St Mary's

Today Talk from Nigel

17th November 2024

Good morning, the talk today completes our series “Growing the Church - The Evangelism Thing”. The subject for today is meeting people where we are, or in other words telling our story. May we pray. I have divided my sermon into three parts.

1. The story so far?
2. Paul’s story?
3. Telling our story?

First the story so far.

We started the series growing the church back in September, Rod chose 8 readings, gave each talk a subject, and left the rest to the speakers and the Holy Spirit. The theme growing the church, in other words the great commission.

1.Why do we need to keep sharing the word? Luke 15 v 1-2, 11-32 The story of the prodigal son. The son that left, squandered his inheritance and returned home, to a wonderful loving and welcoming reception, that’s an example for us to follow.

2. A life that speaks Colossians 3v5-4v6 Fix your hearts and minds on things above, not on your earthly nature, a guide to Christian Living.

3.Getting people interested John 4v7-26, 39-42 Jesus meets the woman at the well. He found common ground, the water from the well, the woman’s interest developed from that point she wanted to know Jesus. We are to meet people where they are by finding common ground, in Hope that they want to experience the love of God.

4.Good News Acts 10 25-43 God proves the The Good News is available to the whole of creation. Both Jew and Gentile.

5.Creative Communication Luke 10 v 25-37 Good Samaritan there are no boundaries to reaching out and helping others, as Jesus answers the question as to who is our neighbour.

6.An unlikely seeker Luke 19 v 1-11 Jesus spotted Zacchaeus up a tree, He wanted to follow Jesus. We are to respond to those wanting to come and see.

7.Talking to strangers John 1 v 35-51 Jesus calls fishermen to come and follow Him.

8.Meeting people where we are Acts 17 v 16-37 Sharing where we stand with others, telling our story.

Paul’s story, we are looking at Acts 17.

The gospel now comes to Athens, the centre of intellectual and philosophical speculation in the ancient world.

¹⁶ While Paul was waiting for Silas and Timothy in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. ¹⁷ So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. 

Paul spent time understanding the situation and developed a plan.

¹⁸ Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. ¹⁹ Then they took him and brought him to a meeting where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? ²⁰ You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.” 

²² Paul then stood up in the meeting and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 

Paul uses the altar to “An Unknown God” as his point of contact.

²³ For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So, you are ignorant of the very thing you worship.

²⁴ “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.

Paul says you do not create a place for the Creator to live. Rather it is God the Creator who has made a place for you to live.

 ²⁵ And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.

God is not dependant on us. We are dependent on Him.

God is not unknowable. It is we that have strayed away from Him. But He has initiated His plan so that we might find Him again

 ²⁶ From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. ²⁷ God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 

²⁹ “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. ³⁰ In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent

At every point, Paul shows the futility of idol worship, it minimises God and maximises man.

Biblical wisdom is all about living in harmony with reality. The central saying of the Wisdom Literature, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes is, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Reality is the Lord. To live in harmony with Him is to fear or affectionately revere Him. Focus you Heart on things that are above, Focus your mind on things that are above, not on our earthly nature.

At Athens, Paul preaches wisdom. The reality is the day of Judgement which God has fixed. The proof of this reality is that God raised the Judge from the dead. The resurrection of the Judge means that death was not the end for Him and it will not be the end for us. Beyond death there is Judgement.

Paul tells us how to harmonise with that reality, they must repent, turn away from their ways and turn to God.

Again, we read of the typical, divided response, some sneered, some made further enquiry, and for those who follow the way, it is never to be a forgotten day of repentance and new life.

These repentant Athenians had embraced true wisdom by recognising the reality of the resurrection as proof of the coming day of judgement.

Telling our story.

So how do we respond when we are faced with a situation of ignorance of the Christian Faith? I guess a lot of the time we mingle with the crowd and move on, unless the crowd are religious and want to hear the word.

God has given us a message to share. When we became a believer, we also became God’s messenger. Paul says “We speak the truth before God, as messengers of God”. We have experiences that God wants us to use, to bring others into His Family. “Those who believe in the Son of God have the testimony of God in them” I John 5 v10.

