Sermon Brief
Date Written: April 16, 2010
Date Preached: April 18, 2010
Where Preached: OPBC (AM)
Sermon Details:
Sermon Series: Evangelism 101 – A Series on Obedience
Sermon Title: Successful Evangelism – Make it Personal!
Sermon Text: 1 Cor 9:19-23 [NLT]
Introduction:
Now last week I showed you 2 Scriptures that without a doubt give us our marching orders as believers… Those passages are Matt 28:18-20 and Acts 1:8. Jesus has called ALL believers to share their faith and be a witness.
Show Matt 28:18-20 here… follow me as I read it
18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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 all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
Show Acts 1:8 here…
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
Now the thing about this is… WE can be a witness in many ways, but the Bible is clear that a special part about being a witness for Jesus is that you are willing to share your faith with those around you.
So we must understand that we are ALL are called to share Christ, this much is biblical FACT! So if that is a mandate… if that is a commission on our lives from God, then why don’t we do it?
Well one reason why, is that when a pastor shares that there will be an evangelism event or an evangelism training, so many believers react like the picture on the front of our bulletin… NO! Not evangelism… I can’t do evangelism! I am just not cut out for evangelism!
I once read a story about a Christian who would pray every morning: "Lord, if you want me to witness to someone today, please give me a sign to show me who it is." One day this man found himself on an empty bus, when on stepped a HUGE, and scary man. This guy got on the bus and came right over to this man and sat next him.
The believer was terrified and scared and was anxiously waiting for his stop so he could get off this bus and away from this very scary man! However, before he could get very nervous about the man next to him, the big guy burst into tears and began to weep.
He then cried out with a loud voice, "I need to be saved. I’m a lost sinner and I need the Lord. Won’t somebody tell me how to be saved?" He grabbed the small Christian man and begged him, "Can you show me how to be saved?"
This believer, who prayed every morning for an open door from God, immediately bowed his head and prayed, "Lord, is this a sign?"
Are you looking for a "sign" to start witnessing? Why is it that believers are so terrified to share their joy in Christ? Why do many believers avoid evangelism? There are many reasons…
They don’t want to memorize a long and complicated system of presenting arguments for Christianity.
They don’t want to learn a system or a lot of Bible verses…
But for the most part, the reason believers today DO NOT practice evangelism in their lives is that they are AFRAID! … they fear failure, rejection, embarrassment… FEAR is the driving factor for their avoidance of evangelism… Fear prevents them from doing what God has called them to do!
This morning we are going to look back over a few verses from Paul and we are going to see what it means to be a great witness for Christ and how we can emulate Paul and become more and more like Jesus!
[show v.19-23 now…follow me as I read]
19 Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ. 20 When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law. Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law. 21 When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ. 22 When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. 23 I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.
We can see that Paul had a tremendous freedom to serve Christ and he believed that freedom enabled him to win others to Christ! But when we look at v.22 we have a tendency to misread it or misunderstand what Paul is saying here…
[show v.22 now]
22 When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some.
Paul was NOT saying that he would do ANYTHING so that people would be saved! Paul was not about to compromise the message of the Gospel to tickle the ears of those he preached to… Paul was not about to alter his lifestyle in such a way that he would bring shame to Christ and the Gospel.
The freedom Paul had and wrote about was not that he could DO anything… His freedom never led him to neglect his firm belief in Christ and the convictions he held about Jesus.
But the freedom Paul had was that when he was around others, he was willing to set aside those freedoms so as to provide an opportunity for those he was with to come to know Jesus. HE was willing to give over his freedoms in Christ to see others come to know Christ! Paul was willing to get personal with those who he was witnessing to…
1. Simple is good [v.22b-23]
[show v.22b-23 now…follow me]
22b…Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. 23 I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.
Paul understood the difference between important and complicated! He understood that the importance of sharing Christ was something he must hold dear, but that it never had to be complicated. His desire was to find some common ground with those people God had placed in his life and share Christ with them by way of that common ground!
