Just Walk Across the Room
The Fruitful Steps - #3
> We’re headed for a brain-bender right out of the blocks. Ready?
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 to mind. Here is a little word association for you. Your response can be anything, remember anything that comes to mind. But the key is to go fast. You can’t give this a lot of thought. The idea is to capture your gut-instinct immediately after you hear what comes out of my mouth. Deal? All right, here’s the first word;
Mona, Super Bowl
Vacation, Coach,
Diet,
President Born-again Christian
> Born-again Christian! Okay, let’s stop there for a moment. What word came to your mind? 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? But let’s take it a step further. What do you think would happen if we showed the same screen to a hundred people who are living far from God? What would their impressions have been? I suggest, we might get quite an earful. George Barna told us a dozen years ago that in America, the general population has 2 impressions about "Christians; one, they attend church, and two, they are judgmental.
> Let’s zero in from America and consider this question; "what would the people who are far from God and live in Hueytown, Alabama, have to say about those who claim to be Christian?" Might they say, "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 with their own type certainly don’t rub shoulders with people like me. Or how about "I know a born-again Christian & what a turnoff she is! I feel judged if I even inhale wrong. She’s so self-righteous, haughty & just absolutely egotistical."
> Now, please understand, I certainly hope this is not the case, but I’m afraid it is. My desire is for us, this church, this group of "born-again believers" to change the tide of public opinion about "Christians."
> Guess why. Because the only way people will ever see their need for God is for them to witness God in us and open their hearts to Jesus and His wonderful good news. You see, God’s heart beats for pointing people to faith. His plan is to use you and me as his vehicle for getting that done!
> Know what I ‘wished’ they would say? The one’s I know are filled with integrity, they shoot with a straight arrow, they are filled with compassion, they care for the poor, care for each other, love people, & love each other.
> I don’t know if that is appealing to you, but it is my prayer for the every member and guest of the HBC family. If there is to be a change in this world, it will have an eternal dimension to it and the only eternal dimension is found in Jesus. The Bible says, “There is salvation in no other name.”
> There is one other thing which I wish the Hueytown folks would say and that is, “these folks love people so much that they’ll walk across a room, a road, or a riot to show someone the love of God.”
> We have been using the phrase of “just walk across the room” as a symbol of our call from God to speak to and touch people wherever we are. This trek has been broken into four “steps.” We began this journey with the First Steps, that is, the steps of the Savior, the Sinner, and the Sovereign. Last week we discovered the Faithful Steps which means we Develop New Friendship, Discover their Stories, and Discern our next step. And always we are called to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. If we take a walk across a room to touch someone, let’s consider how we can be Fruitful.
> Today, let’s talk about the “Fruitful Steps.” First of all, allow me to correct a misconception. Some will say, “Bro. Jerry, God only expects us to be faithful.” My response to this statement is, “really?” Can you tell me exactly where in the Bible it says this? No doubt we are called to be, exhorted to be, and even expected to be faithful, but John 15 clearly says that “if we remain in HIM, we will bear much fruit.” So rethink this truth and understand that it is the will of our Lord that we be fruitful and thus, take fruitful steps.
> I offer 2 actions which are required to take the “fruitful steps” of walking across the room and we’ll use 2 Bible stories to demonstrate.
1) Listen For The Voice of God. –turn to Acts 8:26-38 (The Ethiopian Eunuch)
> Please notice I didn’t say Listen “to” the voice of God, although this is essential. Here’s why. Before you can listen to God’s voice, you must listen for it. This brings us back to the issue of being sensitive to the Holy Spirit. God has a desire to speak to you. Yes, He has proven that HE can throw you down on the ground to get your attention; however, this is the exception and not the rule.
> READ SCRIPTURE. This is such a familiar story about a deacon that often we miss the many lessons to be learned. Let me pull 3 lessons to assist us;
a) Be Receptive – In Acts 6 the Apostles told the people to choose from among you men full of the Holy Spirit and now in chapter 8, we are seeing the proof that Philip was filled. He listened to the voice of the Lord. Verse 20 says, “An angel of the Lord spoke.” Philip was obviously accustomed to hearing from the Lord and was receptive to that voice. Ann Graham Lotz made this statement, “Jesus is a perfect gentlemen. He does not come in where He is not invited.” Paul writes, “don’t stifle the spirit.” The old invitation says, “Calling today. Jesus is calling today.”
> The question is, are we receptive to His voice. Do we listen? Do we hear? In the HCBS we are called to “Hear the word of the Lord” at least 35 times. When we are receptive to something or someone, we do not have to be convinced. We listen and learn. Admittedly, I’m not the smartest person in the world and I am keenly aware of this. As a Music Minister and as a Pastor, I have always felt a need to surround myself with Pastors and Music people who have developed beyond what I have. And when they speak, I do my best to listen. You have met some of them; Wayne Dubose, Dean Register, Gene Mimms, and the list goes on. Consider this, sometimes those guys give me information or instruction that I do not like nor want. It is in those times that who I am is known.
