MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE
INTRO TO TOPIC: When I mention the word “evangelism”, what do you think of?
• Someone standing on the street corner shouting out, “Turn or burn!”
• The fear associated with going from house to house knocking on people’s doors?
2008 = a year of new beginnings, and a year of the HARVEST!
OPENING TEXT:
“And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15).
“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.” (Matthew 28:18-20).
THE BIG IDEA: God has given to all believers the Great Commission – to preach the good news and make disciples. However, few Christians have responded to this call from Jesus. It’s time to get back to the basics of what it means to be a disciple.
ILLUSTRATION: A STORY OF SOULWINNING
Perhaps the most common fear, however, is that of being rejected. A survey was given to those attending training sessions for the Billy Graham crusade in Detroit. One question asked, "What is your greatest hindrance to witnessing?"
• 9% said they were too busy to remember to do it.
• 28% felt the lack of real information to share.
• None said they didn’t really care.
• 12% said their own lives were not speaking as they should.
• 51% biggest problem was the fear of how the other person would react!
None of us likes to be rejected, ridiculed, or regarded as an oddball.
Lieghton Ford, Good News is for Sharing, 1977, David C. Cook Publishing Co., Page 15.
KEY TEXT:
“1 After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. 2 Then He said to them, "The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. 3 Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves. 4 Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one along the road. 5 But whatever house you enter, first say, ’Peace to this house.’ 6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you. 7 And remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not go from house to house. 8 Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you. 9 And heal the sick there, and say to them, ’The kingdom of God has come near to you.’” (Luke 10:1-9).
JESUS’ KEYS TO EFFECTIVE EVANGELISM:
1. Take a travelling buddy. Jesus sent his disciples out two by two. (v.1)
2. Expect persecution. Jesus sends us out as lambs among wolves. (v.3)
3. Travel light. In today’s world, we have become so busy and sophisticated! (v.4)
4. Spend time building relationships with people. Entering homes and sharing meals together. The most effective ministry is that which flows out of relationship. (v.5)
5. Be a blessing to them! Bring “Peace” to people’s homes and “Heal the sick there.” (v.5 & 9)
ILLUSTRATION:
A pastor was repairing the church fence. A boy was standing nearby for a long while.
The pastor asks him: "Do you want to speak with me, my son?"
"No, I’m just waiting." "Waiting for what?"
"Waiting to hear what a pastor says when he hits his finger with a hammer."
• People are watching our lives!
STORY: At Chicken Delight this past week, woman & baby had no money –paid for her pizza.
As Christians, we are called to be light in our dark world! We are blessed to be a blessing.
ILLUSTRATION: Imagine if someone found the cure for cancer but didn’t share it with anyone - that’s what it’s like when we don’t tell people the Gospel.
• If you saw a child in a burning building, what would you do? Would you save them?
• The church today is like baby eagles in a soft comfortable nest, its time for the momma bird to start taking out the down feathers and get us out of the nest and fly.
STORY: Dwight Moody
One day DL Moody was walking down the street and approached a man and asked if he would like to meet Jesus. The man was irritated and said, “Sir, mind your own business.” Moody’s response was, “But sir, this is my business!” The man said, “Then you must be Dwight Moody!”
FIVE DIFFERENT WAYS TO EVANGELIZE:
1. PAPER EVANGELISM:
Basic beginnings. Tracts, books, Bibles, etc. When you don’t know what to say or how to do it. Sowing seeds. (Who is Jesus – Alpha book).
2. PLACE EVANGELISM:
Invite your friends to a place where they can hear the Gospel like church on a Sunday morning, or next week’s Easter service.
3. PERSONAL EVANGELISM:
Build relationships with non-Christians, show them love and kindness, and be a blessing to them. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16).
4. PRAYER EVANGELISM:
Pray for people – for them to receive God’s love, and for the sick to be healed.
5. PROPHETIC EVANGELISM:
Share a prophetic word from God with people.
QUOTE: Jim Elliott said, “That man is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
CLOSING TEXT:
“But when Jesus saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” (Matthew 9:36-38).
“The prayer was no sooner prayed than it was answered. Jesus called twelve of his followers and sent them into the ripe fields. He gave them power to kick out the evil spirits and to tenderly care for the bruised and hurt lives.” (Matthew 10:1, The Message).
• Would you be more zealous in your soulwinning if someone gave you $1,000 for every person you witnessed to? We would do it for the love of money, but not the love of God?
• I thank God that a friend of mine loved me enough to tell me the Good News about Jesus!
ILLUSTRATION:
On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur, there was once a little life-saving station. The building was primitive, and there was just one boat, but the members of the life-saving station were committed and kept a constant watch over the sea. When a ship went down, they unselfishly went out day or night to save the lost. Because so many lives were saved by that station, it became famous. Consequently, many people wanted to join the station to give their time, talent, and money to support its important work. New boats were bought, new crews were recruited, a formal training session was offered. As the membership grew, some of the members became unhappy that the building was so primitive and the equipment outdated. They wanted a better place to welcome the survivors pulled from the sea. So they replaced the emergency cots with beds and put better furniture in the enlarged and newly decorated building.
Now the life-saving station became a popular gathering place for its members. They met regularly and it was apparent how they loved one another. They hugged each other, and shared with one another the events of their lives. But fewer members were now interested in going to sea on life-saving missions; so they hired lifeboat crews to do this for them. About this time, a large ship was wrecked off of the coast, and the hired crews brought into the life-saving station boatloads of cold, wet, dirty, sick, and half-drowned people. The beautiful meeting place became a place of chaos. The carpets got dirty. So the property committee immediately had a shower built outside the house where the victims of shipwreck could be cleaned up before coming inside.
At the next meeting there was rift in the membership. Most of the members wanted to stop the club’s life-saving activities, for they were unpleasant and a hindrance to the normal fellowship of the members. Other members insisted that life-saving was their primary purpose and pointed out that they were still called a life-saving station. But they were finally voted down and told that if they wanted to save the lives of all those people who would be shipwrecked, they could begin their own life-saving station down the coast. And that’s what they did.
As the years passed, the new station experienced the same changes that had occurred in the old. It evolved into a place to meet regularly for fellowship, and for special training sessions about their mission, but few went out to the drowning people. History continued to repeat itself. And if you visit that seacoast today, you will find many meeting places with ample parking and plush carpeting. Shipwrecks are frequent in those waters, but most of the people drown.
CLOSING CHALLENGE: Your mission is to go into all the world and share the Good News!
For more sermon outlines or audio sermons, visit:
www.beausejourchurch.ca
