Latest / Finding God at Work / 1: A Guide on the Side

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1: A Guide on the Side · Finding God at Work

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(Transcribed by TurboScribe. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) Hi, I'm Chris.
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This is Finding God at Work.
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Just a reminder that Finding God at Work
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isn't just a podcast, it's also an online
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course.
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Check it out at findinggodatwork.org.
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Before we get started today, just a few
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housekeeping things.
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First an apology for those of you who
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actually listen to new episodes each week.
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You probably noticed that we didn't have an
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episode last week, and I forgot to mention
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in advance that we would be taking a
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one-week break between the series.
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We are starting a new series today, which
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I'll talk about in just a minute.
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But before we get to that, you may
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remember that at the beginning of each episode
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there's this little reminder, hey, Finding God at
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Work isn't just a podcast, it's also an
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online course.
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That course is now available for free.
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So for a while we were charging for
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it, but we realized we might get better
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traction if we made it available for free.
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And that's been true, more people have been
1:08
signing up now that it's free, which is
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great.
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So it is a two and a half
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hours worth of video content, but spread across
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50 micro-lessons.
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So it's a lot of the same kind
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of things we talk about here on the
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podcast related to how do we meet God
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in our workplace, what is God doing through
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our work, what does it mean for him
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to have a call on our lives, how
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do we share our faith in the workplace
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in a winsome and fruitful way, what's God's
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vision of the future of work.
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So if you're interested in maybe engaging with
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these ideas through a video course, you can
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go to findinggodatwork.org and sign up for
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the course for free.
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And it's self-paced, you can go through
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those 50 micro-lessons whenever you want, there's
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kind of six main chapters.
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So yeah, if you have any questions, we'd
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love to talk with you about any of
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that.
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On a similar note, if you are looking
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for a face-to-face opportunity, something new
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is coming up in 2027.
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So this is local, it's in the city
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of Aurora, and we're calling it Faith at
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Work Aurora, a new monthly gathering.
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So we're going to launch it on the
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second Tuesday of January, January 12th, at the
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Aurora Public Library.
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And the idea is, it's nothing too fancy,
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we're going to do four things.
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We're going to gather, eat, talk, and pray.
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So we're going to gather together face-to
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-face so that you have a chance to
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look at other human beings in the eyes
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and be in a real physical space with
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real food and get to know each other.
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And then we're going to talk about Faith
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at Work, but not just in the abstract,
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with a focus on loving the city of
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Aurora, Illinois.
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I live in Aurora, technically I'm in an
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unincorporated Aurora, but I'm just over the city
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line.
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And I worship in Aurora, Aurora's home base
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for Mission Central as a ministry.
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And so if you live in or near
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Aurora, and you're trying to think, how do
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I live this stuff out?
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Loving my neighbor through my work, sharing my
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faith in my relationships, right here.
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How do I live this stuff out in
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Aurora?
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That's what we're going to be talking about
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and praying about together at this monthly gathering.
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So we'll have a little bit of Faith
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at Work discipleship content.
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Sometimes I'll share, sometimes we'll watch a video,
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sometimes we'll have a guest speaker.
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But then we'll also have a chance to
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hear from leaders in the city of Aurora,
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leaders of businesses, leaders of nonprofits or ministries,
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and pastors of churches as well, sharing their
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heart for Aurora.
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And then each time we'll spend some time
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praying for God's kingdom to come and God's
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will to be done in Aurora, as it
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is in heaven.
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So if that's interesting to you, there'll be
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more information about that coming out through Mission
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Central's communication channels in the coming months.
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But just wanted to give a heads up
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about it because I'm excited about it and
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would love for some podcast listeners, if you're
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local, and it would make sense for you
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to come and be there.
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So 6.30pm, Aurora Public Library, the main
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downtown branch on Tuesday, January 12th will be
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the first of the monthly gatherings.
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And it's free.
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I think we'll make an option where people
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can chip in for the pizza dinner or
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what have you, but that'll be optional.
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So with that, we are starting a new
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series today, A Guide on the Side, how
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to have joyful spiritual conversations at work.
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So I don't know if you've ever gone
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birdwatching, if you have a friend who's a
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birder, I have a friend, Deacon Margie, she's
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in the church where I grew up, she
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was my children's pastor when I was a
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kid, and she and her family are really
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adept birders.
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So they're the kind of folks where they'll
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be looking through the binoculars and they'll see
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something and they'll say like, oh, that's a
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tanager or whatever, you know, like these obscure
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bird names that most people wouldn't know.
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And it's because they've kind of trained themselves
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to be attentive to where the birds are,
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that they know what time of year different
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birds come in, they know what birds to
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expect and what birds probably won't show up
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here in the Midwest.
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Katie and I are amateurs, right?
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We've never really gone birding, but we like
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to go on walks in a public park
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here in Aurora.
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And in the public park, there are often
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goldfinches.
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And so when we're walking, it's not unusual
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for Katie to stop and say, oh, look,
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oh, look, and I'll look and there's a
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goldfinch fluttering around in the trees, right?
