God who wants desperately to enfold them with His Grace!!!

All right, so in order to bestow this single greatest gift on someone living far from God, you first must be willing to enter the Zone of the Unknown, as we’ve established. But there’s more. Because unless you’ve got some supernatural power on your side, you could do more harm than good once you’re there.

Point 2: Listen to the Spirit’s promptings

PPT Slide 4/Point 2 : Listen for the Spirit’s promptings.

In order for us to be effective in the Zone of the Unknown, we must be led by the Spirit. We must listen to the Spirit’s prompting, it says in Galatians 5 : 25, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” We must listen to the Spirit’s promptings every step of the way.

There was one Sunday, I was sitting at the start of a church service and I noticed a new mum arriving in church with two little children, one of them a baby. Before the end of the service I saw her leaving and heading out the door. Then as clear as day I felt God saying “Get up, out of your seat, and go out and speak to her” So feeling prompted by the Spirit I did, I went out to the front door, and as I got there she was rocking her baby, but was getting ready to leave. I chatted with her for the rest of the service, just took an interest in her story, her background. I knew at the time that the very polite “kick up my backside” was from God, as the woman seemed to really appreciate me taking the time out t welcome her and take an interest in her and her children. The Mum was Louise Clark, and her and her family are still very much part of our church today. That for me was an example of just being obedient and listening to God’s promptings, and being willing to take a simple “Walk across a room” and taking a genuine interest in another human being.

Sometimes you see and you hear and you feel and you move .... and then you go ahead and take the risk. And then other times, when it seems like maybe you should make a move and things don’t open up that way.

The key is this: fundamentally, being walk across the room people means that we walk when the Spirit tells us to walk and we don’t walk when the Spirit says not to walk. That’s what makes this thing dynamic and mystical and out of your control ... and out of mine. Frankly, it’s what keeps the edge and the adventure present in the Christian life.

PPT Slide 5/ Matthew 5 Passage

In Matthew 5: 13, Jesus said this about his followers “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.”

So as the verse says, you’ve got to have savour. You’ve got to have spiritual potency. But what else does salt need if it is going to affect anything? It needs proximity. You’ve got to get salt on something if it’s going to affect it, true?

Think of it this way: I can be the strongest, most savoury form of salt the world has ever seen. I can be the saltiest salt known to humankind .. but I won’t make any impact unless I get up close some people who need to be affected.

Based on the law of averages, there are some of you sitting here this morning who are maybe saying, “You know, I go along with the ideas you’ve mentioned. But I think this whole task is reserved for spiritual superstars who can do the kind of thing you’re talking about tied behind their backs. And I’m not one of them! I don’t have the right training, the right confidence level, the right skill level. I don’t have the quick mind, the relational attitude, or the gifts, or whatever. I just don’t have what it takes.”

And if you’re in that camp, I assure you I am in sympathy with your concerns. Believe me I know what it is to walk across the room and go. “What on earth am I doing here, This is so tough, this feels far too risky.!”

It’s true: there is genuine fear that has to be overcome to operate in the environment we’re talking about. There is anxiety about everything will unfold once you enter the Zone of the Unknown. There can be incredible anxiety when a normal conversation suddenly shifts and migrates into spiritual territory. It unnerves even the most seasoned Christ-followers I promise you.

But here’s the underlying reality I want to remind you of: when we are relating right with Jesus Christ – when there is vitality and openness in our spirits to the promptings of His Spirit – here’s what happens: You’ll find yourself standing in a Circle of Comfort as usual. But by the Spirit’s power as you’re listening to the conversation at hand, you’ll be able to have one eye open and roving around the room to see if there is someone the Holy Spirit really wants you to see. You’ll be able to sense the leading of the Holy Spirit “Are you trying to tell me something about what’s going on in this place? Is there someone you want me and go talk to.”

Not all of the time, but some of the time, by God’s grace, if you:

Commit yourself to being salty in your world

Get some proximity to people who need grace

Listen for the Spirits promptings

...then you can make that turn each and every time ... and with confidence tell God “All right I’ll walk. I want to know where this prompting will lead God, and so I’ll go.”

Some of you have already experienced this firsthand. If you have you’ll agree with what I am about to say. As Christ-followers take walks across rooms ... as they explore the Zone of the Unknown ... as they have initial conversations with people whose eternities are hanging in the balance and have no idea how it’s all going to turn out... as they strain to hear the Holy Spirit – they begin to see God at work in incredible life-changing ways – they see lives being touched through them – enabling people to start a journey of faith to salvation – now there is nothing in life better than that!! Now wouldn’t you all like to be having these experiences more regularly – I would, wouldn’t it be amazing, to every single day to say “God, I am available – I want to be salt and light – I want to be salt and light – in my neighbourhood, at my work, anywhere, just show me YOUR opportunities and by your Spirit lead me”.........

What I hope that you’ll discover in the next few weeks is that this experience is not about rigidly sticking to a set of rules on how many people you have to speak to about Jesus, not about how many people you have invited to church. No, what this is really about is how you become more aware of how the heart of God beats through us when we are operating in harmony with Him!! AMEN!!

As followers of Jesus in this scenario where we’re operating in harmony with God – we win because there is an internal spiritual victory that happens when we walk by faith – not by sight. There is something a lot like Jesus that is going on in you and me when we leave a Circle of Comfort and take that faith-walk across the room, and simply – stretch out that hand.

This is something we can all do. This is something that every single person in this congregation can decide to do and can learn to do. You can be trained for this. You can be equipped for this. You can receive the pointers that will make you more effective. But for what purpose? I mean, when you boil it down, what’s the reason we want to get better about all this stuff?

Point 3: Just Walk!

PPT Slide 6/Romans 5: 8

There’s a passage in Romans 5: 8 that is familiar to many of you. It’s coming up on the screen now. Will you read it with me? It says “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Let me press the pause button here for just a moment. Personally I have spent some time this last week reflecting on what this in reality means in my own life... I had grown up learning about this Jesus, an amazing man who had died for the sins of the world. What people had failed to tell me though, was that actually, he had died for me. Jesus had not died for the world

as a whole, but had died for me individually – Jesus had paid the price for all my sins, and even more amazing as the scripture represents – Jesus even knew what I would be like, he knew of all my sin, all the wrong things I have done, and yet he still chose to take my place, and to take the punishment for all my sin .......

What a gift – not merely that God would feel this type of love for me, but that he would go to such lengths to demonstrate it in such a radical manner!...

And how was it, exactly, that Jesus Christ demonstrated the love of the Father? What was the radical move he made to prove to you and me that he really does feel redemptive, grace filled, unconditional love for each one of us? Some of you know where this is going?

He took a walk!

PPT Slide 7/Philippians 2 Passage

The verses from Philippians you see that at a specific point in history – actual time and actual space – Jesus walked all the way around the cosmos and reached out his redemptive hand to people like you and me. And because of that one walk, humankind was able to be saved and secured in the family of God forever!!!

Think for a moment about the implications of that walk: this passage tells us that Jesus under direction from his Father, left the ultimate Circle of Comfort – heaven itself ... direct participation in the Trinity ... the worship the adoration of the angels.

Jesus Christ left the supreme Circle of Comfort and he took the longest walk a person could ever take, if you think along the metaphorical lines we’re discussing. But why???

Here’s why: he did it to stretch out a hand to people just like you and me, He did it to reach people, many of whom were in the middle of making a mess of their lives.

We are all in the same boat here – every person who has ever inhaled air has been (or is still) in dire need of being rescued.

Isn’t that incredible? Guess what? It doesn’t end there.

In addition to taking a walk across the cosmos so that you and I could be redeemed, he also took a walk across the cosmos – so that you and I could see how it’s done!!!! And these days – right here in our everyday lives – what he tries to do with us between now and heaven is to say “What I did, leaving that circle, making that trip and reaching out to you, what I did .... is precisely what I want you to do. I want this to be characteristic of my followers, that they would be walk-across-the-room kinds of people. Just following my Spirit’s lead, doing exactly what I did ... whenever I give them the opportunity to do so.”

And what I hope you will hear in Christ’s exhortation is this “Don’t get yourself tied up in knots trying to make sure all the mechanics and logistics are just right. Don’t give even a hint of mental energy to motivations of guilt or obligation. You can just cast all that aside and instead just take the hand of the Holy Spirit and walk. If you will stay open, with an eye focused on people and an ear tuned to his still, small whisper, you will be amazed by what unfolds.!”

God says to us all today, “I am going to ask you to walk across the street; I am going to ask you to walk across an office complex; I am going to ask you to walk across a cafeteria or locker room. I am going to ask you to take that walk, leave your Circle of Comfort you are in and take the walk, enter the unknown – and something really exciting is going to happen. That is what I want you to do.”

PPT Slide 8/Point 3: Just Walk

And our third point: Just Walk!!

