Message : Why we
should give our lives to share the Gospel.
illustration - . of a pastor and a young executive on the plane.
P } What business are you in ?
E } I'm in the figure saloon business. We can change a woman's
self©concept
by changing her body.
It's really very profound. (He spoke with pride in between lines.)
P } How long have you been in this line ?
E } I have graduated from the
P } 'Oh ! so you have are a national organisation ' the pastor asked.
E } Ya! we are the fastest growing organisation of our kind in the
country. It's really good to be part of
such organisation, don't you think so ?
( The pastor was impressed by his accomplishment )
E } Tell me, what do you do ?
P } Huh. the opportunity comes. We are in the similar business
interest. You are in the body changing business and I'm in the personality
changing business. We apply basic theocratic principles to accomplish
indigenious personality modification.
E } Oh ! Have I read about this somewhere ? Do you have any office here in the city ?
P } Oh. we have offices up and down the country, we are national. We
have at least one office in every states of
( Looking puzzle, he search his mind. Thought to himself that maybe he
has read it in the Wall Street journal ).
P } Do you have that in your business ?
E } Huh ? Huh ?? How does such
huge organisation work ? How's the management like ?
P } Well, it is a family concern. It's a father and son business and
they run everything.
E } Oh. It must they must have a lot of capital.
P } You mean money we don't know
how much it takes. We never worry about money. Our Boss is always having
enough. He's quite a creative guy, you know. There's saying about him that ' He
owned the cattle on the thousand hills.'
E } You mean he is also into ranching ?
P } Oh. No that's the way of
saying He has great wealth.
E } Well. Your Boss is wealthy but how about you, do they take care of
you ?
P } There's a spirit that prevades the whole organisation. The Father
and Son loves one another so much that it filters down the organisation. We
love one another. I know some other people in the organisation are willing to
die for the Boss. Do you have that in
your organisation ?
E } Oh. Not yet. tell me do you have good benefit ?
P } Substantial. Complete life insurance. There are mansions that were
built for my retirement. Do you have that ?
E } No. After all that you
have told me, it must be a very big business, how come I never read it in the
journals before ?
P } Oh that is a very good question. We have a 2000 year tradition.
E } ( Now the light dawn ) Are you talking about the church ?
P } Of course! You want to sign up.
n
We are in the business of ‘making disciples’ - Great Commission
1. God did not call the angels to preach the Gospel
Jesus preached the Gospel differently from us
Only here, now and in this generation that God has given us this awesome privilege to witness for Him.
2. The modern church has many sins. The sin
of the modern church today is the sin of worldliness – like the world when God
has called us to be different, separated. Sin of faithlessness – failing to
believe the Lord. Ranking high in the sins of the modern church is the sin that
we would not dream of as a sin – the sin of silence. – failing to witness
Why we as Christians should be giving our lives to share the Gospel of JC?
A.
COMMISSION OF JESUS 2 COR.
5:17-20
Command
Rescue the perishing is the principle duty of every Christian – the supreme duty because Jesus gives the supreme example. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. Left his glorious throne, suffered agony of the cross, gave his all to seek and save the lost. Do we put on every effort and endeavour to save the lost?
Not just that it is the supreme duty, the Great Commission is the supreme command. It is not a request or a suggestion but a command. Every Christian who is not endeavouring to obey this command is not missing a blessing but is guilty of high treason. Our commander in chief, Lord of host has commanded us to witness.
To refuse to witness Jesus to the world day by day is nothing short of high treason.
Illus. Alexander the Great
E.g. Luke 9: 25 – How valuable is one soul? If God use u to win one soul, you have brought something more valuable the all of this world.
It perplexed me that most people have never even brought one soul to Jesus. The saddest thing is that they don’t even try. But that is not even the saddest thing; the saddest thing is that most of them don’t even care.
Soul winning is not a gift but a command. Sometimes we give the excuse that we are waiting for a feeling to do witnessing or waiting to be led. Illus Son – cutting, cleaning the house compound – father came back – ‘I was waiting for a feeling to cut the grass’ – he would have given me one right there.
It is not a matter of waiting to be led, or feeling or gift , you have already been led and given the command – we must take the Master seriously.
RA Torrey – I would like to know what right any men has to call himself a follower of JC if he is not a soul winner.
Spurgeon – greatest preacher of mortal men - I would rather win one soul to Jesus Christ than to unpick all the mystery of the modern world. What a Bible scholar yet what are more important is to win people to JC.
Andrew Murray – two types of Christ, Witnesses and Backsliders
You don’t become a Witness. You already are one when you convert to JC. You are either a good one or a lousy one.