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Or maybe sometimes I'm the first one to
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see it and I'll say, oh, look, look.
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And, you know, sometimes it flies away and
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the other person doesn't get a chance to
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see what you saw, but you're hoping that
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the bird stays still enough that the other
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person can see it, too.
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I think this is an image for evangelism.
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When we think about evangelism, proclaiming the good
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news of Jesus Christ, of his death and
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resurrection, of his kingdom, we often think about
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what we are saying, and that can put
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a lot of pressure on us.
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But I think that it's really important that
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we realize we, as evangelists, are not a
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sage on the stage.
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We are a guide on the side.
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We're coming up next to somebody else, some
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other human being like us, created in the
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image of God, filled with immense capacity for
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glory in relationship with God.
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And we're saying, look, look at that.
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Isn't that great?
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We're pointing to the reality of God in
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Jesus Christ and hoping that they can catch
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a glance.
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That's really important for a couple of reasons.
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One is it takes the pressure off of
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us, right?
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It's not about how perfect our words are,
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right?
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When I point out a goldfinch to Katie,
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sometimes all I say is, oh, look, I
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don't have some eloquent, amazing thing to say.
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It's just, oh, look, right?
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The point is, when somebody looks, what they
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see.
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The point is Jesus.
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The point is the glory of God made
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manifest in Jesus Christ.
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That's what matters.
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And so the pressure isn't on us and
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how amazing our words are.
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The point is, we're coming alongside and helping
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people catch a glimpse of the beauty of
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God that's really there in the face of
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Jesus Christ.
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So the pressure's off.
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That's one reason it's important.
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And the second reason it's important is that
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we shouldn't take ourselves too seriously.
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It's not just that the pressure's off.
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It's also that it's not really about us
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to begin with.
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We are not experts, right?
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My favorite teacher of the spiritual life outside
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of the Bible, you all know, is Dallas
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Willard, and he was once introduced as a
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spiritual formation expert, and he talked about what
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it was like to be introduced as a
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spiritual formation expert.
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And he said, I just wanted to disappear
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and fall through the floor, right?
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Because there are no spiritual formation experts.
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All of us are learners.
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All of us are students.
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Jesus is the only true teacher.
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Jesus is the only spiritual formation expert.
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Jesus is the only gospel expert.
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The rest of us are always beginning.
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We're always beginning anew.
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And so that means that we're in a
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good place to help other beginners.
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We're in a good place to help other
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people who like us are coming to see
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the goodness of Jesus.
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So in this series, we're going to talk
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about how to have joyful spiritual conversations, joyful
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spiritual conversations.
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And I use that word joy intentionally.
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Jesus talked about joy and Jesus lived joy.
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And so it's the joy of Jesus that
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we are able to tap into when we
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have spiritual conversations with others.
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And I want to go to the Bible
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first and look at an example of this
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joy.
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Now the word joy isn't used in this
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passage, but I think it's there as you
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kind of read between the lines and then
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just provide an outline of what we're going
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to cover in this series.
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So this is from John chapter one, right?
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Starting in verse 35, it's talking about John
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the Baptist.
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The next day, John was there again with
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two of his disciples.
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When he saw Jesus passing by, he said,
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look, the Lamb of God.
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When the two disciples heard him say this,
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they followed Jesus.
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Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked,
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what do you want?
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They said, rabbi, which means teacher, where are
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you staying?
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Come, he replied, and you will see.
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So they went and saw where he was
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staying and they spent that day with him.
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It was about four in the afternoon.
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Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the
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two who had heard what John had said
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and who had followed Jesus.
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The first thing Andrew did was to find
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his brother Simon and tell him, we have
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found the Messiah, that is the Christ, and
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he brought him to Jesus.
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Jesus looked at him and said, you are
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Simon, son of John, you will be called
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Cephas, which when translated is Peter.
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The next day, Jesus decided to leave for
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Galilee, finding Philip, he said to him, follow
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me, Philip, like Andrew and Peter was from
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the town of Bethsaida.
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Philip found Nathanael and told him, we have
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found the one Moses wrote about in the
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law and about whom the prophets also wrote,
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Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph, and
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the story goes on from there.
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Okay.
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Now the word joy isn't used, but, but
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do you have that sense of like the
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breathlessness of these early disciples?
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Right?
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The first thing Andrew did was to find
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his brother, Simon, and tell him we have
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found the Messiah.
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Is that not a joyful announcement?
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Similarly, right?
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Philip, after his encounter with Jesus, he goes
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and he finds Nathanael and tells him we
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have found the one that Moses wrote about
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in the law and about whom the prophets
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also wrote, Jesus of Nazareth.
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You can feel this sense of excitement of
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joy.
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It's like they've become contagious with good news
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already because of the goodness of Jesus.
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All they needed was, was one afternoon with
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him, right?
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Uh, the disciples of John who go over,
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including Andrew, right?
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They're spending an afternoon with Jesus starting around
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4 PM and that's enough to persuade them.
