"Next Steps"
Luke 19:1-10
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Series on Bill Hybels' book: Just Walk Across the Room

Introduction: I have been preaching these last couple of weeks about being open to the opportunities that God has for us to talk about Jesus to others. Just this last week I had a couple of interesting opportunities. Both of these opportunities came from my sending out my newest blog called “A parable re-told.” The first opportunity came through my blog post online. A man named John came across my blog, told me he liked it, and asked if I would go to his website to look over what he was trying to do for the Lord and give him my opinion; my guidance. The second was a high school girl who must have come across my blog via Facebook. She sent me a nice e-mail, let me read it for you: “I am seventeen about to turn eighteen. I stumbled upon your blog while on the internet, and I was wondering if you could help me. I want to be closer to God especially before I go off to college, but I feel like I don't know how to be closer to him. It's like I'm afraid or something. I know I do not know you, but I don't know who to go to at this point. Thank You for your time.”

The exciting thing about being available to God is that you don’t know how or where God is going to use you. It is about being ready to go out and tell others about Jesus and fulfilling the great commandment in Matthew 28 to ‘go and make disciples.’

I. Discern appropriate next steps-

a. The first steps- Highlighting what we’ve talked about the last

couple of weeks is how we need to take the first steps. We have to walk across the room, introduce ourselves, and start to get to know the person. Or we have to be open to conversing with someone we don’t know if they start a conversation. The first step is the hardest, because you have to break the ice and get things going.

The truth is, if you have a willing heart, and trust the Lord, then it will get started, and you will be able to build a relationship. Remember, your initial goal is just to get to know the person, and take the conversation as far as they are willing to go with it. Be sensitive to their needs and comfort zone, and let them tell their story.

b. Initial interactions- Let’s say you are in your child’s classroom

and you hear the teacher tell another parent that she isn’t going to get to go see her family for Christmas. That could be an opportunity for you to have an initial interaction, and maybe invite her to the Christmas Eve service. OR, you’re in a restaurant and you overhear a man talk about the loss of his father. Will you take a risk and create an initial reaction by telling the man you will be praying for him in his loss?

In our day-to-day life, there are countless opportunities where forks in the road like these show up. Situations where we have to declare to ourselves and to God that we will take the next step and seek to impact the life of another. It isn’t about having all the knowledge and charisma, it is simply about being willing to be used by God in everyday ways.

It is not uncommon for you to meet someone, and introduce yourself to them, and then have them share something about their life. For example, a new neighbor moves in, you go and introduce yourself to them, and then they start to share how everything is busy, they are struggling to get connected with the right things (hair stylist, grocery store, dentist, doctor, etc…). You could easily wish them well and be on your way, OR, you could realize that this is an open door for at least a dozen ways that you could become a sphere of influence for them.

It isn’t that hard to suggest a dentist, a doctor, to tell them about the various grocery stores and what you know about them. And in the process you might even mention the church that you go to. It’s not about having a bag of tricks that you can pull out and evangelize them. It is about realizing that God puts opportunities in your life all the time to be there for other people; being a friend, being an encourager, being a listener.

c. Being a resource provider- As I said before, the key is to have a

willing spirit, an open heart, and a mind-set that says, ‘If there is any resource I can provide that will ease their burden and solidify their trust in God, then I will be open to providing it for them.’ If you perceive yourself as a resource provider, then you tend to relax in the fact that it isn’t up to you to do all the work. You realize that the person is walking on a journey, and you have an opportunity to give them some things that help them in this journey.

What kinds of resources might you pass on to them? A Christian music CD that has positive lyrics. A good book that you read that helped you in your faith journey. If you don’t know of any books, you can ask me. I regularly preach on books that I think will benefit you in your faith journey, just like how we are now doing a series on Bill Hybels book “Just Walk Across the Room.” You might tell them about my Daily Bible Reading, which might be a simple way to get God’s word into their lives on a daily basis.

And if your offer goes unaccepted, don’t take offense at it. What it does for you it helps them to see that you are willing to help them in their journey. There may come a time when they do need something, and they think of you because they know you are willing to help them. Or they come to you for some advice because they feel like you care and are a trustworthy friend.

