GOD’S NOT DEAD: PREPARE TO GIVE AN ANSWER
A. How many of you have ever had to DEFEND your FAITH in
COMMENT:
Maybe you had a co-worker who challenged your belief in God? Or had a classmate in school who made fun of you because you went to church? Perhaps the one who you have to defend your faith with most of all is your husband or wife or one of your children?
1. If your Christian life is transparent, undoubtedly you have had to defend what you believe about God and his son Jesus at one time or another.
2. That’s the entire premise of the movie: God’s Not Dead. (MOVIE CLIP –LIGHTS)
ILLUSTRATION:
The movie tells the fictional story of Professor Radisson, a philosophy professor, deciding that teaching his college-level introductory philosophy class would be much more productive if he could remove any discussion as to the existence of God. so he required all his students for the purposes of the class to sign a piece of paper saying that “God is dead” or face a failing grade.
As all the students wrote those three words on their paper, signed it and passed it down to be given to the professor, one brave freshman student, Josh Wheaton, decides that he is not prepared to compromise his Christian faith to sign the paper. as a result of his conviction, he is given the assignment to convince the class that God’s Not Dead.
The rest of the movie shows Josh Wheaton preparing to give an answer to his class for not only his belief that god’s not dead, but to also show that god is the creator of the universe.
B. 1 Peter 3:15 (READ and COMMENT)
1. Everyone of us knows people whom have not given their lives to Christ—either because they don’t
believe in him or they merely won’t accept him.
a. Many of these are people we know and love—family, friends, neighbors, co-worker, class-mates.
b. we want more than anything for them to obey the
COMMENT:
But what do we do? How do we bring up the subject with them? What if they ASK us something we don’t know? What if they get upset with us?
2. We begin by simply talking to others about the One we love.
COMMENT:
There’s no certain strategy to adopt. There’s no set of instructional videos to watch. There’s no special method to be used. It is simply telling people you love and care about what Jesus has done for you.
C. I want us to look at some simple actions from 1 Peter 3:15 that everyone can do in preparing us to share our faith with those who ask.
MESSAGE:
I. BE PASSIONATE ABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST
A. Peter- “…in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.”
1. This is where it all begins—living for God in Christ Jesus.
a. There are a lot of people out there who call Jesus “Lord.” We hear it all the time.
ILLUSTRATION:
Have you ever watched these music awards shows where some rapper gets up to receive his award and thanks the lord Jesus, yet the lyrics of his songs are inundated with curse words and immorality? Or, watch some of these country singers get up there and thank Jesus for their awards, and their songs are all about heavy drinking and cheating on your wife?
b. Calling Jesus “Lord” and “setting Him apart in your heart as LORD” are two entirely different things.
2. Jesus- “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven”- Matthew 7:21.
B. When Jesus is genuinely set apart as lord in your heart, people will take notice.
ILLUSTRATION:
When I went on a mission trip to Corozal Town, Belize in Central America some years ago, I met this young woman. I cannot recall her name, but she impressed me greatly. This woman, a new believer in Christ, was responsible for bringing 10 people to Jesus. In fact, she had converted two people while our mission team was there.
When I asked the local preacher, Randolph Baptist, about her, Randolph Baptist told me that she had been a Christian for just a few months. Prior to giving her life to God, she lived a very ungodly life that involved drugs, robbery, and prostitution.
Randolph said that after “setting Christ apart in her heart as LORD”, this new-Christian young woman couldn’t wait to tell others what Christ has done for her.
She was PASSIONATE about her relationship with Jesus, and you could SEE IT.
II. LET YOUR LIFE AROUSE OTHERS’ INTEREST IN CHRIST
A. Peter said that “we are to be prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks . . .”
1. Before anyone will ask, however, he or she will have to see something different about us.
ILLUSTRATION:
At work or school do more than your share on any project. Be grateful for your job, refuse to be a clock-watcher or gossip, and always do your best. If you are in school or in college, be kind to your teachers. Don’t give into the pressures of your fellow students or co-workers.
Be sensitive to anyone who is sad or hurting. Admit when you are in the wrong, and ask forgiveness of the people you hurt. say only positive things about your husband or wife and your children. Smile a lot!
COMMENT:
Then when someone asks you why you are different—and somebody will—tell them very gently that you are a Christian, that you want god to be lord of your life, and that you try to follow the example of Jesus.
2. Even when being mistreated or facing difficulties, let people see Christ in you.
COMMENT:
Peter said that “our speech and our manner should be such that it would put to shame anyone who would speak maliciously against us”- 1 Peter 3:16.
B. People are WATCHING, so it’s important that we make every effort to live HOLY lives before them.
1. I Thessalonians 2:10- “You are witnesses, and so is God, of how HOLY, RIGHTEOUS, and
BLAMELESS we were among you . . .”
COMMENT:
Paul realized that he couldn’t talk about PURITY if he wasn’t pure. He couldn’t talk about faithfulness if he wasn’t faithful. He couldn’t talk about loving one another if he wasn’t loving.
2. Following Jesus requires a higher standard of morality than what is prevalent in the world.
COMMENT:
We are to be different from the world—and people should see the difference. Now, certainly we are not to present ourselves as holier-than-thou or pretend that we have no sin problem (even Paul talked about his own struggle with sin in Romans 7).
