Participants:
Series Code: TDYFW
Program Code: TDYFW210006S
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00:02 I want to spend my life
00:08 Mending broken people 00:13 I want to spend my life 00:19 Removing pain 00:24 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:35 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:46 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:08 Hello, friends, and welcome to another edition 01:11 of 3ABN Family Worship, 01:13 and we want to say Happy Sabbath, 01:15 and that we are so thankful 01:16 that you're joining us during this time 01:18 as we're coming together as family. 01:20 That's what is called, Family Worship, right? 01:22 We are here to study, to learn, to grow together as family 01:25 here on the Sabbath evening. 01:27 And we have a very, very exciting special topic. 01:30 I'm excited to talk about 01:32 because it's dealing with the subject of witnessing 01:34 and how to represent Jesus the best way possible 01:37 when we are witnessing 01:39 or trying to reach someone else for Jesus Christ. 01:41 So you don't want to go anywhere. 01:43 So stay tuned, because we're going to be learning a lot 01:45 during this hour together 01:47 about how to witness the right way. 01:50 That's our title, 01:51 "Witnessing the Right Way." 01:54 But before we go any further, 01:55 I want to go ahead and introduce our family 01:57 at this time. 01:58 I'm going to start to my far right here. 02:00 I have Pastor John Dinzey 02:02 and his beautiful wife, Idalia Dinzey, 02:04 it's wonderful to have you both here 02:06 joining us during this time. 02:08 Well, it's a blessing to be here, 02:09 especially when my wife is with me 02:10 to participate in the Family Worship. 02:13 Thank you for the invitation. 02:14 And it's always a feast to share about God's Word 02:20 and about sharing God's Word with others. 02:22 Amen. I like that. It's a feast. 02:25 And this is Family Worship. 02:26 And so we're gonna be feasting on the Word of God, for sure. 02:28 Thank you so much for that. 02:29 Of course, to the far left over here. 02:31 He's back with us again. 02:34 My brother Dakota Day, 02:36 Amazing Facts evangelist full time, on the road, 02:40 all the time preaching the gospel for Jesus Christ. 02:42 And, as always, it's always blessed 02:44 to have you here, Brother. 02:45 I appreciate it, Brother. It's a blessing to be here. 02:46 Look forward to this study. 02:48 Amen. Amen. Praise the Lord. 02:50 Well, before we get right into talking 02:52 about witnessing the right way, 02:54 we're going to go ahead and have a prayer 02:55 and invite the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us 02:57 during this time. 02:58 So Pastor Dinzey, 03:00 why don't you say a prayer for us? 03:01 Sure. 03:02 Our loving and wonderful Heavenly Father, 03:04 we just want to thank You for this opportunity, Lord, 03:07 to join as a family to worship together, 03:10 to study Your Word, 03:12 and also to share with the rest of our family, 03:15 many of which we have not yet met. 03:17 But we pray that 03:18 You will give us the privilege some day to meet them. 03:21 Heavenly Father, we pray that 03:22 You would direct our conversation, guide us, 03:25 so that You will bring things to our remembrance 03:27 and even give us words to speak, 03:29 there will be words full of life and hope 03:32 and encouragement. 03:34 And it may be that someone may need a warning. 03:36 So we pray that You will use us in all ways 03:40 to bring You honor and glory. 03:41 In Jesus' name, amen. 03:42 Amen. Amen. Praise the Lord. 03:45 This is one of those subjects that, 03:48 to me is near and dear to my heart. 03:51 And I think all of us can relate to that 03:52 in the sense that 03:53 I learned many years ago from another minister, 03:56 he's talking about 03:58 what's called the Christian three legs of the stool. 04:00 It's what we need 04:02 for a proper balanced connection 04:05 in relationship with Jesus. 04:07 And the three legs were, of course, Bible study, prayer. 04:10 And, of course, the third leg of the stool 04:13 that you have to have 04:14 in order for the stool to stand properly, right? 04:17 In order for it to function properly, 04:18 is witnessing, proper witnessing. 04:21 And over the years I can have, I have to admit, I have to say 04:24 that I haven't always been the best witness. 04:26 It's kind of a learning and a growing experience. 04:29 But the Lord has certainly opened my mind and my eyes 04:32 over the years to the better 04:34 and proper ways of witnessing 04:36 and sharing the gospel 04:38 and leading someone to Jesus Christ. 04:40 And it really does, you have to kind of approach it 04:43 in a kind of a methodical way. 04:45 Make sure you're practicing 04:47 the proper techniques and tactics 04:49 in order to make sure that you are nurturing that person 04:52 and leading them to Jesus. 04:54 But you know, we've all had that bad witnessing experience. 04:59 I think I have, I know you guys probably have. 05:01 We all have experienced that bad witnessing experience, 05:05 where it kind of just left a bad taste in our mouth 05:07 or maybe a negative emotion or feeling 05:09 about either a doctrine, or a teaching, 05:12 or a passage of scripture, 05:14 or maybe just Christianity in general. 05:17 There's a lot of people that I know that 05:18 because of a bad witnessing experience they had, 05:21 either them giving, 05:23 you know, trying to witness to someone 05:24 or someone trying to witness to them, 05:27 they experienced and had a bad witnessing experience 05:29 that just pretty much left a bad, 05:31 you know, mindset or a bad mentality 05:33 about Christianity in general, or following Jesus in general. 05:37 So I just want to open that up, let's talk in the... 05:39 It's kind of an unconventional way 05:41 to start the study. 05:43 But I want to talk first 05:44 about how not to witness 05:46 because that's important, right? 05:48 We want to make sure that 05:50 we are practicing the proper methods of witnessing, 05:53 but we've all had that negative experience. 05:55 Pastor Dinzey, 05:56 I know you probably have had one in the past 05:58 or know of someone who has had one. 06:00 Talk about maybe an experience that you've had in the past 06:02 and point out to us some, some identifications 06:05 of how not to witness. 06:08 How not to witness. 06:10 I know that's kind of opening Pandora's box right there. 06:13 But no, seriously. 06:14 You know, thinking about it. 06:19 Like this quickly, I'm going to say that 06:22 I was reading that particular day, 06:25 the parable that Jesus gave about 06:28 that the master of the vineyard went out, 06:31 and he saw some people, 06:33 you guys not doing anything? 06:35 Why don't you come to my vineyard and work? 06:37 And so, and I will pay you what is right. 06:39 And so he went in the early part of the day, 06:42 you know the story, 06:43 and later and later and later, 06:44 and he went out 06:46 when it was just like one hour left 06:48 in the day of work. 06:49 And he found some people not doing anything, 06:52 "Hey, why aren't you guys working?" 06:54 "Nobody's hired us." 06:55 "Come with to vineyard to work." 06:57 So he started paying everyone from the very last to the first 07:00 and he gave everybody a penny, according to the Bible. 07:02 Of course, a penny today 07:03 will get some people pretty upset. 07:06 But, anyway, and I was thinking about that 07:09 and I said, that's wonderful. 07:12 How God is so good. 07:13 I mean, if you accept Christ when you're younger, 07:16 and maybe when you lay it later, 07:18 is when you finally hear the message, 07:20 you go to the same heaven, 07:21 and I'm sharing this with some young lady that, 07:24 so how was your day? 07:25 And I started sharing this with her. 07:27 And I said, 07:28 "Isn't God good that 07:30 He's going to put everybody in the same heaven, 07:32 we're all going to enjoy His presence, 07:34 and not people being in a lower heaven here 07:36 and someone lower and someone lower. 07:39 And she goes, 07:40 "I don't know, but you've completely destroyed 07:42 one of my church's doctrines." 07:44 I was shocked. I didn't know. 07:46 And so I said, "Wow!" 07:50 I didn't prepare myself for the reaction. 07:52 I was overjoyed with what I had just, 07:55 you know, touched me so hard so much. 07:57 And I say, 07:58 "Well, what I learn from this, you know." 08:00 You really have to be in much prayer 08:04 before you witness, 08:05 because the Lord wants to give people hope, life 08:10 and encouragement and lead them to Him. 08:12 And I don't know, 08:14 I looked at this as, wow, I failed on that one. 08:16 But perhaps, you know, 08:17 the Lord would make her wondering, thinking 08:19 or maybe I'm looking at this the wrong way. 08:21 But to me, it seemed like that didn't work out well. 08:25 Yeah, absolutely. 