How To Share Your Faith When You Feel Unqualified

Hey, we're Todd and Julie Mullins, Senior Pastors here at Christ Fellowship Church, and we're so glad that you're tuning in for service today. Yeah, Christ Fellowship is one church that meets in lots of different locations, including right here with you. Yeah, and our prayer for you today is that you would sense God's love for you. See, I don't personally know all that you're going through today and what you're up against, but God does. And He hears your prayers, and He knows your name, and He's right here for you today as you call out to Him. Yeah, thanks again for joining with us today. We love you, and we're praying for you. The one who gave it all so that we could experience life and life to the full. God is more in store than you have in mind, and I believe so much more that it's going to blow your mind. How awesome is the name of God? Come on, let's celebrate the great exchange. We were dead, but now we are alive. Come on, church. It was my children till I made it. Come on, thank God for that sin. I was breathing, but not alive. All my failures I tried to hide. It was my children till I made it. And He called your name. You called my name. And I ran out of that grave. Out of the darkness. It's You, You're going to take this. You called my name. And I ran out of that grave.

Out of the darkness. It's You, You're going to take this. Out of Your mercy I take my soul. Come on, let's sing of this freedom today. Now Your freedom is all that I know. The only new Jesus when I'm dead. Oh, You called my name. Oh, You called my name. I ran out of that grave. Out of the darkness. It's You, You're going to take this. You called my name. And I ran out of that grave. Hey! Out of the darkness, it's you You're going to take. Oh. And all you had to do was call the name of the Lord, amen? Come on, every voice with me today. I need You to rescue me. My sin was heavy, but chains break at the weight of Your glory. I needed shelter, I was an orphan, but You called me a citizen. Amen! When I was broken, You were my healing. Now Your love is the air that I'm breathing. I have a future, eyes are open. Cause when You called my name, I ran out of that grave. Out of the darkness, it's You You're going to take. You called my name, and I ran out of that grave. Out of the darkness, it's You You're going to take.

Oh. Oh, thank you, Lord. Come on in the marvelous light. Welcome home. Welcome home. Everyone joining us online and here at our Palm Beach Gardens location. How many are thankful for that? That scripture in Romans that said, call upon the name of the Lord and you will be saved. Amen? What a beautiful promise today. We have access just to the very name of God. Well, happy Sunday. And wherever you're joining us from today online, we want you to know that the Spirit of God is with you. A special welcome if you're new today or maybe even searching. Hey, I want you to know that promise is also true for you. Call on the name of the Lord and you will be saved. You don't even have to wait for pastor's call to altar call or anything like that today. The name of the Lord, it is a strong tower, and you have access it today. Amen, amen. Hey, and here's what I know as we worship and lean into God's word. I pray that we wouldn't just skirt past his presence today, but we would receive a fresh revelation in his presence as the church. Amen?

Come on, let me pray for us today. God, I thank you for this day. You've put purpose to it. And today we call on your name. Our confidence is in you. We worship you today in Jesus' name. Amen. Come on, our confidence is in his name today, man. Call on the name of the Lord. Call on his name. Oh, my son and chief. Let's sing together. Blessed assurance. Jesus is mine. He's been my foreman in the fire time after time. Amen. Born of his spirit, washed in his blood, and what he did for me on Calvary's morn. Yes, it is. I trust in God, my Savior, the one who will never fail. He will never fail. Perfect submission, all is at rest. I know the author of tomorrow has ordered my steps. Yes, he has. So this is my story. This is my soul. I'm praising my risen King and Savior all the day long. Oh, I trust in God, my Savior, the one who will never fail. ♪ Who will never fail ♪ ♪ He will never fail ♪

♪ Oh, I trust in God ♪ ♪ My Saviour, Lord of all ♪ ♪ Who will never fail ♪ ♪ He will never fail ♪ ♪ Oh, never fail ♪ Come on, you're thankful for that promise today. He is strong and mighty to save. Come on, let's sing. ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ That's why I trust Him, that's why I trust Him now ♪ ♪ My Savior, the one who will never fail ♪ People in heaven, people in heaven. ♪ I trust in God, my Savior, the one who will never fail ♪ ♪ Who will never fail, He will never fail ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ That's why I trust Him, that's why I trust Him Lord ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered ♪ ♪ That's why I trust Him, that's why I trust Him Lord ♪ I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered. Oh, there is an answer for death and there is an answer for doubt and there is an answer for a lack of hope.

