Matthew
28:16-20 NLT [16] "Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to
the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. [17] When they saw Him, they
worshiped Him-but some of them doubted! [18] Jesus came and told His disciples,
"I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. [19] Therefore,
go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. [20] Teach these new disciples to obey
all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always,
even to the end of the age."
In Mark
16:15 NLT
[15] And
then He told them, "Go into all the world and preach the Good News to
everyone."
*Learning
and engaging our target goal this month: I am asking specific people to sit with me at church
because God has positioned me to play a role in bringing them to Jesus.
1.
Evangelism
is for every Christian.
1.
Sit
with me, will you?
2.
In
Ephesians 4, we read about how God’s given apostles, prophets,
pastors, teachers and evangelists for the work of the ministry.
1.
There
is a specific calling of evangelist, but every Christian is called to
evangelize, share the "Good News."
1.
In
todays marketing, we have learned to mistrust those who promise us good things.
2.
What
does the bible means by “evangelizing?"
1.
The
verb means “to
announce good news”: someone who is “evangelized” is basically someone who has
been “made aware, brought up to date.”
2.
Christians
used the word evangelize to describe the most precious aspect of their faith:
the announcement of Christ’s resurrection.
1.
Jesus
didn't just come to make bad people good but to make dead people alive.
1.
Evangelize
means to bear witness to a transformation within a human being: because of the
resurrection of Christ, our own resurrection has already begun.
2.
So
every follower of Jesus is commanded by Christ to go out and proclaim the
gospel to the best of their ability, lead people to Christ, help those people
get up on their feet spiritually and go on and repeat the process again and
again.
1.
That’s why we call it the Great
Commission and not the Great Suggestion.
1.
For
many, the Great Commission is really the “Great Omission.”
1.
We don’t do it and that is more than a pity;
it's a travesty.
3.
This
is a command from Jesus Himself, yet, whenever you bring up the topic of
evangelism people often cringe.
1.
It's
been said, "There is one thing that believers and non believers have in
common: they are both uptight about evangelism."
4.
When
it comes to sharing the Gospel, it seems we plan for failure far more often
than success.
1.
Maybe
that's why statistics indicate that 95% of all Christians have never led
another person to Christ.
1.
Evangelism
is about helping people to belong so that they can believe.
1.
Very
few people hear the gospel or show up at church without first being in
relationship.
2.
Most
are invited by a person they know.
5.
We
are to establish a commonality with others.
"find
common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some." 1 Corinthians
9:22b
1.
This
means bringing others into the community of faith.
2.
So
the not-yet believing individual will witness how believers pray and worship.
3.
They'll
be exposed to the love within the Christian community.
4.
They'll
be engaged in the passionate life-giving flow of ministry to and with one
another.
5.
They'll
experience “God showing up” through actual miracles.
1.
In
God’s time, they'll be
ready to wholeheartedly commit to Jesus Christ.
1.
Sit
with me is an invitation to experience life, experience Christ together.
6.
Only
when the grace of God becomes our Great Compulsion will the command of Jesus
become the Great Commission.
2.
It's
a sin not to share.
1.
Let
me state something that may shock you, but I believe with all my heart, it's
true.
1.
To
not share your faith, to not tell others about Jesus Christ, is a sin.
2.
When
we think of sin, we envision breaking commandments and doing wrong things—and
indeed that is sinful.
3.
But
the Bible speaks of both sins of commission and sins of omission.
1.
A
sin of commission is doing what you should not do.
2.
A
sin of omission is not doing what you should do.
1.
The
Bible says, “Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not
do it." James 4:17
Illustrate
here: Let’s say you were walking down the
street and you heard people screaming. You looked in their direction and saw a
house in flames. Someone then cried out, “There is a person in there!” Let me
ask you, if you were to keep walking without a passing thought to those in
serious danger, would that be wrong? I would hope you would at the very least
call 9-1-1. Even more, you might go and try to rescue that person inside. To do
nothing would be outright criminal.
4.
Yet,
every day we walk by people that we know and don’t
know, who are without Christ, and we don’t do a thing to help them.
1.
We don’t try to initiate a conversation about our faith;
we just keep walking.
2.
And
to be blunt, a fate even worse than a house fire awaits those who reject the
offer of forgiveness through Jesus Christ.
1.
It
is eternal fire, weeping, gnashing of teeth and total separation from the love
of God, meant only for the Devil and his angels.
5.
The
last thing that God wants is to send any man or woman—deeply loved by Him and
made in His very image—to this place called Hell.
1.
That
is why He sent Jesus born of a virgin, to live a perfect life, to die a perfect
death on the cross for our sins, and then to rise from the dead 3 days later.
2.
That
is where you come in.
1.
God
wants to use you to bring other people to Himself.
6.
You
might protest, “God could never use someone like me!”
1.
Actually
He can and He will if you will let Him.
2.
It
could even happen before the day is over.
1.
God
will never force you to share your faith, but He will prompt you.
2.
And
when you take that step of faith, He will empower and use you.
7.
I
want you to discover the miracle of being used by God.
1.
A
chosen instrument used by God.
2 Chronicles
16:9 “The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those
whose hearts are fully committed to Him.”
2.
God
wants to show Him self strong on your behalf.
3.
