"Why Witness? (Making Friends for God)" - Lesson #1 - Pastor Doug Batchelor

[Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] first for [Music] now today's exciting because we are beginning a new quarter study talking about making friends for God and this is a very very important study dealing with a subject of witnessing this is one of the three principal disciplines in the Christian life maybe I'll pause and say something about that before I get deeper into the lesson you know there's three secret weapons to growing spiritually you need to pray prayers like breath you need to eat that's the Word of God and you need to let your light shine you need to exercise your faith witness for the Lord in the holy place of the sanctuary before you get to the Holy of Holies where you've got the Ten Commandments in the presence of God you go through the holy place three pieces of furniture in there and those represent the three principle disciplines of Christian success you've got the table of shewbread that's your Bible you've got the altar of incense that's prayer and then you've got the light that's letting your light shine that's the witnessing and so that's this whole quarter we're gonna be dealing with this and I should mention right now that if you do not have one of these you can often go to the website you can download the daily lesson you just type in the word Sabbath school there are two or three websites that are kind enough to post this lesson might post the whole quarterly I know some do may just post a lesson if you're near a seventh-day Adventist Church they'd love to have you come and visit say I'd like to study the lesson with you and they'll give you a quarterly and those of you who are members of the Granite Bay Church family of course we'll have them here at our meetings or wherever we're gathering in our pilgrim wandering in the next few weeks until they completely lift these restrictions connected with the code 19 now today we're in lesson number one that is in our new quarterly making friends for God and it's asking the question why witness and before we get to that I want to remind you we have a free offer and the offer is called the ultimate deliverance talking about the Lord's coming and if you like a free copy of this simply text sh zero nine zero two four zero five four four you can download this right there and if you want to get a copy if you're in north america we'll be happy to send you one simply call eight six six seven eight eight three nine six six that's eight six six study more one more time eight six six seven eight eight three nine six six for North America and its territories and we will mail you one of these so before we dive into lesson number one let's begin with a word of Prayer Father in Heaven were very thankful for the truth and we're thankful for this study now that we're gonna be talking about one of the priorities of the Christian experience in after we come to you going for you sharing you with others and I just pray that your spirit will take charge of this presentation that hearts will be stirred and moved and inspired that we might all be better witnesses for you we pray this in Jesus name Amen all right there's a memory verse in our lesson and it comes to us from first Timothy chapter two verse three and four and this is a New King James Version for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth so what we're talking about both in the lesson today and in this entire quarter of studies by the way written by my friend Mark Finlay pastor evangelist Mark Finley is talking about the priorities of the Bible if you go to the beginning of the gospel it says that the angel told Mary you will call his name Jesus for he will save his people from their sins this is why God sent His Son into the world to save us he so loved the world that He sent His Son that we might not perish and this is the priority of God he wants to save people there's nothing that God is more interested in in this world than redeeming people because if it's a matter of life and death if they're not saved they're eternally lost but unfortunately Christians are losing their passion for reaching people even though this was such a priority with Jesus last thing Christ says is go you therefore teach baptize teach what about the gospel you go to Acts chapter one I'll send you my spirit why that you might be my witnesses and so we're asking this question why witness well I saw some interesting statistics from a couple of Darkness studies you know George Barna had that famous Christian Research Institute I had the privilege of eating with him one day just a delightful man and they've done some excellent studies on trends in Christianity in North America and even other parts of the world Barna study in 1993 it discovered an a growing number of Christians feel no personal responsibility for sharing the good news in 1993 10 percent of Christians agreed that converting people to Christianity is the job of the local church they said well it's not my job it's the job of the church that's the 10 percent thought that but by the time you get to and that's opposed to individual witnessing by the time you get to the present day now 25 percent I'm sorry 29 percent a three-fold increase of Christians think witnessing is really the job of the church it's not my job and this is part of bad theology because evidently people don't realize they are the church the buildings don't do any witnessing it's the people in the buildings so what has happened what cultural