Share the Word

[0:00] John 17 and verses 1 through 8, primarily, we'll be reading a few more verses than that. But I want to start with one question, and it's a pretty simple question.

[0:11] When and where did Jesus say that it was finished? Anybody? What was the answer? Okay, on the cross. Exactly. That's the first time we see Jesus say it is finished.

[0:29] That's one of the places where Jesus said that. Let's start off. I know I said John 17, but let's go to John 19 and verse number 30. John chapter 19 and verse number 30. Jesus is there on the cross.

[0:44] There are seven sayings that Jesus says while he is on the cross, and they are all important. And they're all filled with great information, but also what they mean to us.

[0:57] But in John 19, 30, it says, So when Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, and there we have it, It is finished. Tetelestai in the Greek, one word in the Greek, but we translate it, It is finished.

[1:12] And bowing his head, he gave up his spirit. So that's one of the times when Jesus says, It is finished. And when we hear that, we immediately think, Well, when Jesus said, It is finished, he was done.

[1:26] He had finished all the work that he had come to do. And finally, he is at the cross. He's dying on the cross for our sins. Does anybody know another time where Jesus said, He was finished?

[1:39] Anybody? Well, you're going to find out. Let's turn back to John chapter 17. John chapter 17. John 17, 4. Most of the time we think, Well, Jesus only said that once.

[1:52] Well, Jesus actually said he was finished before he died. And here we have it. John 17, 4. Jesus says, I have glorified you on the earth. He's speaking to his heavenly Father. And he says, here we have it.

[2:04] I have finished the work which you have given me to do. Now, Jesus uses that same word here that we saw in John 19. You kind of miss it. Some translations translate it a little bit differently.

[2:17] But in verse 4, he says, I brought you glory and I have finished the work that you have sent me here to do. So same word in the original language and it's used here.

[2:30] So what in the world does that mean? So we see the work of Jesus and that's what I want us to do today to look at what Jesus Christ has done.

[2:40] And I want us to think, it's important that we know that it was finished. That means that when Jesus died, he ultimately, finally, completely paid our sin debt.

[2:54] Meaning there was no more work we had to do. There was nothing we could ever do to earn it. And that's what Jesus accomplished when he was on the cross. But when Jesus, before he goes to the cross, he's praying to God the Father and he's saying, God, Father, I brought you glory and I have finished what you have sent me here to do.

[3:18] So we ask ourselves a question. If Jesus says it was finished on the cross, what in the world did he mean by saying he was finished with what God sent him to do and he hasn't even been to the cross yet?

[3:32] So I think what we see here is we see the strategy of Jesus on earth revolves around two main aspects, two things that Jesus' work on earth involved.

[3:47] And the first thing we see is in John 19.30. That's what we just read, where Jesus on the cross said, it is finished. Finished. And that was a message of redemption.

[3:58] That was the message where Jesus says, I am here to redeem mankind. I am here to forgive sin. I am here to die in the place, vicariously die in your place.

[4:10] So that's the message of redemption. But in John 17, he was past tense. He said, I finished the work you gave me before I've even gone to the cross.

[4:22] So what does he mean there? John 17.4, I believe, shows us a method of reproduction. That was two aspects of Jesus' work that God gave Jesus.

[4:35] The first was a message of redemption. The cross is what accomplished our redemption. But what Jesus, I believe, is talking about here in John 17 and verse 4, and what he continues to give us over the next 22 verses, is his method of reproduction that God had given him.

[4:57] And what we see in John 17, next that we see in our notes, in John 17, Jesus, and he's talking about the work that God gave him.

[5:10] In the work that God gave him, we find it interesting that Jesus never mentions the miracles or the multitudes to whom Jesus preached. He didn't talk about healing the blind.

[5:22] He didn't talk about raising the dead. Jesus talks about the work in his prayer, the work that God had given him to do. He mentions nothing about those other things. But over 40 times, he mentions the men that God had given him out of the world.