Why? Because Jesus “just walked” for you. For me. For us. And for every single person inhabiting the planet today.. Do you believe that?

And as you have probably surmised by now, this is why we’re devoting an entire month of our churches life to these ideas. So that we can get better about hearing the Spirit’s promptings, yes. But also that we will start taking action with immediacy and a newfound sense of confidence ... and in the process, that we will become more like Jesus. This is what our four week experience is all about.

PPT Slide 10/Point 3: Just Walk

Please understand that I do realise how real life goes. I know that we can all be tempted into staying in our safe little circles, instead of caring about people who maybe standing right in front of us. But hopefully, the longer we spend time focussing on and spending time in the presence of Jesus – listening to the promptings of His Spirit – the more our eyes will be opened to seeing the things He sees... To seeing people around us who need care, love, friendship, community and .....hope.

Closing

PPT Slide 11/ God used you to help point the way”

As we close today I want you to think about how you became a Christian? I want you to think about how some of your friends became Christians? Almost every Christ-follower I know can think back on somebody – it might have been a Mum or a Dad, it might have been a colleague or a teacher, it might have been a friend or a neighbour – who walked across a room for you, or for them.

And so, if you are Christian, then someone probably took a risk for you along the way and did a little something that would interest you in the possibility of knowing the love of God and the opportunity to be freed from your sins.

Before I became a Christian, I was selfish, unhappy with myself. Had suffered rejection from my peer group at the time. Then a friend of mine, Mary Begg, started to call me and say “Gary, how are you?” She took a real interest in my life but would then say, “There is this new Baptist Church in Dundee called Central. It is really good, would you like to come sometime?” Mary phoned me every few weeks for, it must have been 6 months, and I kept putting her off, as I went to see Ice Hockey on Sunday nights.

Then, I had an experience of God, where God revealed himself to me, so the next time Mary phoned me, I said “I would love to come.” That is when I heard that Jesus had died for me, I gave my life to Christ - and the rest they say is – HISTORY.

Mary, took the “walk across the room” for me – she prayed for me, she persevered, she persisted –because she wanted to hand me the “single greatest gift” I have ever received in my life. Yes, it is down to our Lord, and to Him be all the glory – but in terms of me, it is because Mary Begg was obedient to the call, she made herself available to God – she took a walk, made a phone call, so that I could be rescued from my sin. Praise God!!! I have huge respect for her, for the one who moved toward me when I was lost confused and completely separated from Christian community.

Friends, the “single greatest gift” you and I can give to another human being is an introduction to the God who declared that his mission was to find every person who was lost ....and to bring them home. Amen!

So, be willing to enter the Zone of the Unknown, let us learn how to listen more for the promptings of the Holy Spirit and Just Walk.... Over the next 3 Sunday mornings and in the evening sessions we will unpack how you move from taking a walk across the room, to developing friendships, seeking out and taking opportunities to point people to Christ.

There is still an opportunity for those of you who haven’t signed up for the course. There is a “Just Walk Across the Room” table located in the hall and there will be someone there who can give you more information.

I am though really excited and looking forward to what God will do in and through our lives as we “just take a walk across the room” Amen.

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Just Walk Across the Room Four-Week Experience Week Two: Living in 3D

Introduction

PPT Slide 1/Just Walk campaign graphic, Week Two

I don’t know about you, but during the past week, with all these ideas in my head of “walking across rooms” and “entering zones of the unknown,” I found myself thinking more about other people and what unexpected conversations –if any might come up! I sensed that God is touching lives in our church and some people we are in contact with, so I had a greater sense of expectancy than in an average week. Did you all experience this too?

Let me give you just one example of something that happened as a result of having this new perspective on evangelism … Without going into the details of a personal conversation I met someone this week that I meet in passing most weeks. Usually our conversation is very light and short as we go about our business. However, last week we spoke for 15-20 minutes about a range of issues that were much more personal and significant. I felt it appropriate to mention what I do as that seemed natural in the conversation and relevant to the topic under discussion at the time. Walking across a room to acknowledge someone and asking how their day or week is going allows them to say as little or much as they wish; recognising other people and building friendships is always a good thing. It may or may not ever lead to the spiritual outcome we would like, but we are simply making ourselves available to God for the Holy Spirit to use us to speak for Him, where He opens doors and provides opportunities. Several people this week have spoken to me about conversations with people they hadn’t met before, yet who brought the conversation round to Church /God without us having to initiate the topic. Allowing God the Holy Spirit to guide us and being sensitive to His leading will result in more opportunities for witness over the longer term. It is, though, important to grasp that this is not a four week high intensity activity that we can tick off at the end and think what will we do next year, by contrast it is a reminder of what it means to live for Jesus in the way in which He lived His life with the people He met 2,000 years ago. One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that God tends to use the people that are available and willing to be used by Him. Remember the real reason we’re doing this experience is so that we can all become walk-across-the-room people. That’s the reason! Because walk-across-the-room people are typically the ones who get to be used in pointing people far from God to faith. Now He has modelled His love for people in Jesus who went to the most extraordinary lengths to show us His love for humankind. He wanted lost people to be found; people whose lives had lost direction to be refocused; people who were His followers to know what really matters in terms of priorities for their lives. And for those of you who really and truly desire to become more like Christ in your lives, I have some good news for you: you become most like Him when you help Him help lost people get found. Last week, if you recall, we finished with the exhortation to “just walk.” We said that if we wanted to share the single greatest gift we can give other people—an introduction to the God who created them and loves them—then we will:

PPT Slide 2/Recap of last week’s three points … (slide builds from point one to point three in abbreviated form)

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1. Be willing to enter the Zone of the Unknown … by voluntarily extricating ourselves from our Circles of Comfort and being open to engaging with someone who might need a touch from God; 2. Listen for the Spirit’s promptings … by choosing to rely on his guidance instead of our own; 3. Just walk … remembering that Jesus took a long, cosmic walk for us… Today, I want to spend our brief moments together talking about what happens right after you decide to “just walk.” In other words, what should you be thinking about, praying about, and talking about in that Zone of the Unknown once you step foot into it? Because if you’re anything like me, agreeing to “walk” is one thing, but knowing what to do once you’ve reached the destination -the person standing across the room from you- is quite another. I think these are valid questions for us all to ask: After I make the decision to walk across a room … What do I think about? What do I pray about? What on earth do I say? This week, we’re exploring what’s called “Living in 3D.” 3D Living is a framework for operating successfully in the Zone of the Unknown. It’s made up of three “D’s,” as you probably deduced. Here is the first “D”:

Point 1: Develop Friendships

PPT Slide 3/Point 1: Develop friendships

Walk-across-the-room people are those who live life in “3D”; first, they constantly look for ways to:

• Develop friendships

If we’re going to reflect the Father’s heart, as individuals and as a church, then we must be in continuous search mode. We’ve got to make a habit of searching for new friendships on the horizon. That is the heart of a true Christ-follower. When you operate this way—when you operate in continuous “search mode” … watching for ways to connect with people, looking for friendships in the making— building bridges with people you maybe havn’t met before or never really knew that well, God can use us in ways we never thought possible in His time. We are not in the business of brow-beating people into God’s kingdom. There are plenty of other religious groups –even some churches- doing that, but it is not Jesus’ way. He invited people to walk with Him on a journey and to see what He was doing and copy how He interacted with the people around Him. This is not always easy. Sometimes our offer of genuine friendship may be rejected. Yet when we are living in the way Jesus wants His followers to experience there is a sense of excitement and anticipation, as well as a little fear and nervousness at time if we are honest, as we invite the Holy Spirit to use us to build friendships with people God has placed on our pathway day by day. The question though is this-will you offer that hand of friendship and see where God will work by His amazing grace? All of heaven watches … holds its breath … waits … and then exhales a shared sigh of relief—a joyous, celebrative sigh of relief—when you are obedient and do the thing that God is asking you to do.

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In that moment, the cheers that break out all across heaven are thunderous … raucous cheers … utterly deafening cheers! Now, this is the way it should be, mind you. This is the way things ought to operate day in, day out, in the lives of Christ-followers all across the globe … friendships getting formed that eventually might lead to something spiritual unfolding. Yes, this is the dynamic that we hope would play out with such frequency that the angels in heaven live in perpetual party-mode. But things don’t always work out this way, do they? Why do you think it is the people who have come to faith most recently who have the greatest impact on others around them for Jesus? In part this is obviously due to the fact that their conversions have happened fairly recently, but that is not the whole story. Often they have a great deal more enthusiasm for Jesus than some other Christians who have been believers for years and have become too familiar with the blessings of the Christian faith and taken them for granted –forgetting that many other people in their street, workplace etc have no idea what they are missing out on, by not following Jesus. However, there is a more fundamental matter that is significant; in fact it is the most important factor of all. New Christians have an intentionality about sharing their faith and an expectancy that other people around them will come to know Jesus in the not too distant future. This is reinforced appropriately, if they are attending a church where year by year other people come to know Jesus as well. In a ‘normal’ church, in the biblical sense, it is to be expected that people will be converted each year; that believers will be baptised; that new people will commit to serving in ministries in their local church and that each believer will grow in their faith in the Lord. The tragedy of Western Christianity is that too often we have accepted the abnormal –the lack of these characteristics of life- as normal, whereas in the two-thirds world the very opposite is the case. What is it that hinders Churches in Scotland-even in beautiful Broughty Ferry from being what they should be for Jesus?

