OUR TIME, OUR TURN, OUR ALL
Colossians 4.5-6
S: External Focus
C: Mission
Th: Our Time, Our Turn, Our All
Pr: THIS IS OUR TIME TO TURN TOWARD OTHERS AND GIVE IT OUR ALL.
CV: “We will relentlessly reach out to people with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ.”
Type: Proposition
I. Live wisely.
II. Seize opportunities.
III. Converse graciously.
PA: How is the change to be observed?
• Realize that time is of essence and now is the time for us to move forward with good news.
• Deliberately turn outward.
• Give it all for people that need Christ.
Version: NIV
RMBC 11 January 09 AM
INTRODUCTION:
When you hear the word “evangelism,” what do you feel?
Do you get shivers?
Do you get sweaty?
Do you get worried about what might be required of you?
If you are like that, you are not alone.
I have been on evangelism campaigns that go door-to-door, handed out tracts on Main St, and just plain walk up to strangers.
As time has gone on, I have come to the conclusion that those are not always very effective ways to talk about Jesus, at least not for me.
Ill Evangelism (S)
I was at the Bills game the other week with my boys, and as we headed back to the car after having to watch the Bills end their season unceremoniously, there was a street preacher there. He had a massive audience, but no listeners as far as I could tell. No one was stopping. They just raced by – to get out of the cold and into their cars – to go sit in line. It did not appear to be a very effective way to talk about Jesus.
ILL Christianity (S)
I have started reading a book titled: unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity by David Kinnaman based on research from the Barna Group.
The first chapter begins with this line, “Christians have an image problem!”
The book is the result of unpacking research regarding the ways outsiders are reacting to the Christian faith. These outsiders, “think Christians no longer represent what Jesus had in mind… that Christianity in our society is not what it was meant to be.” (p. 15)
The researchers discovered that outsiders expressed most opposition toward evangelicals. “There are twenty-four million outsiders in America who are ages sixteen to twenty-nine. Of these, nearly seven million have a negative impression of evangelicals; another seven million say they nave no opinion; and ten million have never heard the term evangelical… that leaves half a million young outsiders of the twenty-four million, who see us in a positive light.” (p. 25)
As President Bush prepares to leave office, he has a 35% approval rating.
Now if you think this is bad, consider what the statistics are saying about what our approval rating is among 16-29 year olds.
If only five-hundred thousand of twenty-four million approve of us, that means evangelical Christians have a 2% approval rating.
Now that is not good news.
But here is the catch…
What we’ve got is really good!
The word from where we get evangelism is the same one for gospel.
We have good news.
In fact, it is so good, we should be just bursting at the seams with wanting to tell people about it.
You see, that is what evangelism simply is – telling good news.
But more often than not, it seems that we are like the pastor in this cartoon…
Ill Evangelism (H)
Cartoon: How can we reach the world for Christ with a minimum of fuss and bother?
Now, I don’t think we can make much progress if we take an attitude like that.
Good news like we have cannot be done with a minimum of fuss and bother.
It takes a whole lot more than that.
It takes a broken heart that sees the world as God does.
It takes a heart that rejoices in God’s love and wants to respond to it with telling others.
Do you think we have an image problem?
Forgive me, but sometimes I just need to say it the way it is, because we do have image problems as a church in this community.
Through the years, we have been labeled as a stuffy, upper class church that is set in its ways.
Now, do you know who gets to change that?
We do.
Because…
We are no longer going to depend on a reputation to grow.
We are no longer going to ask people to come in and be like us.
It is time.
It is our time.
It is our time to proclaim and live the good news about Jesus.
That is our mission.
And we are going to do it so boldly that when people talk about us they are going to say they have a really big God over there at Randall.
You see…
THIS IS OUR TIME TO TURN TOWARD OTHERS AND GIVE IT OUR ALL.
Our Time…
Our Turn…
Our All…
We will be coming back to that at the end of the message, for that is our theme for 2009.
I hope you are like me in this.
I don’t want anyone to ever be surprised that I am a Christian.
I want it to be known that I stand for and stand with Jesus.
I may not be able to live it perfectly, but I don’t want there to be any confusion about it either.
One of our core values here at Randall is that…
“We will relentlessly reach out to people with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ.”
This does not mean that we are chasing people.
That is not our meaning.
Instead, we want it to be such a heart issue with us that we are always thinking of ways to influence people to experience God’s love for them.
And we will do it however we can.
We will love them.
We will serve them.
We will work to convince them.
Our theme verse for the year gives us some insight on how to influence people for Jesus…
OUR STUDY:
Colossians 4:5-6
Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. (NIV)
Ill Behavior (S)
There is a report that a major retail corporation put mirrors behind their customer service representatives so irate customers could see their own behavior. Their anger levels subsided and they negotiated their complaints more graciously when they could see what they looked like in the mirror.
Imagine for just a moment, how our behavior might change, if we could see ourselves as others see us.
This is why we are to…
I. LIVE WISELY.
William Barclay translates this part of the verse as: “Behave yourselves wisely to those outside the church.”
We are on display when we are with non-Christians.
They are watching how we react, how we make decisions, and how we speak.
We must walk in wisdom.
We must live our lives seeking to make good decisions.
We can’t afford to live carelessly.
And it is why we have to pay attention to our spiritual health, both as individuals and as a church.
When we are living wisely, we can…
Make great connections with people.
There is power in great connections.
When we establish relationships with people, they become the vehicle to sharing the good news.
You see, we are not going to start some door-to-door campaign to get people into the church, or start handing out tracts on Main St. Williamsville.
