One Thing // Evangelism

Big Idea:

The most powerful thing we can do when telling people about Jesus is to share our own story.

Scriptures:

John 9

Questions:

1. What is something you find easy to talk about with other people (favorite restaurant, hobby, sports team, vacation spot, etc.)? Why is that so easy to share?
2. What is something you find more difficult to talk about with other people (faith, politics, social issues, etc.)? Why is that more difficult? 
3. Revisit John 9 before and as you consider the following questions:
4. The sermon emphasized that Christian faith is deeply personal but always unfolds in community. How have other people helped guide, encourage, or support your faith journey? We often learn so much from the faith stories of others.
5. After the man was healed, people noticed that something had changed in his life. What are some ways a growing relationship with Jesus becomes visible to others? 
6. The formerly blind man repeatedly tells the same simple story about what Jesus did for him. Why do you think we sometimes feel like we need more knowledge, training, or expertise before talking about our faith? 
7. The man's parents knew something significant had happened but remained silent because the risk felt too great. (And there was real risk if they spoke up.) Have you ever experienced a situation where it felt easier to stay quiet about your faith? What made it difficult? 
8. The religious leaders kept asking questions, not because they wanted truth, but because they wanted a different answer. Have you ever seen someone resist a truth because of what accepting it might require of them? Have you ever done that yourself? 
9. One of the key statements from the sermon was: "We are responsible for bearing witness. We are not responsible for controlling the outcome." How does that perspective change the way you think about evangelism? 
10. The man's story begins with blindness and ends with worship. Looking back on your own faith journey, how has your understanding of Jesus grown over time? 
11. If someone asked you today, "What has Jesus done in your life?" what is one part of your story you would feel comfortable sharing? 
12. The sermon concluded with the phrase: "An encounter with Jesus changed everything." In what specific way has an encounter with Jesus changed your life, your priorities, or your perspective? 

Optional Closing Challenge:
Take a few minutes as a group to think of one person in your life who might benefit from hearing part of your faith story. Pray for that person by name and ask God to provide an opportunity for a meaningful conversation in the coming weeks. This fits naturally with the Invest & Invite posture of helping people consider for themselves what Jesus might do in their lives.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Welcome to the Refinery Church Sermon Podcast. We're so glad you've joined us today. Our prayer is that this message will help you grow in your pursuit to love and follow Jesus for life. If you'd like to learn more about the refinery, find ways to get connected, share a prayer request, or explore resources to help you grow deeper in your walk with Christ. Visit us online at refineryohio.com. Now let's dive into today's message.

