teaching/sermons/col-1-15-20/expansion/icoc_alpha_omega/clean/14-we-proclaim-christ-christian-annie-armendariz.md

We Proclaim Christ | Christian & Annie Armendariz

Col 1:15-20 prep relevance: MARGINAL

Why kept: Title and opening are lifted from Col 1:28 ("He is the one we proclaim"), but substance is preached from Isaiah 52, Mark 16, Romans 10 on cold-contact evangelism. Connection is the proclaim-Christ theme rather than Col 1:15-20 itself.

Key excerpts:

00:00:00 All righty, guys. Well, we'll go ahead and get started. Uh, it's good to be here with everybody. It's good to see everyone. How's everybody doing this morning? >> Good. All right. A little tired, I guess. No worries there. But, uh, hopefully everybody's having a great time at ICMC. Um, I know Kyle did a great job yesterday. Got me fired up. And, uh, I'm ready, uh, to talk about the class here today. So, we are talking about proclaiming Christ. Uh but uh before that, my name is Christian Adminaris and this is my beautiful amazing wife Annie who I'll also be sharing here in a little bit. Uh but I

00:00:30 got baptized in 2017 at Texas State and uh I've actually stayed there ever since. Uh I have not left and uh now me and my wife uh lead the ministry there and uh we were married in uh 2021 and that is our wedding picture. We also have a adorable awesome dog um named Honeybee and she is she's just so precious and there she is. Uh but this is our campus ministry. We are about 48 students or we are actually are 48 students and uh they are awesome and

00:01:00 amazing and we love them a ton and uh God has definitely been moving in South Central Texas. But uh nonetheless, we want to go ahead and jump into what we're talking about today, which is proclaiming Christ. and you start turning over to your Bibles over to Isaiah 52. We'll be reading verses 7-10, but I do want to give a little bit of context uh before we jump in. So, the first section of Isaiah, chapters 1-39, it contains both judgment and hope for Israel. It looks forward to a time when

00:01:32 God would, you know, really fulfill his covenant to his people and form a new Jerusalem where the law would be uh truly fulfilled and where God's blessing would then be able to go into all the earth, which is something that he had promised and desired and imagined and even uh yeah, was really kind of been working towards since the uh Garden of Eden. But the section that uh of that first section of Isaiah, it ends with Isaiah telling King Hezekiah that

00:02:04 Babylon will completely destroy Israel and that the people will be led into an exile. And that's how the first section ends. And now we're going to pick up kind of in the middle of the second section and we're going to read Isaiah 52 7-10. It says, let me turn over here. How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion,

00:02:35 "Your God reigns." Listen, your watchmen lift up their voices. Together they shout for joy. When the Lord returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes. Burst into songs of joy together. You ruins of Jerusalem. For the Lord has comforted his people. He has redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord will lay bear his holy arm in the sight of all the nations and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God. This scene here described in Isaiah 52

00:03:05 is incredible. I mean, it's one of the most powerful passages and one of the most powerful sections of the entire Bible. And and although there's a lot of things happening in chapters 40- 55 of Isaiah, one of the main things going on is the declaration that God is coming back to rule his creation once again. And these these chapters, they explain what what it's going to look like when he finally does this great thing. I mean, this is the thing. And this was

00:03:36 the thing that the Jews had been waiting for, the thing that God had been working towards through years and generations. And here in Isaiah 52, what we see is how this message is going to be proclaimed when God finally does and comes back and rules all of creation as he should. And when you read this passage with all of that in mind, this is what it looks like when God finally acts. It looks like a messenger going around and proclaiming to Zion, "Your

00:04:08 God reigns." I mean, there are shouts of joy. There's burst of songs. I mean, these people, these messengers, they can hardly contain themselves from proclaiming this good news. And what's the occasion? What's the reason for all this joy? What's the reason for the burst of songs? Is that God is ruling all of creation as as he should. that he has been faithful to what he said he would always do. And just to be clear, this is not about

00:04:38 uh going to heaven, but it's about God bringing heaven's rule here on earth. It's about restoring all of creation to where heaven and earth are under his role as one. And when this finally happens, this is how the message should be proclaimed. We should have the heart of this messenger going around and proclaiming with joy that our God reigns. This is why we reach out. This is why we proclaim Christ. And yes, we're going to

00:05:09 get to the practicals. Yes, we'll get to all that in a little bit. But we need to start with the heart of why we need to proclaim. It's not because your minister told you to. It's not because you got corrected or challenged if you don't. It's not to look spiritual for the girls or for the for those around you. But it's because you want to have the heart of this messenger. It's because you see what God has done and you can't help but go and proclaim Christ. I mean, just for a second, imagine, close your eyes and imagine God has

00:05:40 finally brought about the very thing that he had been working for years to bring about. And you find out this good news. And and you see this messenger also here. And he goes, "All right, thanks God." He goes and sits down. No burst of songs, no joy, just all right. Thanks, God. That that's really great to hear. All right. Bye. What would you say to that person? And I want some actual responses. What would you think of a messenger that heard this great news and just said, "All right,

00:06:11 thanks, God." What would you say to him? Don't be afraid. It's okay. >> What's wrong with you? >> What's wrong with you? Yeah. Yeah. What would you think about this this messenger? >> Yeah. >> They don't really care. >> They don't really care. Yeah. What's wrong with Yeah. >> I would say lack of zeal. >> A lack of zeal 100%. Yeah. Anything else? No. Absolutely. You'd be like, "Bro, what what's going on here? What what's missing? Did you not hear what God has

00:06:41 just done? Do you not see what God is doing? Why aren't you coming with me to go and proclaim the good news?" But the thing is this is exactly who we should be. But exactly what we what we should be saying to people is what we don't say. There are people there are individuals in our campus ministries that don't go and proclaim Christ that actually know that God has come and that Jesus does reign, that he is supreme, but yet they don't go and proclaim his name. >> Yeah. >> They're sitting on the sidelines. And we

00:07:12 should be thinking and we should be saying, "Bro, what's going on?" >> Yeah. >> What's missing here? When when the norm and the expectation of not going and sharing your faith is not there in our own hearts or in our campus ministries, that is an indication that there is something missing. >> Yeah. >> That there is something missing about what is going on in their hearts. That this disconnection from their heart and the heart that we see in this messenger here in Isaiah 52. And that needs to be addressed because if we don't, if we are not men and women that have this kind of heart, then God's kingdom will suffer.

00:07:43 Our campus ministries won't grow. People will go without hearing the good news. They will go without knowing that Jesus is Messiah and that he reigns supreme. We are this messenger and our hearts when it comes to proclaiming Christ should reflect his. There should be joy in our lives as we go and we talk about what all that Christ has done. And if we leave this unchecked, if we don't address the heart of ourselves or our brothers and sisters in

00:08:13 our ministry, then the heart of this messenger will be forgotten. >> Yeah. >> By you and your campus ministry. And I would hate to see that happen in God's kingdom. But when you really get what God has done in Jesus, you have a heart like this messenger. We all know the great commission. I won't read it, but we all know what it's about. I mean, and even the language that Jesus uses purposely echoes what we just read about in Isaiah 52. We hear all authority. We see heaven

00:08:45 and earth. We see the salvation of our God. And Jesus is saying, "Because God has been faithful and he has done what he has always intended to do because he has brought his rule into creation through me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations. Go and baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Go and teach them all I've I've taught you. Therefore, go. And I'm sure the disciples they as they heard Jesus say this, they heard that

00:09:15 they should have the heart of the messenger in Isaiah 52. To proclaim Christ, we have to have the heart of this messenger. And that's exactly what we see the disciples do in Acts. They go and you see if you just keep Isaiah 52 in mind and go read Acts, you see that on every chapter of Acts, the men and the women, the early church going and proclaiming with joy, no matter the circumstance, they had the heart of this messenger in Act 5 Isaiah 52. And it

