Coffee And Conversation

0:30 There's nothing like sitting down to me and having a cup of coffee with someone. You really get to know them on an intimate level. And what if we could have coffee together? I'm talking about each one of us, one-on-one. Now, obviously, that's impossible because Fellowship Church is a really large church. However, if I could have a conversation with you one-on-one, I would talk about what I'm going to talk about right now. I would make sure that you know what it means to be a Christian, and I would love to challenge you and talk to you about not only knowing you're a Christian, but also sharing that experience, sharing that with other people. Years ago, I came up with a gospel presentation.

1:28 You know, you can ask someone, hey, as you get to know them, do you mind if we talk about spiritual things? Suddenly they'll do the pushback and go, whoa, man, I can't ask that question. That's too personal. I beg to differ because when you see someone and go, how are you doing? That's a personal question. Are you married? Do you have family? Personal questions. Do you mind if we talk about spiritual things? Most will go, yeah. Well, one of the ways that I like to share is to have like a piece of paper or whatever. It could be a cocktail napkin. It could be a legal pad or a business card or whatever. Or I might say, okay, here's how the Bible is outlined in just a few statements. Would you like to know this?

2:20 Because a lot of people are fuzzy, I sometimes say, between religion and being a Christian. And they'll kind of look at you like, okay, that's interesting. Do you mind if I tell you the difference? Well, they'll say no. Number one, I'll say, let's look at God's love from above. Okay, the Bible is a book about love, God's love letters to man. God loves you. You could quote John 3.16,

3:02 For God so loved the world, okay, he loved the world. He did something. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever, who does that include? well, everyone, believes in him, shall have eternal life. Jesus is a gift, a gift. A gift demands a response. We don't earn a gift. We just receive it. So I'll write God's love from above, and you can, you'd write John 3.16, you can, right there.

3:40 And I talk about how much we matter to God. But then I say, you know, God made man with a freedom of choice. And this is very important. By virtue of giving us a freedom of choice, that opened the door for us to turn our backs on God. I have a choice. I can either lean into him or turn from him. And evil can be defined as the absence of God. So God's love from above. But my bad, people, that's kind of a term people use. My fault, my bad, whatever. My bad, that's sad. And it's worse than sad.

4:33 I'll then talk about our sin situation. and the Bible says in Romans 3, 23, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. All. Does that include you? At this point, I've never had someone go, no, I'm perfect. I've never met that person. Yeah, they'll say I've sinned. Okay. Number three. God's solution for my pollution. I deserve eternal separation from God. God tells me there are basically two ways to get into heaven, plan A and plan B.

5:29 Plan A is the performance plan. and then I'll ask, okay, are you perfect? As I said earlier, they're going to go, no. Well, if you're not perfect, if you sin before, the performance plan is done because God's standards of goodness are perfect. If you are perfect, you can get into heaven if you're perfect. but one bad mood, one off day, one envious or lustful thought, one toxic outburst of anger. And if you're on the performance plan, the perfection plan, you're done. God could have left us right here, but he gave us plan B.

6:23 What's plan B? Plan B is the grace plan. That is the gift plan. Romans 6, 23. The wages of sin is death. We understand that. That's our pollution. We deserve eternal separation from God. But the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. But the free gift of God. The gift is the grace plan. What does grace mean? Something we don't deserve. And you can use this little acrostic. God's riches at, that's how you write it in the Greek, Christ's expense. That's what it means.

7:17 God's riches at Christ's expense. So God's solution for my pollution is Jesus. And so Jesus lived this perfect, pristine life. He performed perfectly, perfectly. And then on the cross, he took my pollution, my sin upon his life. then he was buried, and three days later, he rose again.

7:51 And this is interesting. Right before Jesus died, he said, it is finished. The work has been done. The price has been paid. The rescue. is over. And then he rose again, dropped the mic, the eternal mic. And then the fourth thing is my call for God's all. How awesome is God? I have an opportunity. I have a free will. I have a decision to make. Well, I'm not ready. That's a decision. I don't want to do this. That's a decision.

8:44 I do want to do this. That's a decision. I would implore you to settle this issue because you're not ready to live until you're ready to die. That's why Romans 10.9 says, If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus Christ and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. You will be saved. This is a free gift. All we have to do is receive it. So God has tossed a life ring to you. you either grasp it or not. You know, sometimes when I'm sharing with a person, let's say I'm talking about the rescue verbiage, and the Bible talks so much about the rescue.

9:45 The Bible is a book of the divine rescue. And you don't have to be an artist to do this. I'll draw a boat. It's basically kind of a little triangle thing. Water. God? man, stick figure.

10:09 And I will talk about how God loves us. But we have decided, we've chosen to rebel against God, and that has caused this distance, this separation from God to man and from man to God. We've tried to bridge this gap through swimming, through performing, and we all fall short. It's like trying to swim from California to Hawaii. It's just not going to work. Michael Phelps couldn't even do it, or some of the long-distance swimmers couldn't even do it. Here's what God did. God saw this distance dilemma and He tossed out a life ring. circle in a circle to man everything we try to use to keep ourselves afloat would be poor flotation devices um power popularity um possessions etc.