08:26 Absolutely. 08:28 I'll go ahead and share 08:30 what one of the experiences anyway. 08:33 We used to go door-to-door a lot. 08:35 Do you remember those days? 08:37 Door-to-door 08:38 and people were happy to see you 08:40 and some were not so happy. 08:42 And sometimes I'm like, I'm not touching that door, 08:46 you know, because of fear. 08:48 There was one in particular that was, it was torn down. 08:51 And apparently there had been a fight in that home. 08:55 But the Lord took us to a home. 08:59 I was being trained to do the door-to-door thing, 09:02 witnessing with an older lady from the church. 09:05 So I'm trusting 100% 09:06 you know, she's the leader and she's gonna, 09:09 I'm gonna learn from her. 09:11 So, this is what happened. 09:16 We got to the door and the lady said, 09:18 "Oh, hello, come around the back." 09:20 Okay, so we went around the back, 09:22 it was the kitchen entrance. Okay. 09:24 As we're entering, the lady said, 09:27 "Well, I got to cover the pot," 09:28 because her lobsters were coming out from the pot. 09:31 Okay. Okay? 09:32 So it's a stock pot, 09:34 and the lady says that's training me, 09:37 "You're not supposed to eat lobster, 09:39 that's condemned in the Bible. 09:40 You know, you need to read. 09:43 That's an unclean animal, Leviticus... 09:44 Oh, no. And I'm like. 09:46 So she said this to the lady that's... 09:48 To the person who were visiting. 09:49 Oh, no! 09:50 Okay. 09:52 I'm like, okay, lest speak truth in love. 09:55 Right. You know what I mean? 09:56 And I'm like, where is our hall cave 09:58 where I can crawl in. 10:00 And, quite frankly, 10:02 I didn't want to go out anymore, 10:04 you know, to with this person to go door-to-door. 10:08 Nobody's perfect, 10:10 you know, and sometimes maybe she got scared. 10:13 You know, when those things were popping out of the pot. 10:17 They were still alive, I think. 10:18 Oh, yeah. They were alive. 10:19 No, absolutely. 10:21 So, she was like, so direct and so blind, 10:25 that I think it killed the spirit, you know. 10:28 Right. 10:29 And we did go back 10:31 and the lady was so nice 10:33 to take us back into the home, received us. 10:37 And she became normal or a frequent visitor, 10:42 but she never got baptized. 10:44 So, to this day, 10:47 we keep in touch with that lady 10:49 because of social media, you know, but what do you do? 10:52 You plant seeds of hope and encouragement. 10:55 So, yeah, just forget 10:57 about what's popping out of those pots, 10:58 you know, just give the love of Jesus. 11:03 That's an interesting story. 11:04 And we'll get into 11:06 probably come back to those instances 11:07 in a little bit to identify 11:09 some of the aspects 11:10 that could have been done differently, right? 11:11 In those situations to improve. 11:13 Dakota, what about you, if something comes to mind? 11:15 I could write a whole book on that. 11:17 I really could. 11:18 I'm not even joking, like, so like, 11:20 the first thing that came to my mind 11:22 when I heard, 11:23 you know, we're going to do this study together, 11:25 is that when we thought about wrong ways to witness, 11:27 it's the spiritual machine gun. 11:28 Oh, there you go. 11:30 Spiritual machine gun, 11:31 you guys know what I'm talking about, right? 11:33 When you get so on fired, so excited. 11:35 You're about to do Bible studies 11:36 with this new person or this new friend 11:37 or whatever who's showed interest in Bible studies. 11:40 And, you know, maybe you're studying, 11:42 I don't know about the tribulation, 11:43 or you're studying about the rapture, 11:44 you're studying about, you know, anything, 11:46 Antichrist, whatever. 11:47 There's always that that urge 11:49 to give them the spiritual machine gun 11:51 and overload them with too much information. 11:53 Okay. Give us an example? 11:54 And so like, I'll give you an example. 11:56 So like, there was this one time, 12:00 this lady, so she actually was coming 12:03 to one of my evangelistic meetings. 12:05 And she said, hey, listen, you know, 12:07 I'd like you to come visit some time. 12:08 She told me, 12:09 "The pastor would like you to come visit some time." 12:11 And we said, "Okay, great." 12:12 We'll come by and give you a visit. 12:13 So we show up, she had been coming, 12:15 probably, we were like 12:16 halfway through our evangelistic series. 12:18 So I'd already covered like, the second coming of Jesus, 12:19 the truth about the rapture. 12:20 And, you know, told him that the left behind truth, right? 12:23 Truth that was left behind, 12:24 and she didn't know all that stuff. 12:25 So this is brand new information. 12:27 So she was so on fire. 12:28 She was calling all her family members 12:30 and telling them how wrong they are. 12:31 Hmm. And... 12:33 So well, we didn't know me and pastor showing up 12:36 and we're walking into this door. 12:38 And she answers the phone, 12:40 I mean, she answers the phone like, 12:41 right when we knock on the door, and she goes, 12:43 "Oh, come on in, they're here." 12:45 And we're like, okay, 12:47 so we walk on in and she's like, 12:48 here, she's like, 12:49 tell my daughter how she's wrong and she... 12:53 and she hands us the phone. 12:55 She goes, I've been telling her that she's wrong about, 12:57 you know, the state of the dead, 12:58 she's wrong about hellfire, she's wrong about, 13:00 and she just gave her the spiritual machine gun. 13:04 And she just unloaded on her daughter 13:05 about all these things that she's been, 13:07 you know, taught that now they have it wrong. 13:10 And then she's given us and she's wanting us 13:11 to give her the spiritual machine gun. 13:13 And there's always that, 13:14 you know, that, that I guess you can say that 13:17 drive where as an evangelist, 13:19 especially you want people to know the truth. 13:21 So there's always that, you know, encouragement, 13:23 they're like, you know, you want them to see, 13:25 this may be the only cop opportunity you have 13:26 to actually tell them the truth. 13:28 That's right. 13:30 And so, what ends up happening sometimes 13:31 is you end up giving them a spiritual machine gun, 13:33 and you just... 13:34 You hit them with so much scriptures, 13:36 so much truth that their mind is just like, 13:38 I can't handle it, you know, 13:40 and they kind of freak out on you. 13:41 And then you oftentimes will lose your witness. 13:44 You can lose your witness in that, 13:45 you overwhelm someone so much with so much truth, 13:49 that now they're like, 13:51 well, that's just so much information, 13:52 so exhausting for my mind. 13:54 I don't even want to study with him anymore. 13:56 You know, Jesus Himself. 13:57 So I was reminded of a scripture in John 16:12, 13:59 He said to His own disciples, 14:01 "I have yet many things to tell you, 14:02 but you cannot yet bear them." 14:04 That's right. There you go. I like that. 14:05 And there's lots of things 14:07 that Jesus wanted to tell Peter, James 14:08 and all the rest of them, 14:10 but they weren't ready for that. 14:11 And so we have to understand and being a witness, 14:13 especially being a good witness, 14:15 of how to share things at the right times, 14:18 and share just enough to whet their mouth, 14:21 get them hungry for more truth, 14:22 but not overwhelm them at the same time. 14:24 Absolutely. 14:25 That's a great point that you made 14:26 because there's some people in the church, 14:29 I'll just say the church in general, 14:30 because there's many different churches, 14:32 denominations, 14:33 but many people that have this mentality 14:35 where they take the scripture and they will twist it 14:37 or manipulate it to their own destruction. 14:39 For instance, that famous scripture 14:41 I believe it's in Isaiah maybe 58 where it says, 14:43 "Cry aloud, spare not, show my people their sins," right? 14:47 Some people take that text and that principle and they go, 14:50 "Oh, you know, it's my duty to go out here 14:52 and just give people the truth." 14:54 And it's not, it's not my fault 14:56 if they don't receive the truth. 14:57 So I'm just gonna give it to them straight 14:59 and so, and I've been in one of those, 15:01 I've been in many of those situations 15:02 where people have witnessed to me in a negative way 15:05 and left a bad taste in my mouth 15:08 for a particular message. 