trend or what bad teaching or theology has led such a large number of Christians to miss that one of the primary purposes that we are Christians is to share our faith we are saved to bring glory to God and one of the ways we do this is by witnessing and by sharing our faith but wait there's more it says that in 1993 9 out of 10 Christians who had shared their faith agreed alignment let me say that again yet the most dramatic divergence over time is on this statement and here's a statement every Christian has a responsibility to their faith in 1993 nine out of ten Christians believed that every Christian had some responsibility today and that was 89 percent back then today only 64% believe every Christian has a responsibility to share their faith Wow 25% drop and it's especially severe among the young the Millennials and it says almost half of the Millennials 47% agree that it is actually wrong to share your personal belief with someone of a different faith hoping that they will one day share your faith that somehow it's immoral for you to try to convert somebody to your beliefs what has happened to the Christian mission well we're gonna be talking about that a little bit in our lesson today and in the quarter ahead this is like I said this is part and parcel of what it means to be a Christian is you come to the Lord and then you go for the Lord and every Christian every day should be praying about and looking for opportunities to share their faith with somebody just yesterday I was visiting with a gentleman had an opportunity to give him a DVD actually gave him the little statue of our kingdoms prophecy our DVD documentary I gave him some lessons gave him a testimony book and shared a little bit of my personal testimony and every day we have opportunities in varying degrees if you can't grab everybody by the collar and hold them down and preach to them but we have opportunities every day to share our faith in some way even if it's you know in a casual way you don't we don't do all of the farming every individual doesn't plant the seed and cultivate the seed and water the seed and harvest the seed all by ourselves but have some part in people's conversion have some part in that farming process of reaching the lost every day and you'll find that if you pray because this is the thing that is the most important to Jesus if you pray and say Lord I'm willing to be used of you today to tell others about you stand back and watch what happens God is gonna work miracles for you he's gonna bring people into your path he's gonna arrange things providentially holy spirit will then nudge you usually through God's angels and say this is that opportunity you prayed about this is that person and you're gonna wow I'm working in partnership with God and so you'll see battles going on you'll see events and Providence being arranged behind the scenes because God is wanting you to share your faith there's nothing the Lord once more than for us to share our faith I remember praying one time and some of you know my story that I was living up in the mountains in a cave accepted Jesus through reading the Bible was not a seventh-day Adventist Christian yet it hadn't even heard of seventh-day Adventist but I felt impressed you know after you come to the Lord you're happy and you want to tell other people about your faith and I felt impressed I said Lord I feel like you want me to tell other people but I don't know how that's gonna happen because I live up here in the cave right now and I almost never see anybody and after I prayed that prayer and said Lord you know I think you want me to share my faith but you're gonna have to show me if that's what you want me to do I went to town and I called my mother I used to call her once a week or so just chicken tell her I was okay and she said Doug you'll never believe what happened I was having lunch with somebody in NBC News and telling him that yeah my son lives in a cave above Palm Springs and his father's a millionaire and he thought well that would be a great human interest story and the short version is that within a week or so a praying that prayer a helicopter flew to my cave made two trips with a film crew you can't get up there any other way and they videotaped me sharing my testimony and I was on national television three times sharing my faith so talk about God giving opportunities you go from being a hermit and thinking you're not gonna see anybody to having God send a film crew to your cave so if you're willing to be used of the Lord you watch what he does he will work miracles for you some of you know the story of William Miller he just was learning so many things he said Lord if you want me to share this I don't want to but if you want me to you show me and then he got a knock on the door out of nowhere he was a Farmar someone says you know they've asked if you would come preach about the things you're studying and God will open doors God is a hundred times more eager for you to share your faith and most people are to share their faith and if you say Lord I'm willing to be used you stand back he's gonna open opportunities you'll see that you know in the beginning of the lesson there's a good quote mission Christian witnessing is primarily the work of God he is employing all of the resources of heaven to save our planet our work is to cooperate joyfully with him in his work so you don't have to act or worry like the whole business of witnessing is on your shoulders goddess is asking you are you willing to work alongside