But preacher, Paul is Paul… he knew how to do these things. I am just lil ole me… I can’t do what Paul did, Paul was a Pharisee, highly educated and trained in Jewish law and knew the Scriptures backwards and forwards! I can’t do what Paul did? What Paul did was so complicated and scary I simply cannot do! How can God expect me to do ‘evangelism’ it is so hard, it is so complicated, it is so scary!
People let me tell you something, evangelism is NOT something that has to be complicated and scary… I work off the premise that simpler is better! A sort of ‘less is more’ strategy… and for an ole country boy, I have to rely on getting the most of out of the little I DO have…
So to use what I have in the most effective way for Christ… I have to keep it simple! Let me give you an example of what I mean.
When NASA first began to send astronauts into space they quickly learned that the ballpoint pens sent up with the astronauts would not work in zero gravity.
NASA attacked this program and spent over 10 years and $12 billion so that they could develop a pen that WOULD write in zero gravity, upside down, underwater, and on most any surface including glass and at temperatures ranging from below freezing to 300 degrees Celsius. They finally had their ‘space’ pen…but you know what… the Russians used a pencil!
Simplicity works! Have you ever heard of the KISS method? Keep it simple silly… it means that when you are attacking a problem, seek out the most simple and direct approach, and it is usually going to be the best approach and most efficient solution…
Paul understood this concept, he was not going to go into the synagogue and convince Jewish men to surrender to Christ by convincing them that the Gentiles and their customs were ok…
He was not going to go into a Gentile home and convert them to the adherence to the Jewish laws and festivals. But what Paul understood was simplicity… to the Jew, Paul was the Jew of Jews… this never took the focus off Christ or the message of the gospel, but what it did was disarm the Jews, so that Paul could share about Jesus with the Jews.
Simple is better… Now don’t misunderstand simple with rude and abrupt! Simple is meeting the people God has placed in your path on their level… not in judgment… but out of love of Christ and a desire to see them saved! Simple is a great action of evangelism, but there is another actions that breeds success and sees salvation come… it is steadiness!
2. Steady is Better – v.19:
Paul not only knew to keep things simple, part of his simplicity was the fact that he continued in his mission… he never gave up… he was faithful in his witness to those God placed in his path…
There are going to be millions upon millions of people who will split the gate of hell wide open, and that is such a sad thing! Many here today would say, “Yeah, pastor I know, this world is going down the tubes fast and it is a godless world now…”
But I answer that statement with a quote I read once that says, "The real problem of Christianity is not atheism or skepticism, but the non-witnessing Christian trying to smuggle his own soul into heaven."
Paul understood what it meant to stay on task for Jesus. He said here in this passage… [show v.19 now]
19 Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ.
Paul was not going to allow anyone to pass his way without sharing Christ. He was as persistent in sharing Christ as a slave would have been to his master’s orders!
He was going to keep on serving and sharing Christ because this was the will of the One he served. So often we allow ourselves to get sidetracked from serving as God has called us… we get sidetracked by the things of this life and we don’t share Christ with that ONE Christ has put in our path!
I know that there are many of you here today who are faithful in your service and when God has placed someone in your path, you have been faithful to serve God as He has called you…
But where I find a lot of believers fall short is that when they are successful or when they are obedient in a particular situation or event… they can rejoice in that obedience BUT they can also find themselves reminiscing and looking back, and then miss the next person God has placed in front of them!
Be ever vigilant and move forward in your service to God. When we are called into service for the King, our service is not complete until He calls us home! Keep serving, keep persevering, keep pushing forward… knowing that your goal is to know God and be obedient to His calling.
Paul says in
Phil 3:13-14 [ESV] show verses now…follow me as I read
13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus…
Paul understood the concept of vigilance for Christ, and applied it to his ministry. It doesn’t matter what has happened to us in the past, failure OR success… we must put that in its place, we must strive ever forward toward the upward calling in Christ Jesus!
