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S1: Today at the Radio Backyard fence. Did you ever feel

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S1: reluctant to tell your neighbors and friends about the Lord

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S1: because you didn't want them to think you were a

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S1: fanatic or weird? If that's how you feel. Today's program

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S1: is for you. I'm Michael Wright, host of Open Line

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S1: Heard every weekend on most of these moody radio stations.

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S1: Sitting in for Chris today. I'll be joined for this

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S1: discussion by my favorite ministry partner, not just mine. She's

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S1: everyone's favorite wise person, my wife Eva. Find out how

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S1: to share your faith without losing your friends straight ahead

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S1: on the program. From the heart to the heart for

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S1: the heart. We're waiting for your calls, too. If you

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S1: have a question or you need some advice about how

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S1: to present your faith, then call us at (877) 548-3675. That's (877) 548-3675.

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S1: Thanks to Lisa who's sitting in the chair for Trish today.

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S1: Ryan McConaughey is handling the board and all things technical.

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S1: Josh and Simon are answering the phones, but before we

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S1: do anything else, since it's Friday. That's right. It's time

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S1: for the fabulous baby Friday. Sigh. Here's what it does. First,

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S1: it oxygenates your blood. Second, we get our endorphins going. Third,

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S1: it also raises our serotonin level. Fourth, it promotes lymphatic drainage.

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S1: And fifth, it stimulates the parasympathetic system. That's why Chris

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S1: lovingly calls it the five lung languages. It also stimulates

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S1: your vagus nerve and helps release acetylcholine. I don't even

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S1: know what that is. And don't forget what it does

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S1: for cortisol dissipation. Here's how to do it. Take in

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S1: four seconds of air through your nose, hold it for seconds,

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S1: and then as you release that air through your mouth,

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S1: push on the left side of your rib cage to

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S1: get rid of all that bad carbon dioxide. Give a

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S1: sigh today for the faithful but frustrated follower of Jesus

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S1: who wants to tell others about God's love but hasn't

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S1: had much success. Also, breathe a sigh today for the

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S1: faithful but fearful follower of Jesus who's nervous about seeming

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S1: fanatical or weird. Give a sigh for the faithful but

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S1: disillusioned believer who read the book, took the seminar and

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S1: watched the video series on evangelism, but has never seen

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S1: any fruit. Today's fabulous free day is brought to you

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S1: by the faithful but frustrated evangelists. All rights reserved. Void

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S1: where prohibited. I wonder why Chris, if he ever has

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S1: me on. Why is it on Fridays? I just don't know. Well,

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S1: happy happy to be here Friday or any day. Hi, Eva.

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S2: It's important that you know about the Fabulous Friday site.

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S2: I know you do it even when you're not listening. Yeah,

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S2: I've seen you on Fridays.

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S1: I'm leaning over. I'm breathing in. I'm breathing out.

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S2: I'm doing it. It's all good. It's all good.

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S1: Hey, if you want to talk to Eva, I don't.

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S1: I wouldn't blame you. Here's the number to call 75483675.

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S1: We're going to be talking about sharing our faith without

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S1: losing our friends. We're going to talk about how to

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S1: communicate in a way that's a little more effective than

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S1: what we have found in the past. If you've been

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S1: frustrated with talking to people or reluctant or in any

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S1: way finding it difficult to share your faith with your friends,

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S1: today's the day to call. I hope you'll do it.

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S1: It's always great to call at the bottom of the

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S1: hour so we can make sure that we have the

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S1: lines open for you on that bottom. I said at

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S1: the bottom of the hour last week too, on my

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S1: own program. Top of the hour, top of the hour.

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S1: That's what I meant. The phone number is (877) 548-3675. I

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S1: think that this is a great discussion, something that will

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S1: really help us. So Eva, you know, you and I, we, we,

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S1: we often talk about this stuff. And one of the

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S1: things that I hear people say is, you know, let

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S1: the people with the gift of evangelism do this. And, uh,

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S1: what's the problem with saying we should limit this to

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S1: the people with the gift of evangelism?

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S2: I think because whether we have the gift of evangelism

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S2: or not, we all should be doing the work of evangelism. I,

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S2: the the difference is we'll see that someone say Billy Graham,

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S2: who has the gift of evangelism, maybe might see a

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S2: more imminent rapid harvest, but we all need to be

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S2: out there sharing our faith all the time.

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S1: That's exactly right. And, you know, if I had the

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S1: the gift of giving, we wouldn't want to tell anyone else,

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S1: you know, giving to the Lord's work is only for

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S1: those with the gift of giving. Someone might want to

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S1: say that, yeah.

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S2: They would be wrong.

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S1: But that would be wrong. Or the gift of mercy.

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S1: That's a spiritual gift too, right? We're all called to

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S1: be merciful. And so the gift of evangelism is really

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S1: a special endowment by God and empowerment to share the

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S1: gospel more effectively, to train others. And I think I

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S1: would say that today's program isn't for you. If if

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S1: you have the gift of evangelism. And the reason is

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S1: you already know everything I'm saying and what you're saying, Eva. Right.

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S1: If you have the gift of evangelism, listen in. Maybe

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S1: we can help you a little bit. But the program

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S1: today is for those of us who have to learn

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S1: how to do what comes naturally. It's the difference between

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S1: Mickey Mantle and Billy Martin. Uh, you know.

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S2: Well, you know, if you want to move beyond a

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S2: sports illustration, it's the difference between someone who can play

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S2: piano by ear.

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S1: By hearing, by.

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S2: Just by play by ear. They can sit down and play.

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S2: And the person that needs to take lessons to play,

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S2: that's it.

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S1: There. There you have it. Now a lot of times.

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S1: Now here's a friend of ours said this, uh, and

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S1: maybe you can explain it to me. Many years ago,

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S1: she said she has no problem getting in a cab

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S1: in Manhattan and talking to the cab driver in 20

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S1: minutes and laying out the entire gospel. Uh, you know

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S1: that Jesus died for our sins and rose again, and

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S1: we need to trust in him, she says. But I

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S1: would never tell anyone that knows me. What's up with that?

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S2: Well, the good news is that she is willing to

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S2: speak about it, and that she knows what needs to

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S2: be communicated about the Lord Jesus in order to be saved.

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S2: But the bad news is, we don't want just to

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S2: be talking to strangers who will never see again, and

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S2: there's no risk to us. We need to talk to

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S2: our family members, our friends, people that we have an

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S2: ongoing contact with for that. That's one of the issues

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S2: that that we need to be aware of. And the

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S2: other is, I think genuine decisions come through genuine relationships,

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S2: and it's over the long term when people have their

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S2: questions answered that they come to a genuine faith.

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S1: So that's I like to call what you're talking about what, what,

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S1: what we're talking about with our friend who said that

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S1: drive by evangelism, right? And the, what's the, the problem

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S1: with drive by evangelism? That's what I always think. Uh,

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S1: drive by evangelism isn't effective because people haven't been exposed

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S1: to the good news, uh, for, uh, as many times

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S1: as they need to. There's, uh, there's actually an important

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S1: lesson to be learned there drive by evangelism. People may

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S1: even respond, but that's because they've been prepared by others.

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S2: Right?

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S1: Uh, but there really is a process that we have

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S1: to go through. People need multiple exposures in a variety

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S1: of ways for, uh, effective, uh, response, a genuine response.

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S1: Now occasionally drive by works because a person has been prepared, but, uh,

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S1: because of interactions with others. But generally speaking, when we

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S1: meet someone, if they have never, ever been exposed to

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S1: the good news before, to the gospel, if they don't

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S1: understand it and we just ditch it, dump it on

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S1: them instantly, uh, it's not if even if they respond,

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S1: they're not going to, it's not genuine. It's not going

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S1: to last. Uh. So here's what I'd like to do. Uh,

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S1: we're going to go to the break, but when we

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S1: come back, uh, I'd like for us to talk about

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S1: a different method for, uh, for how to share the

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S1: good news and base it on agriculture. We know about

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S1: how to grow seeds. So that's what we'll talk about

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S1: in just a moment. This is Michael Ray Melnick, joined

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S1: by Eva Adeleke. We're here sitting in for Chris Fabry

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S1: on Chris Fabry Live. Stay with us more coming up

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S1: straight ahead about how to share our faith without losing

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S1: our friends.

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S3: This is Chris Fabry live. We'll get right back to

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S3: the program, but I want you to know how much

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S3: we appreciate your support. Your giving is having an impact

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S3: on people who listen. And if you've benefited from the

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S3: conversations here, support the program with a gift of any size.

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S3: We'd like to send you a copy of The Heart

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S3: Cry of a Hero of Mine. He passed away in March.

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S3: And this month, we're honoring his memory by presenting his

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S3: parting words to the church doctor John Perkins wrote a

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S3: book titled One Blood. It's filled with stories and hope

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S3: and practical examples of the power of racial reconciliation. Love

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S3: to send you a copy of One Blood. Give a

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S3: Gift of any Size at the website kris.org. Kris fabriclive.org.