00:09:47 would do us well to imitate that exact same heart to go out in joy and eagerness proclaiming Christ. Amen. >> Amen. That's the heart that we're talking about here this morning. And in talking about this, we also can't uh you know, not talk about some of the encouraging victories uh that happens when we really do we have this kind of heart. And I want to share um two stories for myself uh about two of the guys in our campus ministry, but and my wife is going to share about one of the girls. Uh but the

00:10:18 first one I want to share about is actually this man here. It's a very bad photo, I know. Uh but that man is Kaden. and uh his uh yeah, he's he's one of the brothers at Texas State. He's awesome. He's incredible. But the reason why I only have this video is because this was in the middle of December, actually one of the very few times Texas actually gets cold. Um and uh he was actually just about to go back home, but right before he got back home, he realized that man, I got to get right with God. And he's and he heard the good news we had been studying the Bible. And even

00:10:48 the way that that Kaden actually uh was able to come out to the ministry was not actually had nothing to do with me, but it had everything to do with God because I had actually just gotten out of a Bible study with another guy. We had just done disciplehip. We had just talked about uh going and um sharing our faith as the challenge that we do after after we do disciplehip. And me and this the guy I just studied with, we were just talking about Pokemon. We were just hanging out after the Bible study. We're just chilling out in in one of the the dining halls at Texas State. And Kaden just so happened to be walking by. And

00:11:18 as he's walking by, he hears me talking about Pokemon. And Kaden does love Pokemon. So he was like, "Bro, you play Pokemon Go?" And I said, "Bro, I actually just redownloaded Pokemon Go." And that was how I met Kaden. And as as we were talking about Pokémon Go, he was just looking for someone to add as a friend. I add him on as a friend of Pokémon Go. But then I was like, "Hey, bro, are you looking for a campus ministry?" Actually, because we're actually a part of one. And and we actually have Bible discussions. And this man was so open that he said, "Actually, you know what? I actually have just been looking for that. Actually, this was the week we were actually he was with one of his friends.

00:11:48 I was actually I was talking to my friend Marcos about doing that like this is perfect. And that was all God but but Kaden not only his heart to just um really jump at the at the the mention of a of a campus ministry, but his heart then to continue no matter what to go and and after he got baptized, he's actually helped a lot of the guys at Texas State get baptized that that you saw in that photo earlier. I mean, he's baptized three guys himself, uh, studying the Bible all the way through, but he's helped others countless times,

00:12:18 whether whether he was in the Bible study or just, um, as a friend. He's helped pretty much all the guys that you saw in that picture really come to Christ that were baptized, and it's awesome and amazing, and he's incredible. My wife's going to share about one of the girls. >> Hey y'all. Um, so yeah, I want to share about this girlie here. Cameron is in the middle. Sarah's all the way on y'all's left. And this is Katie. But I want to share about Cameron. Cameron was reached out to her fall semester at Texas State of her freshman year. She was reached out to and within a few days

00:12:49 Sarah was also reached out to and it was also her freshman semester. And what happened is that they both became friends. They met in the dorm. They were in the same dorm and they realized, hey, like I'm going to go check out this one event. I was reached out to by this one campus ministry and lo and behold, it was the exact same campus ministry. So they go to these events together. They both start studying the Bible and then Cameron takes a break. Cameron takes a break from studying the Bible. She realized that's not where she wanted to be. But Sarah keeps going. Sarah goes,

00:13:21 she keeps studying the Bible. And by the spring semester, she gets baptized. And Cameron this whole time had taken a break. She had been waiting. She realized she wasn't ready to take it to the next level. But after seeing Sarah get baptized, she's like, "No, I need to take this seriously. So, in the same week that Sarah gets baptized, she starts studying the Bible with Cameron. Cameron studies the Bible and before the spring semester ends, she gets baptized. And it doesn't stop there. She's so

00:13:52 impacted that someone would reach out to her, cold contact on campus, that she goes and she makes sure to proclaim the word to other people. She becomes a Bible talk leader. She then becomes an intern. And in her entire time at Texas State, she baptizes five women. And after she graduates at Texas State, she answers the call and becomes a full-time intern at UTSA. And even her impact didn't stop there at Texas State. She had been studying the Bible with women before she graduated.

00:14:24 Those women were still studying after she left. And there were two women that she started studying the Bible with that got baptized after she left. And when she got to UTSA, she jumped into Bible studies with my little sister. And her first semester there serving at UTSA, she baptizes her. Y'all, that was an answer I'd been praying for for 10 years. And I think what stands out to me about Cameron is that she allowed God to use her in incredible ways. She didn't let

00:14:54 the impact stop with her. She went and she proclaimed God's word. She went and shared the good news with eight women, one of which was my little sister. I'm so grateful for that and she is an example to us all. >> Absolutely. Cameron's great. Love Cameron. We still work closely with her. Uh the next person I want to talk about is uh this man here in the middle with the with the green tally. His name is uh William Eugene on Jeka. Uh and I did pronounce that correctly. I did ask him before. Uh

00:15:24 but uh but this man is incredible. So, he was actually someone else uh I didn't actually reach out to. Uh so, uh when William actually got reached out to, we were at a time at Texas State where we had a lot more girls than we had guys. Uh so, the girls uh seeing that was like, man, we got to help some of the brothers out. So, they on their own, two of the girls, I I believe it was Katie and someone else, uh which you saw Katie here. Uh and uh so Katie and one of the other girls, they they went out just for a little bit and they went and reached out to just some guys uh strictly just

00:15:54 guys. Um, and one of the guys that they reached out to towards the end was William. And I'm going to be honest, when William first came out, he was shy. He was reserved. Uh, if he would have asked me if he was going to make it studying the Bible, I probably would have said, "No, I don't think so." Because we had to have three conversations about the kingdom of God. Um, and and he openly shares that he's not there's nothing that that's crazy sharing about him. Uh, but he he does make it each time. We were proclaiming about about Christ in our Bible studies uh with him and he eventually does get baptized. Um he actually got baptized

00:16:25 two days before my wedding day. Um but uh but William over the course of four years I see this man's heart completely changed. He went from a quiet, reserved guy to by the time he graduates being one of the most loudest people at Texas State and really kind of being one of the the the key heart pieces of our ministry. And it's all because every year William worked on learning how to proclaim Christ. He eventually does intern for us. Uh, and he helps man so many people at Texas State. Um, I don't

00:16:57 have all the the full number, but but he interns and he hears and he goes and he makes it his mission to go and just proclaim Christ. This man was an engineer at one point and he said, "You know what? I don't think I'm going to be an engineer no more. I I want to work more closely with students." So, and that that was the beginning of of God's heart, God really working on his heart. So, he went into administrative work. Um, and at this time he was always doing uh tours on campus and at every point he got he would he he would slip in even though he wasn't supposed to. He would slip in our campus ministry and and tell

00:17:27 them about about the mission that he was a part of. Uh but now William is actually doing chance of a lifetime. Why? Because he now understood that there's no greater calling than having the heart of this messenger to going and being someone that's going to go and proclaim Christ and his name. And William dedicated, you know, a year and a half, I think, to just doing strictly that and helping as many as possible. And, you know, we we bring up all this because, man, God really has been working at Texas State. And as encouraging as that is, one of the

00:17:57 important things we want to note here is that yes, that we've been talking about proclaiming Christ, we've been talking about doing all that, but God is ultimately the one that is going to make things grow. >> You know, the the two stories I showed, it really had nothing to do with me. That was both God and even with Cameron, it was God still moving and working in her heart. And he's going to be the one that ultimately changes people's hearts. But that doesn't change the fact that we got to be men and women that go and proclaim Christ, that go and plant seeds, that go and water, and ultimately leave that up, leave the growth up to God. But we got to be joyful messengers

00:18:27 of this message. Amen. >> So I want to talk about some practicals. And uh this will be the bulk of the rest of our lesson. But uh the first practical I want to talk about is to proclaim everywhere. And we're going to read Mark 16. It says, "Later, Jesus appeared to the 11 as they were eating. He rebuked them for the lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had who had seen him after he had risen. He said to them, "Go into all go into all the world and preach the

00:18:58 gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And those who sing songs will accompany those who believe in my name. They will drive out demons. They will speak in new tongues. They will pick up snakes with their hands and they will drink deadly poison. It will not hurt them at all. They will place their hands on the sick and they will get well. After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up to heaven and was and and he sat at the right hand of God.

