Sharing Your Faith Simply

Mid-week Devotional
Sharing Your Faith Simply

Pastor Wes

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Transcript

We all know that Jesus wants us to share our faith with others, and there’s lots of creative tools we can use to help us do that. Such as:

 

Steps to Peace with God:

1.     God wants you to have peace and life.

2.     The problem is we are all in broken relationship with Him, separated from the Holy God, because of our sin. None of our attempts can mend that relationship, not good words, or religion, or morality

3.     God sent Jesus who lived a perfect life, satisfying His requirement for holiness, and Jesus in his death paid the penalty for our sins. Because of what He did we can have access to forgiveness and a restored relationship with God.

4.     We must respond to what God did in sending Jesus. We must receive Jesus as Savior and Lord.

 

Each of the four steps has scripture support, and at the end it gives guidance concerning repenting, believing and asking Jesus into your life. 

 

FAITH:

F.orgiveness- we are all in need of forgiveness

A.vailable- forgiveness is available

I.mpossible- though forgiveness is available, it is impossible for us to earn on our own merit

T.urn- we must turn from our own path and turn to Jesus

H.eaven- is the place where those who turn to Jesus will live forever

 

ABCs:

A.dmit you are a sinner in need of a Savior (Romans 3:23 all have sinned, Romans 6:23 the wages of sin is death)

B.elieve in Jesus (John 3:16)

C.onfess Him publicly as Lord of your life (Romans 10:9-10 If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord…)

 

BRF!

Believe

Repent

Follow

 

As good as these outlines are, sometimes the difficulty in sharing our faith is in approaching the subject, yet doing so naturally and authentically, without it feeling like a forced business proposal. If someone were to walk up to you and say “Hey I want to receive Jesus as Savior and Lord, how do I do that?” I’m sure most of you, hopefully, would be able to come pretty close on one of these outlines, and walk them through the terms of belief, repentance and following Jesus’ teaching. But something I believe we as God’s church need to do better at- whether pastor, missionary, introvert, extravert, super spiritual believer or new young believer– is being more kingdom focused and more aware of opportunities in which God wants to use us to share His good news. This is something that needs to be heavier on our hearts. It was heavy on Jesus’ heart, yet because of the seriousness of the subject, or out of fear of others opinions, we often find reasons not to share. Now, this is something I’m still working on, something that even with many years of being on the mission field overseas and pastoring, this is something God is still working on me to be better at. Right now I want to share some ways that recently I’ve found have been really helpful in facilitating more spiritual conversations.

           

Entering the subject:

With non-believing friends/family: Any experience of difficulty is an opportunity to share Jesus. Sick, difficult relationship, bad job experience- “Can I pray for you?” Or, “I’ve been in that situation before, and this verse really comforted me…” (share the verse), and then ask, “can I pray for you?” And then pray for them right there, by name, praying for their concern, but also praying that they would be willing to seek a right relationship with God through Jesus. After amen- “Spiritual family and support is so critical right now, I sense you could really use that support right now in this situation.  I’ve gotten plugged in at Next/Glady Branch- it’s been an awesome journey of 2 churches from different backgrounds coming together as one. We’d love it if you wanted to come visit with us – we met Sundays at 10am.” Or after amen- “I can’t help but think that God is pursuing you through this difficult situation. Have you ever asked Him into your life?”

 

With a new friend/stranger: “Are you from around here?  Have you found a local place of spiritual community, a local church yet?” If they say yes: “Where? And “What has God been teaching you lately, and/or how did you come to know the Lord?” That way you can find out where they are on their spiritual journey, and you should get a sense as to if they really know the Lord or not. If they respond with a No: “Spiritual family and support is so critical right now- I’ve gotten plugged in at Next/Glady Branch - it’s been an awesome journey of 2 churches from different backgrounds coming together as one. We’d love it if you wanted to come visit with us – our youth group is getting together next Sunday night,” etc. No matter what kind of NO is presented, you can still respond in this way. “No, I hate church,” “No, I’m Buddhist”- this answer still works.  If they say No and they say something like, “I don’t know- there’s too many religions in the world,” or “I’m exploring different forms of spirituality,” then you can say something like “What makes Christianity different from all the other religions of the world - it is the only religion in which you are not able to earn your way into Heaven, but rather it is a free gift from God to those who admit they can’t do it on their own. Those who choose to receive the forgiveness of Jesus, those who honestly are attempting to follow Him instead of themselves, no matter how messed up they are, He is gracious and merciful in giving them eternal life.” And no matter what their No is paired with, you still ask, “Can I pray for you right now?”