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S3: Or call us at 866958669532279. And thank you for your

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S3: support of Chris Fabry Live.

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S1: Welcome back to Chris Fabry Live. I'm not Chris, although

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S1: people sometimes get my voice confused, uh, with Chris's. In fact,

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S1: when people, uh, this is Michael Ray. And whenever people

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S1: call or get upset with something that I've said on

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S1: open line, then they send notes or emails. I'm always

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S1: convinced that they really misheard, and they must have really

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S1: be complaining about Chris Fabry because our voices sound similar,

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S1: but I don't think they sound that similar. I write back,

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S1: I say, oh, you must have me confused with Chris Fabry.

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S1: There you go. Yeah, that's what we do. That's Eva, right?

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S1: She's here with me today, and we're talking about how

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S1: to share our faith without losing your friends. And I said,

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S1: I'm going to talk about a sort of agricultural perspective,

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S1: a growing seeds view of sharing our faith. But listen,

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S1: if you have ever been frustrated, if you want to know,

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S1: how do I get into a conversation? How do I

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S1: deal with this situation in, uh, my faith? Uh, if

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S1: you think I don't even want to share my faith,

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S1: why should I? Now's a good time to give me

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S1: a call. We can talk about it. Even I with you.

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S1: The phone number (877) 548-3675. Listen, if you're listening in today

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S1: and you still have not come to know Jesus. And

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S1: you think, why in the world are they telling people

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S1: about how to tell others about Jesus? Now's a great

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S1: time to call to. I'd love to tell you again. (877) 548-3675.

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S1: I'd love to tell you how it is that we

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S1: can experience forgiveness forever from God. So, uh, that's a

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S1: great thing to do. If you're ready to call (877) 548-3675,

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S1: but here's Eva. I don't know if you remember this.

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S1: When we bought our first house, I, uh, I went

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S1: into the backyard and there was, they had had the owners,

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S1: previous owners had a dog and that dog had taken

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S1: a whole strip of the, the backyard lawn, the grass

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S1: and had run up and down the fence. And that it.

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S2: Was like pavement.

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S1: It was like pavement. It was hard dirt paved down. Yeah.

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S1: And I this I was going to grow grass. And

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S1: so I went out there and I put grass seed out.

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S1: I just tossed it out there and of course the

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S1: first rain came and took it away and I said,

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S1: what's wrong? And so I there was no Google to

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S1: look up.

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S2: Yeah. Back in the day he went and bought more seed,

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S2: thinking that must have been bad seed. I'm going to

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S2: get better seed and use the same method.

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S1: And then I talked to a neighbor and I said, no,

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S1: you got to break up the soil. You got to

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S1: put topsoil down, and then you got to put seed there.

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S1: You got to cultivate the soil. I think that's part

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S1: of the problem. Sometimes with evangelism, we're tossing seed out

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S1: on hard ground and it's not ready to receive it.

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S1: You know, in the parable of the sower in Mark four,

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S1: this is what I think is so interesting is it's

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S1: really not about the sower. What's it about? The parable

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S1: of the sower? It's about the.

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S2: It's about the soils really. It's really about the soils.

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S1: And of course, the soil, uh, the good ground that's

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S1: been prepared. That's the one that produced a crop. This

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S1: is Mark four eight, uh, that increased 30, 60, 100

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S1: times what was sown. Anyone who has ears to hear

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S1: should listen. So I would say the very first step,

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S1: if we're going to take an agricultural approach, is to

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S1: cultivate the soil, uh, for evangelism to be effective, we've

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S1: got to cultivate the soil. Well, that's a metaphor. What's

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S1: it a metaphor for? It's for cultivating the soil with.

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S2: With prayer, by preparing them to hear what you're going

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S2: to say to them.

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S1: With friendship.

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S2: With friendship. Yeah. Right.

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S1: Uh, that I just, I, there was a wonderful book

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S1: by Joe Aldrich on evangelism called Gentle Persuasion. Uh, and

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S1: the very back page where or the back cover said,

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S1: can you bake a cherry pie? So I think that's

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S1: one of the things that people first need to do.

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S1: They need to make friends with people before presenting the

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S1: gospel to them. Uh, it needs to be in the

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S1: context of friendship. And now I've had people say, well,

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S1: I don't know how to make friends anymore. When you're

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S1: a kid, you're on the playground. Yeah, and it's my

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S1: new best friend. How do you make friends today?

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S2: Right. You know, I think common interest is, is the

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S2: biggest opening door step is if you share a common interest,

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S2: then you talk about the things you have in common.

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S2: And then ultimately, as a person who loves the Lord Jesus,

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S2: we're going to talk about him because he's the most

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S2: important thing to us. Yeah. In a very natural way.

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S2: We're not smacking people up beside the head with, uh,

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S2: tracks or even our Bible.

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S1: I remember a student of mine once said, I would

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S1: like to present the gospel to people, but, you know,

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S1: I'm so busy here at Bible College and everyone knows

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S1: the Lord. Uh, and so I don't ever get to

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S1: meet anyone that doesn't know the Lord. And I said, well,

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S1: do you have any interests or you do have do

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S1: you have any hobbies, anything? He says, well, he said

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S1: he was in a, he was going to do aviation.

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S1: So there was a club, a flight club, just that

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S1: he went to there in Chicago. And, and so I said, well,

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S1: why don't you go keep going there and make friends

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S1: with people who share that interest. Right? And, and there's

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S1: other ways that we can do that. What kind of things?

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S2: You know, whatever you're interested in, you know, if you

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S2: if you love what the big rage today is pickleball.

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S2: If you love pickleball.

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S1: My knee hurts already.

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S2: I know, I know, Mike and I are not doing this,

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S2: but I have many friends who do. Um, you know,

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S2: and one of our friends, a couple, they are very

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S2: active in their neighborhood in pickleball, um, association and they've

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S2: had a chance to share their faith a lot of

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S2: times because it's just that people are naturally together. They're

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S2: hanging out. You talk about your kids, you talk about

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S2: your job, you talk about your life, talk about what's

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S2: falling apart. And our friends can say, oh, well, that's

283
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S2: very interesting. I faced something similar and I found some

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S2: real help.

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S1: And you become, but the, the, the, the ground is, uh,

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S1: prepared by that friendship that begins before any seeds are

287
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S1: ever given. And another thing that we found is our dogs,

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S1: they insist on being walked every day.

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S2: I know, I know.

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S1: Someone once said, I don't even know how to meet

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S1: my neighbors. And I said, well.

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S2: Get a dog.

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S1: Get a dog. We walk those dogs and we have

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S1: nice dogs too. Yeah.

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S2: We don't want they want to talk to everybody. They

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S2: want to meet everybody's dog. It goes by.

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S1: And I don't know how many of my neighbors through

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S1: the years I have met and become friends with because

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S1: they're kids or they wanted a pet the dogs.

300
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S2: Uh, and this doesn't mean that you have to be,

301
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S2: when we say become friends with that doesn't mean like

302
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S2: we're expecting you to become best friends with every single person, but,

303
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S2: you know, have a, have a, a warm relationship, a

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S2: friendly relationship. Yeah. And that opens the door to conversation.

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S1: Yeah. I think that's so crucial. Uh, you can become friends. Uh.

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S1: In a sense, by just meeting people. Uh, if you

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S1: don't have a dog, you could go go to your

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S1: neighbor and say, you know, we've lived next to each

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S1: other for five years, and we've never really had a

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S1: conversation other than. Hello? Uh, I got some coffee cake.

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S1: Would you come over such and such a time and

312
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S1: we'll have some coffee and cake. Or tea. I'll even

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S1: make a tea and. And get to know someone that way.

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S1: It's it's a great way. Just. It's what Jo Aldrich

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S1: meant by. Can you bake a cherry pie? Right. That's

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S1: that's that's what it's going to be.

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S2: And I think now more than ever, this is a

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S2: great open door for sharing the gospel because we are

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S2: so walled in by only communicating with people, by the internet,

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S2: by screen, by social media. And people are really hungry

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S2: for face to face relationships, face to face encounters.

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S1: Yeah, we don't even talk on the phone anymore before

323
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S1: sending a text, right?

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S2: Yeah. Right.

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S1: So, uh, and, uh, I think that that's what, what is, uh,

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S1: what's needed is to establish actual relationships. You know, there was,

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S1: I was thinking about my friend who I met down

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S1: the street in Chicago because his kids were petting my dogs.

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S1: And then we started talking. And then we talked more

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S1: every time we ran into each other. And then next

331
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S1: thing you know, we share a cup of coffee. We

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S1: went to each other's homes. Um, it's, but it was,

333
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S1: it was a long time, you know.

334
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S2: Yeah.

335
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S1: Before I got to talk to him about the Lord.

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S1: But the, the context made it possible because of cultivating

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S1: that soil with friendship. And I think that's, that's actually essential. Uh,

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S1: let's talk to Timothy in Chattanooga. Uh, welcome to Chris

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S1: Fabry live. I'm not Chris, but even I'm glad you're

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S1: here to talk with you. We're glad you're here, Timothy.

