Nature Reveals the Goodness of God

      Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis, and this is “Multiply,” the podcast

that provides a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

When I first tried to plant churches cross-culturally in South America, I worked

closely with a Quichua brother named Pedro. Though Pedro was a kind and

gracious evangelist and church planter, more than once he was beaten, spit

upon, and insulted because of his witness for Christ. But Pedro was always

patient, always kind, always trying to help people who lived in darkness see the

light of Christ. Pedro was always looking to build bridges to share the love of

Christ.

I’m sure I heard Pedro say 100 times that “Even though we turn our back on

Him, God is good and we should thank him. He sends us the rain and the sun

and provides us with corn and beans and the food we need to eat. Even though

we are ungrateful God keeps showing his love to us.” Pedro appealed to our

common experience of life on earth in order to glorify God and build trust.

Of course, my brother Pedro was not the first one to share this message. Paul

and Barnabas told the people of Lystra the same thing. They said, in Acts

14:17, “He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in

their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with

joy.”

When we share the Three Circles Gospel Presentation, we communicate the

same truth. We remind people that even though we live in a broken world full

of pain and suffering, God is good. He created a world of perfect harmony. And

we can still see glimpses of that good world that He made. We see it in the

beauty of a sunrise and the smile on a small child’s face. And we see it in the

rain that fall on our crops to help them grow.

When you share the 3 circles, don’t rush over these things. Share some ways

you still see the goodness of God in the natural world He created. Ask your

listeners to tell ways that they have seen glimpses of God’s original, good, and

loving design for the world. Wait patiently for them to respond. Affirm what

they say. Thank God with them for his goodness.

Then share about how the world was broken through our rebellion against God

and how people try to escape the brokenness. Tell the story of Jesus and lift

him up as the way back to God. Remind you listeners, that Jesus is the way to

experience fully the goodness of God and the beauty of His creation.

Remember, when we’re restored to God through repentance and faith in

Christ, we begin to experience his original design here and now. We get a

foretaste of the new heaven and the new earth that Jesus is preparing for us.

But a time is coming when we will have far more than the grain that God in his

goodness provides for us by giving us rain for our crops. We will participate in

the marriage supper of the Lamb of God (Revelation 16:6-9). There, we will

enjoy great fellowship in the body of Christ and amazing fellowship with the

Father. We will enjoy the best of food, fellowship, and joy.

This is God’s big story. Tell it well!

This has been “Multiply,” and I’m Dean Davis asking, who will you share this

Encouraging word for today?

#EncouragementForVillageChurchPlanters #GodIsGood #ThreeCircles