There is an answer, amen. You just call on the name of the Lord. Even right now, would you call on His name? Call the name of Jesus. ♪ Call on the name of Jesus, call on the name of Jesus ♪ ♪ Call on the name of the Lord, call on your name ♪ Come on, wear your hat, join in us on the long line. Call on the name of the Lord. ♪ Every time I call your name, chains break, tribals wake ♪ ♪ Tribals wake, every time I call your name, the gates open ♪ Come on, that's my favorite right there. ♪ Every time I call your name, chains break, tribals wake ♪ ♪ Every time I call your name, every time I call your name ♪ ♪ The gates of hell shake, every time I call your name ♪ ♪ Chains break, tribals wake, every time I call your name ♪ ♪ The gates of hell shake, every time I call your name ♪ ♪ Oh, every time I call your name, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Every time I call your name, Jesus, oh, sing His name, Jesus ♪ ♪ Every time I call your name, Jesus, fill the room with the name, Jesus ♪ ♪ Fill the room with the name, Jesus, every time I call your name, Jesus ♪ ♪ Oh, there's an answer for death ♪ Jesus. There's an answer for doubt. His name is Jesus. There's an answer for bondage. His name is Jesus. There's an answer for everything else. Jesus. Just to sing his name. Jesus. How I love you dear. Jesus. All we need is Jesus. Thank you for the day. All we worship. Praise the Father. Praise the Son. Praise the Spirit. Three in one. God of glory, majesty. Oh, praise forever to the King of kings. To reveal the kingdom come. And to reconcile the lost. To redeem the whole creation.

You did not despise the cross. For even in your suffering. You saw to the other side. Knowing this was our salvation. Jesus for our sake you died. Yes, we thank you. Oh, we thank you. Praise the Father. Praise the Son. Praise the Spirit. Three in one. God of glory, majesty. Oh, praise forever to the King of kings. Come on, this was the promise. In the morning that you rose. All of heaven held its breath. Till thy stone was moved for good. For the Lamb had conquered death. And the dead rose from their shoes. And the angels stood in awe. For the souls of all who had come. Till the Father all restored. And the Church of Christ was born. And the Spirit did the playing. Now this gospel truth of old. Shall not kneel, shall not faint. If I am loved in His name. It is freedom I am free. For the love of Jesus Christ. Who has resurrected me. Praise the Father. Praise the Son. Praise the Spirit. Three in one. God of glory, majesty. Sing praise forever to the King of kings.

He is the King of kings. You have the power. The people before you. Be silent, the Lord. ♪ Of sin and grace ♪ ♪ The heavens are rolling ♪ ♪ The praise of your glory ♪ ♪ For you are raised, you are loved ♪ ♪ You have no rival, you have no rival ♪ ♪ And you have no equal ♪ ♪ And now and forever, God, you reign ♪ ♪ Yours is the kingdom, yours is the glory ♪ ♪ Yours is the name above all names ♪ ♪ What a powerful name it is, what a powerful name it is ♪ ♪ What a powerful name it is, the name of Jesus Christ my King ♪ ♪ What a powerful name it is, nothing can stand against ♪ ♪ What a powerful name it is, the name of Jesus ♪ ♪ What a powerful name it is, the name of Jesus, Jesus, Jesus ♪ ♪ What a powerful name it is, the name of Jesus ♪ Hey, we wanna welcome everybody, joining us today at all of our Christ Fellowship locations, everybody online. A special shout out to the men and women of the United States Armed Forces, joining with us every Sunday. We want you to know we are continuing to pray for you as you are fighting for our freedom and the freedom of innocent people around the world today in Jesus' name. Hey, church, we are continuing our series