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S1: How can I help you?

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S4: Yeah. Uh, chiming in earlier, I, I think I have

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S4: the gift of evangelism, but my question is, why is

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S4: it that I find it easier to witness and evangelize

345
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S4: to strangers? Like the story earlier in the cab. I

346
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S4: could do that. Easy as cake. But my friends and family,

347
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S4: it's like, why is there more risk in that than

348
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S4: a stranger?

349
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S2: I think because if a stranger rejects you, well, you'll

350
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S2: never see him again. So he's not going to be

351
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S2: mad at you at Thanksgiving next year or tomorrow afternoon

352
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S2: at a baseball game for what you said to him

353
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S2: because he wasn't so interested. But if you're talking to

354
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S2: your friends and family, there's a greater risk of emotional

355
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S2: involvement and even possibly rejection because they're not really ready

356
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S2: to talk about Jesus. Mhm.

357
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S1: So I think that's why. And also, they know us better. Uh, Timothy,

358
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S1: here's I know you really well. Here's what I know

359
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S1: about you because you're just like me. You're not perfect. And, uh,

360
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S1: and because of that, uh, your your friends and your family,

361
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S1: they know you even better than I do. Uh, I

362
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S1: know you're not perfect, but they know exactly how you're

363
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S1: not perfect. And, uh, So they'll look at you and say,

364
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S1: what do you mean? Talking to us like you're some perfect,

365
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S1: perfect person that you know God. And, and it may

366
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S1: be harder because they know your weaknesses. And so what

367
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S1: I think is it's really important that we remember that

368
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S1: we're not all that different than the people we're trying.

369
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S1: We're there's no difference. It's just that we've experienced forgiveness

370
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S1: for our failures. That that's, that's the difference. It's not

371
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S1: that we're perfect and no one should ever make that claim.

372
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S1: We may be transformed, but we're not perfect. And so

373
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S1: I think it's okay to, to be transparent and, and say, yeah,

374
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S1: I know I've, I've not been perfect, you know, but, uh,

375
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S1: this has been the great encouragement to me. So those are,

376
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S1: I think a couple of the reasons that we're more reluctant,

377
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S1: but we, again, it's in the context of a relationship,

378
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S1: you'll be far more effective if, if you have that

379
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S1: context of a warm friendship with someone, then or relationship

380
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S1: with someone than if you just do that drive by

381
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S1: kind of evangelism.

382
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S2: But please don't stop doing drive by evangelism because you

383
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S2: never know where it's going to lead, and.

384
00:20:41,350 --> 00:20:42,949
S1: You don't know if someone else has been prepared or

385
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S1: if you're just watering for someone else.

386
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S2: Right? Yeah. So everybody out there keep on doing that.

387
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S2: But do excel more. Yeah, Excel even more and talk

388
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S2: to your friends and family.

389
00:20:51,950 --> 00:20:56,910
S1: Yeah. So, uh, anyway, that's that I think also when, when,

390
00:20:56,950 --> 00:20:59,990
S1: if there is a rejection, I think this is really important.

391
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S1: Don't take it to heart. Don't be upset. Don't push,

392
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S1: don't be obnoxious. Uh, just keep cultivating the relationship until

393
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S1: another door opens at a later time.

394
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S2: We had a neighbor back in a while ago when

395
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S2: we lived in Long Island, who we would talk to

396
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S2: about the gospel, and she would say, I don't want

397
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S2: to talk about this. We say, fine, we don't ever

398
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S2: have to talk about this again. And then two weeks later,

399
00:21:21,990 --> 00:21:23,990
S2: we'd be together. She'd go, yeah, but what about that

400
00:21:23,990 --> 00:21:26,750
S2: thing you were saying about Jesus? And so on the

401
00:21:26,750 --> 00:21:28,109
S2: one hand, she would say, I don't want to talk

402
00:21:28,109 --> 00:21:29,870
S2: about it. And so we would say, okay, fine. And

403
00:21:29,869 --> 00:21:31,030
S2: then she would bring it up.

404
00:21:31,070 --> 00:21:31,550
S1: Yeah.

405
00:21:31,790 --> 00:21:33,480
S2: So never be discouraged.

406
00:21:33,520 --> 00:21:34,000
S1: Yeah.

407
00:21:34,040 --> 00:21:35,280
S2: Or try not to be discouraged.

408
00:21:35,320 --> 00:21:37,320
S1: Try not to be discouraged. Just say, you know, we'll

409
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S1: talk about this whenever you want to talk.

410
00:21:38,600 --> 00:21:39,400
S2: About whenever you're ready.

411
00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:42,119
S1: I'm not I'm not pushing this. So that's what I

412
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S1: would say. Uh, now the thing is cultivating the soil

413
00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:50,840
S1: is so crucial because of the need for friendship. Uh,

414
00:21:51,080 --> 00:21:55,080
S1: that's that's so important. Uh, but we still then have

415
00:21:55,080 --> 00:21:57,560
S1: to sow seeds and the very, I think the transition

416
00:21:57,560 --> 00:22:00,480
S1: to sowing seeds of the gospel, which is the next step.

417
00:22:00,520 --> 00:22:03,120
S1: We cultivate the soil, but we sow seeds of the gospel.

418
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S1: But before we talk, even sowing seeds of the gospel,

419
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S1: I think it's important. Or the first stage of sowing

420
00:22:09,160 --> 00:22:13,200
S1: those seeds is raising a flag. That's not an agricultural metaphor,

421
00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:16,959
S1: but it's raise a flag. Identify, do something. When you

422
00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:21,760
S1: start to get to know someone, uh, the situation is

423
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S1: that that they will share things about themselves. They'll talk

424
00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:29,200
S1: about themselves and you'll talk about you. What is your

425
00:22:29,200 --> 00:22:32,360
S1: job and what do you do? And one of the

426
00:22:32,359 --> 00:22:36,400
S1: more interesting things that happened for us was when we

427
00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:40,320
S1: moved into our house in the Chicago suburbs, when we

428
00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:42,320
S1: moved to Chicago many years ago. We have a dear

429
00:22:42,359 --> 00:22:45,640
S1: neighbor who's still one of our dearest friends. And she said, uh,

430
00:22:46,840 --> 00:22:48,560
S1: what do you guys do? And we said we were

431
00:22:48,560 --> 00:22:50,880
S1: moving to Chicago to teach at Moody Bible Institute. And

432
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S1: she was like, she put her hand up and said,

433
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S1: I'm not interested.

434
00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:56,600
S2: She yeah, she, she put her hand up and actually

435
00:22:56,600 --> 00:22:59,760
S2: stepped back and said, I'm not religious. I'm not interested. Yeah.

436
00:22:59,800 --> 00:23:02,680
S1: That's it. And we said, that's fine, that's fine. And we,

437
00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:05,439
S1: we became really friends with her. And then one of

438
00:23:05,440 --> 00:23:07,960
S1: the things she said to Eva. Eva would never say this,

439
00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:11,920
S1: but I'll tell you. She said, Eva, I've never seen

440
00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:15,359
S1: a mom like you. I've always seen terrible moms. You're

441
00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:18,359
S1: like the best mom I've ever seen. How do you

442
00:23:18,359 --> 00:23:21,760
S1: do that? And and Eva said, well, I try to

443
00:23:21,800 --> 00:23:24,680
S1: raise my kids according to what the Bible says. There

444
00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:28,159
S1: was a flag going up right there. And and she

445
00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:32,800
S1: and our neighbor shut down that conversation really quick. But

446
00:23:32,800 --> 00:23:34,720
S1: that's what Eva said. That was her answer. And it's

447
00:23:34,720 --> 00:23:40,359
S1: the truth. And then later on, this friend had a

448
00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:43,520
S1: medical issue, and she told us she had to go

449
00:23:43,520 --> 00:23:48,800
S1: to the doctor for tests. And so I said, well,

450
00:23:49,119 --> 00:23:53,480
S1: can we pray for you? Would that be okay? And, uh, when,

451
00:23:53,480 --> 00:23:56,680
S1: when that happened, uh, she said, oh, would you pray

452
00:23:56,680 --> 00:24:00,240
S1: for me? And then after that, after praying for her

453
00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:03,679
S1: and talking about how the Bible affected how we raise

454
00:24:03,680 --> 00:24:06,320
S1: our kids, what we were doing with our kids, all

455
00:24:06,320 --> 00:24:08,920
S1: of a sudden she had all sorts of questions and

456
00:24:08,920 --> 00:24:12,040
S1: we had all sorts of other opportunities. But just raising

457
00:24:12,040 --> 00:24:16,080
S1: the flag, identifying something in your life, it may be

458
00:24:16,560 --> 00:24:18,400
S1: when you're talking about something good that happened. I got

459
00:24:18,400 --> 00:24:21,600
S1: a promotion at work. Someone else says, uh, you know,

460
00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:23,640
S1: they have all sorts of things that they talked about.