[5:41] So, here's what I want us to do. We've got John 17 open. And if you're okay with marking your Bible, I've got a little assignment for you. As we read through these probably 22 verses, I want you to, whether it's a circle or put a box or underline or if you have a colored marker, whatever, I want you to listen for every time Jesus in this prayer mentions his disciples or even us.

[6:11] And I'll give you a hint. He uses pronouns. So, we'll start, here we go, with verse number one of John 17. John 17, verse one. Jesus spoke these words and he prays this prayer out loud to his father.

[6:25] Because what we have here is we have John writing down what Jesus has said. And I believe he prayed this prayer out loud for his, as much for his benefit, but also for the disciples' benefit.

[6:39] Jesus spoke these words, lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify your son, that your son also may glorify you. As you have given him authority over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as you have given him.

[6:55] And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have glorified you on the earth. I have finished the work which you have given me to do.

[7:08] And now, O Father, glorify me together with yourself, with the glory which I had before the world was. Okay, you're thinking, over 40 times? That's a lot, over 40 times.

[7:20] Well, okay, here we go. Get your pen ready. John 17, 6. I have manifested your name to the men whom you have given me out of the world. They were yours.

[7:32] You gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they have known that all things which you have given me are from you. For I have given to them the words which you have given me, and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from you, and they have believed that you sent me.

[7:54] I pray for them. I do not pray for the world, but for those whom you have given me. For they are yours, and all mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.

[8:08] Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world. Talking about when he was going to leave this earth. Holy Father, keep through your name those whom you have given me that they may be one as we are.

[8:24] While I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name. Those whom you gave me, I have kept, and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, speaking of Judas Iscariot, that the scripture might be fulfilled.

[8:40] But now I come to you, and these things I speak in the world that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

[8:57] I do not pray that you should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

[9:08] Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world, and for their sakes, I sanctify myself that they also may be sanctified by the truth.

[9:26] I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in me through their word. That's where we come in.

[9:36] All the disciples who follow Jesus Christ after the disciples, after they're dead and gone, all who would ever believe in Jesus Christ, Jesus prayed for us in that upper room before he went to the cross.

[9:51] Verse 20, I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may be one as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that you sent me, and the glory which you gave me I have given to them, that they may be one just as we are, I in them, and you in me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them as you have loved me.

[10:24] Father, I desire that they also, whom you gave me, may be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which you have given me, for you loved me before the foundation of the world, O righteous Father.

[10:39] The world has not known you, but I have known you, and these have known that you sent me, and I have declared to them your name, and will declare it, that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and I in them.

[11:00] You get the point? What did he finish? Jesus had finished pouring his life into these men.

[11:11] Matter of fact, the culmination of Jesus' entire life, all he talks about were his disciples. He didn't talk about the miracles. He didn't talk about anything.

[11:22] He didn't talk about a good life. He talked about what his disciples had heard, and what he had imparted to his disciples, and how the world might respond to the word and the truth that Jesus had imparted to his disciples.

[11:40] So, all we are seeing here is that at the end of Jesus' life, he's talking about a method of reproduction. And so, Jesus' strategy depended on a few disciples' faithfulness.

[11:57] That's the strategy that Jesus has to reach the world. His strategy depends on our faithfulness to advance the message of redemption by following what?

[12:09] His method of reproduction. His whole work was pouring his life into just a few people, and so they could pour, in turn, their lives into a few people, and on and on and on.

[12:23] We have a lot of resources we can use. We have a lot of technology. We have television, radio, internet, where millions of people can be reached at the same time. And that's all great.

[12:34] We shouldn't stop that. But Jesus' method was more simple than that. It was one and one and one and one and one and a small group of people.

[12:49] It didn't mean he didn't like the crowds or didn't love the crowds, but Jesus said, you know what? In order for this message to have the most impact, I'm going to pour my life into these few people who will then in turn pour their lives into a few more people.

[13:03] And what we see is we see the heart of God. We see the heart of Jesus Christ. And here is the urgent need. This is the urgent need. And that is if we do not reproduce ourselves in disciple-making.

