Sermon Brief
Date Written: April 8, 2010
Date Preached: April 11, 2010
Where Preached: OPBC (AM)
Sermon Details:
Sermon Series: Evangelism 101 -- A Course in Obedience!
Sermon Title: Simple Evangelism
Sermon Text: 1 Corinthians 9:19-27 [HCSB]
19 For although I am free from all people, I have made myself a slave to all, in order to win more people. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win Jews; to those under the law, like one under the law--though I myself am not under the law--to win those under the law. 21 To those who are outside the law, like one outside the law--not being outside God's law, but under the law of Christ--to win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, in order to win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I may by all means save some. 23 Now I do all this because of the gospel, that I may become a partner in its benefits. 24 Do you not know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. 25 Now everyone who competes exercises self-control in everything. However, they do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one. 26 Therefore I do not run like one who runs aimlessly, or box like one who beats the air. 27 Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.
Introduction:
Howard Hendricks said, "In the midst of a generation screaming for answers, Christians are stuttering."
The Southern Baptist Convention will meet this summer in Orlando, FL and what is on the minds of all pastors and many of the laity for our denomination is what is coming out of the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force report.
Last year our convention voted to appoint a task force and that task force was going to look at the way we were doing missions and evangelism... however, the mission has shifted away from an overall view on mission and evangelism to an overall review of the entire SBC structure and how reorganization can enhance our mission efforts...
I am ALL for better and more efficient ways of doing things, but I simply do NOT believe that this task force is focused on the right things! I am not alone in this viewpoint, and I will be in Orlando this summer and I will do all I can to have this focus changed to what is needed!
This week I spoke with Dr. Chuck Kelley, our president of NOBTS, and he said this when I asked him about this GCR report. "This report is like rearranging the deck chairs of the Titanic, while the water pours into the hold! They are shooting at the wrong target!"
The 'ship' that Dr. Kelley referring to as sinking is the loss of membership and the decline in baptisms over the past 20 years that WE in the SBC have endured.
Dr. Kelley compared what this task force is doing with what he believes the right direction is by using an unusual comparison. He said, "It's like the difference between the chicken and how you like your eggs cooked...If the chicken is not healthy, it doesn't really matter how you like your egg cooked!"
I have discussed this with many pastors here in the local area and many have expressed the same concern to me as well. I personally believe that if believers do NOT do something radical, this great convention we know as the Southern Baptist Convention... a convention that proclaims boldly that we are all about missions and saving souls... I am afraid we will sink into oblivion and become irrelevant in the eyes of society and our nation... and the world!
But preacher, what is it that we can do... We must begin to understand and accept the evangelistic calling God has placed on our lives!
In my discussion with Dr. Kelley this week he told me that, "We [the church] cannot sustain the mission efforts we currently have much less enlarge them unless we focus on the revitalization of our churches!" So when you hear the term church revitalization it means that we need healthy churches!
This is because healthy churches are churches that are living out the Great Commission and are seeing people come to Christ and seeing people nurtured and disciple to spiritual maturity!
Healthy churches are congregations with healthy believers... they have members doing what God has called them to do, and serving where God has called them to serve and they understand their role in the Kingdom!
Healthy churches are more about knowing God, seeing Christ exalted, and people come to Christ and grow in Christ! Healthy churches are not all about the numbers on Sunday morning... but they are about growing the Kingdom one new believer at a time!
Healthy churches take it upon themselves to nurture and teach the new 'babes' in Christ and train them with good and solid discipleship. And then those healthy churches continue that training for the lifetime of the believer!
What does a healthy church look like? Well, first let's look at what it does NOT look like. Did you know that the typical SBC church averages approx 100 members each Sunday
The avg church in the SBC is also struggling greatly to either maintain that level or avoid shrinking in numbers. Most 'avg' churches are NOT about growth, but about maintaining the status quo...
Did you know that MORE than 95% of SBC today average less than 10 baptisms/yr, and the sad part of that statistic is that we have thousands of churches EVERY yr who have NO baptisms... and NO conversions...
If you baptize 10 or more people each year, statistically you are in the top 10-20% of ALL SBC churches, and that is just ONE baptism every 5 weeks or so...
But if the church does NOTHING and continues down this path... I truly believe that our denomination is destined to sink. But, the question is that if our 'ship' is sinking... CAN we do anything do to right the ship? What can we do to stop OUR church from sinking into this ocean of mediocrity and apathy? How can we become a healthy church and be the CHURCH that God wants us to be...
I believe that obedience... FULL and COMPLETE obedience to God's calling on each individual is the ONLY thing that is going to stop this erosion of our churches.
Right now we can see year after year that our memberships and number of baptisms are slipping each year! The 'thing' we MUST do is to become OBEDIENT to the Great Commission of Christ!
