Share the Love - How to Tell His Story, Part 2

I don't know about you but I don't like getting put on the spot. I don't like mumbling for words or looking down and for much of my life. That's how I felt when it came to sharing my faith. I fumbled for words.

I lacked confidence.

I felt adequate in your I just wasn't clear on the gospel message, but what I want you to know was once I learned the gospel and do the basics. Clearly and what Christ did done the salvation it revolutionized my ability to share his story with others today are going to learn how to get the gospel clear understand the basics and be ready in season and out of season to share story got stay with thanks for joining us for this Edition of Living on the Edge chip chip survival to this international discipleship program.

This program chip wraps up his share the love to talk to everyone about God.

For the past couple weeks he's been helping us learn how to talk with people about Jesus. Natural way actually got Mr. there available on the chip and remap or online Living on the Edge.this program chip ties it all together with part two of his message how to tell the story from Romans chapter 6, I was in a Middle Eastern country about six years ago and we have leaders from all kind of backgrounds and denominations. People that I remember sitting in front of them and teaching and thinking as I look at this crowd, this group may never ever come together without people killing one another again until they get to heaven. I mean I had Iran pastors Iraq pastors people from Saudi Arabia. Born-again believers in Jesus that were Palestinians born again believers who were Jewish from Israel. We had people from Pakistan. People from I mean these people, many of them were taught since they were little boys little girls to kill one another. We had Baptist and Pentecostal and foursquare. We remember that the Coptic priest who always sat in the front row. His main stuff in us. Big man black robe big black beard and a big cross. He loved Jesus next to him, a campus Crusade worker I got to teach them. And as I was teaching them a series on the invisible war about spiritual warfare.

We talked about how bitterness and unforgiveness opens the door to evil in our lives and is just a moment where I've rarely seen something like this happen.

There was a Iran and Iraq. He soldiers who were now in ministry and if you remember we are too familiar with all that there is a big war between Iran and Iraq, and the man stood up and said before we go on I need to do something God convicted me in tears streaming down his face and everyone was sitting down and he got up this soldier and this man got the soldier now both involved in ministry and he walked over and said when our war in our country's ward. I was on the front lines of killed hundreds or thousands of your people, and I want you to please forgive me and I watch these two grown men who were taught as little boys kill, kill, kill, kill and who did that get reconciled first to God and be forgiven, and then have a new capacity to forgive and love each other and I watched two men embraced, with tears going down their cheeks and sing peace and reconciliation. God wants to do that in your heart. God wants to do that through you to people in your family that are alienated. He was to do that to you. People at work that are broken and hurting and feel like they're bitter and people get busy and medicate their lives because, down deep in their heart, their search they don't recognize. I just want to be left. I want to be loved and for the great majority of people in this room you're the conduit of that love and for others is an exciting day for you. You don't know it yet, but he brought you in this room on this day to reconcile you to himself for you to know that he's real. He loves you. You have a problem like we all do.

But Jesus came to rescue asked for is how it all will and exciting. You get to the very end and there's a book called the Revelation company title is not the Revelation of words, it means what's good to be unveiled often in the Old Testament God would tell us things would happen 700,000 1500 years in advance down to specifics, even naming names empires will happen. Specific prophecy because he wants us to know this isn't just a book. This is in a paperback is not fiction its life, and so at the end of the book, he tells us what can happen forever in history is called restoration or consummation. Jesus is going to return and he promised he would make all things right in heaven and on earth mean that that's hope. Notice every moral being angels us will be judged justly and repaid for their thoughts, choices and actions.

When Jesus comes back as the righteous judge sin, death and Satan will be vanquished forever.

And then God will reestablish what perfect love relationship. In a perfect environment for ever and ever. When Jesus first came he came as the Savior to pay the price for sin to offer to whoever would buy the web.

Whoever with the hard part is our pride. It's really about not believing God is good is not believing that he really loves you so, no, no, no, no, all do life my way to God since I got a great plan for your life and I love you I want you to receive my love.

And so he came as the Savior when Jesus comes back he'll come back as the judge, and upon his fights is faithful and true and everyone will get exactly what they deserve and what he wants you to know is that he doesn't want to judge you.

You want you to come under the blood and the forgiveness of what he's provided so that on that final day when sin is judged and death is swallowed up and Satan is cast into the lake of fire and there is a reality in heaven is real and there's a promise he wants, whosoever it's not his desire that a single person would ever perish but that all would come to knowledge of the truth and some he brought you today so you can cross that line. Notice how the end will be the love gives hope it leads to perseverance mean the fact of the matter is we like hard right you been ripped off. People have walked out on you. People have lied to you. You have health issues that don't get better.

Here's what you need understand this story is the story of all eternity. You live inside this little thing called time inside time. Everything is not going to be fair when Jesus comes back part of him, judging his real love demands justice those people of the abuse kids this people that have lied those people that hurt others. Those people of annihilated.

What kind of God would it be when we go into all well he just say oh they just had a bad day. I'm just not gonna mean there is a part inside of you that cries out that's not fair, especially when it happens to you and what you need to know what gives you hope and allows you to persevere. There is a day coming when God is not only loving and kind and compassionate but he is holy and just and all the scales will be balanced and everyone will get exactly what they deserve.

That's what justice is. But what he wants us to understand is that we don't want to get what we deserve and Christ came to pay for what we did. The result is eternal life. Listen to what it's like Revelation chapter 21.

This is ask for. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and I heard a loud voice. John is speaking getting this revelation from God is watching it in her loud voice from the throne saying, now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God and he will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away and he was seated on the throne said, I am making everything new. Then he said, write this down for these words are trustworthy and true. What gives you hope what gives you perseverance in the midst of a hard life in a fallen world.

It'll be hard is to know that you have eternal life. The heavens real that there's hope. Now that's the story okay. I encourage you to pick up the paperback and if you've never read it.

Maybe for the next year December to read this or for some of you just treated like one of those novels and say to take me for five days and to sit down and zoom through get something easy to understand if you're like me, I had never opened it. A member saying God I don't know if you exist or not but all of history is divided between this one called Jesus between BC and A.D. and and and life is been defined by this one man I owe it to myself to at least examine what your word says and so I started a journey and I read it mascot if your real review results to me and so I would give you that challenge. If this is new to you, but the story of God's love.

A simple act one creation.

He made you for himself back to how it all went wrong sin. It's a fallen world Act III. He came to rescue you and he loves you can ask for.

He's coming back again is can make everything right cures the two questions.

Question number one is that story true in question number two if it's true, how you get in on that risk right is a true everyone has a story.

I'll guarantee you, you may not think about it that you have your own little story you have a worldview you you are thinking living spending money prioritizing your life around some little story that you've either heard or come to believe or pass together and what you're doing and where you're going is one of the light now here's my question. Where'd you get your story and is your story true peers. Here's why I'm staking my life on God story. He's not telling me I need to somehow become one with the ocean.

He's not telling that need to be religious and pray five times a day and try and appease a God is not loving he's not telling. I need to be religious good person. He's not telling me just pulled up by the bootstraps he not tell me be sort of a nice moral person and be as upwardly mobile as possible and be successful.

All the stories crash.

He's telling me this story is true. I made for him, even in my fallenness and my sin because I rose from the dead to prove it's true in space-time history. This isn't some religious or anecdotal thought or something made up in a corner. This is God the son living on the planet who died in for 40 days after he died, appeared to people in a resurrection body with over 500 witnesses verifiable the resurrection. That's why I believe the story.

Notice the text I gave you Paul makes the point in the whole chapter 1st printing 15 but he summarizes in these two verses verses 19 to 20 and 21 he says it for only this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. In other words, if you think he's a nice moral teacher.

Let's follow the teaching to be good to one another. He says your to be pitied can claim to be a nice moral teacher. He wiki was the definition of radical. He was the definition of revolutionary. He said I'm God they killed him because he claimed to be God. They killed them because said it said the father and I are one they killed him because he said no man comes to the father except by me. Jesus was either the truth were he was a liar or lunatic, but notice what the apostle Paul says, but Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of all who fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, Adam, the resurrection of the dead comes. There also man Christ. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive might circle in your notes.

All and all this is sort of unpleasant but we don't look at it. The mortality rate of everyone in this room is hundred percent world in a die and only reason organa dies because of sin in the world know the reason the sin in the world is cousin asked to our first parents sin we inherited that.

But all will be make life every single person will be resurrected. Every person be resurrected and to those people say, God, you know, I don't want your stuff and Jesus. I don't believe in you and say what you can have all this big like I'm going with my life.

You know what God will say to this people even it will break his heart feel safe, thy will be done, thy will be done.