15:09 And it doesn't mean that 15:10 what they're sharing is not true, right? 15:12 A lot of times what people share is that 15:14 it's the straight truth if you've never heard it, 15:16 but it's the method, 15:18 it's the way that they present that. 15:19 And if we don't learn to package it in such a way, 15:22 and present it in a methodical, tactful way 15:24 to reach that person in the correct way, 15:27 then we can kill our witness. 15:29 I'll never forget many years ago, 15:30 and I'm being just transparent, 15:31 open right now about just some experience I've had. 15:33 Many years ago, went to this particular church, 15:35 I was preaching at this church, 15:37 they invited me to come out. 15:38 And I preached the message, place was packed. 15:40 I mean, it was a wonderful experience. 15:41 And at the end, as we're walking out 15:43 and while exiting the church, lady comes up to me, 15:45 and there was, again, four or five people 15:48 standing around there. 15:49 So it was very clear, 15:50 lady comes up to me, and she goes, 15:52 and of course, my wife was standing next to me. 15:53 And if you've ever seen my wife, 15:54 she's a little tiny petite thing. 15:56 And of course, you know, opposites, 15:57 you know, me and her are direct opposites. 15:59 And so the lady comes right up to me, 16:00 and she goes, Brother Day, I just want to say to, 16:03 you know, I just feel like 16:04 the Lord's laid this on my heart, 16:06 I've noticed that 16:07 that you are significantly larger than your wife. 16:09 I can tell that your wife practices 16:11 the health message, but you don't. 16:12 Oh, mercy. 16:14 Oh, my. Wow. 16:16 It was like taking a ball bat 16:17 and ping right across the forehead, right? 16:20 In that moment, you know, 16:21 the Lord has been teaching me 16:23 and I'm growing and I'm learning. 16:25 It's been an experience for sure. 16:26 It's been a challenge. 16:28 But nonetheless, in that moment, 16:29 let's assume that's what she's saying was true. 16:31 Okay, it's truthful. 16:33 But did she witness to me in a proper way 16:34 that was leading me and nurturing me, 16:36 and bringing me to Christ? 16:37 No, it was that machine gun method 16:39 take, you know, take this right here, Brother Day, 16:43 you know, just blowing me down as if you know, 16:46 and plus in front of other people. 16:47 We have to make sure 16:48 that our tactics and our methods are correct. 16:51 And that's what we're talking about today, 16:52 witnessing the right way. 16:54 There's a right way and there's a wrong way. 16:56 And we've talked a little bit here 16:57 as in the opening about wrong ways to witness. 17:00 But let's get into right ways to witness. 17:02 First of all, I want to start with Matthew 28. 17:04 So let's go to Matthew 28. 17:06 And we want to talk about why we witness? 17:07 What's the purpose of our witnessing? 17:09 And that is, of course, let's start with Matthew 28, 17:12 that great divine commission that Jesus gives us there. 17:15 Matthew 28:19-20. 17:18 And, Dakota, I don't know if you have that 17:19 or, Brother Dinzey, if you want to read that, Matthew 28:19-20. 17:23 Nineteen and twenty, 17:24 "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, 17:27 baptizing them in the name of the Father, 17:30 and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, 17:32 teaching them to observe all things 17:35 whatsoever I have commanded you. 17:37 And lo, I am with you always, 17:40 even unto the end of the world. 17:42 Amen." 17:43 Okay. 17:45 So that was the King James Version? 17:46 Was that the King James Version? 17:48 New King James Version. 17:49 That's the New King James Version? Okay. 17:50 Just a moment. All right. Okay. 17:52 Well, my New King James Version actually starts with, 17:54 Go therefore and make disciples. 17:57 Okay, this is King James. That's what mine says. 17:59 Disciples. 18:00 So let me let me read it 18:02 the way many church members see this, okay? 18:05 Go therefore, and make church members of all nations. 18:07 Oh! There you go. 18:10 And many times, 18:11 we think it's our duty to convert someone 18:14 to our particular denomination, our particular faith. 18:16 In this case, you know, 18:18 I'm a Seventh-day Adventist Christian. 18:19 And so, you know, it's not my intention, 18:22 when I'm going out to witness to someone, 18:24 I don't have the mentality of, 18:25 you know, what I'm going into this 18:27 with the full idea 18:28 that I'm going to try to convert them 18:30 to be good Seventh-day Adventist Christians, right? 18:33 And many people approach witnessing in that way. 18:35 And so, their mentality is, 18:37 I'm going to make them a good church member. 18:38 But in order to graft them and 18:40 to draw them into my church, 18:42 well, I've got to prepare them. 18:44 So I've got to just shower them 18:45 with all of these different doctrinal teachings, 18:47 so that we make sure that 18:49 they line up to our particular way of life. 18:51 And we're certainly not condemning or saying 18:53 that we should not share those doctrinal truths, 18:55 because doctrine is important, those individual truths, 18:58 those pillars of our faith 18:59 that make us who we are 19:01 as Seventh-day Adventist Christians. 19:02 Absolutely, they're important, and we want to share them. 19:05 But that being said, 19:06 "Go and make disciples of all nations, 19:11 baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son 19:12 and of the Holy Spirit, 19:14 teaching them to observe all things 19:15 that I've commanded you. 19:17 And lo, I'm with you always, even to the end of the age." 19:19 So get this, it's Jesus saying, teach them, 19:23 make a disciple out of them, baptize them 19:27 and then continue teaching them. 19:28 Our growing experience never stops, right? 19:30 That's right. 19:31 But what does it mean to make a disciple? 19:34 What are we doing 19:35 when we're making disciples out of someone? 19:39 You're forming them and training them to, 19:43 to be able to be part of and follow. 19:48 I wanted to say also that, 19:50 for example, I have a friend 19:52 who visits a church 19:55 and one of the friends from church 19:59 in that congregation said, 20:02 "You have to get baptized already. 20:03 You've been visiting too long. 20:05 It's time for you to get baptized." 20:07 You know, so the time 20:09 the Holy Spirit will prompt the heart 20:11 of that person. 20:12 But in order to be a disciple, 20:14 I need to learn who I'm following. 20:16 I need to enhance our relationship. 20:20 I need to bond, you know, because if it's just words, 20:25 and I'm doing a ritual, 20:26 just because it's nice, 20:27 you know, or the right thing to do, 20:30 but it's not my time. 20:31 I'm just gonna walk out the back door 20:33 from the church, so. 20:34 Right. Absolutely. 20:35 That's a good point. Good point. 20:37 That's right. You want to add to that? 20:38 No, yeah, I mean, in making disciples, 20:40 that disciple is a follower of Jesus. 20:42 I mean, and you making disciples, 20:45 you're making followers of Jesus. 20:46 So as the scripture says, 20:47 teaching them to observe all things 20:49 that I have commanded you. 20:51 So, yes, teaching them was a big part of that. 20:52 But also, it's teaching them how to be a good disciple. 20:55 In other words, make other disciples as well. 20:58 And so that's part of our ministry that too, 21:01 oftentimes, we forget, 21:02 again, we think we get them in the church 21:03 and our job is done. 21:05 But we never stopped growing 21:06 even when we get into the church. 21:08 We always need to grow and draw closer to the Lord. 21:11 And, you know, too oftentimes, I think that, 21:13 you know, we have as Idalia was bringing out, 21:15 we have a lot of people 21:16 who are trying to witness for the Lord 21:18 and they don't even know the Lord. 21:20 Right. 21:21 Like in Acts Chapter 19, you read about the man who... 21:24 It was the seven sons, actually, 21:25 they come and they're exorcist, 21:27 and they're going to try to cast out demons 21:29 because they saw, you know, Paul, 21:30 and all the rest of them do it. 21:32 They're going to cast out demons 21:33 in the name of the Lord. 21:34 What does Paul say? 21:36 What eventually the Bible transpires in Acts, 21:37 I think it's verses 13 through 16, 21:39 you can read there, 21:41 and they say, 21:42 "We're going to cast out these demons 21:43 in the name of the Lord Jesus." 21:45 And the demon speaks to him through the man 21:46 and says, Paul, I know, Jesus, I know, who are you. 21:52 In other words, this man didn't even know Jesus 21:55 for the demons to know him, right? 