Video Transcript: Being a Vocal Witness

We're back again. And I want to start sort of where we left off last time with a word of encouragement. This is all good stuff. This is, as I tried to show, all from the Bible. That's our mission manual and our encouragement. So, hopefully, you're finding it that way. There's a lot of material to work through. This has to all become part of our life, because we're a vocal witness for Jesus. That's what we are. That's who we are, not what we do. Let's pray, and then, we'll move on about, again, being a vocal witness.

Father in Heaven, we come to you in the name of Jesus, our Savior. And we think of how, from the very beginning, you loved us and you wanted us to be part of your family. And when we turned our backs on you, you called us back home again through many, many different ways in the Old Testament. We think of the book of Exodus and how powerfully it speaks to us that we have been set free from the land of bondage - the bondage of sin. And now, we are free to live for you. And we look all around us, the people you love who are still far from home and to think that you're willing to use us. What a great thing that is. Thanks for your Word. We love you. Amen. 

So, we want to look at a passage now that speaks pretty directly to our hearts. As I just prayed, God's people had been prisoners of war and slaves in Egypt for 400 years. Can you imagine all the generations that went by, that people never even knew what it was like not to live there, not to be a slave, not to be a prisoner of war? And their burdens got heavier and heavier. And they cried out to the Lord for help. 

And the Lord said, "All right. I'll come down, and I'll appoint someone, and that person will be your leader. And that person will have my power and lead you out of your bondage." 

So, the Lord comes to a shepherd - nice. Jesus is a Good Shepherd. He comes through a shepherd named Moses and says, "I'm sending you to my sheep. They're harassed and they're helpless and they're without a shepherd. And I want you to lead them out and lead them into freedom." 

And then, we pick up this. [Exodus 3:7-4:17] - "The Lord said, 'So, now, go, Moses. I am sending you.'"

"But Moses said, 'Who am I? What shall I tell them? What if they do not believe me? I have never been eloquent. Please send someone else.'" 

"And then, the Lord's anger burned against Moses." What's the one thing Moses did that made God mad? No. It's not that he questioned God. That's not it at all. No. It's not that he felt he didn't have ability. And how about you? When do you think that you'll make God angry in terms of being a vocal witness? Not that you're scared. Not that sometimes you have other priorities. Not that you disobey. What is it that really made God angry?

Start with what Moses said. God didn't get angry when Moses said, "Who am I?" Moses was feeling what you and I feel a lot of times. 

"I'm not really one of these big evangelists. I'm not a seminary professor. I'm not a pastor. It's just me."

And the Lord's answer to him-- you can read the whole passage. It's from chapter 3:7 to chapter 4:17. I condensed it here. But he says, "Who am I?" 

And the Lord says, "But Moses, I made you. Think of the creation story. Nothing was there and I created everything there is. And then, I made you. And I know what you're like. I know what you're like on the inside and on the outside. Who are you? You are made in my image, Moses. I am the Lord of Heaven and earth. And I'm going to invest in you. Who are you?"

And I ask you that today. Who are you? You're the one that God created. He invests in you. 

And Moses says, "Ah! But what shall I tell them?" Does that sound like us sometimes? 

You know, we went over those ways to present the Gospel last time. And maybe you're still thinking, "Yeah, but I really don't know how to approach people. You forget that you passed the reading test because you could read. And you passed the salvation test, because you're saved. 

And Moses says, "Yeah. You're right. You made me. I'm somebody, but what should I tell them?"

"What should you tell them? For one thing, you could tell them that I appeared to you and that I'm going to set them free through you." What about you and me? The Gospel. The Good News. As we saw in Ephesians, we are all born dead in trespasses and sins. There was no hope for us. 

And then, it says, "But." Great word. In contrast to that, "But God who is rich in mercy made us alive in Christ Jesus." And then, pretty soon come the beautiful verses, "For thy grace, we are saved through faith and that not of ourselves."

