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Introduction
I don’t know about you, but since we have been on this subject, with all
these ideas in my head of “walking across rooms” and “entering zones of
the unknown,” I find myself strangely preoccupied with people!
People at the store. People at work. People in cars stuck in traffic …
just like me. People dropping their children off at school. All sorts of
people.
I’d look at them—really look at them—and go, “Okay, God … am I
supposed to be feeling anything right now? Do you want me to do
something here … maybe enter the”zone of the unknown” and give them a
taste of the single greatest gift thing?”
Did you all experience this too?
We are in this together. I’m learning right alongside you! As a
reminder to us all, the reason for our focus on this area of evangelism
is NOT so that we can just burn through some sermon series. Remember the
real reason we’re doing this experience is so that we can all
become walk-across-the-room people.
That’s the reason! Because walk-across-the-room people are
typically the ones who get to be used in pointing people far from God to
faith.
And the reason we want to point people to faith is because pointing
people to faith is what God’s heart beats for. He gave his one and
only Son to reach lost people, right? … To help lost people get
found!
And for those of you who really and truly desire to become more like
Christ in your lives, I have some good news for you: you become
most like him when you help him help lost people get found.
Make sense?
With that goal in mind, let’s dive into this week’s content.
*****
Last time, if you recall, we left off with the exhortation to “just
walk.” We said that if we wanted to get involved in the task of giving
folks around us the single greatest gift we can give them—an
introduction to the God who created them and loves them—then we will:
PPT Slide 2/Recap of last week’s three points … (slide builds from
point one to point three in abbreviated form)
1. Be willing to enter the Zone of the Unknown … by voluntarily
extricating ourselves from our Circles of Comfort and being open to
engaging with someone who might need a touch from God;
2. Listen for the Spirit’s promptings … by choosing to rely on his
guidance instead of our own;
3. Just walk … remembering that Jesus took a long, cosmic walk for us,
right?
Today I want to spend our brief moments together talking about what
happens right after you decide to “just walk.” In other words,
what should you be thinking about, praying about, and talking about in
that Zone of the Unknown once you step foot into it? Because if you’re
anything like me, agreeing to “walk” is one thing. But knowing what to
do once you’ve reached the destination-the
person standing across the room from you-is
quite another.
I think these are valid questions for us all to ask:
After I make the decision to walk across a room …
What do I think about?
What do I pray about?
What on earth do I say??
*****
This week , we’ll start exploring what’s called “Living in 3D.”
3D Living is a framework for operating successfully in the Zone of the
Unknown. It’s made up of three “D’s,” as you probably figured out. This
week we will only be looking at the first “D”. Ready?
Point 1: Develop Friendships
PPT Slide 3/Point 1: Develop friendships
Walk-across-the-room people are those who live life in “3D”; first, they
constantly look for ways to:
• Develop friendships- this is the first D and the only one we
will be discussing this week.
If we’re going to reflect the Father’s heart, as individuals and as a
church, then we must be in continuous search mode. We’ve got to
make a habit of searching for new friendships on the horizon. That
is the heart of a true Christ-follower.
When you operate this way—when you operate in continuous “search mode” …
watching for ways to connect with people, looking for friendships in the
making—I believe all of heaven holds its breath.
Heaven wonders, Will you lean into the faith and courage that God has
given you for this precise moment—the moment when you’re operating in
the Zone of the Unknown? Will you extend a hand of friendship? Will you
open wide your arms of acceptance?
All of heaven watches … holds its breath … waits … and then exhales a
shared sigh of relief—a joyous, celebrative sigh of relief—when you dig
in and do the thing that God is asking you to do.
In that moment, the cheers that break out all across heaven are
thunderous … raucous (raw’kess) cheers … utterly deafening cheers!
Now, this is the way it should be. This is the way things
ought to operate day in, day out, in the lives of Christ-followers
all across the globe … friendships getting formed left and right that
eventually might lead to something spiritual unfolding.
