INTRO.- ILL.- April 2009, LOS ANGELES – As she walked from a post office, Talon Curtis thought she'd found one of those gimmicky sweepstakes offers on the ground that scream something like "$357,959.55" in big bold letters and "This is not a real check" in much smaller type. But just as she was about to do her part for a cleaner planet and deliver the paper from the parking lot to a trash can, she noticed it was a real cashier's check with a real signature.
"I couldn't believe it. I almost passed out," Curtis, who works as a loan negotiator, told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "I have never seen a check that big."
She immediately set out to find its rightful recipient, but it was Saturday afternoon and the banks were closing. On Monday, with help from KCAL-TV reporter Dave Malkoff, she located the check's owner, who had arrived at her bank in a panic.
Curtis said she spoke briefly with the woman on the phone about a possible meeting, but Pacific Mercantile Bank instructed her to mail the check to them instead. Not willing to take a chance on the mail, Curtis delivered it personally. A bank employee confirmed it had arrived. Curtis said she never thought of keeping the check for herself, and she declined the woman's offer of a reward. Still, she's just a little disappointed.
"I just wanted to see her face," Curtis said, laughing. "I just wanted to let her know that there are honest people left in this world." Hey, this is good news and I'm happy to tell you about it!
There isn't much good news happening these days so whenever we hear some we need to tell others about it!
It's refreshing to hear good news instead of bad or negative news all the time. But there's even better news!
ILL.- BALTIMORE, Maryland (CNN) -- Dr. Carnell Cooper, a Baltimore surgeon, is saving lives inside and outside the operating room. Since becoming a trauma surgeon 16 years ago, he has dedicated himself to treating the many young African-American men who've been shot, stabbed or beaten, only to see them return to the ER with another severe injury just months later.
But when one of his patients was re-admitted with a fatal gunshot wound to the head in 1996, it changed Cooper's life. "The night that we pronounced that young man dead and my colleagues said there's really nothing we can do in these situations. ... "I just didn't believe that," said Cooper, 54. "From that day forward, I said, 'Let's see what we can do.' " Cooper created the Violence Intervention Program (VIP) (counseling) at the Shock Trauma Unit of the University of Maryland Medical Center, the state's busiest hospital for violent injuries.
That's super good news! And just as Dr. Carnell Cooper is saving lives with his Violence Intervention Program, we, too, can save lives in another way and one that is even more lasting!
Rom. 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Sin is wreaking havoc in people's lives. Sin is destroying people's lives and sending them a Christless grave, but God has offered the gift of eternal life through His Son Jesus Christ. And we need to do something about it! We need to spread this very good news!
PROP.- We need to get with God's program of telling others about the message of Jesus Christ! We need to tell all the truth about Jesus. 1- Go tell the truths OF Jesus 2- Go tell the truth ABOUT Jesus.
I. GO TELL THE TRUTHS OF JESUS
Matthew 28:8-11 8So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me." 11While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened.
The guards reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. They reported the truth of what had happened. We need to report the truth, especially the truth of scripture.
We need to repeat the truths of scripture everywhere we go! Scripture is truth. If there is anything we can believe today, it's the Bible! If you want to quote someone, then quote God! Most people can't argue with scripture. No one can win against God!
ILL.- That great American, Benjamin Franklin, loved to argue. Occasionally he would find himself overwhelmed by the arguments of his learned friends. At such times he often would say: “Give me a day to think the matter over, for I’m correct.”
Meanwhile he would go to his print shop, set up some type in the style of the Bible, and express his position and argument in Bible language. He would then return next day to his opponents and proudly proclaim; “Whatever you may think, you cannot get away from the fact that Holy Scripture supports my arguments. As it is said in the Book of John...”
That trick worked every time for him. Better yet, we should just quote the truth scripture and let it stand. BECAUSE SCRIPTURE IS ALWAYS RIGHT.
Heb. 4:12 "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."
There is absolutely something powerful about quoting God's Word! How many people do you know who can quote the Creator of the Universe? Many can and we can too! If we'll memorize His Word and use it in our daily living.
ILL.- English preacher, Charles Spurgeon, wrote: “I would recommend you either believe God up to the hilt, or else not to believe at all. Believe this book of God, every letter of it, or else reject it. There is no logical standing place between the two.”
The Bible is God-inspired. And it should be read, memorized and quoted by God's people!
II Timothy 3:13-17 "13Evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
ILL.- Preacher Dwight L. Moody was, at one time, in a southern city preaching about the value of the Word of God in a person’s life. Suddenly he was interrupted by the loud voice of a man in the audience. “Mr. Moody, I do not believe a single word in that collection of old wives’ tales you call your Bible!”
“My dear man,” replied Mr. Moody, “there is one verse in this Bible that you are forced to believe. ‘Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.’ If a man sows wheat, he does not reap potatoes or peanuts. Take the saloonkeeper, for example. He sows drunkards, and he will reap drunkards.” The man sat down as the audience broke into loud applause.
The Word of God stands true! And we need to be a people of the Book! We must believe it and speak it's truths everywhere! We must be quick to quote the Bible as the inspired truth it is!
