I hope you enjoyed our journey through 1st John over the last several weeks, as we examined the Genuine Christian, I know that I did. However, since we finished the book last week, I guess it was a good time to finish the series.
This morning our text will be a very familiar piece of scripture for most of us here this morning. But why it may be familiar, I would make the argument that most of us would be quilty of not putting it into practice.
And this piece of scripture is actually found 5 times in the New Testament. It is found in Matthew 28:16-20, Mark 16:14–18, Luke 24:44–49, John 20:19-23, and Acts 1:4–8.
With that said if you have brought your Bible with you please open it to the book of Matthew 28:19, and once you have found that stick your finger there and flip over to Acts 1:8. So once again we will look at Matthew 28:19 and Acts 1:8. We will first read Acts 1:8 then we will flip back to Matthew 28:19. Once you have found them as you are able would you please stand for the reading of God’s Holy Word.
(slide 2) Here is what we read in Acts 1:8: But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. And in Matthew 28:19 it says: Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Now I hoped you noticed that these were red letter words, which we know come straight from the mouth of Jesus. Which also means they are not up for debate, they are a commandment from our Lord and Savior, and therefore we have no choice but to hear and obey them.
So, what is this command? Simply put we are to share the gospel. We are to let people know the good news that Jesus saves, He is the ultimate lifeguard.
And if you will think back to about 14 months ago, on Sunday evenings we talked about this and we talked about the power of your testimony. Your testimony is yours and no one else, now people may choose to discount it, but that does not make it any less real.
(Slide 3) So, if this commandment is all about sharing the gospel, let’s take a look at how we can do that with an acronym. And it’s pretty easy to remember, it’s S.H.A.R.E.
The S stand for show. Now what do I mean by that? Before we can ever share the Gospel, we must first show people that we genuinely love them, and we love them just like they are. That means the LGBTQ plus group, the poor, the rich, the person with a different skin color, the Muslim, the non-Christian, the fact of the matter is this we must love them first. There is an old saying and I am quite sure that you have heard it, it goes like this, people don’t care how much you know, till they know how much you care.
How many of you recall the woman that the Pharisees brought to Jesus who had been caught in the act of committing adultery. Why every single one of them was willing to stone her to death, I mean they even already had the rocks in their hands.
But when Jesus reminded them of their own sins, they all left. And when it was just Jesus and the women, did He not show compassion on her? There can be no doubt that she knew that Jesus loved her. And it is the same for us, if we are going to share the gospel it must be done out of love, the same way that Jesus loves us.
(slide 4) The H is for help.
I actually thought of several other H words we could have used. Words like, hallow, it means to honor as holy or sacred, showing reverence and respect for something or someone. Handfeed, that means to feed someone or something by hand, showing care and attention, you know sometimes we have to handfeed new believers, don’t we? I also thought about hasten and came close to using it. Listen to its meaning, to move or act quickly, often with a sense of urgency, in order to accomplish a task or reach a destination. Boy that’s a good one, we should be sharing with a sense of urgency, and what is the destination, why heaven of course.
But again, I settled on the word help. It goes so well with what we looked at a moment ago, that people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. And when you are helping someone with a trying time they are going through, or a physical task, the fact that you stopped to help them speaks volumes. In Luke 8 when Jesus helped the woman with the bleeding disorder, do you not think that had a profound impact on her? If we are to share the Gospel, we must be willing to help people.
(slide 5) The A is simple; it is to Ask.
How in the world can we witness to someone if we never ask? Now you may be sitting there and be thinking to yourself how do I make the ask?
Well, that is easy. Now I am not saying that I do this 100 percent of the time, but I will often ask the cashier in the grocery line, or my waiter or waitress if I can pray for them. What an easy way to open the door and also inquire if they know Jesus or not, that if they were to leave the world today, do they know where they are going. If the answer is no, or I am not sure, guess what you already showed them that you care, by being willing to pray for them, and when you leave, leave a decent tip, that will help them, and the time you have between having your order taken and the time you pay your bill, share the Gospel with them.
In Matthew 5:47 listen to the red-letter words of Jesus: And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?
What Jesus is saying is that if the only people you are asking anything of are your friends, you are no better than an agent from the IRS. But seriously Jesus is telling us that everyone needs to hear the good news that He saves, and that you are to be a part of sharing that news.
Let me give you a proven statistic. 100 percent of the people who never hear or take time to see the Gospel, will never come to know Jesus. Brothers and sisters, we must make the ask, and we must be intentional about it.
(Slide 6) The R is for Remember.
Now remember what? What we had for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Remember our first pet or our first time we went to school. By no means is this what I am talking about. I am talking about remembering what God has already done for you. Remember how He took you from a life of sin and misery to a life of happiness and joy. Remember how He forgave you of your sins and made you a joint Heir with Jesus.
That is some of the most beautiful scripture in all of the Bible, the fact that you and I can become a joint Heir to Jesus and be loved by God the same way He is. When you remember what God has done in your life you will find it easy to share that story and give God the glory.
(Slide 7) And the E is for Everyone.
So, who is it that we are to share the gospel with? Simple it is everyone, even people we may believe that have already been saved. Maybe they are going through a rough patch, and they need to be reminded that there is a God who loves them, maybe they have never been inside a Church, or maybe and this breaks my heart to say but maybe the church has hurt them in the past.
Remind them that salvation is not about being a member of a local Church, but it is about a relationship. It’s about a relationship with God the father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. And once they have that relationship right, it is God that will lead them to the right Church where they can grow in that walk and where they too will be able to go and share the good news that Jesus Saves.
Pray as led.
