Be Intentional
#9 – Sharing the Good News of Jesus
Acts 4:12, John 14:6
March 16, 2003
Introduction
Since the beginning of the year, we have been looking at the whole issue of intentionality – in other words, living life by decision rather than by default.
We have covered the areas of allowing Christ to be the boss of your life, obeying Him, getting the most out of your Bible and prayer, and being intentional about developing relationships with others who love Jesus.
Today we look at being intentional about sharing the good news of Christ.
Now before you start to zone out on me here, let me say a couple things here.
First, sharing Christ is not just for pastors and evangelists. Jesus made it clear that He expects His followers to spread the news about Him.
Second, in expecting us to all get involved, He is allowing us to partner with Him in bringing countless numbers to heaven. And that is a wonderful privilege.
Too many Christians think that if people would just come to church they would find out the truth, and become Christians.
But guess what? Church attendance around the world is down, especially in Europe and North America. If you’re expecting a bunch of people to just walk in the door so they can find Christ, let me just tell you to not hold your breath. We need to take the good news of Jesus to them.
And where are they? In your neighborhood, your workplace, your recreation, and even in your family.
In John 14:6, Jesus said,
JN 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Do you really believe that? I do, and that’s the basis of this message today – the fact that Jesus has offered us heaven, and that He is the only way to get it.
But I want to focus on another Scripture passage, and that is Acts chapter 4, which you can find on page 773 of the Bibles in the seats.
The setting of the story is this: In the chapter before this, Peter and John were on their way to a prayer meeting at the temple, and came across a crippled beggar, who asked them for money.
Peter said he didn’t have money, but that he would give the man something he did have: the power of God to heal him. So Peter grabbed the man’s hand and helped him to his, and he was healed.
Well, you can imagine that this caused a bit of a ruckus, and the religious leaders were called in to check this out.
They found the apostles using the opportunity of the gathering crowd to talk about Jesus, and they about had a panic attack, according to the second verse of chapter 4. So they had Peter and John arrested and thrown in jail overnight, and then questioned them the next day, demanding to know, “by what power or what name did you do this?”
We pick it up in verse 8
AC 4:8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 He is
" `the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the capstone. ’
AC 4:12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
AC 4:13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. 14 But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. 15 So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. 16 "What are we going to do with these men?" they asked. "Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it. 17 But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no longer to anyone in this name."
AC 4:18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. 20 For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard."
AC 4:21 After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. 22 For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.
Keep your finger here, because we will refer back to it more throughout the message.
This morning I want to lay a foundation for sharing the good news of Jesus with those around you.
Next week, I am going to give you some practical help in what to say in sharing the good news, but today I want to give you four actions that need to take place if you want to be effective in telling others about Christ.
And I hope that you will leave here today with a sense of thankfulness and urgency regarding the spiritual condition of those around you.
The first action to take in becoming effective in sharing Christ is to…
1. Ask God to impress you with a sense of ownership and gratitude for your own salvation.
Have you given much thought to the fact that Jesus died for you? When was the last time you just took a moment to contemplate the fact that Jesus died for you?
Folks, when I stop to think that Jesus died for me, knowing how I would respond, knowing what sins I would commit, knowing my personality, knowing my attitudes and selfishness, I am filled with a sense of immeasurable awe and gratitude.
You see, I am the possessor of eternal life, because Jesus saw fit to save me, wretch that I was. And I am forgiven.
Rev. Isaac Smith told us last year at family camp that one of the first things he does when he wakes up in the morning is to say, “Thank you, Lord, that I’m forgiven.”
Can you say that about yourself? Can you look to heaven right now and say, “Thank you, Lord, that I’m forgiven?”
I hope so. If not, then you need to let the Lord Jesus do that for you. You hang on, because I want to tell you just how to do that at the end of the message, okay?
But for the rest of you, let me just encourage you take a moment right now to lift your heart to God, saying, “Lord, thank You for forgiving me. And please help me to be grateful on a daily basis, not just in saying so, but in a lifestyle of grateful obedience.”
Live the life of a person who is forgiven of a great debt.
The second action in becoming effective in sharing Christ is to…
2. Ask God to give you a sense of the “lostness” of those around you without Christ.
Peter and John were constantly on the look-out for people who needed to know about salvation in Christ. And when the opportunities arose, they jumped all over them like a duck on a June bug, because they were convinced of the truth they told to the religious leaders: that there is no other way to heaven – Jesus said so, and He proved it by His death and resurrection.
Let me challenge you by asking a question:
Do you understand that there are people that you know who will die and spend eternity in hell unless someone steps in with the good news of forgiveness and a home in heaven?
It’s true! There are people I know who will spend eternity in hell unless someone steps in to tell them about Christ.
When God initially called me to ministry, I assumed I would be doing evangelistic work with the Wesleyan Church, but I did not figure to be a pastor, and Aberdeen never entered my mind.
But when I preached here that first Sunday in August of 2000, God broke my heart for this church, and the lost in the area.
In fact, God said to my heart, “Brian, there are 25,000 people in this town, and a bunch of them are going to die this week without Christ.” He broke my heart for them, and He also made it clear to me that He wants this church to be a major player in people coming to Christ in Aberdeen and Brown County.
How many people here read the newspaper on a regular basis?
Every day I read the newspaper, and every day there are those things called obituaries. And I can’t help but wonder how many of those people are facing an eternity in hell.
Kind of heavy stuff, I know. But it’s not a game. It’s very real.
Ask God to make this very real to you. So real that your very soul cries out for the lost around you.
You know, bad news travels fast. Within two hours the whole world knew that President Kennedy had been killed, who killed him, where he was killed and how he was killed. Today, still half the world does not know the good news that Jesus died, where He died, and the purpose of His death. People do not know that Jesus died for them. (Jerry Falwell – SermonCentral.com)
You’re going to heaven because someone took the opportunity to tell you about Jesus – and I hope you’re grateful. So out of gratitude, look for ways to give others the same opportunity.