461
00:24:23,680 --> 00:24:25,760
S1: You know, I won the lottery. I don't know what

462
00:24:25,760 --> 00:24:27,560
S1: they're saying, but one of the things that we can

463
00:24:27,560 --> 00:24:29,639
S1: talk about is something good that God did for us,

464
00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:31,320
S1: you know? Uh.

465
00:24:31,720 --> 00:24:34,320
S2: That's or on the other hand, something that we're going through.

466
00:24:34,359 --> 00:24:36,680
S2: That's tough. Yeah. I'm trying to decide what I need

467
00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:39,040
S2: to do about my aged parents. Yeah. Should I try to?

468
00:24:39,080 --> 00:24:41,000
S2: Do they need to move up here to live by

469
00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:43,280
S2: us or we try to, you know, keep them living

470
00:24:43,320 --> 00:24:46,320
S2: hundreds of miles away? I'm struggling with that, but I'm

471
00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:48,680
S2: feeling confident because of such and such.

472
00:24:48,720 --> 00:24:51,400
S1: I've been praying about it and seeking God. And and

473
00:24:51,440 --> 00:24:54,640
S1: the person might say, you pray about questions like that.

474
00:24:54,680 --> 00:24:57,280
S2: And I also have a dad that lives in Florida

475
00:24:57,280 --> 00:24:59,560
S2: and I don't know what to do. And, you know, so.

476
00:24:59,760 --> 00:25:03,280
S1: Sometimes just little things to identify. Yeah. To identify as

477
00:25:03,280 --> 00:25:06,080
S1: a follower of Jesus. Then all of a sudden they say, well,

478
00:25:06,080 --> 00:25:09,560
S1: I'm surprised that this is so practical in your life, uh,

479
00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:11,920
S1: how God is working in your life. I think that

480
00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:14,480
S1: that's it. Uh, whatever it is, that which I think,

481
00:25:14,480 --> 00:25:17,280
S1: by the way, that's really important, being transparent about the

482
00:25:17,280 --> 00:25:19,800
S1: issues in our life. I'm struggling at my job. I'm,

483
00:25:20,160 --> 00:25:23,320
S1: I'm wondering about whether I should change jobs or something

484
00:25:23,320 --> 00:25:26,520
S1: like that and always point out that I'm seeking, you

485
00:25:26,520 --> 00:25:29,359
S1: might say I'm really seeking God's will about this. Do

486
00:25:29,359 --> 00:25:31,560
S1: you think God cares where you work? That's a way

487
00:25:31,560 --> 00:25:35,560
S1: of opening a door, raising a flag. It's so crucial.

488
00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:37,359
S1: We're going to talk about different ways we can sow

489
00:25:37,359 --> 00:25:40,400
S1: seeds when we come back. Seeds of the gospel. Stay

490
00:25:40,400 --> 00:25:43,000
S1: with us. You're listening to Chris Fabry live with Eva

491
00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:47,280
S1: and Michael Redlich stepping in for Chris today. Stay with us.

492
00:25:47,280 --> 00:26:08,080
S1: We'll be right back with more. Well we're back. I'm

493
00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:11,440
S1: Michael Ray Dolnick. I'm here with Eva. We're talking about

494
00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:14,640
S1: how to share our faith without losing our friends. And

495
00:26:14,640 --> 00:26:17,840
S1: I'm so grateful that Chris has asked that we sit

496
00:26:17,840 --> 00:26:20,600
S1: in today. This is something that's on my heart. I

497
00:26:20,600 --> 00:26:24,960
S1: think we can be better at being people who will

498
00:26:24,960 --> 00:26:28,119
S1: let people. Others let others know about the good news.

499
00:26:28,440 --> 00:26:31,879
S1: And so far we've talked about is that although drive

500
00:26:31,920 --> 00:26:34,959
S1: by evangelism is easier because no one knows us, they

501
00:26:34,960 --> 00:26:37,840
S1: don't care about us. They'll never if they get offended,

502
00:26:37,840 --> 00:26:40,160
S1: why do we care? Right. We're out of that cab,

503
00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:43,720
S1: out of that Uber in a moment. Uh, the truth

504
00:26:43,720 --> 00:26:49,840
S1: of it is we need to cultivate relationships, cultivate the soil, uh,

505
00:26:49,840 --> 00:26:56,960
S1: with relationships, with friendship. Uh, the the second part is

506
00:26:56,960 --> 00:26:59,280
S1: sowing gospel seeds. We talked about raising the flag, but

507
00:26:59,280 --> 00:27:01,399
S1: we have to talk about sowing gospel seeds. And I

508
00:27:01,400 --> 00:27:05,160
S1: think this is really biblical. Eva. Uh, in Mark 426

509
00:27:05,200 --> 00:27:06,840
S1: and 27, it talks about.

510
00:27:07,720 --> 00:27:10,840
S2: Yeah, that's a very interesting passage. Mark 426 and 27.

511
00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:13,480
S2: Often people just think about the parable of the sower,

512
00:27:13,520 --> 00:27:18,200
S2: about evangelism. But there's more explained here in Mark chapter four. It's,

513
00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:20,960
S2: it's and Jesus was saying that the kingdom of God

514
00:27:20,960 --> 00:27:24,720
S2: is like a man who casts seed onto the soil,

515
00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:27,609
S2: and he goes to bed at night and he gets

516
00:27:27,609 --> 00:27:31,690
S2: up by day and the seed sprouts and grows. How

517
00:27:31,690 --> 00:27:36,129
S2: he himself does not know the soil produces crops by itself.

518
00:27:36,130 --> 00:27:38,770
S2: First the blade and then the head, and then the

519
00:27:38,770 --> 00:27:43,169
S2: mature grain. But when the crop permits, he immediately puts

520
00:27:43,170 --> 00:27:46,250
S2: in the sickle, because the harvest has come. You may

521
00:27:46,290 --> 00:27:47,930
S2: be saying, well, I'm not a farmer and I'm not

522
00:27:47,930 --> 00:27:50,530
S2: really sure. But listen, everybody has been in first grade

523
00:27:50,530 --> 00:27:53,250
S2: or had a child in first grade that planted that

524
00:27:53,250 --> 00:27:56,610
S2: bean plant. And this is exactly what we do. We

525
00:27:56,609 --> 00:27:59,850
S2: put that that bean in the soil. We wait and

526
00:27:59,850 --> 00:28:02,330
S2: wait and it won't. We don't poke it and dig

527
00:28:02,330 --> 00:28:04,689
S2: it up every day and look and see if anything's happening.

528
00:28:04,810 --> 00:28:07,370
S2: We keep it in there. And the next thing you know,

529
00:28:07,410 --> 00:28:10,210
S2: a blade is coming up and then a then more

530
00:28:10,210 --> 00:28:12,410
S2: and more. And then ultimately, if it's in the garden,

531
00:28:12,410 --> 00:28:13,330
S2: you get a whole crop.

532
00:28:13,330 --> 00:28:17,450
S1: It's supernatural how God makes those seeds. I don't understand it,

533
00:28:17,609 --> 00:28:20,369
S1: but it's supernatural. But we know it works. And so

534
00:28:20,369 --> 00:28:25,409
S1: I think that we really do need to. begin to

535
00:28:25,450 --> 00:28:28,490
S1: sow those seeds of the gospel in the context of

536
00:28:28,490 --> 00:28:32,010
S1: a relationship. I actually think one of the best ways

537
00:28:32,130 --> 00:28:35,810
S1: to sow seeds of the gospel is through telling our

538
00:28:35,810 --> 00:28:38,690
S1: faith story, how it is that we came to know

539
00:28:38,690 --> 00:28:41,330
S1: the Lord. Or if, if you were, you know, if

540
00:28:41,370 --> 00:28:43,650
S1: you came to the Lord when you were seven years

541
00:28:43,650 --> 00:28:46,890
S1: old and, you know, didn't live a life of excessive

542
00:28:46,890 --> 00:28:51,050
S1: speeding on your bike or any terrible things that you

543
00:28:51,050 --> 00:28:53,930
S1: did as a seven year old, that's okay. You can

544
00:28:53,930 --> 00:28:55,810
S1: tell about something that God is doing, a faith story

545
00:28:55,810 --> 00:28:58,650
S1: of something that God has done in your life at

546
00:28:58,650 --> 00:29:02,810
S1: this point, right then or more recently, and then say,

547
00:29:03,450 --> 00:29:06,450
S1: this just confirms the faith that I had even when

548
00:29:06,450 --> 00:29:08,770
S1: I was a child, and you can do it that way.

549
00:29:08,770 --> 00:29:12,570
S1: But why do you think faith stories are so important? Eva.

550
00:29:12,810 --> 00:29:15,850
S2: I think that one thing is people really want to

551
00:29:17,090 --> 00:29:21,170
S2: know why we are motivated to make the decisions that

552
00:29:21,170 --> 00:29:23,930
S2: we make. People want to know about us. It has

553
00:29:23,930 --> 00:29:28,570
S2: to be personal, not impersonal. It's not robotic, but it's

554
00:29:28,610 --> 00:29:32,450
S2: actually interpersonal. It's not AI, you know, it's real life.

