Opportunistic Evangelism
April 6, 2014 Evening Service
Immanuel Baptist Church, Wagoner, OK
Rick Boyne
Message Point: We must take advantage of every divine appoint to share the Gospel.
Focus Passage: Acts 3:1-10
Supplemental Passage: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20)
Introduction: George Sweeting, in his book The No-Guilt Guide for Witnessing, tells of a man by the name of John Currier who in 1949 was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Later he was transferred and paroled to work on a farm near Nashville, Tennessee.
In 1968, Currier's sentence was terminated, and a letter bearing the good news was sent to him. But John never saw the letter, nor was he told anything about it. Life on that farm was hard and without promise for the future. Yet John kept doing what he was told even after the farmer for whom he worked had died.
Ten years went by. Then a state parole officer learned about Currier's plight, found him, and told him that his sentence had been terminated. He was a free man.
Sweeting concluded that story by asking, "Would it matter to you if someone sent you an important message -- the most important in your life -- and year after year the urgent message was never delivered?"
We who have heard the good news and experienced freedom through Christ are responsible to proclaim it to others still enslaved by sin. Are we doing all we can to make sure that people get the message?
Our Daily Bread, November 6, 1994.
I. As they were going
a. Peter and John were doing what they do everyday
b. They were headed to the temple to pray
c. They could have ignored him as an unnecessary distraction from their religious duty
II. Asking for help
a. The lame man only expected to receive a few alms
b. The lame man was only concerned with his immediate need
c. The lame man did not understand what his real need was
III. Answered with Good News
a. Peter and John took the time away from their schedule to deal with the man
b. They were honest and didn’t promise him something they didn’t have
c. They gave him something that he didn’t ask for
d. They healed him in the name of Jesus so that Jesus was glorified
e. Everyone around them saw what happened and the Gospel was undoubtedly shared
Invitation:
