{"id":693,"date":"2021-01-23T21:03:18","date_gmt":"2021-01-24T05:03:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/?p=693"},"modified":"2021-01-23T21:03:18","modified_gmt":"2021-01-24T05:03:18","slug":"bounce-back-to-witness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/?p=693","title":{"rendered":"Bounce Back to Witness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

(John 1:43-51)<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A part of embracing our identity is telling others who we are and what we\u2019ve seen. We become increasingly secure in that identity through our time in the Word and as we recall our baptism. Bounce back to those frequently and you will become much more clear and confident in who you are, and OK when life isn\u2019t. But, like at the end of an infomercial, \u201cwait, there\u2019s more!\u201d While the Word and your baptism clearly and repeatedly remind you you are a child of God, we reflect that and reinforce it when we verbalize it to others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What difference might it make if we shifted the way we think about evangelism and the role of a witness from something we do to something we are? The Word and our baptism provide us with a rock-solid identity that isn\u2019t based on performance or approval ratings. Because of everything that Jesus has done for me, my identity has changed. I am a child of God, bought and paid for with the blood of Jesus. And a part of that identity means that I am also a witness. Another way of saying it is that I am a disciple. Another way of saying it is I am a disciple who makes disciples. That is when it starts to click, when witnessing isn\u2019t merely something some Christians do and others don\u2019t, but is rather who we are. When it becomes as natural as breathing air. When it becomes second nature that we don\u2019t overthink it or talk ourselves out of it, but becomes as routine and habitual as brushing our teeth. Of course it\u2019s far more effective than just keeping cavities at bay; it\u2019s effective at keeping souls from being lost. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notice how it happened as John recorded it. Philip followed Jesus. Rejoicing in who he was, he invited others to follow who he had found. And his invitation couldn\u2019t have been simpler: \u201cWe have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote\u2014Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.\u201d (v.46)<\/em><\/strong>. Not complicated at all. Philip was just sharing what he had discovered, something that we typically do without even giving it even a second thought. He found the Savior and he told Nathanael about it. This is simple. It\u2019s easy. But what happened next was terrifying. Absolutely mortifying. It must have been Philip\u2019s worst nightmare come true. Nathanael pushed back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ugh. How deflating! How debilitating! Nathanael didn\u2019t simply respond the way we wish everyone would, with a \u201cThat\u2019s great – tell me more! I am so interested in what you\u2019re telling me! Is there a service or a class I could join you at?\u201d No, instead he responded in a way that resonates very strongly with us: Nathanael threw up the smokescreen. \u201cNazareth! Can anything good come from there?\u201d (v.46).<\/em><\/strong> Nathanael honed in on one little detail of Philip\u2019s good news and missed the forest for the trees. He blew right past Philip\u2019s elation at having discovered the Messiah and sought to detour their dialogue by focusing on Nazareth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyone who has ever witnessed to others has had a relatable experience in one way or another. The testimony of who Jesus is and what a difference he makes or the invitation worship or some other function is met with an attempted detour. \u201cOrganized religion isn\u2019t for me.\u201d \u201cThe church has done a lot of damage throughout history.\u201d \u201cYou really believe in a book that was written by a bunch of old men thousands of years ago?\u201d What then happens we can feel compelled to take that detour and end up in a discussion that is a far cry from both where we started and where we wanted to go. We address one of many symptoms of the problem and not the problem itself. We chase down the rabbit hole and then walk away frustrated because we didn\u2019t successfully or adequately address the detour raised by the other person. It can take the wind right out of our sails. It can be deflating. But, and while I don\u2019t mean to downplay or dismiss our need to and the benefit of getting better at being able to discuss those detours, there is a better way; a way that each and every one of us can carry out.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Philip\u2019s response demonstrated that way, and it couldn\u2019t have been simpler: \u201cCome and see\u201d (v.46)<\/em><\/strong>, he said. Not complicated at all. Consider how powerful that invitation is, and why it is so effective. While we may occasionally express our satisfaction with a service or a product for somewhat trivial reasons, the most compelling reason we\u2019ll ever become vocal about something is because we had a positive personal experience with it. Inviting someone to come and see is essentially saying, \u201cDon\u2019t take my word for it – see for yourself.\u201d It is an invitation to test-drive what we\u2019re talking about, an invitation to experience a risk-free trial. That\u2019s why free trials are so popular today! This approach provides another benefit. In addition to taking the burden off of us in having to convince someone else, the best reason for taking this approach is that it lets Jesus do the work.