I think this twentieth century story makes the point very clear:

On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur, there was once a little life-saving station. The building was primitive, and there was just one boat, but the members of the life-saving station were committed and kept a constant watch over the sea. When a ship went down, they unselfishly went out day or night to save the lost. Because so many lives were saved by that station, it became famous. Consequently, many people wanted to be associated with the station to give their time, talent, and money to support its important work. New boats were bought, new crews were recruited, a formal training session was offered. As the membership in the life-saving station grew, some of the members became unhappy that the building was so primitive and that the equipment was so outdated. They wanted a better place to welcome the survivors pulled from the sea. So they replaced the emergency cots with beds and put better furniture in the enlarged and newly decorated building. Now the life-saving station became a popular gathering place for its members. They met regularly and when they did, it was apparent how they loved one another. They greeted each other, hugged each other, and shared with one another the events that had been going on in their lives. But fewer members were now interested in going to sea on life-saving missions; so they hired lifeboat crews to do this for them. About this time, a large ship was wrecked off of the coast, and the hired crews brought into the life-saving station boatloads of cold, wet, dirty, sick, and half-drowned people. Some of them had black skin, and some had yellow skin. Some could speak English well, and some could hardly speak it at all. Some were first-class cabin passengers of the ship, and some were the deck hands. The beautiful meeting place became a place of chaos. The plush carpets got dirty. Some of the exquisite furniture got scratched. So the property committee immediately had a shower built outside the house where the victims of shipwreck could be cleaned up before coming inside. At the next

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meeting there was rift in the membership. Most of the members wanted to stop the club's life-saving activities, for they were unpleasant and a hindrance to the normal fellowship of the members. Other members insisted that life-saving was their primary purpose and pointed out that they were still called a life-saving station. But they were finally voted down and told that if they wanted to save the lives of all those various kinds of people who would be shipwrecked, they could begin their own life-saving station down the coast. And do you know what? That is what they did. As the years passed, the new station experienced the same changes that had occurred in the old. It evolved into a place to meet regularly for fellowship, for committee meetings, and for special training sessions about their mission, but few went out to the drowning people. The drowning people were no longer welcomed in that new life-saving station. So another life-saving station was founded further down the coast. History continued to repeat itself. And if you visit that seacoast today, you will find a number of adequate meeting places with ample parking and plush carpeting. Shipwrecks are frequent in those waters, but most of the people drown. [an abbreviated version of a story told by Thomas Wedel, Ecumenical Review, October, 1953] It seems hard to believe, doesn’t it—that this trend could take place in the life of someone who is genuinely walking with Jesus Christ? If you think about it, this whole dynamic is what makes the Circle of Comfort so comfortable. Almost all of us find it quite easy to love some people—maybe a spouse or our parents or our kids … our friends at work, our friends at church. We see them, and our initial reaction is love. We want to bless them. We crave time with them. We’re filled with joy when these people come to mind. Anyone relate to what I’m saying here? It’s true: almost every human being has a loving heart toward some people. But here’s what may not be so easy to admit. While almost every human being has a loving heart toward some people, almost every human being also has a secret list of people they just can’t stand. It might be a business partner who took some of your money and broke up your partnership twenty years ago. It might be a spouse who walked out on you. It might be someone who wounded you with words. You might have reasons—really good reasons—for not liking a certain number of people. But you know what? It even gets more complex than that. Some of us don’t like entire groups of people. Maybe some people with different political views; I once stood on the doorstep of a home talking to a man who had once attended the church on whose behalf I was putting out leaflets. He told me that he was a prominent member of one of the major political parties in Scotland but told me that he knew of no-one else that voted for that party in the church and felt that he was made less than welcome so he left and was no longer attending a church. Maybe some people of another ethnic or religious background On another occasion when I was putting out leaflets for a particular church I met a man who was obviously a Sikh. We had a number of good chats, but as I got to know his story I could have wept. He had felt a serious attraction to following Jesus for many years before he decided to take the step of committing himself. In the community where he had lived at the time there was a prominent church building so he started going along. He went along but as the weeks, months and then up to a couple of years passed, although a few people said ‘hello’ in church –that was it. They never shared a coffee or tea together, despite being on his own no-one ever invited him to their homes for a meal or any other social contact and certainly never visited him at his home. He came to the conclusion that these people met for an hour on a Sunday morning and that was about it. The quality of community life in the Gurdwara (Sikh place of worship) was far greater than in that local church. Very disappointed he went back to being a Sikh again. He had a high view of Jesus, but didn’t find that the Christian people in his locality were living in a way that reflected Him. A year or two later he moved to the place where I met him. Our conversations were always very respectful and friendly, but for some time I speculated on what might have

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been had he met followers of Jesus who had welcomed him to their community and given a hand of friendship to him… Maybe people from a different social class I never saw this as an issue in British Churches (including Evangelical ones) until I entered into the pastoral ministry. Where people from a different socio-economic background were made to feel less than welcome until they took the hint and left; I have seen it with respect to middle-class people in working class congregations and vice versa. Maybe people of a different generation elderly churchgoers unwilling to accept any changes in church life to include younger people in the congregation; younger churchgoers intolerant and inpatient of older people and their approach to church; a biblical New Testament Church is a multi-generation family containing the very young to the very old (except in parts of the world where Christianity is very new). To be a New Testament Church is richly rewarding and a wonderful blessing and to be honest very hard work at times, but the rewards at the end of the day are out of this world! Followers of Jesus are called to be like their master and welcome equally all who want to follow Jesus with them in that local church. These issues are a reality rarely ever talked about, because we know it is wrong, but welcoming people outside of our circles of comfort takes that little bit more effort. Inside we might be thinking: “All right now, if you’re asking me to love some people outside of this circle, they have to be people I can get along with; they must not use up too much of my time…, they..[personal preferences…]” All of us in our busy lives have had thoughts of this kind. We want to be welcoming and give of our time and friendship…but in the pressures of life we can put all kinds of qualifications on the kind of people we want to spend time with. Officially in theory British society has never been more inclusive. In practise very little has changed, the saddest part of that is that too often churches reflect their social context more closely than the Lord they profess to follow.

PPT Slide 4/Parable images

Do you remember the three stories Jesus uses in Luke 15 for a particular reason - the lost sheep … the lost coin … the lost son? Jesus is seen in a marketplace having conversations with people who are irreligious—people who are really far from his Father and who had made lots of mistakes, parked their donkeys on double yellow lines, used terrible language, drank too much, slept in the wrong bed, cheated other folks out of their money … the list goes on and on. He is interacting with them … talking, listening and enjoying interacting with them. And as the scene plays out, we notice that the religious leaders—the scribes and the Pharisees—become a little troubled in their spirits. Actually, they think the whole scenario is utterly scandalous because the people Jesus is interacting with are the kinds of individuals who are totally different from them!—these are the precise people the scribes and Pharisees hate! And Jesus of all people is socialising with them! Luke writes the account in this way: Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering round to hear him. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, This man welcomes sinners, and eats with them. The logic of their case is this: we don’t do [long list of items], therefore God will be pleased with us. These people do [a selection of the items], therefore God wants nothing to do with them. Isn’t it funny that a high proportion of the people who get angry about being told they are sinners are religious people? They seem to have no conception that: All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), and in practice, even if the words are never used, look down on the people they would view as ‘the sinners’.

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So the Pharisees reasoned this way: “If God hates some people and loves others then its okay for us to do the same –and these people are in the former category! However, that viewpoint misrepresents God who loves all of His creation and declared it good. God hates sin, not sinners, because of the damage it can do to people’s lives and the heartache it can cause them when they go astray from the pathway He has planned for them. Jesus is well aware of the hostile reaction to His teaching from the religious leaders present in the crowd that day and so He tells three short stories to illustrate how God views lost people –that is people separated from Him by their sins. The first story is about a lost sheep –one in a hundred. The second: a lost coin- one of ten. The third: a wayward child who dishonours their parents. A shepherd has 100 sheep –would he really bother to look for one when ninety nine are safe? –actually yes if his love for his animals is like God’s love for the people He has created. A women has her dowry coins on a chain around her neck, maybe it broke and in the dark corners of her small home she can only find nine, does it matter? of course it does; she searches till she finds it. Then the longer story of a family with two boys, one who is an obedient, model, child and the other a cause of grief to his parents. Well there is one good child so one out of two isn’t bad and they can forget about the other one? Would you behave like that with your children? Of course not! Then how do you think your Father in heaven views His children? The crowd’s reaction as Jesus tells the story goes from shock at the young man’s actions, to disbelief that a Father could welcome back a son who had brought so much shame on the family. Jesus welcomes the prodigals home. Are you here today having been far from God? The message of this story is that the moment you turn to follow Jesus His Father in heaven welcomes you in His family, not because any of us are good enough, but based on His grace. This is the message in our different ways that we will share with other people when the opportunity arises.