11:36 Okay. So what did God do? God saw our situation. And he has thrown the life ring to man. Now though, the church, you can draw a little figure. We are actually, because we're in God's craft, God does the throwing, we do the towing. So that life ring is thrown out. The life ring is Jesus. And a person either lets go of the poor flotation device and grasps the life ring or not. If he doesn't grab the life ring, he sinks to the bottom. And ultimately it will lead to hell. Well, God doesn't want us to go to hell.

12:27 Hell was not designed for humans anyway. If anyone ever goes to hell, it'll be against the will of God. God did something. He's thrown this life ring to drowning hunks of humanity. In fact, all of humanity. He sent Jesus to live perfectly, to die on the cross. You're talking about powerfully. He took the sins and the shame and the guilt and our moral turnovers. He absorbed it on his life. He died. He experienced death. And then he rose again on the third day, thereby giving us an opportunity to grasp the life ring, to be rescued.

13:25 And my question is, have you been rescued? Have you received Jesus? Have you let go of those poor flotation devices, the power, the popularity, the possessions or whatever, and grasp Jesus? Because that is the greatest decision you'll ever make. That is the greatest rescue in the universe. Sometimes people will throw intellectual arguments at you and me, you know, when you're sharing the gospel. You know, the classic, why would a good God allow bad things to happen to good people? That's probably the biggest one. And a response that I give is, well, why did God allow the worst thing to happen to the greatest person who's ever lived? the crucifixion of Jesus.

14:22 Also, I answer them with that three-word statement that is absolutely brilliant. I don't know. I don't know. I don't have the answer to every question, nor do you. Yet, if you're really an intellectual, which most people aren't, but if you really have intellectual hangups, they're brilliant Christian philosophers, writers, apologists, and you can read until your heart is content, and we can stack up evidence that demands a verdict.

15:07 But I also will say, too, there's no such thing as 100% certainty. And I can see people go, what? No, no. certainty. If there was certainty, there would be no faith. We have evidence, but there's not certainty. So doubt and faith run on parallel tracks. That's just part of our fallenness and part of our human existence. If people still press, and I feel, and I listen to the Holy Spirit, and he's telling me it's not the time. I will resource them. Obviously, these people are drowning, and I'll give them or send them a book or books about some of the issues that we're dealing with.

16:08 And one of my favorite books is the book that my brother wrote, Dr. Ben Young called Why Mike is Not a Christian. I just sent that to a friend of mine that I've been praying for and getting to know for the last 10 years or so. And there are many, many other books. Evidence That Demand, The Verdict, Josh McDowell is a great one. Any of Lee Strobel's books, The Case for Christ, The Case for Fate, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant books. So So these writers have studied it much more than the people who are asking you the questions. And normally they're asking you the questions to put off the decision. That's what you have to understand. And you don't belittle them, but you say, okay, what are you going to do with Christ?

17:07 Okay, that's cool, whatever. But what are you going to do with the person of Jesus? Because Jesus said, I am the only way. I want to say a word to those here who are followers of Christ. it's very easy to circle the airport, but you don't land the plane when you're talking and when you're dealing with people that don't know the Lord. Maybe it's someone you play golf with. Maybe it's someone you fish with. Maybe it's your neighbor. Maybe it's your coworker. Maybe it's someone you see at the gym. God's placed this person on your heart. yet you don't really have an urgency to close the deal. Can you imagine, and I know we have many people in the real estate business, can you imagine a real estate agent who just kind of flirts around with deal after deal after deal, whether it's attractive land, whether it's a home, whether it's a building?

18:17 And what if they never closed the deal? what if they said, well, I'm just going to try to model it, you know, and kind of just show people that they need to close on this property. Well, they would live in poverty if they adopted that mentality. And I'm afraid that too many believers are living in poverty and we're missing out on, I believe the most powerful thing we can do as believers, which is share the good news of Christ. Now, why did I make a statement like that? You might be going, that's a pretty bold statement. Well, I'm just simply repeating what Jesus said right before he ascended, Matthew 28. He told his disciples to go and to share, to go and engage people who don't know Jesus and to tell them about him.

19:18 So he started his ministry talking about sharing the faith, the bookends of his ministry, and then he ended his ministry talking about sharing the faith. And he ascended to heaven. He's seated at the right hand of the Father, he's given us the Holy Spirit who equips us with the horsepower to do his bidding. And it's so fun. Some people have the gift of it. I mean, they just do it as reflexively and as naturally as breathing. Others of us, we have to be a little bit more intentional about it. You can't opt out of it. This is a command. This is not an option. what would happen in your life, in your family? What would happen in our church family if we all began to do this?

20:16 He's placed people in your life who don't know the Lord. And it's great, great to invite them to church. It's great to invite them to fellowship. Don't stop doing that. but most evangelism is a one-on-one situation.

