Google: What Are You Searching For? Series

WHO ARE YOU TELLING THAT TOO?

How many have Ever Recommended a Great Restaurant or an Awesome Movie?

Standing Around after a Bucs “WIN” – “How About them Bucs?” [RARE recently]

Yet when was the Last Time – Shared the Greatest News that’s Ever happened to You?

If You BEAT CANCER – Would You Share that GOOD NEWS? SURE YOU WOULD!

WHY the Reluctance to Share the Good News About What God has Done in our Lives?

"Be wise in the way you act with people who are not believers, making the most of every opportunity. [6] When you talk, you should always be kind and pleasant so you will be able to answer everyone in the way you should." Colossians 4:5-6 (NCV)

Paul is saying Two Very Important things Here: First – Be WISE in your Actions!!

CARE about How you Act – MOST IMPORTANTLY – CARE!!

2nd – Make sure Your Life & Words are Clear & That Reflect A Message of Hope – Life

1. I must Be ONLINE for my Unchurched Friends and not AWAY.

If you Don’t like People, there’s a Setting on IM – That We Don’t Have in every day Life. Its called "AWAY" Or "DND" (Do Not Disturb).

We’re Often NOT away. WeJust Don’t want to be BOTHERED

Computer Communication allows Us to Do such Things we WOULDN’T normally do Personally!

But wouldn’t be great if you were at work and that anoying person came up and you could click "Away"?[I had a sign with "AWAY" on the front & "DND" on the back]

Or, at that family reunion. Wouldn’t it be great if your mother-in-law came up to nag you and you could click "DND"?

Do you EVER do this to People – EMOTIONALLY? Shut Them out?

Either we are Embarrassed that we’re a Christ Follower or we are Inwardly Focused , or Calloused to peoples Needs

Instead of being “ONLINE” – “DND” Sign out . . . or “INVISIBLE” to the Outside World

Paul says “Be wise in the way you act with people who are not believers”

And he says we are to “Make the Most out of our Opportunities” to ENGAGE our World

WHY? Because God Loves them!

“God is being patient with you. He does not want anyone to be lost, but he wants all people to change their hearts and lives.” 2 Peter 3:9 (NCV)

Regardless of HOW you feel about someone – GOD LOVES THEM! Important to Him

And if People who Don’t Know God - Important to Him / They MUST be Important - Us

Christ Died for Them! Jesus “Walked across the Cosmos” to Reach YOU & Me – Friends

He Lived a Sinless Life / Died a Horrible Death! / Rose Again – To make us FREE!!

And His Gift of Salvation is Free!! But it doesn’t Mean We Don’t Do Anything With It!!

Bill Hybels, in his new book – Walk Across The Room - says, "It is often scary to step out of our natural patterns of relating to engage with those who are still far from God. Sometimes, we just don’t take the time to notice lost people. If we do stop to look, we may not see the need. Possibly, we’ve lost any deep feeling toward lost people and their plight—ignoring that those who look good on the outside still need redemption and healing on the inside. Many of us struggle to overcome fears of stepping into the “Zone of the Unknown” where spiritual conversations take unpredictable turns. Yet it is not an exaggeration to say this is our main mission as Christ-followers: to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in the battle for the hearts and souls of people who do not know God. In Jesus’ day, some religious people preferred to stay aloof from those in spiritual need. Not so with Jesus. He talked with them, prayed with them, wept over them, and even partied with them in an attempt to reach them with the good news of his heavenly Father’s radical grace. But it required leaving circles of comfort—as it does for us now. Normal Christians can do this. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can become “walk across the room” kinds of people—God’s plan for redemption hinges upon it."