00:19:28 Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere. And the Lord worked with them and and confirmed his word by the signs that he accompanied it. Now I want to read this passage as we we get into the practicals of proclaiming because the disciples at this point when we first read in in Mark 16 what we first read in verse 14 they stopped whether it was because they were too afraid um or they had forgotten to continue to spread the gospel they

00:19:59 weren't doing it. Jesus had to come back and that's why he rebukes them. That's why he he gives him a wake up call. Says, "Hey man, God is still intending for you to go and to go work. Yes, I may have died on the cross, but there is still work to be done. Jesus coming to earth and dying on the cross was and is the beginning of something so much bigger." It was the fulfillment of what Isaiah was preaching about in what we read in 52. I mean, Jesus wasn't teaching the the disciples on how to be the perfect Jew, but rather he was molding them into men that would

00:20:29 continue his God's mission to restore all of creation back to him. And that was why they needed to go and to proclaim to all of creation, to go and to proclaim everywhere. And when we see this, when we when we when we see that, man, these disciples, they finally woke up. They went and they went out and preached everywhere. Yes, cold contact sharing can be intimidating. Yes, it can be scary. Yes, it it can be something that

00:20:59 pushes pushes us out of our comfort zone. But we have a mission to go and to proclaim to all of creation. And it's going to take each and every one of us doing so. There is no one that that that should be on the sidelines. This is a a mission of God's kingdom. And we need to be proclaiming everywhere on the bus, on the train, in your class, walking to class, in the dining halls, in the grocery store, as you're just walking around, it doesn't matter where, you have to be someone who's going to

00:21:29 proclaim everywhere. But in order to do that, if you're going to proclaim everywhere, you have to you have to have the heart of the messenger. to have a heart that the 11 uh did after after they took the rebuke to no longer wait but to proclaim with joy. I mean when they heard the call they went and God is calling us to do the same. Will you go too. The news that we bring with us the gospel that we are now a part of is something that we should be lifting our

00:21:59 voices up for. Amen. >> So we need to go out everywhere and proclaim. The next uh the next factor I want to talk about is to proclaim no excuses. Look, cold contact sharing is hard. It's gritty. It can feel like a grind at times. But when it gets hard, it can be so easy then to begin to make excuses. Oh, it's too uncomfortable for me. Oh, it's no one's really open on my campus.

00:22:30 Oh, I'm I'm the only one on my campus, so I can't really reach everybody. Oh, you know, cold contact sharing really isn't my thing. I'm more of a warm contact person. Oh, my misser and Dr. They're just really all about the numbers. It's not really about people. Oh, I I they kind of corrected me a little bit too harshly there. You know, that wasn't really the way I wanted to be corrected about sharing my faith. Oh, I have too much schoolwork. Each and every one of those things are excuses. That is not the heart of the messenger. And you want to know who loves when you start to make excuses to stop

00:23:01 proclaiming Satan? He wants you to be someone who makes excuses that refuses that that just wants to be someone who sits on the sidelines that refuses to go proclaim Christ. Because if he does that, if if we're not men and women that proclaim Christ, then he's winning. Then there will be men and women that go without knowing that Jesus is the Messiah. Satan doesn't want you to have the heart of the messenger. He wants you to make excuses. And if we're going to go and proclaim Christ, there can be no excuses.

00:23:34 >> We got to get rid of all those and really see the heart that I got to joyfully go and and proclaim his name. Amen. My wife's going to share. >> So before we tackle these excuses, I want us to put ourselves in the passage we just read before. In Mark 16, Jesus is sitting there with his disciples. He corrects them and you're there. Imagine that you're there amongst them. You see Jesus correct them. You see Jesus light a fire underneath them. And then Jesus

00:24:04 shifts his focus to you. What would he say to you if you were in that moment? Would he correct you too? Would he say, "Why do you have such little faith? Why do you have such little gratitude for me?" Or would he say, "Keep proclaiming. Keep doing it. Keep going." Yeah. Would he say you have the heart of a messenger? You know, when it comes to the excuses that Christian listed before, all of those things are focused on you. And

00:24:35 what we have to remember is that the heart of the messenger isn't focused on ourselves. It's focused on God. >> Yeah. >> You know, yesterday with Kyle, we talked about the prophets. We talked about the apostles and everything that they endured for being God's messengers. If anyone had the right to focus on themselves and to fear for their lives, it was them. >> Yeah. >> In Hebrews 11:35-37, it tells us that the prophets were imprisoned, beaten, foggged, and

00:25:06 murdered. But did they waver in their conviction? No. Were they fearful? Did they let their fear stop them? No. They simply had the heart to obey God God's commands to proclaim him. So you want to talk about fear? Will you let fear stop you from proclaiming God? The prophets feared for their lives as they proclaimed the message. Will you really let the fear of rejection stop you?

00:25:36 Because just like the prophets, we shouldn't let these excuses stop us from proclaiming him. We need to pe people that say, "You know what? As much as this is uncomfortable for me, I'm gonna go and proclaim him anyways because I know it will please my God." >> And y'all, I get it. It It is uncomfortable. If we can be honest here, it's uncomfortable. And if I can share with y'all, the first time I shared on campus, y'all can already tell. I talk fast. So, when I get nervous, it goes even even faster. And I can start stuttering. And the first time I shared,

00:26:08 I stuttered so badly, I couldn't even get the word Bible talk out of my mouth. The girl that was with me had to literally step in front of me and just pick up from where I was. It was so embarrassing. And you guys believe I was like, I'm not doing that again. Absolutely not. That was so uncomfortable. I looked so stupid. I'm not good at this. I I don't think I'm built for this. It's It's just uncomfortable. But what I had to remember was the day that I made Jesus Lord was the day that I wasn't going to be making decisions

00:26:38 based on what Annie wanted anymore. I wasn't going to make decisions based on what I felt comfortable with. No, I had the privilege of being God's messenger. So, I shared my faith again and again and again and I tripped up and I had to work on it. But I did this because I wasn't going to let my uncomfortability stop me from proclaiming God. I wasn't going to compromise sharing the good news just so I could feel a little bit better about

00:27:08 myself. so I can feel a little bit more comfortable. My God deserves more than that and God deserves more than that from you. So the mindset that I had to develop was even if I trip over my words, even if I look like a fool, even if they say no, even if they don't even stop to talk to me, if I go out there and open my mouth, I am pleasing my God. If you are going to proclaim God, your heart must be moved to action out of

00:27:38 your desire to please him. >> The heart of a messenger is one of gratitude, selflessness, and boldness. >> Which one would Jesus say you lack? Christian's going to come up with our next practical. >> Let's go, Christian. >> Absolutely, guys. There there shouldn't be any excuses that we have when it comes to proclaiming Christ. And if there is, we really got to work on our hearts and really see, okay, where am I falling short in the heart of this messenger in Isaiah 52. Um, and I know

00:28:08 we keep going back to to that, but that really is the heart that we should have as as we go and proclaim Christ. So, the next practical we have is proclaim with expectation, >> you know, and I'm going to start off by saying this because I really don't have a scripture for this one, but but God absolutely has been the one that's been growing his ministry at Texas State. And it's his ministry. It's not ours. It's not me and my wife. It's it's it's God's ministry. But I will say that us at Texas State, we're not afraid of putting in the work ourselves. And I again, I say that with all humility, but and this isn't even just