Have you ever given your testimony? Have you ever prepared a testimony? What might a testimony look like?

Telling your story is important, God calls us to Go and tell. Your story can be as simple and a summary of your relationship with our creator. It could be the Lord is my Shepherd.

I will briefly outline what a textbook testimony might cover.

The life message comes in four parts

1. Your testimony
2. Your life lessons
3. Your Godly passions
4. The Good News

Your testimony is the story of how Christ has made a difference in your life.  Consider the before and after, what has changed? How did you come to know Jesus? All our stories are different, but each story is valuable to God, He wants us to use and share the Good News.

1 Peter 2 v 9, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a Holy Nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light”. Jesus said “You will be my witnesses”.

First action prepare your testimony, write it down, read it, edit and develop, read it out aloud to yourself, pray and praise God for your journey so far, Amen.

Your life message should also include your life lessons, your life message is the truths that God has taught you from the experiences with him. These are lessons and insights we have learned about God, relationships, problems, temptations and other aspects of life. We should be grateful Solomon did this and gave us the book of proverbs. Try making a list of your life lesson.

What has God taught me about failure, lack of money, sorrow or depression, waiting, illness, disappointment? These are all things that we have dealt with, we have learnt from our experiences.

What have I learnt from my family, my church life, my relationships, my small group and my critics? When we think about our life experience then we have learnt a lot praise the Lord.

Your life message should include your godly passions. God is passionate. He loves some things and hates other things. As we grow closer to God, he gives us a passion for something he cares about deeply so you can share with others. Jesus said “A man’s heart determines his speech”. God gives us different passions so that everything he wants done in the world will get done. God has given me a great passion for preaching, its something I love, praise Him.

Our life message includes the Good News. “The Good News shows how God makes people right with Himself, that it begins and ends with faith”

The Good News is that when we trust God’s grace to save us through what Jesus did on the cross, our sins are forgiven, we get a purpose for living, and we are promised a future home in heaven.

Most important, we must learn to love lost people the way God does. God has never made a person he did not love. Everybody matters to Him. When Jesus stretched his arms out wide on the cross, he was saying, “I love you this much”.

We must care about unbelievers because God does. Love leaves no choice, I John 4 v 18, “There is no fearing love, perfect love drives out all fear”. A parent will run into a burning house to save a child because their love for that child is greater than their fear. 2 Peter 3 v 9 “God does not want anyone to be lost, but he wants all people to change their heart and lives”. As long as we know one person who does not know Christ, then we must keep praying for them, serving them in love, and sharing the Good News.

What actions should we all do. Invite them to church, come and you will see, share our story, pray for them every day, give them a Why Jesus booklet, take them for a meal.

We are members of God’s family, we are models of His character, we are magnifiers of His Glory, we are ministers of His Grace and a messenger of the Good News to others

As God’s chosen people, we need to ask God, to clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances we may have with each other. Forgive as the lord forgave us. And overall, these virtues put on love, which binds them all in perfect unity.

Living a life that speaks, is living a life with God, a life of prayer, a life of repentance, a life of forgiveness, a life of being filled with the Holy Spirit, a life of taking up the cross each day, a life of following Jesus day by day, knowing that we are not of this world, knowing that our citizenship is in heaven. Our identity is in eternality and our homeland is heaven, we are Christs ambassadors, our lives are a test, a trust and a temporary assignment. Let the word of Christ dwell in us richly, teach us and admonish one another with wisdom, doing everything in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God through Him.

I commend Growing the church, to your thoughts and prayers, that we may understand our purpose and role, to do His good will, thy will be done, His Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven. That we serve God seeing His Church grow, that we may have the courage and strength to take the Gospel to the people, we pray that the light of God may shine on their hearts and minds, may God bring all of His creation to His Heavenly Home, the New Heaven and the New Earth, let’s go in peace to love and serve the lord, In the name of Christ, Amen.