SPEAKER_01 0:31

Morning, y'all. Hey, um, so last week I mentioned I'll be going on sabbatical for the entire month of July. So I'll be going on sabbatical for the entire month of July. Just a they said I have to say it twice. No, I'm just kidding. Uh so looking forward to that. Uh it's a great program we have at the church. It's a way of investing in the staff and also investing in the church. We've had three different staff members uh take a sabbatical so far, and it's proved just very profitable, both for the individual and their family and for the church. And so we're looking forward to some time away to do those things. I'll be back in August and looking forward to be back, but I'll be in the office next couple days if you need anything. Uh reach out to me and I'll try and get back to you. Uh but if not, I will talk with you in August. Um I I love that song Burn Like a Fire in me. There's it's obvious what we love. It just is. Like it's not one of those things you have to usually convince somebody of, it's just obvious. Um this past week I was meeting with somebody and they he goes, I come bearing gifts. We were having lunch together, and he threw down or handed me my one of my favorite kinds of candy. Like he he knew he knew I liked it because I mention it, you know, and it's one of those things. I was like, Oh, thanks, I appreciate that. Like he didn't just randomly grab it, he knew, right? Because I talk about it. The other day we were with some friends uh at an event, and uh buddy walks up and he says, Hey, here you go. It was ice cold glass bottle Coca-Cola classic. He knew. He knew, right? Because it's he he he knew, like it was one of those, it wasn't like, hey, I had a random extra drink. You want one? Um when we were in Guatemala a couple weeks ago, my favorite restaurant is in Chisek. It's called Pollo Granjero. It means farmer chicken or something like that. Um and it is fantastic, it's the best fried chicken since my grandma went to heaven. Um, and so if you're ever in Chisek, uh, which you probably won't be unless you're with us on the trip, make sure you stop and get Pollo Granjero. They weren't planning to get it, and I talked about it every single day and made sure they would know I would hire a tuk tuk driver to take me in to get Pollo Granjero, and we got Poy because I love it. Like what you what you love, you just talk about. What you love comes out of you. What it burns like a fire within us. It's just one of those things, and so let that be kind of a word to start us this morning. So we're we're closing out our one thing series, and we've been considering together how important one thing can be when it comes to the life of faith. Like one change in direction, one idea, one choice, one act of obedience. And so in the first week, we considered together how choosing worship of God over anything else is vitally important. That one decision, what will allow to captivate our hearts, has a reverberating impact throughout the rest of our lives. Whatever it is that just captures our heart, whatever it is that that thing that we love, that person that we love, that like it reorients, redirects, reshapes everything about who we are. That one decision. And in the second week, we looked at how choosing to live in accordance or living according to the kingdom of God, the uh the economy of the kingdom of God, rather than any other local economy is just different. Throughout the history of humanity, there have been different ways that economies have flourished or struggled or tried to be implemented. But for us, for followers of Jesus, if you choose to love and follow Jesus for life, we submit differently. And so with God, we find that being rich isn't so much about what we might acquire, but it's rather investing in things that really last. The world says he who has the gold makes the rules, we disagree. And then last week we looked at Paul's words found in Philippians 3. We're to worship God with our whole lives. Yes, God should captivate our heart, but if our actions don't follow, it doesn't really mean anything. What ultimately proves what matters most in our lives is how we actually order our lives. And so the Apostle Paul modeled for us what it means to not only say God is first, but to live it out as well. It's a matter of pressing into the future that God would have us to be a part of. And so ordering all of life toward the one goal of knowing God above all else, of knowing God fully, is simply the best way to live. And so that brings us to today. And so I'd like to have a little act of participation if you're willing to help me out. If not, it's gonna be like an awkward silence. So I don't mind the awkward. I hope you don't. No, I'm just kidding. They're easy questions, okay? It's not tricky, not challenging. I'm not gonna like turn your words against you, okay? It's not one of those things. Uh you don't have to be super smart, like it's not like a test, it's literally just your opinions, all right? What's your favorite coffee shop? Favorite coffee shop in the area. Go ahead and give me an answer. Seven brew, what else? New grounds? Oh yeah. What else?

unknown 5:15

Aldi.

SPEAKER_01 5:17

Aldi? Aldi? Yep. Aldi. Yeah, you just go there, you brew it right there in the store. Somebody did say they're home. Who else? Fox in the Snow, yep, that was shouted out first service. Duncan, Coffee Connections, yep. Any any stuffs fans? Eggnog latte? Come on. Come on. Starbucks? Uh, how about this? What's your favorite non-chain restaurant? Now listen, I need before you answer, there is a right answer. You don't have to give it, but there is a right answer. What is your favorite non-chain restaurant? Starliner diner. Starliner Diner? Revelry. Oh, the Revelry. We were there just last week. What else?

unknown 6:02

Cuckoo's not hero.

SPEAKER_01 6:03

Cuckoo's is the right answer. Pollock and hero is great, but that's not local. Cuckoo's is the right answer. The right answer. Just like you should have a fire burn with you with the things you love, also that which you loathe. I loathe cilantro. Um sidetrack. I'm pretty sure cilantro is part of the fall of man. Um, but you go to Cuckoo's, you don't have to worry about cilantro and your salsa. All right, how about this one? How about this one? Favorite holiday. Favorite holiday? Christmas. Yes, everybody loves Christmas. What else?

unknown 6:31

Thanksgiving.