Because you are ready for this, you can now spring into action. You can reap the fruit of being a faithful, patient, and caring friend. At this point you get to serve as a conduit to point them to what will benefit them the most. Again, don’t think that you have to have counselor training and theological background. Because they now trust you, you can help lead them to the right person, book, or organization that can help them in their time of need.

d. Just show up- Think about Jesus for a moment, even though He

was God in the flesh, and possessed all power and knowledge, what made His ministry with the disciples so powerful was the fact that He was ‘with’ them. Jesus invited the disciples into His world, but He also got into theirs. I believe that as powerful as seeing Jesus do miracles, it was just as powerful to just ‘be’ with Jesus and have Him be with them in the mundane of life.

We can easily mirror this concept. It is not difficult for us to ‘be’ with people in the mundane of life. This is really how God wants His believers to interact with each other; to do life together. You have to be with people if you want to be a resource provider for them, because they won’t think to come to you otherwise. Once they know that you’re in it with them for the long haul, then they will allow themselves to listen to your suggestions of resources that could benefit them.

Now you might be thinking to yourself: ‘I just don’t seem to have opportunities in my life like you’ve been describing.’ If you think this is true, let me challenge you for a moment. Over the next week, focus on the group of people whom you already have a relationship with; your friends, and family, and neighbors that are already a part of your life. I bet that if you think hard enough, you can come up with several people in your world that would like a deeper life of community.

There are so many people who want more community in their life, but don’t know how to get it or where to go to get it. As you walk with these people, and open yourself up to listening to what they are saying, you will find that you will have opportunity to bring community life to them.

STORY: There is a story of a man named Dave who wanted to see community experiences happen in his circle of friends. He got a creative idea, and challenged one of his neighbors with this challenge: “I bet I can put together a better kickball team than you.” His neighbor took him up on this challenge. Not long after this challenge they had a picnic and then a kickball game. Dave says that over the next year they met every other Sunday night to play kickball. They made up their own rules to keep it fun. From there some of them started to get together for New Year’s Eve, the Super Bowl, and even took spring break trips together. In time, Dave invited them to church, and many of them went!!

Dave did a great job of being creative in thinking of how he could ‘just show up’ for the people around him.

II. Your own before and after- (John 9:1-41; Luke 19:1-10)

a. The power of a good story- If I were to say the phrase, ‘Once upon

a time,’ you would immediately think of a fairy tale story, because that’s how it often starts out. Once upon a time there was a princess who was locked in a tower by her wicked step-mother…The story goes along, and a prince comes to find the princess in the tower. He frees her, they fall in love, and they get married. And then the story ends…and they lived HAPPILY EVER AFTER.

Why is it that we like fairy tales? Because we are dreamers, and we like to dream of better days. Because we know our own lives are so far from being a fairy tale story. Because we want to believe that better days are to be had. This world does not bring to us a fairy tale story.

We all have a story to tell. And the great news is that our story fits into God’s greater story—which is the greatest story ever told. When people grasp the magnificence of this truth, the truth of the gospel, and the implications it has for the meaning of their story, hope is found!

We begin to think that I can be found like the lost son…I can be cared for by a Good Shepherd…My deepest needs, like the widows, can be met…I can receive abundant life just by exhibiting the smallest amount of faith.

MY STORY: Once upon a time, a boy named Chris was born. This was a wonderful birth, because only months before his mother had miscarried. If not for the miscarriage, Chris would never have been born. Chris was born to two parents who loved him greatly. They were very attentive to him and very supportive of what he did. His father coached his baseball teams, and his mom was the scorekeeper. They provided for his needs, and helped him with his schoolwork. They taught him how to be responsible and how to work hard. They took him to church for a while, but then the whole family stopped going.

One day Chris came across some Bible passages and read them with great interest. Then he came across a question: Do you want to give your life to Jesus? Yes, he said to himself. He knelt down on the floor right in his room and asked Jesus to be his Savior and Lord!