21:57 I think the demons are only going to know you 21:59 who you are, 22:00 if you're a threat to them. 22:01 You see what I'm saying. 22:03 If you're a true disciple and follower of Jesus. 22:04 This man was trying to witness 22:06 and trying to do some work of the Lord, 22:07 some mighty work of the Lord. 22:08 And he didn't even know the Lord. 22:10 And I think too often times we have people try to do that. 22:13 How many times we've seen it, Ryan, 22:14 where someone who doesn't know the Lord, 22:17 talk about the Lord, 22:18 and he just makes you just want to go like, 22:20 you know, you just start showing those faces like, 22:22 "Oh, no, here we go." 22:24 And they start talking about scriptures 22:26 they know nothing about. 22:27 This is a really bad way to witnessing. 22:29 I think it's important what Idalia said, 22:31 we need to get to know Jesus first, 22:33 and focus on our relationship with Him first, 22:35 before we go out there 22:37 and start flapping our gums about the Lord. 22:38 Right. That's right. 22:40 Now, that's a good point, 22:41 as good relationship is absolutely important. 22:42 When we're talking about making disciples, 22:46 we have to first have that relationship with the Lord 22:48 before we can lead and guide someone 22:50 on how to grow their relationship 22:51 with the Lord. 22:53 Amen. That's right. 22:54 So that's vitally important, you know, 22:55 for someone you know, 22:57 it's there's a sign 22:59 at the Thompsonville Seventh-day Adventist Church. 23:02 As you go out to the back, and it says, 23:07 present Jesus to people in an irresistible way. 23:12 And that captured my attention. 23:13 You know, I don't know how many times I read the sign. 23:15 But one day I stopped and I said, 23:17 you know, people really need this, 23:19 people really need to know 23:21 that the Christ is irresistible in the sense of, 23:25 we need a Savior, 23:27 and He is the only one that can save you. 23:30 You need Jesus. Amen. 23:31 And the people that are new, the Bible calls them new babes. 23:37 And, you know, when a baby is born, 23:40 you don't say congratulations, welcome to the world. 23:42 We'll see you, you know. 23:43 You don't find that. 23:45 That's right. 23:46 We call it even born again, right? 23:49 Yeah. 23:50 So you have to bring them up 23:52 as it's applied here in the nurture 23:55 and admonition of the Lord as you would children. 23:57 Amen. Amen. 23:59 Praise the Lord. I love this. 24:00 Amen. Absolutely. 24:02 I believe we need to learn 24:03 to nurture our very own family members, 24:06 you know what I mean? 24:07 Because while we don't practice in the house, 24:09 you know, it's not gonna go... 24:11 How can we share it outside? 24:13 So, and the Lord has really been working in me, 24:18 because I would just like, if I get some news about, 24:23 you know, one of the kids did something wrong 24:24 or whatever I used to be like, 24:26 like what, you know, 24:29 and I'm like, well, 24:30 Lord, I'm gonna pray about this. 24:33 You know, that's just totally different 24:35 when the Lord is just working in your life. 24:37 And you see how that hate teems down, 24:41 and glory to God, 24:43 because God can change us if we're willing to change. 24:48 So, I would love to see is that 24:51 we love people into our congregations, 24:55 that they may feel they they're part of a family, 24:59 you know, but a lot of people leave 25:01 because of lack of love. 25:03 You know, conditional love is what we offer. 25:06 And Lord have mercy on helpless. 25:08 That's right. 25:09 Conditional love. That's right. 25:11 It happens between families, friends 25:13 or other people in the community. 25:17 It happen, that's humanity, right? 25:19 But the Lord can change that heart around. 25:20 Amen. 25:22 Oh, I'm so glad that you brought it, 25:23 brought that up, because 25:25 now we're going to get into, 25:26 I would like to say maybe the equation, 25:30 the right way to witness. 25:31 And so I put here as a question in my little outline here. 25:35 How many ways are there 25:36 to properly witness for Jesus, right? 25:39 And, you know, what's amazing, 25:41 everybody has their own perception, 25:43 their own perspective of, 25:44 well, you know, my ideal concept 25:47 or idea of witnessing is this. 25:49 So everyone has their own little method. 25:51 But at the end of the day, 25:52 how many ways or how many methods are there. 25:56 And I'm going to share a quote with you here. 25:57 Many of you watching may have heard this before. 26:00 Many of you may have not, but I want to share this. 26:01 This is from the book, 26:03 The Ministry of Healing, page 143. 26:05 And before I read this, I just have to say, 26:08 I will never get many years ago 26:10 when myself and Dakota, 26:12 our wives, Stephanie, and Anna and our friend, Jordan, 26:15 we all packed up and we went for four months 26:17 out to California, 26:19 to attend the Amazing Facts Center 26:21 of Evangelism. 26:23 We wanted to learn and educate ourselves 26:25 on how to properly witness to someone 26:27 and to bring someone to Christ. 26:29 And I'll never forget going through that program. 26:31 The quote that I'm about to read here 26:33 from Ministry of Healing, page 143. 26:34 This was kind of the epicenter. 26:36 This was like the, this was like the ultimate method 26:41 in which we shared in which we live by, 26:43 because when you break this down, 26:44 as we're going to do 26:45 for the remainder of this program, 26:47 it gives us the true only working way 26:51 to win a soul to Jesus Christ. 26:53 That's right. 26:54 I'm going to go ahead and say it clear. 26:55 There's only one right way. Okay. 26:57 And there may be someone watching say, 26:59 oh, you know what, you've got your way, Ryan. 27:00 And I've got my way, and she's got her way, 27:03 and they got their way. 27:04 But at the end of the day, 27:05 there's really only one proved method that works. 27:09 And that is Christ method alone. 27:13 So listen to this, Ministry of Healing, page 143. 27:17 And this is what it says, 27:19 "Christ's method alone will give true success 27:23 in reaching the people." 27:25 So pause there, let's just get that soak that in for a moment. 27:27 So whose method alone? 27:29 Christ's method alone, there's only one. 27:31 So if you're out there trying to witness 27:33 and trying to win people to Christ, 27:34 and you're not implementing Christ method alone, 27:37 and we're gonna see that 27:38 this is clearly backed by Scripture, right? 27:40 Only Christ method works. 27:42 And so, it only brings true success 27:44 in reaching the people. 27:45 And then it goes on to say, 27:47 "The Savior mingled with men, as one who desired their good. 27:52 He showed His sympathy for them, 27:55 ministered to their needs, and won their confidence, 28:00 then he bade them, follow me. 28:04 Amen. 28:05 I love that, it's short and sweet and simple, 28:08 but yet, there is actually a multistep process here. 28:12 I mean, think about it, when you and I use this, 28:14 I use this, I did some evangelism training 28:16 not too long ago, 28:17 and I was given it at a particular church 28:19 that I was at. 28:20 And I gave this illustration, 28:22 you know, when you want to start a garden, 28:24 or you're wanting to plant seeds, or sow seeds 28:27 for the purpose of growing 28:28 and producing fruit from a plant, 28:30 whether it's a vegetable or whatever it is, 28:32 you don't go out to the ground 28:34 that you're hoping to harvest this fruit from, 28:37 eventually, you don't go out to the ground, 28:38 and you don't take the seed and just like, 28:40 throw it out onto the ground, 28:42 and then just walk back in the house 28:44 and expect to come back out a few days later. 28:46 And there's this beautiful plush, 28:47 you know wonderful juicy fruit 28:49 out there for you to receive, right? 28:51 There's a process to it. 28:53 And essentially, 28:55 what you're seeing in this powerful quote here 28:57 from Ministry of Healing, page 143, 29:00 is that Jesus, 29:01 there was a multistep process that Jesus used. 29:05 He just didn't walk up to someone and be like, 29:06 hey, you're a sinner, 29:08 and you're going to hell if you don't change your ways. 29:10 I mean, Jesus was very straightforward 29:12 with a lot of people in certain aspects, 29:13 but it was only because He knew the heart. 29:16 We don't know the heart. 29:17 As human beings, we don't have that that gift 29:19 or that ability to read someone's thoughts 29:20 in another heart. 