him to participate in his work of saving people Romans chapter five verse eight but God demonstrates his own love towards us in that while we were sinners Christ died for us it's through the love of God that we do this he's demonstrated his love and he wants us to it's why we're sinners - you don't have to wait until you feel like you're perfect you don't have to wait until you feel like other people are ready and God is taking the message from sinners to sinners now this is an important point I don't want to rush past a lot of people never witness because they feel like they're not qualified I had an old friend that he told me he was an old mountain man and he said the number one step to teaching a donkey something you need to know something the donkey doesn't know that then qualifies you to teach him and I remember the first few Bible studies that I gave to other people after accepting Jesus I was up in my cave and I was a flower child back then and I didn't even have any clothes on but the people I was studying with didn't have any clothes on either we were just the kind of natural hippies up then but I was so excited about the gospel Here I am up there I obviously have not studied dress reform but I was sharing what I had learned now you think pastor Doug that's taking it a little far you know Jesus sent out the Apostles with the scene before they were fully converted he sent out Peter James John and the others preaching casting out Devils and the Bible says that then Jesus turns to Peter and he said Peter when you are converted strengthen the Brethren what do you mean when I'm converted Lord I've been following you three years I've been out teaching preaching casting out Devils healing doing miracles Jesus said you're not fully converted yet and of course he was preparing to deny the Lord and and even Paul years later had to kind of rebuke Peter on some inconsistencies in his life and so God uses us where we're at don't wait until you feel like you're perfect now your witness is gonna be a lot better when you're fully consecrated but don't wait until you feel like you know everything before you share what you do know and if someone asks you something you don't know say well I'll go study that that's a good question and you'll be blessed in the process all right so why witness we've all got a responsibility first section here under Monday providing opportunities for salvation where actually God is using us to bring these opportunities of salvation to others Luke 19 verse 10 and we're gonna read this verse a lot in this quarter I'm quite sure for the son of man has come to seek and to save that which is lost from the beginning of the Bible to the end this is the message of God the whole purpose is that man has been separated from God Adam ran from God in the garden God came he said where are you Adam ran and you know the first question that's asked in the New Testament is the wise men looking for Jesus they're saying where is he and so you've got God saying where are you and you've got man saying where is he and man through sin has been separated from God the purpose of the plan of salvation is to show people who are lost how to get back to the garden and how to get back to their Creator and so Jesus came to seek and to save that which is lost you know I remember a lot of people when they're converted they say I found the Lord and someone reminded me they said not Doug you didn't really find the Lord he found you he was not lost you were and so Jesus came to seek those were lost James chapter 5 verse 19 brethren if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins well it's good to cover a multitude of sins but he says you'll save a soul of death you know if you ever had any doubts friends the Bible is really clear you've heard people say urgent matter of life and death sometimes people will send me an email and they flag it urgent so I go to that email because it says urgent I've got a flag by it and I read the email I thought well that's not that urgent but sometimes the 911 operators get a call and they say what is your emergency and they say I can't figure out how to program my microwave and they said that is not an emergency so there's a lot of things in life that we fret over that really are not important but when it comes to salvation you are really dealing with a matter of life and death and I think sometimes we forget that through neglect of sharing our faith some people are gonna miss out on eternity and it's not that God can't save the loss without humans he could use angels God can speak to people directly if he wants to like he did to the Apostle Paul but we have been given the privilege and the responsibility to share the gospel with other people and you know if we only knew how horrific it's going to be when the lost discover that probation is closed or they rise in the wrong resurrection and they hear the words the harvest is past the summer is ended and we are not saving and it's forever too late for them to be saved and we see that there are people that are out there we think you know if I had cared a little more I could have reached some of those people and they'd be here I think that it's gonna be a very sobering time for Christians to see that we have the stains of blood on our garment from people that we could have warned we just were too lazy or indifferent to care about now don't get me wrong all of us are in that category and we're thanking God for his mercy that sometimes we haven't been caring we haven't been good witnesses we've neglected but let's not leave it there let's realize what's at stake we're talking to life-and-death issues here so really and the listen is talking about now making friends for God and one of the most important things you can do is is witnessing to people and making friends with him you know I remember when I was little that kids just kind of have a habit if you see another kid at a park and you don't know them we just boldly walk up to them and say you want to be friends I don't even know their name yet you want to be friends they look like they're about my how old are you I'm five how old are you I'm fine look we got so much in common it didn't take much and you've seen it before just little kids they just run up I've seen kids my kids did it we got one kid that's really huggy and when he was little he'd see total strangers in China we're in Tiananmen Square is little Nathan's running up he's honey these Chinese kids and they're going around who is this kid and they're uninhibited they just want to make friends they want to play with someone friends are so important in life somebody said one times that friends divide your sorrows and multiply your joy and so you know God designed us to be social creatures it is not good that man should be alone and it's really important that we show people that we care and then and you share with them so we want to make friends we want to be witnesses for him Jesus when he began his ministry he was filled with the Holy Spirit you know Christ said pray for the filling of the Spirit and as soon as Jesus was filled with the spirit then he began witnessing the apostles did the same thing after Pentecost he said wait for the Holy Spirit they were filled with the Holy Spirit and they began witnessing when you're baptized Peter said repent and be baptized and God will give you the promise of the Holy Spirit why does he give it so you can live the life and you can be a witness Jesus is not in the world today when Jesus was in the world he didn't went around he went teaching healing preaching now we are the body of Christ you and I are his feet we are his hands we are his eyes it is through us that he now goes through the world and ministered to the needs of the world he does the healing he does the miracles but he did all of that in the context of preaching and teaching about salvation seeking and saving the lost under the next section here it talks about making Jesus glad one of the greatest motivations I thank for us to witness and make friends for the Lord is this is what brings joy to God is when we are telling other people about Christ it just thrills the heart of God nothing made Jesus happier than to see other people come to him the Bible tells us that when someone is saved the Angels rejoice and we had several verses to talk about this Luke chapter 15 matter-of-fact you've got three examples here and Luke 15 we're gonna look at where it talks about this principle this priority Luke 15 verse 6 and when he had come home now this is the parable of the the shepherd he has 99 sheep he's lost one of his sheep and when he searches over Hill and Dale he finally finds that sheep doesn't tell us that sheep was a prize sheep worth more than the other sheep it was just a sheep but he loved them all and he went over Hill and Dale he finds that sheep and he is so excited he comes back into town he tell all his friends he says rejoice with me for I found my missing sheep which was lost and his friends that share in his joy and sorrows they rejoice with him and then God goes on to add Jesus says in this parable I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety and nine just persons that need no repentance now jesus said is not the sick but needed a physician I'm sorry it's not the well that needs a physician it's the sick and most parents when they wake their kids up for school in the morning or they see them for the morning today hi did you sleep good good to see ya glad everything's well but if that kid had been struggling with a terminal disease for six months and they were just in pain and they were in a potentially terminal condition and then through all of the right treatments and the doctor gives them the medication finally the doctor says after the final checkup you know the cancer is gone they're completely healed they've got great health when that parent wakes up the child in the morning says how's you feel and they say I feel great it means so much more to them because they were at death's door and now they're well and so this is what Jesus is saying when the human race is fallen we are perishing we're under a death sentence and the Lord is not willing that any should perish there's nothing that can separate us from the love of God he longs to see us say think about this the Lord longs to see us saved infinitely more than any earthly parent wants to see their child save from a terminal disease so how happy does it make the Lord when someone turns from darkness to light and they're safe and you and I get to bring joy to heaven in sharing our faith and it's not just God it's Jesus it's God the Father it's the angels it's the unfallen world's they're all beholding this theater to the universe what's happening down here it's like the story of Jobe you got this meeting in heaven where the sons of God are meeting before the Lord and Satan comes and God says in the presence of all these heavenly beings angels and unfallen leaders of worlds have you considered my servant job that there is none like him in the world a man who hates evil and he loves what's good and here God is in heaven bragging about job he's intensely interested in what's happening on earth and the righteousness and the godliness and the salvation of one man all of heaven seems to know about Jobe it's like Jesus said if you can me on earth before this week it wicked and adulterous generation I will confess your name before my father and his angels in heaven heaven is interested in what is happening here on earth angels are watching what we do and they rejoice when even the little things we do to try to plant seeds of salvation in someone's life or to speak a word for Christ or offer to pray with someone that's discouraged and it doesn't mean that you've got to be responsible like I said for the whole shooting match but doing something every day to try to bring people closer to salvation heaven rejoices in that because that's the mission of God and he wants us to do that now there's you got the next parable by the way if he Jesus shares that first parable and he talks about a shepherds love for his sheep and I can't help but wonder if Jesus is not thinking back about those stories of David now Jesse had probably a lot of sheep he didn't have one lamb he had a lot of sheep but when a bear came and took one sheep David loved that one sheep so much that he put his life on the line to save that one sheep but he killed the bear and and then a lion comes and he takes a sheep and David goes out to save that one bleating sheep and puts his life on the line to save that sheep now I've got a confession to make years ago up in the hills in Colville Oh where we lived we had milk goats and I remember having two goats in the a baby kid and one day for some reason one of the goats disappeared we don't know we thought because we let him free range but they always stayed around to get milked and I didn't know what happened it's something this wild country and uh I thought that this goat just wandered off and then I woke up one morning I heard this terrible bang and the whole house shook and then it's still dark I was like 5 in the morning and then we heard our goat Libby crying Wow Wow it's a terrible distress call and it was getting more distant and I looked out the window and in the dark I could see there some shadow dragging Libby up the hill now Libby was like you know a 70 pound goat 80 pound goat and my gun was out in the truck and I'll admit I did not want to go out in the dark I knew there was either a mountain lion or a bear out there and I was afraid this is when I first moved the hills I was a teenager who rode subways in New York City the idea that there was a bear out there that was trying to eat my goat I wasn't ready to put my life on the line for my goat and I'm ashamed to tell you that today today I would have gone outside I know a little more about bears and mountain lions but back then I was still just 19 year old out of New York scared to death and I feel some I feel some comfort in knowing that a Good Shepherd lays down his life for his sheep it never says they do it for the goats because you know she saved the goats are lost anyway but David when I read that story in the Bible it's very real to me because I think I wasn't even out David didn't even have a gun and he went he put his life on the line to get into almost hand-to-hand combat with a bear to save a sheep so when Jesus says this Shepherd goes in search of this sheep and he's going out at night he's got 99 left why does he just say I'm happy with 99 but he goes and he finds that one missing sheep and he rejoices over that no God could say you know I've got billions of unfallen Worlds isn't that enough but this world is special man is made in the image of God we are his children Adam is called the son of God that means we're all grandchildren of God and God his love is perfect He loves us more than earthly parents or grandparents love their children so when you cooperate with God to save the Lost it brings joy to God there's nothing that God is more intensely interested in proof he sent Jesus gave his son to save his other children and so this is very important all right I want to carry on the other parable we're still in Matthew 15 I'm sorry Luke 15 verse 8 what woman having ten silver coins if she loses one coin does not light a lamp and sweep the house search carefully until she finds it and then she calls her friends and her neighbors together now I don't know if I'd ever go to some lady's party cuz she found a missing coin but evidently maybe this was part of her dowry they used to give coins out and it had some special meaning she says rejoice with me I found my piece that I had lost likewise I say to you there is joy in the presence of the Angels over one sinner who repents you know when you do an evangelistic first he says joy in heaven now he said joy in the presence of the Angels Angels they love what God loves and God loves to see people saved they are rejoicing angels are feelings you know and they're rejoicing over one sinner who repents Luke 15 verse 22 you know the story of the prodigal and that father wandered from home now it starts to get a little home you a little closer to home you got the the shepherd with this sheep you know I mean I love animals Karen I'm we've got three dogs up in the hills and we like our dogs we got to be careful when we go up there we can't pet him a lot certain times a year because they run through the poison oak and he'd get poison oak when we pet him Karen puts on rubber gloves because she wants to pet them so much she'll even put on gloves so she can pet them and you know Americans spend more money on their pets than some countries spend on their people people love their pets and it's amazing the the care and the pampering that people go through for their pets I just saw a relative that spent ten thousand dollars on medical treatment for a dog now we love our dogs and I'll probably get letters from you but I don't think I'd spend that much on a dog to me it just doesn't seem right I think you got to keep things in perspective I know I'm gonna get letters now beginning letters from those of you who asked for the book will my pets be in heaven this man's our joy seeing over a sheep you see how much people love their dogs there are people that love their pets more than they love lost souls but the priority for Jesus is people you know nowhere in the bible does it say Jesus died to save our parakeets it doesn't say that he died to save our cats especially cats no I like cats too but people love their pets so much and I think that there's some people that are more interested in will my pet be save then will my relatives be saved this man his friends rejoice over his found sheep these neighbors were joist over the found coin inanimate coin and they're rejoicing finally now Jesus brings it home and he says what about people a man had two sons and one son said father I don't want you but I want all of your resources and he went into a far country took his father's inheritance and he squandered it living recklessly just frittered it away finally ends up in a pig pen longing for the food the pigs eat then he remembers his father's love and his father's abundance said even the servants in my father's house eat better than I eat and I'm eating pigs food and he goes home to his father of course you know the story father runs out to meet him embraces him covers him with his best robe adopts him back into the family brother comes out and he says what's this you're having a party for this son of yours that went out and he squandered your inheritance and and he lived a reckless evil life and here you're having a big celebration because he's come home you had to come home with his tail between his legs and he should be whipped for what he's done father said no my son was dead and now he's alive he was lost and now he's found it is right that we should rejoice and make merry and so here Jesus is illustrating that heaven celebrates when the lost are saved and this should be the central purpose of the church the church is a lifeboat that is launched out into the waters where people are drowning and one by one we are pulling them into the boat and we're saving them from certain death and it reminds me of the story of the Titanic which I studied at length or a lot of history about it and and when that ship went down several of the lifeboats the early life boats that were launched from the Titanic nobody wanted to get into the lifeboats but they had to launch them and so some of them were launched less than half-full even though there were not enough lifeboats for the people that were the billeting 1500 people perished because they didn't have enough lifeboats and after the boat sank the lifeboats it was not even windy it was very calm they could hear the people off in the distance shouting for help calling for salvation they're freezing in the water they'd help me help me save us their parents were looking for their children and husbands were calling for their wives it was just said it was a horrendous sound and ship went down all these people sprang to the surface especially those wearing life jackets and many of the lifeboats did not go and venture over to try to save those were perishing because they were afraid they were afraid that well maybe too many of them will swim on our boat and they'll swamp the boat it'll be overcrowded and we will all drown as a result only a handful of the lifeboats went back and picked up a couple of people it's such a tragedy that they would stand by and watch them all drown but you know what this is what a lot of churches are doing that's right there's a lot of churches that sort of exist for our own comfort and we're not aggressively working to make friends for God and to reach out and save the loss the purpose for the church we are supposed to be a lifeboat we're supposed to be launching out and taking risks to reach the loss that's our mission it's not about our entertainment or our comfort but and we'll find our greatest joy in doing it and that's what will make a church grow is to have the priority of evangelism something else I've noticed a lot of churches are all they say we're not ready for evangelism because we're too embroiled with internal problems our members aren't converted enough for evangelism I've actually had pastors tell me that yeah I can't do evangelism here because our people just they're not spiritual enough or whatever one of the ways to get your church converted and spiritual is get them involved what they're supposed to be doing get him involved in soul-winning and that brings about a big change this is what makes Jesus glad in Matthew chapter 25 you know that story where it says that in the judgment he separates the sheep from the goats I alluded to that a moment ago and he tells the Sheep well done good and faithful servant enter into the joy of the Lord I was hungry you fed me I was thirsty you gave me drink I was sick and you came to me I was a prisoner I was and you visited me I was a stranger and you took me in and they said Lord when did we see you hungry or thirsty or sick or in prison or stranger are naked and he says in as much as you did it to the least of these you did it to me anything we do to relieve the suffering of other people Jesus feels that joy and Jesus because he knows all things he knows how people feel and when people find salvation there's such a relief he senses that it brings joy to his heart I say a 60 to verse 5 for as a young man marries a virgin so your son's marry you and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride so shall your God rejoice over you you know that ought to be one of the happiest days in the world is when a couple get married I tell the groom and the bride I said look if you're not happy today you ought to call it off because this should be the happiest day there should be an excitement and a joy and sometimes you see arranged marriages in other countries and the groom and the bride they had no part in the choice and they don't look very happy but normally it should be a happy day Zephaniah 3:17 the Lord your God is in the midst of you the mighty one will save he will rejoice over you with gladness he will quiet you with his love he will rejoice over you with singing one of the only verses in the Bible talks about God singing is in connection with a lost being saved this is what brings great joy to the heart of God alright let's go to the section growing by giving John 7 verse 37 and 38 on that last great day of the feast Jesus stood and he cried out saying if anyone thirsts let him come to me and drink he that believes in me as the scripture has said out of his heart will flow rivers of living water you know when you're a Christian you need to realize that maintaining your Christianity is dependent on God sharing through you if you receive from God His goodness is blessings his truth and you don't pass it on you lose it it's like a muscle if you don't use it you lose it in the Christian life the only way you get to keep the gospel is by giving it away it's a principle in life if you withhold your grain you'll get to eat some you'll be full but if you don't scatter some if you don't cast it out you're not gonna have another crop if you want to tend to increase you need to scatter that's what the Proverbs tells us in the Christian life if you want to grow in your faith give studies to other people you want to growing your understanding share but the Bible with other people be involved in some capacity share literature not everyone can preach or give a Bible study but everybody can do something and you will be blessed in doing this you know there are two principle bodies of water in the promised land you've got the Sea of Galilee sometimes called the sea of Knesset or the sea of Tiberias it's all the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River runs into the north and then you've got the Dead Sea interesting thing about those two seas the Jordan River runs into the Dead Sea and the Jordan River runs into the Sea of Galilee but the Sea of Galilee is full of life they're still fishing it today after thousands of years and the Dead Sea has nothing alive in it why because the Dead Sea only takes same river runs into both but the Dead Sea's Dead Sea of Galilee is alive the Dead Sea only takes and only receives because it's so low and because the evaporation exceeds the input it's dead it becomes stagnant it's full of salts and minerals and nothing can live in it we were swimming in the Dead Sea eyo a couple of years ago it really is quite a sensation because you can't hardly swim I turn to my belly and tried to swim and it floated me so much I couldn't kick with my feet my feet were out of the water and you can actually stand straight up and it's like this much of use out of the water when you're standing up because it's it's so so full of thick with minerals nothing lives in it because it constantly takes but it doesn't give but the sea of galilee the jordan river runs in from the north and the jordan river flows out it stays clean because it's being constantly refreshed it's a channel of blessing every christian should be a channel of blessing we're receiving God's blessings with one hand we share them with the other if you have morning devotions you'd be surprised how often during the day God will give you an opportunity to share with others what you read that very day and so God wants us to be a channel of blessing he flows through you desire of Ages page 142 God could have reached his object in saving sinners without our aid but in order for us to develop character like Christ's we must share in his work in order to enter into his joy the joy of seeing Souls redeemed by his sacrifice we must participate in his labors for their Redemption part of Christianity 101 you remember the Barna study I read at the beginning of our our study today a growing number of Christians do not recognize their personal responsibility and privilege of doing something to share their faith and it's just so unhealthy from the book education page 207 another good quote those who would be overcomers must be drawn out of themselves and the only thing that will accomplish this great work is to become intensely interested in the salvation of others it's so easy for us to become eccentric and self-centered think that it's all about me and being involved in reaching others you know I've seen it so many times amazing facts we'll take a group on a mission trip or they'll go on a church building project and there is something that is transformational about you going to a poor mission field doing an evangelistic meeting doing some health ministry being in in building up a mission or a church it helps you realize you know that's a big world out there and I'm just one little person out of seven point eight billion people Jesus loves them all and your greatest joy is going to come in telling other people about Christ the other thing that's amazing you go to some of these countries and you know we've had the privilege of going I can't even count how many different countries and you go and you see very poor people in India in Africa in Asia and they are so happy that you've come to their house they're so happy that you've come to share with them they're smiling they have almost nothing but they're just so happy when they hear the good news that you realize maybe in our materialism in North America we we sometimes forget that it's not all about the stuff it's about souls that's what really matters um so we need to be involved in this unselfish work and in doing this you save yourself I like what Paul said to Timothy first Timothy 4:16 take heed to yourself and to the doctrine continue in them for in doing this you will save yourself and those who hear you in sharing with others you're helping to save yourself in the book steps to Christ page 79 it's got some more on that principle unselfish work for others helps make our characters like Christ's it brings peace and happiness it gives a strong desire to be more helpful there will be no room in our lives for laziness and selfishness if we exercise our faith and other Christian Grace's we will become strong in our work for God we will see the truth clearly our faith will keep growing and we will pray with greater power God's Spirit will move in our hearts helping us develop characters that will honor him if we give ourselves in unselfish service for others we are surely working out our own salvation one of the ways for us to break the the dead spirit many struggle with get out of yourself get involved in serving others even if you don't feel like it at first something will happen to you in the process of doing it faithfulness to Christ command acts 20:6 verse 17 he says I will deliver you from the Jewish people as well as from the Gentiles Jesus is speaking to Paul and vision to whom I now send you to open their eyes in order to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God that they might receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith from me open their eyes turn them from darkness to light from the power of the devil to God this is what we're doing we're taking people and where their lives are so completely and utterly transformed from the devil to God from darkness to light and that they might be saved from slavery to freedom it's such a dramatic change God wants everybody to be saved you know some dispensationalists think well you know Jesus only saved he died for the elect not for everybody God doesn't want anyone to be lost the Bible says he's not willing that any should perish and that's in 2nd Peter chapter 3 verse 9 the Lord is not slack concerning his promise as some men count slackness but is long-suffering to us not willing that any should perish and at first Timothy he says in verse 3 and 4 of chapter 2 this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior who desires all men to be saved it breaks the heart of God that one should be lost which is a good transition into the last section what's the motive for our sharing our faith love Isaiah 48 41 verse 8 but you Israel are my servant Jacob whom I have chosen the descendants of Abraham my friend God loves us more than a friend second Corinthians 5:14 for the love of Christ compels us because we judge thus and if one died for all then all then all died he says it's for the love of God it compels us were constrained when we see Jesus on the cross not just for us but for every soul sometimes in people that we would dismiss is worthless jesus loves them and he died for them and he have tender sympathy for every soul you need to see in every soul not what they are but what they can be through the gospel and it makes it easier to love second Corinthians five verse eighteen now all things are of God who has reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ and has given us the Ministry of reconciliation that is that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself not imputing their trespasses to them and he's committed to us the word of reconciliation he's given us his job he's sharing with us his job now then we are ambassadors for Christ as through God we are pleading through us we implore you on Christ's behalf be reconciled to God for he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in him this is wonderful message friends the love of Christ must dwell in the heart and through that love we will have an unselfish interest in a salvation of others well friends I hope you've been blessed by our study today in closing I want to remind you we have our our free offer the ultimate deliverance all you've got to do is call eight six six seven eight eight three nine six six we'll send you a free copy of this that's eight six six study more and you can also get it through texting the number on your screen god bless you you can join us for a worship service afterward

Channel: Daily Hymns

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Length: 50min 23sec (3023 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 25 2020