We are to become the believers that Christ describes in Mark 8:34-35 [NKJV] where He tells those who wish to be His followers:
34 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 35 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it.
For us to be the congregation and church God wants us to be, we have to become the individual believers and followers of Christ that He has called us to be. We must deny ourselves and become what Jesus wants us to be!
Jesus told His disciples before He ascended what He wanted from them, and those instructions are apply to ALL those who profess Christ as Savior and desire to follow Him:
We find those basic instructions listed in Matt 28:18-20 and Acts 1:8... read verses here... ON SCREEN... both [HCSB]
18 Then Jesus came near and said to them, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends [a] of the earth."
The Great Commission is all about obedience and submission to Jesus as the Lord of your life! If you profess Christ as Savior, this commission from Him is meant for YOU!
We are called to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world around us and allowing the Holy Spirit to move and when people accept Christ we are called to train them up as Jesus trained and taught His disciples!
The 'church growth' movement over the past 30 yrs has NOT had any lasting effect the growth of churches. We see churches explode in numbers only to see them either dwindle or simply disappear within a short while...
I believe this happens because the focus of the church growth movement IS largely short sighted in its approach to 'building' a church. It focuses mainly on being an attractive church and attracting people! Now don't get me wrong, we should do all in our power to appeal to the people of our community... BUT that cannot be our focus!
The true and faithful way to grow a church is also the hardest and usually takes the longest, but in the end it LASTS and the product is MUCH more stable and the believers of that congregation are far more spiritually mature! This true and faithful way stems from this commission given by Jesus!
Jesus has called us to share our faith and to share His love, but He has also called us to teach/train those new believers who have accepted Christ and instill all of His teachings within their hearts! This method teaches and trains these new believers to become believers who are willing to share their faith and train others who have accepted Christ to follow the teachings of Jesus.
Our local situation here has been quite grim since late 2005 and Hurricane Katrina, but we need to face the fact that this church had been declining for several years...even before Hurricane Katrina!
After Katrina this body was down to about 40 members who looked around and did not like what they saw. They saw a church that at one time made an impact on their community, but it no longer could. They saw a church that was floundering in membership and attendance.
They saw a church that needed MORE members. Well today, about 4½ yrs later... we stand here a church with about 100 in attendance on any given Sunday, but a church that has NOT had any significant growth in many years.
Many are looking fwd to Federal City coming to Algiers and the fact that it is going to bring people to our community and these people NEED a church to go to and so they see 'church growth' happening!
There is nothing wrong with people moving into neighborhood and then becoming involved in our church... we encourage that for sure! However, what I am saying this morning is that if that is YOUR idea of church growth, you are missing the point!
Our mission is the LOST! Not making sure we have an attractive church so that we can snare some sheep who want to change pastures! WE are called to reach the LOST and that is exactly what we are missing! This is what the church has been overlooking for years, but I NO longer want our fellowship to overlook it!
I believe God is calling us to win the lost of our community... He is calling us to lead those already living here to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ!
I believe God has placed me here to equip this body to do the job of reaching the lost in this community! I don't believe God called me here to be the sole evangelist! I have been called here to equip this congregation to do the bidding and commission of their professed Savior and that is winning those people in our community to Christ!
Yes we want them to join our church and YES we want to see them bring their families here, but that cannot be our focus! We aer called to see them come to Christ and then to teach them... that is hard to do if they do NOT join our church BUT it is not impossible!
This may come as a shock to many of you... this may offend some of our church members today.. BUT I do NOT believe we are the church God wants us to be!
For us to become the church God desires, I believe that we must have a basic understanding of just what is this Great Commission of Christ!
Many misunderstood what the Great Commission has said, as many believe the Great commission to say ONE thing, when it says something TOTALLY the opposite!
This morning I am going to speak with you about Paul, and how he applied the Great Commission to the living of his life, and first I want us to take a look at evangelism itself and our call to obey...
1.We need a basic understanding of Evangelism...(v.22)
22 To the weak I became weak, in order to win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I may by all means save some.
Paul understood, what MOST believers today struggle with and that is the basic premise of sharing God's love with others... Today I want us to see what is NOT our duty and what IS our duty as believers!
What is NOT our duty - So many believers don't share the Gospel of Christ with the world around them because they don't really know WHAT they are called to do... they misunderstand the Great Commission.
1st of all, as believers and followers of Christ we are NOT called to convict the world around us of their sin. We cannot be the Holy Spirit for people, we have to allow the Holy Spirit to work in their lives and HE will convict them of their sin... that is NOT our job!