close enough with a question mark. We are identifying and crucifying comfortable, casual Christianity because we don't want any of that in our lives, we don't want any of that in our church, amen? Jesus didn't kinda go to the cross. He didn't almost suffer for our sins. He went all the way, and what he's looking for are some followers that are gonna go all the way in following him, so what we are understanding is that close enough isn't good enough. Christian-ish, doesn't cut it. A close enough follower is not following close enough. In fact, Jesus was very, very clear about what it looks like to follow him. He gives us some very clear, specific instructions of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. So today I wanna look at one practice that followers of Jesus should be habitually doing. We see this in Jesus' own life, but we also hear it in his teachings and instructions to us. One place, just one, it's repeated all throughout scripture. One place that he tells us this is found in Mark chapter 16, verse 15. He says this, wherever you go in the world, say that last part with me out loud, tell everyone the good news. Wherever you go, tell everybody about the good news of Jesus, about the love of God. Where you go to work, when you go to school,

when you go to the gym, when you go to Publix, wherever you go, tell everybody about Jesus. Later in Acts chapter one, Jesus will say, you will be my witnesses. Think about what a witness does. A witness just tells people what they've seen, what they've experienced. He didn't say, you will be my attorney. He didn't say, you gotta prove the point. You gotta argue and defend it. He says, you just gotta tell people what you've experienced. The great commission that is found in Matthew 28, he says, I have all power and authority has been given to me, and then he says, go and make disciples. In Matthew chapter five, he's talking to a group of people, thousands of people that have gathered on a hillside around the Sea of Galilee. So this isn't just for Peter, James, and John. It was for everybody. It's for us today, and this is what he says there. He says, let me tell you why you are here. You're here to be salt seasoning that brings God out, God flavors into this earth, and if you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You've lost your usefulness, and you'll end up in the garbage. Here's another way to put it.

He says, you're here to be light, bringing out the God colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light bearers, you don't think I'm gonna hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, light stand, shine, keep open house, be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people, look at that, to open up to God. So he says here, first, you're to be the salt. Think about what salt does. Salt adds flavor to anything it gets on, right? And without salt on it, it doesn't taste, salt just makes everything taste better. You put some salt on, can you imagine eating popcorn with no salt, french fries, no salt, why? Julie even puts flakes of salt on her homemade chocolate chip cookies and it tastes better. I don't know how that is. God is saying, listen, that's what I want you to be. I want you to be this God flavor that wherever you go, you just make everything better at your work, in your family, in your relationships. Man, because of the God inside of you, Jesus shining, being in you, you just make things better. And then he says, I want you to be the light. He actually says, you are the light of the world.

And you might hear that and think, wait a minute, I thought Jesus said that he was the light of the world, which he does say in John chapter eight, verse 12. He says, I am the light of the world. Whoever has me, whoever follows me, will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light that leads to life. But here in this passage, he says, you are the light of the world. So how can both be true? How can he be the light and you be the light at the same time? Well, the only logical and theological explanation of that verse or the tension of that is found in Colossians 127, where it says, Christ in you, the hope of glory. Christ in you, shining through you to the world and to the people around you. Christ in you, shining the glory of God through you to the world. Look again at that verse 14, where he says, God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill, which that meant like in the nighttime, when you were on the lake or around the village and there was a hill and the city was lit up, you could see it like there was no way to hide it. If I make you light bearers, you don't think I'm gonna hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand.

So here's what it means. The light of God comes into your life and it pushes out the darkness and it's trying to help you find your way through life and all of a sudden, sin is pushed out and the light of God and the glory of God is shining in your life and what he's saying is, don't put it under a bucket. Don't hide your light because a light under a bucket can't do what a light is supposed to do. A light under a bucket doesn't help people who are stuck in darkness find their way out of the darkness. It's hidden. He says, don't hide it. Get your light out. Let it shine. I don't wanna blind anybody, but let it shine. Let it shine bright for God. We're going public with this. The version I learned when I was a kid, when I memorized this passage as a teenager, it says, let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and turn and glorify your Father in heaven. Let your light so shine. Let it be so bright. Let it be so clear that people can't help but see God and his grace shining through your life to the point that they will turn