No, we are going to look for ways to connect with people’s needs and meet them, sharing the good news about Jesus along the way.
This means we are to…
II. SEIZE OPPORTUNITIES.
Some translations say “Redeem the time” here.
That is a good translation because the Greek word is a market term.
I think another way of saying this is…
Capitalize on the time you are given.
Ill Priority (S)
Many believe that oil is the most important commodity of the present times. The importance of oil cannot be denied. Oil is the major source of energy. The demand for oil is increasing day by day. The world consumes 76 million barrels of oil a day.
Oil is on every mind in one form or another. Every time we go to the gas pump we are thinking about it. And though the prices have come down, we know it is only temporary.
But I am going to disagree with oil as the most important commodity, because I believe time is the most important commodity.
Time is something that we cannot replenish.
Each opportunity represents a moment in time.
Once it is gone – it is gone.
We have missed it.
We have incredible opportunities with the time we are given.
So don’t waste it…
Give the gift of time.
Ill Time (S)
Dave Stone wrote in “If Jesus Lived in My Neighborhood” about his uncle Greg, who is a quadriplegic. A few years ago uncle Greg was able to attend a special needs camp at Country Lake Christian Retreat in southern Indiana. A man named John was assigned to be with uncle Greg for four solid days. For four days, twenty-four hours a day, John did everything for Uncle Greg. He fed him every bite. He gave him every drink. He bathed him and helped him with all his personal needs. He slept on a mattress on a concrete floor beside uncle Greg’s bed. He took uncle Greg out on the lake in a floatation device and uncle Greg swam for the first time in his life.
At the end of the week the campers all gathered before returning to their homes. Each was asked, “What was your favorite part of the week?” Almost unanimously they said “swimming.” When it was uncle Greg’s turn to talk about his favorite part of the week, he simply pointed to John and said, “You!”
(Dave Stone, “If Jesus Lived In My Neighborhood,” PreachingToday.com)
That’s the gift of time which leads us to the third direction which is…
III. CONVERSE GRACIOUSLY.
What is it to speak graciously?
First, I think it means that it makes a judgment about the fundamental importance of each person.
To be gracious means that we see the inherent value in each person.
Second, it is to treat each person with kindness.
It is to treat them in the way you want to be treated.
I think this all begins well when we follow this advice:
Be genuinely interested.
Smile.
Remember the person’s name.
Listen well.
Encourage them to tell their story.
Make the other person feel important, and be sincere about it.
And realize this…
Salty speech is never dull.
Sometimes when we speak of salty language, we mean that it is off-color.
But that is not what is meant here.
What it means for the Christian is that conversation is never boring.
Instead, it has flavor.
It is savory and scintillating – not dull and sanctimonious.
It is joyful, even witty.
It is enjoyable to hear.
We will certainly influence people well with the good news if we live wisely, seize the opportunities and speak graciously.
CHALLENGE:
Last week, as we worshipped around the communion table, we noted that…
Jesus entered into time, turned toward us, and gave us His all.
It was His time to come.
It was His time to fulfill the very purposes of God.
And so, Jesus turned His attention toward us.
He counted us a dear possession worth saving.
He turned His attention away from His place in heaven.
And He gave up His life on our behalf.
He held nothing back.
He gave it all.
His time, His turn, His all…
Jesus is the example to us.
For it is “Our Time, Our Turn, Our All.”
As we consider our theme for 2009, let’s understand that we need to…
Realize that time is of essence and now is the time for us to move forward with good news.
The one commodity that cannot be replenished is time, so time is of essence.
This means that now is the time for us to move forward.
It is time to deal with the problems at hand and not leave them for someone else.
It is time to make the changes that are needed so we can be effective in winning people to Jesus.
This is Our Time!
Next we must…
Deliberately turn outward.
At first, this might sound like one demanding their turn, but this is not what we mean.
Instead, visualize a physical turning.
As a church, we want to turn outward.
Our focus has been too inward.
It is not that we have been unwelcoming.
It is just that we have expected people to come in and be like us.
Our Turn toward an external focus means that we will look outside of ourselves, see what people are like, and do what needs to be done in order to be effective in winning them to Jesus.
Give it all for people that need Jesus.
Jesus has set us the example of what it is to be totally committed to a goal.
He knew that we needed Him and that we were totally hopeless without Him.
So he humbled Himself, became nothing, took the form of a servant and suffered death, even death on a cross.
He gave His all.
Isn’t it great that we have the opportunity to respond to that kind of love by showing others how great Jesus is?
Why not give Our All to see that happen?
THIS IS OUR TIME TO TURN TOWARD OTHERS AND GIVE IT OUR ALL.
This is not mission impossible.
This is God’s mission for us as a church.
I believe we can do this!
And I am not talking about some church growth formula here.
This not done by our power, but by God’s, as we humbly come before him, be right with Him and ask Him to use us for His glory.
And I know this…
His answer will be “Yes!”
For Further Study: Mark 9.50; John13.34-35, 20.21;I Corinthians 9.22; Ephesians 4.29, 5.15-16; I Peter 2.12, 3.15; II Peter 3.9
BENEDICTION:
Now may the God of peace equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
RESOURCES:
SermonCentral:
Andrews, Keith Interactive
Axelrod, Marc The Power of a Good Example
Cole, Jason How Am I Identified as a Disciple?
Ebie, D. Greg Made for a Mission
Newton, Monty The Power of Woo
Selfridge, Dennis You Were Made for a Mission
Other:
Kinnaman, David, and Gabe Lyons. Unchristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity. Grand Rapids: BakerBooks, 2007.