So far it sounds good. Good family. Good parents. Good home life. Attentive and helpful parents. An establishing of a Christian faith. A fairy tale story, right?

b. Good stories gone bad- The story continues…Satan was not happy

that Chris had accepted Christ, and so he brought some bad influences into Chris’ life. Chris followed these bad influences that led him away from following Christ, and going to church. Chris began to make bad choices that got him into trouble and kept him from doing the good and right things God would have for him. One day Chris got fired from his job, which was causing him to have to work on Thursdays and Sundays (church days). Soon after Chris got a call from a friend inviting him to church. Chris said ‘yes’ and at church the Lord convicted Chris of his wrongdoing and his sin, and he renewed his commitment to the Lord…

I have heard the stories of many people. As a minister I have many opportunities to talk to people about their story; about their faith journey. All too often the truth is that people will have a good story to start with, but then it turns bad. How often people have told me about their making bad choices and getting involved in drugs, or alcohol, or theft, or gambling. Their life, which was relatively good, takes a turn for the worst.

The good news is that because Christ is still a part of their life, although He has been pushed aside, He is still there to work a miracle. By the power of God’s Spirit the person is convicted of their sin, and they find their way back to the Lord and to church.

The problem is, that many times when people try and tell their stories to others, they get caught up in the non-essentials. When telling their stories, people often focus on themselves more than they focus on Christ. People tend to talk all too much about what they did, and forget to talk about what Christ has done for them. We should use our stories ONLY as a stepping-stone to be able to talk about what Christ has done to save us, and how what Christ has done is available to all!

When telling your story avoid some these things: #1, being long winded. Don’t talk too long about your story. Make it no longer than 3 minutes. #2, avoid fuzziness. Make sure you stick to the high points of where you went astray, how Christ found you, and how you gave yourself over to Christ. #3, religionese. What I mean by this is to use too many churchy words like ‘salvation,’ ‘born again,’ or ‘accepting Jesus.’ #4, superiority. Do not act like you are superior to them because you are a Christ-follower, and they are not.

c. A familiar pattern- So let me finish with a couple biblical stories

that show us this before-and-after pattern. The promise of the gospel’s transforming power is that when you come to Christ, your old self is evicted and a new self arrives. When you tell your story the critical point is how you made this transition because of Christ.

In the gospel of John, chapter 9, Jesus is seen traveling along. Jesus is approached by a man who is said to have been born blind. Wanting to display God’s power, Jesus decides to heal the man. So he bends over, spits on the dirt to make some mud, puts the mud on the blind man’s eyes and says: “Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam.” Miraculously, the man went and washed, and he came home seeing.

Imagine how amazed this man’s friends and family members were. Even his neighbors would be amazed that he could now see. The man they knew to be blind was blind no more. When they asked him how it happened, he said: “I was blind, and now I can see, and it was Jesus who did it.”

Consider also the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19. The Bible tells us that Zacchaeus was a wealthy tax collector living for money. But Zacchaeus meets Jesus one day, has a meal with him, and his life is forever changed! In fact, Zacchaeus tells Jesus that he is going to pay back every dollar he stole. If you were to ask Zacchaeus to tell you what happened, he might say something like this: “I’ll tell you what happened—it was unbelievable! I fell into a pattern where my whole life was wrapped up in money. The grip of greed was so strong that I couldn’t break free of it. It distorted my every relationship. And you know what? Jesus set me free from the tyranny of greed. He taught me how to really care, especially for the poor. Jesus got me pointed in the right direction”

Conclusion: Think about your own journey. What is the single key concept reflected in your life that others could connect to? As you think about your before-and-after story, try and script a concise description of how you were before Christ, what Christ did for you to change you, and how you are now that Christ has become your Savior and Lord.

For example, a few years ago I did a sermon series on the book Halftime, by Bob Buford. In a nutshell, when telling his story, Buford will say: “I was nothing more than a bored rich guy. And then I met Christ. He has moved me from mere success to significance. In my relationship with Christ, I am finally discovering a purpose for my life.”

Don’t underestimate the power of your story. Your story is powerful because it is real, and it is true. Your story is powerful because it is about who Christ is and what Christ has done for you. If you focus on that, then you will affect people’s lives with your story.

SO, as we conclude our three-week series on “Just Walk Across the Room,” let us remember that God wants us to be open to building relationships with people, and He wants us to be resources to people, and He wants us to be able to share our story with people. In this way, God will use our lives to make a difference in the lives of others for the glory of God. Amen.