You Might Be A Healthy Christian If......You Participate In Christian Cloning.
4 of 4 FBC Chester, IL Mike Fogerson, Speaker
Introduction:
1 In Le Lavandou, France it is a grave offense to ......die.
A The Riviera town’s only cemetary is full and ecologist (people who study the enviroment) are holding up their proposal for another one along the coast.
a. Because the dispute will probably go on for a long time, the mayor passed a law on September 21, 2000 stating, "It is illegal for anyone without a cemetery plot to die within the town limits."
b The mayor said he knew it was absurd but insistied it was enacted because of an absurd situation.
B He was quick to tell the town that there would be no punishment for those who broke the law.
a Death is a reality that does not respond to legislation, eating right, living right....we are all going to die.
b We have no choice whether or not we die. (We do have a choice on where we go when we die & Christians have the responsibility/honor to tell people what their choices are.)
2 You might be a healthy Christian if....You participate in Christian cloning.
A Acts 1:4,8
[4] On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.
[8] But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
a Jesus planned on growing His church through disciples reproducing disciples. (ETS)
b Healthy Christians share what they know about Jesus Christ. (ESS)
B I want you to share your faith in the next seven days. (Objective)
a Who was the last person you told about Jesus? (P.Q.)
b Let’s look at two reasons why we should share our faith with someone in the next seven days. (T.S.)
I The first reason we should share our faith in the next seven days is.......The Devil Is A Life Taker.
A There are three faces of death that I want to introduce to you. (Use a flip chart/powerpoint)
a PHYSICAL DEATH
*Heb. 9:27 "It has been appointed for men to die once, and after that comes the judgement."
*You have a 100% chance of dying. (You can’t beat those odds.)
b SPIRITUAL DEATH (Related to Physical death but distingushed)
*Gen. 2:16/17 "[16] And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; [17] but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." Adam & Eve didn’t die physically on that day...they died spiritually.
*Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death....." We spiritual die!
*Because we’ve sinned there is now an abyss between us and God.
-Sin has caused us to be die spiritually. *We become dead men walking.
c ETERNAL DEATH (If you physically die, spiritually dead...the condition becomes permanent.)
*You will physically die....no choice.
*You don’t have to have eternal death. That you have some say so in.
B The devil want you to go to hell. (He wants you have eternal death)
a In 1998, Daniel Remeta was executed in the Florida electric chair for killing 5 people in 1985. In an interview shortly before his death, Remeta explained why he did what he did. "I just like to kill people."
b Reminds me of another life taker who "prowls around like a roaring lion seeking to devour."
*Satan likes to take life......Satan likes to kill.....Satan is a life taker.
T.S.: The devil wants your family, friends, neighbors....and you. He wants them to die and go to hell. God has another plan. If Satan is a life taker.....
II The second reason you should share your faith is....God is a Life Saver.
A Jesus gave His disciples His life saving plan. (Be my witnesses in....)
a Jerusalem: (Where were they at?......Jerusalem) Was this easy or hard?
*This is the town Jesus was tried three times, dragged through the street and crucified like a criminal. People didn’t want to hear about the message of Jesus Christ. -Jerusalem was a tough place to witness.
CHESTER (Your place of ministry)
*People know about us, our troubles, past, sins....people don’t want to hear it. Chester’s tough.
b Judea (People like them)
(To the jews in the surrounding area. Shared customs, cultures, backgrouond, beliefs.....a little easier.
People like us.
(IL) I would have an easier time sharing my faith with your family than mine and vice versa.
*Were similar, but were not from the same family (Jerusalem/Judea)
c Samaria (People difficult to love)
(Difficult people for the jew to love. The Samaritans were half breed Jews going all the way back to the Babylonian captivity. Some jews were taken into captivity some were left in Israel. The ones left in Israel married pagans, had kids.....these kids were Samaritans. Jews wanted nothing to do with them. After the captivity, the Jews went to rebuild the temple, the Sam. offered help and the jews wouldn’t hear of it.)
We all have people that are difficult for us to love. (Family, co-workers.....)
d Remotest part of the earth
*Jesus told his disciples to take what they knew and tell it EVERYWHERE. Why? Matt. 28:16 & 19,20
MT 28:16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. [19] 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, [20] and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
*He sent his disciples to make disciples. (Cloning)
B Jesus whole plan only works when His disciples speak up.
a Be my WITNESSES. (Gk: Martus) Someone who brings to light information, confirm the facts, Someone who remembers.
(IL)Last week at 11:40 p.m. I heard an odd noise outside the house. A truck had hit a phone pole. I went to the door and saw the driver picking up pieces of his truck from my yard. I called the police and when they got there I was asked about 11 different questions. Why? I was the best witness they had.
b Jesus tells us to be his martus. (What word did we get from that? Martyr)
*You might say, "I don’t have to do that Pastor. I witness by coming to church. Reading my bible......All those things are great...but there not enough.
*Martyrs didn’t become martyrs for being silent. They spoke!!!
*Your friends, family, neighbors probably won’t get saved because you read your bible or went to church every night or said grace over every meal.
*They will come to Jesus because someone told them. (Why not let that someone be you?)
Conclusion:
1 When you have something good, you want to share it. Healthy Christians share what they know about Jesus Christ. (ESS)
A. We’ve looked at two reasons why we should share our faith with someone in the next seven days.
a. The devil is a life taker. (He likes to kill people. He’s going to hell and he wants you there too.) For the wages of sin is DEATH......
b. God is a life saver. (He offers eternal life as a free gift.) BUT the gift of God is ETERNAL LIFE!
B I want you to share your faith in the next seven days. (Objective)
a. Scary, unnatural, difficult.
b. There are two types of people here. There are those who talk about lost people and there are those who talk to lost people.
2 Who was the last person you told about Jesus? (P.Q.)
A During the preparations for one of Luis Palau’s crusades in Latin America, a very poor, unshaven man came to one of their week-long biblical counseling courses.
a. Usually those of better education, social standing do the training...but one shoeless, unclean homeless man showed up to learn how to lead people to Christ.
b. The teachers looked down on the guy, yet trained him none the less, knowing that the better educated men would do the bulk of the invitation work.
B The crusade began and hundreds flocked to the stage, every trained man was sharing his faith...and the shoeless, homeless man was at one of the stage all by himself when a man from the crowd came to him. The homeless man led him to Jesus. (After the service, the coordinators asked the homeless guy to sit the next night out)
a The next night of the crusade, the man who was led to Jesus by the homeless man brought four of his friends, they were doctors too, to the alter call.
b This time, the well-educated, clean counselors approached them. The man and his friends said.... "we’d like to talk to the man I talked to last night." He (homeless guy) got of his seat and went and led the four doctors to Christ.
*You may not think you have what it takes, know the right verses.....God can use you to bring someone into his kingdom.
c Who was the last person who told about Jesus?
Invitation Helps:
(Have ushers sitting at all exits with individually wrapped life-savers candies)
*Ask audience to think of one person they can share their faith with this week. When they get it, have them raise their hand. (Pray over them from the pulpit/stage)
*Ask anyone who is not saved but wants to be to stand. (Pray for them) Ask them to come forward.
*Challenge the audience to take a life-saver from the ushers on the way out and DO NOT open it until they have witnessed to the person they have thought about.