 

At a restaurant: Tell your waiter/waitress, “We usually thank God for the food before we eat, is there anything we can pray for you before we eat?” And sometimes they’ll stick around to hear the prayer, but if they don’t, still pray for them and then let them know later that you did pray for them, and if you feel lead, you can always tag on, hey- “Spiritual family and support is so critical, I sense you could really use that support right now in this situation.  I invite you to come check out the spiritual family at Next/Glady Branch - we meet Sundays at 10am.”

 

I hope that something I’ve presented to you will end up being a helpful tool, and that you will be encouraged to more boldly share the amazing truth of God’s rescue plan. And I’d love to hear back from you with any tips that you have found helpful in sharing your faith, as well as hear about your experiences you have had recently in sharing your faith.

Conspiracy Theories

Mid-week Devotional
Conspiracy Theories

Isaiah 8:11-15
Pastor Wes

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Transcript

We are living in a time where it is so easy to get caught up and sucked into all the informative sources that are available through news feeds, social media, and even friends. And it’s getting harder and harder to validate any newsworthy claim- these people are saying this, and these people are saying that, and you could spend hours, days, weeks attempting to investigate and get to the bottom of every story. And even whether you attempt to get to the bottom of the story or you just read the headlines, either way you probably still feel bombarded and overwhelmed with thinking through what is true and what is false, or considering what conspiracies might actually be true, or at the very least- feeling just a little bit of an uptick in anxiety concerning all that is taking place in our world. While the channels and access to information have changed over time, people’s sentiment of fear and anxiety concerning news and political circumstances has not changed. I want us to look quickly at a passage of scripture from Isaiah chapter 8, that was written about 2500 years ago, yet it is a passage still immensely applicable to our current day and age.

 

During this time in which Isaiah writes, God had spoken that judgement was coming to the land of Israel. And it was just now in the beginning stages. Jerusalem had been attacked, though not completely conquered, and many people had been captured and carried off to Damascus by the king of Aram. The king of Aram had also cut off the trade route by the Red Sea. The Edomites had attacked at the southern border of Israel and carried off captives. The Philistines had also invaded in some areas of Israel and taken over many villages.

 

And so, it was in this atmosphere that King Ahaz of Israel was reaching out to the king of Assyria for help. And yet God was saying that Assyria wasn’t going to help. (Assyria would actually end up being the country that, rather than help Israel, they would put the final blow on the country and fully conquer Israel’s northern kingdom) God’s prophets were saying one thing, yet the political entities were saying another thing, and there was doubt and confusion, there were conspiracies and various plans being forged behind closed doors. And God was calling out to the people for them to place their trust only in Him, and not place their trust in political allies, government deals, or military forces. Listen to what the Lord says in Isaiah 8:11-15…

Here God is calling His people not to be like the people fretting over rumors, news, and secret political moves. In verse 11 He says do not walk in the way of people who are like this, who call this or that a conspiracy, or who fear and dread what is to come. But rather, verse 13, the LORD alone should be the one to fear and dread. And then if we only fear and dread the LORD, notice what the LORD then becomes to us, verse 14: “Then He shall become a sanctuary.” This is an amazing principle. In situations of great fear, anxiety, and uncertainty- situations in which one would be thinking- “I need a sanctuary”- a quiet, protected, place of rest and peace; in these situations, God is saying fear Him alone, and He will become that sanctuary. We fear Him alone- not the circumstances, not the conspiracy, not the political drama- but we fear Him. And what happens is that He takes the fear placed in Him, and completely reverses that fear, turning it into protection, rest, and peace.

 

But look at what happens to the rest of those who do not fear the LORD alone, those who continue to fear conspiracies and the dread of events around them. The LORD becomes not a sanctuary, but if we continue in verse 14 and into verse 15, He becomes a “stone to strike and a rock to stumble over, and a snare and a trap.” And they will stumble, fall, be broken, snared, and caught. 

