How Jesus People Share Jesus

0:21 We are in this evangelism weekend. You know, Matt already kind of talked about the vision for what we're doing this weekend. And it's really rooted in this yearly vision of Jesus people. Church, our desire this year is that the world would look upon our lives and they would see Jesus people. Not religious people, not church people, not nice people. They would see Jesus people. They would see us coming and they would say they had been with Jesus. And in our vision weekend this year, we talked about the reality that there's four truths that mark every Jesus person. That is that we are dedicated to doctrine. We are growing in the word of God. We are connected to one another through community. We are going out and sharing the gospel. and we are generous in giving what God has given to us back to others. And so this year, we've broken up each quarter into a different season. So we came out of in the first quarter, a season of gathering, Jesus people gather, trying to encourage you to connect. And right now, we are in a season of going where for the past two months and for the entire month of June, we're really encouraging you as the church to go into the community and share the gospel with the people that you come into contact with. That is our desire. That is our heart for you.

1:51 And so today we're talking about evangelism. You know, we are one month away from our largest evangelistic event where thousands are going to get to hear Jesus. But in the month leading up to that, you have the opportunity to personally, individually share the gospel with those that you come into contact with and make an impact in your communities. And so I've shared a lot of messages before on the importance of evangelism, why it is that we should evangelize. What I want to do today is a little bit different. I want to give you some practical tools for evangelism. Consider this like evangelism training, where I'm just gonna give you some tips, some tools to help you better share your faith. Does anyone in here struggle with evangelism? You can be honest.

2:43 It's a little bit hard, isn't it, to start a conversation with a stranger and lead them to Jesus Christ. It's a bit intimidating. My hope is that at the end of today, you would feel more equipped, prepared, and emboldened to share your faith with other people. And I also just want to preface that this is not a expository message. This is a textual and topical message. I want to give you guys a full scope of what evangelism looks like. And so we are anchored in Acts 8. Typically, we go verse by verse. And the first two points will be rooted in Acts 8, but the last one is not. So I just want to give you that preface, that pre-warning. But let's turn to Acts chapter 8 once again. hey how many of you have ever had one of those conversations that completely changed your life maybe you're thinking of one right now maybe it was a small conversation it was a big conversation but you've had a conversation that completely changed the course of your life maybe it was the conversation where you met your spouse for Marcos that would have been when he invited her to church maybe it was a job offer that you got and this job offer changed the direction of what you were doing and it set you on a path that led you to where you are now. Maybe it was a phone call that you got from a doctor with news, either good or bad, and that phone call changed the course and the direction of your life. See, sometimes a conversation can only last five minutes, but its impact can last a lifetime. You know, most of us don't wake up in the morning thinking, man, today I hope that I meet a total stranger and have a life-changing conversation. Do we? Anyone wake up thinking, I hope I meet a stranger today and have a 45-minute conversation? I don't think many of us think that. I think usually we're thinking, I hope nobody talks to me today before I've had my coffee. I think that's usually what's going through our mind. Most of us are terrified of having conversations with strangers. In fact, some of us have become experts at avoiding

4:54 conversations. Where's my introverts at? Trick question. You wouldn't raise your hand if you're an introvert. No, most of us have become experts at avoiding conversations, right? We become experts at meandering through life and finding a way to not talk to anybody because we hate those awkward moments where we're forced into a dialogue with somebody that we really don't want to talk to. Most of us are experts at avoiding conversations. We put our headphones in at the gym. We stare at our phones in the waiting room. We strategically choose the self-checkout line because we're not emotionally prepared to hear, did you find everything okay today, right? And so we try to avoid as much conversation as possible. But here's what's interesting. God often works through conversations we never see coming. God often works through conversations we never see coming, which means that if we go through life avoiding conversations, avoiding opportunities, avoiding interactions, we might be avoiding the very things that God wants to use, not only in someone else's life, but within your life.