29:22 He did that. 29:23 But yet in the majority of cases, 29:25 He used what is coined here 29:27 as Christ method alone where He mingled with men 29:31 as one who desired their good. 29:33 He showed them sympathy. 29:35 He ministered to their needs. 29:37 He won their confidence. 29:39 And once He had done all those things, 29:41 then came the day 29:43 where He was like, hey, follow Me. 29:45 Do what I do. 29:46 You know what? And so it's awesome. 29:48 So let's talk about, let's unpack this one by one. 29:50 My next question here. 29:52 What does it mean that Christ mingled with men 29:56 as the one who desired their good? 29:58 Well, what does that mean that He mingled with men? 30:01 And how important is that 30:02 in the opening steps of witnessing? 30:04 This is extremely huge to me, 30:05 because as a Bible worker, 30:07 I was, I used to be a Bible worker 30:08 before I became hired by Amazing Facts 30:09 as an evangelist. 30:11 And what was really cool about being a Bible worker is that, 30:14 you know, you're, literally your job as a Bible worker 30:17 is to get out there and meet new people. 30:18 That's your whole job to find these, 30:20 you make these connections. 30:22 And I went door-to-door for a long time, 30:24 and that's effective, 30:25 you can find people door-to-door. 30:26 I'm not disclaiming that at all. 30:28 But I will say this, though, 30:29 that one of the greatest ways 30:30 that I met people 30:32 that were actually interested in Scripture, 30:33 and that I could do Bible studies with them, 30:35 is I went out and did activities with people. 30:37 And door-to-door 30:39 was one of the activities I did. 30:40 I remember, I was training the church in Tennessee, 30:43 about six years ago this was. 30:45 I was turning a church in Tennessee, 30:46 and I was doing, 30:47 you know, basically 30:49 door-to-door evangelism with them. 30:50 But I said before we go door-to-door 30:51 and we start asking people to study the Bible with us. 30:53 We're going to show them how much we care about them. 30:54 Yes. 30:56 And then they're like, what do you mean, 30:57 what are we going to do? 30:59 And so, we did all kinds of things. 31:00 But one of the main things we started to do 31:02 was we went door-to-door, 31:03 we went into door-to-door 31:05 just as Jesus sent out the 70 in twos, right? 31:08 We went door-to-door, and we knocked on their door, 31:10 and all we had was our Bibles, 31:13 and a pin pad with us with a pin. 31:15 And we knocked on the doors that answered the door. 31:17 And we say, listen, so sorry to bother you today. 31:19 But we're going around the neighborhood, 31:20 seeing if there's anything that people know of 31:22 or anyone that anybody knows that we can pray for. 31:25 Do you have any prayer requests that we can take from you? 31:28 You should have saw these people's faces. 31:30 I kid you not like they were blown away. 31:32 They're like, "Hold on, wait, who's paying you to do this?" 31:35 That's what they were saying to me. 31:36 And I was like, "Nobody's paying me to do this." 31:38 And they're like, 31:39 "No, no, no, seriously, like, 31:41 you're out here doing this 31:42 because you're getting paid, right?" 31:43 And I'm like, "No, no, I'm, I'm doing this 31:45 because I genuinely care about our community. 31:46 And I'm seeing in what ways we can 31:48 you know, help the community. 31:49 And, so if there's anybody that you know of that needs prayer, 31:51 if your family, someone that's sick, 31:53 we would like to put them on our prayer list 31:55 and pray for them continually." 31:57 And they were just like, "Hold on a second," 31:59 like this is, this can't be real. 32:01 But you know what the number one answer there was 32:03 they asked me right after that. 32:05 What church do you go to? Amen. 32:07 That was the next thing they wanted to know. 32:08 Who? Who are you? And what church you go to? 32:12 'Cause I've never seen this before in my life. 32:14 No one's knocked on my door and said, 32:15 how can I pray for you? 32:17 Right. 32:18 And so that was one of the greatest ways 32:20 we make contacts. 32:21 People saw that we genuinely cared. 32:22 And we will go back the next week, 32:24 and we'd follow up with them. 32:25 We'd say, hey, how's Daniel doing? 32:26 How's his shoulder doing better? 32:28 I know, he got an injured in that car accident, 32:29 how's he doing it? 32:30 And they'd be like, 32:32 "Oh, man, God's answering prayer. 32:33 Thank you guys so much." 32:35 And then we had, 32:36 I would go out in the community, 32:37 and I would play basketball 32:39 with the youth out in the community, 32:40 just go to the local park. 32:41 And lot of people probably thought, 32:43 you know, if the somebody was driving by and saw me, 32:44 they'd probably be like, 32:45 Dakota is not even doing his job, 32:47 that's probably would have been their thing. 32:48 But I wasn't there, 32:50 even though I enjoy playing basketball. 32:51 I wasn't there for myself. 32:52 I would literally tell those guys, 32:54 hey, listen, if there's anything you ever need, 32:56 here's my phone number. 32:57 Give me a call and let me know, 32:58 I'll be there to help you with anything. 33:00 I actually had some of them call me 33:01 and I've actually done studies with many of them. 33:03 This is how we got to mingle with men. 33:05 We got to get out there meet these people, 33:07 as the Bible says, 33:08 or as the Ministry of Healing said, 33:10 as one who desires their good. 33:11 I like that. Right? 33:13 You got to let them know, I care about, 33:14 you know, people don't care how much you know, 33:16 until they know how much you care. 33:18 That's right. 33:19 They don't, so yeah. That's a good point. 33:20 At one given time in my lifetime, 33:23 the Lord impressed me to start calling people that 33:27 this is way back 33:28 when they had the Yellow Pages. 33:29 I don't know if you've seen any of those. 33:32 But I had the Yellow Pages at home. 33:34 And the Lord just impressed me to start a ministry 33:38 of calling people on the phone, so. 33:40 Unknown people, strange. 33:42 I mean just going down the line. 33:44 You just reminded me, 33:46 I even forgot I used to do that. 33:47 Wow. Praise the Lord. 33:49 So I'm like, my name is a little hard to say. 33:52 But I would say this is Dolly. 33:54 And I'd like to, I'm just calling to, 33:57 ping, somebody hung up. 33:59 And then other people who are you? 34:02 I'm Dolly. 34:04 I'm just from the community. 34:05 And I just want you to know 34:07 that the Lord placed you right in front of me 34:09 this number, your name, 34:11 and I want to take time to pray for you today. 34:14 So could you please tell me your prayer request? 34:17 You know, is there anything you wish for me to pray over? 34:20 And so, some people were very, very warm 34:24 and very receiving, 34:26 others were I have my own pastor to pray for me 34:28 and they will hang up on me which is okay. 34:31 And one of the calls, a nine year old says, 34:35 "Do you only pray for my parents 34:38 or will you pray for me? 34:40 I said, "No, sweetheart, I will pray for you too." 34:43 Well, I still can see and can hear his voice. 34:47 "If you could pray for me because I am diabetic." 34:51 I'm like, "Well, of course, I'm gonna pray for you." 34:53 I'm getting all emotional. 34:55 Wow. 34:57 But I said, of course, 34:58 of course I'm going to pray for you. 35:00 Let's pray together. 35:01 What other thing would you like for me to pray over? 35:04 And that was such a special time in my life. 35:09 The Lord just impressed 35:11 and I'm like, Lord, why are we going 35:12 to all these strangers like they hung on me. 35:14 Not everybody, you know, hung up on me. 35:16 So praise the Lord, 35:18 it's not a very common way of doing it. 35:21 But back then, 35:23 when there was the Yellow Pages, say wait. 35:25 Yeah, I mean, so it's not like you're calling these people up 35:27 or going and knocking on their door 35:29 and, you know, trying to beat them over the head 35:30 with Bible doctrine. 35:32 What day do you go to church on? 35:33 Did you know the Sabbath is Saturday? 35:35 I mean, that's a truth. 35:37 But you got to, you got to befriend them, 35:40 you got to make friendships. 35:41 And that's what this mingling with men is all about. 35:43 That's why Jesus mingled with men, 35:45 as one who desired the good 35:47 because Jesus wanted to create friendships first. 35:49 That's why I love Romans 12:15-16. 35:53 That's what the Bible says in Romans 12-15-16. 35:55 It says, 35:56 "Rejoice with those who rejoice, 35:57 and weep with those who weep, 36:00 be of the same mind toward one another. 