Point 2: Discover Stories

PPT Slide 6/Point 2: Discover Stories (second bullet will auto-build)

Walk-across-the-room people, remember, are people who live life in “3D”, constantly watching for ways to: • Develop friendships … in order to

• Discover stories

One of my colleagues Alan used to be pastor of another Baptist church some years ago. Amongst his other duties he was a chaplain at one of the local Primary Schools in that community. He spoke at assemblies and took part in a range of activities in the school, but saw no outward response to the faith he proclaimed. Mary [not her real name] was one of the teachers in that school. In the years prior to Alan moving on to another church, Mary had expressed no interest in Christianity, or any other religion for that matter, but was on friendly terms with the chaplain and basic greetings would be happily exchanged. However, conversations never turned to faith issues. Alan moved away from that part of Scotland, not returning to that church or community for seven years. On Sunday 22 August 2010 when he entered that church a lady came up to him and said do you remember me? His mind was a bit of a blur as the face was familiar but not in association with that church. With a real sense of hesitation he offered a name –which was correct! She then told him her story of how she had come to that church and how, in a few weeks, she was going to be baptised as a believer. It was about three years after Alan had left the town that she had some significant difficulties in her personal life which had led her to think deeply about the purpose of life. She recalled at that time some of the things my colleague had said in assembly talks and as a result started

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attending that church. Some months later she was converted and started baptismal classes. What an encouragement to Alan, but had he not been paying a visit to that church, that Sunday, he may never have known the impact he had made seven years earlier. His conversations with Mary had been significant enough to cause here to think when she needed help that other people at that church might be able to help her in her time of need. We can be a link in a chain of people’s conversion stories. Be encouraged to believe that your encouraging words or kind deeds over time will bear fruit. Living in 3D is about being alongside people and open to the Holy Spirit leading us to speak or act in particular ways. Too many Christians don’t have any friends they associate with who don’t know Jesus. No wonder we are less than effective in sharing our faith. A fisherman can be the most skilled in his line of work, but if he rarely ever comes into a place where fish are found his success rate will be minimal. A major aspect of effective witness for our Lord comes through building friendships and discovering a little of people’s life stories; If we ask the Lord He will in time connect us with people with whom we can be friends and discover their stories

Point 3: Discern Next Steps

This is simply an opportunity to allow a friendship to develop further or even to risk telling something of your faith journey that you believe may be helpful to that person who has shared something concerning issues they are facing in their life at the present time. It involves being open to the leading of the Holy Spirit as we interact with other people in a range of social contexts. May we be willing to take the path that leads to investing in someone’s life? That path that leads to sticking your neck out to provide someone a resource that will meet a pressing need they have. There’s no telling what joy awaits those of us who boldly choose to take the next step with people this week!

PPT Slide 7/Point 3: Discern next steps

This is our third point. Walk-across-the-room people are people who live life in “3D”; they constantly look for ways to: • Develop friendships • Discover stories • Discern appropriate next steps Once you’ve risked walking across a room to stick out a hand of friendship and unearth what another person’s journey has been like so far, the very best thing you can do is to be responsive to the whisperings and guidance of the Holy Spirit. I want to show you a short clip that I think illustrates well this idea of taking appropriate next steps in situations that may be turning spiritual. You’ll meet Dave, a sailing buddy of Bill Hybel’s, who felt firsthand what it was like to have someone take appropriate next steps in his life. Show excerpt from Just Walk Across the Room Four-Week Experience DVD CLIP: Message Video Excerpt, Week Two (run-time 1:15) PPT Slide 8/“The next steps that mattered to me” activity explanation . In the video clip, you probably noted several “next steps” that Bill took in the life of his friend Dave—steps that added up over time and led to some pretty remarkable things in Dave’s life. So, what next steps did you pick up on? Bill wanted to develop a genuine friendship with Dave, but wanted God to take charge of leading him into that friendship. Stating the obvious Bill took a real interest in Dave and his wife Beth and their family

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circumstances, but also was aware that he had a resource (a book) that might help him on his journey towards committing his life to Christ. On Sunday 26 September at our 11am service we are participating in an initiative called ‘Back to Church Sunday’. Today we have prayer cards in the pews that you can take away and put in the blanks the name of the person or persons you feel led to approach re coming to church on that Sunday. It maybe someone who is new to church altogether, but it may be someone who used to attend church, but for whatever reason has drifted away from following Jesus as they once did. In another couple of weeks I will put out invitation cards that you can use if you wish to invite them to church. Some people will accept the invitation and seriously consider coming with you that Sunday –others may decline, but just as Gary shared last week about Mary Begg and her persistent concern over a fairly lengthy timescale for his spiritual wellbeing, don’t give up –we are in it for the long-term. Here’s my challenge to you … my challenge to me. This week, let’s commit to “living in 3D”: • Developing friendships … with all sorts of people • Discovering stories … remembering to keep the focus on the other person • Discerning next steps … letting the Spirit guide our every action This week, let’s be spiritually alert to the Spirit’s promptings, asking Him to lead us toward the people with whom we’re supposed to build bridges of friendship, for Jesus’ sake, Amen.

JUST WALK ACROSS THE ROOM FOUR WEEK EXPERIENCE

Week 3: The Power of Story

Introduction

PPT Slide 1/Just Walk Across the Room Campaign Graphic, Week 3.

Good morning. Is everybody glad to be here? Is everybody awake? Is anybody awake?? Good, because we’re headed for a brain teaser straight away this morning – ready to go!!

Here’s how it will work. I will say a word or phrase, and then you just tell the person sitting next to you what comes immediately to mind. A little word association for your Sunday morning. Your response can be anything ... anything that comes to mind. But the key is to go fast. You can’t give it a lot of thought. This idea is to capture your gut-instinct immediately after you hear what comes out my mouth! OK –

All right here is the first word...

PPT Slide 2/ Mona

Mona.....

Any Lisas out there? Okay, so some of you are catching on, at least. Ready for the next one?

How about...

PPT Slide 2/Wimbledon

Wimbledon....

Ready,

PPT Slide 3/Holiday

Holiday....

PPT Slide 4/Diet

Diet

PPT Slide 5/Kiefer

Kiefer – PPT Slide 6/24 - What a great show!!!

Oh here’s a good one..

PPT Slide 7/ Prime Minister

And now for our last one...

PPT Slide 8/Born-again Christian

Born-again Christian

Right, let us stop there for a moment.

Wouldn’t it be interesting if we could electronically tabulate all the words that floated throughout the room after “born-again Christian” flashed across the screen? Personally, I think the results would be fascinating!!

Let’s take it a step further. What do you think would happen if we showed the same screen to a hundred people living far from God? If we said, “Do you know any born-again Christians? If so what are they like ... what are your general impressions of them?”

We might get quite an earful, don’t you think? What if their perceptions included things like these:

“I’ve come across a few Christians, and the ones I know, hmmm, how do I describe them ... they’re just so ... uptight... narrow... and rigid”

Or

“I went to school with one once ... he was pretty isolated. Kept to himself all the time.”

Or

“I don’t know any of them very well. They hang out with their own type – certainly don’t rub shoulders with people like me.”

Or what about..

“I know a born-again Christian ... what a turnoff she is! I feel judged if I even inhale the wrong way. She’s so self-righteous – just absolutely egotistical!”

“Christians? Classic simpletons. They’re on perpetual crutches. You know what I mean ... they throw their nice Bible verses at the world’s complex issues. Give me a break!”

Now please understand, I certainly hope those perceptions aren’t out there. But in the event that a few of them are, how about you and I figure out a way to try and stop perpetuating these feelings ...to reverse the trends .. to give the watching world something healthy and good to say about Christ-followers!

Guess why? Because God’s heart beats for pointing people to faith, remember? And while you and I are here on earth, we get to serve as his vehicle for getting that done. Here is what I wish – I wish that whenever I struck up a casual conversation with people and asked them what they think of Christ-followers they know, the first thought that would come to mind would be something like,

“Hmm, Christians? Can’t say it’s true for them all, but the ones I know are full of integrity. That’s what distinguishes them – their integrity and their moral courage.

Or

“Christians, the ones I’ve come across are ridiculously filled with compassion. They’re just plain kind to people!”

Or

“Christians? They tell the truth, they are always straight with you.”

“Christians? They have concern for the poor – no one cares for the poor like Christians do.”