God will not coerce or force anyone to be with him forever. So people said I don't want anything to do with you in this life. All hell is as an extension of people getting there will no one will be in any situation, single God I wish I could get into heaven. All I wish I could love you but I can't. His arms are open but he's just will how you receive the rescue for me. I was 18 and I know if God existed, but let me tell you the good news. That's what the word gospel means it means good news.

There's four facts of the gospel.

I want to summarize him and as I do, can I ask you if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, would you listen to this with fresh ears and say to yourself to. I really believe it to. I really believe God loves me this much, and if he loves me this much, why in the world would not trust him for other stuff okay you like my future like my decisions and like my family like my singleness like my priorities like my money and why wouldn't I do life the way his love letter says if you really loves me this much.

And if you're a person that may be here and check it out came with a friend, let me encourage you to listen with these, ears, could it be that this is true.

Could it be that I made by a personal God who loves me.

Could it be that my problems. Many of my own making and the making of other people because of sin and could it be that Jesus came and died and rose from the dead and today's the day I could receive forgiveness, so let me give you the facts. Fact number one of the good news is that you are a sinner. The Bible says, for all of sin and fall short of the glory of God. That's not an offensive word mean it's been used in some sort of bad ways. The word just means you missed the mark.

It's similar to the word transgression is like.

Here's a line. It means you crossover we know what's right to do and we do it the wrong thing right and you don't have to learn this, that beautiful little boy that I cried in love so much. You got to be about two years old and I would ask you to do something two years old, he will collect this no you know what I like. Now he's got a two-year-old and I was over at his house just a couple days ago. He told to do something that could just look at its and as people were selfish we fall short. Now there's anyone here this never had a bad thought never send never hurt anybody in any way, your absolutely perfect. You do not need this, however, check with the person you came with.

Second, the penalty of sin is death for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. See God's fair. There's wages like when you go to work, but what's a wage away just simply what you get for what you do in the Bible says that the wages or what were getting paid for for sin is separation forever. The first two facts of the of the gospel are bad news, but then the good news kicks in, Christ died to pay for my sin, but God demonstrated his love for you and that while you and me were yet literally enemies sinners. Apart from him, Christ died circle the word for the important work died for you. It means he died in your place, and for your sake in the old days because it's a vivid picture if you can imagine on a terrible day of rage that somehow you killed someone and you did it and you were convicted by a court and they said the death sentence and they stuck you an electric chair and strapped you down and the guys ready to pull the switch because you justly deserve to die for someone that you killed. What the Bible is talking about in this verse is that Jesus would walk in the room. It's a timeout. I don't want this one to be killed is out.

It's gotta be just and he would unstrap you, you would get up and he would sit in the electric chair to take everything that you deserve and they would pull the switch seat. That's the gospel. At the heart of the gospel is substitution at the heart of the good news is what you could never do.

I can never do for myself. Christ died in your place. Why because he loves you.

He wants to reconcile you, but finally that the good news doesn't become great news in your life. That's all true. A lot of people intellectually believe that, but you must personally receive Christ by faith.

A biblical faith yet to all who receive him, to those who believe in his name, he gave the right or the authority to become children of God see when a person crosses that line in the spirit of God comes into your heart and your life become a child of God and then you start taking on family resemblance. You have an appetite for his word because it's a love letter. Your life begins to change. You don't have it all together.

Your problems don't go away. You literally become. Are you ready more whole and more holy and you become a conduit of his grace, but you need to receive him, knowing the truth of the gospel doesn't save or forgive you, by faith, you need to receive it and see.

Faith is an intellectual assent. It's it's not just saying I intellectually believe there was a Jesus. I intellectually believe maybe was a son of God, I likely believe he rose from the dead. Great for you all. That's truth. Biblical faith is the mind, will and emotions. Trusting that to the point of action. When I was a skeptic and had not read the Bible and was in this journey of. Could this be true. I couldn't get over this issue of faith and so guy told me a story. It was a true story was an illustration to show me what biblical faith wasn't.

He talked about a few decades ago there was a guy apparently wanted to make some money and he put a wire from Canada to New York and Niagara Falls and and this is true story.

He actually would go across and so he could get on this thing like this. And at first he went and walked and then you know is he's rubbing up the crowd.

He went across the wheelbarrow and then the next time across. He put like these bags of sand 150 pound bags of sand. He obviously was very good and nuts. I think that so he goes across 50 pounds, 50 pounds this way, it apparently is a story goes there was one guy that was just absolutely bonkers. You are amazing. You are great.

