Persuasive Apologetics #7 - Pastor Gino Bryant/Y.P. Albert Kates

``What happens when the spirit of god touches a heart that's so hard? I remember when my dad got saved when I was 15 there. I can't remember exactly the the the way it all happened but I remember coming home and the liquor bottles were poured out immediately when he got home. You know? And he was still rough around the edges, but there was a heart change that happened. You know? There was something that changed in his heart that was significant, and it was different. There was a softness about him that was different from that point on. And when when somebody is touched by god, there's nothing like it and we get to be part of that as Christ followers. [00:29:57] (42 seconds)  #HeartTransformed

He didn't say, I knew you weren't gonna do it anyway. Get out of here. Nope. He let him walk away. Right? But he had an understanding there was a heart there and he was wooing that heart, you know, back to him. So so with persuasive apologetics, you can't have a religious elitism spirit. You gotta have a gentle heart or understanding that there's a heart there that you're working with. So strive to understand that, and and sometimes the first thing you think isn't the best thing to say. Somebody say amen. Amen. [00:10:58] (31 seconds)  #GentleApologetics

How are you gonna defend that? How are you gonna come with, you know, you might think it's emotionalism but I know it still happens today, right? And you gotta be able to defend that and begin be able to to share that and give them something of substance. Not just say, oh, you're stupid for not believing that but to begin to persuade them to the things of god. Somebody say persuade. Right? Persuade them. Not just give them a harsh Christianese answer that shuts everybody down and you walk out big and bad because you won that argument. No. Persuade them. Pull them in with a hopefully a touch from god that god got a hold of them. God ministered to their heart. What had happened when Peter spoke to him? Their hearts were pricked. [00:37:57] (49 seconds)  #PersuadeDontAttack

So, we have to we have to really be prayed up as we go into the enemy held territory, as we go into places where people's hearts are turned not towards god but against god at times and as we as we share the gospel and as we stand on the on the truth, you know, and also put on our armor, right? Not to put on our armor every day. Let me say this, When a heart is touched by the spirit of God, there's nothing better than seeing that happen. [00:28:39] (36 seconds)  #PrayedUpWitness

He called them and wooed them in the garden, right? What did he say? Adam, where are you? Right? He, Adam, where are you? So, he was constantly wooing them, asking them his first act of divine pursuit with Adam was to ask a question. Adam, where are you? First step of redemption for Adam was a question. Trying to get him to be awakened to where he was. [00:13:08] (28 seconds)  #GodAsPursuer

Amen. So, strive to understand there's a heart there. Now, there are times you've gotta get stronger with your conviction, right? You gotta get stronger with it but a lot of times, we're immediately rough. You know, so, be careful with that. Do your best to remember there's a heart that needs redeemed. There's a person in that situation that's deceived by something and if you come with a religious spirit, it brings offense but if you come with the spirit of Christ, right? Jesus is Jesus is offense or his his strong rejection was against the Pharisees, right? Was against those who thought they were better than everybody else. His handling of the lost was was more measured, right? It was more measured in his decisions, in his dealings with him. He let the rich young ruler walk away. [00:10:05] (53 seconds)  #LeadWithGrace

So our part in the reconciliation of humanity, after we are saved, we are invited and encouraged by god. Through the scriptures. We see it many times that we are to be the light of the world, right? We're to be part of the reconciliation effort, right? Paul said it. He said, we are co laborers with who? With Christ, right? We're co laborers with the lord. Our part now is carrying our cross, right? All of us have our cross to bear and that cross maybe, you know, doing helps ministry or maybe preaching on the street corner, maybe preaching in the pulpit, maybe teaching the kids or doing, you know, ministry in some aspect or helping in the in the finance area of the church or helping the whatever greeter to and out here in the world, being an evangelist, [00:25:17] (46 seconds)  #BeLightOfTheWorld

God doesn't give up on us but we suffer a lot because we go our own way but god is wooing people. So, the goal of apologetics is we get to be part of what god is trying to do in people's lives and you and I, we may be just a friend at work. We may be just a a person that sees somebody at the market. We may be somebody who drives through our little neighborhood and whatever that little neighborhood is, wherever you pull in, you may see somebody every couple of days. You see em out there, you wave at em. You may be the person that they may, you know, you may have a prayer for them at some point or you may drop something off at their house at Christmas time or you may do something and you may be the hand of god [00:16:43] (43 seconds)  #EverydayWitness