Three Gospel Conversations, Part 2

Today on Summit my JD Greer God overcomes the world by giving you the ability to go through pain to go through unfair treatment and joy in the midst of it that confuses the world so I will. I understand when you join a visual well but join them as pain. What is God's intention was not just to deliver you from adversity what it was to deliver you and I the Bible teaching ministry 13. As always, I'm your host Molly that events your week with a difficult question. When you find yourself going through a trial. Do your actions and reactions draw people to God. They push them farther away from him the question.

Pastor JD answers today. In the conclusion of our message titled three gospel conversations we discovering that we can actually make an eternal impression on those around us during difficult times. When we respond from the place of trust in God. I know I want to point people to Jesus.

And what better time than when things are difficult. Now if you missed any of the previous messages in our current study in the book of acts.

Be sure to catch up and share them with others by visiting JD Greer.com to grab your Bible and let's get started.

Question for today.

What does evangelism by normal people look like social talk about about what is it actually look like in practice of evangelism occasionally just me sharing the good news about Jesus of little or will the word meet at 16 is going to show you what that looks like you have a Bible, I would invite you to open it to accept the 16th to see a picture of what ordinary evangelism by ordinary people like look at three gospel conversations with three persons of interest, shall we call them conversation of one 1613 on the Sabbath day.

We went outside to the gate at the Riverside where we suppose there was a place of prayer said that I spoke to the women who would come together.

There one who heard us was a woman named Lydia. She was from the city of Thyatira. She was a seller of purple goods.

She was a worshiper of God, the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was being said by Paul conversation were to write number 16 as well. Going to place a prayer that's where they started their evangelism evidently was spiritually people were met by a slave girl with a spirit of divination is much gained by fortune-telling.

Verse 17 she followed Paul and I was crying out for service of the most high God, who come to us to reclaim the way of salvation. Verse 18 this.

She kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed by the well of that which is made by was not made out to the ball full of great compassion or for Paul softly and tenderly looks at her and stroked her hair and says daughter Aviv say that Paul take off. Paul is peeved is what it says. Paul turns and says to the spirit, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ become out of her and it came out that very hour jobs this will come to Christ not to Bible study but to Paul performing an act of deliverance upon her, he throws out the demon which also removes her as a circus act. But her masters can make money on, which then leads us to conversation number three: our own resolve that their hope of gain was gone. They seize Paul and Silas and dragged him into the marketplace before the rulers and the magistrates tore off the garments from them and gave orders to beat them with rods and when they inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them in the prison bordering the jailer to keep them safely having received this order. He put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks verse 25 about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, the prisoners were listening to them and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken and immediately all the doors were open, and everyone's bonds were unfastened when the jailer woke and saw the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. In those days of your prisoners escape you pay with your life. It was, their way make sure you let anybody go. Verse 28, Paul cried out with a loud voice, Paul cried out a loud voice serves you right now is no access. Do not harm yourself you were here were all still here. Here's the question you should ask yourself at that point. Why is Paul still there. These innocent right. He knows he should be in prison the multiple data chains are often not an act of God, and that just happened to Peter Maxwell walkout. Why would Paul still be there.

Paul recognizes usually listen but this is part of the plan of God to reach Philippi. So Paul literally stands there with his freedom is deserved. God given freedom on his right hand and on his left hand accrual jailer that had tortured him unjustly the night before and Paul turns his back on his freedom so we can go back again and proclaim the way of salvation to this jailer. Wonder the jailer was so moved. No, it's not the earthquake that shook the jailer it was what Paul and Silas did in the earthquake and after the earthquake that shook the jailer verse 29 so the jailer called for lights and rushed and trembling with fear.

He fell down before Paul and Silas, and he brought them out of sensors, what must I do to be saved and they said to there's nothing you can do. Salvation is not something you do something that has been done for you and then in the shortest, most concise, most direct answer to the question ever answer what must I do to be saved. They give this one line believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved you and your household salvation is not something you can tell you're asking the wrong question is something that's been done.

You just believe it.