00:28:38 me and my wife. Um guys, I'm I'm an introvert. I actually hate talking in front of people and I hate uh you know, going and and cold contact sharing. If if in my nature, I would not do those things. But it's not about me. It's not about my nature. It's not about what I want, what I feel comfortable. My wife spoke on that already. But it's also about the expectation that we see in scripture. And this is something that even our students have as well. And I believe that part of the reason why, you know, we our ministry has been growing is because there's this expectation that

00:29:08 we will be men and women that proclaim Christ. That we will be men and women that have the heart of Isaiah 52. That we have the heart of this messenger and that there is no one above it. >> I mean, yes, I call my students to go and share their faith. But there have been a handful of times where my students call me to go and share my faith that they see me working on a lesson or working on a Bible talk like Christian you got a little bit of time here. You can do that a little bit later. Why don't you come share with me? That's the expectation is hey if there is free time that you have go and proclaim Christ. Go and share your

00:29:39 faith. I mean I can't tell you the number of times where we're sitting at we we have a main dining hall that we normally at. You can literally walk through that any point of the day and there's probably probably like 10 12 disciples there. Uh it's incredible. But throughout that time while they're sitting there, they go up and they proclaim Christ. They go up and like, "Hey, come with me to go share out." And they go for 10, 15, 20, 30 minutes, however much time that they have. They go while they're going uh to walking to their class, their next class. They go and proclaim Christ. Why? Because that's the expectation that we have is that if

00:30:10 you have free time, then you dedicate it to going and sharing your faith. And this expectation isn't just one that we have for disciples. We have it for the men and women that we're studying the Bible with, too. >> That's right. >> You know, the second Bible study that we do is disciplehip. The again, I mentioned that earlier, but the the challenge for for that is to go and share your faith. And I'm going to be honest, they're a little awkward going out. And it's kind of funny to see them the first time going and sharing out. They're a little uncomfortable, too. But why do we take them sharing out? Why do we go and say, "Hey, you're coming with me as I'm going to go and share my

00:30:41 faith." Why do we do that? because it's good for them to see and to know the expectation that that this is what God desires for us to do. >> Yes, they're not great at it at first. Who who was who was good at contact sharing the first time they went out? I was awful at it. I have no problem saying that. But they need to know that this is the expectation. Why? Because this is the heart of the messenger. And we strive to have that heart. We strive to know that that that man, this is what God wants for us. Listen, this

00:31:11 is where where my heart needs to get. And for the men and women that are saying the Bible, they need to see that man, God is moving and working in their lives and that God is calling them to something far greater than themselves. And what does that entail? Them going and proclaiming that their God reigns. >> That's the expectation, the expectation to have the heart of the messenger. Isaiah 52. And we will go and and we will we will say, "Hey, bro, why haven't you gone sharing?" >> We'll ask that question point blank. >> Yeah. >> Why? Because we desire to have this messenger. For those thinking, man,

00:31:41 that's a little harsh Christian maybe, but we want God's word above everything else. >> So, we may not say it perfectly. We may we may not say it in the best way, but we strive to see, man, what is the heart that they're really getting at? And how can I reflect that heart in myself? >> The other expectation that we have, and I bring this up because we're coming up to it, is that the first two weeks of of our our semester, the expectation is that you go and you share as much as you possibly can. Yeah, >> typically that's the least amount of homework you'll have.

00:32:11 >> And not only you, but the least amount of homework everyone on campus will have. >> So that is the time that is a prime time to go and share your faith to go and see just how plentiful the harvest really is. And yes, it's hard. Yes, it's grueling. Yes, you know, your feet start to hurt after day two if you're really going and using all the time that you have. But the expectation is that we're all going to do this together. Because in our experience, the majority of people that we study and end up baptizing with come out the first two weeks. >> So, we're going to be there the first

00:32:43 two weeks as much and as often as we can. And we are going to not stop proclaiming his name. >> And it's imperative that as you go back to your campuses, I'm sure your your school semester will start soon. That those first two weeks that you are out there as much as you can take a day, you know, one more day off of work to go and proclaim. It's incredible to see what God can do with that. And you know what? If if if nothing happens, if God for whatever reason deems, hey, you won't get that many numbers or not that many people will come out the first two

00:33:13 weeks, then go again the next two weeks. Keep going. That's the expectation. That's the heart of this messenger. Think about the people that Isaiah was preaching to. Think about the people that the the the any of the prophets were preaching. They were stubb stubborn and obstinate people. But that didn't deter them from having the expectation of being someone who proclaims God's message. Amen. >> That that needs to be our expectation as well. And if there's people in your ministry that that aren't growing and sharing their faith, talk to them. Ask them the question of, "Man, what's going

00:33:43 on in your heart that you don't feel the need to go and proclaim Christ?" >> Yeah. >> Because when you when you read the Bible, it's there. Go read the New Testament. That's all that Paul's doing. He's going and proclaiming Christ town after town, no matter what happens. Because the expectation for him was that he was going to be a messenger. >> Yeah. >> And it should be the same for us. So the next practical I have is really just tips and uh we got one more after this but I do just want to give general tips. Um so these are just things that I have found that have been helpful um in my time of sharing my faith. Uh things

00:34:14 that I tell my students as well especially um those that are studying the Bible of hey these are some things that can help you. And one of the first things that that I tell people is it's okay to know what you're going to say before you go up to someone. >> Yes, you may think of it as a little script in your head. you if that's if that's what helps you, think about it in that way. But make it organic to yourself. Don't just don't go up there sounding robotic and sounding like you are reading from a script. Make it organic to yourself. That may look different from everyone else, but knowing what you're going to say helps you be a little less awkward. It helps you be a little less nervous. It helps

00:34:45 you be a little less uh anxious uh socially. It helps you just communicate better. I know for myself, one of the things that I I say every single time is, "Hey, my name's Christian, man. What's your name?" "Oh, great. Well, hey, man. I'm actually part of a campus ministry called Alpha Omega and we have some things called uh Bible discussions. Is that something that you're interested in? I can just say that that's a little bit of my script. Yes, I say more than that. It's not just that and I leave. But but that helps me get at least into

00:35:15 a conversation with this individual. And now we're able to talk and now I'm able to if they're really about it, I'm able to to proclaim Christ even more. But that's just something to to kick off the conversation. And you know what? after I use that script, I feel a little bit more comfortable talking to the individual. They know my name. Uh, you know, I know their name and we're able to talk and and have a conversation for however long we're able to. So, knowing what you're going to say before you go up to someone is extremely helpful. You don't have to you don't have to say exactly what I said, but just find something that works for you that you're

00:35:45 able to just memorize and and let it flow out of you organically. Amen. The next thing is that no one know when people are out and about on on your campus. You know, I can tell you that uh between the the time of 12 uh 11:30 and 12:30, that is a prime reaching out spot uh time for for Texas State. I can tell you that at 10:00 I can go to one of the dining halls and there's probably about 30 people outside of that dining hall waiting for it to open that I can go and proclaim to. I can tell you that at 5:00 PM campus gets a little bit more dead,

00:36:15 but at 7 most people will be either eating dinner or at uh the student center so I can go reach out there. Those are times that I know you you know schools and people they they live on a schedule. They they are creatures of habit. There are routines. Take notice of those things. And when they're there, you do your best to be there as well. You know, do you know when the prime reaching out times are on your campus? Do you know where people will be? You know, it does you no good to go where no one will be. You know, if you're going

00:36:45 and you know, there there's a building that we have called the A building. It's like literally probably like a quarter of a mile from campus. No one's ever there. I'm I'm never there reaching out at the A building. Not that they don't need Jesus. They do, but I'm trying to go where the people are. And no one's at that building a quarter mile away from campus. You know, we got to, you know, a little bit of that is just learn how to be effective with your time. >> You know, yes, I'm a full-time minister. Yes, I can dedicate a whole lot of my day to that, but you got to know when people are are are there and when

