Evangelism 101 - Part 4 Series

Most of us have gone to the supermarket and bought apples but few of us have ever thought about what goes on behind the scenes in bringing the apples to market.

Today while many apple growers still hand-sort their produce, many companies are going “hi tech.” Hundreds of pounds of apples are brought into the facility to determine size and color. Color sorting is done by a mechanized color sorter. The color sorter has a system of cameras that analyze each apple as it passes by the cameras. The data obtained by the cameras is then passed to a computer, which grades each apple. Apples are then passed on to the sizer. The sizer weighs each apple and distributes them into specific channels of water depending on the grade and size of the apple.

Someone has said, “Sunday is the most segregated day of the week.” Philosophies, life experiences and prejudices sort people according to color to where there are white congregations and churches where only blacks, Hispanics and Asians attend. People are “sized” and allowed into churches according to their income and reputation and occupation. A friend of mine recently told me that his denomination started a new church and hand-picked mostly doctors and lawyers to become the first members.

Did you know that “sorting” and “segregating” is biblical? It is biblical, but choosing those who would be a part of the church is not left up to us to do…this is a job that the Lord of the Harvest is solely responsible for.

In our text today we will discover one of the ways this is done by our Lord.

Luke 14:25 Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them,

Luke 14:26 "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.

Luke 14:27 "And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.

These aren’t the kinds of things you say to keep people in your following; these are the kinds of things that cause people to turn away. Jesus was always doing things like this.

In Matthew chapter eight a scribe tells Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus tells him that “foxes have holes and birds have nests but the Son of man doesn’t have a place of His own to lay His head.” (Matthew 8:18-22)

In other words, Jesus was asking this scribe whether he was willing to leave creature comforts and follow Him. Would he be willing to leave his flat screen TV and “tempur-pedic foam mattress” to follow One who didn’t have a place to lay His head?

In Matthew nine a rich young man came to Jesus and said, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" Jesus tells him to “go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” (Matthew 19:16-22) Jesus knew that this boy’s weakness was his stuff.

In John chapter six Jesus invites people to follow Him with these words:

John 6:53 … "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.

John 6:54 "Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 6:55 "For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.

John 6:56 "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.

Notice the response of the people:

John 6:60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?"

John 6:66 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.

When Jesus began His public ministry, the crowds began to follow Him. Obviously, each and every person who followed Him was not “sold out” in their commitment to Him so Jesus begins to “sort the apples”…He begins to “thin the herd.”

He thinned the crowds by raising the bar of commitment. He thinned the herds by getting those who were following Him to consider what it would cost them if they followed Him as disciples.

Many are lured by well-meaning preachers by the “dangling carrots” of peace, joy, a husband or a wife, health, wealth, prosperity, security, food, shelter and clothing. While some of these things could be considered benefits of a relationship with Christ, this is not biblical evangelism.

The biblical model of evangelism is to call people to turn from their sins and follow Jesus by faith. Jesus Himself says it this way in John 8:24, “…if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."