Theme: Spring Life—evangelism
Purpose: Identify those I want to reach—and develop the “want to”
What do you tend to notice when you’re out and around? What kinds of things naturally catch your eye? Based on our gender, our likes/dislikes, our personalities, our natural inclinations, we all tend to notice particular things. I always see the new construction around town and I watch with interest as new buildings go up or the roads are rebuilt. It’s the same with cars for me. I always notice the new models that roll out, the new ones that hit the lot. If you drive around metro Detroit any, sometimes you will see a car with blacked out parts on it, sort of hiding the new styling that is coming out. These are the things I notice.
Most of us have had the experience of buying a new car (at least new to us) and all of a sudden we see the same car we just bought, everywhere! Before we bought it, we thought they were kind of rare, but afterwards, we see it constantly. It’s not necessarily that everyone bought the same car we did over night, it’s just that our perception is piqued. We weren’t looking for that kind of car, so we didn’t see it very often. Some of you ladies notice a new blouse or dress on one of your friends at 50 paces. You can tell a new hairstyle with radar. My wife will come home and I will say, I thought you were going to get your hair cut, and she’ll say, but I did! What we notice is different for each of us.
But when it comes to people who don’t yet know Christ, we are often like the Pharisee in the parable that Jesus told. The Pharisee, one who followed all the religious rules and regulations prayed expansively in the temple courts, “Lord, thank you that I am not a sinner like that tax collector over there.” The tax collector on the other hand, standing outside in the court of the Gentiles, prayed with humility for his sins. Jesus said, whose prayers do you suppose God really heard? The answer of course is the tax collector with a heart of repentance.
We do indeed notice lost people around us, but too often, we are unmoved by it. Often, we would rather curse the darkness than reach it. This month marks a new season in the history of our church. Your staff and leadership team, after spending time before the Lord, have heard the Spirit telling us that we must be a church that values prayer and obedience. We must value lost people and do what it takes to reach them. It is a fundamental shift in our thinking, planning, programming, our budgeting and all the rest. So we are going to spend this time before Easter talking about what it will mean to do a better job reaching the lost people around us, in our families, in our neighborhoods. We are going to give you some practical tools in Sunday School and talk about what it means to be believers who reproduce other believers.
And church, you need to realize that this is not just a one time program. Yes SpringLife posters will come down after a while, but the values of prayer, obedience and reaching lost people are ones that we want to become such an integral part of who we are, that outsiders who look at our church will say, oh I know North Lakeport Wesleyan. They are the ones who pray and reach lost people for Jesus. It is an exciting time to be a part of the body of Christ in our church. And it WILL stretch us, but I am confident and excited to see how God is leading us already.
This morning, our task is to see how God would have us recognize or identify who He wants US to reach with the hope of Jesus Christ. And I think the best and only way to begin, is to 1. PRAY. That is what this wall is behind me over here. Those of you who were in the SpringLife experience this morning, had a chance to pray that the Lord would reveal to you a name or two of people in your life that don’t know the hope you have in Jesus Christ. And by praying for that name, by placing it on the wall, you are saying to yourself and to God that 1. You will commit to praying for that name regularly and 2. That as God leads and opens the door, you will initiate contact, begin to develop that relationship more so that as the Holy Spirit gives you the green light, you will be able to share the difference Christ makes in your life.
Jesus modeled the life of prayer for us so well. He prayed in John 17 for all of those who would one day believe in the message the apostles would preach. That means He prayed for you and I. Jesus stayed connected to the Father daily and spent devoted time with God preparing to reach those who were lost.
The Times-Reporter of New Philadelphia, Ohio, reported in September, 1985 a celebration of a New Orleans municipal pool. The party around the pool was held to celebrate the first summer in memory without a drowning at the New Orleans city pool. In honor of the occasion, 200 people gathered, including 100 certified lifeguards. As the party was breaking up and the four lifeguards on duty began to clear the pool, they found a fully dressed body in the deep end. They tried to revive Jerome Moody, 31, but it was too late. He had drowned surrounded by lifeguards celebrating their successful season. Sometimes, we don’t realize that those around us may need help; that they are spiritually drowning. On the other hand, sometimes we see so many who need reaching, that we don’t know where to start.
Jesus 2. PERCEIVEd who needed to be reached.
There are certain people who are more open to spiritual conversations than others. Even Jesus said
"It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, no t sacrifice. For have not come to call the righteous but sinners.” (Matthew 9:12-13)
We are not always great at this, but with prayer and the leading of the Holy Spirit we can know who it is that Jesus wants us to impact for him. In next week’s SpringLife experience at 10:00, we are going to look at some ways that you and I can tell if someone is ready to talk about spiritual things—to start some significant spiritual conversations. Rick Warren, author of the Purpose Driven Life, identifies two types of people who tend to be more receptive to spiritual matters: those in transition and those under tension. I think that is probably true. Jesus knew what was in the hearts of the men and women around him. And he went specifically to those who recognized their need of God.
Think about it. Zacchaeus had everything. He had money, power, men serving under him. He could have anything he wanted except self respect, and the respect of anyone with virtue. Tax collectors were notoriously greedy and hated—not just for their legalized theft, but because they were collaborating with the Roman occupiers. Jesus knew that tax-collectors were relegated to a social-cultural-moral level of adulterers, panderers, and flatterers. And no matter how much money Zacchaeus accumulated, it didn’t fill the place that only God could fill. The Messiah was here, and his heart was beginning to open.