and glorify God themselves, which tells us your illumination will lead to somebody's transformation. Your illumination will lead to somebody's transformation and ultimately to their eternal destination. How brightly you shine for Jesus is gonna determine if somebody finds Jesus or if they spend eternity in hell without Jesus. Let that sink in for a minute. So we gotta let our light shine. Followers of Jesus, we gotta shine bright. The problem is too many Christians go undercover. They're undercover Christians. Yeah, they may identify as a Christian. They pray to prayer. They may even go to church some. They may identify as a Christian, but nobody else would identify them as a Christian. Like people at work don't even know. People at work don't even know they go to church. People at work don't know they go to the same church as they go to, because it's so under wraps. Julie said in week one, you might be a close enough Christian if you blend in more than you stand out. You just look like everybody else, talk like everybody else, act like everybody else. Do you remember this Where's Waldo?

As a kid, I used to love these books. I mean, you read through these books and you're trying to find this dude that's a skinny kid with a red and white striped shirt, a little beanie on, black glasses, should be easy to find, but he blends in with the surrounding around him. I'll tell you, this is a fun game for kids, but not for followers of Jesus. We should not have a where's Waldo kind of faith. Too many of us are trying too hard to blend in that we end up looking more like the people around us than we do look like Jesus. And we have a where's Waldo kind of faith. Don't be a Waldo. Don't try to blend in when God has called you to stand out. Stop being a Waldo. In fact, turn to the person next to you and tell him, don't be a Waldo. Don't be a Waldo. It's kind of fun to say. But the truth is, we have been trained to blend in. From a very young age, when you go to school, you're trained to blend in. Sit in your seat, raise your hand. Don't speak unless spoken to. Stay in line. Now, all those things are important. Julie was a first grade teacher, right? Those are really, really important things.

But if we're not careful, what's happening is we're not just being educated, we're being indoctrinated to blend in. Psychologists have actually reported that children in kindergarten and first grade, that young of age, begin to adjust their behavior to fit in. One report said that these young students conform in order to gain approval and to avoid disapproval. So before you even know who you are, you're being trained to blend in. And then you end up in middle school. And the volume gets turned up. Just fit in, right? It goes from behavior to belonging. So now I gotta fit in so I can belong. I gotta dress like everybody, act like everybody, post like everybody, look like everybody else, right? For the fear of not fitting in. And then culture echoes this. It says, you know, don't rock the boat. Go with the flow. Keep your head down. Mind your own business. And before long, we are being trained how to blend in when God has actually called us to stand out. Look at this passage of Scripture in 1 Peter 2, 9. But you, you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people that you should show forth

the praises of him who has called you out of darkness, what, into his marvelous light. God is saying here, you ain't created to blend in. You're not supposed to blend in. You're not supposed to look like everybody else, act like everybody else, think like everybody else. You're supposed to be peculiar, which really means kind of just like different and a little weird, not like the world. But when you think about it, Jesus' teachings were a little weird. Bless those that curse you, pray for your enemies, forgive people that have hurt you, maybe if they even don't even apologize for it. But when you live that way, you stand out. When you live that way, you shout of God's grace and love and mercy and kindness, and you point people to God by just living that way. And this verse tells us that a part of your identity as a follower is to actually be a priest, a priest. A priest. Now, don't think you gotta wear robes and take a vow of poverty and celibacy. That's not what he's talking about here. But he says you are a part of a royal priesthood. Think about what a priest is supposed to do. A priest is supposed to echo God's voice to people. A priest is supposed to partner with God to help people hear from God, and that is actually what he's wanting you to do.

He's saying, I need you to speak for me. I need to make sure that you are not hiding your identity. You're a priest, don't hide it. Don't be like Peter Parker. Peter Parker did everything he could do to keep Spider-Man undercover, like under wraps on the DL. Even the people closest to him, he didn't want them to know. But it was only Spider-Man that could save MJ, right? It was only Spider-Man that could save all those people hanging in the bus off the side of the bridge. It was only Spider-Man, right? Don't hide your identity. Too many Christians are like Clark Kent, right? Undercover, glasses on, looking normal, nine to five job, normal job, normal, normal, normal. But it's just a disguise. That wasn't who he really was. He was really Superman, right? But when somebody needed to be saved, when the time came, he couldn't stay Clark Kent any longer, right? He had to take the glasses off and he had to put on the Superman suit. Right? That's what he had to do. I'm afraid, don't miss the point. I'm afraid you're gonna miss the point. Too many Christians are like Clark Kent. We come to church on Sunday with our super saved, super Christian suit on, hey, praise the Lord.

