(All my sermons use illustrations found at www.sermoncentral.com and all scripture is NIV unless otherwise noted)
LIKE A MOTH TO A CANDLE
Have you ever wondered why insects are attracted to light? I really think all living things, for the most part are attracted to light. There are of course some nocturnal animals that do not like light, and they are of course equipped to see in the darkness, but for the most part animals like light. This is especially true for humans.
The Bible is so full of metaphors that use light and darkness, showing that many who are in the darkness of evil and sin need to find their way to the light. Jesus even calls us the “light of the world.” He also tells us that this was His reason for coming to earth; John 12:46 I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. In His absence, we become the light of the world and it becomes our job to bring others out of the darkness, to be a guiding light in a world of darkness, to become influential. Now, not all of us, and perhaps not any of us, in this room this morning will ever be big names in evangelism such as Billy Graham, or James Dobson, but we most certainly can make a difference in the lives of our neighbors, friends and relatives.
If you have your Bible with you this morning, please turn to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 5 and read with me verses 27-32.
Luke 5:27-32 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "Follow me," Jesus said to him, 28 and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. 29 Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. 30 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" 31 Jesus answered them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
PRAYER
Perhaps we could shine some light on others if we would realize:
I. THE LOST NEED OUR LOVE
You might take notice in verse 27-28 that Jesus sees a person who is not only an outcast, but a person that many would dislike.
After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "Follow me," Jesus said to him, 28 and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.
I am sure many of you are thinking what I am thinking right now, “I sure wish it was that easy.” Don’t you wish that we could just walk up to people we see are caught in the darkness of the world and say, “look you need to follow me to church on Sunday morning and hear about the life you can have with Jesus,” and those people would DO IT.
Chances are we will be rejected many more times than we will see people accept our invitation. Surveys show that 44% of un-churched people will accept a believer’s invitation to church. The question is how many people have we asked? We don’t need to ask the people who are already Christians, but those who do not know Jesus. According to a survey done by Barna, for every 100 people asked or personally invited to church, who do NOT know Jesus, 44 will come. But let’s face it, we don’t really invite 100 people who don’t know Jesus to church in a year, ALL TOGETHER.
Survivor Eva Hart remembers the night, April 15, 1912, on which the Titanic plunged 12,000 feet to the Atlantic floor, some two hours and forty minutes after an iceberg tore a 300-foot gash in the starboard side: "I saw all the horror of its sinking, and I heard, even more dreadful, the cries of drowning people."
Although twenty life-boats and rafts were launched-too few and only partly filled-most of the passengers ended up struggling in the icy seas while those in the boats waited a safe distance away.
Lifeboat No. 14 did row back to the scene after the unsinkable ship slipped from sight at 2:20 A.m. Alone, it chased cries in the darkness, seeking and saving a precious few. Incredibly, no other boat joined it.
Some were already overloaded, but in virtually every other boat, those already saved rowed their half-filled boats aimlessly in the night, listening to the cries of the lost. Each feared a crush of unknown swimmers would cling to their craft, eventually swamping it.
"I came to seek and to save the lost," our Savior said. And he commissioned us to do the same. But we face a large obstacle: fear. While people drown in the treacherous waters around us, we are tempted to stay dry and make certain no one rocks the boat.
Perhaps our fear of change, our fear of people who are “different” from us, keeps us from seeking out and inviting the lost to the light. Perhaps we are worried that we will lose our comfort zone here in OUR church, but truly it is not OUR church, it is Christ’s Church, and so we call it Church of Christ. Ours is not to decide who should or who shouldn’t join our family, it is God who gives the addition, but it is our job to invite as many as we can.
Matt 22:8-10 "Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9 Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.' 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
Perhaps we should get past our fear and invite the lost. Because, 2nd
II. OUR FRIENDS NEED TO EXPERIENCE OUR FELLOWSHIP
This Levi, who we know later will write one of the four Gospels, probably did not know much, if anything, about theology. He wasn’t an expert on leading people to a relationship with the Son of God, but he knew how to have a party.
Luke 5:29 Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them.
He wasn’t sure how to get people interested in hearing about Jesus, but he knew how to invite people to a “food thing” and perhaps get them to pick up some good information about salvation along the way.
We call this relational evangelism, and I have spoken of this many times before. It is showing people that we care, it is about building relationships with people who may not know Jesus and in that relationship, bringing them to a place where they can get the information they need to decide for themselves whether they want to accept Jesus or reject Him.
Bull Hybels says it boils down to a simple equation so for all you algebra nuts here it is:
HP + CP + CC = MI
It is that simple, so we can all go home now and the church should grow from here. Well maybe we should put this formula to work.
HP simply stand for HIGH POTENCY, it means being a good example. It means letting your light shine brightly throughout your everyday life. It means understanding that those who live in darkness are attracted to light, so you need to be that light, not a flickering candle. Lose your temper and curse in public, you just lost some wattage. Pass judgment on people in town with others, your light is getting dimmer. Get involved in gossip about your neighbors, you become a candle flickering in the wind. We need to be a HIGH POTENCY light for the world.
CP - stands for close proximity. This simply means, being a shining light only at your house is doing nothing for the expansion of the kingdom.
Matt 5:14-16 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Put that light out there, get involved with community events that have LOST PEOPLE, talk to and become friends with the lost. Get close enough for them to see the light that shines in your life or it does NO GOOD.