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Oh my goodness.
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He's the one, he's the one.
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You imagine what that afternoon was like for
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them, but you also see their response, right?
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Is their response to go and tell other
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people a bunch of things about Jesus?
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Well, well, eventually they'll do things like that,
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like in the book of acts, et cetera,
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but right now, what is their response, right?
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It's just to go and get people and
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to see if those people can, can get
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a glimpse of Jesus for themselves, right?
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The first thing Andrew did was to find
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his brother Simon, right?
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And he brought him to Jesus, bringing people
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to Jesus.
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Did Andrew have some sort of amazing, uh,
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insight into Peter's character to share?
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Not really.
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Did Jesus have some amazing insight into Peter's
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character to share?
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Yes.
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Jesus had this prophetic word that Simon would
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be Peter, that he would be the rock,
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right?
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And it would unfold over time what that
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meant.
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But all that Andrew did was say, Peter,
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you got to come to Jesus.
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That's what we're doing in evangelism.
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We are encountering Jesus for ourselves.
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We're encountering the good news for ourselves.
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We're encountering the presence of Jesus and in
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that there's joy.
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And as we kind of soak up the
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radiance of Jesus's presence, we're then looking for
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opportunities where somebody else might be willing to
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come and catch some of those rays of
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his goodness too.
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Might be willing to come and see what
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Jesus is like.
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We're just bringing people to Jesus.
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We are guides on the side, not sages
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on a stage.
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So, uh, one of the things that I
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want to say as we step into this
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series is that you can do it.
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Uh, if there's kind of one idea about
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evangelism that I want you to take away
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from this, it's that you can do it.
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You can be a fruitful evangelist.
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You can be someone who proclaims the good
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news about Jesus in winsome and beautiful ways
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to the people around you who are open
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to it.
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And, and again, that's not because you're going
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to be some sort of incredible expert.
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You don't have to be an expert to
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be a fruitful evangelist.
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You just have to believe that Jesus will
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be there.
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When you're a guide on the side, you
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will meet Jesus with your friends who are
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spiritually curious.
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Jesus will meet with you together and they'll
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discover him for themselves through that encounter.
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Uh, there's a book by an author.
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One of the two authors I actually personally
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know, Jerry Root and Stan Guthrie.
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Um, he was a professor at Wheaton.
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I actually never had any classes with him.
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I had a class with his wife, Claudia,
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about, um, teaching English to speakers of other
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languages.
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Um, but I did have a chance to
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meet him at various points and he's, uh,
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dedicated his life to the study and practice
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of evangelism.
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And I just really appreciated the way that,
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that Jerry and Stan Guthrie talk about this
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in terms of the presence of Christ and
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what we can expect.
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So they, they point to a different passage,
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Matthew 14, where Jesus walks on the water,
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as you may recall.
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Let me read from their book.
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This is the sacrament of evangelism.
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The sacramental presence of Christ is manifest in
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each act of obedience.
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That is because it is by his grace
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alone that we can obey in the first
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place.
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Thus, if we are obeying, we can be
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sure God is already working as Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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said, only he who believes is obedient and
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only he who is obedient believes.
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A case in point is Peter's brief walk
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on the water while Peter ultimately failed because
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he took his eyes off Jesus.
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We must not forget that he was the
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only one to get out of the boat.
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When the apostle saw Christ coming toward them,
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Peter cried out, Lord, if it's you tell
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me to come to you on the water,
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Jesus simply said, come.
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In the very act of putting our foot
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over the side of the boat, we sense
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that Christ is present, fear gives away to
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peace, then excitement as we see him use
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our feeble faltering gifts for his glory.
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In this kind of obedience, we lose nothing
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and gain everything.
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We can be confident that the Lord is
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at work, sustaining us and leading the way
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in every evangelistic encounter, no matter the hardships.
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So that's my prayer for you as we
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head into this series, that whatever your work
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situation is, whether you're working a full-time
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job, a part-time job, doing unpaid work
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at home, taking care of kids or other
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family members, maybe you're retired and you're working
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as a volunteer in various capacities.
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Whatever your work situation is, that you would
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see Jesus, that you would see where Jesus
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is already at work in the people around
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you, in your coworkers, in your family relationships,
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among your friends, and that you would hear
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Jesus saying to you, come, come to where
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I'm already walking on the water.
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Come step out in faith and you'll meet
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me here.
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And you and I will meet these people
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who are spiritually curious together.
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And when those people meet Jesus, Jesus is
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the one who will carry the day.
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Jesus is the one who is the good
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news who can transform their lives.
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Come Lord Jesus, come.
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We do ask that you would give us
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that faith, faith like Andrew to say, come
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and see, come and see this person that
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we found, a faith like Philip to say,
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we found the one that Moses talked about,
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faith like Peter to step out of the
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boat.
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I pray that you would give us attentive
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hearts and that we would attend to you
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and to the people around us and to
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your movement in our own souls as we
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consider how to share your good news as
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we go through this series, Jesus, do your
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work in us as we do our work
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with you.