[13:19] Just as when a couple gets married, most of them reproduce. You have children. That's how we propagate the human race. And if no one ever reproduced anymore, then the human race would die off.

[13:33] If we as disciples would never reproduce ourselves as disciples, then Christianity would then die off. And so that is his plan. And if we don't reproduce ourselves in disciple-making, then we will do a meager job of advancing the message of reproduction.

[13:51] Or another way of saying it, we will do a pitiful job of advancing if we don't reproduce ourselves. And you know, it's funny, in a day where we have so much technology and so many resources, resources.

[14:05] And you know, I know we're doing the job and I know the body of Christ is doing the job, but I find it interesting that there are more people today who have not heard of Jesus than back in the day when the horse's carriage was invented.

[14:22] Meaning, there's a lot of work to be done. There's more people alive today who have never heard of Jesus than were alive a hundred years ago.

[14:35] So, it's not, we're not reaching the world at a fast enough rate, meaning there's more people being born and they need to know Jesus Christ.

[14:46] So that brings us to the urgent question, will we be faithful to obey his plan? Now, get this, God's mission, if we think our mission is dependent upon technology, and if we think our mission is dependent upon buildings and resources, then what we're saying is, God cannot use the billions of people who don't have access to those resources.

[15:16] So really, all we need is a life and a voice and someone to reach out to. That's the simple plan. We can't make it any simpler. You know, because if God said you need this in order to, or you need these resources, or you need that technology in order to be able to reach people, then some people couldn't do it because they have no access to those resources.

[15:36] So what I want us to do over the next few weeks is to dive in to looking at four components of what it means to make disciples. And after we're done, I would like that if anybody at faith has ever asked, what is a disciple, or how do you make disciples, we could give them a succinct answer.

[15:56] And not be in the dark, or not be just nebulous about, what is it? Well, we know exactly because we learned from Jesus and how he did it and what a disciple is.

[16:08] So the foundation of disciple making is where we're going to begin this morning. And instead of circling all the they's and the them's like we just did, in the next portion we're going to look specifically at John chapter 17 verses 1-5, I want us to look for another word.

[16:28] And I think you'll see it, if not, well, I'll give you a hint after we're done. John 17, let's start with verse 1.

[16:39] Kind of, it's repeated, and it's really the focus. Jesus spoke these words, verse 1, lifted up his eyes to the heaven, and said, Father, the hour has come, glorify your Son, that your Son may also glorify you, as you have given him authority over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as you have given him, and this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

[17:07] I have glorified you on earth, I have finished the work which you have given me to do, and now, O Father, glorify me together with yourself with the glory which I had with you before the world was.

[17:25] Did you catch the word? It was mentioned five times. Glory. Glory. The driving force in this prayer is the glory of God.

[17:37] Why did Jesus do what he did? To glorify God. Why did Jesus pour his life into these men? To glorify God. Why did Jesus pour his life into these few men so that they could believe the word and they could go out and reproduce themselves?

[17:54] To glorify God. You get the point of the prayer? The whole point of the prayer and his method of reproduction was all in order to glorify God.

[18:06] The first thing we see is God is glorified in the completion of the incarnation. Remember, we've been continuing on with the idea of incarnation, incarnation.

[18:18] That is, Jesus became flesh. Jesus, fully God, fully man. That's what the word incarnation means. So God is glorified in the completion of the incarnation. Why did Jesus come to earth?

[18:30] To die for us. As a baby, he was destined to die. So God's glorified in the death of Jesus on the cross and ultimately shows his satisfaction by raising Jesus from the dead.

[18:42] So that's the first component that we see is that God is glorified in completing by Jesus going to the cross. But also what we see in John 17 is God is glorified in the continuation of the incarnation.

[18:57] Because Jesus went up to heaven. And if Jesus had gone up to heaven without leaving a witness and without leaving a method of reproduction, then God would no longer be being glorified.

