RAISING THE BAR
THE BAR OF EVANGELISM
Acts 4:32-33
INTRODUCTION:
Each day as Paul Harvey signs on he says, “You know what the news is. In a minute you’re going to hear the rest of the story.”
POEM> What’s the News?
What’s the news? What’s the news?
Pray, what’s the order of the day?
I’ve got good news today to tell
My Savior has done all things well
And He’s conquered over death and hell
That’s the news! That’s the news!
Now when anyone shall say to you
"What’s the news? What’s the news?
Pray, what’s the order of the day?"
You tell them that we’ve just begun to work and pray
And lead everyone we can in the Savior’s way.
We’re joined together in a conquering band
And marching toward the Promise Land.
That’s the news! That’s the news!
The fact that Jesus Christ has gone to the cross in order to pay debt for our sins is great news! The fact that Jesus Christ was buried in a grave, but rose 3 days later is terrific news! Because of what Jesus Christ has done, all people, from all nations, of every race, every color, and every social level have the opportunity to be forgiven, saved, and brought into a right relationship with Jesus Christ with the hope of eternal life in heaven. That’s the news. As a matter of fact the Bible calls it the Good News.
So now that you know what the news is, let’s talk about the rest of the story.
The rest of the story has to do with what we are going to do with this Good News
QUOTE> Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Church
“Strong churches are built on purpose! The starting point for every church should be the question, ‘Why do we exist?’”
Now that we know and understand what the Good News is, what are we going to do with it? What is our purpose as God’s Church? What difference do we want to make?
ILL> Several years ago (1985) a celebration took place at a municipal pool in New Orleans. The party around the pool was held to celebrate the first summer in memory without a drowning at the New Orleans City pool. In honor of the occasion, 200 people gathered, including 100 certified lifeguards. As the party was breaking up and the four lifeguards on duty began to clear the pool, they found a fully dressed body in the deep end. They tried to revive Jerome Moody, 31, but it was too late. He had drowned surrounded by lifeguards celebrating their successful season.
What a tragedy. But, it’s just as tragic when people are surrounded by Christians and still die and go to hell not knowing Jesus. The early Church was committed to reaching the lost for Christ We need to raise the bar in our commitment toward reaching others as well.
READ: ACTS 4:31-32
1. THE MESSAGE WE MUST SHARE (33)
Christ is the only way. It is only through Jesus Christ that we can be forgiven, be saved by grace, and receive the promise of eternal life. Only through Jesus. One of the problems that we face as a church today is that not many believe truly believe that
ILL> According to the Barna Research Group, nearly half of those that were surveyed believe that “the bible, the Koran, and th Book of Mormon are all different expressions of the same spiritual truths.”
In other words, to many people it doesn’t make any difference what you believe as long as you believe in something. Because of that there are some who say that Christians are a little narrow minded–thinking that they are the only ones who will get to heaven. People say, “Do you mean to tell me that those that follow the ways of Islam will not get into heaven?” “Do you mean to tell me that those that follow the ways of Buddha, or Wica, or even Joseph Smith (the leader of the Mormans) will not get into heaven?” “Do you that people won’t find eternal life through crystals, or channeling, or finding their inner light?”
The good thing about it is that I don’t have to give you my opinion on that because the Bible answers it for us. Acts 4:12 says, Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." Now that’s not me talking. That’s not simply what this church believes. This comes from Jehovah God Himself! In John 14:6, it says that “Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
The message we need to share. Romans 10:9-10 says, “That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. [10] For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”
On the first day of the church, the Day of Pentecost, Peter told the crowd that had gathered that they needed to repent and be baptized. And about 3000 did! In Acts 16 when the jailor asked Paul and Silas, “What must I do to be saved?” they answered, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved–you and your household.” They did and the Bible says that he and all his family were baptized at the same hour of the night. The reason this is possible is because of the sacrifice that Jesus made at Calvary–because He was victorious over hell and death and rose from the grave Nobody else has done that for us. If you would go to the tomb of Confucious, you will find that he is still there. If you would go to the tomb of Buddha you will find that he is still there. If you go to the tomb of Mohammed–guess what? he is still there. But if you go to the tomb of Christ-it is empty!!! That’s the difference! That is why salvation is only found in Jesus Christ.