But if we are to bring others to Christ, our non-Christian friends will have to see that we are trying to overcome our sins and follow closely in the steps of Jesus.
the sinful people that gravitated toward Jesus saw in him a marked difference from what was evident in their own lives, and they wanted to know how they could be different too.
III. KEEP YOUR ANSWER FOCUSED ON JESUS
A. Notice that Peter said, “when people ask about the HOPE that we have, we are to give an answer.”
1. This is not the time to debate Issues.
a. In the middle of spiritual discussions, people have a tendency to change the subject.
b. Keep the focus on your
COMMENT:
Our HOPE is in what Jesus Christ has done for you and me, not in whether it’s right or wrong to listen to music by Beyonce . . . . . or, whether it’s right or wrong to have to work on Sundays or to have a glass of wine for dinner. Or sometimes you get questions like, “what does your church believe about speaking in tongues?”
2. Often these side issues just lead to arguments.
COMMENT:
If someone asks you about issues, gently move your conversation from issues to the gospel—the good news of Christ. Keep your focus on the hope that we have in Christ, not on the latest political, social, or religious issue.
B. When I’m ASKED about MY HOPE, I tell them about Jesus and nothing else.
1. Paul told the Corinthians, “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified”- 1 Corinthians 2:2.
COMMENT:
The Corinthians put a great deal of emphasis on wisdom and knowledge. they loved to debate. That’s why Paul told them, “For the message of God is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the POWER of God”- 1 Corinthians 1:18.
Paul wasn’t going to get caught up in their senseless arguments. He was determined to tell them about Jesus, and nothing else.
2. When your life has generated the sort of interest i’ve just described and when you are asked about why you are different, the door for your “personal testimony” is wide open.
COMMENT:
Don’t talk about your latest hobby, talk about JESUS CHRIST. Say something like, “I’m different because Jesus Christ has changed my life. what does he mean to you?”
Don’t ask her if she’s a church member. Don’t ask him if he is a Christian or a born-again believer. Simply ask, “WHAT DOES JESUS MEAN TO YOU?” That’s the real question of salvation and eternal life.
IV. DON’T PRESS TOO HARD, JUDGE, OR CONDEMN THE PERSON
A. Peter said, “we are to ANSWER with GENTLENESS and RESPECT.”
1. When talking to non-Christians about Jesus, you’ll be surprised at some of the things they tell you about their families, their personal confusion, or messed-up lives.
a. Remember, these people do not know the Lord, so try not to be appalled or offended!
b. Just be interested, compassionate, and understanding.
ILLUSTRATION:
Some single woman’s sadness is due to the fact that she just learned she is pregnant. Some co-worker’s anger is because his son was arrested for drug possession. Somebody’s tears are because of the divorce in progress. Some teenager’s melancholy is the result of a best friend’s suicide.
a friend shares with you that she’s having an affair with a married man. a neighbor talks about his homosexual tendencies. Your co-worker is overwhelmed by his gambling debt.
2. I know it is difficult not to sit in judgment of these people.
ILLUSTRATION:
I’ve shared this before, but it makes my point. When I was a preacher student, I went on an evangelistic door-knocking campaign in west Texas trying to set up bible studies and inviting people to a revival meeting being held at a local church. At one door I knocked on, a man answered with a can of beer in his hand. He had his shirt off and his beer belly was hanging over his short, ragged cut-off jeans.
He said in a friendly but slightly slurred voice, “Can I help you?” I made an immediate judgment of the guy. And I know this is wrong, but I looked at the house number above his door and asked, “Oh, is this 918? I was looking for 920.” and I went on my merry way to the next house thinking, “The gospel sure isn’t for that guy!”
I pictured him coming to church with no shirt, his cut-off jeans, and a can of beer in his hand saying, “Okay, where do i sit!” “You want a beer, preacher!”
THAT DAY SATAN MADE ME FORGET THAT THE GOSPEL IS FOR HIM JUST AS MUCH AS IT IS FOR ME!!!!
3. Instead of judging people when they share with you their darkest secrets, you gently tell them that “Jesus is the solution to their sins and their
COMMENT:
“While everybody else was condemning the woman caught in adultery, Jesus would not condemn but instead offered salvation”- John 8:1-11.
B. When people share their sins and problems with us, keep everything focused on Christ and the salvation he offers.
COMMENT:
Just AFFIRM Jesus to that person. Affirm your belief that Jesus is the only one who can give any of us the answers we ultimately need to make sense out of our existence. He’s the only one who can help us deal with the cruel things that hurt us. He’s the only One who can help us get out of the MESS we make of our lives because of sin.
And when you show these people love and compassion instead of disgust and condemnation, you’ll be surprised of how many will want to hear more about Jesus and what they can do to be saved!
CONCLUSION:
A. We live in a time and culture where fewer people are giving their LIVES to Christ.
1. Studies have revealed that only 4% of future generations in America will become Christians, and, sadly, that trend is proving to be true.
2. Even a more disturbing trend, is that of young Christian people letting go of their faith once they leave high school an go off to college or the work place.
COMMENT:
This trend is not due to the lack of credibility of the Christian faith, but the fact that most Christians, young and old alike, don’t know the reasons they believe.
Their faith is not really their faith, but the faith of their parents or their spouse. if you ask them what they believe, they really couldn’t tell you.
B. For the next few weeks we will delve more deeply into the question, “WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE?”