SPEAKER_01 6:32

Thanksgiving, yes, those are the top two. Easter. Groundhog day, yes. So my wife just said her birthday. No joke, first service, somebody said your wife's birthday. That's true. She loves her birthday. Any other favorite holidays? Boxing day? Anybody? Anybody even know what it is? I don't. I don't. Okay. Don't care either. Um, but lots of holidays. All right, do do something a little bit different with me. Uh, because some of you are like, I'm not gonna answer out loud. I don't speak out loud in front of groups. That's fine. I'm gonna see if you'll raise your hand. So I'm gonna give you two options and then I'll have a vote, okay? So you'll just simple raise a hands. So which one do you like better? Doesn't mean you don't like the other, but which one do you like better? Chick-fil-A or raising canes. Chick-fil-A, show of hands, Chick-fil-A? Canes, show of hands. Those that think I should have listed Popeyes or Bojangles or anything else, show your hands. Yeah, that's all right, okay. Uh Corey Knox, if you know him, he was given grief for me not mentioning Popeyes. I said, bro, we'll go to all three places, test them out. I do love that, but not as consistent. How about this? College or professional sports? College, who's college? Raise your hand. Professional. Okay, yeah. Who doesn't care about sports? Yeah, yeah, fine. Take your take your flowers. All right, this one has three options. Three options. Physical, digital, or audio book. Physical book, raise your hand. Physical is your preference? How about digital? Digital people? Uh uh tapping, tapping is what I mean. Audiobooks? Okay, yeah. Yeah. I like all three. Uh beach your mountains, beach or mountains. Who says beach?

unknown 8:11

Beach.