God is good all the time, right? We're living it, right? But as soon as we walk out to the car, oh, oh. Sometimes even before we get out of the parking lot. We got this thing buttoned up. By the time we get to work on Monday, oh. By the time we get to school, we are buttoned up. Nobody knows. And then every once in a while, we let a little show. God bless you. And we think that's gonna make a difference. I'm praying for you. Oh, but if we see another Christian, oh. Oh. Or we get in our Bible study. Oh, we're flexing in our Bible study now. Yeah, our small group, whoa, we're flexing it. But around the people that need to hear about him most, we're not even talking about him. We end up talking more about Jesus to the people that already know Jesus than the people that need to know Jesus. Don't be Clark Kent. You might be familiar with a verse of scripture in Romans chapter 10, verse 13 that you've heard us say that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. And that's a beautiful verse of promise about God's grace. But the verse right before that, in verse nine, says if you openly declare that Jesus is Lord

and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For if, or it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. But then the next verse is very sobering, verse 14. But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never, look at that, heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? Someone has to go. Someone has to tell them. Someone has to share with that coworker at your job, that student at your school, that neighbor that lives across the street. Somebody has got to tell them about the love of God and the grace of God and that sin separates them from God. But God wants to spend eternity with them. Somebody has got to tell them. There is a popular quote that is often circulated by Christians. Maybe you've seen it, maybe you've heard it. It's attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, who was this monk, friar, priest guy in Italy. And it goes something like this. Preach the gospel, use words if necessary. Have you ever heard that? Preach the gospel, use words if necessary.

And I think what's meant behind people that share that is that as followers of Jesus, our lives should be lived in such a way that they point people to Jesus. That the way we live and the way we treat people and the way that it just speaks of the grace and the goodness of God, there's just two problems with that quote. First, Francis of Assisi's never said it. And second, it's unbiblical. Scholars have said that Francis of Assisi never said anything like that. In fact, he would be known to preach five times a day, seven days a week. So he used a lot of words, right? Now, I know the intent is that we live this way, and so we should. We should live this way, right? We should live in a way that points people to Jesus. But listen to me. Even Jesus used words to tell people about God and about himself, right? So here's the point. Write this down if you're taking notes. If not, remember, get it in your heart. The message needs a messenger. The message, the most important message that is ever gonna be told, that message needs a messenger, and you are that messenger.

God wants you to be that messenger, follower of Jesus. You. Second Corinthians chapter five, verse 20. We are Christ's ambassadors. God uses us to speak as though Christ himself is making this appeal. God wants you to connect with him in a, look at that, friendship. God wants to use you to speak for him to the people in your world, at your workplace. He wants, he's counting on you, not to help them find religion, but to help them find, look at that, a friendship with God. It's beautiful. Who doesn't want a friendship with God? We're created. to want a friendship with God. Now, here's what I know. Most of us, I would assume, know this, and I would go so far to say that most all of us want to share our faith more, but there's a couple things that just, we get hung up on. Now, a few of us, a few, many, some of us have the spiritual gift of evangelism, which is a gift that we read about in the Bible. My friend, who's actually here at our garden's location today, Lester, he has the gift of evangelism. He can run into Publix to get some juice

and lead somebody to Jesus, right? I've been with him in taxis in cities around the world, and within five minutes, he's sharing his faith with the taxi driver. Doesn't care that the guy's got a turban on his head. He's just like, let's talk about Jesus. But that's not most of our story. Most of us deal with fear when it comes to sharing our faith and the opportunity comes up and we shut down. And I believe it comes back to two reasons. Two reasons that we all deal with. The first reason is this, we think we have to have it all together. And we know, we know us, and we know I don't have it all together. Like I got my issues, I got my stuff I'm still dealing with, God's still working on me. And hey, what I've been through, you think about what you've come out of, you're like, who am I that God would ever use me? Can I tell you, you are not perfect, but you are God's perfect choice to speak to that person that he has put in your life. He has perfectly put you there to speak for him right where you are with all your mistakes and failures and stuff you're still working through because we're all still working through it. If I had to have my act all together, I would never be up here preaching because God's working on all of us, right?