When we attempt to become the Holy Spirit for others and we begin to point out sin and sinfulness to our lost friends, that pushes them away... that brings across an attitude of 'holier than thou' and we may never be able to share Christ with them! Our job is NOT to convict them of their sin...
Secondly, we are NOT called to convince people to believe what we believe. We are not called to twist people arms with our clever arguments and our fancy words. When you 'talk' someone into accepting Christ, it may work, but usually what has happened is that they either said what you wanted to hear...
So that you would stop trying to convince them OR they were actually convinced for a time of what you said, but when other 'arguments' are placed before them, their belief fails and they are choked out... We are not called to convince people to accept Christ, this is also the work of the Holy Spirit, He convicts of sin and reveals TRUTH to them...
It is because of the witness of the Holy Spirit that men and women make the true decision to accept Christ and NOT because they have been convinced by a believer's clever words or logical argument!
Finally, I want all the believers here that have EVER shared your faith with someone to understand this one very well We are NOT called to convert anyone, we cannot 'save' anyone. Our job is NOT to save people, but our job is to introduce them to the Savior and to liv a life worthy of the Savior we serve [as an example to them]
We have NO power to save... we have NO power to convert those who believe. Jesus Christ died on the Cross of Calvary so that we could come to KNOW salvation!
We can only know and experience salvation through an intimate personal relationship with Jesus. Jesus said, "No man comes to the Father except thru Me!"
We don't save anyone, our duty is to introduce them TO the Savior and live a life that is above reproach so that they will see what a change God CAN make in our lives, and what a wonderful Savior we serve! Once we have introduced them to Christ it is up to them to accept His salvation! We cannot save, only Jesus can do that!
So preacher if we are NOT called to do those things, just what is it that we ARE called to do by the Great Commission? What is MY duty to God in obedience to His calling?
Your duty to God is OBEDIENCE...and that means:
You are called by God to seek out those who do not know Christ as their Savior. There are going to be times when God arranges divine appointments and brings them TO you, but in our everyday lives we should be seeking and looking for those opportunities to share what we have experienced with the lost around us...
This is a volitional response to God's calling... that means that this is a willing and self-initiated response... this response is an action of love and obedience to God. It is answering the calling He has placed on our lives! Our voluntary response must be based on our love and thankfulness for the salvation HE has given us... You are called to SEEK... but:
You are also called by to share your faith... seeking out the lost is the 1st action, but once you have found them, you have to be willing to share what Christ has done in your life! You have to be willing to share the mercy, grace and forgiveness of Christ with those you know to be sinners... this does not mean that you point out their sin... this means that you share how God has delivered you FROM your sin, and that they too can find true forgiveness for where they have failed God.
You are called to share forgiveness with these people. As God forgives us, we are called to be just as forgiving to others! If we are not willing to be a reconciler and one who seeks to restore life to any situation, we cannot serve God. Our duty is to share Christ and His forgiveness to all that are placed in our path and all we seek out on our own!
Finally we are called to show people how Christ wants us to live... In Matt 28 Jesus instructs us to teach them all things that He had taught. We are called to show those who have come to a saving knowledge of Christ, how to live a godly and Christian life!
But we are also called to show those who do NOT know Christ as Savior that we love them and that God loves them... when we do this... we open their eyes to Scripture and to the story of Jesus, which is a powerful tool for evangelism!
When we come to this understanding... when we accept our calling from God to go forth and share Him with the world around us, then we have to know that...
2. We must be PASSIONATE About Our Message (v.24-27)
24 Do you not know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. 25 Now everyone who competes exercises self-control in everything. However, they do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one. 26 Therefore I do not run like one who runs aimlessly, or box like one who beats the air. 27 Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.
We are to be deliberate in our message
Here we find Paul revealing the deliberateness of HIS outlook on sharing his faith! In v. 26 Paul says, "I run with a purpose..." I believe that the mistake that most believers make today is that they are not purposeful and deliberate in their efforts to fulfill God's calling on their lives!
When we look at v.24-25 we can see that Paul is drawing us a picture and that picture is that there is a purpose to running the race, and that is to win it! Why run if you don't want to win?
The same thing applies to our service to Christ. When we serve Christ, we are called to do our best... we should be seeking to be the best Christian we can be!
Now I want you to understand that the 'best' Christian does not mean the most popular or the one who gets all the attention... but what I mean is that we should all strive to be exactly what God wants us to be!
Our reward for serving God to our best is going to be an UNFADING and eternal reward that NO one can ever take from us... but we have to be deliberate about our approach and about our efforts to serve Christ and do what He has called us to do... we have to be deliberate about sharing our faith, everywhere and all the time!
So many believers say that they know what they are supposed to do, but when it comes to making the intentional and deliberate choice to SHARE Jesus with others... so many of us let opportunity after opportunity pass us by... because we are NOT deliberately TRYING to share Christ with those around us, but we are also to be...
