The Gospel of Mark #5 – “Relational Evangelism”
Mark 2:13-17
Intro –
1. What do you think of when I mention the word evangelism? Perhaps, one of the following:
2. VIDEO – The Skit Guys, “The Skinny on Evangelism”…
3. Lost people matter to God, & therefore they should matter to me & you.
4. 2 Pet. 3:9 “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
5. There are 3 main types of evangelism –
a. Proclamational – Church services, Billy Graham, etc…
b. Confrontational – Visitation, door to door, etc…
c. Relational – building relationships to bring people to Jesus.
6. Very few can do the 1st 2, but everyone can be involved in relational evangelism!
7. Mark 2:13-17 (Read)
8. In the gospels one of the most fascinating aspects are the stories of the lives that were dramatically changed by the power of Christ. Men and women were touched by Christ so deeply that they literally left all and followed Christ.
9. This is what happened to Matthew (Levi). He was a tax collector who made his living by extorting people for money. He lived off the commissions that he collected.
10. Matthew did what I wish many believers would do. He used the same influence that was once used to make money for Caesar to get people to Jesus Christ.
11. How? He opened his home to sinners so that they could meet Christ.
12. Bill Hull, “The most effective way to reach people is to utilize the natural networks of families, fraternal organizations, neighborhoods, and common ground activities.”
13. This is what we call relational evangelism. Levi not only followed Jesus, but he invited many of his "sinner friends" to meet Jesus.
14. How effective is relational evangelism? Evangelist Luis Palau’s research shows that 75% of all those who come to Christ do so through a relationship with a saved friend, relative or co-worker. The Institute of American Church Growth reports an even higher percentage, with almost 90% of the 14,000 Christians recently polled saying they came to Christ through “a friend or relative who invested in a relationship with them.”
15. Therefore, every follower of Christ can & should practice relational evangelism by –
I. Yielding to the Lordship of Christ – Vs. 13-14
Any story about someone’s salvation experience is fascinating. This one is no different. Matthew spontaneously follows Christ when He calls him!
*What is significant is the fact that now with one follower Jesus has a base of operation for evangelism. He can use & will use Matthew in his place of influence to spread the story of his saving grace.
*All Jesus Christ needs from you is your willingness to be used as a tool for evangelism.
*Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
*What happens when you yield to the Lordship of Christ?
A. Yielding to Christ gives Him control over your occupation – vs. 14
1. Matthew's call to follow Christ made his occupation secondary. All the disciples were vocational workers & Jesus used them in their circle of influence.
2. The disciples (Andrew, Peter, James & John) could always go back to their fishing boats, but Matthew forsook all to follow Christ. The message was, although he was employed secularly, Jesus was his boss.
3. This is how you establish a presence. Let people know that Christ Jesus has authority over your job.
B. Yielding to Christ gives Him control over your house – vs. 15
1. He invited people to his house to hear about what God had done for him. From that point people knew that the Lord was master of this house.
2. People need to know that the Lord is master of our house.
3. Joshua 24:15 “But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
4. Establish a presence that lets people know that the Lord is the master of your life!
II. Using Your Influence for Christ – Vs. 15-16
Once Matthew’s life was changed not only did he begin to live differently, he acted & spoke differently. There is only one reason why these people ended up at Matthew’s house for dinner. He had invited them to be there.
*The tragedy in present day attempts to evangelize is that the church, and Christians who have been saved a long time, have lost touch with the unchurched & the unsaved.
*Our model should be like the early Christians. They established a presence in their communities & then they preached Christ.
Acts 5:42 “Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.”
A. We must use our influence purposefully – vs. 15
1. Matthew had a two-fold objective in mind when he made the feast. He was going to honor the Lord and he was going to get his friends to meet Christ.
2. Our lives must always fit into this divine purpose, we are to give glory to God by pointing others to Him.
3. What is lacking today with so many believers is that evangelism is an after-thought to everything else that we are doing. We almost are surprised when church or a relationship with Christ comes up in conversation.
4. Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost. His mission in life should be our life's mission as well. That is the purpose of us having influence in the world.