6:10 See, we tend to think that it's the big moments that matters most. We imagine packed stadiums and massive crusades, famous preachers and viral sermons. But in Acts, we discover that some of God's greatest work happens one person at a time. Look, in just about a month, we are going to have a large scale evangelistic event. And there's stories in the Bible where Peter preaches and 3,000 people are saved in one day and these great moments of mass revival. But here in Acts 8, we see one of the most profound stories of personal evangelism. Personal evangelism. Because God doesn't just care about the crowds, he cares about the individuals. As a matter of fact, it's the individuals in the crowds that makes the crowds worth caring about. God cares about the individual souls.

7:10 In Acts 8, God takes Philip, as a matter of fact, away from a thriving revival. In Acts up to that point, there is a mass revival happening in Jerusalem. People are getting added to the church daily. The spirit is moving. There's an incredible thing happening. And in Acts 8, God tells Philip, hey, leave that big revival, go to the desert, and go talk to one person. In Acts 8, God takes Philip. He sends him to the middle of nowhere, to a lonely desert road, to talk to one guy riding in a chariot. One conversation, one Bible study, one baptism. But from that one encounter, the gospel would begin spreading into all of Africa and beyond. And the lesson is simple. God doesn't just care about the crowds. He cares about the individuals. Because while we tend to measure impact by crowds, God measures impact by souls. And that's why we say in our culture axioms that we are all about the numbers. Because behind each number is a name and behind each hand is a heart. And we say it's not about how many people come to our church. It's about how many lives are changed. And I want to let you know, we will see way more lives changed in this city if each and every one of you take the call to personal evangelism personally and go out and share your faith on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. We will see far more salvation in this city if we do that than if we do events like Freedom Celebration and Easter Sunrise.

8:50 If each and every one of us take this call and share our faith, the revival ramifications that would bring in this city, this state, in this country would be incalculable. and here's the encouraging part Philip wasn't an apostle he wasn't a celebrity preacher he was simply a believer who was willing to follow God's leading and start a conversation and that's encouraging to us because the gospel spread across continents because ordinary Jesus people were willing to go. And that's encouraging because most of us won't preach to thousands this week. Most of us won't pull a Peter and preach and have 3,000 people come to Christ in one day. Most of us won't stand on a stage or fill an arena, but we will all talk to a co-worker or sit next to someone at a baseball game or bump into a neighbor while we're walking our dog down the street or have lunch with a friend. We'll stand in line at Costco for what feels like 45 minutes behind someone buying enough supplies to survive the zombie apocalypse. And the whole time we'll be clenched onto our shopping cart saying, I hope the person behind me and in front of me doesn't talk to me. Each and every one of us this week have mission fields that God has put us into.

10:20 And in those ordinary moments, God may be setting up a divine appointment. And so the question isn't whether God is working around us. The question is whether we're paying attention. And Christian, here's the reality. And I hope that this seals this for you, that you carry the weight of this. A conversation that you choose to have or that you choose not to have could be the difference between someone going to heaven or someone going to hell. That's the weight. That's the weight that we need to feel as Christians. A conversation we either choose to have or that we choose not to have could mean the difference between heaven and hell for somebody else. We need to make the choice to feel the Spirit calling us into these moments, into these opportunities, to be receptive and to go where he sends us. And here in Acts 8, we see this account of evangelism.

11:24 We're reminded that evangelism isn't about having all the answers. It's about being available when God opens the door. And as Jesus people, we're called to go. And so today, I want to give you three principles that teach us how Jesus people share Jesus. Number one, we need to adapt to the situation. Number two, we need to apprehend the scripture. And number three, we need to apply our story. Let's look at our first point, adapt to the situation. Look at Acts chapter eight, starting in verse 26, and we're going to read down to verse 29. It says this, Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, Arise and go towards the south along the road, which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is desert. By the way, I love that.