I can't believe it, man. You can go like this. You go to where about because what you really believe I could go across there again. Yes, do you believe instead of sand. I could put a person in their a man he asked your amazing. He said we would like you about hundred 50 pounds, you get the wheelbarrow. That's biblical faith. You know what I find in Christendom today.

There are millions and millions of people standing, agreeing in cheering that it is possible that God hasn't done the done that in their lives have no family resemblance because they think faith is intellectually believing what we talked about is true faith is getting in wheelbarrow and it's saying I'm turning from my sin. I'm receiving the gift. And it's a transfer of trust and I'm now following you, your grace, and you know what happens your life changes changes, not by trying hard to change his inside-out.

Have you ever done that. That's receiving Christ as many as received him that the other big lie in Christendom and this is what I grew up with is that being a Christian was like being religious, or trying to be moral.

Believe me, there's a lot of people are a lot more moral than most Christians, you know what a Christian is a Christ one. It's do you have the sun. The Bible says if you have the sun you have life if you don't have a son you don't have life. It's all a member of the story starts with your made for him.

He wants to be with you Christ wants to live inside of you and he wants to reconcile you and have a new relationship with the old passes and everything is if you ever experience that offers a free gift. As we closed program like you to think about what you just heard. If you have the sun you have life.

If you do not have the son of God. You do not have life. You can go to church. You can be a relatively moral person you can be a nice person you can be someone who cares about others. All those things may be good in and of themselves, but the Bible is very clear. We've all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Christ came and died to pay for our sin rose from the dead and now he offers a gift and the gift of his life in us and it demands that you and I turn from our sin. The Bible word for it is repent of a change of mind turn from our sin and then reach up the empty hands of fate than, say, Lord Jesus, I've sinned against you. I ask you now to forgive me and they come into my life. I believe and trust that your death on the cross paid for my sin.

I believe that your resurrection declares me righteous and right now in this minute. I invite you to be my Savior to come into my life. If you have never done that. I invite you to receive a free gift right now. If you're driving don't shut your eyes, but God can hear you.

Praying in your heart if you can stop right where you're at and get some time alone right now, I'd like you to bow your head close your eyes, lift your heart and hands to God and say, dear God.

Today is my day. I believe that you died in my place. I believe you rose from the dead. I'm sorry I'm sorry for the way I've heard others in the way of sinned against you, will you forgive me.

Right now, to my heart, to my life and forgive me and now give me the strength to follow you all the days of my life. You know that's a very simple but eternal transaction and if you prayed with me right now. Let me encourage you go to our website and there's a very clear indication there about how to get some material and some help to help you grow in your journey with Christ and then number two. Find the greatest Christian you know and tell them I don't understand it all, but this is what I did today and then three.

Find a Bible that you can understand and then begin reading in the book of John. It's in the New Testament. Just begin reading and then this weekend find a place that teaches God's word and go there and worship with your new brothers and sisters in Christ.

God bless you and welcome to the family. If you prayed with Chip local take a minute and call us at AAA 333-6003. We love to hear your story and get a free resource in your hands that will help you understand the significance of your decision and then give you a couple of next steps on your journey that same resources available if you tap special offers only up or go to the new believers to have on our website LivingontheEdge.org.

We just want to help you get started and say welcome to the family before we close today's program. I just want to stop and pause with a very select group of people your people that pray for Living on the Edge. I know because you write and tell me in your people who give financially to Living on the Edge and as I have communicated the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the power of God's salvation and we know that when we share the gospel like this on a broadcast of literally hundreds and hundreds of people come to Christ and so you're part of that and we have reaped not because were special, but because the gospel is the power of God to salvation but I want to just celebrate that reward.

And thank everyone of you who pray and think every single person who gives to this ministry people's lives will be different forever and ever and ever because of you. Thanks so much like strip was we close, I would just like to remind you that the series is all about bringing people from darkness into the light of Jesus love and into eternal relationship with him. You don't the Christmas season creates great opportunities to talk with people so let me encourage you if you'd like to strengthen your skills in sharing the love. Maybe think about getting the message notes going through the series again.

Everything you need is on the chip and remap why not write out your story and then ask God to use you to share the love with at least one other person and when he brings that opportunity.

We love for you to call or write and tell us what happened well until next time you have Jeff and everyone this is Dave really saying thanks for listening. this Edition of Living on the Edge