00:37:15 they're out so that you can you can go and use as much time as you possibly can to be effective in reaching out. The next thing I want uh the next tip is sometimes slower is better. And when you get nervous, like my wife mentioned, you can begin to talk very fast and now now you're really speeding through and now this person's like, "What? What are you saying? What are you talking about? I don't even know what word you're saying." You don't want to do that when you're reaching out to someone. I got some eyebrow raises just right there. So, if you get nervous when you're going and and and proclaiming uh Christ, when

00:37:45 you're going and and going out cold contact sharing, slow down a little bit as you're walking up to someone, take a breath, say a quick prayer. God, be with me as I go and talk to this person. Uh let your spirit really just move and work. Amen. And then open your mouth and, you know, say say your little script or whatever. But do whatever you can to help calm yourself down so that when you go and talk to this individual, you're not speeding through uh a conversation. I know people are busy. I know you probably will talk to people as they're walking into the class, but what

00:38:16 we're talking about is important. It's it's it's so vital. It's we're talking about salvation here. Someone can take a minute and a half out of their day for you to talk to them about it. Go as slow as you need to. And if they're really adamant about, hey, I don't want to hear it, then let them go. dust off your feet and go to the next person. You don't have to speed through proclaiming Christ. You can take your time because it's worthy of their time. >> And you have to believe that because if you believe that, you'll go, you'll go and you'll proclaim Christ for as long as you need to that person. And that's

00:38:46 great. I've had conversations with people um thankfully they did come out. But I've had conversations I was I walked from one end of campus to the other. Why? Because they were really adamant about knowing about who Christ was. Now, if they weren't, at some point I would have been like, "Hey, bro, I got to go." But if if they're adamant, take your time and and really proclaim Christ to them. Now, don't do that all the time. You shouldn't just walk back to campus. You know, you want to reach you want to proclaim to as many as possible. But the next biggest practical I can give you is to be diligent in your

00:39:16 follow-up. You know, if the person that you're reaching out to seems interested, don't be afraid to ask for their number. Don't be afraid to ask for their Instagram. Don't be afraid to ask for their Snapchat, for their email, whatever it takes for you to get some way to be able to contact them. And when you get that, put it down in a note. If you're a pen and paper person, pull out your Bible uh your Bible study uh you know, notebook and and write their name and write their number down. You know, for myself, I have a note on my phone. Um we can literally you can literally go through my phone and see note of, hey,

00:39:46 this was uh fall 2024. Uh this is spring 25. Uh I'm going to have one for uh fall 24. And I have all the names of the guys that that I have have got their numbers to or their Instagram handles to. Um, and then right next to their name, I have their their contact info. And then right next to that, I have uh little check marks. And those check marks are for about two maybe three hours before whatever event I'm going to invite them to. Bible talk, Friday event, midweek. I send them a text. And this is what I mean by being diligent in follow-up.

00:40:17 Send them a text. Remind them because we're busy people. And you know, after you reach out to them, they may find out that they forgot about a homework assignment that they have due at midnight. They may have forgotten about a project or test that they have that week and what you just talked about you proclaiming Christ. So you don't may try to distract them from that. So be diligent in your follow-up. Hey, tell them a little bit before, you know, 2 to three hours before, hey bro, um, just want to see if you're still interested in coming out to to the Bible discussion tonight. And just send that text or, hey

00:40:48 bro, I just want to remind you about the Friday event that we have tonight. uh hope to see you there. Be diligent in following up with them. And and also doing that, you're able to see, hey, if they're coming or not. If you touch all the people uh that that you have and see if they're coming out to Bible talk and no one's coming, well, now you know that's an indicator. Hey, if I want someone to Bible talk, I got to go back out there and proclaim Christ. >> But along with that, you're able to see who's really about it and who's not. And and the reason why I have those check marks there is because if I text someone twice and they don't respond to me, that

00:41:18 third text I send is, "Hey bro, this will be the last text I send. Uh but just wanted to see if you were still interested in coming out to the campus ministry stuff. Here's what we have going on tonight. If you're not, Amen. But uh if you want if you get interested again, just text me. Uh you have for about updates on our future events." Um, but it's vital that we're watering the the seeds that we planted, that we're diligent in the followup, that we It's okay to text people. That's okay. Um, you got their number for a reason. Use it. Uh, but again, don't just blow up

00:41:49 their phone after their third time. It's okay. If they're not about it, they're not about it. Move on. Um, the next practical and the last practical we'll talk about is if not you, who will proclaim? We're going to read uh Romans 10 14-17. It says, "How then can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent as it is written, how beautiful are

00:42:19 the feet of those who bring good news?" There's Isaiah 52 again. But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our message? Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message. And the message is heard through the word about Christ. Paul makes it pretty clear here. If we're not people who bring good news, there will be people that go without hearing the good news. There will be people that go without knowing that Jesus is the Messiah. We are those who are sent. Jesus has commissioned us to

00:42:49 go into creation and to help him restore it back to him. We are those that are sent. We are the messengers. And who are we to hold back from letting someone know about the good news of Christ? If not you, then who will proclaim to them? We can't just have the heart that someone else will proclaim that someone else in my ministry will talk to this person that God will use someone else in their life to to get his message across. We can't have that kind of heart. That's

00:43:19 another excuse. God has put you on your campus at this time for the reason to go and to proclaim his name. Do you see that? Do you see that God has put you there specifically because you are the probably the only person that could reach out to that person and he is trying to use you in that way? He's trying to use you as the messenger in Isaiah 52 at this time. Will you be someone who proclaims you know what if Ananas didn't talk to Saul who became Paul? What if Philip

00:43:51 didn't talk to the unic? Man, campus is a crazy and special time. >> People are so open. It's wild. Go and try to to study the Bible with someone who's a little bit more established. >> It's harder. It's a slower process. But in campus, you can baptize someone in two weeks. You can baptize someone in 10 days. >> Y >> it's amazing. Why? Because people are so open. They're yearning to know who they are and what they want to do in life. Little knowing that Jesus is the answer. And we have it. We can go and proclaim

00:44:22 Christ and let them know that hey this is what you're looking for. Jesus is supreme and we can we can tell people about that that our God reigns. We have the answer. We just have to proclaim it. I mean we have the opportunity and the privilege to be the one that proclaims God's names to the people on our campuses. And we have the c we that is under the full authority of heaven and earth to go and make disciples of all nations. Will that be you? Will you be someone

00:44:53 who goes and proclaims Christ no matter the circumstance? Because you should because if not, there may be some that go without hearing it. Well, she's going to share one more time. [Music] >> Yeah. You know, I love that Christian said that no matter the circumstance, we need to go and proclaim God. And I think that sometimes we can find ourselves in difficult circumstances where it's hard to go and proclaim God. But sometimes, and more often than not, it's just a lack of discipline. >> Because I think we can make the excuse

00:45:24 of, "Well, I'm just too busy or I've got school, I've got homework, and oh, no, no, the other person in my Bible talk, they're going to go and share their faith." But we're talking about if not you, then who will proclaim? >> And I want to ask you, if you're so busy, why don't you open up the settings app in your phone and look at how much time you spend on social media? Y >> if you deleted those apps, how many how much time would you have then? Because we are way too quick to spend hours scrolling through looking for a good

00:45:54 reel or a good video to share with our friends. And look, don't get me wrong, I get the joy of having a good dog video. I I get it. But are you someone that is more enthusiastic and intentional to share the joy of a good real than to share the good news about Jesus? >> Cuz we jump to share the joy of a good real. But do you jump to share the good news about our Lord? And I want to speak to my fellow kingdom

00:46:25 kids here for a second. You know, I've heard us say way too many times, well, I just really like warm contact sharing. I feel like that's how you really love the lost. Let me tell you this one story. There was a brother in our campus ministry a few years back and he went out and he shared his faith cold contact. He walked up to this one guy who you could tell had just been to the gym. A little intimidating. He walks up to him and he invites him to Bible talk. And the guy is like, "Yeah,

