Video Transcript: Vocal Witness is Authentic

We've had some good times together studying some great material. Nothing is better than studying the Bible. And you'll notice in the time that we spend that it all comes from the Bible. I'm not smart enough to think it up myself, and I just want to be obedient to what the Lord wants in our lives. So, let’s start with prayer, and then, we're going to talk about our vocal witness being authentic.

Dear Jesus, you know us inside and out. And you know that sometimes we fake it, and sometimes we put on a front, but we don't want to be that way. We want to be open to you. We want to be whole before you. And so, we're trusting now that through your Holy Spirit, our hearts will be opened. We won't hide. You will see us as we are. And we will become yours, holy. We love you. Amen.

Well, the last time, we were talking about the necessity of a vocal witness - how we can look like we're kind people, but nobody knows what our motive really is. Or we can look like we're bad people and nobody knows that we're being very rude to our commitment to Christ. So, the very important part is that we are vocal about it. That's where we were - the necessity of that. Now, we want to talk about that that vocal witness has to be authentic. That word authentic, what does that word really mean?

In the language where it comes from into English, it's a word that means "to do it in yourself". The emphasis is on "self" there. Authentic means it's real. And when we talk about an authentic person, we mean that that person is real. He's the same inside as he is on the outside. That's authentic. And that's important because when we talk about Jesus, people are listening and watching, and we have to be the same on the inside as on the outside. 

Think, for example, we talked in the last session about the ads. Because of the ads making it possible for TV and for the Internet, they want us to have those names in our mind. But they do more than just put their name up there. They always have people in those ads - an important sports figure or someone from business or a little kid or a little gecko, whatever it might be. But they always have people. And then, we believe the people and so, we will buy the product with that name. That's the idea. When you see somebody who's important who says, "I use this product," then, we say, "I want to be like him, so I will use it too," whether it's something you drink or something you shave with or whatever it might be.

We're talking, now, about a vocal witness being authentic. One of these verses that we want to look at when we start talking about authentic is a familiar passage in John's Gospel, chapter three and the first eight verses. But we'll just have a couple verses here up in front of us. 

A very important believer - because everybody's a believer - A very important believer came to Jesus and wanted to talk to him and say, "Oh, Rabbi. You're doing great work. We really respect you. You and I have a lot in common, because I'm a leader in the church, and I've been to the right schools, and I have a lot of respect from people. I'm big in my sphere, and I really appreciate you. So, let's talk about that." 

And Jesus looked at him, and he said, "Do you know what? You have to be born again." Isn't that interesting? Jesus didn't say, "Oh, yeah. Let's talk about that miracle I did when I raised the lame man or when I opened the eyes of the blind man." Or, "Yeah, there's a lot of stuff in the Old Testament we really ought to discuss." Jesus just looked at him, and he said, "You must be born again.

Now, here's an interesting thing. That phrase is familiar to us. In the language that Jesus spoke, the word, "again" really is the word that means from above. And here's what Jesus was saying. "You were born once from human parents. Your father and your mother got together, and as a result, your mother became pregnant, and you were born from a human father and a human mother." That's not too tough to understand. 

"But now, do you know what, Nicodemus? You were born with a dead heart. You were born on the wrong side of the fence. Everybody's born into the world this way. What has to happen, you have to be born again. And here's what I mean by that. You have to be born from above. Let me explain it this way, Nicodemus. Just like your mother and your father gave you life once, now, from above, God has to give you life again. And how he does that is by putting his Holy Spirit in you. But the way you are right now, Nicodemus, you're dead. Yeah. I hear you. You're a religious leader. You went to the right schools. You have a lot of respect. You walk around. People see you." 

But just in the chapter before chapter three, the last thing it says in chapter two is, "Jesus knew what was in people." And then, chapter three begins with this important religious person, saying, "Jesus, you and I have a lot in common."

And Jesus said, "No, we don't. Because you have to be born from above. Until that happens, you don't have any life." 

And do you know what? We talked about the possibility of each one of us being a witness for Jesus Christ - ordinary, everyday people. And we talked about the necessity to use the name of Jesus, but there's something very important you and I have to agree on right now. You can't share what you don't have. Otherwise, it's just going to be empty words. That's all. That's what Jesus is talking about.

I read an article some time ago about this executive in this cigarette company. She spends her life promoting cigarettes, getting people to buy them. And the reporter asked her what brand did she smoke? She said, "I don't smoke. It's not good for you." Well, she was right about that. But you talk about not standing behind what you propose. She wouldn't smoke, but she'd get others to do it. She wasn't the same on the inside as she was on the outside. And we can go around using the name of Jesus, but if we don't belong to him, if Jesus isn't inside, we have no message and no power. We have to think about that, don't we? 

We've been born, obviously, the first time from our parents. Now, we have to be b0rn again - born from above, have the Holy Spirit of God come into our hearts so that we can believe in Jesus. Have you done that? Is there a point in your life where you said to Jesus, "I need you. I have sinned against God, and I need you to be forgiven. I need the power of your Holy Spirit in me to give me life." If you've never done that, then why not pause for just a minute now and do it so that you don't have an empty witness when you mention his name. There's not a person born into this world apart from Jesus who doesn't have to be born from above just like he was born here below. And then, something happens when Jesus is in your heart. 

Listen to what it says here in Acts 4:20. "We cannot help speaking about the things we have seen and heard." If you're not sharing the name of Jesus with people, it could be that Jesus is not in your heart. But when you've made a point of coming to him and saying, "Jesus, I know I have sinned. I want to be forgiven through you. I want to be a child of my Father in Heaven. I want your Holy Spirit to rule in my heart." And do you know what? You can't help speaking what you have seen and heard. That's what happened here.

