Title: God Wants Us To Be . . . A Church That Reaches Out To The World
Series: The Church God Wants Us To Be, Sermon # 5
COPYRIGHT © Joe La Rue, 2008
Date Preached: February 10, 2008
Introduction
A. A fictional story is told of a time shortly after Jesus was raised from the dead and returned to heaven. In this made-up story, the angel Gabriel was talking with Jesus and congratulating Him on having defeated the devil with His death on the cross and resurrection from the grave. and secured the salvation of mankind. And Gabriel wanted to know what the plan was, to announce the salvation of mankind. Gabriel suggests that perhaps they should call out the angel choir and appear in the sky to proclaim to the world the good news.
And Jesus responds, “No, Gabriel, my followers are going to tell the world about Me.”
“Your followers!” Gabriel gasps. “Jesus, You can’t be serious!”
“Oh, but I am,” Jesus replies. “I’ve told the ones who believe in me to tell everyone they know abut Me. And they then will tell the ones that they know, and on and on, and, well, they’ll get the word out.”
“But Jesus,” Gabriel says, “You can’t trust them! Look at how they’ve failed! Remember how scared they were when you were arrested? Peter even denied he knew You. And, this is the most important message ever! The people of earth can experience peace with God because of what You did! Shouldn’t we angels tell the news?”
“No!” Jesus says. “My followers will spread the news.”
“But, what if they fail? What’s plan B? Can the angel choir be plan B?”
Slowly, deliberately, Jesus replied, “They must not fail. There is no plan B!”
B. My friends, the story is fictional. But the point of the story corresponds perfectly well to what the Bible says: the proclamation of the message of salvation depends on us.
1. And so it was that immediately before Jesus returned to heaven after His resurrection, He told the Apostles, “When the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8, New Living Translation).
2. And that’s exactly what we find throughout the pages of the book of Acts in the Bible, which records the history of the early Church. The apostles preached, and people came to believe in Jesus. And then those people told others, who told others, and on and on it went.
3. In fact, one of the most heartwarming stories in the book of Acts concerns Cornelius, who was a gentile convert to the Jewish faith and was trying his best to live a life that was pleasing to God. And God sent an angel to Cornelius and directed him to send for the apostle Peter, and the angel said, “He will speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household.” (Acts 11:14, NASB).
4. And so the Bible says, “God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.” (1 Cor 1:21, New American Standard Bible). And so the Apostle Paul could say, in another place, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” (Rom 1:16, NASB). And again, the Bible says, “Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?” (Rom 10:13–14, NLT).
5. You see, my friends, there is no neon-flashing sign in the sky! There is no angelic choir heralding the news! If the message of Jesus is going to reach the world, the church must be the messenger, and individual Christians must carry the message. There IS no “plan B.”
C. For the last several weeks we’ve been discussing what the Bible says about the type of church that God desires us to be. We’ve talked about true worship and real discipleship and meaningful service, all traits that God wants in every church and in the life of every Christ-follower. Today we are considering a fourth trait, and it is this: God wants us to be a church that reaches out and shares the Good News about Jesus with the world.
D. Look with me, if you will, at the passage of Scripture known as The Great Commission. It’s found in Matt 28:18–20. Jesus spoke these words after He had been raised from the dead, telling His followers to tell the world that He had risen. Look at it with me. Matt 28:18-20:
Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given complete authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matt 28:18–20, NLT).
E. What I have found during my years in ministry is that most Christians want to share the message of Jesus with other people, but they aren’t sure how, and they’re uncomfortable with the uncertainty and awkwardness of the process. And so a lot of well-meaning Christians let opportunities to share the gospel pass them by. And so this morning, I want to share three pointers—three tips—that will help us do a better job sharing the good news about Jesus with others. Here’s the first pointer:
I. Share What Jesus Means To You
A. Begin with Jesus and you. Tell them your story, how Jesus has affected your life. Talk about your relationship with Jesus, the same way you would about any other friend or good thing in your life. A lot of us mistakenly believe that talking about Jesus is some difficult, scary, unnatural thing. That’s because we make it a difficult, scary, unnatural thing. It’s not suppose to be, because at it’s most foundational level, sharing about Jesus is as simple as talking about how much Jesus means to us.
