Introduction
Video Ill.: Golf Buddies — The Skit Guys
Title: The Discovery
ChatGPT Prompt: give me a story about exciting news that someone just could not wait to share
In the heart of a bustling city, amidst the hustle and bustle of everyday life, there lived a young scientist named Emily. Emily was passionate about her work, spending countless hours in her laboratory, tirelessly conducting experiments and researching new discoveries. But on one fateful day, she stumbled upon something that would change her life forever.
It all began with a simple experiment, a routine task that Emily had performed countless times before. As she peered through the microscope, studying the cells in her sample, her eyes widened in astonishment. There, right before her eyes, was something extraordinary, something she had never seen before.
With trembling hands, Emily adjusted the focus of the microscope, confirming what she had just witnessed. It was a groundbreaking discovery, a scientific anomaly that defied all expectations. She had found a new compound, one that held the potential to revolutionize modern medicine and save countless lives.
Unable to contain her excitement, Emily rushed to her colleagues, bursting into their offices with the news. They listened intently as she explained her findings, their faces lighting up with amazement as they realized the implications of her discovery.
Word quickly spread throughout the scientific community, sparking a frenzy of excitement and anticipation. Emily found herself inundated with calls and emails from researchers and journalists alike, all eager to learn more about her groundbreaking discovery.
But amidst the flurry of attention, Emily remained focused on one thing: sharing her news with the world. She knew that this discovery had the power to change lives, to inspire future generations of scientists, and she was determined to make sure that everyone heard about it.
And so, with unwavering determination, Emily embarked on a whirlwind tour, traveling from one conference to the next, sharing her findings with audiences far and wide. With each presentation, her passion and enthusiasm ignited a spark in those who listened, inspiring them to push the boundaries of what was possible.
As the days turned into weeks and the weeks into months, Emily's discovery continued to make waves, earning her accolades and recognition from her peers. But for Emily, the greatest reward came not from the praise and admiration of others, but from knowing that she had made a difference, that her work had helped to shape the future of science.
And as she looked back on the journey that had led her to this moment, Emily couldn't help but feel grateful for the opportunity to share her exciting news with the world. For in doing so, she had not only fulfilled her own dreams but had also opened the door to a world of endless possibilities, where the pursuit of knowledge knew no bounds.
The truth is, this morning, that we all who are believers and followers of Jesus Christ have good news to share that will change the world. We have good news that can change the lives of others forever! Do you believe it today?
Jesus is coming soon, and we have the exciting news that will save the lives of those who are not ready.
"There is an old legend which says when Jesus had ascended into heaven, the angel Gabriel asked him,
"Lord what plans have you made for carrying on your ministry in the world? How will people learn of what you have done for them?"
Jesus responded, "I left that to Peter, James and John, Martha and Mary. They are to tell their friends and their friends will tell other friends until the whole world has heard the good news."
Gabriel then asked, "What if Peter is so busy with his nets and Martha so full of her housework and the friends so preoccupied that they all forget to tell their friends? Don’t you think you should make a “Plan B”?”
Jesus answered, "I have no Plan B. I am counting on My Children to spread my name and my love.”
Telling the world that Jesus is coming back, teaching them to get ready, making them disciples isn’t a nice thing we ought to be doing. It is simply a command that Jesus gave before He returned to Heaven.
Jesus said in Matthew 28:
18 …“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am || with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28, NIV)
Go. Make disciples. Baptize them. Teach them.
I think that we often do not share the good news we have because we think it has to be complicated or that it is too hard for us to do. But this morning, I want to simplify and take away some of the stigma that we feel around fulfilling the Great Commission.
Jesus is coming soon! We must urgently be telling others — as many as we can — about Jesus, who wants to have a relationship with them.
If we are to share the good news, then we must make sure we know the good news.
Peter says this in 1 Peter 3:
15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. (1 Peter 3, NIV)
Be prepared to explain the reason for the hope we have. In other words, be ready to explain why we have Hope, which is found in the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ — the gospel which is good news!