[19:13] Because remember, Christ is making himself known through you and through me. We are his feet. We are his mouthpieces. We are his hands. We are the ones that the world looks upon and they can see Jesus through us.

[19:29] And so when Jesus is saying to the Father, Father, it is best for your glory that you bring me back to you because when you do, I will do what? I will show the word made flesh.

[19:43] How? In each one of these guys, right? I will show the word made flesh in these men. And by extension, I believe he's also saying, Jesus is saying, I will make my word, I will show the word made flesh in everyone at faith who knows and follows Jesus.

[20:06] I will show myself through the word or I will show the word become flesh. You know, we know that Jesus is the word. The word became flesh. Jesus says, I want to continue that because as he's praying to the Father, I will show the word made flesh in each one of these men as they go out into the world.

[20:26] The incarnation will continue over and over and over and over again. And we know the scripture is clear where it says we were created to bring glory to God. How do we most bring glory to God?

[20:40] By what Jesus says in John 17. By reproducing ourselves. By going out into the world. And by sharing the word and the truth that Jesus gave us.

[20:50] You know, when Jesus was praying, and I've said this before, when we are on our deathbed, when we know we're about to die, we will, and the information that we dispense, we're not going to talk about fluff.

[21:09] We're going to talk about the things that are most important to us. We're going to try to dispense as much wisdom or as much good information as possible.

[21:22] And I think we see this. Jesus is distilling his life. He is distilling his entire work the Father gave him to do. And in this prayer, in 22 verses, Jesus, I think, gives to us what was most important to him.

[21:36] To glorify God and to glorify God through reproducing ourselves. His disciples reproducing disciples. So we get to the first component this morning of disciple making.

[21:46] Remember, we're talking, we're going to be talking about four components. The first one today is the first component of disciple making is, I think we see it here in these 22 verses, is how do you make disciples?

[21:59] You share the word. Just share the word. Share what we know. That's the foundation. So I want us to dive into verses 6 through 8 in particular.

[22:12] And I want to see how Jesus began with these guys, how he began to bring them to himself, and how he began to make disciples. Verse 6, Jesus says, I have manifested your name to the men whom you have given me out of the world.

[22:27] They were yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they have known that all things which you have given me are from you. For I have given to them the words, so we see that over and over again, which you have given me, and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from you, and they have believed that you sent me.

[22:52] Now the overarching theme here is the fact that Jesus had shared the words of the Father with these men. And these men had understood what Jesus said, ultimately, believed what he said, and this became the foundation of their faith.

[23:08] They trusted in what Jesus had said. They believed his word, and they came to that initial point of faith. That's where disciple-making starts, when we share the word.

[23:23] And we see it not just in Jesus' life, but we see it in the lives of others throughout the New Testament. Let's look first of all at John chapter 1, verse 29. And I want us to look quickly at three people who met Jesus, and what was the first thing they did.

[23:41] John chapter 1, verse 29. The next day, John saw Jesus, we're talking John the Baptist, coming toward him and said, what is the first thing John did when he saw Jesus?

[23:52] Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. So the first thing John does when he sees Jesus is, he shares the truth, and he shares the word of God.

[24:06] Let's look at John chapter 1, verses 40 through 42. John 1, 40 to 42. One of the two who had heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.

[24:20] He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, we have found the Messiah, which is translated the Christ, the anointed one, and he brought him to Jesus.

[24:30] Now when Jesus looked at him, he said, you are Simon the son of Jonah, you shall be called Cephas, which is translated a stone. So John sees Jesus, he proclaims the truth.

[24:41] Andrew sees Jesus, and what is the first thing he does? He goes, finds his brother Simon, and tells him about Jesus. Okay, look down at verse 44. Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.

[24:56] Philip found Nathanael and said to him, we have found him of whom Moses and the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.

[25:07] So three people encounter Jesus, and the first thing they do is share the truth about Jesus. They find someone else, and they share Jesus with them.