They took these apostles, who were out there speaking what they have seen and heard. They beat on them. They scared them. They threatened them. They tried everything to make them quit. Finally, they said, "We'll let you out of jail, but you have to promise you won't talk about Jesus again." Isn't that ridiculous? 

And those ordinary, everyday people stood up in front and said, "We hear what you're saying. We hear your threats, but we can't help speaking what we have seen and heard." When Jesus is real in your life, that's what you'll be. When I go to a movie, I want to stand up sometimes and say, "Let me tell you about Jesus." 

Or when I'm somewhere in a plane or in an airport, and I hear people talking about something between them, I want to interrupt, and I want to say, "Do you know what Jesus could do there?" And when you hear about a situation, when you hear about a marriage falling apart or when you hear somebody really being blessed and making tons of money, I just want to go over there and talk about Jesus. Why? Because I can't help it. I love him, and he loves me. He has changed my life, and he wants the whole world to be there. We can't help but share what we have.

And another reason that we think about that at this time is when we talk about vocal witness is authentic is one day Jesus was on a bit of a hill, and he could see the whole city in front of him. And at that time, there weren't a lot of people who believed in him. And he knew he was the only way. He, himself, said that. And he just stood there, and he cried. And there are different words for crying in his language. And this wasn't sniffling. This was just plain sobbing. He was heartbroken. He looked over that city. He saw the beautiful buildings. He saw all the businesses. He saw people in the streets. He saw little kids playing. He saw couples walking by hand-in-hand. Out there on the edge, he could see farmers. And he cried like a baby, and he said, "If only you had known what would bring you peace." Do you know what that teaches us? Jesus cared for them. Jesus loved them. He wanted them to come to him. That's why we do it. 

 I talked before and we shared it together. And I believe you believe it - that it's a matter of obedience. It always is. It's a matter of obedience. We have the Great Commission, which is a command. You make disciples right where you are. And we obey that command. But behind that is the heart of Jesus. Way back at the beginning of time, God made everything there is. And he said to us, "You can have it all, but obey me. And to test your obedience, this little corner is mine. You can't mess with it." Do you know what we did just like a beat of a flower, we went there and we messed with it. And we earned death. What was God's first word to us? "Where are you?" It wasn't because he didn't know where we were physically, but he was asking us to examine our hearts. "Take a look. Look at what you've done. I'm your God. You've turned your back on me. You're walking hand-in-hand with my enemy. Where are you?" 

And that care is why we have the Bible. The Holy Spirit caused God's heart to be written down for 1,600 years, over and over telling us that there's a God who seeks people who aren't Christians. That's the heart we have. After we have come to him and say, "We want your heart," then we know we have to have his heart for people. We care for them. It's not to make the church grow. It's not because we have to do it. It's not because it's a better deal. But it's because Jesus cares about people. And we do too. 

There's another verse that fits right in with that. You should read about the Corinthians. They had a huge pagan temple there. Part of their religion was sexual intercourse right out in public. They didn't need a XXX channel. They didn't need pornography. It was right there where everybody - men and women and boys and girls - could watch them. They said that was part of their worship - pagans. And it was a very important place (a sea port, a military center, an art center). And there, in that swamp, the Apostle Paul planted a rose. It was called the Church of Jesus Christ. And then, from that church goes this message. "We implore you,"-- Paul didn't mind begging-- "I don't mind begging. We beg you in Christ's name to become one with God." I look at that and I say, "That's the greatest form of caring we know." 

I was on a plane some time ago, and a businessman with his suit-- and not many wear suits anymore-- and his briefcase sat there. And a young fellow came and sat next him. We hadn't even taken off, and the young fellow said to him, "Have you ever heard about how God wants everybody to be saved?"

I was sitting right behind him. The businessman was a little careful. He said, "No. I was going to read here." 

"Well, let me tell you." This young man, God bless his heart, he wanted to do the right thing. For about five minutes, he just laid the Gospel on this guy. "So, you agree to this, don't you? You know this, don't you?"

And the guy just sat there looking at him. And finally, this young fellow said, "So, do you want to accept Christ right now and be forgiven?" 

The businessman was very courteous and said, "Well, thank you very much, but I'm not interested in any of that."

The young fellow closed his little book, turned his shoulder to the man there, didn't say a word to him. It was a cross-country flight. He didn't say another word to him for three hours, and I just wanted to cry. 

We don't want to use people to get them to Jesus. Number one, we do what Jesus did, and that is we plain love people. We don't love them for what they can become. We don't love them for what we can do for us. We don't love them for any other reason than that we just plain love people. It doesn't matter how good they are. It doesn't matter how wicked they are, how rich they are, how out of sorts with society they are. We love people. Will you accept that? That you love people. And then, out of that love, you give them the greatest form of caring we know. And that is to lead them to Christ. We must do that. We must love them as persons. God loved people and still loves them. 

Sometimes, people say, "Well, then, God becomes their enemy because they go to hell." He never sends anybody to hell. And he loves them even there. That's what breaks his heart. We love people as people. And then, we take care of them in the greatest way we know. Sometimes, churches send teams out to bring clean water to villages or to help fix a home in the South or whatever it might be. That's kind. And the people we love, we're going to help them and be good to them. That's nice. But if all we've done is given them clean water or clothes or painted their house or made them nicer people, what have we done for them if they spend eternity apart from Jesus. Authentic comes from a heart that loves Jesus and loves people and then, shares the name of Jesus with them.