Paul explained it very simply in 1 Corinthians 15:
1 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. ||
3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…. (1 Corinthians 15, NIV)
Jesus died for our sins. He was buried in a tomb. He was raised on the third day.
It’s like the story I read about a young woman named Sarah.
Title: The Beacon of Hope
ChatGPT prompt: Please give me a story that illustrates 1 Peter 3:15: "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have."
In a small village nestled amidst rolling hills, there lived a young woman named Sarah. Sarah's life was not without its challenges; she had faced hardships and trials like everyone else. Yet, amidst the storms of life, there burned within her a flame of hope that could not be extinguished.
Sarah's unwavering faith was evident to all who knew her. She radiated a sense of peace and joy that seemed to defy logic, even in the darkest of times. Her neighbors often marveled at her resilience, wondering what it was that gave her such unwavering hope.
One day, as Sarah was tending to her garden, her neighbor, Thomas, approached her with a curious expression on his face.
"Sarah," he began tentatively, "I've noticed something about you. No matter what life throws your way, you always seem to have this...hope. How do you do it? What's your secret?"
Sarah smiled warmly at Thomas, her eyes alight with a gentle glow.
"It's not a secret, Thomas," she replied softly. "It's my faith."
Thomas furrowed his brow in confusion. "Your faith? But what does that mean? How does it give you hope?"
Sarah set down her gardening tools and motioned for Thomas to join her on the bench beneath the old oak tree.
"Let me tell you a story," she began. "A story of redemption and grace, of love and sacrifice."
And so, Sarah shared with Thomas the story of Jesus Christ, how He came into the world to save mankind, offering hope and salvation to all who believe. She spoke of His teachings of love and forgiveness, of His miracles and His ultimate sacrifice on the cross.
As Sarah spoke, Thomas listened intently, his heart stirred by her words. For the first time, he began to understand the source of Sarah's hope, the anchor that held her steady amidst life's storms.
"But why do you believe?" Thomas asked, his voice filled with wonder.
Sarah smiled, her gaze fixed on the horizon where the sun was beginning to set.
"Because I have experienced His love firsthand," she replied. "I have seen His faithfulness in my life, even in the darkest of times. And no matter what may come, I know that He is with me, guiding me, and giving me hope."
Thomas nodded thoughtfully, a newfound sense of peace washing over him.
"Thank you, Sarah," he said quietly. "Thank you for sharing your hope with me."
And as the sun dipped below the horizon, casting a golden glow over the village, Sarah knew that she had fulfilled the words of 1 Peter 3:15. She had been prepared to give an answer to Thomas, to share the reason for the hope that dwelt within her. And in doing so, she had become a beacon of hope for all who crossed her path.
That brings us to our second thought this morning:
2. Live our lives in light of the gospel.
How we are living should be an indication to the world that there is something different in our lives.
We ought to be a beacon of hope to our world.
The world is looking everywhere for some kind of hope.
It’s Time to Get Rid of The Lottery
Source: Leah Muncy, “It’s time to get rid of the lottery,” The Outline.com (7-31-19)
Source: https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/personal-finance/articles/this-is-how-much-americans-spend-on-lottery-tickets/
https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2020/august/its-time-to-get-rid-of-lottery.html
Copied from Preaching Today
Writer Leah Muncy recalls that one of her earliest memories is of her mother buying a lottery ticket at the supermarket. “When I was young, my mother was always talking about the ‘lotto.’ Around the kitchen table, she’d tell us what she’d do with the millions: buy a large farm with chickens, fly us to Mexico, solar-panel the roof.”
The odds of winning the multi-state Powerball jackpot are one-in-292-million. You have a greater chance of dying from a falling coconut, which is one in 250 million. Despite this, Americans spent $108 billion on lottery tickets in 2022. The bulk of this revenue was generated by the poorest Americans.
According to a study conducted by Cornell University, the lottery is most aggressively advertised in impoverished communities, particularly minority and rural white neighborhoods. This exploitation leads to the “desperation hypothesis”: those in the direst of financial circumstances turn to the lottery as “a hail-Mary strategy.” It is a source of hope for those in despair. A 2019 survey found that 75% of lottery players believe that they will actually win.
