"Friendships and Stories"
Mark 1:14-20
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Series on Bill Hybels' book: Just Walk Across the Room

Introduction: A few weeks ago we had our first church retreat since I have been here. Now I have been on many retreats myself, and have been blessed by them, and so I wanted us as a church to have a retreat experience to receive the kind of blessings God brings to churches when they take time to be together in Him. I was so pleased by this retreat, because it was an opportunity to reflect on who we are as a church, and where God wants to lead us. It has been said that ‘you shouldn’t try to do a lot of things, but rather a few things well.’ This retreat was an opportunity to reflect on what God wants us to do well.

Out of that retreat we came up with 4 goals, which I have mentioned a number of times since the retreat, but let me voice them again: 1) The importance of getting people involved in the life of the church (serving as a greeter, or a worship assistant, or helping with Binky’s, or being a Deacon or Elder…). 2) Developing deeper relationships with people. People want to have deeper relationships in their life, and the church is a great place for this to happen. 3) Intergenerational ministry. The church is one of the only places where kids, youth, and adults interact with each other. 4) Deepening our spiritual growth.

As we continue to talk about reaching out to people for the Lord, we need to understand that ALL people desire these 4 things in their life. We can reach out to people and help them experience this in Christ!

I. Developing Friendships- (Acts 1:8; Luke 8:4-15)

a. Being able to see it– The truth is, that we all know people who

either haven’t accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, or who aren’t walking with God in their lives. The other truth is, most people are not taking the time to talk to these people about Jesus: either because they don’t feel like they have the adequate knowledge to do it, or they don’t think that the people want to have a discussion on this subject. It’s not that people disagree with the need for people to be pointed toward God. They just struggle with how to get it done.

Over the years there have been so many ‘evangelism’ fads and programs that have emerged. We ourselves have done many of them: the Alpha program and 40 Days of Purpose, are a couple that we have done. A program really is only beneficial when you live out your faith, and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. And really, if you have those two things, you don’t need any program.

Effective evangelism, or to say it in laymen’s terms, effective reaching out for the Lord will only really be sustained and beneficial if a church and its people are in tune to the promptings of the Holy Spirit! Jesus Himself made this promise in Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you…” When the Holy Spirit comes on us, He gives us a mission, and that mission is to be witnesses. Talking to people about Jesus isn’t about knowledge, or having a practiced delivery, or being able to answer all their questions. It is about living your life in the power of Christ, and then letting God do the saving work.

Being aware of the promptings of the Holy Spirit means that we are ever aware of what is going on around us. As I said last week, you will be at work, or at a party, or on an airplane, and the Holy Spirit will say to you, ‘Go and talk with that person.’ OR You will be in the midst of a conversation, and the Holy Spirit will open your eyes to the struggles or pain that person is going through. And then God will give you wisdom to converse with them about their pain, and help them see that they don’t have to be alone in their struggle, but God can be there with them!

What we have to understand is that when we talk to people, all we need to do is to explain who Jesus is (He is God in the flesh and the savior of the world), and explain that Jesus wants us to be in a relationship with Him. Jesus wants us to follow the path God created for them. Jesus wants to give them forgiveness from their sins, freedom from future sin, and an understanding of what life is about.

You are not required to force a decision on their part. But I think God does want us to be motivated in talking to people about Christ. God does want us to care enough to share the good news with others. God does want us to be witnesses and share what we do know and what we have experienced.

b. Sowing seeds- Do you remember the parable of the seeds that

Jesus told? The story was told with the intention of explaining the ways the good news of the Kingdom will be received. Let me highlight it for you: one day a farmer goes out to scatter seed along the ground. Some of the seed fell on the road, and the birds ate it. Some of the seed fell on the gravel; it sprouted quickly but couldn’t put down deep roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. And some fell onto wild grass, but as it came up, it was smothered by the weeds that grew with it.

But the story didn’t end there. Jesus tells us that some of the seed fell on good ground and produced a harvest beyond the farmer’s wildest dreams. We have to understand that some of the seed that we sow will fall on deaf ears and hard hearts. But some of the seed will find its way to hearts and minds that are ready to hear!!

Have you ever wondered why Jesus told this story? I believe it was meant to give His followers encouragement. I believe that Jesus wanted us to understand that not everyone we talk to about Jesus will receive our words with enthusiasm. In fact, many will reject what we tell them. There will be a few, however, that will receive Jesus. But we won’t know who will receive these words and who won’t until after we share. And if even one person receives Jesus, then our efforts will be worth it!

Even Jesus Himself was rejected. We read in Mark 1 about how Jesus went out and called to people: ‘Follow Me.’ There were some who followed, and continued following. There were some who followed for a time, but then walked away. And there were some who didn’t follow at all. In fact, they were part of the group who shouted ‘crucify Him, crucify Him’ at his trial.

This was true of the disciples’ as well. They were following Jesus. They were sent by Jesus into a town to talk to people about Jesus. Many closed their doors on them. It wasn’t all rosy and perfect. Jesus wanted the disciples (and us) to understand that not everyone will receive the message they share. Jesus was telling them with this story to not give up, but to be ‘seed sowing fools.’ At times it might seem foolish to share Jesus with others, but that is only if we focus on those who think the things of this world are better than having a relationship with God. They actually are the foolish ones.

In reality, our sowing seeds should come out of developing relationships with people. We then sow the seeds of Jesus in the normal course of the relationship. We do it because it is part of the conversation; part of the relationship we have established with them.

In having said this, think for a moment about this question: “On a scale of 1-10, what is your desire to see others give their life to Jesus?” If it’s a 9 or a 10 then you are in the right place. If it is much lower than that then you might need to ask God to give you that compelling desire to talk about Jesus.

