Latest / Time with God with John North / Talking To People About God Pt. 4

Transcript

Talking To People About God Pt. 4 · Time with God with John North

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Good morning. All this week we're talking about starting conversations
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: about God with people in our lives. We've seen how
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: there's so many people around us who are really curious,
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: or even searching for God.
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: And want to have conversations about God with us. What
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: does it mean to know God? How do you start
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: a relationship with God? Who is Jesus? What is he
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: all about? And how can I start a relationship with Him?
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: These conversations are waiting to be had. People don't want
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: you to cram it down their throats, but they do
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: want to have meaningful conversations with you.
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: Well, as we come into today, we just want to
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: start with this idea.
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: It's not some big thing you prepare for and then
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: have these conversations. Rather, you just have them as you're
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: going about your everyday life.
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: We know the great commission right that Jesus gave to
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: us as our kind of guiding principle in life as
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: Christians on this earth. All authority in heaven and on
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: earth has been given to me, he said. Go therefore
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: and make disciples of all nations. That is, teach people
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: everywhere how to follow me.
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: And the original language this was written in and then
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: translated into English, really in the original language, go therefore
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: is more accurately translated. Therefore, as you go, make disciples
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: of all nations. As you go, help people become followers
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: of Jesus. Well, this is the great commission. This is
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: what Jesus left us as you go. So as you
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: go to work.
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: Help people become followers of Jesus as you walk through
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: your neighbourhood and meet your neighbours. Help people become followers
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: of Jesus. As you walk your dog and meet other
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: dog lovers. Help people become followers of Jesus. As you
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: stand on the sidelines of your kids' sports games, help
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: the other people standing on the sidelines become followers of Jesus,
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: not by pushing it, but by simply saying things that
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: invite a conversation to go deeper than the surface.
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: Uh, you know, um, my brother and his wife have
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: been missionaries in the Philippines for many, many years. And
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: they came and shared with our small group in our
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: church one time about what that was like. And my
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: brother said, well, I, I saw a group of
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: Filipinos riding past my house on bikes, all dressed up
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: in their lycra, heading out for a ride. And I thought, oh,
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: I love riding. And so he got his bike ready,
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: and he noted the time when they'd come by, and
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: the next week he was out there ready, and here
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: they came. So he just jumped in and started riding
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: with them. He said, is it OK if I ride
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: with you? And they said, for sure, come on. Well,
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: they would stop and, uh,
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: He started chatting with them on the stops, started building relationships,
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: going deeper than the surface, having God conversations with them,
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: and some of them were really searching for a relationship
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: with God. They put their faith in Jesus, they became
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: Christians with their lives changed by Jesus, and started meeting
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: with my brother. His wife meanwhile joined a craft group
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: that she was really interested in and started building relationships,
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: having conversations about God with people.
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: found people who were searching and led them to faith
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: in Jesus, and they started a church. Well, as they
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: shared about this with our small group, one of the
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: women in our small group said, well, I could do that.
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: Yes, that's right, you can do that as you go. See,
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: it's not.
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: Some big planned event. No, it's just you as you
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: go starting conversations that invites people to go deeper than
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: the surface with you, and only those people who are
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: ready for that will go deeper. And then you know, OK,
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: this is a person that wants to have a conversation
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: about God with me, and you just start sharing with
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: them your experience of God, what you know about God,
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: how to start a relationship with God.
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: This is what Paul did, right, when he was in Jerusalem,
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: he started talking to people about God. When he was
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: on board ship heading to a new place, he started
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: talking to the other people on ship. When he was
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: in prison for what he was doing, as he was there,
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: he started talking with other prisoners about God.
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: When he's chained up to guards, he would talk to
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: the guards about God. When he's in the market place
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: in Athens, he's talking to whoever happens to be in
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: the market place about God. Well, this is what your
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: life can be like too, as you go through life.
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: Just start conversations that invite people to go deeper than
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: the surface, and those who want to have deeper conversations
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: want to talk about God.
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: Then you start those conversations and deeper relationships with them.
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: I'm John North.
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: To go deeper in your faith, visit AFCI.com.au.