How To Reach Out For Jesus Series

1. When you truly become a born again believer in Christ, several things become immediately apparent to you.

a. You have had the great fortune of finding the way to heaven, Jesus

Christ, and that it’s by faith in Him, not as works, as most people believe.

b. You have been saved from an eternity in hell by Christ’s death for your

sins, because of your faith in Him.

c. Many people you know have not been saved, are still thinking they

might be good enough for God by their own works, and without coming

to faith, are surely headed for hell

d. You need to do something about this if you truly care about them at all.

e. Christ wants you to do something about this, because, as a follower of

Christ, you should care. He wants you to tell them about how to be saved.

2. The second set of realizations comes when you try to do something about it—

not everyone is interested in knowing. Some are absolutely opposed to it.

3. How did Jesus reach out in the midst of opposition, and what can we learn from

Him.

I. Keep on reaching out at every opportunity, even when some oppose you (John 7:25-26)

ST: Jewish leaders are ready to kill Jesus, yet he keeps on speaking

boldly despite the serious opposition.

At this Feast of Booths, Jesus had become the number one topic of

discussion. We should make it our goal that Jesus becomes the #1

issue, the single biggest question, among our friends and family.

(I’m not saying to be obnoxious, or nasty, but to be gently persistent,

making the most of every opportunity.).

App.: Jesus made the most of the holiday—the Feast of the Booths—

to reach out. In America, we have Christian holidays, Thanksgiving,

Christmas, Resurrection Sunday, that present the theme & give oppor-

tunity.

List of everyday friends, acquaintances and families to pray for,

think about how you can reach them.

II. Don’t let unbelievers get away with thinking they’re okay (John 7:27-32)

ST: Jesus doesn’t let the Jews get away with thinking he’s okay—

that they know the truth about Him, or know God, when they don’t.

Innocuous evangelism: This is when we celebrate that Jesus came;

this is when we celebrate that Jesus died and rose again?

Pointed Evangelism: Did you know your eternal destiny is at stake?

Just believing in God is not enough? That your works won’t get you

to heaven? That you can’t be good enough for God—no one can.

Did you know that Jesus is the only way to heaven? Did you know

you must both repent and believe? Did you know that just agreeing

with the facts about Jesus isn’t enough?

III. Give them something about Jesus to think about (John 7:32-36)

ST: Jesus gives them a riddle to think about—He’s going away to a

place where they cannot come. He’s speaking of his death and eventual

ascension to heaven where He will be with His Father, but where unbelievers

cannot come. I’ll bet you some people figured it out after his death,

resurrection and ascension and came to faith!

Jesus is clever—He often used (riddles) maschals to get people thinking so

that they would come to the truth on their own.

Examples of things to give people to think about:

“One solitary life”

“The Great Trilemma: Lord, Liar or Lunatic”

Fulfilled prophecies in the Life of Christ—statistical probabilities

The Uniqueness of Jesus:

1. Did you know that Jesus is the only founder of a major world religion

to claim to be God in the flesh?

2. Did you know that Jesus is the only founder of a major world religion

to have come back from the dead? And that as a result of His return from the

dead his claim to be able to bring others back from the dead has a great

deal more credibility than anyone else’s claim?

3. Did you know that Jesus is the only founder of a world religion about

whom there were more than 100 prophecies fulfilled that were given

hundreds and hundreds of years prior to His coming?

4. Did you know that of all the major founders of world religions,

only Jesus raised people from the dead?

5. Did you know that historically, the only people ever raised from the dead

were in the Judeo-Christian tradition, and that most of those who were raised

from the dead were associated with Jesus Himself.

6. Did you know that Jesus said most people would not go to heaven, but only

those who believed or trusted in Him would go to heaven?

7. Did you know that most, if not all, world religions claim good works

is the way to get to heaven; and that only Biblical Christianity says heaven