She had asked why these three stories. What is the author try to show what's with these three stories I tell you why, due to reasons letter a is a person to show us he records these three stories to show us something important about the gospel. Namely, listen. But the gospel is for everybody. You cannot find three more different people in these three little rich businesswoman, religious woman, you got a slave girl was demon possessed and you got a Philippian jailer. These three people would never even speak to each other on the street what you try to show you listen there is no type for a person who becomes a Christian, which means I don't know who you are this weekend. I don't know what you've done. I don't know how far you fallen and I can tell you that you if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved right because you're not more loss than I am. Got the same problem. Sin three stories are recorded to say something about the gospel. Namely, that is for everybody. Second, they are recorded to give us B glimpses of different people in our city and I believe to cannot give us a pattern for our special region will start with Lily Yahoo is the spiritually interested. The best way to reach people like that engage them in the study of the Bible. Now, how do you do that much.

I make this as practical as I can as a barista jots himself down right you can first interest in buying the church. Here's another way maybe even a better way is you can just invite them to read the Bible with you to say hi while we read the Bible together using orders that look like the start of Genesis and you die somewhere in the middle of the book of Leviticus, you know, it's me.

I get that it's hard for me to say this is the best way ever seen a friend of mine. Does this make a list of verses your 15 favorite versus just listen out given to them via delays even write out the verse for them beside the reference and just say take five of these verses first five I want you to write out this week. One day I want you to write out what the verse means, and then write out what it's saying to you and then come back one week later, like Thursday me to Starbucks three in the afternoon and Cyprus discuss what you are doubtless first five thanks for the taste and see method. It's a great way for you just to engage somebody in the Bible and allows you to talk about what God has taught you, is another method that we use right here called the simple Bible study method and it's great to be five questions you can ask on any passage of Scripture and we do the summit Bible reading plan and you say hey let's read the Bible you plan.

Let's get together, let's discuss the five questions out of this passage how you can start you can read a book together with people. I do this sometimes purpose driven life by Rick Warren reason for God by Tim Keller. Occasionally I will use my own boat gospel which is not weird saying or its rule would have is my read your book along with you, but that's what I wrote the book gospel to help people understand it so you can read one of these books together and you could just discuss what you're learning as you do this what you're gonna look for is God opening the heart the way that he did to Lydia me tell you why I love that phrase in its several times in the Bible because it takes the pressure off of me and he's out another one got open the heart to want to go to commencing you. Why don't all the answers.

You'll have to know will be entered towards the one that opened the heart all you do is give the message to. There's this misconception. Some of you think that the only people who can be effective evangelist are people who are extreme extroverts like me would sell vacuum cleaners if I got fired from the church right that's not true of different nongroup deliveries are stuffy or says that a effective evangelist only believes two things this an effective evangelist only believes two things. Number one that salvation belongs to God, which means God the one who does the commencing believes number two he or she believes that faith comes by hearing and hearing only by the word of God. So what number one does is it takes the pressure off of me showing me that I don't have to have all the answers and I don't have to do all the commencing I don't have the give a perfect explanation, but part two. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God shows me that I do have a responsibility because the word of God cannot begin to convince where it has not been placed in my responsibility is to put that person in the presence of the word of God. Everybody can do this you'll that's how we reach personable one.

But here's the problem. Summit, for most people in most churches. That's where evangelism stops.

That's the only kind evangelism.

We know how to do, but there are two other kinds of people and they're not getting reached by inviting them to church, the slave girls never show up at the place of prayer. She's not going to a Bible study with you neither will the Roman soldier physically.

She can't the Roman soldier just won't having a first realize this when I was 16 years old and just become a Christian when I became a Christian I was a invite people to my church by thereby my church. I remember driving to church one weekend stopping at a gas station that was almost man there wanting to invite him the church but realizing you not to come and he does comments. I do not understand anything that is thought to do with the world damp heart church was not set up to reach people like that to reach them. We had you something different in how we reach Lydia's every year more and more people in our community become the kind of people who are just on the charts.

She every year the number of people who check none for religious affiliation on censuses in our country increases at an astounding rate nuns as they are now called, not like Catholic but in OES nines are not casually making their way into our churches for really any reason you're dealing with people of a completely different religion. You and I are living in a society that is becoming increasingly like that reach the other two thirds of our city. We got to get good at reaching people other than Lydia to reach them by having greater music to me. Tell better stories.

