WHAT JESUS SAID ABOUT EVANGELIZING THE WORLD
MATTHEW 22:1-14
1. Illus. of my friend Charles
• Had a little Chevette
• Saw him on side of road, I thought he was broken down.
• “Couldn’t remember where I was supposed to be going, thought I ought to sit here until it came to me.”
2. I know a lot of churches like that. They are sitting on the sidelines doing nothing because they have forgotten where they are supposed to be going! Now, don’t misunderstand what I am saying. They have a lot of activities going on. It will wear you out to belong to one of these churches. Strangely enough, in spite of all the activities, they will baptize only a handful of new converts a year, with most of those being the children of existing members. Their Sunday School enrollment will be about what it was 5 years ago. Every year the average age of the church will increase because few teens or young married people are being reached.
3. These churches have forgotten that Jesus established His church in order to carry the gospel to the world. They have forgotten the commission given to the church in Acts 1:8.
4. See vs2. The Kingdom of heaven is like… Just like this King invited people to be a part of his wedding feast, so God the Father is inviting people to become a part of His Kingdom.
5. In this parable, Jesus told His listeners about God’s plan for extending His Kingdom around the world.
6. Today: The purpose of the church is to be actively involved in God’s plan for world evangelization.
7. What does this parable tell us about evangelizing the world?
I. THE ORIGINATOR OF WORLD EVANGELISM IS GOD THE FATHER
1. See:
• Vs 2-
• Vs 3a- sent out his servants
• Vs 4a- he sent out other servants
2. The king arranged the marriage, the king sent out the invitations, the King sent his servants to follows up on the invitations. The king formulated the whole plan. It all originated with him.
3. That king represents God the Father. This business about carrying the gospel of Jesus Christ to the whole world? It wasn’t my idea, and it wasn’t your idea. It was God’s idea.
4. Illus. of Christian
• Came to ask my opinion about something
• I gave her clear word from the scripture. It all but had her name written on it.
• She got mad at me! I told her, “listen, don’t get mad with me! I didn’t say this, God did! If you don’t like it, take it up with Him!”
• You say, “I don’t appreciate you telling me I’m sinning if I don’t share Christ with my next door neighbor. I don’t like all these Home Mission and Foreign Mission offerings.” Take it up with God! This is not my idea, it’s His idea! It’s not my plan, it’s His plan!
5. Our marching orders are clear, and they come straight from the top. Acts 1:8
6. Now, if evangelizing the world were my idea, it would be open for debate. If it were the President of the SBC’s idea, it would be open for debate. However, this is God Almighty’s plan, and it is not open for debate!
II. THE TARGET OF WORLD EVANGELISM IS THE ENTIRE WORLD
1. See vss 3-7. The invitation was first extended to the nation of Israel. God had sent the prophets in OT times to predict the coming of the Messiah. In the latter times God sent John the Baptist in the spirit and authority of Elijah to say, “He is here!” But notice the response of the Jews- they rejected His invitation. The Jews were looking for a political, not a spiritual, Messiah. They wanted someone to rescue them from Rome, not someone to rescue them from sin!
2. What was God’s response? See Vss 8-10. God gave a legitimate Kingdom invitation to the Jews. He told them, “you can enter into a special relationship with me through my Son Jesus.” Once they rejected this invitation, He said, “then I will make this same offer to the rest of the world!”
3. God wants the people of every nation to hear the gospel of His Son and have the chance to come into His Kingdom. Nobody is excluded!
4. Illus. of Six Flags trip
• I wanted to ride a new roller coaster.
• Stood in line, as I got to front of line saw a little cartoon man with a sign saying, “you must be this tall to ride this ride.”
• I wasn’t eligible to get into ride because I wasn’t this tall.”
5. Some think the Kingdom is that way. Before you are eligible to enter the Kingdom you must be this financially well-off, or this nationality, or this skin color.
6. Nothing could be further from the truth. The gospel is for Jews and gentiles. It’s for the Ph.D. and the GED. Its for the guy with the fat stock portfolio and for the guy on food stamps. It’s for the Buddhist in China, the peasant in Nicaragua, the homeless in New York, the drug addict in Mobile, the unwed mother in Jackson, and your hard-working, morally upright, lost next-door neighbor!
7. Let me tell you what this means to us:
The world starts here in Jackson. We ought to be broken over this city. We will weep over some movie star dying tragically in a Hollywood film, but we don’t weep over our neighbors, our loved ones, and our children who don’t know Jesus.
We need to support mission endeavors like this Nicaragua trip. We ought to pray for it, we ought to give to it. These people will witness to 4000 or so Nicaraguans who would otherwise not hear the gospel. Last year, our team lead 400 to Christ in one week!
Support the two mission offering we take each year. I read recently how much the average American spent on dog food last year. Then I read about what the average Southern Baptist gave to the Foreign and Home Mission offerings. The average Southern Baptist spent more on dog-food than on missions!
8. Hear me, and take this seriously! God put us here to take the gospel to the whole world, from Jackson to Jamaica to Jerusalem!
III. THE GOAL OF WORLD EVANGELISM IS A FAITH-RESPONSE
1. See vss 11-13. Since the everyday work clothes these people had on wouldn’t be sufficient for a wedding feast, the King had wedding robes supplied to the guests. One man apparently refused his, and when the King found out had him cast into outer darkness.
2. The only way into the wedding was to come dressed in that robe that only the King could supply. The only way into the Kingdom is to come dressed in that robe of perfect righteousness that only God can supply!
3. The goal of evangelism is not to improve society, alleviate social injustice, or elevate the standard of living. All those things may happen, but that is not the goal. The goal is to bring people into a right relationship with Jesus Christ. When that happens, God takes their filthiness and covers it with the perfect righteousness of His Son Jesus!
4. See II Corinthians 5:21
5. Are you trying to approach God with a robe made out of :
• Good deeds?
• Church membership or baptism?
• Religious activity like reading Bible and coming to church?
6. How are you approaching God?
CONCLUSION
1. God has a plan to evangelize the world. How can I get on board?
• Make sure you are a Christian. (man without robe)
• Realize the world starts here at Jackson. (win children, next door neighbor, coworker)
• Help send those who are called to carry the Gospel to places we may never personally see.