555
00:29:32,490 --> 00:29:35,610
S1: Yeah. I think also, uh, one of the things about

556
00:29:35,610 --> 00:29:39,370
S1: faith stories is you're telling your own story. It's hard

557
00:29:39,370 --> 00:29:42,050
S1: for people to argue with what what's happened to you?

558
00:29:42,450 --> 00:29:45,090
S1: You know, it's one thing to say, and you're not

559
00:29:45,090 --> 00:29:47,690
S1: saying that they have to experience the same exact thing.

560
00:29:47,730 --> 00:29:50,410
S1: You're just saying this is what happened in my life.

561
00:29:50,930 --> 00:29:53,330
S1: And so it's not as controversial.

562
00:29:53,570 --> 00:29:55,730
S2: I think, on the other hand, I think it's important

563
00:29:55,730 --> 00:29:57,810
S2: that we don't just leave it there with what happened

564
00:29:57,810 --> 00:30:00,370
S2: to us. I think we have to connect it back

565
00:30:00,370 --> 00:30:04,890
S2: to what the scripture has to say, or otherwise. We

566
00:30:04,890 --> 00:30:07,890
S2: could be saying anything about anything and saying, well, that's

567
00:30:07,890 --> 00:30:08,450
S2: true for me.

568
00:30:08,690 --> 00:30:10,370
S1: Yeah. But we tell our story and then say, this

569
00:30:10,370 --> 00:30:12,010
S1: is what the Bible said about it. Exactly.

570
00:30:12,050 --> 00:30:12,970
S2: Exactly, exactly.

571
00:30:13,050 --> 00:30:16,130
S1: But you're not saying that that anything other than that.

572
00:30:16,130 --> 00:30:19,130
S1: And and people are interested, they you know, how many

573
00:30:19,130 --> 00:30:21,530
S1: times people have asked us, how did you come to

574
00:30:21,570 --> 00:30:23,970
S1: believe this? You know, when it's clear that we are

575
00:30:23,970 --> 00:30:26,730
S1: followers of Jesus. How did you come to believe this?

576
00:30:26,730 --> 00:30:29,970
S1: This seems so strange. You know, uh, one of the

577
00:30:29,970 --> 00:30:32,010
S1: funnier things I've ever heard someone say to me. You

578
00:30:32,050 --> 00:30:34,970
S1: seem pretty educated. How did you ever come to believe this?

579
00:30:35,010 --> 00:30:36,770
S1: As if an educated person couldn't.

580
00:30:36,810 --> 00:30:37,370
S2: Right?

581
00:30:37,770 --> 00:30:39,050
S1: I said, oh, that's a great question.

582
00:30:39,330 --> 00:30:41,570
S2: Jesus is only for the ridiculously dumb.

583
00:30:41,610 --> 00:30:46,130
S1: Yeah. So I think a faith story. And so learn

584
00:30:46,130 --> 00:30:48,610
S1: to tell your faith story. Uh, you can learn to

585
00:30:48,610 --> 00:30:50,290
S1: tell it in five minutes. You can learn to tell

586
00:30:50,330 --> 00:30:52,530
S1: a longer version of it, but learn to tell your

587
00:30:52,530 --> 00:30:56,810
S1: faith story. Uh, I think that that's a vital part

588
00:30:56,810 --> 00:30:59,850
S1: of it. Um, any other ways that we can sow

589
00:30:59,850 --> 00:31:00,770
S1: gospel seeds?

590
00:31:01,410 --> 00:31:04,450
S2: Well, I think about, I, we use the phrase among

591
00:31:04,450 --> 00:31:08,210
S2: ourselves often about raising the flag that we, uh, you know,

592
00:31:08,250 --> 00:31:11,290
S2: talk about something that happens and let that be a,

593
00:31:11,450 --> 00:31:15,850
S2: a gateway to beginning a conversation. You know, so that's,

594
00:31:15,850 --> 00:31:19,130
S2: that's one of the ways and people are interested, I think,

595
00:31:19,130 --> 00:31:23,210
S2: in the Bible. Mhm. Uh, or or they're interested in

596
00:31:23,250 --> 00:31:26,130
S2: sources of truth. What's your source of truth? And to

597
00:31:26,170 --> 00:31:28,450
S2: say that, well, you know, did you ever think about

598
00:31:28,450 --> 00:31:31,890
S2: reading the Bible and read the Bible? Read, you know,

599
00:31:31,930 --> 00:31:35,410
S2: don't start Genesis through revelation with them, but maybe the

600
00:31:35,450 --> 00:31:37,410
S2: gospel of Mark. Yeah.

601
00:31:37,770 --> 00:31:40,370
S1: Yeah. I think, I think having encouraging people to read

602
00:31:40,370 --> 00:31:42,890
S1: the Bible and, you know, I study the Bible and

603
00:31:42,890 --> 00:31:44,810
S1: say and the Bible, I found the Bible to be

604
00:31:44,810 --> 00:31:47,650
S1: a real source of help in my life. And next

605
00:31:47,650 --> 00:31:51,290
S1: thing you know, uh, you might even give a person

606
00:31:51,290 --> 00:31:54,050
S1: a Bible. They'll say, oh, I can't, I don't understand

607
00:31:54,050 --> 00:31:56,090
S1: all those, these and downs. And you can say, I

608
00:31:56,090 --> 00:31:58,730
S1: have a Bible that's up to date and modern language

609
00:31:58,730 --> 00:31:59,810
S1: and easy to understand.

610
00:31:59,890 --> 00:32:00,370
S2: Yeah.

611
00:32:00,570 --> 00:32:03,450
S1: I was just thinking about this, uh, dear neighbor that

612
00:32:03,450 --> 00:32:06,490
S1: we had when we first moved to Chicago. And she,

613
00:32:07,530 --> 00:32:10,730
S1: she was in a carpool with you, right? Yeah. And

614
00:32:10,730 --> 00:32:13,930
S1: you raised the flag. You talked, you told your faith story.

615
00:32:13,930 --> 00:32:16,370
S1: And and one of my favorite things she ever said

616
00:32:16,370 --> 00:32:19,250
S1: is maybe God brought. She says, I've been really seeking

617
00:32:19,250 --> 00:32:22,490
S1: meaning in my life. She says to you once. Yeah.

618
00:32:23,210 --> 00:32:27,290
S1: Maybe God brought you here so I could find it. Yeah.

619
00:32:27,330 --> 00:32:29,690
S2: And it was such a shocker. We were just turned

620
00:32:29,690 --> 00:32:31,770
S2: out to be in a little carpool for our kids

621
00:32:31,770 --> 00:32:34,730
S2: in second grade together or whatever. Yeah. And, uh, she

622
00:32:34,770 --> 00:32:37,290
S2: had she was a lapsed nothing. Yeah. You know, she'd

623
00:32:37,330 --> 00:32:39,090
S2: been kind of a nothing, and she wasn't much of

624
00:32:39,130 --> 00:32:42,729
S2: that anymore. And she said, wow, I've been really seeking.

625
00:32:42,730 --> 00:32:44,650
S2: And I think God brought you here so we could.

626
00:32:44,690 --> 00:32:46,130
S1: So what did you do? You gave her.

627
00:32:46,170 --> 00:32:48,850
S2: Gave her a Bible, huh? Gave her a few verses

628
00:32:48,890 --> 00:32:50,450
S2: and showed her how to find him. And she came

629
00:32:50,450 --> 00:32:51,730
S2: to faith. It was amazing.

630
00:32:51,770 --> 00:32:54,330
S1: Yeah. It was it was a remarkable thing that she

631
00:32:54,330 --> 00:32:59,610
S1: started reading the Bible. Just, uh. And sometimes people say, well,

632
00:32:59,610 --> 00:33:03,890
S1: I would never, ever be able to understand it. Another

633
00:33:03,890 --> 00:33:05,610
S1: great thing you can do is say, well, why don't

634
00:33:05,610 --> 00:33:10,330
S1: we read it together? Uh, I'm okay with that. Uh, I,

635
00:33:10,570 --> 00:33:12,890
S1: one of my favorites is a friend that said, oh, well,

636
00:33:12,890 --> 00:33:16,370
S1: I'll read the Bible with you, but not the Old Testament. Right.

637
00:33:16,370 --> 00:33:17,010
S2: Yeah. Right.

638
00:33:17,090 --> 00:33:20,219
S1: Uh, Just the New Testament, because I don't think I

639
00:33:20,220 --> 00:33:21,380
S1: could understand the Old Testament.

640
00:33:21,380 --> 00:33:22,940
S2: I don't think it's very important. Yeah.

641
00:33:23,020 --> 00:33:28,140
S1: And and so Eva said, okay, okay. And I said, fine.

642
00:33:28,220 --> 00:33:30,580
S1: The three of us sat down to read the Gospel

643
00:33:30,580 --> 00:33:32,780
S1: of Matthew. We read the first verse, which is.