[25:17] They share the word with them. You see, this is natural. It's natural for a true follower of Jesus, a fully devoted follower of Jesus, to share what they know, and to share their faith.

[25:37] When we become disciples of Christ, we just simply have to introduce people to Christ, because it only makes sense, and it was only natural for these in John. So we've got to realize, first of all, that evangelism is not a program in the church.

[25:54] Evangelism is not a program in the church. And discipleship is not a program in the church. God, remember what we said last week? Jesus did not come to give the world an institution.

[26:09] Jesus did not come to say, we're going to build churches, and it's the church's responsibility to make disciples and to win the world for Christ. Now, what we do, we are the church.

[26:25] Faith Bible Church is a local church made up of the church. So when I say that it's not a program in the church, I mean it's not a program in the institution called Faith Bible Church.

[26:40] But since we are the church, Faith Bibleship is to be making disciples. But we can never use the excuse, well, they haven't taught me well enough.

[26:52] Or, we don't have a discipleship program in the church, so therefore we can't make disciples. Jesus never gave that command to the institution of the church.

[27:03] He gave it to us as individuals. So we never have an excuse. Why? We have these men, three men, first thing they did, saw Jesus, they shared.

[27:14] They found somebody else. And that's why I believe this next point is true, that our confidence in sharing the Word is grounded in God's sovereignty, not in our savvy.

[27:28] Right? Because if it were, there were some of us who would be better at doing it than others. And we could point to our intellect, we could point to our experience, we could point to our schooling, or our upbringing, because, you know, we were raised in the church, or our family raised me, go to church, therefore I have an advantage over somebody else.

[27:50] Or somebody else has an advantage over me, because, you know, I came to Christ later in life. Well, guess what? You don't really have, they don't have an advantage. Why? Because it's God's job.

[28:04] And it doesn't depend on our abilities. All it depends on is our passion and our love for Jesus. Let's look at verse, John 17, 6. I have manifested your name to the men whom you have given me out of the world.

[28:19] They were yours. You gave them to me. Verse 6 says, Who gave us? Who gave these men to Jesus? God did. They were yours.

[28:30] You gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now, they have known that all things which you have given me are from you, for I have given to them the words which you have given me, and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from you, and they have believed that you sent me.

[28:50] So who's doing most of the work here? God the Father. It's the Father. He says, I've come to the end of my life. I've finished the work here. The Father is sovereign behind this whole thing.

[29:02] He's the one who gave these guys. He gave the words. He gave them to him. So God is sovereign over all these things. So I want us to see in these verses the part that God plays and the implication for us this morning.

[29:18] First of all, we see he gives the people. God gave the people to Jesus. God gave the people to Jesus. The Holy Spirit is telling us that we are the Father's gift to the Son.

[29:32] I want you to let that soak in for a moment. We are God's gift to Jesus Christ. to realize that you are a gift from God the Father to the Son.

[29:47] Precious and honored by the Father. Given to the Son. Valued by him. In a way that nothing in this world could compare. Jesus loved you and me so much.

[30:02] Or God loved you and me so much. that he would allow nothing in this world to keep us from being reunited with him. God says we were a gift from God to Jesus Christ.

[30:16] And I believe that he will give the people to us as well if we're willing to share our life and share our faith. God will have people cross your path who are ready to hear the word.

[30:31] And that's the next point. He gives the words. God gave Jesus the words to speak. Jesus gave the words to his disciples. And I believe he will give the words as well.

[30:45] And then thirdly what we see in John 17 is God gives the authority. God gives the authority in that he gave the words to Jesus.

[30:58] Jesus. And could it not be that since he gave the people and he gave the words to Jesus and he gave the authority to Jesus that he could not do the same for us?

[31:09] He could send the people across our path who are ready to hear the word. And he'll give us the words to say to them. And he'll give us the authority to speak the word to them. See this is why at the very beginning of the Great Commission Jesus says all authority is given to me in heaven and on earth to give to you this great mission of making disciples.