B. We must use our influence persuasively – vs. 16
1. 2 Cor. 5:11 “Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men…”
2. He did not just hope that people showed up for a visit the night that Christ was coming. He was compelling!
3. ILL – Ken Davis, How to Speak to Youth, writes of a 3-phase experiment performed at Rockford College, with over 100 college students who were preparing for youth ministry. In the 1st phase: Blind folded volunteer, everyone shouting from their seats while 1 person had a specific task as if it were a matter of life or death. The 2nd phase: Blind folded volunteer, 2 people could get close to him with opposite messages, but couldn’t touch him. The 3rd phase: In this phase everything remained the same except the one with the vital message was allowed to touch the volunteer. He could not pull, push or in any way force the volunteer to do his bidding; but he could touch him, and in that way encourage him to follow. When the volunteer appeared, the silence erupted into an earsplitting roar. The two messengers stood close, shouting their opposing words. Then, the one with the vital message put his arm gently around the volunteer's shoulder & leaned very close to speak directly into his ear. Almost without hesitation, the volunteer began to yield to his instruction. All those in the audience, who up to this point had been shouting their own individual instruction, suddenly joined in unison to keep the volunteer from taking those final steps. The students began to chant together, "Don't go!" "Don't go!" "Don't go!" But the guiding arm of the one with the vital message never left the volunteer's shoulder. At the top of the stairs in the back of the lecture hall, the one with the vital message leaned one last time to whisper in the ear of the volunteer. Then the volunteer threw his arms around the instructor and the auditorium erupted in cheers and applause. When we asked the volunteer why he followed the one with the vital message, the one who touched him. After a few moments he said, “Because it felt like he was the only one who really cared.”
4. We go venture out & draw close to those with whom we wish to communicate. If we really seek a life-changing commitment from people, we must reach out where they are and in love, gently touch them & lead them to that commitment.
III. Living with the Compassion of Christ – Vs. 17-22
Clearly Matthew used his influence as he was surrendered to the Lordship of Christ to reach others. Primarily he reached these people through relationships. This is underscoring the point that people reach people, programs do not reach them.
Jude 1:22 (KJV) “And of some having a compassion making a difference.”
*Compassion for people like Christ had it will cause you to do two things.
A. Their lost condition must concern you – vs. 17
1. Jesus talked about these people as "sick" and not "whole." He was fully aware of what it meant for them to be lost. They were without hope & without God in the world. They did not have peace in their heart or purpose in their life.
2. It must be a concern to us that our friends know the seriousness of facing eternity without God.
B. Their potential in Christ must captivate you – vs. 18-22
1. We are not introducing people to a new religion, but a new relationship that is different and far better than anything that they have ever seen.
2. Once again, the scribes and Pharisees were on hand to criticize. But Jesus defended Himself & His new friends by using 3 illustrations.
a. He compared Himself to a physician who came to meet the needs of the sick. Jesus saw lost sinners as sick patients who needed healing, not as enemies who should be condemned.
b. He compared Himself to a joyful bridegroom who invited hungry and unhappy people to His feast. To the scribes and Pharisees, religion was a funeral; but to Jesus, it was a wedding feast!
c. His third illustration had to do with the old & the new. If you patch old garments with new cloth, the cloth will shrink when washed, and you will have a bigger tear than before. If you put new wine into old brittle wineskins, the fermenting liquid will produce gas, and the skins will burst.
3. Jesus did not come to "patch" people’s lives but to make them whole. He did not come to mix the old and the new but to bring new life (2 Cor. 5:17).
4. The tragedy is, people say ('the old is better!" and do not want the new. The Book of Hebrews was written to explain how much better the new covenant faith is."
Conc. –
1. Contagious Christianity is friend to friend, person to person, neighbor to neighbor. The plan is biblical, its logical, and its strategic.
2. Here are some helpful suggestions:
a. Build relationships with those you already know – Take a spiritual interest in those around you and find a way to win them to Christ. Invite your neighbors over to eat. Throw a block party. Take them to play golf or go fishing with them.
b. Build relationships with those that you want to know – Everywhere you go you meet new people. Take advantage of those new contacts and build a relationship with them to try and win them to Christ.
c. Build relationships with people that you used to know – You may have had some friendships in the past that are not active. Perhaps you were not saved then & you are now. It would be great if you reached into your past and won some old friends to Christ.
3. SONG – “Jesus, Friend of Sinners” by Casting Crowns
4. Will you let God break your heart for what breaks His?