“Christians? They’re humble, they’re honest .. they have this incredible inner strength.”

“Christians? They are radically inclusive of people, regardless of their background, their lifestyle choices, their preferences, you name it. It’s amazing!”

“Christians? They’re always taking walks across rooms. Whenever somebody needs a little encouragement or friendship, Christians are the first ones to make the move.”

“Christians? They really do love well! They love God, they love people ...they love the show 24.”

Just kidding.

But for all of them except the last one ... that’s the type of testimony I wish were out there about us, friends!

You what I also wish? I wish people said.. whenever Christ-followers talk about God, they are so clear! They are so unbelievably enthusiastic about him! And you should just hear them talk abou their own faith journeys ... they are always so humble ...so interesting to listen to!

Now, can I ask you something – Is that what you wish for too?

PPT Slide 10/Just Walk Across the Room Campaign Graphic

I hope your answer is yes. Because that is what we are devoting our time to this week. If you’re ready to communicate like walk-across-the-room person, then today’s message is for you. Primarily, what we’ll be seeking to do is answer these two questions:

How do we talk about God in a way that’s full of clarity and passion?

And how do we convey our personal faith stories in a way that’s both humble and interesting?

Point 1: Stories are powerful!

PPT Slide 11/Point 1: Stories are powerful!

The power of story – and of words – is undeniable throughout the Bible, both Old and New Testaments. Can I flood your consciousness here for a moment with a few reminders of how supremely useful, how incomparably potent, how supernaturally empowered – words can be?

Ø Ecclesiastes 6: 11 says that when used sparsely, succinctly... words carry great meaning.

Ø Psalm 119: 130 says that words can actually give light. Words can give understanding to those who don’t yet understand.

Ø Proverbs 12: 18 says that although reckless words pierce like a sword, words from te tongue of the wise can bring healing!

Ø Proverbs 16: 24 says that pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. Now isn’t that a great image!!

Ø Ecclesiastes 10 : 12 says that although a fool is consumed by his own lips, the words from a wise man’s mouth are ....GRACIOUS!!

Words.

Humble words, healing words, wise words, gentle words. Grace filled words.

I wonder, are these the types of words you’re known for speaking? If your closest friends or the family members who actually live under the same roof as you were polled anonymously about this, would they say that in the course of normal, everyday life, you can be counted to speak words of encouragement and grace?

Let’s take this morning as an example. Think about the very last thing you said before you walked into this church this morning. Do you remember who you were talking to? Do you remember what you said?

Were the words you spoke life-giving and inspiring and grace-filled? Or were they, well – not?

Interesting isn’t it, that God allows so much power to inhabit our words. Astounding power – for good , or for ill, right?

It seems to me that is we could find a way to use words for good in people’s lives – if we could be known for being clear, humble, succinct and relevant – then might we just frustrate a few of those awful perceptions that exist about Christians.

You be your own judge, but in my opinion, there are two areas where effective, efficient words could exponentially improve perceptions about Christ followers:

1. The first area revolves around how we talk about God, explaining who He is and what He has done.

2. The second revolves around how we talk about our personal experience with God... explaining the main things He has done in our lives.

What is God’s story? What is your story? And just how can you get then both told well? So that listeners walk away saying, “Now that I understood! That I enjoyed! That I crave in my own life!”

That is what we are tackling today, so....

Point 2: God has a story. Learn to tell it well.

PPT Slide 12/Point 2: God has a story .. learn to tell it well!

If we remember back to week 1, the main points we covered were to leave our Circle of Comfort, listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and walk into the Zone of the Unknown.

Last week, we discovered that after you decide to take a walk across a room, it’s important to focus on developing a friendship instead of saying your piece. It’s really important to discover the other person’s story instead of wedging your own agenda into the conversation. And it’s absolutely critical to listen for the Spirit’s guidance about appropriate next steps you might take to meet a need or two of the person you’re talking with.

And with all of this, there is something I really believe ... I believe that once you commit yourself to all that it means to becoming a walk-across-the-room person – engaging with people, living in 3D, the whole bit - God is going to blow open some doors, spiritually speaking. He is going to give you an opportunity to say a word for Him or tell someone why you started walking with him. And in that moment, you will be glad that you came to church this morning!

In that moment, you will feel your posture relax, your shoulders loosen a little, your sweaty palms dry up ... and you will say, “Oh wow, is that what you want to talk about? We’re going to have a really interesting time if you want to go there. I’ll make this brief, but basically , here’s how I understand what Christian faith is all about...

God has a story. A powerful story. And your job – and mine- is to learn to tell it well.

Let’s test your current comfort level for telling it well shall we?

What would you say if someone in your current sphere of influence were to come today and say this “You know John, we’ve been friends for a long time. And really you’ve been really cool not to force your God-thing on me, even though you probably knew my life would be better if I’d give all that a chance. Well, anyway, things have.... I guess you could say things have gone a little downhill in my marriage, and my wife and I well, we were talking about trying out church, the God plan. Sort of a last ditch effort before we call it quits. I just wonder if ... before I really get involved in church... you could sort of explain the whole deal to me. What is it about God that so many people are attracted to? Is God really all that necessary in life?”

That, my dear friends, is what we call, in sophisticated theological terms, a wide open door!

Some of you maybe aren’t too thrilled with that open door, I can tell. You’re maybe feeling a little shell shocked. In our little scenario here, your shoulder’s maybe aren’t loosening, your sweaty palms aren’t drying up, well don’t worry – help is on the way.

There are tried-tested- and true ways of explaining God’s story. Here is one that you might consider committing to memory, although maybe some of you know it and have already used it. It is called “The Bridge” It is quite simple really, but it is a powerful way to illustrate precisely what God – and His son Jesus Christ – did for all humankind.

The next time you find yourself in a delicate conversation where the person you’re talking to really does want to understand who God is and what he has done, grab a piece of scrap paper, a napkin, a beer mat or whatever, and ask their permission to sketch out this bridge. It is an image they won’t soon forget, I assure you. Here’s how it goes.

All right for starters we have to establish the reality of two beings: people and God. Between people and God there is a great chasm – a division that exists because of people’s propensity to rebel against God’s way and go their own way instead – The Bible calls this sin.

The dilemma people face is that we want to get to God – but know we can’t just leap over the chasm. So we try everything to try and bridge the gap – exerting our own human effort, even by “going to church”, being good, doing charity work, being a good husband, wife, we keep striving, even religious effort. We do everything so that we can build the bridge – but in the end ... we realise that all the human effort will never be enough to get us over the other side.

But thankfully, God sympathised with our dilemma. And because he loved us so much, he intervened so that we would have the means of getting close to him, being reconciled to him. His solution was to choose His only Son, Jesus, to serve as the bridge.

This is called Grace – Amazing Grace – Grace means that we receive mercy from God when we don’t deserve it. If you remember nothing else about the bridge illustration, remember this: Christ cam to earth to be our bridge, and whoever makes the decision to cross the bridge will live with God forever. The apostle John put it this way in John 5 : 24, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my words and believes in him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; HE HAS CROSSED OVER FROM DEATH TO LIFE.” AMEN!!

So, just a simple illustration, but one that has great power. You may choose to commit a different illustration to mind, but please choose one, or have a couple that mean you can give a clear explanation of who God is and what he has done, so that when the time comes that someone sitting across from you poses the question, you’re 100% ready to give a thoughtful answer.

Whatever illustration you use, keep in mind the types of words we looked at earlier. Humble words... Healing words... Wise words... Gentle words... GRACE FILLED words.

Let your speech be well seasoned with these things. You are not responsible for transforming a human heart ... that is the role of the Holy Spirit. Your role, when prompted to do so, is to open your mouth and give a tender, thoughtful, clear and passionate understanding of who God is, of what he’s done for each person who has or ever will walk the planet. That’s all, nothing more, nothing less.

Point 3: You have a Story. Learn to tell it Well!

PPT Slide 14/Point 2: YOU have a story... learn to tell it well!

Now, not only does God have a story, which is what we have just looked at. But, you have a story as well. A powerful story. And your job is to learn to tell it well!

Do you believe what I have just said..... that you have a powerful story to tell?

Friends, if you have come into relationship with God through His son, Jesus Christ, then you have a wonderful, redemptive, miracle story to tell. Here is why that is true.

Regardless of how old you were when you came to faith, hopefully you were different before Christ than you are after Christ invaded your world and beautifully transformed it with things like His grace, mercy and love.

Take the guy from Luke 5 who once had leprosy. In the Message version, the text says that “one day in one of the villages there was a man covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus he fell down before him in prayer, and said, “If you want you can cleanse me” Jesus put His hand, touched him, and said, “I want to. Be clean” Then and there the guy’s skin was smooth, the leprosy was gone - Hallelujah!!

Can you imagine what that experience must have been like for that man?

What do you think he told every, single person who would listen from that point forward! “”I was a leper. But then I met Christ. And now I’m healed, totally and completely healed.”

