Could You Lead Someone To Christ

**Could You Lead Someone to Christ?** * # **Transcript (By AI there will be errors)** * *We Are His Workmanship* * ## **Introduction: The Divine Workmanship** * Find your Bibles and turn to [Ephesians chapter two](https://biblehub.com/nkjv/ephesians/2-10.htm). We'll be reading there momentarily, [Ephesians chapter two](https://biblehub.com/nkjv/ephesians/2-10.htm). * So a question for you: if someone had never read the Bible but spent one whole week with you, what would they conclude about God? A question like this shifts our attention from what we know about God to who we are for God. * In [Ephesians 2:10](https://biblehub.com/nkjv/ephesians/2-10.htm) it says, "for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." God has always been building something. * In [Genesis chapter one](https://biblehub.com/nkjv/genesis/1.htm), we were created — or built — in God's image. And then in [Genesis chapter two](https://biblehub.com/nkjv/genesis/2.htm), God built a garden as a training ground. Sin didn't just break God's commandment — it destroyed the image of what God had built. * ## **Main Point 1: The Purpose of Difficulty** * Turn now to [Romans chapter five](https://biblehub.com/nkjv/romans/5-3.htm). God builds through difficulties. In [Romans 5:3–5](https://biblehub.com/nkjv/romans/5-3.htm), we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. * Difficulty builds perseverance. Difficulty builds character. And difficulty builds the hope that we have. God values our character, not our comfort. * To illustrate this in real time: a blacksmith doesn't apologize to the steel for burning it in the fire. Similarly, God builds us through difficulty. We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and character, and hope. * Turn now to [James chapter one](https://biblehub.com/nkjv/james/1-2.htm). Difficulty is not a measure of how distant God is from us. Difficulty is evidence God hasn't finished building us. * [James 1:2–4](https://biblehub.com/nkjv/james/1-2.htm): "Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." * ## **Main Point 2: The Blueprint and the Building Blocks** * How do we know what God is doing? Turn to [Hebrews chapter one](https://biblehub.com/nkjv/hebrews/1-3.htm). God is building something, but how do we know what God intends us to become? * [Hebrews 1:3](https://biblehub.com/nkjv/hebrews/1-3.htm) tells us that Jesus Christ is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact image of God's nature. So if you want to see the finished product of what God is trying to build in you, just look at Jesus Christ. Study Jesus, and you'll see the blueprint of what God is building. * And [Philippians 2:5–8](https://biblehub.com/nkjv/philippians/2-5.htm) tells us that we're not just admiring Jesus — the goal here is to become like Jesus: perfect and complete, lacking nothing. The goal of what God is building is to become like Jesus. * And I know some of us may be thinking that Jesus is just way too special, and I'm just way too ordinary. But I would have you look at what God has built out of some of the way-too-ordinary people. Moses had his excuses. Gideon had his fears. David had his morality problems. Peter had denied Christ. Paul had even persecuted what God was building. * So you quickly realize that God specializes in ordinary people. God uses ordinary people, just like you and I, to build great forerunners, guides, mentors, motivators, and faithful followers of Jesus Christ. * Turn down to [2 Corinthians chapter four](https://biblehub.com/nkjv/2_corinthians/4-7.htm). Why does God choose ordinary people — with their excuses, their fears, their morality problems, their denial issues, and their persecution problems — as His building material? * [2 Corinthians 4:7](https://biblehub.com/nkjv/2_corinthians/4-7.htm) tells us why. It says God intentionally uses imperfect building blocks — you and I — so everyone will know that the beautifully finished product was all the power of God. * God is turning ordinary jars of clay into finely polished diplomats of Jesus Christ. [Ephesians 2:10](https://biblehub.com/nkjv/ephesians/2-10.htm) reminds us we are His workmanship. He's working on us. He's forming us, polishing us, framing us, and forging us. * ## **The Danger of Indifference** * Now turn to [Revelation chapter three](https://biblehub.com/nkjv/revelation/3-15.htm). So in closing, God's building process — His process of turning us from ordinary jars of clay into finely polished diplomats for Jesus Christ — has one very dangerous component. * The dangerous component is not enough persecution. The danger is not combat with atheists. It's not the government. It's not your relatives. It's none of these. The greatest danger to us becoming polished diplomats for Jesus Christ is our being comfortable. * [Revelation 3:15](https://biblehub.com/nkjv/revelation/3-15.htm) says, "Of the church in Laodicea I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth." * The church of Laodicea was judged for being indifferent. They were comfortable in their wealth. A comfortable Christian is often a stagnant Christian. It's a fact that a tool is ruined many times faster by rust than by continued daily use. * ## **Closing Invitation** * We are His workmanship. Let's let Him build us. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to [love and good works](https://biblehub.com/nkjv/hebrews/10-23.htm). * Hopefully these are words of encouragement for all of us. So let's all build and grow with God. I hope these words are encouraging to you, and that what's being said tonight stirs you up. * So if there is a need to respond to the gospel, to be baptized into Christ, or whether you are already a Christian and are in need of the good graces of God and the prayers of the church to be set back on the good and narrow path, let your needs be known as we together stand. ## **Lesson Structure Outline by Speaker** ### **Introduction: The Divine Workmanship** If a friend that didn't know anything about the Bible spent a week with you, what would they think about God? This sermon opens with the premise that God is a builder who has been constructing a specific purpose for humanity since creation. While sin damaged the original image established in Genesis, God continues to refine and rebuild His people through intentional processes. ### **Main Point 1: The Purpose of Difficulty** Difficulty is framed not as a sign of God's absence, but as evidence of His active construction. Using the metaphor of a blacksmith forging steel, the lesson posits that God values character over comfort. Suffering is presented as a functional tool used to produce endurance, character, and hope. ### **Main Point 2: The Blueprint and the Building Blocks** * **The Blueprint:** Jesus Christ is identified as the "finished product" and the exact image of God's nature. The goal of spiritual growth is to move beyond admiration of Jesus to becoming like Him. * **The Building Blocks:** God intentionally chooses "ordinary" and "imperfect" individuals—citing the flaws of Moses, Gideon, David, Peter, and Paul—to ensure that the power of the finished work is attributed to Him rather than human merit. ### **Conclusion: The Danger of Indifference** The greatest threat to God's building process is not external persecution or government, but internal lukewarmness. The sermon warns that a "comfortable Christian" is a stagnant one, urging the congregation to remain active and "daily used" rather than ruined by the rust of indifference. ### **Key Scripture References** * [Ephesians 2:10](https://biblehub.com/nkjv/ephesians/2-10.htm): Establishes that believers are God's workmanship, created for good works prepared beforehand. * [Romans 5:3-5](https://biblehub.com/nkjv/romans/5-3.htm): Outlines the progression from suffering to endurance, character, and hope. * [James 1:1-4](https://biblehub.com/nkjv/james/1-1.htm): Encourages joy in trials, as the testing of faith produces steadfastness and perfection. * [Hebrews 1:3](https://biblehub.com/nkjv/hebrews/1-3.htm): Identifies Jesus as the radiance of God's glory and the blueprint for what God is building in man. * [2 Corinthians 4:7](https://biblehub.com/nkjv/2_corinthians/4-7.htm): Explains that "treasure in jars of clay" shows that surpassing power belongs to God. * [Revelation 3:15-16](https://biblehub.com/nkjv/revelation/3-15.htm): A warning against being lukewarm, using the church at Laodicea as a cautionary example of stagnant faith. ### **Audience Reflection Section** * **Reframing Hardship:** How does viewing your current difficulties as "construction noise" or a "blacksmith's fire" change your perspective on your current season of life? * **Ordinary Utility:** If God specializes in using people with excuses, fears, and moral failures, what "imperfections" are you currently using as an excuse to avoid being a building block in His work? * **The Rust of Comfort:** In what areas of your life has "comfort" led to stagnation or indifference? ### **Actionable Takeaways** * **Study the Blueprint:** Spend time studying the life and nature of Jesus to understand the specific character traits God is attempting to build in you. * **Embrace the Forging:** Instead of praying for the immediate removal of difficulty, ask what character trait (endurance, steadfastness, or hope) the current trial is intended to produce. * **Stir Up One Another:** Actively look for ways to encourage others to "love and good works," preventing the collective "rust" of a comfortable or indifferent faith. * **Hold Fast:** Maintain a consistent daily mindset of hope without wavering, recognizing that the one who promised the finished product is faithful.