He
is searching for someone who will simply say, “Use me, Lord!”
1.
Will
you be that person?
8.
Many
people have slipped into the mindset that evangelism is a gift that some believers
have and others do not.
1.
When
someone becomes reconciled to God, He always equips and sends them out to
reconcile others.
1.
That’s not a gift—we all have the
responsibility to take Christ to others.
3.
Evangelism
makes you happy.
1.
Sharing
your faith is
exciting, fun and fulfilling and addicting.
Psalm 126:6
reminds us, "They
weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the
harvest."
Luke 15:7b
"there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns (God made us, created us, we are
His first, and because I am a believer, I am His forever) to God than over
ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven't strayed away!"
2.
So,
if there is joy in Heaven upon hearing the news of a salvation, there certainly
should be joy in having a role in it.
1.
Next
to personally knowing Jesus Christ as my Savior, the greatest joy I know of is
leading others to Christ and watching them grow spiritually.
1.
It's
awe inspiring to tell others about your relationship with God and explaining
how they can have one too.
3.
I
have found that the happiest Christians are the evangelistic ones.
4.
And
I have also found that the unhappiest Christians are the judgmental kind.
1.
So
busy arguing theological details that they miss out on opportunities to see God
move.
1.
Vance Havner said, “If we are too busy using
our sickles on each other, we will miss the harvest!”
5.
Yes,
there is a happiness, an excitement, a fulfillment that we are missing out on
if we are not sharing our faith.
Acts 20:35,
“It is more blessed to give than to receive."
1.
What's
the excuse that you use?
6.
Clearly
God could reach people without us, but instead He has chosen to work through
us.
1.
In
fact, He seems to go out of His way to find the most unlikely candidates to
accomplish His divine purposes.
1.
Think
of Moses, who, when called by God to speak out for Him, essentially said, “I
can’t. I have a
speech impediment!”
2.
When
called by God to speak, Jeremiah felt he was too young.
1.
Think
of those that God used who had challenges and failures in life: Noah got drunk,
Abraham was old, Jacob was a liar, and David had an affair.
2.
Peter
denied Christ, the disciples fell asleep while praying, Timothy had an ulcer,
and Lazarus was dead!
7.
Again
I ask, what’s
your excuse?
1.
I’m not qualified.
2.
I'm
unknowledgeable.
3.
I’m not gifted or talented.
1.
Do
you want to know a little secret?
1.
You
are just the person God is looking for.
1.
God
loves to use people that are not necessarily self-confident.
1.
Why?
1.
Because
when God does something amazing through them, He is the one who gets honored.
2
Corinthians 4:7 “We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves
are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear
that our great power is from God, not from ourselves."
8.
God
is not looking for ability as much as He is looking for availability.
1.
God
does not call the qualified; He qualifies the called.
Proverbs 11:25 NLT "The generous will prosper; those who refresh
others will themselves be refreshed.”
9.
God
has not blessed you with all the messages you have heard in church or have read
in books over the years so that you can hoard it all to yourself.
1.
Have
you seen the show “hoarders?"
1.
Sometimes
as Christians we can be the same way—hoarding all that God has given to us, and
not sharing it with others.
2.
So let’s delete this idea that sharing
our faith is something we cannot do and something that is miserable to engage
in.
1.
Nothing
could be further from the truth.
4.
Culture
gets the wrong idea that being a Christian means our lives are perfect.
1.
They
feel disconnected and unworthy.
1.
So
whenever we can remind our people and those looking in that we are all in need
of a Savior, it breaks down walls that keep people from Christ and the Church.
1.
God
calls us to evangelize all.
2.
He
invites us to invite others.
1.
C'mon
sit with me.
2.
Your
friends trust you when you talk about restaurants, plumbers and babysitters.
1.
That
same trust gives each believer an open door to introduce others to Jesus.
2.
The
church and its people must understand that no one gets through a broken world
unbroken.
1.
So
as we go back out throughout the week, we should connect with broken people as
broken people who have met the One who restores.
1.
We
should offer restoration through Christ.
1.
I don’t know your friends.
2.
You do.
3.
I
can’t invite your
friends.
4.
You
can.
5.
And
we must.
1.
Evangelism
is our responsibility.
2.
You
are looking for peace, sit with me.
3.
You
are looking for strength, sit with me.
4.
You
are looking for forgiveness, sit with me.
5.
You
are looking for purpose, sit with me.
Colossians
1:28 "So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching
everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God,
perfect in their relationship to Christ."
2.
So,
let’s put this
together: the Great Commission is to preach AND teach; it is to proclaim AND
then disciple.
1.
That’s the objective: lead people to
Jesus AND then lead them to maturity.
3.
You
should come to church with me as a matter of fact you should sit with me.
1.
God
is moving in the lives of people at my church and you should come and be a part
of what He is doing.
2.
I
am so excited about what is happening at our church.
1.
People
are being saved, baptized, filled with the Holy Spirit and being called into
service.
2.
People
are being healed, delivered, encouraged and inspired, it's crazy.
3.
I
wish I could just tell you about it but it's something I believe you should
experience for your self.
1.
I
remember when someone told me about Christ, I was also hesitant and
unbelieving.
1.
I
was super afraid, seriously.
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