The May 9, 2019 edition of the Baptist Record has this story on page 8, “Church Rolls Continue Downward Trend, Survey Says.” This means: “In our state (the most “churched” state in the Union), we have over 50% of the population not connected with anyone’s church (anyone’s!!), while, our churches are slowly dying.” Honestly, few church members will admit their church is dying because they ‘love their church’ SO much. It almost seems to me like, “If I don’t admit it, then it’s not real.” Yet, the reality is obvious to everyone else & denial doesn’t change a thing.
• As someone who works minimally in Emergency response of my community, this is what I have discovered; if a person’s life blood is slipping away, no matter how slowly, if some action is not taken, they will die. Generally, physically, we must stop the bleeding & then give a transfusion to rebuild the system. The same is true for the church.
• Our association paints a pic. From 2008 – 2018 Baptisms down 32%, Other additions down 37%, Mission Giving down 20%, & as best as I can tell, Worship Attendance is down over 20%. All of this is happening while our population is growing. Does this strike you as it does me?
• Add to these truths Jesus’ last words & we scratch our heads. The last words a person speaks before they are gone are very significant. It is the most important thing on their heart. Such is the case with Jesus. Combined His last words & hear what He said, “All authority has been given to me and I’m giving it to you.” WOW! Did you catch that? Then He continued, “So as you are going into this world, be my witnesses by making disciples of all people.” Any questions thus far? He goes on to say, “Start in Jerusalem (at home), then Judea (neighboring, friendly areas), then go to Samaria (where no one wants to go), and then the rest of the world.” He has sent His Holy Spirit to us, and what He told us to do (requires of us, ordered us), is to CARRY HIS MESSAGE OF HOPE & LIFE to people who don’t know Him
• Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to earth, lived as man, endured the cross, rose from the dead, ascended back to heaven, & is seated at the right hand of God offering salvation and making intercession for us. The result of all that is going on in our culture is that churches are dying because people are dying because the Christian witness is dying.
• Let me speak to this in 2 dimensions: physical and spiritual.
• In the physical realm, I have spent the entirety of my life in the USA, so the culture of the USA is what I somewhat know and am familiar with. Our convention cannot stand another 25 years like the last 25. If my kids & grandkids are going to enjoy freedom of religion & a relationship with Christ, we must be sharing the gospel today. Senior Adults, remember when you first were married & you began back then thinking about retirement and making a way to live in your retirement years? What you did back then (good or bad) largely shapes your life today. Middle agers, what we do today will determine how this culture will or won’t be when you arrive at Senior status. Young people? You get the idea. When I was a teenager, I was consistently told that we were only one generation from a pagan culture. When I became a young adult that changed to: We were only a half generation from a pagan culture. Today? Well, who would have ever thought that Islam and Socialism would be welcomed into this country that has been the bastion of freedom & Christianity? In physical terms, we are on a greased pole.
• How about spiritually? What is the spiritual impact in our day? Listen carefully; my precious grandchildren need Jesus (to get into heaven) just as much as I did and do. We have spent so much time making excuses for our sweet children and their lack of need for the Lord that many may not enter the Kingdom and you know what that means?
• Some people will accuse me of pulling at our heart strings to think my little 5-year old Caffrey will end up in a place called hell if he does not receive Jesus as his personal Lord & Savior, placing his complete faith in Jesus, as well as putting his little life completely in the hand of Jesus. Here is my response to that accusation: BINGO! You are right!
• We have become so indifferent to the faith needs of our children that our hearts are cold and hard about the dire need we find ourselves in.
• Years ago, I heard Dr. John Bisagno say that Universalism is creeping into our churches. That is to say; that everyone will be okay, there is no reason to be concerned because everyone is going to heaven.
• Yet there is reason. The Bible still says, “For all have sinned” and goes on to say, “The wages of sin is death.” Do you know who that means? It means “ALL”. This means those outside of Christ today are destined for a place they may not know about & certainly don’t want to go.
• Just like we were. Then Jesus came. He came & made a way for us to miss hell & make heaven. He’s offers you & me life, abundantly while here & eternally over there. At some point, someone told you about His offer of grace, mercy, & salvation. When you heard those words, the Holy Spirit of God touched your heart, pricked it, & softened it, calling you to Himself. And you accepted that call.