00:46:55 yeah, I'm down to go, but let me go take a shower cuz I'm gross and I I got to go shower." The brother says to him, "No, no, bro. by the time you finish showering, Bible talk will be over. Just come with me. So that the freshman who he is a freshman, he ends up going. But what that brother didn't know was that freshman had prayed minutes before he walked up to him. He prayed for him to be able to find a group that would help him take his faith to the next level. So that freshman came out. He came to Bible talk. He started studying

00:47:26 the Bible. And within 2 months, he got baptized. All because this brother decided to proclaim God. He didn't make any excuses about his time. He also didn't let this freshman make any excuses about his smell. Was Bible talk a little smelly that day? Maybe. But was it worth it for this man to get baptized? Yes. And I feel eternally indebted to that brother. because if it wasn't for him, I don't know if my husband would be here today

00:47:56 because that freshman was my husband. >> So when your campus minister tells you, "Go share your faith." Cold contact, that's because they know that it works >> because they've seen the spirit move time and time again to guide your steps to the person who is looking for God, to the person who is ready to transform their life for him. You love the last by cold contact sharing and warm contact sharing. Do both. We're talking about having a heart that overflows out of you. This is a

00:48:27 privilege. Don't take it for granted. Let me leave you all with these last questions. If not you, then who will reach out to your future campus minister? If not you, who will reach out to your future spouse? And who knows that one person may end up being both. >> Maybe if we get as lucky as me. >> So let's be people who don't wait idly

00:48:57 by but who instead are moved to action to proclaim the good news on our campuses. And I believe that if each of you strive to have this kind of heart, the spirit will guide your steps to those people that are ready to change for God. and you proclaiming him will have an everlasting impact. Thank you. Thank you again. >> We're bringing in for a close here, but um you know, absolutely. And I am I am

00:49:29 totally grateful for that, brother. Um he had no idea. I just prayed. But we don't know either. And that's the reason why we got to have a heart of this messenger. I mean, those that you interact with, they need you to be someone that proclaims the good news. Whether they respond or not is ultimately up to them. Paul says that in verse 18, I know I don't have it up here, but he does say that. But our hearts, our job, our purpose, part of our purpose at least I'll say is to go and proclaim Christ. We got to be men

00:49:59 and women that have the heart of Isaiah that say, "Here am I. Send me. I'll go wherever you want me to, God. I will go and proclaim your word. I will go and share the gospel with anyone, no matter the circumstance." because that is what the messenger does. And if we do, I truly believe that we will see God continue to work miracles in our campus ministries. That we will see not only our campus ministries grow, but we will see God's kingdom continue to grow and expand because the heart of the messenger just isn't for campus. It's for yo, it's for married. It's for uh

00:50:31 empty nesters. Every stage of life, we got to be men and women that have the heart to proclaim Christ because we know and we see all that Christ has done in our lives. So let us do that. Let us be men and women that are unafraid to go and proclaim Christ and let's give God all the glory as we do so. Amen. >> So that's our lesson, guys. But we do want to open it up for a time of Q&A. Thank you for the the claps. Uh but really no need. It's all God. Um but if anyone has any questions, uh we'll open that up for the rest of our time. Um I

00:51:01 think we I forget how much time we have left, but uh forever long. If you want to leave now, I will not be hurt. But uh but if if you have any questions about proclaiming Christ, uh me and my wife can definitely answer or do our best to answer any questions. But if not, Amen. So yeah. >> Uh what's kind of kind of around my head? Like what's kind of like the opening? Like you go up to someone, you're got to uh you know, like what's what's the what's the opening?

00:51:32 >> Yeah. Uh you know, my opening is always, "Hey man, my name's Christian. what's your name? And as I'm doing that, I'm also smiling. Uh I think that that's one of the thing that that goes underrated. Don't just walk up to someone like, "Hey, bro. My name's Christian." It's like, "Okay, well, are we trying to fight or like what's what's going on here? We're joyful. We're supposed to be joyful people." Um so smile and go up to them like, "Hey man, my name's Christian, bro. Uh what's your name?" And if if I see a cool shirt that they have, uh I'm big into Star Wars. They got a Star Wars shirt on. I'm like, "Bro, I love your shirt. I'm a Cowboys

00:52:02 fan sadly that I see a Cowboy I know. I know, guys. If I see a Cowboy shirt or if I see an Eagle fan, I still go up to the Eagle fan. I'm like, "Bro, you're so much more successful than my team. Why?" Uh, that's another good opening, you know, but I try to make some kind of connection. Um, but it's always good if you don't know, if you have no no way to to kind of connect with them, it's always good to just walk up with a smile, man, and say, "My name's Christian, man. What's your name?" >> So, and I will say even with that, uh, depending on who I'm approaching, I kind of change the way I approach. If I'm

00:52:32 approaching a 6'4 320 lineman football player, I'm a little bit more masculine the way I approach him. Um, if I'm if I'm if I'm approaching uh someone who who doesn't look like that. Uh, I I I change my approach. Um, I'm I'm maybe a little bit more tim uh, you know, timid like, hey, because I'm I'm a large guys. I'm I'm a large man, so I don't want to intimidate anyone. I'm like, hey, bro, my name's Christian, man. What's your name? Uh, but football player. Hey, bro. What's up, man? My Christian, bro. How you doing? Yeah, hand up already ready

00:53:03 to go. Um, so you know, and as you as you proclaim Christ, you'll you'll learn and pick up on those nuances, but for starting now, it's never bad to go, "Hey man, my my name's so and so. What's your name?" and smile. Yeah. >> Yeah. I think the thing that I was even going to say is when you go up to someone and you reach out to them, sometimes I feel like our tendency or at least for the women can be like, "Oh, like, hi, can I bother you for a quick minute?" Like, "Sorry, like, oh, I don't maybe on your way to your class." No, y'all. This is good news. They need to

00:53:33 hear this. You should be joyful about your campus ministry. I'm like, "Hi, my name is Annie. I'm part of this amazing campus ministry and we're doing this and this and this. Like, do you want to come check it out?" Like, it's pretty fun. And like it's okay to have like the presence that like you're excited about it. And to like to to be like, "You should want to come to this. This is freaking amazing." >> Um, but yeah. >> Yeah. Any other questions? >> Yeah. >> Uh, I know for me like where you're saying like you should be uh coming up with joy and like just be super

00:54:04 expressive. >> Yeah. But a lot of times to be a big motivator to share is like the guilts of not sharing the guilt of like oh what if someone wasn't here like a way to combat like that shame >> you know that's real um and and to be completely honest uh early on in my disciplehip I felt that a lot uh but one of the things that helped me was before I would go sharing I would just open up scripture and I I would have scriptures in my head or I'd have scriptures on my

00:54:34 tone of just man, what does it look like to have the heart to proclaim? >> And and when it come when it came to Jesus, it was never about shame. >> It was about seeing God's kingdom and all that was bringing and what he was inviting people into. And one, I needed that to remind myself of what I was going and proclaiming, but two, to remind myself of this isn't about guilt. This isn't about shame. >> This is ultimately about love. >> And and I I had to work on my own heart to really get past that. I appreciate your vulnerability to even ask that

00:55:04 question. Um, but yeah, man, I I think I would dive into, man, why do I feel that kind of shame and how can I turn that into love >> because ultimately, man, what what did we see in with Isaiah 52 and the messenger? It's a heart of love. >> Love God and he loved people and he knew people needed to hear the message >> and it all stemmed from love. I hope that answers your question. Uh, I hope that that helps. Uh, did you want to say anything? Yeah, I think I was just going to say that I think sometimes with that mindset, I think sometimes we can feel

00:55:34 like it's a chore a little bit and I think instead you kind of have to view it as like a privilege. You know, I think of our brothers and sisters in different countries where it's literally illegal to talk about your faith. >> And here we have the freedom to do so. And when you experience the privilege of watching God transform someone's life, it's amazing. And so it's actually I think even fighting to have the heart of the messenger is even looking at it as it's a privilege actually to go up there and to share about God and not every