Yes, this is the dynamic that we hope would play out with such
frequency that the angels in heaven live in perpetual party-mode. But
things don’t always pan out this way, do they?
*****
Does anyone remember “direct and indirect variations” from high school
algebra class? Some of you are getting nervous. Well, I’m no Mr. Math,
but it goes something like this.
Let’s say you are trying to evaluate a young man’s height and weight.
We’ll call the guy Jake. [Draw FC Image 1.]
[FC Image 1]
Maybe Jake just hit puberty, and so his height skyrocketed last year.
Jake grew 10 percent in one year. [Build on picture; see FC image 2.]
[FC Image 2]
Now, if his height and weight are in direct variation, then as
one goes up, the other goes up too … in “direct” proportion. So, if Jake
grew 10 percent taller last year, then he also gained 10 percent more
weight. [Build on picture; see FC image 3.]
[FC Image 3]
Indirect variation would be reflected in a situation where Jake’s
height and weight necessarily go in opposite directions. [Build
on picture; see FC image 4.] In other words, Jake got taller—his height
increased—but simultaneously, he lost the same proportion of weight—his
weight decreased.
[FC Image 4]
All right, everyone still with me? Those of you who break into hives
from arithmetic terminology can rejoin the conversation now. We’re all
done with that.
*****
Here’s where it can get pretty interesting: let’s take these same
concepts and apply them to the life of a Christ-follower, shall we?
So, let’s say that “Jane” has been walking with Christ for ten years.
[Draw FC image 5 on clean sheet.] She comes to Christ, gets radically
accepted and redeemed and renewed by the King of the universe, and she
thinks it’s about the best thing she’s ever experienced.
[FC Image 5]
Her walk with Christ is thriving. [Build on picture; see FC image 6.]
Additionally, she has a newfound care and compassion and concern for the
people around her … more than anything, she wants those people to
experience the same mind-blowing acceptance she experienced from
Christ. And so she embraces them and walks with them along their own
journeys toward faith.
[FC Image 6]
In other words, all is as it should be! [Build on picture; see FC
image 7.] Jane is walking with Christ … and experiencing a
corresponding increase in her love and acceptance of the exact same
people whom Christ loves. It’s all good.
[FC Image 7]
Over time, Jane sees dozens of her friends and family members
come to faith in Christ—the transformation she witnesses is simply
astounding! These new Christ-followers and Jane start hanging out with
greater frequency, just to chat about how much they love Jesus … how
much they love the new lives they’re living as a result of his
intervention in their worlds. It’s all good!
But then something strange takes place. Things turn … not so good. Did
you hear that I said “things turn not so good”? After many months, or
even many years go by, Jane’s life becomes nearly 100 percent
consumed by her friends who love Jesus.
That part’s all good … I suppose … except that Jane no longer reaches
out. She no longer feels that initial enthusiasm for sharing Christ with
people outside the faith. She no longer embraces unconvinced friends …
mostly because no “unconvinced friends” exist in her warm, safe
Circle of Comfort.
This is the ugly underbelly of the Christian life that is too prevalent.
Here’s how it plays out: we have Jane walking with Christ … that part is
still going strong. [Draw FC image 8 on clean sheet.]
[FC Image 8]
But simultaneously, the love for folks not yet walking with God
wanes. [Build on picture; see FC image 9.] Proximity to the
greatest People Person ever to walk the planet … who is Jesus, of course
… increases while proximity to the people who need him
decreases. This is the most awful “indirect variation” known to
humankind.
[FC Image 9]
Seems hard to believe, doesn’t it—that this trend could take place in
the life of someone who is genuinely walking with Jesus Christ?
If you think about it, this whole dynamic is what makes the Circle of
Comfort so comfortable. Almost all of us find it quite easy to
love some people—maybe a spouse or our parents or our kids … our
friends at work, our friends at church.
We see them, and our initial reaction is love. We want to bless
them. We crave time with them. We’re filled with joy when these people
come to mind. Anyone relate to what I’m saying here?