20:38 Jesus met and dealt with so many people one-on-one, and so many in the Bible became believers of Christ one-on-one. So we're to be doing this one-on-one, and obviously corporately as a church. I would definitely say the biggest weakness that Christians have, something like 96% of Christians have never shared their faith one-on-one. But the biggest lie out there is somehow I'll live this life, this Christian life, which we have to do, which we should do, and people will be so attracted to it that will cause them to become believers. Granted, that sometimes happens. However, if God has put people in your life, which he has, who you know are far away from him, you have to close the deal by the power of the Holy Spirit.

21:44 Jesus is all about closing the deal. The Bible is about closing the deal. God, through Christ, closed the deal. When Jesus commanded us, he didn't suggest it, to go out and share the gospel, he was referring to closing the deal. One of the most powerful ways to see the Holy Spirit work is when you're in the process of closing the deal. You're out there in these unknown waters, in these areas that are scary, sometimes dark and deep. And that's where you have to rely totally on the whisper and the power of the Holy Spirit of God to share his good news and bring people to the table. to close on the deal.

22:49 And sometimes when I'm sharing with someone, I'll actually draw up like a little contract, you know. And I'll put an X and I'll say, okay. The bad news is, and I'll write bad news. we're sinners.

23:20 Worst news, we deserve separation, eternal separation. Okay? The good news, God sent Jesus to do what he did on the cross. Found the cross, rise again on the third day.

23:50 The greatest news. you can make that decision today, right now. Right now. Here's the deal. You have to just simply say, God, I admit to you the obvious. I agree with you that I'm a sinner. And that's what it means to confess.

24:19 I turn from my sin, and I turn to you, Jesus. I ask you to come into my life. I believe you died on the cross for my sins and rose again. And right now, I give you everything, tax, title, and license. Then I'll say, I'll tell you what, would you sign your name here? And once you sign this, and here's something you can do, this cosmic transaction takes place. your guilt is transferred to the shoulders of Jesus and his grace is transferred to your account. Your wrongdoings are transferred to Jesus and his righteousness is transferred to you. See what I'm saying to you? So your sin for the Savior. So that's what happens.

25:11 Again, you either sign it or you don't. And most of the people that I've led to this, point, they normally will sign. And right after they sign, I say, you know what? It's the greatest thing ever. And they'll normally keep this. I might write some scripture verses, but that's something that works really well if you could write or draw. You don't have to be an artist to do this. I mean, I drew a box, an X, and some dots and wrote, I would encourage you to print. Of course, no one knows how to write cursive these days. Bad news, sin. Worst news, separation. Good news, Jesus. God sending Jesus. And the greatest news, you can make this decision today. The strategy for the divine rescue has not changed in over 2,000 years.

26:08 Remember, the radically rescued, rescued radically. Are you a part of the process? I want to give you an opportunity right now to make this decision. That's right. You can make it right now with me. And I'm going to pray a prayer. And this is a prayer that I prayed years ago when I became a follower of Christ, when I became a Christian.

26:35 And this is your prayer. I'm going to ask every single person every person in all of our different environments to repeat this prayer with me and as you do so as you confess with your mouth as you believe in your heart as you give the totality of who you are to Jesus he'll come into your life forgive you of all of your sins check this out past, present, and future. He'll give you a home in heaven. He'll give you a purpose like you can't have unless you're walking with the Lord. He'll be a comfort to you in times of trouble. He will be a guide in times of doubt.

27:31 He'll be that star, that northern star in your life, that compass, and that compass is Jesus. He wants to come into your life, but He's knocking. You either open the door or not. God has tossed the ring to you, the life ring. You either grab the ring or you continue swimming away. from where God wants you. So just pray this prayer with me. Everyone repeat this aloud. Bow your heads and close your eyes. Dear God, I admit to you that I'm a sinner. I need to be forgiven. I believe Jesus Christ, your son, died for my sins, rose again, and is alive right now. I turn away from my sin.

28:40 and I confess Jesus Christ is my Lord. I receive Him into my life. I ask you, Lord Jesus, to control my life. I thank you for rescuing me and giving me life eternal that begins today. In Jesus' name, amen. I want to congratulate all of you who made that decision. That's the greatest thing that you'll ever do. That's what life is all about.

29:34 That's why we're here, to know the Lord and to follow the amazing agenda he has for every life here. And, you know, the scripture tells us that when someone becomes a believer, there's like a party in heaven that's being thrown. The angels and the saints are rejoicing because you made this decision. I want you to tell someone about it, and here's how you can do it. Every time Jesus called someone to himself, he called them publicly. In a couple of moments, I'm going to ask you, if you prayed that prayer with me, it meant business. If you prayed that prayer with me for the first time, I'm going to ask you, in just a couple of moments, to stand where you're seated and walk forward to the front of the church.

30:33 I know it's not easy, but you're publicly saying, Jesus, I'm on your team. I'm a follower of Christ. So I'm going to count to three. And on three, I'm going to ask you, While everyone remains seated to come forward, our musicians will come in place. We're going to sing a song. On the count of three, you respond by publicly saying, I prayed that prayer with Ed. I know it's not easy. Maybe you're seated next to a friend and that friend wants to walk down with you. Maybe, I don't know, you're in a situation where you want maybe several people to walk down with you.

31:33 We're here to help you. We have counselors walking down. We have others walking down. So you respond on the count of one.