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Beer Me, For Jesus of Course.

Word of the Day

At wvBc we have all kinds of slogans and sayings, one of them is CPR Cultivate, Plant, Reap which really is a farming analogy (in the Bible as well) of cultivating/tilling the soil, planting the seed, and reaping the crop. Now this doesn't always have to be a linear thing, we can call people to repentance the moment we meet them, it all really is a led by the Spirit thing. However, after reading the following passage God really convicted me that I was hanging out in the cultivate phase a little to long.

Sometimes its easier to say I'm gonna go watch football with these guys, or rock the Peter Piper Pizza buffet, or go grab a beer with with some people all in the name of cultivation. Next thing you know a whole football season has gone by and the person has no idea of why you are investing so much time in them and it becomes really difficult to find "the right moment" to actually tell them the Truth(Gospel, Jesus). Now instead of being led by the Spirit, instead of letting the Truth of the Gospels work in this persons life its about when I(sinful, idiotic me) think its the right time to give them Jesus, how foolish is that. Looks at Acts 17 and you will see the CPR but you will also see how quickly Paul moves to the Gospel.

Acts 17:22-23b
22 So Paul stood in the midst of the [a]Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. 23 For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD......

Paul took the time to find out who these people were, he noted you are very religious in all aspects, he then let them know he spent some time observing what was important to them I was passing through examining the objects of your worship even said the name of one of those objects. To me this is like going to my neighbor and saying "Hey I see you're a Vikings fan, aren't you glad they finally benched McNabb". Taking the time to let them know you care about them, that is cultivation, this is where I can get stuck.

Look thought at how quickly Paul moved to planting the seed.

Acts 17:23b-25
I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; 25 nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things;

Paul hits them with the Truth quickly, states that what they worship is false and then tells them who the one true God is. This is planting, letting your neighbor know what is most important to you telling him your "story" it can be a whole lot easier at the beginning to tell them who you are and what you are really about. Example, you ever have the neighbor that you forget their name but you have talked to them too much to actually ask them again? Same type situation, if you go months, years without sharing the Truth it gets hard and awkward to go back.

Reap

Acts 17:30-31
30Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, 31 because He has fixed a day in which He will judge [c]the world in righteousness [d]through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men [e]by raising Him from the dead.”

All in one setting Paul CPR's those Athens, tells them to repent, he pulls no punches. So what God hit me with is don't get stuck in the "beer me" phase. God calls us to make disciples, not drinking buddies. Be sensitive and led by the Spirit, if God tells you to speak then speak if He tells you to just grab a drink with a guy and listen then do it. In all things be led by the Spirit (at the beginning of this passage verse 16 it says the Spirit in Paul was provoked which led him to do what he did)

The point isn't cultivation, the point is loving God by loving people, and the best way to love people is tell them that they are a sinner (Rom 3:23) and the cost of that sin is eternal separation from God(aka hell, Rom 6:23) and they need to repent and believe (Rom 10:9.

Interesting 50 second clip of a video from an Atheist (Penn from Penn and Teller) about loving people enough to tell them about Jesus.