1. When you truly become a born again believer in Christ, several things become immediately apparent to you.
a. You have had the great fortune of finding the way to heaven, Jesus
Christ, and that it’s by faith in Him, not as works, as most people believe.
b. You have been saved from an eternity in hell by Christ’s death for your
sins, because of your faith in Him.
c. Many people you know have not been saved, are still thinking they
might be good enough for God by their own works, and without coming
to faith, are surely headed for hell
d. You need to do something about this if you truly care about them at all.
e. Christ wants you to do something about this, because, as a follower of
Christ, you should care. He wants you to tell them about how to be saved.
2. The second set of realizations comes when you try to do something about it—
not everyone is interested in knowing. Some are absolutely opposed to it.
3. How did Jesus reach out in the midst of opposition, and what can we learn from
Him.
I. Keep on reaching out at every opportunity, even when some oppose you (John 7:25-26)
ST: Jewish leaders are ready to kill Jesus, yet he keeps on speaking
boldly despite the serious opposition.
At this Feast of Booths, Jesus had become the number one topic of
discussion. We should make it our goal that Jesus becomes the #1
issue, the single biggest question, among our friends and family.
(I’m not saying to be obnoxious, or nasty, but to be gently persistent,
making the most of every opportunity.).
App.: Jesus made the most of the holiday—the Feast of the Booths—
to reach out. In America, we have Christian holidays, Thanksgiving,
Christmas, Resurrection Sunday, that present the theme & give oppor-
tunity.
List of everyday friends, acquaintances and families to pray for,
think about how you can reach them.
II. Don’t let unbelievers get away with thinking they’re okay (John 7:27-32)
ST: Jesus doesn’t let the Jews get away with thinking he’s okay—
that they know the truth about Him, or know God, when they don’t.
Innocuous evangelism: This is when we celebrate that Jesus came;
this is when we celebrate that Jesus died and rose again?
Pointed Evangelism: Did you know your eternal destiny is at stake?
Just believing in God is not enough? That your works won’t get you
to heaven? That you can’t be good enough for God—no one can.
Did you know that Jesus is the only way to heaven? Did you know
you must both repent and believe? Did you know that just agreeing
with the facts about Jesus isn’t enough?
III. Give them something about Jesus to think about (John 7:32-36)
ST: Jesus gives them a riddle to think about—He’s going away to a
place where they cannot come. He’s speaking of his death and eventual
ascension to heaven where He will be with His Father, but where unbelievers
cannot come. I’ll bet you some people figured it out after his death,
resurrection and ascension and came to faith!
Jesus is clever—He often used (riddles) maschals to get people thinking so
that they would come to the truth on their own.
Examples of things to give people to think about:
“One solitary life”
“The Great Trilemma: Lord, Liar or Lunatic”
Fulfilled prophecies in the Life of Christ—statistical probabilities
The Uniqueness of Jesus:
1. Did you know that Jesus is the only founder of a major world religion
to claim to be God in the flesh?
2. Did you know that Jesus is the only founder of a major world religion
to have come back from the dead? And that as a result of His return from the
dead his claim to be able to bring others back from the dead has a great
deal more credibility than anyone else’s claim?
3. Did you know that Jesus is the only founder of a world religion about
whom there were more than 100 prophecies fulfilled that were given
hundreds and hundreds of years prior to His coming?
4. Did you know that of all the major founders of world religions,
only Jesus raised people from the dead?
5. Did you know that historically, the only people ever raised from the dead
were in the Judeo-Christian tradition, and that most of those who were raised
from the dead were associated with Jesus Himself.
6. Did you know that Jesus said most people would not go to heaven, but only
those who believed or trusted in Him would go to heaven?
7. Did you know that most, if not all, world religions claim good works
is the way to get to heaven; and that only Biblical Christianity says heaven
comes by faith in Jesus and his death for our sins and resurrection?
8. Did you know that every major world religion but one requires a person
to earn his own way to heaven? Did you know that only in Christianity
does God make the way to heaven for man through Jesus Christ?
9. Did you know that heaven is a free gift, not something that can be earned,
through faith in Christ?
IV. Make the issue eternal life (John 7:37-39)
ST: Jesus invited people to experience eternal life.
John 20:31: It is the issue of the Gospel of John.
V. Let Jesus speak for Himself—Use His words! (John 7:41-46)
ST: The officers went to arrest Jesus but came back having not
done so with this amazing statement: “Never has a man spoken the
way this man speaks.”
Hebrews 4:12; Isaiah 55
VI. Leave the results to God (John 7:47-53).
ST: The result of Jesus’ own ministry is some believe and some don’t.
The Pharisees themselves were hard ground—very hard ground. Only
two would believe who were members of the Jewish ruling council, the Sanhedrin.
Ill. The Harrisons went to Kuwait: Baptized one or two in their time—
one of them was a flake. Planted seeds. You never know when they will
germinate.
Conclusion:
1. Never know how many will later make a profession/confession.
2. Two young men rejected me initially for years, then, when faced death, asked themselves what would happen to them if they died, and then trusted Jesus on their own and became committed believers.