We are to be dedicated TO our message.
26 Therefore I do not run like one who runs aimlessly, or box like one who beats the air. 27 Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified
Here we find Paul revealing the dedication in HIS life and his outlook on sharing his faith! Paul says, "I run with a purpose..." An athlete is not casual about his sport OR his training! He trains with a purpose, and that purpose is to be the best he or she can be in their sport!
Paul is telling these believers and US as well, that we should have the same attitude about us and our duties to serving God. We must be dedicated to our Lord, and toward our service TO Him!
We need to discipline our bodies and lives to the service of Christ! Doing what He has called us to do... going where He has called us to go! Are you willing today to dedicate yourself to Christ? We have to be willing to dedicate ourselves but I can also see where...
3. We need to be FLEXIBLE in our methods (v.19-23)
We are called to have a basic understanding about just what it is what we were called to do... but we also have to understand that we have to be flexible in how we share what God wants us to share!
Read verses here:
19 For although I am free from all people, I have made myself a slave to all, in order to win more people. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win Jews; to those under the law, like one under the law--though I myself am not under the law--to win those under the law. 21 To those who are outside the law, like one outside the law--not being outside God's law, but under the law of Christ--to win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, in order to win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I may by all means save some. 23 Now I do all this because of the gospel, that I may become a partner in its benefits.
We must have an attitude of service and humility as Paul describes:
Let's look at just a few of the things Paul writes, he says:
"...although I am free...I have become slave to all..."
"...to the Jews I became like a Jew, to win Jews..."
"...to those under the Law [Pharisees/scribes]... [I lived] like one under the law...to win those under the Law"
"...to the weak, I became weak... to win the weak"
"...I have become ALL things to ALL people in order that I may by some means save some..."
Paul is telling us here that whoever he encounters, he tries to find a common ground with them, and that his goal is to do everything he can to save some...
Paul realizes he won't be able to save ALL but he rejoices in the fact that God is using him to save some...
We have to have that attitude about us to win the lost to Christ. We cannot be judgmental in our attitude and behavior, but when we see a lost soul before us, we are called to reach out in love to share Christ with him or her...
But not only do we need Paul's attitude and approach to obedience and evangelism, but...
We have to be flexible in how we gain the attention of others...(one size fits all methods do not work in evangelism)
Paul was clear in this message... YOU NEED TO GET THEIR ATTENTION! Sometimes when we seek to get the attention of those who are OUTSIDE of Christ, we draw the attention of others who profess to be Christians as well, and there are times when we run into opposition to what we may be doing because it doesn't look like something we should be doing... OR it is not what they have always done in the past!
It doesn't matter if we have done it or NOT... the method is NOT the focus, but the message is! We are called to share and there are going to be times when we have to be flexible on how we share!
When we are flexible in our approach and attitude in gaining the attention of others and pointing them TO Christ, it means that...
The greater our flexibility, the greater our strength...
The more we are willing to share and reveal God's love through meeting people where they are... the stronger we will be in the ministry of the Gospel!
4. Conclusion:
I believe that we have to understand who we are trying to reach and there are going to be times when we are going to HAVE to change our methods, but the Gospel of Christ remains the same! We can never change the message.
Our goal has to be to accurately communicate the good news to those in our community! We are called to share the love of Christ and bring them to an encounter with the Savior! That means that we are going to have to learn how to present the gospel in ways that speak to those in our community today!
The church has its own special language and sometimes we offend and scare people off by using churchy language and wording... when all we have to do is speak with them on THEIR level... remember the message does not change but we can alter our method of delivery!
We can change our methods and we can communicate the gospel clearly to them, and on their level, BUT the most important action of all for the believer is the fact that WE MUST GO!
It is not incumbent upon just the pastor, or the paid staff to 'grow' the church, but it is the duty of every saved believer to share their faith, and God's love and hope!
As Steven comes to lead us in our hymn of invitation... I call on you here today who do NOT know Christ as your Savior. Hear me this morning. All of us are sinners! We ALL fall short of God's perfection, and we ALL need the saving mercy of God's salvation!
Today there are those of you here today who have NOT ever experienced God's merciful touch on your life... He is waiting for you to respond in submission to Him... surrender your sin... surrender your guilt...surrender your pride and come confessing Christ as Savior this morning and allow God to wash over you with waves of soul cleansing mercy!
Today you may be here and you are a believer who professes Christ as savior but you have NOT been living as He has called you to live! You need to come today and submit to His Lordship in your life! You need to come today and surrender your pride and stubborn spirit to Him...
As Steven comes to lead us... won't you come and join us here at the altar, come and allow God to cleanse you FULLY!
