We are continuing in our series on Dynamic Disciples or Dynamic Discipleship and this month our focus is on Evangelism.
The Topic we are dealing with today is Our Motivation to Evangelise.
So the question to begin is What is our Motivation to Evangelise?
I’m sure many people could come up with many different reasons. The Bible shows us the clearest and most important reason why we should be motivated to evangelise, why we should be motivated to tell others about who Jesus is.
The Apostle Peter in Acts 4:12 spoke these words: “There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
We are not saved by being nice people, we are not saved by our works, we are not saved by just going to church, we are saved when we repent and place our faith and trust in Jesus as our Lord and Saviour.
As disciples of Jesus - He wants and expects us to tell others about who He is and how they can be saved.
There are very few people who enjoy conflict.
Most people want to avoid uncomfortable situations.
We want to get along with others, and it is much easier to stick to topics where we can agree, or at least pretend to agree.
Is that stopping you from sharing your faith?
If we believe the truth of the Words given to us by God in the Bible,
If we believe Jesus is the only way of salvation,
If we believe salvation is the free gift given to all who place their faith and trust in Jesus.
Then part of being a dynamic disciple involves sharing the truth of who Jesus is with others.
We have a message of hope, a message of love, a message of eternal consequence that should motivate us to speak and yet too often we choose to remain silent.
Sharing Jesus with others is a mark of true discipleship and a direct command from Jesus.
You know the words of Jesus recorded in Matthew 28:19-20: “Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
His command to His first disciples is also a command to each and every one of us.
Does the fear of offending someone keep you from doing what Jesus has told you to do?
Does the fear of offending someone keep you from saying anything at all?
Accepting that we are sinful by nature, accepting that we are living in rebellion against the God who has made us, accepting that God has provided a way for us to be right with Him, accepting our need to repent from our sins and turn to Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, the truth of the gospel might offend some people.
The truth of the gospel is offensive because it unseats self from the throne of the heart and establishes God as King.
To accept the truth of the gospel a person needs to be willing to change, and that can be a difficult choice to make.
But isn’t it better to offend someone with the truth about who Jesus was and is than keep silent?
Jesus calls us to be active participants in making disciples.
Being a disciple of Jesus is more than turning up in church for a couple of hours on a Sunday if it fits into your schedule.
Being a disciple of Jesus requires more from us than just turning up for a church service, God is meant to have the central place in our daily lives.
Being a disciple of Jesus is more than just reading your bible once in a while or praying when you need something, it requires a real relationship with the God who loves you.
Discipleship is the way we show that we take Jesus – His Incarnation, His works, His words, His person, His exemplary life, His commands and His commissions – seriously.
A Christian who takes discipleship seriously is a Christian who takes Jesus and the Gospel seriously.
Jesus commands us His disciples to tell others the truth, to share, to speak, to witness, to evangelise,
whatever you want to call, choosing to share the Gospel is an essential part of our lives as disciples.
Here’s another question for you - What motivates you to share the truth of the Gospel?
Maybe one or all of these three things should motivate us to speak about Jesus more:
Motivated because JESUS commands us.
Motivated because of our LOVE for God and other people.
Motivated by the Reality of Heaven and Hell.
Jesus commanded us to tell people about Him.
Listen to the words of Jesus from Luke 24:46-47, “It was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day. It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of His name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’”
(Luke 24:46-47)
How can ordinary people like you and I speak the truth of the Gospel with authority?
Jesus speaking to His first disciples and also to us explained that in Acts 1:8, Jesus said, “You WILL receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you WILL be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Jesus lived a perfect life, and willingly suffered a cruel and brutal death on a cross so that instead of us being eternally punished for our sins we could be forgiven.
Jesus has called us, He has commanded us, to tell others about His rescue mission to save the people of this world.
Jesus has called us to tell others of their urgent need to repent from their sins and turn to Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.
It’s an urgent message - it’s the most important message we could ever share with anyone.
There is hope, there is a saviour, He died for you, turn to Him, trust Him, receive the gift of eternal life.
Escape from a lost eternity without God and be assured of a place in Heaven because of what Christ has done for you.
Be saved, be set free, become a child of God, become a disciple of Jesus.
Does that motivate you to share the gospel, does that motivate you to tell someone about Jesus?
Listen to the words of Jesus in Matthew 10:28-33, “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell. What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows. Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven. (Matthew 10:28-33)
Those words of Jesus should motivate us to share the Gospel - so why are we afraid to tell people about Jesus?
Why do we withhold the most important and awesome information anyone could ever hear?
Maybe you have heard of the magicians Penn and Teller. Penn Jillette is a well known as an atheist, yet there is a YouTube video of him speaking about Christians who refuse to Evangelise. In that video Penn Jillette asks the question, “How much do you have to hate someone to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them about it?”
Sobering words from the mouth of Penn Jillette: “How much do you have to hate someone to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them about it?”
Let me put it this way, have you ever read a good book or watched a good movie and then told your friends about it?
If you go to a really good restaurant, you do the same. And when you tell others just how good that book, movie or the food was you don’t really care if someone disagrees with you, do you?
When we share the gospel, when we tell others about Jesus, we should always be sensitive to the other person’s thoughts and feelings, and we must be motivated by love to share the truth.
If somebody has a problem with what you think of the movie or the food, you kind of let it just stay their problem, right?
You don’t even give it a second thought. So, why do you panic when the thought of sharing Jesus with others goes through your minds?
Many Christians seem scared of witnessing or evangelising because they don’t really know what it is or what it means.
Some are hesitant about sharing the truth of Jesus with somebody else, because they are overly focused on what other people may think.
Friends if nothing else motivates us to speak, then we should be, we must be motivated by the Reality of Heaven and Hell.
God wants us to tell the unsaved how they can be saved.
God wants to rescue the lost and He has provided the rescue plan, He has provided the way of salvation, and He calls us to be part of the rescue mission.
Being a disciple of Jesus, requires us to do what He has commanded us to do.
We are called to serve Him and serve others.
God cares about us, He loves us, but there is more to being a disciple than just sitting here on a Sunday morning.
Being a dynamic disciple involves some hard work, commitment and sacrificial living from each and every one of us.
As I draw to a close listen to the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 10:9,10,13,14,15,17,
9 If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.
13 For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 But how can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them? 15 And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”
17 So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.
The Apostle Paul reminds us of a very important truth salvation is only for those who believe the gospel and call on Jesus.
Everyone who trusts in Jesus will be saved and assured of a place in Heaven, and everyone who does not repent and believe in Jesus as their personal Lord and Saviour will perish eternally in Hell. This is a difficult, an uncomfortable truth, but it is the clear teaching of the Bible.
Only by trusting in Jesus and Jesus alone can a person be saved from the penalty of sin.
Only through Him, there is no other mediator, no other option, no other choice, no other philosophy.
Finally, Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to Father God except through me.”
Jesus is the only way, the only truth, the only life, there is no other way to God. If we believe that, if we treasure that, if we love Jesus, if we trust Jesus, if we have placed our hope in Him, then we must be committed and motivated to tell others about Him.
This week, look for the opportunity to share the truth, be a witness for Christ, be the messenger who brings the Good News of the Gospel,
be the dynamic disciple God has called you to be.