12:17 I love that the author just decided to throw that in there. If you wanted to have any idea of where it was, he tells you where it is and he's like, hey, by the way, this is the desert. Thank you. We're there too. So he arose and went and behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury and had come to Jerusalem to worship, was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. Then the spirit said to Philip, go near and overtake this chariot. Let's stop there. The first principle we see in how we should share our faith is we need to adapt to the situation. Philip's evangelism begins not with strategy. It begins with sensitivity. Remember I said just a second ago, Philip was in Jerusalem, part of a huge revival. Strategy would say that he should stay in Jerusalem and keep riding the wave of revival. Strategy would say that he should stay in the crowds where the work is happening. But Philip starts not with strategy. He starts with sensitivity.

13:32 He starts with an open heart, asking God, Lord, where do you want me to go? And being receptive that when the Lord would speak, he would listen and he would answer. His whole entire ministry here in Acts 8 starts with him adapting to the situation and not being locked into ministry the way that he thinks that it should happen. See, sometimes we want God to work in predictable ways. but evangelism often happens in interruptions and it's our job to adapt to the situation. I think some of us look at evangelism like if all these boxes get checked then I'll share my faith. If I happen to be walking in the street and someone comes up and says hey you look like a Christian can you tell me how to get saved then I'll share my faith. Right like that's the perfect situation. A lot of us are waiting for strategy or waiting for a plan in order to share our faith.

14:29 What we need to do is be sensitive to the Spirit. We need to have sensitivity to what the Lord is asking us to do, to those moments when we see someone and we feel that burden in our heart that says, I think I should talk to that person. Have you ever felt that feeling? I think I should talk to that person. I think I should tell them about Jesus. And yet, how often does that happen? And we write it off and say, no, no, I don't want to embarrass myself. I don't want to make them feel uncomfortable. I don't know what, what the, what, if they're going to have weird questions, maybe that's just my gut. That's not the Holy Spirit. And we begin to, to write off all these reasons as to why we're not going to share our faith. But here in Acts 8 was this visiting dignitary from Ethiopia, who had come searching for God, reading aloud from the book of Isaiah. By the way, talk about a divine setup, right? God tells Philip, hey, go to this random road outside of Jerusalem.

15:29 It's a desert. Go walk around, and I need you to share the gospel with somebody. And he's out there waiting, and this chariot comes by, and he hears somebody reading Isaiah. It's like, oh, there it is. All right, God, you got my attention. And what a passage for him to read from that we're going to see in just a second. And so Philip took time to assess the situation. Hearing the Ethiopian read from Isaiah, it's actually Isaiah 53 is the passage that he's reading from here. He adapts a message to that situation. And Philip was doing what every believer should do, looking for opportunity and adapting. See, most gospel opportunities don't arrive scheduled. They arrive disguised as interruptions. Do you remember when Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James, and John to ministry? What were they doing when he called them to ministry? They were fishing. They were out in a boat doing what they did every single day. And God, Jesus, came into that boat, came into that scenario, and he interrupted their plans, and he gave them opportunity to do his work. What did he call them to do. He said, I'm going to make you what? Fishers of men. Their interruption to their life and their plan before that became their calling and their opportunity after that. And I want to focus on that story for just a second. When Jesus said, I will make you fishers of men, the literal Greek translation is you will catch men alive. You will catch men alive. That is our job. That is our task as Christians in this world is to catch men alive for Jesus.

17:14 And this Greek word is a peculiar one because it only occurs in one other place. In all of the New Testament, in 2 Timothy 2.26, the same word for catch men alive occurs. Speaking of an unbeliever, it says that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil who are taken captive, caught alive by him at his will. so I bring that up to illustrate to you this point that there's only two places where this verb is used are when the Lord said you and I we as Christians can catch men alive for the kingdom or the devil can catch men alive anyone in here like fishing a few of you okay anyone in here good at fishing okay good we got some confident anglers in the house all the people who love fishing you all know this you have to use different bait depending on what kind of fish you want to catch we're all called to fish in the sea of life but there's different kinds of bait available I hate to break it to you but you're not going to go to Cabo San Lucas and catch a marlin with a worm you're also not going to go to the San Juan and catch a big brown trout with a squid lure. You got to choose and you got to pick your lure, pick your bait based on the fish that you want to catch. And you need to know something. Satan is a really good fisherman.