Do you remember we talked about crossing over? God even gives us the feet to cross over onto his side. "Grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God." 

It's not what we do, because then, we'd be boasting about it. "Do you know what I did? I trusted in Jesus."  

All I can say is, "Do you know what? God gave me the faith, and I used that faith to trust in Jesus." And my sins are forgiven. 

And I'm set free because it says, then, "Before the world was even made, he created good works for me to do so that I would do them for him." That's the Good News. People are coming out of the bondage of sin into the freedom of salvation. 

What should I tell them? Do you and I have any questions about that? "Oh, yeah. Okay. I hear that, Lord. You made me. I'm important. But what about this? What if they don't believe me?"

"Moses, who's sending you? Who called you? Who found you when you were just a shepherd out there in the desert? What about the burning bush? What about your staff becoming a serpent? Don't you think that I could speak through you?"

For you and me, whose job is it? It's never been our job. It's always been God's job. What can people do when they're dead in trespasses and sins? What could those people do who have been slaves for 400 years and Moses is out there by himself in the desert? "What if they don't believe me?"

Jesus said once, "Do you know what? If you don't talk about me, even the rocks could stand up and sing about me. Even the rocks could go out and be a vocal witness." God will work with you. Do you believe that? What if they do not believe me? Is that our work?

Paul said, "I planted the seed. My fellow worker watered it. And God makes it grow." We just studied, didn't we, how the Holy Spirit is given to us? Who is the Holy Spirit? He's the one called to our side. He's the one who has the power of the Father and the Son. And he's the one who must convince or convict people. That's not our job. 

So, we're important in God's work. We'll tell them the Gospel. They will believe because the Holy Spirit wants them to believe. And do you know what happened? Moses went back. There were people who didn't believe. There were people who wanted to stone him. There were people who laughed at him. And there were people who believed.  

Jesus told a story about spreading the seed. There are some who never believe at all. There are some who believe, but there are no roots, and as soon as trouble comes, they leave. There are others who believe, but they let so much junk into their life, that they're like a wet firecracker. But he said, "There are some who are true believers, and they live for me in wonderful ways."

It's not our job. Don't ever use that. That's not a reason. That's just an excuse. 

Okay, "I hear you." He says, "But what about this, Lord? I've never been a very eloquent speaker. I start to talk, and I can't think of what to say, and my vocabulary’s not that big. And others can talk a lot faster than I can. Not me, Lord. Send somebody else."

And do you know what God said, "I will work with you, because I want the job done."

Remember, we looked at that verse in Acts 1:8. It said, "And you shall be my witnesses." 

And we say, "I don't have the time."

God says, "Be. It doesn't take time."

We say, "I don't have the life. The way I've lived and others live."

And God says, "It's about me. You shall be my witnesses."

Then we say, "But I really don't have the power. I'm not eloquent."

It begins with the word "and." Jesus had said, "You will be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, and you will be my witnesses." 

Here is God himself commissioning Moses. And Moses said, "Well, I'm not really good at it."

Finally, Moses says, "Just send somebody else." And that's when the Lord got mad. 

If you're disobeying, if you're saying, "Lord, I'm not going to do it," there's another passage that I want to look at that will encourage us greatly as well. It's in Luke 10:17-20. Jesus sent out 72 disciples to do work for him. And they came back.

In verse 17, "The 72 returned with joy saying, 'Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name.'"

"And he said to them, 'I saw satan fall from lightning from Heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy. And nothing shall hurt you. But listen, don't rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you. But rejoice that your names are written in Heaven." 

This is so valuable to us. All of Scripture is. That's why I've been using the Bible in all of this. These aren't my words. These are Jesus' words which are being brought to you through the power of the Holy Spirit. And what happens here is that Jesus had originally called his disciples - his apostles - in Mark 3. And he says to them, "I brought you to me so that I can send you out."