00:56:05 country to this day has that privilege. >> Yeah. Really is. Yeah. >> Sorry. >> Yeah. And we'll go here and then here. often times like I be wanting to reach out to people like just like not even on campus but like to bring up in the city and I be so scared because sometimes when I'm young like I get like rejected and stuff like that and sometimes that makes my confidence go down. So how can I like still reach out even when I feel like I'm not the like my confidence isn't what it needs to be. >> Yeah. You want to go first? >> Sure. Yeah. You know, the thing that I

00:56:37 do is sometimes there are moments where I'm like, gosh, okay. Like, I've got a no after no after no. One of the girls that I even didn't get to share about today is there was a day that it was just off, dude. Like, I got no. And I had been out there for like hours. I was an intern at this point. And I was like, "Okay, one more. Like, just one more." And that last girl I talked to ended up coming out, studying the Bible, and getting baptized. But I think the thing that I'll tell you is that the thing that I do is sometimes I take a minute to pray. Sometimes the thing that I'll even do right before I reach out is I'll listen to worship music and I'll listen

00:57:07 to the ones that like you know that like like let's go. Um and I'll just pray. I'll listen to that music and I'm like okay I'm going to do this. And I think even remembering like whether I get yeses or nos like >> God is pleased with me. >> I still did what he did at the end of the day. He's going to be the one that provides the yeses or nos. But I think even having that mindset of being like okay no God's like come on girl you got this. Keep going. Keep going. And I think that helps me a lot. >> Yeah. Yeah. The the quick thing I'll say to that question, um that's real. Um and

00:57:40 you know, I I think for me it's always reminding myself if they're not saying no to me. >> Um they're not. And and that's honestly a sad thing is they don't even realize who they're saying no to. >> Um and honestly, it helps me to pray for them afterwards. Like God, move in their hearts. Uh but also it it helps me to remind myself, especially early on, uh was to just shake off the dust of my feet. >> Uh and sometimes it's a little funny, but I would even do that on campus. If I start to feel discouraged and I'm like,

00:58:10 man, this is a a run of nose, I'll just go and I'll shake off the dust of my feet. Uh because it helps me remind myself of, hey, this is what Jesus told me to do. >> Um Amen. Yeah. >> Yeah. Um what if while you're sharing um someone asks like a question that you can't answer? That's great. I would I would get their number and it's never a bad thing to say like, "Bro, I want to answer that question, but I'm going to need to go and study that for a little bit." And I would love to answer it, but can I get your number? Can we talk about it like,

00:58:41 you know, in a few days um coffee >> or over a cup of coffee? And in doing that, one, you're showing them the humility that you have, but two, you're also setting up another time you get to actually go in front of that person and then proclaim Christ. Now, it does take you doing some diligence and actually following through with that. Uh, but it's never a bad thing to say, "That's a good question I don't have the answer to right now. Can I go study it up and we can keep talking?" But I would not walk away from that conversation without setting up that next date. Uh, I know I said date, but you know, the next time we're going to get together. Um, but uh,

00:59:12 yeah. Any other questions? Okay, we'll go here and then back there. Um, when I've like evangelized before in like campuses or like in the city, like I'll be with like a brother or sister and we'll like try and like see or like find people that we think would come out and we like avoid say like jobs on or with headphones on or look like they're walking too fast and there's like we look for the people who look more happy and if they're down we don't want to talk to them. >> Um, how do you approach that? Like I

00:59:45 feel I feel guilt when I don't when I pass people by, but at the same time I wouldn't like would you guys go up to someone with headphones or a hijab or things like that. >> Yeah. Yeah. I uh I'll let my wife go. >> No, I I'll just say no. I think that's real. And I think at the beginning of my disciplehip, I did that, too. But then my college roommate was actually a girl that she's intimidating. She's got some piercings. She has a tattoo of a tarot card on her arm and I believe also a

01:00:16 skeleton. Yep. >> Um, so that was her past. But yeah, walking I'm so grateful to the disciple that walked up to her, but she she was pretty intimidating to walk up to. But I think you just got to remember in your mind like this person might actually really need this. you know, they look intimidating, but I think it's again like remembering like what you have to share is lifechanging and it is the answer to everything. It's it's Jesus. It's what they were made for, whether they look scary or not,

01:00:47 >> you know, and so I I really would try to approach them the same way that you do someone else. Now, if they're being rude and like walk past you, you don't need to chase them down, you know, then amen, you know, but I would just say, okay, like, and honestly, the thing that even helps me is like, okay, if you're going to be rude, like, you missed out. Like, I feel sad for you, dude. Like, you missed out. And I think even what my husband said before, you're not saying no to me, you're saying no to Jesus. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. I I don't care if they have headphones in. I'm going to be honest. Um, and the part of the reason why I don't care is because I had headphones

01:01:18 in when I was reached out to. Um, and I'm I'm grateful that that brother still walked up to me and said, "Hey, can I talk to you about Jesus?" Um, or you want to come out to Bible talk and talk to you about Jesus. But ultimately, that's what he was saying. But yeah, if they had headphones in, um, I I try to get in their line of sight, kind of wave them down like, "Hey, like I'm trying to talk to you here." Um, if they're they're walking fast. Um, the the guy that the the story I share where I walked across campus with, that guy was walking fast, but he still wanted to hear, but he had someplace to go. So, I'm like, "Hey, bro, if I got to walk

01:01:48 with you, I'll walk with you." Um, and if at any point, even if you're walking fast and you say no, all right, I'll just I'll just unhitch and I'll I'll go somewhere else. Um, so I I I think part of that, and I don't mean to call you out of this, but part of that is because you're reaching out to those people because it's easy. Um, but I would say even the honestly I think the people that are sad need to hear Jesus about the most. >> Um, like we we have a joy that that could change their day around. And uh I Yeah. So I I I I really don't think that there we should put limits on who do we

01:02:18 who to reach out to and who we don't. Um we're sensible to proclaim to all of creation. >> So um yeah, if they got headphones in, just wave them down. So yeah, but I there was a hand over. Yes, back here. >> Um often times when I'm sharing my faith, I encounter people who have been like hurt by the church and have experiences with the church. >> So I was just asking like how do you tackle that? Have you >> that conversation without Yeah. Um, you know, I I acknowledge,

01:02:51 hey, um, like I'm sorry about that. Um, and I'll definitely be praying for you in that. Uh, but we're we're doing our best to to love people in the way that God calls us to is what I would say to them. Um, whether you want to see it for yourself or not is ultimately up to you. But if you're ever looking for a place where you want to see where God's love is, know that that it's here. >> Um, and that's what we strive to be. Are we perfect in that? No. Um, may we hurt

01:03:21 you at some point? Maybe. And I want to let you know that it's not that's not our intention. Our intention is to love. Um, and and that's how I would go about that conversation. Um, I don't know if you have any thoughts. >> Yeah, I think I mean I've had women share some pretty intense stories with me before. And so if it's really really intense, I do say like that is not the way God intended for you to be treated and I am so sorry that you experienced that. And I would just say, you know, I'm just out here because I I really

01:03:51 love the campus ministry that I'm part of. I feel safe and I feel like I'm in a place where I can make mistakes and learn and grow, you know. Um I feel like even the people that I've reached out to most that have church hurt are people that associate with LGBTQ community. And I think the thing that even that I tell them is I'm like, "Look, we're just a ministry that is trying to follow what scripture calls us to do. And you don't have to be straight to do that. You just have to be willing to see if, okay, is this the standard you want to make for your life? And if you do, great. If not,

01:04:22 you're still welcome, you know." So, um, yeah, that's what I do. But if they go deep into it and I'm like, "Yeah, that was not okay." Then I tell them that. I'm like, "That is not what scripture calls those people to do at all." And I'm sorry that you experienced that. >> Yeah. Yeah. Any other questions? Yeah. >> How would you go about reaching out to your parents who kind of like laugh at your faith or even like disrespect it in that way? >> Yeah. Um