 

Church, continue to be reminded of God’s charge to His people- as seen in so many places throughout His word- His charge to place your fear in Him alone, to trust in Him alone, to place your faith in His Word alone- and He will give you rest. He loves you church, trust and rest in His love!

Esther: A Christmas Story

Esther: A Christmas Story

Esther 9:21-22
Pastor Wes

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Transcript

In 1977, George Lucas released Star Wars: A New Hope. It was unknown at the time whether the movie would even make back the money that was put into its production. Well, it ended up becoming one of the most successful films of all time, and it was followed up by two sequels, and then years later 3 prequels, then some more sequels to the previous sequels- and if you’re like me you’ve probably lost track by now. Within the past 4 years or so, 2 films were produced a little bit outside of the larger chronological narrative, Solo: A Star Wars Story, and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. These 2 movies weren’t part of THE Star Wars story, but they were stories within the larger narrative, within the plot/setting/theme of Star Wars. Today I want to present to you not THE Christmas Story, but rather Esther: A Christmas Story.

 

Taking place a little less than 500 years before Jesus’ birth, the story of Esther resulted in a celebration very similar to our modern day celebration of Christmas. As a result of the historic events recorded in this book, Esther 9:21-22 tells us the people from that time on celebrated “the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same month, annually, because on those days the Jews rid themselves of their enemies, and it was a month which was turned for them from grief into joy, and from mourning into a holiday; that they were to make them days of feasting and rejoicing, and sending portions of food to one another, and gifts to the poor.” This holiday became known as the celebration or festival of Purim. Both Christmas and Purim are celebrated in honor of salvation from death, enemies, and sadness, both are celebrated annually, both span over a period of one month with 2 days specifically dedicated for celebration, and both holidays are celebrated with food, gifts, and charity.

 

Christmas is really the story of God rescuing mankind. It’s the greatest rescue event to have ever taken place in history. Christmas is the one great rescue event that all the other rescue stories throughout the bible are pointing to. God’s rescue of Noah and his family on the ark, God’s rescue of Abraham and taking Him to a new place, God’s rescue of Jacob and His 12 sons through Joseph in Egypt, God’s rescue of the forming nation of Israel through Moses, God’s rescue of Israel through the judges, God’s rescue of Israel though David against Goliath, God’s rescue of his exiled people through Queen Esther. During these days of Esther, the people of Israel were living as foreigners in Babylon and Persia because of their unwillingness to follow God- because of their unwillingness to recognize Him as their rescuer- as their Savior, their King, their Lord.

 

Yes, after the accumulation of many God orchestrated rescuing events, Israel still rejected God, which led to them being conquered and exiled and thus the story of Esther. During this time leading up to their exile, God began to more clearly announce His greatest and final rescue. As we looked at last week with Pastor Dave- prophets like Jeremiah would speak on God’s behalf, saying things like “Behold, days are coming… when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel.” (Jer. 31:31) Prophets like Isaiah, through whom God said “The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them. (Is. 9:2) For a Child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. (Is. 9:6) Prophets like Micah, through whom God said: “But as for you, Bethlehem… From you One will come forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His times of coming forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.” (Micah 5:2)

 

So the stage is set: historical years and years of God rescuing His people, God then promising a seemingly impossible final and eternal rescue, and right before that great rescue in which Jesus the Messiah would be sent, God Himself- born, crucified, and resurrected- just before that, He would give His people a rescue that would give them a glimpse into the Christmas rescue He was planning, that we His people would one day celebrate. Instead of reading the entire book of Esther to you, I am going to paraphrase it to you using my own words, but you are more than welcome to open your Bibles to the book of Esther and loosely follow along, and fact check me along the way. So are you ready to hear this Esther Christmas Story?  

 

During Esther’s time, there is a king who rules over multiple countries, his rule stretching all the way from Northern Africa to South Asia. His name is King Ahasuerus, but because that name sounds a little bit like the name of a dinosaur, we’ll just call him by his other known name- King Xerxes- which might be what some of your bibles call him anyway. Now King Xerxes, having been ruler over such a massive area of taxable people, accumulated a massive amount of wealth. No nation could compare- they had conquered and conquered, plundered and plundered, taxed and taxed- and he decides to throw a massive seven-day party in the courtyards of his palace in Susa, a city in what is now known as modern day Iran. Anyone who could fit in his palace courtyard was invited- and we’re talking marble floors and solid gold and silver couches- and everyone could drink as much or as little as they wanted- drinks were on the house. It was party central, but the men and the women are celebrating separately in two different areas. On the last day of the party, the king is pretty tipsy, and he decides to call in his wife, Queen Vashti, basically to show her off and have all the guys gawk at how good looking she is.

