Clay Smith JFBC Finding Purpose
Finding your why - a popular Ted Talk
John 7:13-19
What is Jesus praying for in his final hours with his disciples? That they would have his joy, because they are going out in a world that hates them. But they are not of this world. Today the world hates us as followers of God. Jesus prays for protection for us from Satan.
Theme verse: v 18. Now I am sending you, in Jesus' power.
V 19: Sanctify them in truth. Clay thinks JFBC is well focused on truth and love, but could work more on purpose, on sharing the gospel with unbelievers - in the next 30 days before Easter. That's the key. People need to hear the gospel. They don't need to hear they need to clean up their life.
Why should an unbeliever accept Christ? God is going to change the unbelievers life in the following ways.
1. He's going to give them eyes to see, open their eyes to the truth. 2 Peter 3. God is patient. He wants everyone to come to Christ.
2. God will give us a heart that breaks. Peter had a heart for those who had denied Jesus. 1 Peter 9. God you can damn me if it will help others come to Christ.
Clay says The Jesus Revolution movie is a must see. Revival comes when God gets so fed up with what's going on that He comes down and fixes it himself. People are looking for Jesus. Lost people act like lost people
3. God gives us feet to go. Matt 28 Jesus gave the great commission. The key: Go and disciple the nations, getting out of our normal comfort zone. If you just go, God will change your life, and use you.
4. God will give us a mouth to speak. You have to speak. Jesus is the only answer. Mark 16.
A. When was the last time you had a gospel conversation with an unbeliever?
B. How many unbelievers do you know?
BOB prayer: Lord give me a burden, give me an opportunity, and give me the boldness to share the gospel.
Our speaker in Sunday School grew up in Egypt. As a Christian he was a minority in a nation of Muslims, who he hated. Now he is a missionary in Canada ministering to Arabs.
In Canada it's illegal to talk about Jesus out in public, punishable with up to 2 years in prison. A student was arrested for telling his teacher he believed there are only two genders, male and female.
BILL MAZEROSKI [SABR Bio] is said to have the fastest hands in baseball history. When asked how he used to get rid of the ball so quickly on double-play pivots, Mazeroski said: “I didn’t catch the ball. The ricochet would hit right there (left palm) and this (right hand) would be down here and, boom. It’s quicker than anybody else ever did it. I’ve never seen too many do it like me.” An eight-time Gold Glove winner, his career total of 1,706 twin killings is a major league record, and by a considerable margin. Mazeroski realized, while standing at the podium during his Cooperstown enshrinement, that his self-prepared acceptance speech wasn’t the one he wanted to give. He transitioned from a full dozen pages to a succinct, moving speech that lasted just under 2-1/2 minutes. Watch it here. Yankee 2B Bobby Richardson, owner of just 26 RBI during the entire regular season, drove in a record twelve RBI in the 1960 Fall Classic (including six in game three), but Richardson's heroics were almost instantly forgotten with one famous swing of the bat.
Denison: in his New York Times article, David French reflects on President Carter’s “malaise” speech. Carter called on Americans to look in the mirror: “In a nation that was proud of hard work, strong families, close-knit communities, and our faith in God, too many of us now tend to worship self-indulgence and consumption. Human identity is no longer defined by what one does, but by what one owns.” French: “even if the government could deliver peace and prosperity, they could not deliver community and belonging. Our nation depends on pre-political commitments to each other, and in the absence of those pre-political commitments, America is ultimately in jeopardy.”
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