Part 2: Mission—sharing The Gospel Series

Introduction

This is the one topic that most Christians just don’t like to hear about, because it’s the one area where we are most likely not being faithful. We’ll come to Sunday School and Morning worship, Discipleship Training, Evening Worship, Wednesday night prayer meeting and Bible Study, A prayer group or study group here or there, and we’ll help out any way you need us to, but we just don’t want to share the gospel. So we feel guilty, or we may get to the point where we don’t feel guilty anymore. So, I want to share with you a few things about our mission as disciples.

1. We are Commanded to Be on God’s Mission

Matthew 28: 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.”

Acts 1: 8 reminds us that we are to be witnesses for Jesus locally, region/state, country and the world.

Jesus’ life gives us a great example of one who is on God’s mission. When He was twelve years old, left in Jerusalem, and they found Him, He said, “I must be about My Father’s business.” In His prayer for believers in John 17, 18, “As you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world.” Jesus was sent into the world to make it possible for people to be in a right relationship with God the Father, and He says, “This is the mission for my disciples—to help bring people to God.”

2. What Are We To TELL as We are on God’s Mission

The word, T-E-L-L, cane help us remember the content of our message to the lost.

T-Testimony

A testimony is simply an account of what a person has seen or heard. In Acts 4, Peter and John were told to stop preaching about Jesus as the Messiah, but they said in verse 20, “We cannot stop telling about the wonderful things we have seen and heard.” Jesus said in Acts 1:8, “...You will be my witnesses...” So, we’re either going to be witnesses about how Christ has made a difference in our lives, or we’re going to be silent witnesses about how we disobey and don’t rely on Jesus’ power to help us.

But if we are striving to live for Christ, then our testimony will be sharing things from our own personal experience the difference Jesus has M-A-D-E in our lives.

M-My life before I met Jesus

A-Awareness of my need for Jesus

D-Decision to put faith in Jesus

E-Examples of the difference Jesus makes in my life.

Your basic testimony includes these points, and part of our mission is to share our testimonies.

E-EASTER Story

Well, it’s kind of an obvious thing probably, but people can only believe in Jesus as their Savior and Lord, if they hear or read the truth about Jesus’ dying for our sins and being raised from the dead.

Romans 1: 17a says, “This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight...”

We either have to give them something to read, or we have to tell them ourselves. The basic ministry of the Gideons is to place the Bible in the hands of the lost, so that, they can read it and God’s Holy Spirit can work within them to convict them of their sin. Some people place tracts or Christian literature around for people to pick up and read.

If you are verbally telling someone the gospel message, here’s a little acrostic to remind you of the main points of the gospel message we are to share, which uses the word, EASTER.

E-Easter morning, Jesus…

A-Arose from the dead, after…

S-Sacrificing His life

T-To pay for my sins, so He could give me…

E-Eternal life when I…

R-Repent and surrender my life to Him.

This one sentence includes Jesus’ death as payment for sins, resurrection, the eternal life He offers, and our repentance and submission to His lordship over our lives.

L-Loves, or Godly passions

God is a God of love. And God’s love moves Him to action toward the objects of His love. We can read in John 3: 16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” Because of God’s passion for mankind, He did something for us.

Well, as we get to know God better, we will develop a more Godly love, and He will give us a passion for someone or something that He cares deeply about. Speaking on behalf of that passion and working in that area of passion will become part of our mission.

Last week as I shared about our ministry, I gave a question to help us discover how God made us, so we could find a place of service that fits us better. The question was about our passion; What do I love to do? Our ministry within the body of believers will often include something related to this passion we have. But our Mission can, also, include this passion. For example, When my wife and I were serving in South Dakota, the Dakota Southern Baptist Fellowship had an annual Ministers’ Marriage Retreat. The couple they got to lead that a couple of the years we were there (the Turnbulls, the man had been an actor on Petticoat Junction) wanted to help people have happier and healthier marriages. They loved doing that. Of course, we were all believers in our conference, so it was a Ministry, but you can easily see how it could be used for unbelievers who are going through difficult marriages. Of course, the Turnbulls would share some of the same basic principles, but then, they could use a conference like that to be a witness to how Jesus can make a greater difference in marriage.