SPEAKER_01 8:11

Who says mountains? Who says a mountain on the beach? That's good. Yeah. And the final one, again, there is a right answer. Coke or Pepsi? Who says Coke? God's beverage of choice served in heaven. Who says Pepsi? You'll be disappointed. If you make it. No. Um wonder if they heard that last part. All right. How open are you to sharing about your experiences, about your opinions? Like in smaller things like this, it's really not a big deal. Like it's kind of fun and there's no threat, there's no risk. Um, if somebody said, hey, what's your favorite restaurant? Like sometimes in the moment it's like, uh, like, you know, I love this one or I love that one, or you know, like, but it you're not like it shouldn't make you tense and uneasy. You're just kind of talking. It's not difficult to talk about. But there are matters in life that are a little bit trickier. So when we talk about faith, we talk about like religious practice, we talk about politics, we talk about cultural issues, we we talk about things like that, and it's one of those deals where sometimes it's just a little bit hard. Hey, who votes? You know, like what do you think about? Some of those things can just get trickier. And so one of the things I've seen, uh, so I signed off social media a while back, and um, not a recommendation to all people, it's just what I did. Um, but one of the things I saw on social media is people would weigh into these like really big significant conversations in ways that I felt just weren't helpful for the most part. They didn't seem to be inviting conversation, they seemed to either be slandering aside or uh setting up a straw man, if you don't know what that is. It's basically presenting a position that no one actually holds or a very small minority pos people hold and then presenting a counteropinion that just seems more realistic. And then there's times in life like where we should speak up and we don't, and there's times in life where maybe we should be quiet and we're not. And so it's a it's a balance to try and figure out how do we address these types of things. Because we need to engage in serious topics in meaningful ways. And again, I don't find social media to be the most meaningful way to do that. One-to-one is still my preferred choice. And one of the things I love about God's church, um, and if you've been around refinery for a while, you know, like we we're not the church, we're a church. We're a local outpost of the kingdom of God. We're part of the Church of the Nazarene, which is just one tribe of the many tribes that make up the church, the global church that testifies that Jesus Christ is Lord. And so the beautiful thing about the church is that what God has done is there's just such rich diversity. People from all over the globe, from every walk of life, so many languages, tribes, and tongues, from various socioeconomic levels, cultures, race, they declare Jesus as Lord. And if we were to talk together, we would find that we have different experiences, we have different thoughts, we have different perspectives. And in fact, that's what God invites us to do: to engage with one another in life in meaningful ways. And truth be told, it'll come at a cost because it's risky, it's challenging, but it's worth it. And we're called to engage with all of the world as well. Not shouting platitudes at people, but to meaningfully find out, hey, what is it you think, what is it you believe, what is it you hold to? And find out if they would have interest in what we think as well. This morning I want to look at just one of those bigger topics. It's the idea of engaging the world in the area of faith. It's called evangelism. Evangelism is just a church word that simply means sharing your faith with others at the most basic level. Just sharing your faith with others. However, sometimes that can be tricky, right? Because people, oh, I don't want to offend. Which is weird that we would assume faith is offensive. What's your favorite coffee shop? Stoffs. Oh, sorry. Is that upsetting? Apologize. We we think we don't want to press my opinions on other people. I just asked you your favorite restaurant, nobody's like, well, listen, I don't I don't know if there's Italian people in the room. Cafe da Vinci, anybody? No? Okay. Why do we find these things tricky and challenging and difficult? They don't need to be. I want to look at a passage of scripture. We're gonna walk through a pretty big chunk together. Most of it will be on the screen, not all of it though, just because it's a lot. And so if you have your Bible, I invite you to turn to the book of John, chapter 9 with me. It's the fourth gospel, New Testament, 39 old, 27 new, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. And we'll be in the ninth chapter, and there's this story that's fraught with tension, real tension, but I think it shares with us a way that we can think about evangelism in really healthy, life-giving, practical ways. And so I want to start with verse one. It reads this way, down through verse five to start. It says, as he went along, and he is being he's Jesus, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, Rabbi, who sinned this man or his parents that he was born blind? Because the cultural uh assumption of the day, the cultural belief of the day was if you're in a bad spot, it's probably your fault. Um, and there's some brokenness in your life that you're being punished for, which we don't always say it in the same way today, but we sometimes have the same thoughts. If you've seen somebody in a homeless situation or a broken situation, you're like, I wonder how they messed up. Not, man, I wonder what happened to them to put them in a tough spot. And so Jesus challenges that. He says, Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happens so that the works of God might be displayed in him. Like there's a recognition of brokenness, of sinfulness in the world. Like things are not how they're meant to be. You talk to anybody in the world, say, hey, is the world really the best it could possibly be? And regardless of belief system, regardless of understanding, it's like, no, something seems to be missing. Jesus says, as long as it's day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world. And so Jesus wants to recognize straight out of the gate, like, listen, there's brokenness at play here, but it's not somebody's fault. We live in a broken, fallen world. And so he's not the enemy, he's not the problem. Like Ephesians 6.12 says, our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers, like against darkness. And so we love all people. We invite all people into the story of grace. We're for all people. And so Jesus makes this abundantly clear, and he also makes abundantly clear that when Christians see brokenness