There was a young lady several years back that moved to South Florida, her name is Kristen, to deal with some addictions in her life, to break free from some addictions that she got caught up in. And God brought her down here, she found the one who set her free, Jesus. She started getting involved in church, she started going to celebrate recovery, and then she started helping other people get free from their addictions and work through what she had worked through. Now, Kristen could have thought, who am I? All the mess I've made in my life and the past mistakes I've made and the stuff going on in my life, I mean, who am I? I know me, I don't have my act all together. But could it be that the very thing you think disqualifies you, actually qualifies you to be used by God? Could it be the very thing you think counts you out is what God's counting on for you to actually share with that person? Because there's some things that Kristen can share and do that I can't even do because I've not walked where Kristen's walked before. I've not walked where you've walked before. So you don't have to have it all together before God wants you to share your faith with others.

I think the second fear that we deal with is we're afraid that they're gonna ask us something we don't know about God. Like, where does God come from? Where does the devil come from? What about dinosaurs? Like, what, I don't know. And so because we're afraid that we don't know, we shut down. But remember, remember, Jesus said you will be my witnesses, right? Which means you've got nothing to prove, but you've got a lot to share. In fact, there's a verse of scripture in 1 John 5, 10 that says those who believe in the Son of God, say that last part with me out loud, have the testimony of God in them. You have the testimony of God in your life. You have the God story down in your life. And your God story can very easily be broken down into three easy steps. What your life was like before you came to Jesus. Maybe some of the emptiness that you were struggling with, some of the things that were weighing you down. And then how you understood you needed Jesus. What was the revelation? What was the understanding? Were you like, oh, that's who Jesus is. And then the difference that Jesus has made in your life. What your life was like before Jesus,

how you came to understand you needed Jesus. And then what, Jesus, the difference he's made in your life. That is, that's your story. Nobody's gonna argue with your story. Nobody's gonna go, nah, that's not true. It's your story, right? Share your story. And you also don't just have a salvation story. You've got lots of God stories in your life. You have stories of the times he helped you in times of trouble and struggle. You've got the times that he provided for you when you didn't know how you were gonna make ends meet. When he gave you peace or he healed your body. When he healed a relationship. When he stepped in. What you learned in seasons of waiting when heaven seemed silent. You've got so many God stories on the inside of you that need to come out and you need to share the testimony of God in you. See, there are people that God wants you to tell your story to. They may never come into the church and hear my story. They may, you're their friend. You live next door to them. You're like, you're there. Tell your story. Don't be afraid. Of what?

When people have asked me questions that I don't know about God, I'm like, huh, phew, that's a good question. You would think I should know that. I'm a pastor, I don't know. Let me get back to you on that. It's okay, we don't need to be afraid. And we don't need to be afraid because the truth is, everybody is looking for the same thing. Down deep on the inside of every person you're gonna share faith with, they have the same longings and desires that you have. Ecclesiastes 3.11 says that God planted eternity in the human heart, which means that when God created mankind, he made you for eternity. Not just for 80 or 90 years here on the earth. You've been made for God. You've been made specifically for an eternal relationship with God. And everybody, because of that, has this longing on the inside of them that they're like, I know I'm made for more. Like there's gotta be more to this life than just getting up and going to work and coming home and feeding the cat. All right, there's gotta be more than, trust me, there is more than that, right? We're longing for it. We have a hole in the size of our heart