• Now He tells you through His word and His Spirit to tell someone. One of the problems today is that over 80% of those who profess to know Christ has NEVER, NEVER shared this good news with anyone. Shame!
• SBC President, J.D. Greear, has challenge us to pray about ONE person that we can share faith with in the next 12 months. Who’s your One?
• We pray to identify that person and then we pray for the identified person in our life. We ask God to let us live in such a way that our witness will confirm our life. Who’s your one?
• Now, let’s go to our Bible and learn what our Lord would have us learn from His word. Let’s read John 1:35-36
• Watch how easy this works. Andrew met Jesus so he went and found Simon Peter (His Brother). Jesus found Philip and Philip went and found Nathaniel. Man, that sounds too easy. Your one? From our text, let me offer 3 quick suggestions about who might be your ONE:
1) It can be someone you KNOW – Look in verse 40, “Andrew found his brother Peter,” & brought Peter to Jesus. Isn’t it interesting that it was Andrew? Andrew was not part of Jesus' “A” team, that was Peter, James, & John, he was the only brother left out of the inner circle. You don’t even think of Andrew when you talk about the “Disciples.” Yet, he is a prime example of what our Lord calls us to be or become. He was a rank & file Christ follower. His name is not in the spotlight.
• Look at his legacy; He is mentioned 13 times in the gospels & the Acts. When you peel away the times his calling is given (2 times), he’s mentioned in a list (4 times), the times of just being with Jesus (4 times), you discover that Andrew was lightly the personal evangelist of the bunch. He is found bringing people to Jesus beginning with his brother. What a legacy! He brings Peter to Jesus immediately. Think about it, when something GREAT happens to you or for you, you want to tell someone who is important to you. So, who is your Peter? Who is your one? Young, old, family, or friend, who is it that you know that needs a touch from Jesus? How many of your family, friends, and neighbors do you interact with on a regular basis and have never inquired about their spiritual journey? Never miss this: Jesus called His followers to get outside of their comfort zones, walk across the room, & get involved in the lives of those who don’t follow Jesus.
• Candidly, our goal should be to leave the ‘fingerprint of Jesus’ on everyone we meet, but especially those we know. Would you do something right now? Let me just make one more point; in John 6, it is Andrew again, who is seen bringing the ‘boy with the bread & fish’ to Jesus. How great it would be to become known as someone who brings people to Jesus?!? And easily it can be someone you know! But - -
2) It can also be a FOE – I know that most of us might bristle at this? But here is the truth; you want to overcome your enemies (foes)? How about those who are the enemy of the church and the gospel? Could there be any worse response to our reaching out that Nathaniel?
• He said, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” That attitude would certainly fit today’s culture! Their response might be “Can anything good come out of the Bible? That book is so old & archaic, how can anything found there help me?” That answer is this: Jesus came to help the hurting, give hope to the hopeless, & restore a relationship between Jehovah God and them.
• There is a Caveat for reaching a FOE, but I saved it for the last truth:
3) It will always be someone you can SHOW – In John 1 Jesus responded to a question ‘where are you staying with these words, “Come & See.” Nathaniel words ring in our ears, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” This may have had some racist connotations, but the simple answer was, “Come & See”. Please don’t miss this truth: Before we can offer Jesus to those we know or those who might be a foe, we better do this thing called “SHOW” because, as much as people need to hear the gospel, they must see the gospel. There are only two ways people know we are HIS disciples. They know by our fruit & by our love.
• Do you know what dawned on me as I was studying and praying through this message? YOU ARE KNOWN by your fruit & your love – no matter who you are or what you represent.
• If you are known to be critical, negative, & harsh, those things are your fruit & love. The question becomes: Does your fruit & love point people to Jesus or point them in the other direction? What are you known for?
• In John 12, some Greek came to Philip saying, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.” Philip turned to Andrew because Andrew had the reputation of making a way for people to get to Jesus. All who saw KNEW!
• Today, I am asking you this, “Who could be YOUR ONE?” One who God could use YOU to bring to faith in the next year? Begin by praying for God to reveal that one? Next pray for that one, for blessing, awareness & conviction. Pray for yourself, for the courage, commitment & sensitivity to speak when the opportunity arises. NOW – Perhaps You can write this name and commit it to the Lord. Will You?