CC - stands for clear communication. This is sometimes the one thing people have a real difficulty with. They don’t know how to clearly communicate their faith. There is no simple answer for this, other than, be yourself and speak the truth. Don’t make up things, telling people “yeah its in 3 Corinthians chapter 55, I read it just last week.” I must admit, I am floored by some of the things I hear people tell me are in the Bible. Clear communication involves being yourself and being honest. If you don’t have the answer, tell your friend you don’t know, but you can surely find out.
HP + CP + CC = Maximum Impact and this is what we need in this world.
Coca-cola is one product that has far outgrown its humble beginnings. In 1886, Dr. John Pemberton first introduced Coca-Cola in Atlanta, Georgia. The pharmacist concocted a caramel-colored syrup in a three-legged brass kettle in his backyard. He first "distributed" Coca-Cola by carrying it in a jug down the street to Jacob’s Pharmacy.
After little more than 100 years, surveys show that 97% of the world has heard of Coca-Cola. 72% of the world has seen a can of Coca-Cola. 51% of the world has tasted a can of Coca-Cola. All due to the fact that the company made a commitment years ago that everyone on the planet would have a taste of their soft drink.
We should stand up and take note here...97% of the world has heard of this sugar and water concoction while 1.7 billion people world-wide have no access to the good news of Jesus Christ! It is estimated that 17 million people die every year without having heard the name of Jesus!
When I hear those facts, I should NOT hang my head in despair and shame. Instead, I should be challenged, motivated, and inspired to a new level of commitment in sharing the message of forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ. We should look at the great news and WANT to share it with the world, by inviting the lost to church, by making long standing relationships with those who do not know Jesus and by:
III. SHOWING COURAGE FOR OUR CRITICS
When a church gets on fire for Jesus and starts seeing people get saved, critics show up and start “grumbling.” You can see this happens to Jesus, as the Pharisees question Jesus’ social skills.
Luke 5:30-32 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" 31 Jesus answered them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
I can tell you, with great conviction, there are churches today that are not interested in saving the sick, not interested in seeing sinners come to repentance, but see the church more as a social club where we gather as friends. I can also say that as long as that is the mindset of a church, the seats will remain empty. The church is a hospital for the spiritually hurting and no hospital stays in business long if there are no patients.
So many people will die not knowing Jesus Christ, and we are the ones that are supposed to be taking the message to them. I for one, do not want to know what Jesus will say on the day of my judgment had I not done what I could to invite people to share in His plan for salvation. So many of us have an opportunity to get involved with those that need Christ and we stand indifferent thinking someone else will do it.
“At approximately 3:20 on the morning of March 13, 1964, twenty-eight-year-old …(Kitty) Genovese was returning to her home in a nice middle-class area of Queens, NY…. She parked her ….(car) in a nearby parking lot, turned-off the lights and started the walk to her second floor apartment some 35 yards away. She got as far as a streetlight when a man grabbed her. She screamed. Lights went on in the 10-floor apartment building nearby. She yelled, "Oh, my God, he stabbed me! Please help me!" Windows opened in the apartment building and a man’s voice shouted, "Let that girl alone." The attacker looked up, shrugged and walked-off down the street. Ms Genovese struggled to get to her feet. Lights went back off in the apartments. The attacker came back and stabbed her again. She again cried out, "I’m dying! I’m dying!" And again the lights came on and windows opened in many of the nearby apartments. The assailant again left and got into his car and drove away. Ms Genovese staggered to her feet as a city bus drove by. It was now 3:35 a.m. The attacker returned once again. He found her in a doorway at the foot of the stairs and he stabbed her a third time -- this time with a fatal consequence. It was 3:50 when the police received the first call. They responded quickly and within two minutes were at the scene. Ms Genovese was already dead…. " [THE NEW YORK TIMES, March 27, 1964, p. 38.]
Kitty Genovese … was a name that would become symbolic in the public mind for a dark side of the national character. It would stand for Americans who were too indifferent or too frightened or too alienated or too self-absorbed to “get involved’’ in helping a fellow human being in dire trouble. …Detectives investigating … the murder discovered that no fewer than 38 of her neighbors had witnessed at least one of her killer’s three attacks but had neither come to her aid nor called the police. The one call made to the police came after Genovese was already dead.
We cannot wait to spread the Gospel message, it is time to get up, to stand up for Jesus. To do as God wants us to do, to change our church from a social club to a hospital for the spiritually ailing. To become, what God has instructed us to become, messengers of the Gospel, lights in a world of darkness. To be what we are supposed to be, a group of people who work together to see others come to Christ, not a group of people who worry about their own comfort. To invest our money, time and resources in seeing the expansion of God’s kingdom happen, not investing in the here and now, because eternity is a lot longer than our time on earth.
I hurt inside, knowing that our church is NOT doing everything it can to evangelize the lost. I hurt inside knowing that many people will perish without having accepted Christ as their personal Savior and being baptized into a relationship with Him. I pray daily, that God will start a revival right here in our church and get people moving to fulfill the Great Commission.
Most of all I hurt thinking that in this building this morning, there could be people who have never truly been transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit. If you are here this morning, and you have not allowed Jesus to change you, to work on your heart and be the center of your life, won’t you come as we offer this invitation:
# 564 “Just a Closer Walk,” we will sing all the verses and I implore you to come and accept Jesus, let Him be the Master of your life.
INVITATION
