John 4:29-30 ? '"Come, see a Man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?" They went out of the town and were coming to Him.'
Let me ask you 2 questions, 'What is the purpose of Man?' And 'What is the purpose of the Church?'
These are open questions so be free to shout out your answers! 'What is the purpose, what is the chief or main purpose of Man? Why are we here?' Don't worry, there are no wrong answers... unless you disagree with me^^
To keep it short, Man is here to glorify God and enjoy Him forever! That's his purpose, that's why we were created! 1 Pet. 4:11. 'That God in all things may be glorified.' And 1 Corinthians 10:31 'So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.' We are to love Him, adore Him, worship Him, praise Him and obey Him, and in doing so we will glorify Him! And enjoy Him, enjoy knowing Him and experiencing Him and His blessings in our lives while we are here and being in His presence for eternity in heaven!
2nd question, 'What is the purpose of the Church?' and by the Church I don't mean the building we gather in but rather the body, Christians! What is the purpose, the chief purpose of the Church?
Now the answer to this is much more debated, but for me, I think we can sum it up in the command of Jesus in Matthew 28:18-20 'And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.'
The purpose of the Christian is to go into the world (unsaved), tell them about Jesus (evangelism) them so they can come to Jesus and receive forgiveness, reconciliation and eternal life and then teach them so they too can love Him, adore Him, worship Him, praise Him and obey Him, and in doing so we will glorify Him! And enjoy Him, enjoy knowing Him and experiencing Him and His blessings in our lives while we are here and being in His presence for eternity in heaven!
So we are the Church and we are to tell those who don't know Jesus about Jesus, and my question is this 'What do people want to know about Jesus?'
Do they want to know the stories written about Him? Do they just want to know words which were written 2000 years ago?
Remembering that for us, those who are born again, the words in this Book are life! A lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (Psalm 119:105) This Book and the words they contain is more precious to the believer than gold! It is alive and active and, when allowed, can do a great work in the lives of all of God's children!
But for those who are perishing, those who do not know Jesus, this is nothing but a book written 1000s of years ago with no relevance now at all! Others will claim this book is nothing more than fairy tales, fictitious accounts, lies, written down to fool people!
Others see it as a rule book full of 'Thou shall do this!' and 'Thou shalt not do that!' rules to scare and entrap and enslave people.
Some people out there may have never read or even heard about Jesus before so words from the Bible, on their own mean nothing!
And on top of these things, we must always remember that the devil, the great enemy 'is the god of this age and has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ ...'
I'm afraid just retelling stories or shouting 'Be Saved!' just isn't enough!
No, people want to know what God is doing! People want to see what God is doing! Not in some other time, or in some other country or to someone else but to YOU! People what to see God at work in YOU!
After all, this is our testimony; this is what we say 'When we come to Christ, Christ comes into us! We are new creations! Sealed with the Holy Spirit who lives in us, changing us daily into the likeness and image of Christ!' so me! Show me! If your God is alive and at work show me!
This is the testimony of the woman at the well! She heard Jesus speak but it wasn't until He told her about her life that she actually believed! And this is what she said to her people 'Come, see a Man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?'
This was the way Paul preached! To the Church he taught, but to the unsaved he preached his testimony! This is what I was, this is Jesus and what He did, this is me now as a result of the Holy Spirit in my life!
People need to hear the Gospel but also see the fruits of it at work in our lives! When a man who was enslaved to drugs stands up to a crowd and says 'I was addicted to heroin for 20 years, I robbed my friends and family to buy drugs! I lost my job and my home and those close to me, my life wasn't worth living! But then I met Jesus and He set me free! He restored me, and reconciled me to Himself! Now, I'm back with my wife and my children have forgiven me and they too having seen Christ in me have given their lives to Jesus!' it is a wonderful and powerful thing!
People need to see fruit, they need to see the reality of Christ at work in our lives! Because there should be! Last week I asked you about the benefits of knowing God, and to make a list. Now this wasn't just for me, but rather an exercise to encourage you, to encourage each other and a way to evangelize others!
People don't want to be stopped on the street and told 'You're evil! You are going to hell! Believe in Jesus and you will be saved' although there may be a season for that, but rather, like Paul, people would much rather hear 'Hey, this is what Jesus has done in my life! This is what He is doing! And this is what He can do for you!'