Please memorize some scriptures and be ready to quote them when the time is right in order to witness or defend your faith in Christ! Let me hear a scripture or two? Can you ring some in my ears? Let me hear them.
Mark 13:31 Jesus said, "Heaven and will pass away but my words will never pass away."
II. GO TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT JESUS
Matthew 28:18-20 "Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." After Easter, we need to make disciples. We need to convince people that Jesus is the only Savior of the world and their only hope for salvation.
ILL.- "Go Tell It on the Mountain" is an African-American spiritual written by John W. Work dating back to at least 1865 that has been sung and recorded by many gospel and secular performers. "Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere; go tell it on the mountain, that Jesus Christ is born."
Yes, it's true. We need to go tell it on the mountain and everywhere else. We need to tell people more than just about His birth, however. And that's because it's His death that saves us. And His resurrection proves that He is who He claimed to be! And can do what He claimed he could do.
ILL.- I read that one of the basic principles in marketing a product is to come up with a simple, consistent message and repeat it over and over and over! Think about ads that we're exposed to via the media: (name them!)
- Melts in your mouth, not in your hands. (M & M's)
- Plop plop, fizz fizz. Oh what a relief it is. (Alka Seltzer)
- It takes a licking and it keeps on ticking. (Timex)
- Reach out and touch someone. (AT & T)
- I Can't Believe I Ate The Whole Thing. (Alka Seltzer)
- Where's The Beef? (Wendy's)
- Finger Lickin' Good. (KFC)
- (an oldie) A little dab'll do ya. (Brylcreem)
- We bring good things to life. (GE)
- You deserve a break today. (McDonald’s)
- We Have The Meats (Arby’s)
Someone said that you you can't over-communicate a good message but you can a bad one. But these are pretty good!
ILL.- According to Dun and Bradstreet, 95% of all business failures are from the ranks of non-advertisers. It’s like the feller says: “When business is good, you ought to advertise; when it’s bad, you’ve got to.”
Hey, business is not good! The gospel selling business is not good. At least, not in America. But the sinning business is very good and this is why we need to advertise the quittin business! We need to advertise as best we can, not the least we can! We need to advertise the answer to man's sin! And Jesus Christ is that answer! And the church is a part of that answer.
I get tired of hearing people run down the church or that the traditional church is on the downhill slide. And that the old ways are not the way to win people to Christ. If you preach the truth about Christ, God WILL give the increase no matter where or when or how He is preached!
Matthew 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.”
Acts 8:4 "Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went."
Acts 5:41-42 "The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. 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."
Do you get the idea of what we're supposed to do with the good news of Christ?
ILL.- I think evangelizing or telling people about Christ is much like going fishing. Jesus said in Matthew 4:19 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." What happens when you have fished and fished and never caught anything? You get tired of it. You may think, "What's the use? The fish aren't biting. I'm just wasting my time."
I think this is what happens in witnessing to people about Christ. After a period of no bites, no interest, etc. then we begin to lose our interest in going fishing for men, thinking, "What's the use? They are not interested so why I should be?"
But there is something else I learned about fishing. It's this: Those who catch the most, fish the most. And I think the same principle applies to winning people to Christ. If we don't work at it then how do we expect to win people to Christ!?
And another lesson I learned about fishing and from fishing is this: KEEP CASTING YOUR BAIT! Once your out on the water in a boat, you'd better keep casting your bait if you intend to catch something. We need to keep on casting Jesus in front of people! And you don't give up until it's time to give up. The Lord hasn't put a time limit on our witnessing.
Like someone said, "You don't give up until you go up." We should never retire from living for Christ in any form, witnessing or otherwise!
ILL.- A man was walking down a deserted Mexican beach at sunset. As he walked along, he noticed another man in the distance. As he drew closer, he noticed that the man kept leaning down, picking something up and throwing it out into the water. Time and again he did this.
As the man came closer, he could see that the man was picking up starfish that had been washed up on the beach and, one at a time, he was throwing them back into the water.
He said to the man, “Good evening, friend, I was wondering what you are doing?” The man replied, “I’m throwing these starfish back into the ocean. If I don’t throw them back into the sea, they’ll die up here from lack of oxygen.”
“I understand, but there must be thousands of starfish on this beach. You can’t possibly get to all of them. There are simply too many. And don’t you realize this is probably happening on hundreds of beaches all up and down this coast? Can’t you see that you can’t possibly make a difference?"
The local man smiled, bent down and picked up another starfish and as he threw it back into the sea, he said, “MADE A DIFFERENCE TO THAT ONE!” And we can make a difference, one soul at a time.
CONCLUSION-------------------
Romans 10:14-15 "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
Do you have a beautiful heart that cares for the lost of this world? If so, you'll have beautiful feet that go and a beautiful mouth that tells the truth about Jesus.
ILL.- One of England’s greatest preachers, W. E. Sangster said, “The easiest way to embarrass a congregation of twentieth century Christians is to ask them two simple questions: ‘When is the last time you personally led another person to Jesus Christ?’ and ‘When is the last time you tried?’”