644
00:33:32,820 --> 00:33:35,900
S2: This is the genealogy of Jesus, the genealogy of Jesus

645
00:33:35,900 --> 00:33:38,380
S2: the Messiah, the Son of David, the son of Abraham.

646
00:33:38,740 --> 00:33:41,620
S2: And she says, wait, wait, wait, wait, who is this David?

647
00:33:41,620 --> 00:33:43,140
S2: Who is this? Abraham?

648
00:33:43,420 --> 00:33:46,900
S1: Yeah, that was so funny. And she's like, well.

649
00:33:47,220 --> 00:33:48,500
S2: Uh, maybe I.

650
00:33:48,540 --> 00:33:50,260
S1: Maybe, maybe I do need to know something from the

651
00:33:50,260 --> 00:33:52,180
S1: Old Testament, but I just thought that was so funny. Just.

652
00:33:52,220 --> 00:33:54,300
S1: We'll read it with you. We can help you understand it.

653
00:33:54,300 --> 00:33:57,980
S1: That's not a problem. And just encouraging people sometimes it's

654
00:33:57,980 --> 00:34:00,459
S1: to invite people. If you have 2 or 3 friends

655
00:34:00,460 --> 00:34:03,020
S1: like that, say, why don't we have an investigative Bible study,

656
00:34:03,260 --> 00:34:06,260
S1: one that that we can kind of investigate what the

657
00:34:06,260 --> 00:34:09,580
S1: Bible says and pick maybe just instead of the whole

658
00:34:09,580 --> 00:34:13,259
S1: book of John with 21 chapters. Yeah, I've done investigative

659
00:34:13,260 --> 00:34:15,100
S1: Bible studies just with John three and for.

660
00:34:15,140 --> 00:34:15,660
S2: Sure.

661
00:34:15,820 --> 00:34:19,540
S1: Two chapters, and after three weeks we're done. And and

662
00:34:19,660 --> 00:34:22,940
S1: people are open to that. Get a Bible into people's hands.

663
00:34:22,940 --> 00:34:26,980
S1: It's so much more effective when you read the Bible

664
00:34:26,980 --> 00:34:27,739
S1: with people.

665
00:34:28,180 --> 00:34:32,219
S2: So and as you know, challenge them to, to if

666
00:34:32,219 --> 00:34:35,500
S2: they have a Bible, bring their actual Bible. Yeah. You know,

667
00:34:35,540 --> 00:34:38,140
S2: or have, you know, might many of us have extra

668
00:34:38,140 --> 00:34:40,460
S2: Bibles laying around our house? So you have an actual

669
00:34:40,460 --> 00:34:41,819
S2: print Bible that you're looking at.

670
00:34:41,940 --> 00:34:44,500
S1: Of course, I remember doing an investigative Bible study, so

671
00:34:44,500 --> 00:34:46,020
S1: you can bring your own Bible and someone brought like

672
00:34:46,020 --> 00:34:47,299
S1: this big family Bible.

673
00:34:47,340 --> 00:34:48,860
S2: Yeah, it was nine inches thick.

674
00:34:48,900 --> 00:34:51,620
S1: Yeah. I said, let me give you a different one. And,

675
00:34:51,660 --> 00:34:55,900
S1: you know, it was, uh, Elizabethan English. But, uh, anyway,

676
00:34:55,900 --> 00:34:59,540
S1: let's take a question, uh, before our break. Uh, we're

677
00:34:59,540 --> 00:35:04,620
S1: going to talk to David in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Hi, David.

678
00:35:04,620 --> 00:35:06,140
S1: Welcome to Chris Fabry Live.

679
00:35:07,580 --> 00:35:10,219
S5: Good afternoon, and thank you for taking my call.

680
00:35:10,739 --> 00:35:11,540
S1: My pleasure.

681
00:35:12,540 --> 00:35:15,779
S5: Okay. Hey, so kind of a quick question and maybe

682
00:35:15,780 --> 00:35:18,860
S5: I can get a follow up. I know time is limited. Um,

683
00:35:19,340 --> 00:35:21,980
S5: not me, but a lot of people out there are

684
00:35:22,180 --> 00:35:27,900
S5: afraid to evangelize or speak about their faith because they

685
00:35:27,900 --> 00:35:33,420
S5: fear that they will be isolated. Um, what's practical application

686
00:35:33,460 --> 00:35:39,140
S5: of someone could do that and, and really not have

687
00:35:39,140 --> 00:35:40,820
S5: that way so heavy on them.

688
00:35:42,620 --> 00:35:47,420
S1: Well, first of all, I would say if we are kind,

689
00:35:47,660 --> 00:35:51,820
S1: caring people with our neighbors, even if they don't like

690
00:35:51,860 --> 00:35:53,940
S1: our faith, if they don't like what we have to

691
00:35:53,940 --> 00:35:57,020
S1: say about it, if we if we won't be pushy,

692
00:35:57,100 --> 00:35:59,060
S1: if we won't say, well, I'm going to keep talking

693
00:35:59,060 --> 00:36:01,180
S1: about this. I love saying to people, I'll only talk

694
00:36:01,219 --> 00:36:04,780
S1: about this if you want to, and, and keep being

695
00:36:04,780 --> 00:36:07,940
S1: kind and caring towards people and still cultivating that friendship,

696
00:36:08,300 --> 00:36:10,020
S1: whether they want to talk about it or not. I

697
00:36:10,020 --> 00:36:12,340
S1: don't think we have to worry about people being alienated

698
00:36:12,340 --> 00:36:13,859
S1: from us. How do you feel about that?

699
00:36:14,180 --> 00:36:16,500
S2: Well, I think I think maybe one of the things

700
00:36:16,540 --> 00:36:19,819
S2: that David is observing and speaking into is that in

701
00:36:19,820 --> 00:36:24,100
S2: our current social climate, being a Christian has a stigma

702
00:36:24,100 --> 00:36:27,900
S2: to it of being a very negative, a very negative image.

703
00:36:27,900 --> 00:36:31,339
S2: And I think, David, just by your interactions with people,

704
00:36:31,540 --> 00:36:33,980
S2: you're going to overcome that image. They're going to go, wow,

705
00:36:33,980 --> 00:36:36,260
S2: this is not what I. You're not a hater at all.

706
00:36:36,500 --> 00:36:40,219
S2: You're not, you know, you're not flying, uh, terrible banners

707
00:36:40,219 --> 00:36:42,340
S2: of I can't stand you and you're going to hell

708
00:36:42,340 --> 00:36:45,779
S2: this minute in your front yard. That's so hopefully, you know,

709
00:36:45,820 --> 00:36:49,460
S2: you're overcome. You're overcoming that stereotype. You're overcoming the paradigm

710
00:36:49,460 --> 00:36:50,620
S2: and it causes a big shift.

711
00:36:50,660 --> 00:36:53,500
S1: Yeah. And take off those bumper stickers if you've got them.

712
00:36:53,660 --> 00:36:56,700
S2: Oh, yeah. This is so true. Um, that we had

713
00:36:56,700 --> 00:37:00,100
S2: a neighbor who had a lot of Christian bumper stickers,

714
00:37:00,100 --> 00:37:02,380
S2: which he really thought was effective.

715
00:37:02,820 --> 00:37:04,339
S1: But we talked to the neighbors and they said.

716
00:37:04,380 --> 00:37:06,020
S2: It was like one of them was like, get right

717
00:37:06,020 --> 00:37:08,100
S2: with God or get left in hell. This was one

718
00:37:08,100 --> 00:37:10,060
S2: of the he had a big, big one that said that.

719
00:37:10,060 --> 00:37:12,420
S2: And all of our neighbors who did not know Jesus

720
00:37:12,500 --> 00:37:15,339
S2: were not attracted to Jesus by that message. Yeah. Now,

721
00:37:15,340 --> 00:37:16,980
S2: it's a true thing that we need to get right

722
00:37:16,980 --> 00:37:17,540
S2: with God.

723
00:37:17,580 --> 00:37:17,860
S1: Yeah.

724
00:37:17,900 --> 00:37:23,580
S2: But, but we need to lovingly present that message, not, um,

725
00:37:23,820 --> 00:37:24,860
S2: with hostility.

726
00:37:24,900 --> 00:37:27,940
S1: Yeah. And, and you can get rid of those bumper

727
00:37:27,940 --> 00:37:31,580
S1: stickers and, and just have something about a lifestyle that

728
00:37:31,580 --> 00:37:35,580
S1: will be more attractive, more magnetic. We'll come right back

729
00:37:35,580 --> 00:37:40,500
S1: with talking about how to experience the, the gospel reaping

730
00:37:40,500 --> 00:37:43,340
S1: a harvest. Stay with us. You're listening to Chris Fabry live.

731
00:37:53,940 --> 00:37:56,900
S1: To tell people about God's love that he has for them.