18:41 Satan is a really good fisherman. He's really good at catching people alive. The same is true when we go fishing for men alive. One person's interest is in another's. And we have to learn as we're fishing in this sea of life to recognize what bait, what lures are going to attract and draw in the fish so that we might have the best chance possible to win them for the kingdom of God. One person's interests aren't another. And by the way, I said before, Satan is an excellent fisherman. He's been fishing for men for thousands of years and he's really good, and he knows exactly the bait that each person will bite on. To some, he simply uses the rubber worm. Drugs, cars, toys, materialism, and that simple rubber worm is enough for people to grab on and say, yeah, give me that. To others, Satan uses live bait. Sexual allure, a relationship intended to trap that person. To the more discerning, Satan brings out his sophisticated dedicated electronic devices, right? How many people have been caught in the snare of Satan because of that little device that's in their phone 24-7 that over time they become so addicted to that little device that that begins to determine their worldview rather than the Bible?

20:06 To others, the more discerning he brings out his fancy flies, the pursuit of intellectualism, Moral living. Whatever it is, Satan is a good fisherman. He uses bait and his goal is to get his hook into you. But know this, God uses bait as well. And you and I should be using this kind of bait. To some who are lonely, it's the hope of a friend who will never leave them or forsake them. To others filled with anguish, it's the hope of a personal peace. To some who are disillusioned with a hopeless future, it's the promise of his coming. To those plagued with personal guilt, it's the promise of complete forgiveness, all with the goal to hook us into eternal life. And evangelism requires flexibility and responsiveness to the Spirit. Christian, we have to learn to adapt to the situation and to choose the right bait. That's why if you go into every evangelism opportunity with a script in your mind of I say this and then I say this and then I say this and then I ask them, do you want to accept Christ? You're not going to be as effective as if you go into each situation listening, trying to understand where this person is at, what they've experienced in their lives and waiting for the spirit to speak to you and lead you and guide you and choosing what you're going to say based on where that person is at. And that's exactly what Philip does.

21:41 he looks at the situation and he shares what needs to be shared with that individual person. Jesus, the master communicator, never dealt with any two people in exactly the same way. His dealings were always different. To the woman who had spent a lifetime trying to fill a void in her life with failed relationships with men, he spoke of a deep spiritual thirst that he could satisfy. To a man who was an expert in theology and had a tremendous intellect, he spoke in almost childlike terms of being born again. To a lonely, friendless outcast named Zacchaeus, he offered friendship, calling him down from that tree and saying, Zacchaeus, let's have lunch together. To a woman actually caught in the act of adultery, he spoke of mercy, ultimately saying, woman, where are your accusers? And like Jesus, we need to learn to recognize divine appointments, and we can't go off of a script.

22:39 We need to adapt to the situation, ask questions and be available. What does this look like for you? A coworker asking unexpected questions. A neighbor opening up about a painful situation in their life. A friend suddenly talking about purpose and wondering what their purpose in life is. Someone sitting next to you on a plane or a bus, reading a book. you look at that book and say, oh, tell me about that book. And you can lead that into a conversation where you can weave in the gospel. By the way, every story that I've ever read has some kind of a connective tissue to something in the Bible. You just got to look for it because all creativity, all these stories ultimately are from God. So when you're seeing somebody watching a movie or reading a book or, or reading the newspaper, these are all perfect segues to experience and see what's going on in their life and weave the gospel into it. A random conversation after church.

23:37 Look for the opportunities. Adapt to the situation. In verse 29, it says, then the spirit said to Philip, go near and overtake this chariot. I love this verse because it illustrates to us that Jesus' people don't just live by plans. They live by promptings. I think it's important to point out that it says that the spirit told Philip and and I can't prove this but it would lead me to believe that this was not an audible voice of Jesus like we have other stories of in the bible but this was the spirit bearing witness to Philip's soul where he felt that weight that heaviness the spirit spoke to him and said you need to go talk to that person which again I asked you before how many times have we felt that burden that weight on our heart and soul. I need to go talk to that person. I need to go have a conversation about the gospel and Jesus with that person. People without Jesus are not an inconvenience to avoid. They are souls to pursue.

24:41 They're souls to pursue. That's exactly what Philip did. Look at verse 30. It says, so Philip ran to him. There's urgency there. And once Philip arrives, he doesn't talk randomly. He understood how to connect the moment to scripture. And that leads us to our second point. We need to apprehend the scripture. Adapt to the situation, but number two, apprehend the scripture. Let's look at verses 30 to 35. so Philip ran to him and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah and said do you understand what you are reading and he said how can I unless someone guides me and he asked Philip to come up and sit with him the place in the scripture which he read was he was led as a sheep to the slaughter and as a lamb before its shearer is silent so he opened not his mouth in his humiliation his justice was taken away. And who will declare his generation for his life is taken from the earth? So the eunuch answered Philip and said, I ask of you, of whom does the prophet say this?

25:53 Of himself or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth and beginning at this scripture, preached Jesus to him. So number one, we need to adapt to the situation. Number two, We need to apprehend the scripture. Look at verse 30 one more time. It continues by saying, so Philip ran to him and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. And he said, and I love this question. It's such a simple question. And by the way, this is a great question, the idea of this, to ask to your friends, to those in this world. Do you understand what you're reading? Do you understand what you're reading? And then in verse 35, it says, Philip opened his mouth and beginning at this scripture, he preached Jesus to him. The Ethiopian eunuch is reading Isaiah 53, but he doesn't understand it. It doesn't make sense to him. He's like, who is this talking about? What does it mean? And notice Philip's strategy. He doesn't give motivational advice. He doesn't start with politics, culture wars, or personal opinions. He starts with scripture and he points to Jesus. And this is essential for anyone who wants to lead people to Jesus Christ. We need to apprehend and understand the scripture. If we don't understand the word of God, we can never pour out what hasn't been poured into us. We need to have an understanding of what God is speaking to us through his word so that when people have questions, when people don't understand it, we can explain it to them. And I got to let you know, this is the most powerful tool that you have for evangelism. More than any book, any YouTube video, any course, any class, this is the most powerful tool you have to share the gospel. Because this is the gospel. This is where the gospel is found.

27:49 And we need to understand what God has spoken to us so that we can speak to others. This is where evangelism begins. And I gotta let you know, in this world today, there's a lot of people who are curious about what this book means. And a lot of them are just waiting for a Christian to come up to them and say, hey, do you understand what it is that you're reading? Do you understand the Bible? Do you understand what this is speaking to you and what this is calling you to? The Apostle Paul encouraged Timothy to be a good worker who correctly explains the word of truth. And in 1 Peter 3.15, it says, always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. And as we share our faith with others, we need to know the scripture. Just as artists know their brushes and pens, as builders know their tools, as soldiers know their weapons, we need to know the word of God. And this is because God's word will simply never return void. Why is it important for you to know the word of God?

29:00 Because when you share the word of God, you have a promise from God that it will never return void. That doesn't mean that that person's going to get saved right there, but it does mean that it's going to have an effect that you might not see until you're in eternity. God's word never returns void. So lead with the word of God. The power is not in our cleverness. The power is in the gospel. The power is not in a tract we make that looks really nice. The power is in the gospel. The tract is not in the, the power is not in the five finger gospel. The power is in the gospel. Take the five fingers away. It's in the word of God. That's where the power is found. All the other things are simply tools to help you share the main message. Billy Graham has said time and time again in my ministry, I have quoted a Bible verse in a sermon, sometimes without planning to do so in advance, and had someone tell me afterwards that it was that verse which the Holy Spirit used to bring conviction of faith to him. And I found the same to be true in my life. Oftentimes when I'm sharing the gospel with somebody, God will give me some verse, some word that I didn't even know that I remembered or memorized. And God will give me that verse and I'll share that verse. And that seems to be the thing that clicks for them. We need to be students of God's word so we can share God's word. In verse 31, the man responds to Philip's question when Philip says, hey, do you understand what it is that you're reading? And the man says, how can I understand unless someone guides me? Christians, people today are spiritually interested, but they're biblically confused. People are very biblically confused and they need to have someone explain to them what it is the Bible truly says, because they're searching for answers in podcasts and self-help and spirituality and manifestation and deconstruction and therapy and internet influencers.

31:07 But none of that saves, only Jesus saves. Only the word of the Lord has the answers to the longing of the soul. And evangelism is simply helping people see that Jesus is the answer to the questions they've already been asking. If you want a simple definition of evangelism, that's it. Evangelism is simply helping people see that Jesus is the answer to the questions they've already been asking. People looking for hope, people looking for joy, people looking for purpose, people looking for peace, people looking for a way out of depression. All these questions the world is asking, Jesus is the answer to the questions they have. They just don't know it. And we have the wonderful privilege to help them discover that Jesus is exactly what they've been looking for. And when they finally discover that Jesus is the answer to the questions they've been asking, the joy they're going to experience is going to be fruit to your account. Look at Philip's method in sharing the gospel.

32:20 He did four things. He asked questions. Do you understand what you're reading? He listened before he spoke. After he asked the question, he let the man talk. He let the man share. Maybe he grappled with doubts. Number three, he started where the man already was. He didn't get in the chariot and say, well, hey, I know you're reading Isaiah, but actually I want to take you to this. Or actually I want to talk to you about this. No. Again, he adapts to the situation. He starts where this man was and he moves on from there. And number four, he showed how all scripture points to Jesus. You know, you've heard it said that there is a crimson thread of redemption that flows through this book. You can go to any book of the Bible and you can find that crimson thread of redemption and show people how everything is leading to Jesus. How it's all leading to a relationship with him. God has given us a simple yet profound message to deliver. The gospel.

33:19 And we don't need to candy coat it, gloss it over, add or subtract anything from it. So what is this gospel message? I want to give you a simple summation. I'm going to give you a simple gospel summation in a way that I would share it with a non-believer so that you can have a very simple tool to use in evangelism. Paul gives this simple summation of the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15, 1, if you want to write it down. He says, by this gospel, you are saved. So you want to have the answer to people, well, what can I do to be saved? This is the answer. By this gospel, you are saved if you hold firmly to the word that I preached to you, for what I received, I passed on to you as of first importance, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the scripture.

34:13 Embed that thought deeply in your mind. Embed that thought. Christ died for our sins. he was buried and he rose again and we've all broken one or all of the ten commandments haven't we we're all guilty we're all sinners all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of god don't believe me have you ever taken the lord's name in vain have you ever lied have you ever coveted have you ever been angry with somebody james 2 10 says that if you offend on one point of the law, you're guilty of all of it. And so seeing our complete weakness, our inability to do anything whatsoever to alleviate our wretched condition, God did the ultimate for us. Recognizing that our righteousness could never get us to heaven, God imputed his righteousness upon our lives and made us righteous by his blood, dying for our sins. Romans 5, 6 says, Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely a righteous man will one die, yet perhaps a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates his love towards us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Why did Christ die for us? Because there was no other way to satisfy the righteous demands of God. Why did Christ die for us? Because we had no ability to improve ourselves, much less save ourselves. Why did Christ die for us? Because we faced a future in hell because of our sin.

35:52 And for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting life. The message of the gospel is a message of love. It is a message of forgiveness. It is a message of hope. It is a message that needs to be shared. The gospel in a nutshell is Christ died for our sins. He was buried and he rose again after three days. Look, you don't have to have all the answers to all the skeptics questions, to all the worldview issues that people have with the Bible and think, well, what if someone says the Bible's misogynistic or racist? How am I gonna deal with that? You don't need to think about all those questions. By the way, I get asked questions all the time about obscure verses and I honestly have to say, I haven't read that verse in a long time. I don't have an answer to that question. I'm sorry. Can you give me some time? It's okay not to have an answer to all the questions. The only question you need to have a clear answer to is, how can I be saved? How can I be saved? Put your trust in Jesus who died for your sins, was buried, and rose again after three days. That's enough to save an unbelieving and broken world. Someone once asked Charles Spurgeon if he could put into a few words his Christian faith.

37:12 and he said it is all in four words Jesus died for me that's exactly what Philip did he preached to this man how Jesus died for his sin and by the way Isaiah 53 could not have been a more perfect text for evangelism in Isaiah 53 this prophecy talks about Jesus being rejected Jesus suffering Jesus dying Jesus taking our sin and Jesus becoming our substitute and Philip shows that Christianity is not about self-improvement. It's about a savior. And the third and final thing that we need to do, the principle, if we want to share our faith is we need to apply your story. You need to apply your story. And I want to move away from Acts 8 now for this. And I want to take you to a few other thoughts, a few other ideas. The Apostle Paul was a brilliant orator and communicator. He was very well trained, very well schooled.

38:08 He had a great understanding of both Jewish tradition and Greek and Roman tradition. He was a very good communicator. He was deeply schooled in biblical law, the wisdom of Greece. If anyone could have leaned on their intellect, it would have been Paul. If anyone could have approached evangelism as a debater trying to argue people into the kingdom, it could have been Paul. He was that smart. And yet it's amazing to read of the accounts in the book of Acts, where he would share the gospel message with powerful government leaders. And it would be so simple. And what he would typically do is he would begin with his personal testimony. And then he would always key in on what happened when Jesus died on the cross. And this is the same model that you and I need to follow. Look, people need more than a sermon. They need to see what Jesus actually does to a person. And that's what your testimony does. When you share your testimony of what God did in your life, it's more than just a sermon. It shows people what Jesus actually does in someone's life.

39:14 So we need to prepare and have our testimony on our minds so we can share with people. When someone says, well, why should I accept Jesus? The obvious go-to is, well, let me tell you what Jesus did in my life. Let me tell you how Jesus changed my life. Let me tell you what I'm experiencing now because of a relationship with Jesus. That's why you should accept Jesus. Because if it helped me, I think it might help you too. Again, evangelism is just one beggar telling another beggar where to find some bread. Hey, you're hungry? I found some bread over on the corner and I'm not hungry anymore. I'm full. I'm satisfied. Go get some bread over there. That's what your personal testimony is. It is sharing with someone what Jesus has done in your life. The most powerful witness is a person who's actually been with Jesus. Again, this is why our vision for 2026 is Jesus people, that people would look at us and they would say, they've been with Jesus. They're more than just church people, more than just religious people, more than just nice people or political people.

40:21 Those are Jesus people. I can see it on them. I can see it in their life and their actions. And everybody has a testimony. Some came from drugs, crime, gnarly backgrounds. Others might have come from a relatively moral background. But the main thing was done for every one of us, regardless on where you stand. Our sin was forgiven. We were justified in the eyes of Jesus and we were given the hope of heaven that no one can take away. And so here's a simple framework for how you share your testimony. Three steps if you've never written down and given your testimony a quick summation. And by the way, when you share your testimony, it should not be like a 45 minute ordeal where you share every little story and aspect of your life. It should be like five minutes, five to 10 minutes max. if you can get it shorter, better. You want to focus on three big highlights. Number one, once I was. Number two, then I met Jesus. And number three, now he is changing. Let me explain those really quick. Number one, I once was. Start with that. Briefly explaining your life before Christ. Briefly talking about what your life looked like before Jesus. Don't exaggerate the past. Don't embellish the past. Don't talk about the past almost in a way where it's like, man, you should have seen me before. Oof. I would have drank you under the table. I was doing so many drugs. I was in gangs. I was, and some people, when they share their testimony, it almost sounds like they missed their old life, right? Like the way they talk about the past is like, it sounds like you kind of missed that. What's going on there? Don't share it in a way where it's like, oh, look at my past. Look how bad I was. Share it in its proper context. Once I was blind, now I can see. Number two, lead in with the gospel with then I met Jesus. This is simply explaining your conversion. So once I was, this is who I used to be. And then you share briefly, this was the moment that I accepted Jesus Christ. This is the moment that it clicked. This is what was shared.