‘Follow me and I will
make you fishers of men’ – are we following Christ if we are not fishing men to
Christ
Illus – pastor – do you give a damn of those who are lost in your city?
Jonah, the greatest missionary OT book.
Jesus is the ONLY Way
whereby men can be saved. Not a way or a good way BUT THE Way – All truth is
narrow = 2x2= 4 no matter how you slice it.
THEREFORE we have to share. When was the last time you shared the
Gospel? Months, years
Jude 22-23
We must be doctrinally orthodox, contending to keep the faith. Jude teaches that we must believe right. But if we truly believe right we will also behave right. Francis Schaeffer said that perhaps the ugliest thing in the world is orthodoxy without compassion.
OUR TEARS - Missing element in our life
The tears meant to indicate that the work would be difficult, frustrating, at times disappointing. The image is taken from the struggles with agriculture in a difficult and ignored land. The labour is hard, and can be frustrated and frustrating. But the harvest is guaranteed by God. Ps. 126:5-6
Matt. 9:36 – Jesus was moved with compassion. He wept for them. His compassion caused him to do something. What good is orthodoxy without compassion.
Paul – theologian -
Romans 9:2 – day and night I wept for you - heaviness for his kinsmen – great
sorrow, increasing anguish
When is the last time
we pray/weep for our non-Christian friends? Burden are borne by prayer.
PEOPLE DON’T CARE HOW MUCH YOU KNOW UNTIL THEY KNOW HOW MUCH YOU CARE.
Lost people should
drive us to tears and on our knees.
I don’t have a
spectacular testimony - People will not be impressed with what I say. That’s
correct they are not going to but they will be with the Word of God. Because
the Word is the Sword of the Spirit and the Gospel is the power of God. When it
is spoken, it will not return in vain.
We are recipients of great mercy and love Jude 2,21 If we have receive mercy and grace, we must share it.
IF WE ARE CHRISITANS BUT WE DO NOT CARE ABOUT REACHING THE LOST AND SAVING SOULS FOR JESUS, I SERIOUSLY DOUBT THAT WE HAVE BEEN BORN AGAIN.
How could someone who have received such mercy and experience such love not want to share it.
Romans 8:9 – If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. What is the Spirit of Christ? It is the spirit of mercy, spirit of love, spirit of witnessing – seek and save the lost.
Compassion is making a different. Do you really care?
Illus. – Shame! MacPherson
We reap what we sow –
apple, durian etc
We reap more than what
we sow - one seed will multiply (one
seed one fruit ?)
We reap in the future
what we sow – we stop when we don’t see immediate fruit – farmer – patience –
ill – boy - pull the plant higher
Going – Sowing –
Weeping - Reaping
No joy greater than
the joy of seeing people saved. No joy like that in all the world, this side
of heaven.
If we want to grow in
our spiritual life, the answer is share the Gospel to others.
If you want your
Christian life to be exciting, you must continue to share the Gospel
I pray that you will
dare enough and care enough to share the Gospel. To say, Lord, any time,
anywhere, any cost, I will go.
God has put feet on
our faith to take the Gospel everywhere. Start where you are!
Transition: Now, how do we share sharing the Gospel? Should go one to one witnessing, rally, should we just live out the Christian life and others will come to the Lord? Why believers are reluntant to share the Gospel?
C. ADEQUACY IN JESUS Act 1:8; 2 Cor. 3:5
- Illus. Gardening for Dummies, Programming for Dummies, Cooking for Dummies, how about Evangelism for Dummies.
- Jesus has called us to a life of faithfulness not success. On the contrary, He has also called us to a life of fruitfulness. John 15
- Act 1:8 – In commissioning us with the glorious task to win the world for Jesus, He has also empowered us with the tool, HS power to accomplish the task.
We shall ‘BE witnesses’. He did not say ‘Do witnessing’
The adequacy of Jesus in us through the HS – will overcome our fears and reluctances to share the Gospel.
As you go … obedience, he will take care of the rest
All authority, power, gifts are available to us to share the Gospel. Don’t look at our weaknesses BUT look at His Power.
Rivers of living water – you don’t have to pump a river to flow. Similarly when the HS empowers you, you will flow His power to witness. Evangelism is not something we work up But something we work within by the Holy Spirit.
A life filled with the Spirit is like a new born baby who doesn’t need to go on a course oxygen 101 to learn how to breath – it is natural.
2 Cor 3:5 – if some of you are feeling your inadequacy to share the Gospel – or maybe you think I am talking about you an Evangelism Dummies. =1 Cor 2:1-5
We must know who we are in Christ to begin with to be effective in sharing the Gospel. Then to know that He has deposited the HS power in every child of God to make contagious and mighty witnesses in this land.
He will make you able and adequate to accomplish His task.