His self-talk was probably fascinating in the hours following Christ’s act of healing. “This is unbelievable! Just moments ago, my skin was so angry that it was literally... erupting. But NOW look at it! It’s clean. It’s smooth. It’s healed. Everything about me was rotting moldy, diseased, but I’ve been receated. It’s if I were never sick. This is unreal. Where did my hoplessness go? My helplessness? They vanished with my sores. They are not here anymore, Jesus fixed all of that. I have hope! Iwant to live! I finally feel....whole!”

Do you see the before and after here?

I was sick. But now I’m well.

I was diseased. But now I’m healthy.

I was outcast. But now I’m accepted.

I was defiled, tainted. But now I’m good as new!!!

I was tarnished. But now I’m clean.

I was left for dead. But now I have... a future!!! AMEN!!!

Who knows which aspects of the former-lepers before-and-after was most compelling to him... who knows what facet he would have homed in on? He’d have to figure out his story to himself, right?

But here’s the point: for the vast majority of you sitting here this morning, the same pattern is true for you. You also have a before...

PPT Slide 15/ “Before” header

And an after.

PPT Slide 16/”After” header builds on previous slide.

And that’s about all people need to hear, just in a simple fashion ... what you were like before you came to Christ. What the experience was like of embracing his love and grace and putting your faith in Him. And what you are like after that decision.

Let me just give you a few helpful before-and-afters...

PPT Slide 17/Before and after examples, build on previous slide.

“I was striving... but now I’m at peace.”

“I was self-destructive... but now I’m healthy.”

“I always felt guilty .. now I feel liberated.”

“I was fear-stricken .. but now I’m confident.”

“I was despairing, but now I’m hopeful.”

Your own before-and-after doesn’t have to be more complicated than this, friends. It just has to be simple, humble, succinct and true!

Sounds pretty straightforward, right?

I agree... it should be this easy to tell an effective before-and-after faith story. But if I’m being honest, I have to tell you that it’s quite possible for these stories we talking baout to absolutely – well, derail.

First, faith stories derail when a Christ-follower just won’t shut up. He oversupplies and just slaughters the demand. He goes on and on... and even after the listener sends all sorts of warning signals that disinterest and disdain have taken root, the storyteller obviously keeps chatting away.

Second faith stories derail when a Christ follower is fuzzy about the story’s core theme. She gets all tangled up in a dozen story lines and leaves her listener frustrated, exhausted and baffled.

Third faith stories derail when a Christ follower lays out a string of 4 syllable Christian jargon that no one outside the family of faith can understand. Well here, have a listen for yourself ...

Show excerpt from Just Walk Across the Room Four Week Experience DVD

Clip: Message Video Excerpt, Week 3, part 1

Fourth and finally, faith stories derail when ..please hear me on this...your faith story will derail, blow up, and leave a trail of smoke a mile long if you play the superiority card.If you act like you have your act perfectly together and the listener is somehow inferior to you, your headed for the ditch, ... and fast, my friend.

Show excerpt from Just Walk Across the Room Four Week experience DVD

Clip: Message Video Excerpt, Week 3, part 2 (Just press continue)

Closing

PPT Slide 18/Let’s hear Your Story title slide

How about that last excerpt. Anyone else feeling nauseous about that guy’s attitude?

Wow.. don’t ever let that posture be true of you, or me. If it is ever true of me, I hereby give you permission to take me out the back and put me out of my misery.

Alright, so here’s what I would like to encourage all of us to do as a congregation this week: we’re going to write our stories down, each and every one of us...our individual before-and-after faith story.

But wait, there’s more!! If you were sitting here during the last portion of the message thinking. Wow, I wish I had somebody who would read my faith story and tell me if it hit’s the mark or not ... then this is your lucky day!

Because not only do you have the opportunity to write down your before-and-after faith story, but you also have the opportunity to e-mail it to the address that’s coming up on the screen ... and from the Just Walk Across the Room Leadership team receive some, shall we say constructive feedback

PPT Slide 19/Let’s Hear your story explanation & e-mail address, garytorbet@btinternet.com

How does that sound? Good? I thought you would love that idea!!

I probably don’t need to say this but we do have agreement here don’t we. No “Hephzibahs” or “Beulahs” in your before and afters, no “look at me I’m Super-Christian” no eighteen page renditions – agreed.

We may not be able to reverse all of the negative perceptions that are out there about Christians, but we certainly can do our part to ensure, that as far as this congregation is concerned, we have our act together on the story front.

We can do our part to cause this community to say “The Christians in Broughty Ferry Baptist Church. They know how to tell God’s story. And to hear them talk about what he’s done in their lives ... it makes me want that type of thing for my own life!”

In 1 Corinthians 14: 9 it says, “If you speak in a way no one can understand, what’s the point in opening your mouth?” Is that good reminder or what?

Let’s do the One whose name we bear proud as we work hard to hone and shape and sharpen our before-and-after stories, shall we? Send in your hundred-words-or-less written in a clear, succinct, humble, simple, manner, and have an open heart to a little feedback. Stay the course until your story is ready to face the world and then go tell it confidently as often as God gives you the opportunity, and for His glory. Amen.

PPT Slide 20/Just Walk campaign graphic, Week 3.

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Just Walk Across the Room Four-Week Experience Week Four: Grander Vision Living

Introduction

PPT Slide 1/Just Walk campaign graphic, Week Four

Three Sundays ago, we began exploring a new approach to personal evangelism. We asked the question, what if evangelism really were as simple and straightforward as a “walk across the room.” We were reminded of the single greatest gift we can offer the people around us, which is an introduction to their creator and redeemer, God Himself. We looked at what it means to “live in 3D”—anyone remember the first D? Develop friendships. Followed by discovering stories and discerning appropriate next steps? These three things are what we can think about, pray about, and act on when we’re operating in the Zone of the Unknown. The 3D framework reminds us to take things slow with people, allowing the other person to be in the spotlight, allowing the Holy Spirit to work in their lives at His own pace. We have explored the power of story, refreshing our understanding of how much weight our words carry … and of how critical it is that we steward God’s story and our own before- and-after faith stories Today our topic is “Grander Vision Living.” I would venture a guess that this series has been a necessary wake-up call for all of us. We’ve come to appreciate the immeasurable value of taking these walks across rooms … just to see what God might do. However, the question we face is this: “How do we maintain the momentum we’ve gained in the past three weeks?” How do we—as individuals and as a congregation—keep this evangelistic fire burning in the coming days, weeks, months, years … so that instead of it being a one-time shot in the arm, this four-week experience can serve as a catalyst for a significant life change; for a deep transformation of our habits as it pertains to personal evangelism? What I hope to do today is to plant a seed in your soul that will take root and grow into an insatiable and undeniable desire to pursue this thing we’re calling the “Grander Vision” every day of your life. So that each day could be full of the inspiring, unpredictable, mysterious, vibrant, sensory-stimulating manifestation of the Holy Spirit in your life - impossible? No! I want to start by taking you on a four-minute vacation. Anyone in need of a vacation around here? Imagine that you have been immediately transported to a tiny island in the Bahamas chain. Upon your arrival, you decide that snorkelling is a good way to explore the water around the island. Within twenty minutes, you find yourself kitted out with your mask and fins, your water socks and your swimsuit. The boat driver cuts the engine as you make a choice as to the exact spot where you’ll dive in. Once in the water, you fall into a peaceful floating rhythm along the top of the beautiful deep, blue ocean. The sun is high; the scattered clouds have promised no rain; and in a wonderful collaboration, both the water and the air have agreed that an ideal temperature shall surround every fibre of your being. Bliss! You’re there to snorkel, of course, but for now, you’re just relaxing on top of the water, taking in the serene, stunning cresting and falling of the gentle waves … the bright rays of sunshine bouncing off the ocean’s surface … a slice of peacefulness that quite frankly you’ve never known before. So here’s my question for you: is there anything wrong with this picture? Of course not! There’s nothing wrong with this picture … you’ve somehow obtained a free trip to the Bahamas; it’s a beautiful day; you’re relaxing uninterrupted in a calm ocean, the sun, waves, and clouds your only companions. Sounds pretty good to me! But what if I were to tell you that just under the water’s surface—right below your present line of sight—you were missing

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out on an unbelievable universe of activity? Okay, so back to your imaginary vacation. You finally muster the energy to position your mask around your eyes, cup your lips around your breathing tube, roll onto your belly, kick up your legs, and dip your face into the edge that separates the warmth of the sky from the cool water below. Ahhh … can you feel that? Do you all feel as happy as I do right now? As you take in your new surroundings, your mind peppers you with questions: Where did all these fish come from? Why didn’t I feel them if they were this close to me all along? Is that a barracuda?! As you push back from the feisty creature, still trying to process the colours, the sights of this new world, you bump into a huge school of blue and neon yellow angelfish; this is amazing! You look ahead fifty metres away and see two reef sharks moving along. A green moray darts by you, seemingly smiling as he passes by. The bright gold reef below you looks like it’s waving as its fingers reach up from the ocean floor. The ocean floor! I can see all the way down! Has the water been clear all this time … and I just didn’t know to look? There’s a certain smell to your surroundings. Of saltwater; of things alive; You pop back up, lifting your face above the water to take in the ocean’s surface again. The contrast is baffling. Strangely, above the surface, all is still. Calm, tranquil, surprisingly at ease; you dip your head back under the water … activity … movement … challenge … vibrancy! You pop your head back up … serene. Back under … colourful complexity! Back up … silent. Back under … breathtaking commotion! Back up … smooth. Back under … awe-inspiring chaos! So if you had to choose, which is the better view? Life … from a far different perspective … acknowledging that there’s much, much more to life than what appears on the surface. Living with what I’d like to call a “Grander Vision.” But what is this Grander Vision, anyway? Please turn in your Bibles to Luke chapter 5. This may be a familiar story to some of us but we may see what happened in a new light in view of our commitment to building friendships and sharing our faith with people who have still to begin their faith journey with Jesus.