Perhaps Zacchaeus had come to the party that Matthew threw when he left tax collecting. Perhaps he became acquainted with Jesus then, and saw how it changed Matthew’s life. If he didn’t come to that party, he would have heard about it. And now Matthew is a disciple who performs miracles and signs because of the difference that Jesus made in his life. Matthew had hope and his life had been changed.
And out of his hopelessness, the spark of hope begins to flame again in Zacchaeus’ heart and mind. And being a short man, he climbed a tree to see Jesus passing by. Maybe he thought, maybe by just seeing him, something would change in HIS life.
Jesus’ laser beam focus fell on Zacchaeus. He called Zacchaeus by name. He always personalized his approach to evangelism identifying closely with those to whom He ministered. He said, "Zacchaeus come down immediately. I must stay at your house today" (vs. 5) This was scandalous to the religious establishment. You were to separate yourself from anyone that didn’t tow the line, that was out of step with God’s commands. But Jesus could tell that just like his encounter with Matthew, Zacchaeus was dying inside. He needed the hope that Jesus could provide.
Jesus approached Zacchaeus without fear of what others would say about eating in the house of a tax-gatherer and a sinner. Jesus did not fear men nor did He allow people to deter him from His mission. He knew the powerful message it would send to Zacchaeus and his household through His willingness to dine at his house. Jesus took a chance of being misunderstood by the community, but He believed that Zacchaeus eternal destiny was worth the risk. (vs.7)
Jesus looked beyond Zacchaues’ limitations and saw a soul hungering for salvation. Many people have a hard time overlooking others’ faults. Jesus saw the heart of a man who longed to be forgiven and reconciled with God. He knew that many people use excuses for not giving their lives to Him as their Lord and Savior. Yet, Jesus initiated the relationship with Zacchaeus that helped him put aside his pride. Jesus showed how love can overcome any excuse or limitation - background, financial, emotional, social, cultural or religious.
The young salesman was disappointed about losing a big sale, and as he talked with his sales manager he lamented, "I guess it just proves you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink." The manager replied, "Son, take my advice: your job is not to make him drink. Your job is to make him thirsty."
So it is with evangelism. Our lives should be so filled with Christ that they create a thirst for the Gospel.
Jesus knew that most people do not care how much you know until they know how much you care. The Lord Jesus befriended Zacchaeus before He taught him the true way to eternal life.
Last, we need to 3. PERSEVERE.
Friendships take time. There may be times when we can share the hope that we have in Christ with total strangers, but we cannot expect that our friends, family, neighbors and co-workers will be won to Christ overnight. We have to persevere in prayer, in living out our example, and finding those moments of spiritual receptivity.
Jesus did not back down from the abuse He received from His critics. “All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” (vs. 7) Expect persecution from religious people if you are serious about doing the will of God. I know of many a church who began to reach teens, children, adults who didn’t look like them, act like them, smell like them, have home and cars like they did. And the churched people, let’s say, were less than thrilled. But the heart of Jesus is always for those who are lost, broken and searching for Him. We need to persevere in our efforts to live our lives in such a way that people will ask about the hope we have in Jesus.
And when we persevere in those relationships, often there are real results. Jesus stayed long enough with Zacchaeus to witness a change of the man’s heart. Zacchaeus said, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount." (vs. 8) Jesus wants people to demonstrate fruit from their changed attitudes.
He declared Zacchaeus to be a true believer. (vs. 9,10) Jesus said, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”
Jesus expects true faith to be accompanied by sincere repentance. The Lord expected Zacchaeus to publicly demonstrate that he had not only been moved emotionally by his encounter with Christ, but that it would also affect his attitudes, actions and relationships throughout the community.
Jesus knew that the decisions that Zacchaeus made would be painful, but have long term benefits. Only the Lord is able to see the future advantages of our present day decisions. Through our trust and obedience to the Lord today we can be assured that future benefits will come our way in abundance.
Jesus wanted Zacchaeus to fulfill the Old Testament law and Jewish traditions of paying restitution to all those who he had cheated in his corrupt tax-collecting practices. Repayment of 4 times the amount stolen fulfilled the law but showed the depth of his repentance. He had cheated everyone at some point. The man was giving away his fortune.
Jesus proved that no one is hopelessly lost. Zacchaeus represented the most unlikely person to change when Jesus walked into Jericho that day. When we go in the power of the Holy Spirit we should always be ready to let the Lord use us to accomplish "greater things" because of Christ’s promise. Jesus said, "He who believes in Me the works that I do will be able to do greater things than these, because I go to the Father." (John 14:12)
"We can do everything God asks us to do with the help of Christ who gives us the strength and power." (Phil. 4:13) Jesus uses changed lives to amplify His message in the most unlikely places with the most unlikely people at the most unlikely times.
Jesus intentionally sought out those who He knew would be receptive to his message. In the same way, God will guide us to people whose lives are just waiting to be changed by an encounter with Jesus. We have a hope that the world cannot understand. It is time to begin praying for who God would place upon our hearts. Who is it that you want me to impact, begin or deepen a friendship with? Lord, help me know who it is that you want me to impact for Christ.