that is only made for God. And until we know God in a personal way, we fill it up with all sorts of other things. Success, significance, money, people, relationships, sex, drugs, Ben and Jerry's, whatever it takes. We're trying to fill that up, but only Jesus fills that. One version of Ecclesiastes 3.11 puts it this way. God makes everything happen at the right time, yet none of us can ever fully understand all he has done. Look at this. He puts questions in our minds about the past and the future. That's about he planted eternity in our hearts. So that means people have the same questions that you have had. Like what's the meaning of life? Does my life count? Is there really a God? How do I know him if he's real? And guess what? We got the answers. We've got what they're looking for. And we have the Holy Spirit, which means we should never be afraid because we have the Spirit of God in us to help us to know what to say and when to say it. There have been times I have been sharing my faith or trying to share my faith, and I wasn't sure what to say, and the Holy Spirit would bring a scripture to my mind

that I would share with them. You know, the Bible says this about God's love, or the Bible says this about, and it's just the right scripture at the right time. Or the Holy Spirit will bring a question to my mind that I could ask them. And I ask them the question, and that opens up the door for us to have a conversation. You have the Holy Spirit, so you don't need to be afraid. Second Timothy, chapter one says this. For the Holy Spirit, which is God's gift, does not want you to be afraid of people, but to be wise and strong, to love them, enjoy being with them. If you will stir up this inner power, the power of the Holy Spirit, say this last part with me out loud, you will never be afraid to tell others about the Lord. If you stir up the Holy Spirit, this gift, which just means Holy Spirit help me, I'm getting ready to have a conversation with this person at work. When you stir up that gift inside of you, you will never be afraid to tell people about the Lord. When I look at the scripture, I see two main ways that we share our faith, and both of them are very important. The first are from the words of Jesus. Remember that first verse that we looked at in Mark chapter 16.

Wherever you go, tell everybody the good news. Wherever you go, tell everybody, wherever you go this week, tell, go and tell. Over and over in the New Testament, Jesus repeatedly says, go into all the world and make disciples. Go and be my witnesses, talk to people about me. Paul says, go and be ambassadors, which means you're gonna talk. How will they know unless you tell them? So as you go this week, find ways to tell people to bring up Jesus, to bring up God, just find ways to bring them up in the conversation. You say, well, Todd, how do I do that? Well, one of the ways that I open the door to sharing my faith is I will ask somebody the question, can I pray for you? Now, 99% of everybody I've asked that question to says yes, because everybody's got problems going on in their life. Everybody's got issues. Even the atheist who doesn't want to pray prays when the plane's going down. You know what I'm saying? So people will go, yeah, yeah. Well, then I ask the second question, how can I pray for you? Now, when you ask that question, you want to listen, because they're getting ready to open up about their fear, anxiety, about a need in their life, right?

And so you want to listen. And so I listen to what I'm gonna pray about and what's kind of the ache of their heart. And then I affirm it. I go, yeah, you know what? I've had some... Some of those same fears in my own life, I've dealt with some of those same concerns, those same worries, the same struggles. I try to let them know I've been there with them. And then I'll say something like, man, I wish you could have the peace that I have. I wish you could have the assurance that I have that God is in control. I wish you knew Jesus the way I knew him. And then I can read whether they're going, yeah, well, tell me more about that, right? They're leaning in and they want more. Other times they start to shut down. And so I read what they're giving up. And then I'll just, I'll pray, because I've already asked him if I can pray. It doesn't matter if I'm in a parking lot or an aisle in public. So I'm like, let's pray. And I just pray right then. And I think they're shocked that I'm praying right then, but I pray. Don't pray long, pray short prayer. What did I do?

Plant a seed. I planted a seed of faith. Or maybe I watered a seed that somebody else had planted. So you have to go and tell. That's one way. There's many ways you talk about Jesus, but you go and tell. The second that we see in scripture is what we call come and see, come and see. In John chapter one, Jesus was calling his disciples and Philip was one of the disciples that he called. And then Philip goes to another guy, Nathaniel, and says to him in verse 45 of John chapter one, Philip found Nathaniel and told him, we have found the one Moses wrote about in the law and about whom the prophets also wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. Nazareth, can anything good come out of there? Nathaniel asked. Look at that. Come and see, said Philip. Philip didn't try to prove anything to Nathaniel. He didn't argue with him about Nazareth. He just said, you gotta come and see. Like he knew, Philip knew, that if he could just get Nathaniel into the presence of Jesus, it would change everything for Nathaniel. Like his eyes would be open and he would see. Here's what I believe with all my heart.