B. Did any of you watch the Super Bowl last Sunday? What if, instead of watching it on t.v., you had been able to actually go to the Super Bowl? I bet that you’d tell your friends all about it when you got back. You wouldn’t feel like you had to set up a time; you’d just tell them—because it was exciting for you. The same should be true with Jesus. Tell people what Jesus has done for you — He has given you joy, and a sense of peace in the midst of life’s difficulties, and happiness, and security, and the promise of eternal life! Tell them about you and Jesus!
C. You don’t have to preach a sermon at them. And you don’t have to force Jesus into every conversation. You know, “Well, Jack, the sky sure is pretty today.” “Yes it is! My Jesus made the sky!” You know, that’s not the way we do this. But, as opportunities come up to share our faith naturally, we work Jesus into the conversation.
1. Maybe a friend is talking about going through a rough time, and you can share how Jesus helped you through a rough time.
2. Maybe you can share with your friends something that you learned in your daily Bible reading. Maybe you discovered a principle about marriage in the Bible. You could say, “You know, Butch, I was reading the Bible today and did you know that God said...” And Butch is probably going to do one of two things: He’ll either say, “Wow, you read the Bible...cool,” or else he’ll say, “You read the Bible?” and you can take that opportunity to tell him why you do it!
3. The point is that we begin talking about Jesus with our friends and family, and let them know that He means something to us, and also why He means something to us! He has given us peace and joy and the promise of heaven!
D. Trans: Okay, let me give you a second pointer for sharing your faith with others:
II. Use The Sunday Church Service As An Aid For Evangelism
A. Use church as a resource to help to you as you share Jesus with your friends and family. Invite them to come to church with you and experience it for themselves.
1. You know, the songs that we sing share the message about Jesus, and the words that I preach share the message about Jesus. And from time to time throughout the year I will preach sermons directly geared to helping people come to faith in Christ, and I’ll let you know when those are going to occur so that you can make those a special time to invite people to come with you. And when you invite your friends and family, offer to pick them up, or tell them that you will get to church early and you will wait for them at the door, because nobody likes to come to a strange place by themselves. Do everything you can to give them every opportunity to say “yes.”
2. ILL: At a leadership conference several years ago I heard Pastor Wayne Cordeiro of New Hope Christian Fellowship in Hawaii tell the story about walking into a restaurant over the lunch hour and seeing one of his church members sitting at a table and talking quite excitedly with a man he didn’t recognize. Wayne walked by the table on his way to his table, and as he passed he spoke to the church member, and she immediately got all excited and said, “Mr. Jones. This is pastor Wayne that I’ve been telling you about!” So she introduced Wayne to Mr. Jones, her boss. And she said, “I’ve been telling Mr. Jones that he has to come to our church this Sunday.”
Well, Mr. Jones looked up at Wayne and sheepishly said, “I told her that I’m not sure I should come. I’m not sure I’d fit in.”
Before Wayne could say anything, the lady said, “That’s okay! You just need try it! You’d fit in fine! You just need to come to our church."
The boss said, “Well, I don’t know. I like to golf on Sundays . . .”
The lady said, “That’s okay. Just try it one time! You just need to come to our church.”
The man was getting more agitated and he said, “Look Cindy, I don’t think I want to!”
And the lady said, “That’s okay! It’s okay if you don’t want to! You’ll be amazed at how good going to church is though and you’ll want to next week after you come this week!”
Now, really mad, the man said, “Look! I don’t want to come to your church! I’m an atheist!”
And the lady, without missing a beat, said, “That’s okay! Even atheists need Jesus! You just need to come to our church so you can find out that Jesus is real and that He loves you!”
Wayne Cordeiro insisted that was a true story, and I think it illustrates for us the type of excitement that some people have for sharing the gospel and inviting people to church.
B. But even if we’re not as tenacious as that lady, and even if we don’t have the courage that she did, all of us can invite people that we know to come to church with us.
1. You know, Easter is coming up in a little over a month. It’s March 23 this year. And Easter is one of those times when people tend to be open to coming to church. I want to challenge those of you who are believers in Jesus to begin praying about who you are going to invite to come that Sunday. Easter is going to be one of those Sundays when my message will really be geared to helping those who haven’t made a faith-commitment to Jesus to come closer to Him. We’re going to really focus that morning on the good news of who He is and what He’s done for us.