42:27 This is the truth that made me believe. It's important to share that because oftentimes if the spirit prompts you to talk to somebody, the person that you're talking to might need to hear your story and what it was that caused you to finally believe, because that might be the very thing that they need to believe. So this is, you share that sermon, you share that verse, you share that one thing that clicked that made you fall in love with Jesus. And then finally close with something like, now he is changing. This is the part where you explain, and by the way, this is where I think the bulk of the time should be spent in a testimony, explaining what God has done in your life since you've come to know Jesus. How he has changed you. How he's given you a new hope, a new joy, a new peace. Because those are the things that the world is searching for, that they are longing for, and those are the things that a relationship with Jesus bring.

43:24 What should a testimony be? Simple, honest, and real. and by the way as you speak please speak in english not christianese i know we've all been in church for a while and we can share certain words like the unbelieving world understands what it is but when you say hedge of protection unbelievers look at you like what is he talking about what is she talking about when you say you've been praying on something for a while unbelievers look at you like what does that even mean so speak in english share the feelings the first impressions you had. Those may be the very things felt by that person that you're sharing with. It's a way to give the gospel without getting immediately into the person's face. It's a way to build a bridge, not burn one. Your testimony is not the gospel, but it's evidence the gospel works. See, people can argue with theology, but it's hard to argue with a transformed life. And you don't need a theology degree. You don't need all the answers. You don't need perfect communication. You simply need authenticity, obedience, and a willingness to speak. And remember, always make a beeline to the cross. The cross is where the power is. Christ and him crucified.

44:39 And in verse 38, I want to close out with this as we bring this message to a close. Philip gets to lead this searching man to Jesus Christ. Look at verse 36. now when they went down the road they came to some water and the eunuch said see here is water what hinders me from being baptized then philip said if you believe with all your heart you may and he answered and he said i believe that jesus christ is the son of god christian you can do the same the key is to look for opportunities there are people like the man in this story all around us successful but empty spiritual but searching educated but confused connected online but lonely inside and god is still sending his people jesus people onto desert roads every day to preach to people like this are you ready to be one of those people like Philip that when God says go, you get up and go? That when the Spirit impresses upon your heart and says, go over, take that chariot and speak to that person, that you're on Central and you see a car drive by and the Holy Spirit says, you need to speak to that person and you chase him down and knock on the window and say, hey, do you know about Jesus?

46:07 That when the Spirit speaks, when the Spirit calls, we listen and we follow. Why? Because we're Jesus people. And Jesus people listen to Jesus. And Jesus people go. And this is how Jesus people share Jesus. Lord, we thank you that you have called us to be a part of the work that you're doing. What a privilege it is. Lord, you don't need us. As a matter of fact, I think sometimes we make it harder for you than it should be. You could just send down angels to blow trumpets and proclaim the message from the mountaintops. But Lord, you've chosen to use people. You've chosen to use earthen vessels of clay that your spirit might fill us up. And Lord, each and every one of us in here has a unique testimony. Some of us have experienced crazy lives. Others of us have grown up in church and we've experienced the staying, keeping power of a relationship with Jesus.

47:05 God, I pray you'd give us opportunities this week to share our testimony with those around us. Lord, I pray that we'd be introduced to people this week who have experienced a life similar to ours, perhaps. That when we begin to hear their story, we'll recognize this is the person God's brought to me. Just like the Ethiopian eunuch God brought to Philip, this is the person God brought to me that you would speak to us, that our spirit, Lord, would bear witness to your spirit speaking to us, and we'd be responsive, of Lord. Go before us. Come behind us. It's not in our power. It's not in our might. It's only in your power. God, we pray that we would have an impact in our neighborhoods, our city, our state, our country, and this world. In Jesus' name we pray. And all the Jesus people said, amen. We love you, Calvary Church.