732
00:37:58,100 --> 00:38:02,020
S1: God's love found in that Jesus is the Redeemer. He's

733
00:38:02,020 --> 00:38:06,100
S1: the forgiver in our lives. And, uh, one of the

734
00:38:06,100 --> 00:38:09,380
S1: things that that I really think is important, we were

735
00:38:09,380 --> 00:38:11,620
S1: talking about how to keep people from being alienated in

736
00:38:11,620 --> 00:38:14,979
S1: our contentious world. I'll tell you what. I don't talk

737
00:38:14,980 --> 00:38:18,700
S1: about my politics. I just won't do it. Uh, I

738
00:38:18,700 --> 00:38:23,020
S1: think that that's a really important issue. You know, I

739
00:38:23,739 --> 00:38:26,899
S1: just don't because I have neighbors that hold that some

740
00:38:26,900 --> 00:38:30,620
S1: people are Republican and some people are Democrats and some

741
00:38:30,620 --> 00:38:35,020
S1: people are independent and some people hate the current president.

742
00:38:35,020 --> 00:38:39,460
S1: Some people love the current president. And you know what?

743
00:38:40,020 --> 00:38:42,580
S1: I just don't want to get involved in talking about

744
00:38:42,580 --> 00:38:45,180
S1: that stuff. It's not important to me. And so when

745
00:38:45,180 --> 00:38:48,220
S1: they want to talk about those issues, I will often

746
00:38:48,219 --> 00:38:51,380
S1: just say, you know, your life is far more, far

747
00:38:51,380 --> 00:38:56,300
S1: more important and more significant than these other political issues.

748
00:38:56,340 --> 00:38:58,580
S1: And we just kind of talk about their lives. Don't

749
00:38:58,580 --> 00:38:59,580
S1: you think it's interesting?

750
00:38:59,580 --> 00:39:02,620
S2: I'm, um, was reading some things that D.L. Moody had

751
00:39:02,780 --> 00:39:07,020
S2: has written, and he was confronted by a man who

752
00:39:07,020 --> 00:39:09,779
S2: said the first thing that that I think we should

753
00:39:09,830 --> 00:39:12,150
S2: do this guy said to Moodie, is we should point

754
00:39:12,150 --> 00:39:15,109
S2: out everything that's wrong, that a person thinks you need

755
00:39:15,110 --> 00:39:17,910
S2: to tear down the scaffold. You have to tear down

756
00:39:17,910 --> 00:39:20,790
S2: the scaffolding of their wrong thinking, and only then can

757
00:39:20,790 --> 00:39:22,990
S2: you begin to build and talk to them about God.

758
00:39:23,190 --> 00:39:26,069
S2: And Moodie said you could not be more wrong, that

759
00:39:26,070 --> 00:39:28,270
S2: we don't need to worry about their scaffolding of what

760
00:39:28,270 --> 00:39:30,390
S2: they think that is wrong. What we need to do

761
00:39:30,390 --> 00:39:32,989
S2: is tell them what is right about God. And the

762
00:39:32,989 --> 00:39:35,630
S2: most right thing about God is that he loves them.

763
00:39:35,910 --> 00:39:38,470
S2: So I think that is where we need to begin. Yeah. Yeah.

764
00:39:38,510 --> 00:39:41,350
S2: Not with what? Oh, you're wrong about this, this and this.

765
00:39:41,350 --> 00:39:44,790
S2: But let's talk about what God is really like. I

766
00:39:44,790 --> 00:39:46,910
S2: was saying to Michael, I wish somebody would make a

767
00:39:46,910 --> 00:39:50,069
S2: bumper sticker that said, God loves you. Are you surprised?

768
00:39:51,350 --> 00:39:53,390
S2: I mean, that would be a provocative idea to ride

769
00:39:53,390 --> 00:39:54,590
S2: around on your bumper with.

770
00:39:54,630 --> 00:39:57,190
S1: Yeah, I think that's great. Now, the thing is, we

771
00:39:57,230 --> 00:39:59,310
S1: really do. One of the things that we ultimately have

772
00:39:59,310 --> 00:40:02,390
S1: to do when we sow gospel seeds is actually explain

773
00:40:02,390 --> 00:40:08,270
S1: the gospel, right? And so often we really miss the point. Uh, Uh,

774
00:40:08,469 --> 00:40:10,950
S1: and that's why the very first question in my book

775
00:40:10,950 --> 00:40:13,230
S1: on 50 most important Bible questions was.

776
00:40:13,469 --> 00:40:14,669
S2: What is the gospel.

777
00:40:14,670 --> 00:40:18,150
S1: Exactly? And here's the simple message. If you look at

778
00:40:18,150 --> 00:40:21,589
S1: first Corinthians 15, verses three and four, it says that

779
00:40:21,590 --> 00:40:25,190
S1: the Lord Jesus died for our sins. That's his substitution.

780
00:40:25,190 --> 00:40:28,310
S1: And then he was raised again. And from Romans ten

781
00:40:28,310 --> 00:40:31,150
S1: nine and ten, we know that that indicates that He's God.

782
00:40:31,150 --> 00:40:34,109
S1: So the good news is essentially that Jesus died for

783
00:40:34,110 --> 00:40:37,190
S1: our sins and was raised again. Now, how you can

784
00:40:37,190 --> 00:40:39,469
S1: say that in about 25 words or less is that

785
00:40:39,469 --> 00:40:42,390
S1: we all do things wrong. Uh, Jesus died for the

786
00:40:42,390 --> 00:40:44,509
S1: wrong things we do. He was raised proving he's God.

787
00:40:44,550 --> 00:40:47,109
S1: Trust in him. That's the that's the message. That's the

788
00:40:47,110 --> 00:40:52,230
S1: elevator explanation of the good news. I think that that's important,

789
00:40:52,230 --> 00:40:54,989
S1: that we get there. What's the problem? What do we

790
00:40:55,030 --> 00:40:57,630
S1: mostly hear as the explanation of the good news?

791
00:40:58,270 --> 00:40:59,350
S2: Christ died for you.

792
00:40:59,390 --> 00:41:00,430
S1: Yeah. That's it.

793
00:41:00,469 --> 00:41:01,230
S2: Full stop.

794
00:41:01,590 --> 00:41:04,270
S1: Yeah. Uh, remember the neighbor that said to you that

795
00:41:04,390 --> 00:41:06,710
S1: he was listening to gospel radio.

796
00:41:06,950 --> 00:41:09,270
S2: Listen to gospel radio. And she says to me, how

797
00:41:09,270 --> 00:41:11,910
S2: come they're always talking about that dead guy on the radio?

798
00:41:12,670 --> 00:41:14,430
S2: Because that was all she was hearing was about the

799
00:41:14,430 --> 00:41:17,030
S2: dead guy. Yeah, because it was all the Jesus died,

800
00:41:17,030 --> 00:41:18,589
S2: Jesus died, Jesus died, and.

801
00:41:18,590 --> 00:41:19,470
S1: He was raised for.

802
00:41:19,469 --> 00:41:23,070
S2: Our justification. Yeah. He didn't include the resurrection in the message.

803
00:41:23,110 --> 00:41:25,670
S2: Don't we want to always include the resurrection in the

804
00:41:25,670 --> 00:41:27,710
S2: message or we haven't told the full story?

805
00:41:27,750 --> 00:41:30,430
S1: That's right. It's so important we can have new life. Now,

806
00:41:30,430 --> 00:41:37,350
S1: here's the thing. Uh, what I'm finding is that, uh, uh,

807
00:41:38,430 --> 00:41:41,390
S1: I see, I see someone wants to argue with me.

808
00:41:41,390 --> 00:41:43,390
S1: Why do we feel like we need to make friends

809
00:41:43,390 --> 00:41:47,190
S1: with people before we share the gospel? I'm going to

810
00:41:47,190 --> 00:41:49,750
S1: answer your question. Uh, right now, I saw that come

811
00:41:49,750 --> 00:41:52,870
S1: up on the board. Here's why. Because if we just

812
00:41:52,870 --> 00:41:56,109
S1: share the gospel without the context of relationship, we're far

813
00:41:56,110 --> 00:41:59,910
S1: less effective. It takes about 7 or 8 or up

814
00:41:59,910 --> 00:42:03,669
S1: to ten exposures to the good news before someone will

815
00:42:03,670 --> 00:42:07,150
S1: respond in such a way to grow. It's what Jesus

816
00:42:07,150 --> 00:42:12,989
S1: taught in about the good soil of. Of the four soils.

817
00:42:13,150 --> 00:42:16,150
S1: It's the soil that was cultivated and that was good soil.

818
00:42:16,590 --> 00:42:19,149
S1: That's the one that. The seeds grew and had a

819
00:42:19,190 --> 00:42:21,710
S1: large harvest. So that's why we have to do this.

820
00:42:21,750 --> 00:42:24,310
S2: We're not saying don't talk to people randomly. Yeah, go ahead,

821
00:42:24,350 --> 00:42:29,790
S2: talk randomly, but be along with any opportunity. Be intentional.