2. THE MEANS OF REACHING OTHERS FOR CHRIST
So who is responsible to reach others for Christ? The Bible says that there are those that are especially gifted as evangelists, and there are. But I want to remind you of 2 words once again–PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY. Who is responsible to reach others? You are–I am.
ILL> Norman Cates shared the humorous story of a guy who prayed this prayer every morning: "Lord, if you want me to witness to someone today, please give me a sign to show me who it is." One day he found himself on a bus when a big, burly man sat next to him. The bus was nearly empty but this guy sat next to our praying friend. The timid Christian anxiously waited for his stop so he could exit the bus. But before he could get very nervous about the man next to him, the big guy burst into tears and began to weep. He then cried out with a loud voice, "I need to be saved. I’m a lost sinner and I need the Lord. Won’t somebody tell me how to be saved?" He turned to the Christian and pleaded, "Can you show me how to be saved?" The believer immediately bowed his head and prayed, "Lord, is this a sign?" Are you looking for a "sign" to start witnessing? It can be found in Matthew 28:19-20 and Acts 1:8.
In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus challenged us to... “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.” Evangelism doesn’t always mean walking up to a total stranger and saying, “If you died right now would you go to hell?” There are those that can do that and do it very effectively–those are the ones who are gifted in evangelism. We need to tell people what to do, but first we must show them how to live and what Christ is doing in our lives.
QUOTE> Rick Warren, Taking God Seriously
According to Rick Warren, there are two basic reasons people don’t know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior: (1) they have never met a Christian; and (2) they have met a Christian. Christian influence is no small matter.
Sometimes you can show people what it is to be a Christian by being there in time of need. At times, by how you handle difficult situations. By your own personal commitment to Christ and His Church. And sometimes, through baking a cookie to give to someone you may never meet. Acts 5:42 says, “Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they [the apostles] never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.”
ILL> In the filming of Ben Hur, the star of the movie Charleston Heston had a difficult time learning how to drive the chariot. So, after a great deal of work and practice, Heston mastered the art of driving the chariot but felt impelled to go to the director, Cecil B. DeMille, and say, “I think I can drive the chariot, but I’m not sure I can win the race.” DeMille is said to have responded with, “You just stay in the race, I’ll make sure you win.”
3. THE MOTIVATION TO SHARE THE MESSAGE
For the apostles there was burning inside to share what God had done. When they were chastised by the Jewish ruling body and told to quit preaching about this Christ they said, (Acts 4:20), “For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard."
ILL> While speaking in London, evangelist D. L. Moody was approached by a British companion who wanted to know the secret of Moody’s success in leading people to Christ. Moody directed the man to his hotel window and asked, "What do you see?" The man looked down on the square and reported a view of crowded streets. Moody suggested he look again. This time the man mentioned seeing people--men, women, and children. Moody then directed him to look a third time, and the man became frustrated that he was not seeing what Moody wanted him to see. The great evangelist came to the window with watery eyes and said, "I see people going to hell without Jesus. Until you see people like that, you will not lead them to Christ."
2 Cor. 5:14-15 says that...“Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. [15] And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”
CONCLUSION:
Jesus undrstood the purpose of His ministry. In Luke 10 Jesus said, “I come to seek an save the lost” and He challenges us to do the same. However, we face 2 big obstacles–FEAR and APATHY.
If you believe that Jesus is the only way that we can escape eternal damnation. If you believe that Jesus really is the Way, the Truth, and the Life and that no one can get to the Father but through Him–aren’t you compelled to do everything you can to save as many people as possible. We need to get people off the sinking ship of this world and into God’s yacht of salvation.
ILL> An older gentleman was walking along the seashore one day in the hot sun. As he walked he was sweating profusely and seemed to be in a hurry! Every few steps he would bend over, pick up a starfish from the hot, burning sands an dcast it back into the cool waves. One after another, after another, after another he would pick the starfish up and cast them into the water. Some would come back to the hot sand as the waves washed them back in while most would eventually go into the deeper waters of safety.
A young man came along, after having watched this for awhile and told the old man, “You are wasting your time and energy. There are thousands of starfish on the sand. What difference can you possibly make?”
The old man seemed to ignore this younger man. He simply bent over, picked up another starfish and threw it into the water. As he quickly moved on to the next one, the old man turned to the younger man and said, “Well, it sure made a difference for that one didn’t it!”