in the world, they're supposed to do something about it. It's not an evaluation or a condemnation, it's just a recognition, man, this isn't what it could be. I wonder how I can help in meaningful ways. The passage continues, verse 6. After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes, which would have been wrong according to their Sabbath rules. That's a whole nother like train of thought, and we'll get a little bit there. And then he says, Go. Wash in the pool of Saloom. This word means sent. So the man went and washed and came home seeing. His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, Isn't this the same man who used to sit and beg? Some claim that he was. In other words, they had gone to work all their days, they had gone to market, they'd done all these things, they'd walked along the way. And when they see him at the temple, they knew this guy had been there for years because he can't meaningfully contribute in their society. There's not much he can do. He lives basically on the express sympathy, the kindness, the alms, the generosity of the people at large. And all of a sudden, everything is shifted because they see the guy walking around. And he knows where he's going. And they're not quite sure what to do with this. Because this thing just doesn't happen. It's not like, oh, yeah, in the ancient world, blind people they'd see all the time, crazy thing. Did not happen. And so they're like, I think that's the guy. And somebody else is like, no, that's probably not him. Why? Because there's no paradigm for this. It doesn't make sense. It doesn't work. Others said, no, it only looks like him, but he himself insisted, I am the man, which is just a cool way to phrase it. I don't know if he knew how cool it was back then. How then were your eyes open? They asked. Because that catches your attention. You've been blind from birth. Like, what happened? He replied, the man they called Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see. Where is this man? They asked him. I don't know, he said. Jesus acts on the man's behalf, but he asks something of the man. He asks for an act of obedience. The pool of Siloam is probably about a half mile or more from where Jesus first encounters him. And so if you can see the picture here, Jesus moves on his behalf, and then he asks him to trust him. Eyes caked in mud, to go find his way to this pool a half mile away from where he is to see what might happen. Pun intended. It's a simple act of obedience. And what would have inevitably happened, just like it would happen today, anytime Jesus was in the space, a crowd was formed. And they want to see what's going to happen. And so they don't walk, watch Jesus, they walk the man. And I guarantee you, a couple of the guys, a couple of the gals, whatever said, Hey, listen, I can help you get there. And they gather him by the hand, they gather him by the arm, and they walk that half-mile walk to the pool of Siloam. He goes in, washes his eyes, and all of a sudden he can see. And they're just floored. The miracle is personal, but it unfolds in community. It's the story of faith in God. Christian faith is always something deeply personal, but it's always meant to unfold in community. And someone might say, Well, that's nice for you, but me and my Bible were good enough. Good. Read your Bible, it'll tell you to get with people. Community is how it's meant to happen. It always has been. Not easy, but it is intentional. And then he begins to testify. You know what it means to testify. Because I asked you about your favorite coffee shop and you shared. You know what a testimonial is. Hey, listen, I'll give you a free latte. We just need a few words, a two-sentence testimonial. Done. He begins to testify about what happened. People say, like, what's going on? Like, there's this noticeable shift that's taken place in your life. So they want to know, like, what is it? Because his neighbors, like, there's there's obviously something different about you. Family, there's something different about you. Random passer-by, or there's something different about you. And this is what's supposed to happen with an encounter in Jesus. There's so supposed to be something different about you. Uh, John Wesley, one of my favorite stories of him, he was a forerunner for the particular tribe of the faith that we're in. He was coming over from England to uh the colonies at the time. I can't remember, 1600, 1700, something like that. And he was with a group called the Moravians, and a massive storm appeared on the Atlantic to the point where literally they're fearful for their life and this, that, and the other. And he was stunned while everybody else seemed fearful and afraid. The Moravians seemed to have this contented peace and continued to sing worship songs and pray. There was something noticeably different about them, and he asked. Mission trip a couple weeks ago, I was painting with Dave. And I said, Dave, won't it be great when you go back to work next week? And everybody's like, hey, how's your vacation? He's like, it was awesome. Paid a lot of money, sweated like crazy. They made me work and lift heavy concrete. Like, what kind of vacation is that? Well, let me tell you about it. Kids and our priorities. Did you get your kids signed up for that league? Decided not to. Why? They'd take him out of church too much. But don't you want them to be great? I do. I really do. You still angry about that one thing? No, I forgave him. How'd you forgive him? I just realized there's nothing worth holding unforgiveness for. How'd you come to know that? Because God chose that there's no nothing he should hold unforgiveness for me for. Our speech. Everybody's piling on to the latest political or cultural situation. Why aren't you slandering the other side? Because the scripture tells me explicitly not to slander. And so I can't slander. Because if I do, then I betray my first love. It should show up. Why do you speak the way you do it? Why do you spend your money the way you do? Why do you invest your time the way you do? Why do you treat people the way you do? Because honestly, because I found this joy, peace, and contentment in God and nothing touches it. I don't want to hear about that. No worries, you asked. I just told you. Okay, maybe I'll hear a little bit more. How are you working through things in your marriage? Like, why is it? It seems you guys literally honor and love and serve one another. It's like, well, yeah, that's the commitment we made. Yeah, but how do you make it work? God, I I don't want to hear it. That's fine. You just asked how. He's just sharing the good news he's experienced. Keep going with the text with me. John 9, 13 to 23. Some of this first paragraph on the screen, the rest, it's in your Bible if you want to read it. But I'll read it to you. They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind because they're trying to figure out how do we categorize this. Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man's eyes was a Sabbath, and these are breaks from Sabbath regulation. Sabbath regulation started with really good ideas, but it got misaligned. Similar would be the way to think about it like this. Christmas is this beautiful time to celebrate the birth of Jesus and to gather with our family. The danger can be we always have to have this certain meal at this certain time, at this certain person's house, and if we can't do that, well then the whole holiday is ruined. It's placing man-made tradition in front of what God says actually first. That's one of the reasons anytime I marry couples, I'm like, hey, what do the holidays look like for you? Oh every Thanksgiving, we're always at my grandma's. I was like, all right, be willing to break that. And if you're not, don't get married. Because if your tradition means more than your spouse, you're not ready for this. And this was their version of that. Now the day on which he's made, therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He put mud on my eyes, the man replied, and I washed, and now I see. Some of the Pharisees said, This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath. But others asked, How can a sinner perform such signs? So they're divided. Like, what do we do with this? Then they turned again to the blind man, What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened, after all. And the man replied, He's a prophet. They still did not believe that he'd been blind and received his sight until they sent for the man's parents, which honestly is a reasonable thing. If if you brought me somebody and you're like, hey, he used to be in a wheelchair just last week his entire life, and I'm like, and he wants to race you now. I'd be like, Do you have like video footage or like doctor's notes or something? Is this your son? They asked. Is this the one you say was born blind? You say, I mean, like you're saying. And they're like, how is it that he can now see? And they said, we know he's our son. We know he was born blind, because that's kind of something you'd catch in the first 25 years of the life. But how he can see now or who opened his eyes, we don't know. Ask him. He's of age, he will speak for himself. So the religious leaders are made aware of this miraculous work and they're not sure what to make of it because, again, they don't have a category for it. And this is why it's important to think, okay, how do I process things? One of my favorites is the Wesleyan quadrilateral. I always go to Scripture first. What's the story of Scripture? And if they'd honestly engage the story of Scripture, the Pharisees would have landed really quickly. Man, who binds up the broken? Who brings life where there was death? Who orders chaos? Who fills that which is empty? It would have been obvious to them, but their rules had gotten in the way. And the man just simply testifies the religious leaders, just like he did with his neighbors. And he simply tells the story of what he experienced when he encountered Jesus. No great theology, no great accolades of his own that he can fall back on. He simply testifies to what Jesus did in his life. But the story doesn't fit the leader's understanding, and they ask for insight from his parents, and so the parents they come and they testify to the truth that the man was born blind. We don't know why he sees. First, it's not our story to tell. Second, there's legitimate risk that if they tell the story the way he's telling it, they could be put out of synagogue which had cultural, relational, and economic consequences. Many believers today, it's not that we deny Jesus, we sometimes just stay quiet because silence can feel a little bit safer. What if they asked me something I don't know? Just say I don't know. John 9, 24 to 25. A second time they summoned the man who'd been blind. Give glory to God by telling the truth. We know this man's a sinner. And he replied, whether he is a sinner or not, I do not know. One thing I do know, I was blind, but now I see. One thing I do know, I used to chase after everything I could acquire, and it was never enough, but now I just have this perfect contentment in him. One thing I do know, I used to be judgmental and condemning. I had anger issues and all that stuff, and now I just want to pour my life out for other people. One thing I do know I used to be this way, and now I'm this way, and this way is just better to me. The man's no religious scholar, he just shares his story. Evangelism isn't about winning a debate, it's not about proving a point. It's simply sharing the story of what Jesus has done in your life. Here's what Jesus has done. Here's my experience. Here's from the encounter, like this is what's going on. It's radically revolutionized my life, it's radically revolutionized my family, it's changed the way I go about my work, it's changed the way I steward my resources, it's changed everything about me, and honestly, it's all for the better. That's my story. It'd be really cool if like the story ended there. And the Pharisees' like, oh man, that's good. That's good, bro. That'll preach. You know, and then they had like a potluck with Coca-Cola and Kukos catering. But that's not where the story ends because that's also not real to life. The story keeps going unfolding in this way. Picking up in verse 26 down through 34. Then they asked him, What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes? He answered, I've told you already, and you didn't listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too? Because now he's excited. He's like, all right, maybe they're just trying to learn. Then they hurled insults at him and said, You are this fellow's disciple. We're disciples of Moses. We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don't even know where he comes from. And the man answered, Now that is remarkable. You don't know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. This is why later in the scriptures, if you if you keep reading, you'll find that the prayers of a righteous person availeth much if you go back to the old King James. Nobody has ever heard of blind uh heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing. And to this, they replied, which tells us far more about them than anything else we need to know. You were steeped in sin at birth. How dare you lecture us and threw him out? They shouted him down. Because that's what we do when we don't have a coherent conversation or argument to actually express. We shout, we belittle, we demean. The leaders are looking for an explanation of what fits, so they asked for the story again. Echo