II. Discovering Stories-

a. All people have stories- One of the ministries that we do that I

really love is our work with the WomenShelter of Long Beach. I got connected a number of years ago when I was calling around to find opportunities in which our church could help serve. For a while there, one Monday night a month, we were going out to different places to help. We went to His Nesting Place, and the Rescue Mission. I was surprised though that a number of places I tried to contact never took me up on my request to help. But a person from the Women’s Shelter did call me back. In fact she drove out to the church to tell me about different opportunities. Since then we have hosted a number of events for them.

Just this last August we threw a beach party for some of the moms and children in the Women’s Shelter program. At the beach party I met a woman named Veronica. Veronica has 4 kids, and of course is a single mom because of her getting out of an abusive marriage. As I was going around and saying hi to the different families I came to Veronica and her family. I talked with her for a little bit and then the Holy Spirit put it on my heart to ask: “How are you doing?”

That question was all it took to get her to open up and share a little bit of what was going on in her life. I didn’t have a lot of time to focus just on her, so I listened as much as I could, and then asked her if she had an e-mail address and if she wanted to receive my Daily Bible Reading. She said “yes” to both. Since then I have had a number of e-mail exchanges with her, a couple of phone calls, and she even came in for counseling one time.

All it took was a well-timed question (prompted by the Holy Spirit), a caring heart, and a willing ear to get this conversation going. Veronica opened up the door for me to bring Jesus into the conversation. God helped me to see where I could help lead her to the Lord more fully.

There are so many people like Veronica, who need someone to listen to their story. There are so many people who need to know that God cares. There are so many people/ who need someone to point them to Jesus/ and tell them, or remind them that they are not alone in their struggle. If we allow ourselves to hear people’s stories, then we will find an abundance of opportunity to ‘walk across the room’ and make a difference in their life!

b. Proximity points- Let me tell you about a concept called ‘The

Potential of Close Proximity.’ This comes from the book Becoming a Contagious Christian, by Bill Hybels and Mark Mittelberg. The point of the potential of close proximity is that, even the most mature Christians will be totally ineffective in evangelism if they do not get near people who are living far from God.

If you want to share Jesus with people (and I hope that after last week’s sermon you do all the more), then you need to be near people who are living far away from God. It’s a pretty simple concept. The problem is that the longer someone is a Christian, the fewer non-Christian relationships they tend to have. You can’t save the already saved. You need to find those who aren’t saved.

Likewise, there are some who are saved, but who have either fallen away from God, or are struggling in their faith. Leah, the lady I talked about last week who I met on the plane, and Veronica, are two examples of people who were struggling in their faith. It is important for us to reach out and care for people in this category as well.

But I need to build relationships with non-believers if I hope to reach people for Jesus. This concept of proximity point is just as important for me as it is for you, because as a pastor I don’t always have the opportunity to build relationships with non-believers.

If you are in the work place, or in the PTA or groups like this, then you are around people who need Jesus. You have close proximity to people who inevitably are lost in their lives. As you talk with people, you will discover that they have many struggles, hurts, and frustrations about their life that they just don’t know what to do with.

So it is about developing relationships with the people right around you. As you build this relationship with them, take the time to learn about their story. Some people learn about others quite quickly. I can spend ten minutes with a person, and often times learn about their joys and hurts. But others will take some time to develop the trust it takes for people to open up and share their stories. There shouldn’t been a timetable to the relationship, because then people just feel used. It isn’t about having “success,” it is about truly believing that their life will be better off when they have Jesus in their life.

I was talking with a friend the other day, and she was telling me about her son and his wife (and they have a young boy as well). Their marriage has been struggling for a while now. They hadn’t gone to church in some time. There was a situation that arose during one of their fights that led them to realize they needed help. My friend encouraged them to go back to church. They have, and now they are growing closer to God and to each other!!

c. Take the risk- As Christ’s followers we are accountable to be

regularly moving in circles with people who are far from God. We are called to uncover their stories with compassion and grace, and then to naturally, over time, make ourselves available to them as God gives us opportunity. We are called to care about those who are lost and wayward. We need to offer the hope that God can give to people who need this hope. Just as you came to Christ once, you have the opportunity to give someone else this experience.

I know that I’ve talked with people who were very negative toward God. Often times they are negative because they have had a bad experience with the church. Maybe they have felt judged or told that they would go to hell for the way they lived their life. They have only heard words like ‘judgment’ and ‘hell.’ Maybe we should offer them new words: grace and power. Maybe we can help them understand that God is a God of grace and power, and wants to bring His grace and power into their lives!

It actually is quite exciting to live your life with the goal to share Jesus with others. You will find that when you are seeking to be available for God in this way, when you are willing to take this risk, you will depend on God so much more. You will be praying more, and asking for God’s Spirit to guide you more! You will always be wondering when God will next use you in someone’s life.

If you have ever had an experience where you led someone to Christ, then you know what I am talking about. There isn’t anything more exciting, for you, or for that person, when they say “yes” to Jesus.

Conclusion: Think with me for a moment about your friends. Are your friends all Christians? Are the people you associate with committed in their relationship with God? Do they go to church and serve the Lord? It is important to take this inventory and understand how God can start using you even in the relationships you already have.

Now let’s expand a little more…Maybe you can get to know your neighbors, the person who cuts your hair, the people in your bowling group or PTA. Who are the people you can start building new relationships with?

It is about being able to start a flame in the life of someone who is in darkness. It is about reminding people that they have been created in the image of God, and have been created to be in a relationship with that God. It is about giving people hope, and strength, and meaning to their life. LET’S MAKE A COMMITMENT TO MAKE OUR FRIENDSHIPS MEANINGFUL, AND ALLOW OUR FRIENDSHIPS TO HAVE ETERNAL IMPLICATIONS. Let us live for Jesus in this way. Amen.