PPT Slides 2-6/Luke 5 text w/ painting

One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding round Him and listening to the word of God,2 He saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets.3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then He sat down and taught the people from the boat.4 When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.5 Simon answered, Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.7 So they signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken,10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men.11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed Him (Luke 5:1-11). Friends, can you just imagine how elated Peter, Andrew, James, and John were because of this monstrous catch of fish? They’d never seen a catch like this! I mean, their nets were bursting … the boat was sinking, it was so full of fish. They’d never had to call in reinforcements before –this was the best work shift of their lives. How could we professional fishermen not catch fish when fish are supposed to be available –at night- and a local joiner correctly tells us where to catch our biggest ever haul in the full glare of the Middle-Eastern sun.

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PPT Slide 7/Just Walk campaign graphic, Week Four (second appearance)

Jesus probably laughs as He tries unsuccessfully to get the men’s attention in the midst of their exuberance. “Hey, guys! You think netting a bunch of scaly, underwater creatures was fun? Try thinking a grander thought for a second … Listen, how about multiplying the fun-factor you experienced in the last few minutes by about a thousand! “Not that there’s anything wrong with catching fish. I know you’re trying to earn a living, and taking fish to market day in and day out in order to earn a few shekels is as good a way as any. But instead of netting a few shekels, just imagine landing a few destinies. “That’s where the action is!” Jesus’ eyes probably glistened with enthusiasm at this point, their rapt attention spurring him on. “Peter, Andrew, James and John,” Jesus said as he looked each of them in the eyes, “so far, you four have spent your days being fishermen. But what I’m inviting you to do—starting right here, right now—is to become fishers of men and women. Instead of investing your precious time and energy in catching six-inch fish, let’s go after the six-footers! I’m asking you to give up everything you have and everything you are for the sake of people’s souls. Come with me, and you’ll see what real living is all about!” Now I don’t know about you, but in my estimation, supernaturally filling some fishing nets is a fairly unusual means of recruiting a few disciples. He could have employed a firm of religious ‘head-hunters’ to recruit some talented people from the congregations in the synagogues in Galilee. We can understand why an ad at the local job-centre (had there been one!) would not have been too successful. ‘Disciples wanted by Jewish rabbi who claims to be the Messiah – unlimited hours, no salary, open-ended commitment, possible risk of execution by Roman authorities’. Some people think being a Christian is boring –it is anything but boring! Why did Jesus perform this particular miracle? Jesus started in their world with what they understood to point to the significance of something far greater than they had ever imagined. Using the language of big fish versus little fish Jesus sought to address the issue of priorities. What would matter most in their lives in the future? Their employment was essential to put food on the table and a roof over their heads, but within that workplace, neighbourhood or home God has a grander vision, a bigger purpose, for each of our lives. For each one of us – God has brought into our lives a whole range of people. We can ask Him to guide us as to how we can touch their lives for their good and God’s glory by our actions and where appropriate by our words. I want each of us to reflect on this question: Am I going to throw my one and only life into pursuing small fish, or will I risk tossing my nets out there in anticipation of catching the human-sized ones? Are you going to dive headlong into the Grander Vision, or will you be the type who settles for the lesser one?

Observation 1: The Priority Is People

PPT Slide 8/Observation 1: The priority is people

Jesus desperately wanted four career fishermen … as well as the fine people of Broughty Ferry Baptist Church to understand that this life is all about people. In Grander Vision Living, the priority is always people. He wanted them—and us—to prioritize people above everything else that vies for attention. Prioritizing people This is what so much of our four-week series has been about, as you’ll recall. Taking walks across rooms for people. Caring more about other people than about yourself. Having a sort of “radical inclusiveness” for people, even if they look different, talk different, act different, vote different, and so on. And so Jesus asks all of us who say we want to be walk-across-the-room people … Will you

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choose the Grander Vision in your situation? It’s the big-fish opportunity that awaits us all: You can catch fish … or become fishers of men and women. The choice is yours…

You can be a successful businessperson … or be most passionate about the business of redeeming lives. You can be the top student … or focus your attention on studying people. You can shine as a superstar salesman … or care more about letting your light shine in the lives of people all around you! It is not an either/ or situation. We do our best to serve our employer /customers/ employees in the work situation, but what we sometimes forget as Christians is that in that very same environment we are there as representative of the King of Kings.

PPT Slide 9/Matthew 5:16

Jesus was clear about which was the better path. In Matthew 5:16, He said In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Let your light shine in the same way … Let me stop there. “In the same way ” mean Jesus is saying that we get to choose whether or not our “light” is going to impact people! • Our light will either shine on people and point them toward the Father, • Or we’ll keep our light to ourselves, and in essence deny the people we supposedly care about a relationship with God. “Make sure your light shines in such a way,” I think Jesus is saying, “that people can come to know My Father because of how you treat them. Because of how you respond to them. Because of how you embrace them. Because of how you prioritize them!”

PPT Slide 10/Just Walk campaign graphic, Week Four (third appearance)

I can almost hear God telling each one of us in this room …

“You can catch fish … spend all your time netting some scaly, underwater creatures and taking them to market for a few shekels (or whatever currency you are paid in). It’s a perfectly acceptable occupation. But there’s another option! You can become fishers of men and women … concerning yourself primarily not with material rewards but with destinies!” But why? I mean, what’s Jesus’ end game here? Why is He so convinced that living the Grander Vision really is the better option? Because, friends, this is the way His kingdom gets built. Jesus was saying to all of His followers—both then and now, “Please understand how important your priorities are. The stakes are way too high for you to put anything but people in your top spot. The way you treat people will serve either as a magnet that draws them to God … or a deterrent to them ever coming to know him.” And whose light was Jesus talking about in the Matthew passage we looked at? “Let your light shine before others in such a way that they may see your good works and then glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Let your light shine. Not “your pastor’s” light. Not “your small group leader’s” light. Not “all your Christian friends’” lights. No, he says, your light because each one of us has a role to play. You may recall from the video segment we aired during week one’s services when Bill said, “If we would all do just the small thing we can do, we would touch a lot more lives.” Let it sink in for a moment that the way you can let your light shine is simply to do the small things that you can do for the watching, waiting world around you. Let me read a brief quote from Just Walk Across the Room that I think sums up this idea well. Here’s what it says: “You don’t have to be any more talented, any richer, any slimmer,

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any smarter, any more or less of anything to partner with God. All you have to be is willing to be used by him in everyday ways.” And when those of us who name the name of Christ start pulling our own weight, letting our lights shine in a way that lets the people around us know they matter, then the Holy Spirit touches people’s lives in our world! But that’s not all. Why is Jesus so convinced we should live the Grander Vision? Not only because this is the way the kingdom gets built, but also because this is the way our souls get satisfied. When you and I take up residence in this vibrant, otherworldly life called the Grander Vision, we will never want to go back to floating on the smooth, silent, serene surface of the ocean again. We won’t get as excited about netting a few paltry perch as we once did. We won’t put all of our energy into trying to get richer or getting more material possessions. Why? Because these things will no longer scratch the soul-level itch we feel. Jesus knew that if you and I would build a lifestyle around accepting people, getting to know people, caring for people, serving people, listening to people, embracing people, befriending people, exposing people to spiritual things … prioritizing people, we would never crave our old ways again. It is as simple as that.