chambers are not a modern invention. They had an echo chamber, they'd curated it perfectly, and so now something is breaking that chamber, and they need something different. People have always kind of sought to protect their preset notions. You and I alike, we do the same. The good news of Jesus will not always be received as good news because it can challenge elements of life and culture that can be difficult to let go of or change. This is one of the reasons, like I want you to be in the scripture. I want you to be a person of prayer, I want you to be in dialogue with other people. But if you do, the scripture will confront your life. The scripture confronts my life. I don't just read the Bible and it's like, man, I'm crushing it. Like I'm just getting everything right, and God's like, way to go. No challenges, no difficulties, no obstacles. Like we're learning, we're growing. The posture of humility is what we're supposed to cultivate in all of our things, which means there's always this receptivity to recognize there must be something I could learn or I could grow in. The leaders keep asking the same questions because they want some kind of different truth. They don't want the truth. There's been this assumption oftentimes that people make that's like, well, if I could just answer everybody's question, then I could make them a Christian. If I just knew what to tell my dad, if I just knew what to tell my sibling, my child, if I just knew what to tell my neighbor, if I just knew what to tell my coworker. And there's maybe even somebody sitting in this room, well, if you could just answer these three questions, then I'd become a Christian. I'd say, no, you wouldn't. Years ago, a friend of mine, he was an atheist, um, he invited me into a chat group. He said, There's a bunch of us, we're atheists, anti-theists, supposed to be kind of a collection of various religious thoughts. He said, We keep scaring away all the Christians. I think you can hold out. I said, Great. It seemed like a trap, you know. It's a trap. Um if you know, you know. And so he invites me into it, and so I hop in, and being one of the only people that testified to the goodness that Christ is Lord, I garnered attention. And so I found that empiricism was really valued within the atheist community and the anti-theist community within this group, and uh I asked for book recommendations, and so said, man, the best one would be this one. So I went and got the book from the library and read the book so I could understand what their perspective was and their thought and their idea. And so finally, like after kind of back and forth through various things, I'd asked, I put a poll up, you know, how you could do this on social. I put a poll up just to say, hey, so if I could um give you empirical evidence to prove the existence of God, would you submit your life to him? Just a yes-no. And like the over everybody said yes. And a couple of the guys that I was closest with on the group that said, Lenin, come on, man, you you know us. We've always said we value empiricism above all else. And so, of course, if you can prove it, you know we're gonna do this. Like, are you surprised by the response? I said, I legitimately am. I said, So you're telling me, like, if I could prove Christ to you in this way, like you would reorder your life according to the thing, the teachings of Scripture. And that's when the dialogue changed. And they said, Oh, well, no, I would not do that. I would rather burn forever than ever submit to a God who is, and then words I can't share. But the problem's not always a lack of information. Sometimes there's a problem, the problem is simply the resistance to the implications of the information. The leaders don't lack evidence. The thing they lack is a willingness to be obedient to what the evidence leads to. If the blind man had said, seriously, you're gonna put mud on my eyes and then just nah, forget it. I'll just sit here and keep begging, he would have never been changed. John 9, 35 to 38, it continues to go on. Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, Do you believe in the Son of Man? Who is he, sir? The man asked, Tell them, tell me so I may believe in him. And Jesus said, You have seen him, in fact, he is the one speaking with you. Then the man said, Lord, I believe, and he worshipped him. Dude had been testifying to the goodness of Jesus, and he didn't even know who Jesus was. In the end, the man encounters Jesus again and he chooses to worship. The word used in the Greek there would have some kind of reference to this idea of bowing or kneeling before him. And it's a physical thing, but it's also a posture of the heart. To say, I submit all of my life to you. One encounter changed everything for this man. And then he simply told the truth of the encounter he had. After that, it was up to those who'd heard to decide what they wanted to do with it. It's the same for us. We're responsible for bearing witness, we're not responsible for controlling the outcome. Just let me tell you what Jesus has done. And one of the great things about this is sometimes the risk, the reason we don't want to share, is because somebody will point out inconsistencies in our own life. If we're honest, right? Let them. You're like, you're right, you know, that's an area I need to grow. I appreciate that. And in that will you even testify to the goodness of God. The story of John 9 begins with blindness and ends with worship, and that's really the story of what God has done in the lives of people all throughout. I was blind to see what the world was, and now I see it for what it could be. I was blind to see my own faults and failings, and now I recognize, man, without him, where I would be. I was blind to realize, like, but now I see. I was blind, but now I see. The most powerful thing we can do when telling people about Jesus is to honestly share what Jesus has done in our lives. At the end of the day, the man's story, it wasn't here's my story. His story was, look what Jesus did. One encounter changed everything. Over the next several weeks, we're gonna be in a series called My Faith Story. And so several of our staff will be speaking to that. Brad Coaches, the founding pastor, will be coming back too and sharing a little bit. And you'll hear different details, there'll be different personalities, there'll be different approaches, journeys, but underneath this every story is this one same truth. An encounter with Jesus changed everything. One encounter with Jesus changed everything.

SPEAKER_02 35:15

Thank you so much for listening to today's podcast. If you're ready to take a next step in your faith, please reach out to us through our website, refineryohio.com, or you can email us at office at refineryohio.com. We hope you have a blessed day.