Be yourself. God made you that way.

Steve Brown:
Be yourself. God made you that way. Let’s talk about it, on Key Life.

Matthew Porter:
This is Key Life with our host, author, and seminary professor, Steve Brown. He’s nobody’s guru. He’s just one beggar telling other beggars where he found bread. If you’re hungry for God, the real God behind all the lies, you’ve come to the right place.

Steve Brown:
Thank you Matthew. We’re looking at evangelism and the work of the Holy Spirit in the mission to which Christians have been called, the task of telling others about Jesus. We’re using the Book of Acts pretty much for this final teaching on how the Holy Spirit works in our lives to reach other people. And the Book of Acts is replete with references to the Holy Spirit over and over and over again. Leading his people, sending them into the world, starting in Jerusalem and making an impact wherever they went. And so, it’s good for us to talk about the work of the Holy Spirit and the task of evangelism. And we’re being Socratic in how we’re talking about this, asking questions and looking for Biblical answers. What do we do first? Nothing. Jesus said.

Go back to Jerusalem and be still.

And he still says that to his people. You’ve got to, somebody said, and I love this comment.

You’ve got to talk to God about people before you talk to people about God.

And that has a ring to it, but there’s more to it than that. You’ve got to talk to God about yourself and about people before yourself goes into the world to talk to people about God. And so, Jesus said, don’t do anything, just be still, and let God love you. And when the Holy Spirit comes, then, and when you’ve been loved, go into the world and tell them. To whom should we go? That was another question. You should go, you should go home. You should go, you should go to the people you love, the people you know, the place where you work. And you ought to go in the power of the Holy Spirit because you are going in the power of the Holy Spirit. Yesterday we saw that you smell like Jesus and you can’t help it. Despite your sin, despite your doubts, despite the fact that you don’t know everything, you smell like Jesus and you just can’t help it. So, when Jesus sends us, he sends us home to the place where we are to bloom where we are planted. There’s a third question. Let’s deal with that. How shall we go? Well, first go yourself. We’ve already examined those passage of Scriptures that deal with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. And the gifts context, Paul says something important for us as we talk about sharing our fire through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Our Lord, the Holy Spirit

he says

made us different. There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit; there are differences in ministries, but the same Lord; there are differences in activities, but it’s the same God who works all in all, but the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.

That’s I Corinthians 12:4 through 7. Let me tell you something, something I’ve discovered about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is into variety. He really is, it’s amazing. I believe, and I’ve told you this, that we are living in a time when God is about to bring another awakening in America. And also in Canada and in places around the world, there are evidences of it now. And I see it beginning and I’ve been there before in the Jesus movement and it has that feel about it. But let me tell you something else I believe, it’s going to be far different than anything we expected. The people are going to be different. Their delights and dislikes are going to be different. Their lifestyles are going to be different. They’re not the people you generally expect a God to use. God is going to work in ways that manifest His love of variety. The Holy Spirit is into variety. Most of us are into bland Christianity without any color and shading. We work hard to fit into the mold of which, of what we think a Christian ought to be like. The tragedy is that the mold isn’t what Jesus had in mind at all. James and John would be the motorcycle gang members, if they lived in our time, they really would have been sons of thunder, is what they were called, of the original. Can you imagine putting a tax collector and a businessman together in the same tent? And then there was the cynic who couldn’t believe the witness of the others, even though he knew them and had been with them. You’re crazy, he said. That didn’t happen. It couldn’t have happened. And Jesus had to take that whole situation into his own hands and show up. Most good evangelical churches would kick the whole bunch of disciples out. And if not that, at least make them feel very uncomfortable. In a town where I once lived, there was a Christian radio station. They refused to carry this program. I wrote a fundraising letter for them when they first established the radio station. It’s called Z88.3. And here in Orlando, that station has higher ratings than any other station in Orlando. How about that? I mean, they eat the lunch of every radio station in our area. Everybody listens to them. There are billboards everywhere. And the ratings are through the roof. But as I said, they refuse to broadcast this teaching program. And I’m glad. When I wrote the original fundraising letter when they were building that station, my friend Jim had a passion for it. I said, you may wonder why I’m writing a letter requesting funds for a station that refuses to carry my program. The truth is, if they carried my program, I wouldn’t be writing this letter because Z88.3 would be unfaithful to the place where God has called them. The reason I wrote the letter and regularly go to that station to request funds is because the station plays contemporary music. Now, you need to know I prefer Bach and Beethoven. They are pretty loud, and their DJs are loose. I prefer the quieter Presbyterian types. And they don’t have any Bible teaching programs. I would rather listen to exposition than rock music. But you see, when I go fishing, I don’t eat the worms either. A station that played Bach and Beethoven, had quiet announcers with deep voices, and ran back to back preachers and talk shows, that’s a good thing. Because that’s where they’re called, but not Z88, that’s the station that is reaching people because throughout their history, they have been different. Listen to me. You’re different, too. You ever sit in church and think, you know, I’m in the wrong place? These people have got it together and I don’t. And I just don’t fit in this place. Yeah, you do. God created you exactly the way you are. And he thought about you before you were ever born. The things you like, the things that you say, the way you say them, who you are, where you associate with other people, all of that is a part of what he uses in evangelism. And so, when you go, don’t pretend you’re Billy Graham. When you go, don’t pretend that you’re some spiritual giant with the answers to all the questions. When you go, don’t smile the way you think Christians ought to smile, or say the things that you think Christians ought to say. When you go, be you. God only created one of you, and there are people in this world who will never listen to anybody but you. One of the very real problems with much of our witness is that there is an arrogance and an elitism that has no place in the Biblical witness. Augustine said.

That God gives where he finds empty hands.

And my friend, Rosemarie Miller said.

That grace runs downhill to the people he loves.

And that would be you. And not only that, who you really are. You think about that. Amen.

Matthew Porter:
And that’s why he’s Steve Brown. Thank you Steve, for that much needed exhortation to be who God made us to be. We still have two days left in our series on the Holy Spirit. Hope you’ll stick with us as we approach that finish line. Well, you may have heard about Steve’s latest book, it’s called Laughter and Lament, but you may have not had a grasp on what it’s all about. Well, that’s why we created a special booklet with excerpts from the book. It touches on the importance of authenticity, why the Bible is a crazy book, and explores the issue of control, something Steve refers to as the mother of all addictions, and so, so, so much more. Claim your free copy of that booklet by calling us right now at 1-800-KEY-LIFE that’s 1-800-539-5433. You can also e-mail [email protected] to ask for that booklet. To mail your request, go to keylife.org/contact to find our mailing addresses. Again, just ask for your free copy of the Laughter and Lament booklet. And before you go, if you value the work of Key Life, would you join us in that work through your financial support? You could charge a gift on your credit card or include a gift in your envelope. Or simply text Key Life to 28950 that’s Key Life, one word or two. It doesn’t matter. Just text that to 28950 then follow the instructions. Key Life is a number of ECFA in the States and CCCC in Canada. And as always, Key Life is a listener supported production of Key Life Network.