It’s true: almost every human being has a loving heart toward
some people.
But here’s what may not be so easy to admit. While almost every human
being has a loving heart toward some people, almost every human
being also has a secret list of people they just can’t stand.
It might be a business partner who took some of your money and broke up
your partnership twenty years ago. It might be a spouse who walked out
on you. It might be someone who wounded you with words. You might have
reasons—really good reasons—for not liking a certain number of
people. But you know what? It even gets more complex than that.
Some of us don’t like entire groups of people. Some people in
this room may get huffy when we’re surrounded by men and women who don’t
vote the way we vote. Some of us become all constricted inside when
we’re confronted with certain ethnic groups. Some of us are just plain
disgusted with people who aren’t at our same socioeconomic level.
We don’t talk about this very often. Especially in mixed company. It’s
uncomfortable, isn’t it? But it remains true: many of us have a “list” …
and on that list are people we wish we could put on a ship headed
permanently out to sea.
Ask me to love some people outside of my “circle,” and seemingly
out of nowhere, a whole host of qualifiers and filters rise up out of
me. “All right now, if you’re asking me to love some people outside of
this circle, they better be nice, they better not hurt me, they better
be safe, they better be stable, they better be deserving!”
Maybe I’m not alone here. Maybe you have your qualifiers too. Please, oh
please, tell me you have your qualifiers! I don’t want to stand here in
my sinfulness all alone! They are called the “better-be’s,” and they go
something like this:
“They better be white, they better be black, they better be pro-life,
they better be liberal, they better be Democratic, they better be
Republican, they better be young, they better be old, they better be
single, they better be rich, they better be straight, they better be
organic”
Any of these ringing a bell? So, where do these qualifiers come from?
What are these filters all about?
*****
PPT Slide 4/Parable images
Do you remember the “parable trifecta” Jesus describes in Luke 15? You
know, the lost sheep … the lost coin … the lost son.
In Luke chapter 15, Jesus is seen in a marketplace setting having
conversations with people who are irreligious—people who are really far
from his Father and who had made lots of mistakes, painted outside the
lines, used terrible language, drank too much, slept in the wrong bed,
cheated other folks out of their money … the list goes on and on.
He is interacting with them … talking, listening, just enjoying the
fellowship. And as the scene plays out, we notice that the religious
leaders—the scribes and the Pharisees—become a little troubled in their
spirits. A little wrinkled in their shorts.
Actually, they think the whole deal is utterly scandalous because
the people Jesus is interacting with are the exact people who are on
their list!—these are the precise people the scribes and Pharisees
hate! And Jesus of all people is hanging out with them!
Somewhere along the way, they had convinced themselves saying “Surely
God has a heart that looks like our hearts. He probably has insides like
our insides. He has people who he loves, bestows blessings on, thinks
good thoughts about, and answers prayer for.
God has a certain number of people who he loves … but he also has
a list of people who absolutely disgust him. He disdains them …
and he’s just waiting for the chance to send them to hell.”
How many were raised in church with this attitude?
So the Pharisees reasoned this way: “If God’s insides are like this—some
people he loves, some people he hates—then it’s perfectly okay for our
insides to be like that—some people we love, some people we just hate.
So they looked at the irreligious people who were immoral and ungodly in
so many ways, and they hated them … they wished evil upon them.
Soon enough, Jesus hears them grumbling about this. He sees their hearts
and springs into action. He tells three of the most famous stories in
Scripture, one right after the other. The first: a lost sheep. The
second: a lost coin. The third: a wayward boy.
He starts with a big number, a big scale … he talks about a hundred
sheep. But then, he narrows it down to ten coins. And then, to
one son. Do you see his point taking shape?
You probably know the stories. There are a hundred sheep, and one dumb
sheep just wanders away. He’s going to create all this hassle. The sheep
just wanders off and gets itself lost.