01:04:52 I would just pray for him >> honestly. Um I'm in the boat praying for my parents. Um and and it probably will take time. Um, but I think for for those that that we're closest to that that may not be completely aligned with our beliefs and our faith, the biggest way we can proclaim Christ to them is one, the way that we live our lives and and not not um meeting the world's standards, but living up to to Christ's standards and

01:05:22 the Bible standards, but also praying for them. >> Um, and and I'm that's hard and it's can be frustrating at times. Uh, but I think it's the heart of prayer that will really eventually hopefully God will really, you know, soften their hearts and and if you're living the way that you're called to, I think they'll see that and that will be the best example of proclaiming Christ to them. >> Um, yeah. Any other questions? I don't know if you want to, but

01:05:52 >> any other questions? >> Cool. >> Um, I guess to kind of build off of that with like um talk to your parents at home through action. How do you necessarily do that? Because personally, when I like walk through the front door, it kind of feels like a stranger or God who's left at the door and I go back to the person I am who's impatient and kind of snarky towards my mom at times. >> Yeah. >> So, how can I

01:06:22 kind of kill that strain? >> Yeah. Did you want to go first or are you looking for a scripture? >> I'm looking for a scripture. >> Okay. My wife is looking for a scripture. Um, okay. Uh, no, that's real. Um, I would say for myself, I think of >> um, Philippians 2. Um, and and I know it's hard because, uh, the people that we love most, uh, especially family can be the people that that, uh, get under

01:06:52 our skins the most. >> Oh, yeah. Um, and uh, and it can be hard, but I I think about uh, how we're called to uh, honor one another above ourselves, to consider them above ourselves. And and when it comes to the the strainer part, man, the the person that you are, leave that person in the grave. If anyone should be strained, it should not be Christ. It should be your old self. >> Um, and and I would pray before walking in the door, God, let me leave my old self here rather than you here. and let

01:07:23 me go and do my best to reflect Christ in every single way. And and that may mean uh going the extra mile. Um I I think about Romans 12 where it talks about uh not overcome evil with evil, but overcome evil with good. Um it can be very tempting uh to do that with with family members, but we got to ultimately do it with good. Um >> yeah, I love that Christian shared so many scriptures cuz I think that we've both kind of been in those situations. my extended family are are not disciples

01:07:54 and it's very difficult going back there sometimes. Um and I think of Colossians 3:12. It says, "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience." That's Colossians 3:12. And I think it's having scriptures like this on your heart of like when you're in those moments with your family and being like, "Okay, I'm going to be patient. I'm I'm clothing myself with patience. I'm clothing myself with gentleness. I'm clo, okay, I can do this." But you have to like almost memorize those scriptures, save it as your screen saver

01:08:24 so you can go back and when you're in those moments with your family being like, "Okay, this is what I'm supposed to look like. I'm" and just say it over and over in your head. Because I think the thing for me was that it's just more of my um yeah, more of my like temptation was to like react and to say something that I knew I was going to regret. And so I had to be like, "Okay, like okay, like I can do And then I would just say that scripture in my head over and over again because by doing that and having that self-control and that gentleness, I was imitating Jesus

01:08:54 to them. >> Yeah. >> You know, there would been moments where I had to be like, "Okay, I'm you know what? Can I can you give me two seconds? Like I'm I'll be right back." And then I would literally go pray and I know that they thought I was weird for it, but I was like, "Okay, I'm still going to act like Jesus here cuz I really don't want to." And sometimes it's just taking those times with your with your family to just say, "Okay, I I'm going to go pray and then we'll come back." But yep. >> Yep. >> Yeah. Absolutely. Hopefully that helps answer your question. Um I think we're running out of time, so we'll take

01:09:25 >> one more one more question if there is any. >> Yeah. Um, I have a question about just like kind of reaching out to people when it's like a Christian university where it's like different campus ministries >> and it's like sometimes you ask them like, "Oh, do you want to study the Bible?" They're like, "Oh, no, thank you. I'm good. I go to this church already." You know, it's like, "Do you continue to like pursue that?" Or even like friends who already go to a different church just like I don't know how you would go about >> Sure. >> proclaiming that.

01:09:56 >> Yeah. No, absolutely. Do you want to go first? Sure. >> Um, yeah. I think if it's with people that are like established established in another church, I just try to have a good friendship with them. Um, and if they call themselves Christians, sometimes I will like try to like have conversations where I'm like, you know, like can I be honest with you? Like as a Christian, like I see this or if they come to you, I think sometimes it's easy to have like vent sessions with your Christians and it's like actually it's not good. Have you studied this out in the scripture? and just trying to have deep meaningful conversations with them.

01:10:27 Um, but I think if it's someone that's like actively like checking out your ministry and is like, "No, I don't know if I want to study the Bible." I don't think I would like be like, "You got to do it. You got to do it." But I think the best prime time I think is after Bible talk. Like if they come to a Bible talk in your campus ministry, they've just heard the word of God. The spirit has just moved in their hearts and that is when they're most like prompted in their hearts to say yes. So, I would kind of wait for those moments and just kind of see if those moments open up, you know? But if they're not, just I

01:10:59 kind of put them like on the back burner kind of thing and be like, I'm still there. I'm still loving them, encouraging them, but I'm going to focus on the people that are ready right here, right now. >> Yeah. Yeah. Um, wish we could give you more practical advice on that. Uh, Texas State is known to be a party school. Um, so, uh, Christianity is not on the forefront of people's minds there. Um but uh but yeah, so I hope hopefully that helps you. Um but I I definitely would uh yeah, I would just ask a lot of

01:11:29 questions honestly. Probably be the other practical thing I I would give you. But um I believe we're out of time. I'm looking at Jacob. Jacob's in here. So no, we're we're good on time. We got more questions or what? >> We got uh three minutes. Maybe >> we got three minutes. Okay. Last question. If not, we're going to close with a prayer. Yeah. Um, when you're sharing with people that are follow another religion or say, "Oh, I'm not religious. I'm not interested." >> What like what is your approach? >> Yeah. Do people that say they're not

01:11:59 religious? Um, I ask I just ask questions. Okay. Well, then what what do you believe? Um, what do you think about Christianity? Um, and I know that's a dangerous question at times because that can open you up to to some not great fun topics. Uh but uh but a heart of curiosity in regards to other religions. Um I think it ultimately depends on what kind of religion it is. If it's if it's Judaism, I ask, "Oh, can we can we sit down and look at some scripture together?" Like it's the same God. Same with Muslims, too. Um and just open up a dialogue because with those people, it's

01:12:32 at least Judaism and Muslims, it's well, we just think about a different either there is no Messiah or the Messiah is a different person. Well, the God is the same. But when we look at scripture and and even in the Old Testament, and you got to get a little bit familiar with the Old Testament, but it still points to Jesus. >> Um, and and when we're able to sit down and look at at the Old Testament scriptures together, we can then talk about how this points ultimately to to Christ and and that that can open a lot of doors and new wonders. So, I would ask them if I could I would love to to

01:13:02 know more about that and uh to sit down and open up some scripture together and read some Old Testament stuff um is what I would do. So that'll be the last question though. So we're going to end off in a word of prayer and uh you'll be dismissed. So uh bow with me. Dearly Father God, I want to thank you, Father, for this time that we're able just to to come together, Father, and open up your word and to see in the heart that you call us to have as messengers. Father, I ask and I pray that uh as we go out from uh this

01:13:32 conference, Father, even this room, God, that we would have the heart of this messenger, that we would be joyful, that we would joyfully go and proclaim you, Father, because that is what you call us to. That we would do it into all of creation, that uh we wouldn't just wait till we get on campus, but we even do it while we're here in LA, Father. And and that we are just so just joyful and that we can't help ourselves, but proclaim your name, God. Be with us as we do this. uh be with us as you said you were with the 12 um in Mark. God uh protect us, guard us uh and help us just uh love

01:14:04 you ultimately all the more and to love our neighbors as ourel God. Uh in all this we pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen.