The Irresistible Attraction

The idea behind being winsome is that people come to know Jesus. The gospel does not stop with you, it moves through you to the world.

Is anyone asking you why your life doesn't look like theirs?

What does God want to do with your life? What is the reflection of God in our lives to the world?

We are extravagant. We're not talking about a gospel that says if you put your faith in Jesus, you'll get a new sports car. We're talking about the fact that the true gospel is extravagant. It's not chintzy or cheap. We are the recipients of the greatest gift ever revealed to mankind when the precious Son of the living God was put on display for us, The gospel is God saying, "This is the best and I'm giving you everything." Has God ever gotten anything back from you? That didn't stop Him from giving everything for you. Christians should look the most extravagant and have no problem giving away the mercy, grace, forgiveness, and power from the Holy Spirit.

In 1 Kings 17, Elijah is being provided for by God. He tells him to go to a widow's house and ask her to make him a meal. The widow replies that she is down to the last of her oil and flour, and was going to use it to make the last meal for her and her son. She decides to make Elijah a loaf of bread first and after that, her flour and oil never ran out. That's illogical to the world, but when you honor God first, He provides for you because the gospel is extravagant. Freely you have received, so you can freely give. In Matthew 5, Jesus said to show grace, and have such an abundance of the gospel at work in you that when you are treated poorly, you don't have to respond the same way they treated you. Again, this makes no sense to a self-preserving world. We have a Father in Heaven providing for us. We are recipients of an extravagant gospel of grace, so we can be extravagant with others.

The gospel is about being secure. Everyone is insecure about something, but the gospel tells us we are permanently loved and accepted by God through the work of Jesus that was finished on the Cross and sealed at the resurrection. We are forever marked as sons and daughters of God in His family for eternity. Yes, we are still going to have insecure moments, but we want to be gospel-driven and maturing out of that. When we start operating out of our acceptance we can start seeing other people. An insecure church is deadly for the city because we're exporting a weak gospel and we're missing people who desperately need Jesus. Zacchaeus was a man who probably had been overlooked his entire life and had plenty of reasons for insecurity. He couldn't see Jesus in the crowd so he climbed into a tree. When Jesus walked by, He looked up and noticed Zacchaeus and invited Himself over to his house. Zacchaeus was a short-in-stature tax collector who had nothing to offer Jesus, but Jesus came to seek and save the lost. Jesus looks for people.

We want to be faithful. We live in a fickle world, so we want to be faithful. We stay with our spouses, finish what we start, and keep our word and that sets us apart. Jesus died because He was faithful to His mission and didn't flake out. We should want to be the most excellent people in the city. You may not like your job, but you can excel in it. Jesus hung on a Cross and said, "It is finished." not "Fine, I'll just do it, it's my job." He was faithful to the end. Your excellence is paving the way for the gospel to be shown to the people in your life. We don't cut corners because the gospel doesn't cut corners.

We're confident. 1 Peter 3:15 says in your heart set apart Christ as Lord. God is in charge. Always be prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that you have. The gospel says God is in charge. Nothing can stop or thwart His plans. We have confidence that whatever comes, God is still in control and the gospel is good no matter what. We're not trying to just survive in an uncertain world because we serve a certain Savior who is on an unshakable Throne. we have hope. You have to have hope to make it through. Do you have the hope that we get from God in Psalm 23?

We're extravagant in a stingy world. We're secure in and insecure world. We're faithful in a fickle world. We're confident in a shaky world. This will cause people to ask questions because you're going to stick out. You've received the gospel, now share your hope.