36:03 Do not set your mind on high things, 36:05 but associate with the humble, 36:08 do not be wise in your own opinion." 36:10 So in other words, this is simply saying, 36:12 you know, come together, sympathize with others, 36:15 grow together, learn together, 36:17 take time to spend time 36:18 to become like minded with one another, 36:20 to understand what it is that people need. 36:22 Because ultimately, you're trying to befriend them, 36:25 you're trying to become a friend to them, 36:27 so that ultimately you get down here 36:29 to where we're going in just a moment. 36:30 And that is that you win their confidence, right? 36:32 And that's what this is all about. 36:34 Pastor, you want to share something? 36:35 That's right, you know, 36:36 that's the key to winning people's interest. 36:39 And you befriend them, like he says, 36:42 as one who desires their good. 36:44 We want you to be well. 36:46 I remember we were on a trip in Guatemala. 36:49 I was telling Idalia about this. 36:51 And we were... 36:54 It's interesting, we were on a mission project, 36:56 we were going to a GYC meeting. 37:00 And one of the projects they were saying was 37:04 that they were making stoves, the stoves for people out of... 37:08 Clay stoves. 37:09 Yes, out of some clay. 37:11 And so Idalia says, 37:14 "Well, what else are you doing for these people?" 37:16 And he says, 37:18 "Well, we're making the stoves." 37:21 He said, Well, you know, the Lord has impressed me 37:23 that maybe we should bring them some food too. 37:25 Okay. 37:26 And so and so she says, 37:29 I'm sure my husband would agree 37:30 that we're going to donate some money toward this. 37:32 And I said, you're having money. 37:36 And so yes, so we were committed. 37:38 And now we went to this market to pick up the food. 37:42 Yes, produce. 37:43 Produce, you know, 37:45 because we were putting produce in there 37:46 and we bought rice and beans and there was, 37:48 it was a sack of food for each family. 37:51 And I forgot how many families 25 families 37:53 that were building stoves for. 37:55 So now we're gathering this food to say, 37:56 well, we're hungry, we're going to eat 37:57 so we stopped at a restaurant. 37:59 And we noticed there was this old gentleman 38:02 that was going from table to table 38:05 and sometimes he will stop and he will play his accordion. 38:09 And we didn't know who he was, but eventually he comes to us, 38:13 he identify himself as Rubens. 38:16 And he said, 38:17 "Do you, would you like a song? 38:18 I sing in Spanish, I can maybe sing in English, " 38:20 he says. 38:21 " So he's, he would kind of give you 38:23 like a little a little taste of what he can do. 38:25 So he sang one without us requesting anything. 38:29 And then somebody said, "Well, can you sing this one." 38:32 And Viejo San Juan 38:33 which is famous song in Puerto Rico. 38:34 The nationals. 38:36 And then Idalia say, can you play Mas alla del sol. 38:39 I don't know if you've ever heard of that song. 38:41 But it's far beyond the sun. 38:42 It's like you have in English the we have this whole pool. 38:46 In Spanish Mas alla del sol is the song... 38:49 Far beyond the sun. 38:50 Yeah, far beyond the sun which talks about our home 38:52 far beyond the sun. 38:53 Anyway, so we kind of made a little contact with him. 38:57 And we went to the GYC meeting. 38:59 This was like a Tuesday. 39:01 So we're returning from the GYC meeting on Sunday. 39:04 Sunday, late afternoon. 39:05 Late afternoon because we went and helped build a stove. 39:08 It was mud and everything. 39:09 Oh yeah, it was great. 39:10 Oh, people cried because you were not only... 39:13 I mean, here's the situation, people in Guatemala, 39:15 in their homes they were cooking 39:17 with these stoves they had 39:19 but there was no funnel ventilation, 39:24 and the smoke was inside. 39:26 And they were inhaling this. 39:27 The stoves that the church people were making, 39:30 the young people were making 39:31 we helped to had these pipes that would go out, 39:36 so now they have healthier, a healthier stove. 39:39 Remember, it was an open pit and kids would burn their feet. 39:43 That was also another problem. 39:44 The upper respiratory infections 39:46 and what have you is. 39:47 It's all kinds. 39:48 So it was a great blessing, 39:50 people will cry when they say 39:51 well, why are you doing this, you know? 39:53 But here's the thing. 39:54 Now we're coming back Sunday night. 39:56 And we're in another restaurant, 39:57 almost in the same area. 39:59 And here comes this old gentleman. 40:01 And it's the same guy in another restaurant. 40:04 And we're like, hey, that's the same guy. 40:05 So he comes over by us. 40:07 And we didn't know if he would recognize us, 40:10 because he go to so many tables, 40:11 you know, it had been several days. 40:13 And so eventually, 40:15 we had him play that other Christian song. 40:18 Okay. 40:19 And now we say, "Can you sing some more?" 40:22 And he remembered a song that I don't know how long 40:25 maybe he thinks that many years, 40:26 but he sang this song, very known to us. 40:29 And we go, 40:31 "Wait a minute, who is this guy? 40:32 You know, why does he know these songs?" 40:35 And so, as we talked to him, 40:37 we learned that he was many years ago, 40:40 member of the church or help build the church. 40:43 And somehow we won his confidence. 40:47 We invited him to dinner. We invite him, you hungry? 40:49 You know, we would like to pay? 40:50 Yeah, we're gonna pay for you. 40:52 And that, you know, because before, 40:55 he said, Oh, that's so beautiful. 40:56 We want to take video of him singing, 40:58 he will hide his face, you know. 41:00 And so after a while, he warms up. 41:02 And he began to tell us about his son that lives in America, 41:06 he lost touch with him, he can't reach him 41:08 and some problem with his phone and... 41:10 So much in that story. 41:12 It was so much in the story that, 41:13 you know, we have to cut it short. 41:15 But anyway, we won his confidence. 41:16 And he opened up his heart. He cried. 41:19 I mean, and so he said, 41:22 I just wondered 41:23 if you would be willing to help me 41:25 because my wife hasn't eaten either. 41:26 So sure, sure. 41:27 You know, so we, we brought lunch for his wife 41:29 and he wants to, he wants to go eat with his wife. 41:31 Right. 41:32 So anyway, now, we call the number of his... 41:36 He gave us the phone number for his son in America, 41:39 you know, and we call him, no answer of course. 41:41 We say, Well, I didn't expect him. 41:43 You know, nowadays. 41:44 You hear, you see a strange number. 41:45 You says, I'm not answering that. 41:47 Right. 41:48 So sometime later, 41:49 just as we were dropping him off. 41:51 I mean, the door was about to open. 41:53 And the phone rings. 41:55 And it's his son. 41:56 Oh, wow. 41:57 And they said yes. 41:59 I said, Yes. You called me a moment ago. 42:01 Oh, is this so and so? 42:02 Right. Yes. 42:03 Oh, the reason I was calling is because we met your father. 42:05 You met my father? Yes. 42:07 You know, and he was talking to him. 42:09 He goes, and he's right here. 42:12 What he's right there, you know, 42:13 and, we gave him the phone, 42:15 and it was just one of those things. 42:17 He said, the Lord did, the Lord did. 42:19 Divine appointment. 42:21 That's right. Yeah. 42:22 And we didn't even say come to church with us. 42:25 We wanted to share 42:27 what the Holy Spirit impresses us to do. 42:30 You see, sometimes the Lord impresses us 42:32 to do something we don't do it. 42:34 Sometimes the Lord impresses us 42:35 or He puts that thought in there. 42:37 And we're like, later, 42:39 you know, or we're just too busy. 42:41 Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. 42:42 You know, as we're talking about this, 42:44 what come to my mind is, 42:45 and I usually give this 42:47 when I'm giving an evangelistic training of some kind, 42:48 is that you can desire to be a witness, 42:51 but you're never going to be an effective witness, 42:53 if you don't have the power behind you 42:56 in order to be that witness. 42:57 So let's go to Acts Chapter 1 real quick, 42:59 I just want to read this, Acts Chapter 1. 43:02 And this, of course, 43:03 was actually really, technically, 43:06 the last words that 43:07 the disciples would have heard from Jesus, 43:09 before He ascended. 43:10 This is Acts Chapter 1. 43:12 So this is, a few days before the Pentecost, 43:15 they have Pentecost, 43:16 where they received 43:18 the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 43:19 But notice what Jesus says in Acts 1:8, 43:21 and this is crucial. 43:23 It says, "But you shall receive power, 43:25 when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. 43:28 And you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, 43:31 in all of Judea, and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." 43:34 This is crucial, 43:36 because in order for us to be a powerful witness, 43:39 we have to have the power to be a witness, 43:41 and what is that power? 43:42 It's the Holy Spirit. 43:44 And the reason why I bring that up. 43:46 As I'm looking through this list here, 43:47 I'm looking through this list of what's mentioned here 43:49 in the Ministry of Healing comment from page 143, 43:52 the Savior mingled with men, as one who desired the good. 43:56 You're not going to genuinely desire someone's good 43:59 if you don't have the compassion 44:01 of the Holy Spirit behind you. 44:03 Which leads me to the next point 44:04 because once He desired their good 44:06 and He mingled with them. 44:07 Notice what it says first that He did. 44:09 He showed His sympathy for them. 44:11 That's right. Yes. 44:13 If you do not have the power of the Holy Spirit 44:15 in your life working, 44:16 it's gonna be kind of hard for you 44:17 to muster up that sympathy. 44:19 I'm certainly not saying that, 44:20 you know, people can't be sympathetic, 44:22 you know, if they are not Christian 44:23 or they're not of the Christian faith. 44:25 That is possible, 44:26 but I'm talking about true genuine Christian sympathy, 44:29 Christ like sympathy. 44:31 You have to have the power of the Holy Spirit behind you. 44:33 And the text that also came to my mind 44:34 as I was thinking of this 44:36 was 1 Peter 3:8-9 44:38 talking about how Jesus showed sympathy for them, right? 44:42 And it led to many other great things. 44:44 But He showed sympathy for them. 44:45 Notice 1 Peter 3:8-9. 44:48 It says, 44:49 "Finally all of you be of one mind 44:52 having compassion for one another." 44:55 Love has brothers, okay? 44:59 "Be tenderhearted, be courteous, 45:02 not returning evil for evil, or reviling, for reviling. 45:06 But on the contrary, blessing, right, 45:09 knowing that you were called to this, 45:11 that you might inherit a blessing." 45:14 It's a blessing for us to witness. 45:16 But if we do it the right way, at some point in time, 45:19 as we're looking at our brethren 45:20 around us in the world, in our communities, 45:22 in our homes, 45:24 and wherever it is that we are 45:25 and God places an individual upon our heart to witness to. 45:28 We're going to sympathize for their needs, 45:31 and what it is that they need, 45:32 we're going to show that sympathy to them. 45:34 And to me that's an important part, 45:36 as we see here, 45:37 Christ showed sympathy for them. 45:38 If someone doesn't receive 45:41 or sense that we sympathize with their needs, 45:44 that we sympathize with what it is 45:45 they're going through in life, 45:47 then how in the world are we going to befriend them? 45:49 Oh, I got to say something on that, man, 45:50 'cause you hit the nail on the head, 45:52 that is so true. 45:53 We have to have a relationship with Jesus first, 45:55 before we can ever show sympathy. 45:57 And that is absolutely crucial 45:59 to be a powerful witness for the Lord, 46:01 to be a winsome witness for the Lord. 46:02 And in saying that I'm reminded of the story 46:05 of the Good Samaritan. 46:07 Luke Chapter 10, if you guys want to turn there. 46:08 Yeah. Let's go there. 46:10 Luke Chapter 10. Let's look at the story. 46:11 This is powerful, because in Luke 10:30, 46:14 you read about the story. 46:15 Let's just quickly read through this real fast. 46:18 It says, 46:19 "And Jesus answering and said, 46:20 A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, 46:22 and fell among thieves, 46:24 which stripped him of his raiment, 46:25 and wounded him, 46:27 and departed, leaving him half dead. 46:29 And by chance there came down a certain priest." 46:31 So who comes to him first? 46:33 Priest. 46:34 A priest, a preacher, right? 46:35 You know, a man, a man is supposed to be of God 46:39 came that way. 46:40 And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 46:43 It says, when he saw him. Right. 46:45 This priest saw him. Right. 46:46 And he's like, you know, whatever. 46:48 And he just keeps on walking by a preacher now. 46:51 And then notice what it goes on to say, 46:53 it says, likewise, also a Levite. 46:56 Now, this would be a church member, 46:58 this would be someone who's very close to the Lord, 47:00 who goes to church every Sabbath, 47:02 who goes to every prayer meeting, right? 47:05 The tribe of Levi was extremely important, 47:08 especially in the priesthood. 47:09 And then notice what it says here. 47:11 A Levite comes by, 47:12 and when he was at the place came and looked on him 47:15 and passed by on the other side. 47:17 Now you have two brothers here. 47:19 He didn't even want to stay on the same side. 47:20 I know. Yeah. 47:22 Yeah, you got two brothers here, 47:23 who you would expect would show sympathy. 47:26 Right. Right. 47:27 But he doesn't show sympathy. Right. 47:29 How many people in the world are there 47:32 who's out there struggling going through a trial? 47:34 I mean, they've been 47:35 you know, I mean, it seems like uppercutted by the devil. 47:38 They've been hit and almost knocked out by the devil 47:40 and they're laying there lifeless, 47:42 hoping that someone would come by 47:43 and show them sympathy. 47:44 And the church sometimes is failing in this issue. 47:49 That's true. 47:50 And then and then who comes by? 47:52 What's the story, the Good Samaritan, right? 47:54 The Samaritan, now Samaritans were not liked, 47:57 they were not a part 47:58 of the holy people of God so to speak. 48:01 They had already intermarried 48:02 with the Assyrians and in history 48:03 and so they were considered a lost lineage, 48:06 someone who was not significant. 48:08 The dogs. Yeah. 48:09 The dogs of society. 48:10 And this Samaritan comes by 48:12 and shows this man kindness and sympathy, 48:15 puts him on his horse, carries him to an end. 48:18 And then he, get this, he pays two pence. 48:20 Now you look that up. 48:21 That's two days wages. 48:24 I wanna you think about 48:25 all the money you make in one day. 48:26 You were to calculate whatever that may be 48:28 those of you online, 48:29 whatever money you make in one day. 48:30 I mean, that's probably a good deal of money, right? 48:32 Two days wages, this guy gave to them and said, 48:35 Take care of him. 48:36 But when I get back, 48:37 if there's any more that you've spent, 48:39 I'm going to cover that too. Incredible. 48:41 And it's like... For a stranger. 48:42 Yeah, for a stranger. He didn't even know. 48:44 This is, his brother was unconscious 48:45 when he arrived, right? 48:47 I mean, this is the kind of love 48:49 that we need to be showing people 48:51 but again, that love works. 48:54 You expect it from the preachers, 48:55 we expect it from the Levites, right, the church members. 48:58 But to oftentimes, 49:00 we need to realize that 49:02 it's also those that anyone can show that love 49:05 if you spend that time with the Lord. 49:06 And it's not just the preachers that are called to do this. 49:09 It's not just the tribe of Levi, 49:11 it's the Samaritan, 49:12 it's the people who are considered 49:13 the lowliest of the low 49:15 can have that love to, can be transformed 49:16 and brought into the kingdom of God. 49:17 In fact, Jesus says here in this passage, 49:19 He goes, which one is his neighbor? 49:21 Because that's what they're asking me in a context 49:23 of who is my neighbor. 49:24 He tells the story, 49:26 and He says, which one helped them? 49:27 He's like the Samaritan, He goes, that his neighbor. 49:29 That's right. 49:30 Right? That's right. 49:31 So that that's what we need to take something on, 49:33 that's huge. 49:34 You know, you took me back to a few years back, 49:36 you know, praise the Lord for opportunities 49:38 and for growth and maturity and all, 49:40 but I did something well, 49:43 confession is good for the soul 49:44 and hard on the reputation, right? 49:46 But there was, you know, the beggars in the street. 49:52 And I was in Puerto Rico at that time 49:55 and, and the girl looked strong fit 49:59 and very qualified to be doing good, 50:02 you know, but there she was begging for help, 50:08 you know, for money. 50:09 I don't know if she was a drug addict or what? 50:12 But I got so frustrated. 50:15 You know, I'm like, 50:17 girl, you've got so much going for you. 50:20 Why don't you pick up your stuff and knock it out? 50:23 You know, knock it off. Just, you know, you can? 50:26 And, but I'll help you in whatever. 