Here’s how Bill Hybels explains how he’s come to think about this “people priority” in his own life. Let’s watch this brief video segment together. Show excerpt from Just Walk Across the Room Four-Week Experience DVD CLIP: Message Video Excerpt, Week 4 (running-time 1:05)

Observation 2: The Focus Is on Potential

PPT Slide 11/Observation 2: The focus is on potential

Observation number two about Grander Vision Living is that the focus is always on potential. It didn’t seem to matter to Jesus that his soon-to-be disciples were teenaged boys whose first response to his commands was less than enthusiastic. Remember when Jesus asked them to put the nets over the boat to catch some fish? “But we’ve been fishing all night! And we’ve caught … nothing!” I think their insinuation was, “Hey, who do you think you are? We’re the experts here! We were the ones slugging it out all night at sea, working for all we are worth to net a few fish. We were the ones slaving away while you were sleeping … you know, counting sheep, creating sheep, whatever it is you do! And now you want us to listen to you about catching fish?!” By anyone’s standards, these guys weren’t contending for any Disciple of the Year awards just yet. But Jesus saw what these guys could be like once they chose to live the Grander Vision. This same propensity to see past someone’s “no” or “never” and envision them submitting to Christ one day is what Bill was alluding to in the video we just watched. To look past the self-centeredness … and see the potential for servanthood To look past the rebelliousness … and see the potential for righteousness To look past the quick temper … and see the potential for kingdom-building Aren’t you glad Christ did this with you? I know I am. You and I looked at our before-and-afters last week … I wonder, how bad was your “before”? What was it that Christ looked past in your world in order to accept you and embrace you and enfold you in grace? I guarantee He looked past something in all of us, myself included. All of us as Christians have a metaphorical sign over us ‘work in progress’ or ‘God at work’! As a teenager I had a bad temper that at times needed attention. For some time I excused myself that it was normal –none of us are perfect. It was only in a difficult situation

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when I was nineteen that I seriously asked God to change me. I was in a situation where someone was winding me up about the faith and I wanted to ‘fight the good fight’ in the wrong way. An SOS silent cry to God for help enabled me to ask for strength for anger management –which He answered. More recently a challenge has come over making time for people –not the big appointments, but those little chance encounters or brief work meetings where it would be so easy to avoid personal conversation and focus on a task in hand. It may be a thirty second or a minute exchange or a little longer, but making the time for people to show interest in them and their circumstances. Over a year these little investments in other people will add up. Who knows how God may use these brief conversations for good? Stop for a moment today and ask the Lord what do you want me to be working on next in my life with Your help? Help me to be more sensitive to the guidance of Your Holy Spirit. A good example of creative witnessing is seen in Luke 5:27-32: After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. Follow me, Jesus said to him, 28 and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.29 Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them.30 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and 'sinners'? 31 Jesus answered them: It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. On the surface Matthew (also called Levi) was a most unlikely convert. He was a collaborator with the occupying power. If they left at the end of the week to go home for good people like Matthew would have been unlikely to make it past the weekend! Yet Jesus, the homeless rabbi did not see the wealthy tax collector with his substantial home and healthy bank balance; or care about his political views; instead Jesus saw the potential in this tax-collector to be a witness for Him. He chose the Grander Vision instead of a lesser one of what this man might be? How do we view the people God allows to cross our paths on a regular basis? Can you picture Jesus walking up to Matthew’s office desk and asking him to walk away from his business, his identity, his comfortable routine … not to mention his financial security. But what else did it mean? It meant that Matthew would be prizing—and prioritizing—the people he once swindled. He’d be looking for the potential good in them, rather than the potential vulnerability that he could exploit. Tax-collectors weren’t the kindest, most respected lot in those days. It would be a revolutionary change for young Matthew now that Christ was in his life … much more than even he could imagine! In those early days as a disciple, though, Matthew probably wasn’t altogether sure what it meant to follow Jesus. I’m definitely going to live the Grander Vision, he probably thought … now I just wish I could figure out what that means! Do you relate to that observation?

The Exhortation: Start Small … but Start!

PPT Slide 12/Exhortation: Start small, but start!

Like Matthew, you may be enthusiastic about starting to live this Grander Vision life. You’re on board with the “people-priority” and “potential” pieces … you’re just a little perplexed about what’s supposed to happen in your life—today … right here and right now—as a result! Maybe as a new (or older) Christian you are thinking: I don’t know all the theology of evangelism or of anything else for that matter! Where do I start in living for Jesus? How can my friends meet with Jesus- they are unlikely to show up at a special meeting? He came up

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with an extraordinary idea ‘party-evangelism’! having a good time and inviting Jesus and a few other disciples to his home to meet his friends and work colleagues! He had always enjoyed organising parties –could Jesus use that gift? Of course! Some of you may be breathing a sigh of relief. An approach to evangelism that involves partying? For the first time in this entire four-week series, you finally have some hope! Matthew had a plan to organise a party where he could allow his old tax-collecting colleagues to mix with his new friends—the Christian ones—and just see what would happen. What if, instead of just hanging together, what if a few of my new friends actually take walks too—walks across my living room and stretch out a hand to my old buddies? Matthew thought. What if a couple of interesting conversations get started … maybe about what happened to their crazy friend Matthew! And what if some seeds are planted in the minds and hearts of my friends …what if a few of those guys actually come to faith as a result of this one, simple party?! That would be amazing! Matthew could have been utterly consumed by his own transformation just after he chose to follow Christ. He could have ditched his old friends and instead associated only with his new ones in a new ‘Circle of Comfort’. Thank God Matthew made a different choice: He chose to prioritize people outside the family of God above all that … people who need an ounce of acceptance, a little Christian friendship, a taste of grace. Matthew also chose to see the potential in his tax-collecting friends … the same way Jesus had miraculously spotted potential in him. If you or I had been a disciple of Jesus at that time would we have given Matthew half a chance of ever coming to faith in Christ? It is very doubtful. It would certainly have made the front page of the Capernaum Evening Telegraph. There was much that this new Christian had to learn, but he knew that God had saved him for a purpose … a purpose that included more than his own salvation. A purpose that included being salt and light in his world; A purpose that centred around living out a grander vision … by making people his priority and their potential his focus. A purpose that included being committed to the task of taking walks across rooms … because people were the only thing he’d be taking with him to heaven one day.

PPT Slide 13 ‘Temporary’

[An illustration from Bill Hybel’s experience] “Temporary Temporary Temporary, there is only one thing in this room that is not temporary,” the speaker continued. “There is only one thing that you can take with you into the next world.” He called someone up to join him on the stage, and he placed a blue sticker on her lapel. “When you get to the end of your life and take in your last breath,” he said, “what do you want your life to have been about?” And in that moment, Bill’s heart pounded as one thought dominated all others in his mind. It really is all about people, he thought. He continued on in his thoughts: No earthly commodity is going to make it from this world into the next. Not land, not homes, not bank accounts, not titles, not achievements. Only people; Jesus Christ taught that every human being would be resurrected to spend an eternity in community with God in heaven or in isolation from God in hell. And because Jesus understood these eternal realities and believed them to the core of his being, he focused his attention on the only entity that would extend into the next reality: people. I don’t know what the final assessment on my earthly life will be once I am gone, Bill continued. But I know this much: my quest while I am here is to seek people out and point them toward faith in God. I’ve tried enough approaches in my five decades of living to know that to invest yourself in anything other than people is to settle for pursuit of a Lesser Vision—that ugly, ensnaring trap of the temporal.”

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Conclusion

The invitation has been extended. Will you opt into Grander Vision Living, or will you settle for your lesser visions? Back to the imaginary vacations we all took earlier, I really don’t think Christ came, ministered, even died, for the sake of giving us a calm, tranquil, at-ease life. A “smooth, silent, serene” float-along existence on the water’s surface; The way I understand things, He came to bring abundance … redemption … transformation … to anyone who would accept his way of living. He came to bring not tranquillity, but utter upheaval to the world! It’s a beautiful upheaval to those of us who have been transformed by grace, but it’s an upheaval nevertheless, isn’t it? After what Jesus has done for us – and we have grasped it – them we will be willing to walk across rooms… in order to share this beautiful upheaval with people who don’t yet have the hope of heaven. Who don’t yet have the assurance of God’s love here on earth; what a magnificent gift we get to give a waiting world! The gift of a relationship with the One who is like no other; The One who cast his own agenda aside in order to reach out to people on the beach, people on the side of the road; The One who saw faithful disciples in the dripping-wet, smelly clothes of a group of fishermen; The One who saw a passionate follower in the booth of a wretched tax collector; The One who saw limitless spiritual opportunities in something as fun as a party! Maybe like Matthew you might just think of setting up a party or even more than one between now and the end of the year? A party in which a majority of people have not yet come to faith in Jesus, together with a few who do. Keep it simple and informal –maybe a special occasion might lend itself to such an event. Someone mentioned in the midweek study that they had set up a neighbourhood barbeque in their part of the street where they lived. Almost all the neighbours turned up and it has now become an annual event. A Matthew style party where no agenda is set and God the Holy Spirit is allowed to do whatever He wants to do? May God help us to have a creative imagination and in faith take that walk…and come back and tell us the stories of what has happened as a result of your adoption of a grander vision for God, Amen.

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