[31:33] Going as you go into the world. Make disciples. In Matthew 11 27. In Luke 10 22. Same thing. Jesus said all authority has been given to him.

[31:45] So that's why our confidence is not in our ability. But our confidence is in God's sovereignty. And can I let you in on a little secret here? God's got this thing rigged. He does.

[31:59] Because he's in control. And the whole mission is in the hands of the father. And you know what? God's mission can't fail. Because God's is sovereign and God's got his hand on it.

[32:12] His plan will be accomplished. If he won't if he can't use us, he'll use someone else. So we need to make ourselves available. And here's the thing. Very quickly as we go through this. When we share the word.

[32:24] Because we see this in in John 17. When we share the word. We share eternal life. Not religious laws. We share eternal life.

[32:34] Not religious laws. Because in other sects or in other religions if you will. people learn a lot of rules and regulations or laws.

[32:49] Or they learn what to say to people. And you ask people well you know are you are you a Christian? Well I'm this or I'm that. When we share when we share Jesus we share eternal life.

[33:04] We're not sharing a religion. You know we don't say well you know you have to come be baptized this way and you know you got to look like this and look like that and you know you got to believe this and you got to believe that.

[33:14] All we're doing is we're saying we're offering you life. And it's the Holy Spirit that does the rest. Now yes we have a part in that in the discipleship making process.

[33:25] The discipleship making process helps people to know how they're supposed to live and how they're supposed to imitate Jesus Christ. But the word is more than just intellectual knowledge because what we what we see here is he's saying that that they can that this is eternal life that they may know me.

[33:49] So we we see that in what in what he is saying here. The the when he says to know God it's more than just intellectual knowledge. If we go back to Genesis chapter 4 when the Bible says that Adam knew Eve and they had kids that's the same word.

[34:09] It's the the Greek translation translation of the Hebrew word. No. So it is more than just an intellectual knowledge. It is a relationship. So when Jesus when God when Jesus is praying and he says God this is eternal life that they may know you.

[34:25] So what we're sharing with people is a way for them to have a relationship with the heavenly father. Not just to be part of a religion. So we're not sharing a religion. We're sharing life.

[34:36] And it's more than just knowledge. Because if we share laws you know if we learn a presentation like Joe's Witnesses and like some other groups that you know what if you get them off track off that script you know they're they're befuddled.

[34:51] I mean they're they're messed up because they're on a script. They are propagating a religion. We're propagating life.

[35:01] Because if we share laws or if we share a script or a religion then we need to have programs. Or we need to memorize presentations.

[35:14] Or it would then become the responsibility of the church to organize projects. And so if we say well you know I'm not and I'm not saying anything that those are not bad in themselves.

[35:33] You know programs are good. Presentations are good. To think about how we're going to present the word of God. And outreach projects are not bad.

[35:45] But the thing is we don't need to rely on them. Because Jesus' program was sharing our life and our words with others. Sharing life.

[35:56] And here's the great news. Because if we share life all we need to do is know a person. you don't have to go to Bible college. You don't have to go to seminary.

[36:07] You don't have to have a world of experience. You could know you could come to know Jesus Christ at eleven eleven and a half and at eleven twelve lead someone else to Christ.

[36:28] Because what did Andrew do? What did Philip do? Hey I just found the greatest thing in the world. Here let's go. Let's go see him. And they led someone else to Jesus.

[36:40] And they didn't know anything. All they knew was a person. And that is awesome. That's what these guys did. Now let me bring it into our everyday life.

[36:52] How many of you are grandparents? Yeah. Yeah. Happy grandparents. Another new grandparent a couple of weeks a week and a half ago or so. How many of you let me ask you a question.

[37:05] How many of you enjoy talking about your grandchildren? Yeah. I mean yeah sadly now how to bore someone to tears? Show all the pictures of your grandkids.

[37:16] Right? Unless you're another grandparent and then you can enjoy the pictures. Right? You know everybody does. But here's the thing. How many of you were trained to talk about your grandchildren?