> When God speaks to us are we receptive to His voice? Do we hear what He has to say? Can He trust us to hear?
> By the way, God seems to always call us to action. That is, go, come or do.
b) Be Responsive –Verse 27 records that Philip got up and went. He didn’t argue with the voice of the Lord. He simply obeyed. Of all that we do which expresses our love for God, obedience tops the list. Nike’ used to have a slogan; “just do it”. And that should be our response to the Father when He speaks to us. But you know what we want to do; we try to resist Him. He says, “You know Joe, that man you work with, be His light in the world. Let him see me in you.” And you think, “Whoa, he’ll think I’m a fanatic.” So you try to stay away from Joe and resist God’s leading & fail to walk across the room. If we don’t resist Him, we replace Him or His call. So instead of reaching out to Joe, you say, “I’ll go see Jim and Jane.” You see, Jim and Jane used to be in church, but something happened and they have turned their backs on God and left the church. The real deal is, you KNOW Jim, and you and Jim will talk more about football than things which matter. Please listen, being receptive and hearing God’s voice is only affirmed by being responsive to the voice of God. After Philip responded by leaving town, now the voice said, “Join the chariot.” This required both effort and energy because Philip had to RUN to the chariot. Now God finally has him in position. Philip has been receptive & fully responsive to the voice of God, now;
c) Be Ready – As I read this text, it seems to me that Philip was more spiritually ready than intellectually. He asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And then, He opened his mouth and told the Eunuch about the good new of Jesus. We are told to be ready to give a reason for the hope in you. Do you truly have a hope in you?
> Walk across the room people are people who listen for God’s voice and they are receptive, responsive, and ready to do whatever HE asks.
> Many folks call themselves “disciples”, “Christ-followers”, and/or “Christian” and seem to stop at “study, learning, and even listening”, but it cannot be emphasized enough that “faith without works” is dead. There must be application, the must be intentionality, there must be a story told.
2) Apply it to the Hearts of Men. – Acts 22:1-21 (Paul in Jerusalem). Let’s read this passage. (READ) In a crisis, with his back to the wall, Paul gives us a great example of how to apply the truths of God to men. I discern 3 things;
a) Speak Their Language – As we read this story we come to understand that this mob had the “Jew-Gentile” thing going on. They were expecting Paul to speak “Greek” to them, which would have been HIS daily langue, but this Hebrew was “their mother” tongue. When He spoke it, they listened. Personally, I fear we, as believers, have developed a language which we use inside the “church” and it means little to the culture which we are trying to reach. If we love our community (and that would mean the people in our community) and want to see them know Christ, miss hell, make heaven, we need to speak “their” language. Now before you think this is “compromising the truth”, consider this; Southern Baptists have in place the greatest missionary sending organization in History. The IMB and the NAME have in the procedures that raise the probability of their being successful. One requirement for missionaries is to go to language school to learn their native language. Isn’t it interesting that we live our lives in a community and seem to use church buzzwords and lingo when talking about the Lord. And we wonder why they don’t listen.
b) Share YOUR Story – Speaking their language, this deeply intellectual, theological, and inspired man simply tells HIS story. He could have taught doctrine, He could have told them about sin, He could have majored on their flaws, faults and failures, but what HE chose to do is this; He told HIS story. Can you tell your story? Do you have a story to tell? If your story is allowed to be told, where does it lead? Your story should have only 3 parts (like Paul’s); my life before I met Christ, how I met Christ, and my life since I met Christ. I suggest to you that in this day of “cultural Christianity”, many have difficulty with their story and don’t understand why. What needs to be deeply investigated is that we truly have a spiritual story to tell. Additionally, not only should it have 3 parts, but we should practice how we tell our story. There is too much at stake to ‘wing it’. We need to tell it well and it needs to have a purpose. The objective, outcome, or the purpose is the help people find Christ.
c) Show God’s Plan – Can you give an illustration of God’s plan? If someone’s life depended on it (and it does) can you make His plan so clear that a child can understand it?
> Last year in PTL, Bro. Gary and I taught a course entitled, “Becoming a Contagious Christian”. In that study was an illustration called the ‘bridge’. Would you look with me at the screen and let’s learn this together (The Bridge Illustration)
> Finally, Paul concludes his words with the words of the Lord. The Lord told Paul as He tells every one of His believers, “Go, because I will send you.” In good old southern lingo, “Walk across that room because there are people who need to cross the bridge in Life.” Do you part.
> Can you identify God’s plan for your life? Can you convey that plan? There are many lives at stake and each one depends on us.