Our Christmas Eve service to their does not, so I we reach these other two people. Here's a second one. The physical and spiritual captive houses Kyra houses girl reached Paul delivers her to reach these people. That means we have to get involved in their lives. Why is it that we have a strategy for the homeless orphan prisoner unwed mother in high school dropout because they're not common in any other way. That's why some of you need to get involved because God loves as part of her city to dislodge the Lydia's. He loves these people are physical and spiritual captive and he wants us to be involved in their lives. Some of you need to get involved with reason number three to flip in jailer these the skeptic, the Philippian jailer. This guy get saved because of two things. One, he observes Paul and Silas's joy limits the pain until he was the recipient of their extravagant grace.

Consider running and let them kill himself and that's what he deserved. Paul came back for bolded that lesson because Paul recognizes her so important for this Paul recognize that God had appointed this suffering. To reach this jailer, which is why Paul did not run from it. When the earthquake occurred instead Paul chose to remain, and do two things in the midst of it to keep giving praise to God and to show extraordinary grace to those who had mistreated him. What else, what is in the midst of your pain, your first thought was not God, what have I done wrong with your first thought was God whose life are you trying to use me to spare here's a while bought maybe sometimes we should quit asking God to take away this week we asked him in prayer to give us last week like God use me God does something like this and like God you hate me because I am like you was doing what you asked me yesterday usually missed some of the user. Some you guys are like when you suffer you like oh God, what have I done wrong and you got your Bible desperately try to find some way to explaining flip open your Bible do not Bible lottery thing and you want diversity Lance my Leviticus Mike I know you hated me.

I knew that. Why do that when I told John 1633 Jesus said in the world you have tribulation, be of good cheer, have overcome the world because how God overcomes the world is by giving you the ability to go through pain to go to this unfair treatment and have joy in the midst of it that confuses the world so I will. I understand what you have joy to behold well but you have joined the Mr. pain. What is God's intention was not just to deliver you from adversity, but it was to deliver you in adversity is a difference in us to. I will book on deliverance, by the way, I will be delivered from adversity and got does that sometimes but sometimes God chooses to deliver me in adversity, which means that he gives me the ability to be joyful to just be the ability to never lose my hope in the glory of God in the midst of pain so that I can show others that I got a hope that goes beyond the world and I hope it is better and sweeter than any earthly blessing to God to give me their two things about your pain. I want you to write down what you think about is the greatest evangelistic strategy that you have regarding your paying a need to see it coming and be you need to see it through. See it, and see if you receive say companies don't be surprised by surprised by God told Paul I'm going to use you to reach Gentiles part of that I'm choosing you to suffer through up also let you what God said to you. I'm choosing you to make my name famous and part of that to be how well that you suffer someone 12 70 of this verse the righteous. Have no fear, badness, what is never common note right you get bad news all the time that no fear. Bad news because their hearts are steadfast trust in the Lord that describe you, what bad news are you afraid of getting a health scare newsy retirement and work out the way that you are hoping is that first described use of the righteous hemisphere bad news. It will if you know that God has appointed you to overcome the world and part of the way the God overcomes the world is not always by deliver you from adversity, but by the liver you in adversity and then you'll be able to do what Jesus said to be of good cheer, because you know that in all things but your joy, your pain, God is working to deliver not only you but people around you from the world and that he is sovereignly appointed these things so that you can give testimony to him in the midst of those things that you see a comment and secondly you see it through. Which means that you make a choice to never cease praising God you got shoes because I'm telling you you and you feel like it. Paul and Silas, with her feet up in the stock having their backs open wall with webs and their feet beaten to a pulp didn't feel like praising God, you're not gonna feel like praising God you have to say with a back ache, go there be no crop in the field, though there be no herd in the stalls yet. I will I choose to rejoice in God my Savior to save the King David. Bless the Lord all my soul and all that is within me, forget not his holy name. Forget not all his benefits that he is given to me know what David had to say that to himself because he didn't feel like blessing the Lord and he have forgotten the benefits I gotta give it to him, which is why he is choosing to bless God and worship God in the midst of pain. You got shoes and you do it exuberantly talk about the goodness of God declared to yourself, declared other people sing about it put a smile on your face when you do, why because the other prisoners are listening. That's why you know, I encourage you sometimes in the basement about my neck. I yell at you sound angry when Tony why should worship exuberantly near is not because I want you all to be my personality or I want you all to know more supply one culture is because I know listen to how we worship ports on display what we believe about the promises of God. Other prisoners that are inherent are watching you and their own learning how much you value you put in the promises of God based on the way that you see in the midst of pain.