822
00:42:29,830 --> 00:42:31,710
S1: Yeah. But there's going to be people that you're not

823
00:42:31,710 --> 00:42:34,390
S1: going to just have a one time opportunity with. There

824
00:42:34,430 --> 00:42:36,430
S1: are people that you're going to be neighbors with, people

825
00:42:36,430 --> 00:42:39,150
S1: you're going to be in a club with, people you're

826
00:42:39,150 --> 00:42:41,950
S1: going to work with. Yeah, there's all sorts of people

827
00:42:41,950 --> 00:42:45,670
S1: in your life that you have to be with all

828
00:42:45,670 --> 00:42:50,630
S1: the time. So it's better to cultivate that soil.

829
00:42:50,790 --> 00:42:53,350
S2: And never be ashamed. Like it says in Romans 116,

830
00:42:53,390 --> 00:42:55,430
S2: I'm not ashamed of the gospel, for is the power

831
00:42:55,430 --> 00:42:57,790
S2: of God to salvation to everyone who believes.

832
00:42:57,790 --> 00:43:01,830
S1: But even so, even we're not ashamed. We have to

833
00:43:01,870 --> 00:43:04,469
S1: cultivate the soil. And that's, I think, part of what

834
00:43:04,469 --> 00:43:07,150
S1: Paul talks about in Colossians four, where he talks about

835
00:43:07,150 --> 00:43:09,750
S1: when we're sharing the gospel, our speech should be seasoned

836
00:43:09,750 --> 00:43:13,790
S1: with salt. It should be our message should be tasty.

837
00:43:13,830 --> 00:43:16,510
S1: It should be something that people want to hear.

838
00:43:16,550 --> 00:43:17,990
S2: Winning, winning, winning.

839
00:43:18,310 --> 00:43:20,790
S1: Okay, so how do I get someone to the point

840
00:43:21,390 --> 00:43:23,630
S1: where we can reap a harvest? Here's one of the

841
00:43:23,630 --> 00:43:26,870
S1: things that you know. So we talked about cultivating the soil.

842
00:43:27,310 --> 00:43:30,790
S1: We talked about sowing seeds of the gospel. Uh, now

843
00:43:31,110 --> 00:43:33,069
S1: there's something we're not going to talk about, but what

844
00:43:33,070 --> 00:43:34,830
S1: we do is people will raise objections if we have

845
00:43:34,830 --> 00:43:38,390
S1: this ongoing relationship. So we weed the objections by learning

846
00:43:38,390 --> 00:43:40,710
S1: how to answer objections. But how do we bring someone

847
00:43:40,710 --> 00:43:43,390
S1: to the place where they can actually make a decision?

848
00:43:43,390 --> 00:43:46,670
S1: One of the things I've discovered that's very helpful is I,

849
00:43:46,830 --> 00:43:50,390
S1: I draw like a little road and I say, if

850
00:43:50,390 --> 00:43:52,950
S1: this is a picture of your spiritual journey, where are

851
00:43:52,950 --> 00:43:55,870
S1: you on your journey here? I don't know anything about God.

852
00:43:55,870 --> 00:43:57,750
S1: I don't know anything about the Bible. I put different

853
00:43:57,750 --> 00:44:00,710
S1: steps along the way, and then I invite them to

854
00:44:00,750 --> 00:44:04,230
S1: show me where they are on their journey and sometimes

855
00:44:04,230 --> 00:44:06,230
S1: where they are is. I'd like to write at the end.

856
00:44:06,270 --> 00:44:10,549
S1: I'd like to know how my sins could be forgiven. Uh, forever.

857
00:44:11,070 --> 00:44:15,270
S1: And that's when, uh, what we'll do, even I will

858
00:44:15,270 --> 00:44:18,270
S1: sit down, say, can I sit down with you with

859
00:44:18,270 --> 00:44:20,870
S1: a Bible and show you exactly what the Bible says

860
00:44:20,870 --> 00:44:23,509
S1: about experiencing forgiveness and.

861
00:44:23,630 --> 00:44:26,549
S2: And invite them to believe, invite them to, to put

862
00:44:26,550 --> 00:44:27,430
S2: their faith in Jesus.

863
00:44:27,469 --> 00:44:29,310
S1: Now, some people want to use a booklet. I don't

864
00:44:29,310 --> 00:44:32,029
S1: think we should use a booklet. Just learn basically what

865
00:44:32,030 --> 00:44:33,910
S1: the Bible says. Learn how to read upside down. A

866
00:44:33,910 --> 00:44:34,750
S1: man said to me once.

867
00:44:34,790 --> 00:44:35,230
S2: Yeah.

868
00:44:35,390 --> 00:44:38,310
S1: Uh, show him the Bible. Romans 323. What does this say?

869
00:44:38,310 --> 00:44:41,230
S1: It says that all have sinned. Do you sin? Oh yeah.

870
00:44:41,230 --> 00:44:44,350
S1: Let's talk about that. And then, uh, just work your

871
00:44:44,350 --> 00:44:48,710
S1: way through the message of the good news with the Bible.

872
00:44:49,350 --> 00:44:51,989
S1: Maybe four verses you'll read with them all together, make

873
00:44:52,030 --> 00:44:55,390
S1: sure they understand them. And then always, always, always. One

874
00:44:55,390 --> 00:45:00,590
S1: of the things I discovered is invite them to believe. Uh,

875
00:45:00,910 --> 00:45:03,000
S1: here's how I do it. You've heard me. How many

876
00:45:03,000 --> 00:45:06,040
S1: times have we done this? Either what's keeping you from you?

877
00:45:06,120 --> 00:45:09,440
S1: What's keeping you from trusting in Jesus right now? Putting

878
00:45:09,440 --> 00:45:11,239
S1: your trust in believing that he died for you and

879
00:45:11,239 --> 00:45:14,120
S1: rose again. Put your trust in him. And it's so

880
00:45:14,120 --> 00:45:17,160
S1: funny because people look at me and sometimes they'll say, well,

881
00:45:17,160 --> 00:45:19,640
S1: this or that, and I write those down, and then

882
00:45:19,640 --> 00:45:21,600
S1: I try and work my way through whatever.

883
00:45:21,600 --> 00:45:23,600
S2: Objections I have. But often.

884
00:45:23,640 --> 00:45:26,799
S1: Yeah, often they say, nothing's keeping me. I'm ready to

885
00:45:26,840 --> 00:45:32,120
S1: believe in Jesus right now. And one of my I

886
00:45:32,200 --> 00:45:35,080
S1: have a dear friend now for almost 40, more than

887
00:45:35,080 --> 00:45:38,760
S1: 45 years. Uh, and I shared the gospel with him

888
00:45:38,760 --> 00:45:42,200
S1: all summer long. I just never invited him to trust

889
00:45:42,200 --> 00:45:46,239
S1: the Lord. And so after the whole summer, uh, a

890
00:45:46,239 --> 00:45:49,040
S1: friend of mine then invited him to believe and he said, yeah,

891
00:45:49,040 --> 00:45:52,000
S1: I was wondering how to do that. And so and

892
00:45:52,000 --> 00:45:54,280
S1: so I was so happy. But it taught me the lesson.

893
00:45:54,280 --> 00:45:58,640
S1: I need to ask, invite someone to trust. And that's

894
00:45:58,640 --> 00:46:01,960
S1: what we all need to do. Invite people to trust

895
00:46:01,960 --> 00:46:04,239
S1: the Lord. Hey, Eva. What? Any last words for us?

896
00:46:04,280 --> 00:46:05,440
S2: I was going to say, if you if you kind

897
00:46:05,440 --> 00:46:07,839
S2: of put these little principles into into action, you're going

898
00:46:07,840 --> 00:46:09,440
S2: to be able to share with your friends and not

899
00:46:09,440 --> 00:46:10,320
S2: lose your friendship.

900
00:46:10,360 --> 00:46:13,480
S1: Yeah. Always do it in the context of kindness and

901
00:46:13,480 --> 00:46:17,880
S1: friendship and encouragement. Be the kind of person that is,

902
00:46:18,320 --> 00:46:20,799
S1: is really there for others. And you know what? Our

903
00:46:20,800 --> 00:46:23,560
S1: message is louder sometimes. You know, I don't believe that.

904
00:46:23,560 --> 00:46:25,800
S1: It says, you know, always preach the gospel if necessary.

905
00:46:25,840 --> 00:46:28,600
S1: Use words, always use words. But start with the context

906
00:46:28,640 --> 00:46:32,040
S1: of that loving friendship and relationship. Well, I want to

907
00:46:32,040 --> 00:46:35,839
S1: say thanks to Ryan and Lisa and everyone there on

908
00:46:35,840 --> 00:46:38,600
S1: the team. And also thank you for joining me, Eva. Thanks, Chris,

909
00:46:38,719 --> 00:46:41,880
S1: for actually allowing me to sit in for you today

910
00:46:41,880 --> 00:46:44,200
S1: with Eva. I know it's because Eva was here that

911
00:46:44,200 --> 00:46:47,479
S1: you let me do it. Uh, listen again for Chris

912
00:46:47,520 --> 00:46:50,280
S1: Fabry live next week. Chris Fabry Live is a production

913
00:46:50,280 --> 00:46:53,560
S1: of Moody Radio, a Ministry of Moody Bible Institute.