50:28 What is it that you need? 50:30 She says, I don't know. 50:32 But I don't sense any love in your voice. 50:35 Oh. 50:37 And she was right. Wow. 50:39 She was right. I'm like, ooh... 50:40 Had an eye opening moment, right. 50:42 Slap me again, girl. 50:43 Go ahead, give me that holy slap 50:45 that we need to be shaken. 50:47 It's like hello, get with it. 50:49 I needed to get that, not here. 50:51 Because I knew better. Right? 50:53 So it's embarrassing. 50:55 But you know, talking about all these stories 50:57 just, it's been years since that happened. 51:00 And then a gentleman approached. 51:03 And he was like, 51:05 "Hey, baby girl. 51:06 Would you like something to eat and all this cuteness 51:10 and sweetness and compassion. 51:12 I'm like, she needs just to get her act together, 51:15 you know? 51:16 But she did. He did the right thing. 51:18 We cannot pass judgments. 51:20 Those people in the corners begging for a coin. 51:23 You know, it's not my responsibility 51:25 what they use that money for? 51:26 That's right. 51:28 My responsibility is to have that compassion 51:30 and be there for them. 51:31 Amen. Amen. 51:33 That's so true. Powerful. 51:34 I want to read here from Mark Chapter 1, 51:35 if you don't mind here. 51:37 Oh, yeah. 51:38 In Mark Chapter 1, we have... 51:40 Jesus spent the previous day healing the sick, 51:43 driving out devil's clean, healing people from diseases. 51:47 And verse 35, Matthew, Mark 1:35, he says, 51:50 "And in the morning, 51:52 rising up a great while before they, 51:55 he went out 51:56 and departed into a solitary place 51:59 and there prayed." 52:01 And so we were talking about, 52:02 you know, that we need to communicate with the Lord. 52:08 And we have mentioned that a few times here. 52:10 Before we go out to commune with people 52:13 to mingle with people as Christ did, 52:15 we need to mingle with the Lord, 52:17 commune with the Lord. 52:18 So that we get in tune with heaven's way 52:22 of reaching people. 52:23 Amen. 52:25 Because there are many people out there to be reached. 52:26 Absolutely. 52:28 And I mean, soon as, 52:29 you know, there's ministry to be done 52:31 inside your home. 52:32 And once you step outside of your house. 52:34 That's right. 52:35 I mean, you literally can spend your life 52:38 mending broken people that's what it says. 52:39 Amen. 52:41 And so but in order for us to do that, 52:42 we need to, we need to be strengthened 52:45 by the Lord each and every day, 52:47 because we don't know who we're going to run into 52:48 in one of those moments, 52:50 you know, that an opportunity arises, 52:52 we want to react the right way, 52:54 and say the right thing, because... 52:57 Even when it's your spouse. 52:58 Even when it's, you know, I had a ministry, 53:01 if you want to call it that, 53:02 because I used to take these monthly trips to Chicago. 53:05 And eventually to, you know, 53:07 I know, she already knows what I'm going to say. 53:10 And that was for some reason, 53:12 you know, people walking down the highway, 53:14 I mean, talking about the highway, 53:16 people were going 65 miles an hour 53:17 before but now it's 70. 53:19 And so, and sometimes, 53:21 you know, it was dark out there. 53:22 And I had done this many times, 53:24 you know, and say, Lord, 53:25 give me some way to speak to this person. 53:27 Right. 53:29 And incredible stories, 53:31 incredible stories will surface 53:33 eventually she told me to stop doing that, 53:34 you don't know you're gonna run into. 53:36 But anyway, I remember one time, 53:38 there was this co-worker, 53:40 I'm going to call him a co-worker. 53:41 Okay. 53:43 Thank you, Idalia. 53:44 Anyway, we were driving, we're both coming home. 53:47 He was, you know, driving with me. 53:50 And it was dark. 53:52 And he goes, John, what are you doing? 53:54 Because I was stopping. 53:56 I said, there was a guy out there 53:57 walking in the dark. 53:58 And he goes, "And you gonna stop." 54:02 And I say, "Yes." Yeah. 54:03 I said, "Well, there are two of us, 54:04 you know, he's only one." 54:06 Right. 54:07 But I'd said that to encourage him now 54:09 because don't be afraid, the God is with us. 54:12 He said, "Don't worry, God is with us." 54:13 And he said, 54:14 "We're gonna minister this person. 54:16 I don't know, John, I don't know." 54:17 He says, you know, just let see what happens. 54:19 So anyway, the guy went in the car 54:20 and we're driving down the road, 54:22 and I'm praying, Lord, give us a way 54:24 to talk to this person. 54:25 And this guy, he begins to talk to him. 54:28 And he's, I mean, he sparks a conversation. 54:31 And soon he says, "Do you know the Lord?" 54:33 He started to talk to the guy 54:35 and he begins to minister to the person. 54:38 Wow. And I say, wow. 54:39 Amen. 54:40 And after all was over, he goes, 54:42 I was really hesitant about that. 54:44 But it was a real blessing the person was blessed. 54:47 That's what we pray for him. 54:49 He was on a journey to California. 54:51 I mean, I mean, he wasn't, he had a long trip. 54:53 We just took him part of the way. 54:55 But you see, opportunities are there, 54:56 you ask the Lord, 54:58 Lord, what would you have me to do? 54:59 Use me today to be a blessing to someone 55:01 and you will find yourself doing many things. 55:04 Amen. Amen. 55:05 Praise the Lord. 55:06 You need a few hours for this topic. 55:08 I know, right. 55:09 Just a little bit more time, right? 55:11 You know, it's powerful, because, you know, 55:13 I'm gonna read this text here. 55:14 This is, this comes from Luke 9:23, 55:17 this is Jesus speaking, talking about following, right, 55:19 following Him. 55:21 And this is what He says in Luke 9:23. 55:22 He says to them all, 55:24 "If anyone desires to come after Me, 55:25 let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, 55:28 and then follow Me." 55:30 Right? Yes. 55:31 Now we read that, 55:33 that's a very, that's a strong spiritual message there. 55:34 And so deny yourself, take up your cross daily. 55:38 I would never meet someone on the street and be like, 55:40 "Hey, you know, don't you know that Jesus said that 55:42 you got to deny yourself and take up your cross daily 55:45 and then follow Him?" 55:47 You know, there's a process that needs to be met 55:49 before we asked someone to follow Jesus 55:52 just as this powerful message here says that 55:55 we read earlier from Ministry of Healing. 55:57 It says that, let me go back and find it here. 56:00 It says here that he ministered to their needs, 56:02 He won their confidence. 56:04 Then He bade them to follow Him. 56:06 So all that we've been discussion 56:07 and we're now in the last minute 56:09 and a half of this program. 56:11 You're right, we do need two extra hours for this. 56:14 But what all that we've been discussing here 56:16 talking about Christ mingling with men, 56:18 as one who desired their good, 56:20 that He showed them sympathy, right? 56:23 He met their needs, these are all of these things, 56:26 He won their confidence. 56:27 How did Jesus win their confidence? 56:31 He became a friend to those. That's right. 56:33 We're talking about friendship evangelism. 56:36 And I know so many people out there that are just like, 56:38 "Oh, I gotta go out here and sow the seed," right? 56:40 You don't go out to a place 56:41 where you're going to plant a garden, 56:43 and just throw seeds on the ground 56:44 as we said earlier. 56:46 You got to prepare the soil, 56:47 you got to prepare to receive that seed. 56:49 And so, what we're talking 56:51 what we've been talking about today, 56:52 as time has flown by, 56:54 is we're talking about the true 56:55 and only correct method of witnessing, 56:58 Christ method alone. 56:59 We've got to learn, my friends, 57:01 to adopt Christ's method alone. 57:02 Study that, pray about it. 57:04 Ask the Lord to show you. 57:06 Lord, put within me, 57:07 create in me a clean heart 57:09 that I can be the best witness for you, Jesus, 57:11 that I can be, 57:12 that I can mix and mingle with men, 57:14 desire their good, show them sympathy, 57:17 meet their needs 57:18 and witness to them as you would. 57:20 That's what it's all about becoming a friend, 57:22 as Jesus is our friend. 57:24 My friends, we've run out of time. 57:25 Thank you so much for joining us. 57:26 Thank you, guys, for joining us today. 57:28 And we will see you again, 57:30 I'm sure down the road right here 57:32 on 3ABN Family Worship. 57:34 God bless. |
Revised 2021-03-29