2. I make you a promise: I will do everything I can that morning to communicate the gospel message in a way that makes sense and is relevant and meaningful and convicting. Will you pray about doing your part and inviting someone who doesn’t go to church and needs Jesus, to come to church with you that this Easter Sunday? Will you pray about that? Maybe a family member? Maybe a friend? Maybe a co-worker? I want everyone who has someone close to them who does not currently have a committed relationship with Jesus to think about them right now. Go ahead. Get them in your mind. Okay, now, will you pray this week about inviting them to come to church? Will you pray that God will provide an opportunity and prepare their heart for your invitation? Will you really pray about that? I’ll say more about actually inviting them next week, but for this week, just pray about whether God wants you to invite whoever it is that you thought about, and also that God will prepare their heart for your invitation.
C. Trans: Okay, the first pointer is to share your story about Jesus with people—about what He means to you, and how He’s helped you. And the second pointer is to work into that story how much church means to you, and invite people to come to church, and use the resources of the church to help you share Jesus with your friends and family. Let me share a final pointer for sharing your faith:
III. Focus on the Good News
A. Once you have begun talking with your friends about Jesus and you, and they know that you are a Christian, that you go to church on Sundays, that you claim to have peace and joy because of Jesus, they are going to want to know: Is this really real? Because if it is, maybe I should believe in Jesus, too.
B. I can’t tell you how to know when your friends have reached this point. It’s sort of like being in love; no one can tell you how you know you’re in love, you just do. You will sense when your friends have reached the point at which they are open to the Good News. Pray for God’s guidance to help you know. But, when they reach this point, it is important that you tell them more than just about Jesus and you; you need to tell them about Jesus and them by focusing on the fact that Jesus offers them forgiveness and eternal life.
C. It is still important to be natural when we talk about this. Most people don’t want to be force-fed Jesus. If you sense that your friend doesn’t want to hear this right now, change the subject. But if he or she does, let me tell you five easy-to-remember things you can use to share the Good News of Jesus with them:
1. First, tell your friend who Jesus is. He is the Son of God.
2. Then, tell your friend what Jesus did.
a. He taught people about God. He told people God loves them -- even the bad people. God loves everybody, and God wants everybody to get right with Him.
b. And He did lots of good things. He healed sick people. He fed hungry people.
c. And, Jesus lived His whole life without ever doing anything wrong. He was good.
d. And then, in the ultimate act of goodness, He allowed a bunch of wicked people to nail Him to a cross. They didn’t do it, He let them do it.
3. Next, tell your friend why Jesus did this.
a. Jesus died because He loved us. You see, we all do bad things which keep us separated from God. God can’t overlook them; God can’t get around them. A lot of people think God can do anything; well, He can’t. He can’t overlook our bad things, which the Bible calls “sin.” He must punish them. He has to.
b. So, Jesus took the punishment for our sins. He died. And, in His death, He offered us God’s pardon and forgiveness for all the bad things we have ever done.
4. Then, tell your friend what God did about it. He raised Jesus from the dead, and He offered us His pardon.
5. Finally, tell your friend how to receive it.
a. First, trust Jesus. This is what the Bible means when it talks about “faith” — trusting Jesus to save us, to make us right with God.
b. Then, repent (that means “turn”) from your sins. This doesn’t mean you never do anything wrong, but it means you try to live right.
c. Then, be immersed (baptized) in water. When we do these things, we are accepting Jesus in faith. And the Bible says that when we do that,
d. God forgives our sins,
e. Places part of Himself, called the Holy Spirit, inside us to help us and guide us, and
f. Promises us heaven. It sounds too simple, too good to be true — but the Bible says it is!
D. Trans: That’s what you need to focus on with people after you have spent some time sharing the story of Jesus and you with them...focus on the Good News, because that’s what really matters.
Conclusion
A. So there you have it: three pointers to help us share our faith.
1. Tell people our story about how Jesus helps us and what He means to us;
2. Use the church and me as a resource, and invite your friends and family to come to church to hear the Gospel preached; and
3. Focus on the good news.
B. I want to pray for you before we sing our invitation song today. During this invitation, I want you to think about whoever the person was that you thought about earlier, that needs to know about Jesus, and I hope you will commit yourself to praying all this week about inviting him or her to church, and about God preparing their heart. But right now, let me pray for you.
C. Challenge to write the name of the person they are going to pray about on the back page of the sermon notes page.