The study also found that people who made less than $30,000 a year were more likely to play the lottery for financial stability. One in three Americans with incomes below $25,000 believe that winning the lottery “represents the most practical way for them to accumulate several hundred thousand dollars.” This, in turn, only makes America’s poorest even poorer.
Muncy continues, “My mother estimates she’s spent $3,000 on lottery tickets in her lifetime. ‘You can’t win if you don’t play,’ her mother says. But I tell her, that you can’t win if you do play.” The lottery did not ever and will not ever provide her with a ranch, or solar panels, or vacations. This beacon of false hope can be seen at the top of every California lottery ticket, a sun shining above the chosen numbers. It is golden, radiant, looming. And yet, it is blinding.
Unlike the constant letdown of the lottery, with Jesus in our hearts and lives, we are a beacon of hope to this world — a beacon of hope, peace, joy, and love.
If we live sharing those four lights to this world, we are going to be different. People will notice.
Jesus said in John 13:
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13, NIV)
Do we stand out today? Are we living like Jesus is coming today? Are we truly living a life of love, so much so that the world cannot help but notice that we are different?
If we are going to fulfill Jesus’ plan A, we must start with Jesus’ love for us and sharing His love with our world around us.
3. We need to make sure we are in prayer about the lost.
As with all things in our spiritual lives, sharing the good news, being a beacon of light to the world, should begin first with prayer.
One reason unbelieving people are not on our minds is because we don’t pray for them. Make a list of unbelieving people and begin praying for their salvation. But also ask God to open doors for evangelism, then by faith be obedient when the opportunities arise.
Lee Thomas on Praying for the Lost
By Sermon Central
Source: Adapted from "Praying Effectively for the Lost" by Lee E. Thomas - p. 40-41. From a sermon by Rick Crandall, Christ's Strategy for a Soul Winning Church, 3/15/2010
Copied from Sermon Central
Prayer must be the starting place for all of our evangelistic efforts. We need to be like Paul in Romans 10:1, when he said: "Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved."
*Lee Thomas is a great teacher on praying for the lost. Here's part of a testimony from his book, Praying Effectively for the Lost: When we begin to pray for someone's salvation, God seems to draw a circle around that individual and then gets in the circle with him. That is what happened to Ricky Gresham when his wife Helen and her minister Mickey Hudnall began to pray for him.
*Ricky explained, "It was during the months of February and March of 1990 that I spent some of the most miserable days and nights of my life. Though I did not understand at that time, I was under the conviction of the Holy Spirit of God. Everywhere I turned during those two months I saw or heard something that pertained to God. It was as though every day when I awoke, there was God. People I had known for years were now telling me about the Lord. I just could not seem to hide anywhere!"
*Ricky told about riding in the truck of his best friend, when a friend of that man pulled them over and started talking about Jesus. Ricky said it seemed like he talked for an hour. Then in parentheses he wrote, "It was 5 minutes."
*And Ricky said: "At that time I was self-employed in a machine shop. There was a black gentleman that would come by and talk with me from time to time. In my pride I wasn't going to ask someone I knew about the Lord. Finally, though, I got up the courage to ask him about God.
*Though I wasn't ready for his answer, He was! He said, 'Just a minute,' and went to his truck coming back with a Bible that looked to be a hundred years old. He began to turn the pages of that Bible, reading the scriptures to me. I didn't really understand what he was sharing but there is one thing with me today that I have never forgotten: 'Ye must be born again!' He repeated that statement over and over and over — it never left my mind!
*During this time, something was drawing me to God's word. I was too proud to ask someone for a Bible, so I looked up 'Christ' in the encyclopedia. And there was a picture of Jesus hanging on the cross. Something just kept drawing me to that picture of the Lord. Night after night I would sneak around looking at that picture.
*During the next few weeks, I began to try to change myself. I had come to a point in my life that I could not stop cursing — every other word was a curse word. I desperately wanted to stop but it seemed as though I could not control it. It controlled me. Finally, one day at work, when I was by myself, I just spoke out to God, 'Lord, I can't take this anymore, help me God. I don't understand all of what Jesus did for me on that cross, but just show me and I will follow you.'