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Too often we place the responsibility of building Christ\u2019s Kingdom on our own shoulders. Not only is that an uphill battle, it\u2019s impossible. You don\u2019t build Christ\u2019s Kingdom; he does. Remember that Jesus is the one who did the work in you and me. Jesus is the one who continues to do the work in you and me. Let him do the work in others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Otherwise, our zeal and passion for evangelism or witnessing will wane. Furthermore, it betrays how inherently self-centered we really are. While we naturally avoid witnessing rather easily because we say we\u2019re afraid of doing it, if we dig a little more what we\u2019ll really find is pretty convicting: we\u2019re afraid of failing because we\u2019re overly focused on ourselves. When we make evangelism about ourselves we truly reveal how much we really care about ourselves, not others. We can call it insecurity. We can cower in fear. But those things only come because we\u2019re caring more about ourselves than either that other person or Jesus himself. Stop thinking so selfishly. Stop making evangelism about you and start focusing on the other person and start focusing on Jesus. Let Jesus do the work.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I selfishly let my own ego or my own fear quiet my witness and keep my mouth closed, I can downplay it or excuse it or blow it off because it\u2019s such a common struggle, but I finally have to call it what it is: sin. And, while our tendency to rate or rank sin from bad to worse might not see this sin as nearly as bad as others, think of it this way – not only is it a sin against God, but it\u2019s potentially the most harmful thing we can do to our neighbor at the same time by staying silent about their salvation! So who will rescue me from my own fear and ego in failing to witness?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus already has. Bounce back to the Word, where we\u2019re reminded of what Jesus has done for us: \u201cBoth the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters\u201d (Hebrews 2:11). <\/em><\/strong>Look at that! Even though we\u2019re quiet and we clam up around others instead of making some bold confession of our faith in Jesus, or even inviting others to come and see more, Jesus does not disown us or dismiss us. He made us holy by forgiving our sin and replacing it with his righteousness, and because he did, he still calls us family. He still considers us brothers and sisters. Who doesn\u2019t want a family member like that? So let\u2019s tell others about him. Good things happen when we do, and when we let Jesus do the work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See how things played out when Philip let Jesus do the work? Good things happened. It strikes me that after Philip\u2019s invitation to Nathanael to come and see, the rest of the account is all about Jesus doing the work. And what happened when he did? \u201cNathanael declared, \u201cRabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel\u201d (v.49).<\/em><\/strong> Jesus didn\u2019t get sidetracked by Nathanael\u2019s Nazareth detour, but directed the conversation back on Nathanael. Then, he pointed Nathanael to himself as the Messiah. See what happened when Philip made witnessing not about himself, but about the two others involved in the equation – Nathanael and Jesus? Good things happened! Let Jesus do the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think we forget how easy it is to let Jesus do the work. Do you realize how many different ways you can essentially invite someone to \u201cCome and See\u201d today? Sunday morning worship. Bible class after worship that is specifically for discovering and exploring Jesus more. Share a YouTube video. Every Sunday morning I share this message on Facebook and Instagram. You can listen to the sermon as a podcast. You can read it on this blog. And every one of those is shareable! You can either share them on your own page or send them to someone else. It has never been easier to invite others to come and see! It has never been easier to let Jesus do the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And\u2026 there have never been so many people needing the work that Jesus does. If we are seriously concerned about where our nation is today, and where it is heading, can we really keep pretending that politicians are going to save us? that the media will come to the rescue? that even a vaccine itself will magically free everyone from fear and replace it with hope and optimism? If so, we\u2019re asking the impossible. None of those efforts will change hearts for the better. But you know who will? Jesus. When you firmly believe that is when you invite others to come and see it, too. And that\u2019s when Jesus gets to work. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(John 1:43-51) A part of embracing our identity is telling others who we are and what we\u2019ve seen. We become increasingly secure in that identity through our time in the Word and as we recall our baptism. Bounce back to those frequently and you will become much more clear and confident in who you are,… Continue reading Bounce Back to Witness<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[91,65],"tags":[42,5,36],"class_list":["post-693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bounce-back-series","category-sermons","tag-evangelism","tag-jesus","tag-sermon"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p842FN-bb","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=693"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/693\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":694,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/693\/revisions\/694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}