[37:27] Right? How many of you took that course? Nobody. But why are we so excited and somebody just gives us a little bit I mean they give us like an inch of an opening and we bust right through that door and out comes our phone or out comes the pictures.

[37:46] Right? Because we know our grandchildren and we love them and we have a relationship with them. It's natural and I think it can be the same with Jesus because what's in our heart comes out our mouths.

[37:59] And then the next point that we see is sharing the word is designed to humble us and honor Christ. What did John the Baptist say?

[38:12] I am not even worthy to untie his shoes because it's not about me it's about him. How many of you have ever been afraid to share the gospel? Be honest I'm one of those too.

[38:25] And here's the exciting thing. Do you realize that God is the one who gave you fear? Don't get all spiritual on me saying the love fear is not...

[38:37] What I'm saying is God has given us fear as a survival mechanism. So our fear literally comes from God. So when you're afraid to share the gospel and you kind of bumble a little bit but then you share God's word because the power is where?

[38:55] not in our words but in God's power when someone else comes to know Jesus they can say well I know you had a little bit of trouble there but man look at what God did.

[39:08] the point I'm getting to is even though we're afraid God can take that fear he can overcome that fear and God's power is most evident in our weaknesses.

[39:24] God is most powerful or God can show himself most powerful when we have a difficult time when we're afraid or when we but if we trust him he will overcome that fear and we might be humbled but as long as Christ is honored that's the thing and here's the comforting truths Christ is exalted through our weakness Christ is exalted through our weakness it's in our weakness where he can get the glory but people are saved through our witness people are saved through our witness so as we're going through this is how we make disciples we share our lives with others and the challenging question is will we live so that Christ receives glory in others now we see why discipleship disciple making cannot be self centered you know like put a box around my life around my family my house and I live to glorify God and if that's all we do that's great as parents we need to be sharing our faith sharing the gospel with those within our household but if we stop there how will the rest of the world hear about Jesus how will the rest of the world come to know

[40:37] Christ and how will disciples be made out in the world so what happens then is just like we live for those people closest to us when we begin living for those who haven't heard Jesus yet then I believe we're going to be seeing more and more people come to know Jesus as their savior more and more disciples coming to know Jesus Christ just like Paul says in 1st Thessalonians chapter 2 verses 19 and 20 remember he was telling the Philippian believers he said you are my joy you are my crown it's like people that you've led to the Christ led to Christ they're your crowning glory they're the ones that you live for all of them so what now as we close the question is do you know the word really the first question is do you know Jesus do you know Jesus the word this morning the gift that God is offering is eternal life and it's not so much about the length of that life eternal life is what knowing

[41:42] God knowing God so this morning if you're not sure about where you stand with God he is offering the free gift he says all all who call upon me shall be saved really simple and he's not offering you a religion and it's not coming to church every Sunday or every Sunday night or every Wednesday or whatever that makes us a good follower of Jesus I think a good follower of Jesus will want to be with the body of Christ but what makes us a good follower of Christ is that we know him and that we live our lives for others so like Paul says you imitate me you will be imitating Christ and then secondly will you share the word will you share the word let's pray father we thank you I praise you father for your gospel for your word and the privilege you've given us for being able to introduce it to others and father I pray that you would draw people to yourself or for the first time those who don't know you don't know

[42:46] Jesus as their savior and I pray Lord God that you are working in hearts of all those around us and working in the hearts and minds of those that are here this morning and just as our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ prayed in these that we see in these verses prayed that he would glorify you by having shared your word with these men who in turn would share your word with the world all of this method of reproduction so that you might be glorified and despite our weaknesses despite our struggles father I pray that you would raise people up who love you and it would become natural for us to share the word to share your truth with the lost and the dying world father I thank you that you've made it simple for us father I thank you that you really are in control and you've got this all in your hand because it doesn't ultimately depend on us it's all about you and father we thank you for this day I thank you for each one here today and father may we just love you may we love others and may we live a life that shows that we do we pray all of this in

[44:14] Jesus name amen