*And from that day, something in me changed. I not only quit cussing, I even lost the desire — it was as if the language had never been there. I had to tell someone what was happening to me, so I asked the minister if I could say something to the church. All I knew to say was that God had brought me to the place of loving the Lord Jesus and being willing to follow Him for the rest of my life.
*What I did not know during those two months of conviction was that my wife and her minister had committed themselves to pray every day for my salvation. What I was experiencing was God answering those prayers. I am now the minister of a church, and I am continually experiencing more and more of God's grace."
Folks, this morning it all begins with us praying. Praying for the specific people whom we know who need to know Jesus. Praying that they will be open to hearing the word. Praying that they will notice that we live a different life. Praying for opportunities to share the gospel with them.
There is one thing for certain: God answers our prayers. And this circumstance is no different. We need to be on our knees praying for the lost.
4. We need to share our lives with the lost.
In 1 Thessalonians 2, Paul talks about his visit with Thessalonian church. He defends the visit, explaining that their teaching was pure. Paul was not there looking for praise or anything else from them.
Instead, he says, they were there because of the love of Christ. Starting in verse 7, Paul says:
7 …[W]e were like young children among you.
Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, 8 so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. (1 Thessalonians 2, NIV)
Paul and his team’s love for God was shared with the Thessalonians. As they shared God’s love with them, they also shared their lives with them, working with them, playing with them, enjoying their company together. And in doing so, they shared the gospel.
This teaches us that we have to be involved in the lives of those for whom we are praying for their salvation. We have to be a part of their lives. Only when we are in their lives and they in ours can we be the example they need to see — only then can they see that we live a different type of life — only then can we truly love them with the love of God — only then will they see the hope that we have.
So whether it is working together in an office environment, going out to eat for lunch or dinner, or even some other social activities, we need to be involved in the lines of those who are lost. We need to make a difference in their lives.
5. Finally, we need to trust the Holy Spirit for the results.
Jesus gave us one command — go and make disciples. That means we are sent with a message to give — a love to share.
Someone has once said:
It’s not our job to convert people.
It’s not our job to save people.
It’s not our job to convict people.
It’s not our job to convince people.
It’s our job to tell people.
The convincing, convicting, converting, and saving is the work of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said this very thing in John 16:
7 But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 in regard to sin, because men do not believe in || me; 10 in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. (John 16, NIV)
We need to pray for the leading of the Holy Spirit. We need to follow the lead of the Holy Spirit. We need to do our part, which is to share the message, and allow the Holy Spirit to work in the lives of the lost.
We must remember that we may not know of the change in the lives of those whom we share the gospel. Sometimes it may even seem that we are not finding any success. But we must remember that our job is to plant the seed of faith in the lives of those who hear the message of salvation. The Holy Spirit will water and help that seed to grow.
Conclusion
This morning, as Matthew West said in one of his songs, “I’m a nobody trying to tell everybody”. That’s really what we need to be — people on a mission to tell everybody about the love of Jesus and the hope that we can have in Him.
One day, and I believe soon, Jesus is coming back. If we could help to save one person from the damnation of hell, why wouldn’t we try everything we could?
Someone has once said, “All the sermons we’ve heard, all the Bible studies we’ve done, all of it is useless unless we are daily living as true Children of God, standing up for the truth, doing the right things, living in anticipation of Jesus’ return — living like he’s coming back today!”
I challenge each one of us, as we leave this sacred place today, to use every opportunity to share your faith. Be ready to take advantage of every opportunity, because the time is short, and the days are evil. Be ready to explain the hope that we have — hope that comes from the forgiveness of sin we receive, when we surrender our lives to Him — hope for a world that is better than anything we could possibly imagine here.
But if you do not have that hope today, we urge you to make today, the day of your salvation! Surrender your life to him, and find the love, Hope, joy and peace that you can find in a relationship with Jesus Christ as your Lord.
Don’t wait another day. Be a beacon of hope to a world that needs to know His love!