I know were not all the same personality, so also weird worshiping exuberantly feel awkward.

Listen, full disclosure, I did to. I do not grow the church. We did this ever been a church where you showed your reverie or your devotion to God to help quiet and still you could stay in the midst of church quiet as a church mouse right weird zombie rodents for Jesus that was kind of our church. A strategy so I'm not expecting you to go from 0 to 60 in one Sunday you can start somewhere right. You can start. I sing that be a big step summary all this semester and I want to sing the words put a smile on your face may not like start moving just a little bit.

Does this mean you have to have rhythm.

I don't dispute coming back aboard a little bit and after a while when the boys looking worship Frisbees down here to do this you can hear the TV. Nobody seen this yet and I promise you after while we doing varsity level worship varsity is washing. Heavens windows high-five to Jesus. You'll get there okay just start somewhere. Pain and unfortunate circumstances are your chance to put your hope and joy in God and display impact does your best chances to be a witness-one and tired of seeing the worst of Christians come out in the midst of pain. Some of you are in the prison of a bad marriage to be you in a prison of a tough job situation so I'm talking to somebody on their right to be in the prison of the chronic health problems. You're a victim of injustice. I'm not telling you did not do what you can do to remedy it. When Paul minutes five versus you can read number 30 from Yanni, you should do what he can to fix the situation so that it never happens to somebody else but him to say that as you do that. Never lose the joy of your possession in Christ because other people are watching and show extravagant grace to dust the cousins extravagant raises extravagant grace. You start giving kindness to those who have mistreated you many of you are familiar with the story line is both moving state for a very solid general holding centers around this one act of grace wears elbows on steel from a priest. The priest has a chance to just reported and to get this guy thrown in jail for the rest of his life and that guy deserves that by this priest in this kind of like moment and opens the whole story, instead of giving John Valjean what he deserves.

He says to the police all know I donated these things to him I wanted him to have any forgotten to take the candlesticks any goes in, and rather than doing what he deserves reportable riches on Amazon modules is why the priest says I'm doing this to purchase your soul fundamentally changes the rest of Valjean's life you'll have that kind of situation at that level happen every day.

Do you know you but you have dozens of smaller situations where you get to do that to give to the person who doesn't deserve you give them something different in the show, doing you racist? Why would you think the gospel and display showing and extending grace and that's what were all about here at Summit life, putting the gospel message on a pedestal for the world to see if you tuned in a little late today, no worries, you can always find a complete message online@jdgreer.com so jaded talking for a couple of weeks about our newest Bible study that will help our listeners dig deeper into the rehab volume 2 of our state Bible study available today and remember we offered volume 1 back in March system now time for the second a little bit about this resource and what to expect yet you know like all of our Bible studies.

These can be used privately one-on-one or it can be used for the group. The second volume covers chapters 9 to 28 of acts. It's a great supplement to your personal devotion times somebody you're discipling. You can use this to to go through the book of acts may be in conjunction with messages or if you're part of a small group. It might be something that Vatican discussion guide you as you press deeper and asked asked tells the story of the early church follows apostles like Peter and Paul, probably not quite. You think they are releasing them his superhuman spiritual giants and saints, but they were ordinary men complain in some ways that you just said yes to God and got used in credible ways as you study should press deep into the promises of the book of acts. Our prayers that you won't just be learning a lot of new information. Our prayers at your heart is to be stirred to get on board with the same mission that the early church at and that is the spread of the gospel. You can get just, volume 2 right now or you could get volumes one and two. JD Greer.com you have a role in it. Our pleasure to help you understand your writing things. Ask for your copy when you give a suggested donation of $25 or more, 866-335-5220 866-335-5324. Go online and request your copy, visit if you're not if you miss volume 1 back in March. Be sure to request that as well and Molly benefits inviting you to join us again Tuesday. He will explain that important for us to understand we can understand where you're coming learn more about contact tomorrow and send in my