If we get people into the presence of Jesus, oh man, in the presence of the Holy Spirit, their eyes are gonna be open. They're gonna see some things that they haven't seen before. Just tell them, come and see. In fact, studies have shown that people come to Christ more quickly in a group setting than one-on-one. It doesn't negate the importance of one-on-one, planting the seed, having the conversation, very important. But studies have shown that when they get around hundreds of people, thousands of people that are all worshiping God and hearing from God and the presence of God is moving and working, they're like, oh, there's something here. It's not just this one guy telling me something about, look at all these people and their eyes are opened to the truth of God. In fact, David writes about this in Psalm 40. He's talking about the goodness of God and the faithfulness of God. And then in verse three, he says, you put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise for my God. Many people will see this and then they will worship him. Then they will trust the Lord. When people who don't have a relationship with God get into a place where the Holy Spirit is working, people are worshiping God, they're gonna be moved to follow him.

So I wanna, we gave you two tools. Two tools this week to help you go and tell and say, come and see. You got these invites right here, these invitations. Don't leave these on the floor. Carry them around, right? Plaster them around, right? And don't wait for Easter. We have Palm Sunday services next week, which if you've been around Christ Fellowship, it's one of my favorite, if not my favorite, favorite service of the entire year where we gather around the cross and the grace of God. Invite them back to Good Friday. We've got Good Friday services. Invite them back to Easter services. If you know a young family, get them to the Easter jam where we have this special time for the young families. But say, come and see. The other tool that we've given you, maybe you've seen them in parking lots, driving down the road, cross equals heart sticker. It's the gospel of Jesus on a bumper sticker right there. The cross of Jesus tells you about the love of God. Man, what would it look like if these were all over our region? Everywhere you drive, imagine somebody, everywhere at 95, woo, woo, woo. This happened right here. Or you pull up to a stoplight and you're surrounded.

I pulled up the other day. There were four cars with this. I was surrounded, right? What if we surrounded people, man, with the message? Then they get the invite that has the cross equals heart on it and they're like, oh, I need to go to the, God, you've been talking to me, right? Man, the only caveat is if you drive like the devil, don't put this on your car. If you're cutting people off, we have a class for you, okay? Put it on your wife's car, put it on your computer, put it somewhere else, but go and tell, come and see. When you think about it, the only reason that you're here today is because somebody went and told you or they said, come and see and they invited you and that's why you're here. So who's gonna be here? Because we're gonna do the same thing over these next several weeks, prime time season where hearts and people are open to receive. I'm gonna pray two prayers today. I'm gonna pray. that we would be bold in our faith, and there would be no Clark, Kent, Waldo Christians in our church, but we'd be bold. We'd talk to people about the love and the goodness of God, that you would see people the way God sees them, needing a savior, needing hope, needing love.

And the second prayer I wanna pray are for those of you here today that need the hope. You need the love today. You need God in your life today. You don't have to wait till Easter. You don't have to wait till Good Friday services to get your right life with God. Today is the day of salvation. And so that second prayer is gonna be for you. Let's pray today. Father, thank you for your word that teaches us what is true and where we are wrong, and reminds us of our assignment, reminds us of our calling as priests, reminds us that you want us to go and tell and invite people to come and see. I pray for a boldness in our church this week. I pray that over these next few weeks, God, there would be a boldness of our faith and a loving way that would draw people to you. Pray you'd open doors of conversations. As we continue to pray, we'd every head bowed. If you're here today and you would say, Todd, I need to get my life right with Jesus. I need that peace and hope you're talking about. I'm gonna pray this second prayer. And if you would say, Todd, just include me in this prayer. Right where you're seated, would you just raise your hand in the air?

Just sort of up high. You wanna surrender to Jesus, yeah. You're giving your life to Jesus today, a fresh and a new. You're gonna pray this prayer with me out loud. Let's all pray it together. Just say, dear Lord Jesus, come into my life. Forgive me of all my sins. Make me a new person. From the inside out. And I'm gonna follow you every day of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. Come on, let's thank God for everybody who made that decision. Thank you.