 

Well, Queen Vashti has a little more dignity than that, and she refuses the king’s request, which after counseling with his servants, results in her being banished from his presence, and him thus seeking a replacement queen-wife. And what happens, is that the king sends out troops in order to find and bring to him the most beautiful, single ladies from across the entire land. They were all collected into basically a massive spa house, where they would spend a whole year receiving beauty treatments- fragrance and cosmetic treatments. Then each would have their one night with the king in his bedroom, and after spending the night with each, he eventually would choose one of them to be titled his queen.  

 

Now just as a side note, as I’m telling you this biblical story, realize that some of what the bible records is descriptive and other parts are prescriptive. In other words, some things are describing events just as they were- right or wrong- good, bad, or ugly- not saying that we should imitate and do those things- and other parts are telling us prescriptive things- things to do and imitate. King Xerxes actions are obviously something the bible is describing not prescribing, so guys- realize this is not the biblical way to find a wife. Ok, back to the story-

 

As it turns out, Esther was one of the most beautiful, single ladies collected from the land, and King Xerxes eventually names her as his favorite, and she becomes queen. Esther, however, just happened to be Jewish- one of God’s people exiled from the land of Israel. Now the Jews living in the land were despised, picked on- there was racial inequality for sure- and because of this, Esther had not let the king know she was Jewish.

 

Now, just to make sure you’re tracking with me up to now, let me re-iterate that life is pretty crummy right now for God’s people. Things are bad politically- a tyrant dictator is in charge who can do whatever he wishes completely unchecked. Things are bad religiously- there is no temple, no assembling of God’s people, no sacrifices that cover the people’s sin. Things are bad socially- no one likes the Jews- they’re outcasts. Things are bad for women’s rights- if you’re slightly good looking you’ll probably get nabbed and imprisoned so that the king can have his fun and then display you as a conquered trophy, which I assume probably ended up putting all the online dating apps out of business. Yeah, all the young guys looking for a date were like, dude- all my potential candidates keep disappearing.

 

Now Queen Esther had an uncle named Mordecai who had raised her, and despite things being as bad as they were, he still respected the authority placed over him and when he heard about some wanting to take King Xerxes life, he reported it and saved the king from assassination. But the king soon placed in high power a guy named Haman who Mordecai just could not bring himself to respect. Mordecai was just not willing to bow before anyone except his God, or perhaps Haman was just a particularly super evil guy. Either way, Haman becomes super angry at Mordecai, and wants not only Mordecai dead, but he wants ALL the Jewish people dead. So, Mordecai asks the king if he would send a proclamation throughout the entire land, decreeing that each province was to carry out an annihilation attack on anyone Jewish- to take their stuff and kill them. The king says why not, and puts his official stamp of approval on the decree.

 

Upon hearing the news, Jews across the land- including Esther, lost all hope and wept and wailed bitterly. Everyone was thrown into deep despair, except for one man- Mordecai. Mordecai convinced Esther that, as scary as it would be, even though she was not permitted to do so, she would have to approach the king and attempt to do something to change the fate of God’s people. She rallies herself and agrees to do it, but requests that all the Jews in the city would fast for her- abstaining from food and drink for three solid days. At the end of those three days, Esther approaches the king, illegally, and invites the king and Haman to attend a special dinner she would prepare. The three of them eat a rich meal, and the king knows Queen Esther is buttering him up for something but Esther just delays and asks that they do another special meal together the following night.

 

Well, after the first night, Haman goes home feeling pretty good. He feels honored by Queen Esther and the king, but then he sees Mordecai on the way home and is filled with rage at the sight of him. He wants Mordecai dead now so that he can relax the next night at the second installment of Esther’s special dinner. After talking to his wife and friends, he commands that a massive hanging gallows be constructed in preparation for him acquiring the king’s consent to kill Mordecai. Meanwhile, that same night, the king can’t sleep. He needs someone to read him a bedtime story, and so a servant reads him a book of recent history that has occurred within his kingdom. And it’s read to the king about Mordecai the whistle blower who had once stopped an assassination attempt. 