And at the beginning of this chapter, it says Jesus sent them out. And he gave them authority. He sent them out. He said, "There's a harvest out there. But do you know what? I've got to tell you this. You're going out like lambs in a flock of wolves. They're going to be after you. But I have given you authority. I'm going to take care of you."

Is that us? When you look at the world out there, some people are so much smarter than we are. Some people are so cool. Some people have traveled. Some people have been Christians all their lives. Some people are pastors. Some people are professors. It's like we're a lamb in a flock of wolves. Jesus said, "I'm sending you out and I'm giving you the authority over demons and over everything else." 

And then, they come back. And what are the results? "Jesus! It worked. We trusted you and your power was in us. Do you know what Jesus? We did the same things you did. We threw out demons. We healed sick people." They were all excited. 

And what does Jesus say? He says it to us. "But listen. I hear you. It's wonderful. But don't rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you. Rejoice that your names are written in Heaven."

Well, that's kind of a downer. Jesus isn't high-fiving them. He's saying, "Well, I hear you. But listen, I want to tell you something. Don't let that be your rejoicing. Rejoice that you're saved, that your names are written in Heaven."

Why would he do that? For this reason. What if the next day, a demon wasn't subject to them. Then, what happens to their joy? It's gone. If our joy, if our encouragement, if our strength is in the results and we don't get the results, then we hang our heads and we say, "Well, I'm not going to do that anymore."

And it's not because we have been saved. We can't do anything else. Because we've been called. It's our commission. We can't do anything else. Then, that joy can disappear. And that's true about all of our life. I want to share that with you. 

Jesus gives joy. Joy is something that comes from the Father, through the Son by the power of their Holy Spirit when the Holy Spirit comes and lives in our hearts. And Jesus said, "No one can ever take that away from you. That's from me to you." And joy means a relationship. Joy is something that Jesus gives.

And sometimes we say, "Well, I'm really happy about that." But do you know what? Happy-- listen to this. Happy and the word happen are the same. And if you're happy, it depends on what happens. Jesus didn't want them to be happy. Because if they went out next week and next year, and if you and I go out and we share the Gospel and no one accepts it, or if we spend time just hanging our heads and we think it was wasted, then our happiness, our joy is gone. Because it depends on what happens. And we say we don't want to do it again.

But when we come and he says, "Do you know what? The real key is that your names are written in Heaven, then we've got it." And the same with the word glad. The word glad comes from a word that means smooth and soft. Sort of like glide. And if things are going well and you're gliding along, and you say, "I'm so glad, and this is just working out so well," then what happens when it's not smooth?

I'm talking, now, about being a vocal witness, but I'm going broader than that and talking about our whole life. Joy is what Jesus gives us. Happy depends on what happens. Glad is when it glides along. That's why he wanted us to rejoice that our names are written in the Book of Life. We can't lose that. 

So, we're talking, then, what about the results of our vocal witness? When - fill in the name here. Who is it? You have that name, because you're being obedient, because you're serious about this. When this apparently unsaved person you know accepts or when this person - the apparently unsaved person you know - refuses, what is your response? You know what it is. It's not that you're unhappy or you're happy. It's not that you're not glad or you're glad. It's that you rejoice, because your names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.

We've got to keep hitting this. We've got to remember this. It doesn't depend on us. It depends on him.

I read of a denomination the other day counting churches and church organizations. The head of their mission department said 583 of those units never had one conversion last year - the whole year. And Jesus calls us like Moses and he works through all of those results, all those excuses and then, he tells us the story about the disciples who went out and had such success. And he points it all to the fact that we belong to him. It all leads up to that.

Let's pray. Jesus, it's so easy for us to take our eye off the goal and to forget what you have promised. And now, we say we will plant, others will water, and you will give the increase. And our joy in serving you is because you loved us and gave us the new life. Use us. Make us mighty. And make us effective to bring others to you. We love you. Amen.