We must always be moving forward and steady in our service. Keep it simple and remain steady in your walk, but finally this morning, the most effective measure in reaching those who don’t know Christ… make it personal!
3. Personal is BEST:
This action for evangelism is probably a sermon unto itself, but I find that the personal touch is so much more effective in leading others to Christ!
I have seen men go into neighborhoods, knock on doors, plead the gospel to total strangers and lead them to Christ. I have seen people enter into crowded malls and sit down by those resting from shopping and lead them to Christ! That is what I call the spiritual GIFT of evangelism… but the call to evangelism is laid upon ALL believers by God!
These cold call methods can work, but in viewing Scripture and in seeing what I have seen in life over my 48 years… I have found that when you put a personal touch on things… they just seem to work out better!
People are seeking for something to fill the spiritual void within their lives, and we have what they need in Jesus Christ! BUT, so often we try to leave it at their door, or try to get them to watch a video… but the most effective way to share Jesus with another is one on one, person to person!
And here is the catch; it doesn’t all happen at one time. It CAN happen the 1st time you speak with someone, but usually there is a process the lost person must go through and it is during that process of weighing their options… that is when your personal message and touch in their lives means so much!
Christianity and salvation are NOT intuitive things! The lost people of this world don’t sit somewhere under a tree and it dawn on them one day, not only that they were lost BUT also what it takes to come to know Christ as Savior! The gospel message is not one that somebody learns from osmosis… it is a message that has to be shared!
This message about the love of God is a message that we are called to share, but not just share in passing, but get involved in their life type sharing!
There is an old proverb that states, ‘they don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care!’ Do you want to share Christ with a friend, get involved with them, meet them on their level, learn to share Christ in their environment!
Paul was an expert in this and our passage this morning shows that he was willing to meet anyone, anywhere at anytime to share Jesus. He would meet THEM… he did not call them to come to him, he met them where they were!
When we ‘witness’ to a person, it is so important to build a good foundation for a relationship. Get to know them, become their friend, all the while pointing them to the Cross thru your life and actions! Pray for the Holy Spirit to open their hearts and minds to hearing the gospel and God is going to provide many wonderful ‘teaching’ moments with that person…you will be able to show them Christ!
It is not how many Bible verses you know! It is not how well you know any particular system of sharing the Gospel. What brings people to Christ is other people…
We say “Jesus is the hope of the world!” and that is truth, without Jesus all hope in the world is lost! However, for the non-believer, the statement Jesus is the hope of the world, just does not make sense! This is because it is a concept. The truth of the matter is simply this… those in the church are the hope of the world!
The reason I say this is that WE are the hands and feet of Jesus… we are who carries His love into the world. The world experiences the love of God through believers!
Now telling people that Jesus loves them is a concept in their minds, but showing them that Jesus loves them through your actions in their lives… that takes the love of Jesus from the conceptual to the personal!
We cannot be the effective witness that God desires if we continue to view evangelism as a good concept… we have to make evangelism a personal mission in our lives!
Conclusion:
This morning, those of you who profess Jesus Christ have heard what your duty is… you have also seen witness to what and how Paul dealt with the calling on His life.
This morning this altar is going to be open to any and all believers who have fallen and failed Christ in service to Him! I open this altar for you to come and confess your sin and repent… God can forgive you and begin to use you in His kingdom!
If you are here and do NOT know Jesus as Your savior… let me tell you this! I can’t recite all of Scripture to you today, but I can tell you that Jesus changed my life from a life of selfish materialism to a life of humble service to His kingdom! I know God changed me, I know that God can change you! Confess your sin to Him today and He will change and make you into a new man or woman!
As Bro Michael comes to lead us in our hymn of invitation, I call on you to step out, and make the decision that God has laid on your heart! Come as we begin to sing…