 

Now in the morning, Haman arrives to the king in order to ask about killing Mordecai. Before he can ask his question, the king offers him a question. The king asks “What is to be done for the man whom the king desires to honor?” (Est. 6:6) Haman assumes the king is talking about him, and he responds “give him a royal robe, horse, and crown and then honor him by parading him throughout the city.” The king says “brilliant!” and then to Haman’s horror, the king tells Haman to do this for Mordecai. The irony! As soon as he gets back from parading around Mordecai, it’s time for the second special dinner with the king and queen.

 

At this dinner, the king again asks what it is that Esther wants, and she spills the beans asking for him to save her and the rest of the Jews from Haman who is intent on annihilating them. Haman is instantly terrified, the king storms off in anger, and when he returns he finds Haman begging, falling on the couch next to Esther and he assumes that Haman is already trying to get close to her to assault her there on the couch. So, the king orders Haman to be hung on the gallows that Haman intended for Mordecai, and then Mordecai is instantly promoted to take over the lofty position that Haman held. Rags to riches, it’s a fairy tale ending, except for the fact that the king had already decreed that the Jews were to be slaughtered on a certain day, and the king’s decrees cannot be revoked. But the king gives Mordecai and Esther the authority not to change his law, but the authority to make a new law in addition to the previous one.

 

So they get to quickly writing, and in their royal edict, they wrote that on the day assigned for the annihilation of the Jews, the Jews now had the right to unify, to defend, kill off, and plunder anyone who might rise up against them- without consequence. And this decree was then sent out throughout the entire land, from Africa to Asia, in multiple languages. When the day of annihilation arrives, the Jews defend themselves, killing off and plundering all those who had been their enemies. And then Queen Esther asks the king if, there within the city of Susa, if the Jews could fight another day, and it was granted to them. And ever since, that day and the following day of rest, became the celebration of Purim- two days to celebrate with feasting, rejoicing, gifts, and charity- two days within a whole month of gladness.

 

Now no analogy is perfect, every analogy breaks down at some point- but I want you to see some of the symbolism and parallels between this real-life story of Esther and the real-life story of Christmas. A decree has been made that people must die. And a very real enemy is extremely happy about this, and is working very hard to see this decree take full effect. But, a hero is sent who will intercede on behalf of the people condemned to death. The enemy would see to it that even the hero would be put to death. But because of the hero’s intercession, the tables are turned, and ironically it is the enemy who will be put to death. The hero, in the name of the King, pronounces the opportunity by which to escape the first decree of death. And in great gratitude for what the hero accomplished through saving the lives of the people and putting the enemy to death, the people thus honor and celebrate him for a whole month, with two days in particular of celebration- with gladness, food, gifts, and charity.

 

The hero of the great rescue we call Christmas is Jesus. The whole reason He was birthed to us in this world, was so that He might intercede between the people and God, and between the people and death. His life, death, and resurrection turned the tables on our enemy that wanted to see death come to Jesus and to us His people- and now it is rather our enemy and his followers who will experience death. Under God’s authority, Jesus pronounced a new decree of life for those wishing to escape the death that results from mankind’s disease of sin. In gratitude, and in honor of what Jesus did in coming to this earth, we celebrate Him. We celebrate His rescue. We rejoice, for Immanuel- God with us- has come, and will come again. We celebrate over food with family because light has entered this dark world. We give and receive gifts as reminders of the gift our hero Jesus has given us. Our hearts are drawn towards being extra charitable and giving, celebrating the charity, mercy, generosity of our King born to us, who desires to share His kingdom with us.

This Christmas, may you connect the dots of the Bible like never before, and really be able to soak in the heaviness of what we are celebrating. And I challenge you to look for opportunities to share with those who don’t truly understand what Christmas is all about. Speak up, because the reality is, that a true understanding of Christmas is a matter of life and death. And as always, if you have any questions about your relationship with Jesus, or any questions about what is being proclaimed from this platform- please see Pastor Dave or myself after the service and we’d be more than happy to listen and attempt to walk together alongside you in your spiritual journey.