Then there are ten coins. One of them is misplaced. And then, there is a
boy who asks for his inheritance from his father early, which in that
society was like saying to his father, “You’re as good as dead, so I
want my inheritance right now!”
And what does he do once he has money in hand? He takes it out to a
foreign land and blows it on wine, women, and song. I’m so glad we don’t
struggle with these issues of being lost and wandering away and
squandering blessings today … aren’t you?
Anyway … three stories. Three very interesting stories.
I imagine that at least one of the Pharisees who heard the stories that
day just couldn’t shake Jesus’ words. He wondered for days on end what
those three stories were about.
I picture him going away from that marketplace, his mind trailing off to
the three stories. He heads to the campfire later that night, and as
he’s sitting by the campfire, he keeps reviewing the stories, over and
over and over again.
He says, “Okay … there were three stories he told. The lost sheep, the
lost coin, the wayward son—what did all that mean?” He goes, “Hey wait!
In each of the three stories, something wound up missing. The
sheep wound up missing. A coin wound up missing. A son
wound up missing. Hmmm.”
Then I picture the Pharisee saying, “Wait a minute. Maybe it goes down
another level. Whatever it was that was missing really mattered
to somebody!
The lost sheep really mattered to the shepherd. The lost coin was one of
ten. The lady only had ten coins. She’d lost a tenth of her
entire estate. The lost coin really mattered to the woman! And the
wayward son, undoubtedly, really mattered to the father.”
So I picture this Pharisee sitting by the fire. He says, “Okay. So what
does it mean? What does it mean?” All of a sudden, Kaboom! I can
see the Pharisee going, “Oh no … oh no. Could it be that the
Father’s heart is not at all like our heart?
Could it be that what Jesus was saying is that the Father’s heart is
indiscriminately loving? That what Jesus was saying is that those
irreligious, immoral, profane individuals that he was talking to … was
Jesus trying to say that they actually mattered to the
Father—that they were on his love list?
“And could it be that Jesus was saying, ‘God the Father doesn’t even
have a hate list’? Could it be that the love of the Father is so
much love of another kind—love at such a higher and broader and wider
level—that every man, woman, and child who has ever inhaled air on this
planet is the object of his great affection? And maybe there’s not a
single person who ever lived that God wanted to consign to hell?”
*****
PPT Slide 5/Point 1: Develop friendships (second appearance of
slide)
The reason I introduced you to our friend Jane here [refer back to FC 9]
is because before you and I will agree to walk across a room and
approach a perfect stranger, we’ll have to get past what’s inherent in
many of our attitudes … this awful filter that says “Unless you pass my
list of qualifiers … unless you somehow meet the standard that lives in
my mind and heart, I refuse to reach out to you.”
My firm belief is that unless Christ-followers get dogged in their
determination to eradicate this ugly underbelly from their lives, they
will never even enter the Zone of the Unknown.
They will get all psyched up to extricate themselves from their Circles
of Comfort; they will decide with fierce conviction that, come hell or
high water, they are going to walk across that room; they will
finally receive a clear, indisputable prompting from the Holy Spirit;
and then … they’ll freeze up.
Why?
They’ve pulled a “Jane,” plain and simple.
And when it’s all said and done, they’ll have screened out dozens
of people they could have been taking walks across rooms for … all
because those people didn’t “fit the mold” of who they normally
would hang out with.
Developing friendships means acting on an attitude—a heart
posture—that says, “I’m open to you. Whoever you are, whatever
you have done, whatever you believe life is all about … I’m open
to accepting you, knowing you, journeying with you, caring about you.”
That’s where it all begins.
No question, lots of us Christians are growing in knowledge, in worship,
in character, in serving, in giving. All the research shows that. But
are we also growing in our ability to radically accept whoever is
standing on the other side of the room … no matter what?
Developing friendships. This is where living in 3D must begin.
Once you are willing to view every interaction as the first step
in developing a new, God-honoring friendship, you will find that some
pretty interesting doors swing wide open.
Don’t be afraid, trust the Spirit’s leading. |