Ask God to give you a sense of the “lostness” of those around you.
The third action toward becoming effective in sharing Christ is to…
3. Develop and maintain an authentic personal relationship with Christ.
Verse 13 of our passage says that they could tell these guys weren’t exactly Bible school or seminary graduates. They were lowly fisherman who had little or no schooling growing up.
But listen again to verse 13 in full:
When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
Understand, folks, that any of these religious teachers could have argued Peter and John into a corner using all the theology they had learned to become Pharisees and such.
But when push came to shove, all the arguments didn’t matter.
They saw that Peter and John had performed a miracle, and that their only credentials were that they had been with Jesus.
Why is this important to notice? For two reasons:
First, it shows that it is not the method, it is the message.
These guys had not taken seminary courses on evangelism, and had no formal training in the latest outreach techniques.
They hadn’t taken surveys to determine just how they should approach the Judean people about Christ.
They just took every opportunity to tell others about Him. The message, delivered by the power of the Holy Spirit, was all they needed. God used the miracle done in the name of Jesus to spread the news about Him.
The second reason is that it emphasizes that Peter and John were not recognized as individuals, but as disciples of Christ. “They took note that these men had been with Jesus.”
When I was a young father, or should I say, a younger father, and we lived in Florida, I was the assistant manager of a Christian bookstore, and I had a cool nametag that had my name and title on it.
One day, a family from my church came to the store. One of the little girls thought she recognized me, but wasn’t sure. The older sister stepped up and said, “That’s Danielle’s daddy.”
That’s a title I gladly bear, because it identifies me with someone I love. I also love to be identified as Noble’s dad, Lance’s dad, Olivia’s dad, Ellene’s dad, and Deb’s husband. But I am, above all, a follower of Christ.
I am the pastor of this church, but I was a disciple of Christ long before I became a pastor. And I pray that you will consider yourself a disciple of Christ no matter what you do for a living.
Can someone look at your life and your work and see that you live for something outside of yourself? If not, let me encourage you to make more of an effort to be identified with Christ.
And it starts by developing an authentic, personal relationship with Christ.
The fourth action to take in order to become effective in sharing Christ is to…
4. Develop solid convictions about the truth of Christ.
Don’t develop opinions about Christ being the only way to God, and don’t just develop ideas about Christ being the only way, develop convictions.
What are convictions? Convictions are those beliefs that you hold so strongly that you are willing to die for them.
When Peter and John were brought before the religious leaders, they stood confident that what they did was the right thing to do, because of the truth of Christ.
And when they were ordered by the religious leaders to stop preaching in this name, they refused. Look back at verse 19:
19 But Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. 20 For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard."
Their convictions about Christ were the basis of all they said and did.
Why is it so important to develop convictions about Christ, instead of just opinions and ideas?
Because we live in a world that has no firm anchor for their beliefs, and that includes much of the “Christian church.”
If followers of Jesus Christ don’t possess convictions about Jesus that are based on the Bible, then they will fall prey to philosophies and ideas that will undermine their faith.
Colossians 2:8 warns us about these things:
COL 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.
Do you have convictions about Christ?
Let me share with you some of my convictions:
First, I believe the Bible is the total, inerrant, and authoritative Word of God, and the final authority for all life.
Second, the Bible says that Jesus was God in the flesh, and that His sacrifice was necessary and sufficient to give forgiveness of sins.
Third, the Bible says that He rose bodily from the grave, and that He will return bodily one day.
Fourth, the Bible says that Jesus is the only way to God, and that outside of Christ there is no hope for anyone.
I hope you share these convictions. These are what I call, “hills to die on.” In other words, these issues are ones I fight for, and would give my life for, if need be.
I don’t have convictions regarding such things as which Bible translation is the best, or which style of music is favored by God, or hairstyles, or anything like that.
I have opinions and ideas about these things, but I wouldn’t give my life for any of them.
You need convictions about the essential matters of faith.
Another reason we need convictions is because the world in its current state needs to hear the name of Jesus like never before.
Because of the terrorist attacks on our country, and the war on terror, the name of Jesus has become a source of embarrassment for some.
And when someone dares to mention the name of Jesus except as a cuss word, you can expect that people won’t like it.
And so many people are letting their faith in Christ go “underground.”
Let me tell you something folks. Now is not the time to go into the closet with Christ. Now is the time to be bold, letting the name of Christ ring loud and clear, so that people can see that Jesus is real and Jesus is true, in spite of people who misrepresent Him, and in spite of world opinion.
God doesn’t need “secret service” Christians – He needs out-front and out-loud Christians!
I just told you some of my convictions. You might like my convictions, and you might want them for your own. I hope that’s the case, because I think they are Biblical.
But you also need to understand that no one dies for someone else’s convictions. They will only die for their own.
Ask God to help you develop Bible-based convictions that you possess on your own.
Folks, I mentioned before that this world seems to have no real, objective anchor for their lives.
Christians who hold and live out Biblical convictions shine like a beacon to the world. And when people see you living a life of conviction, they are many times irresistibly drawn to that.
I am convinced that many, if not the vast majority of people want something to put their faith in that will carry them through life here on earth, and into life after they leave here.
We have something to offer. It’s hope based on the conviction that Jesus was who He said He was – the only Savior and Redeemer of mankind.
Remember: people are not born Christians,
they become Christians. That’s why it is so important to take the good news to people.
If they are not told, they will live under the false assumption that just because they were born in America or born into a “Christian home” that they will go to heaven.
Convictions are all-important in a world where truth is said to be relative, and even unimportant. Develop convictions about Christ, and live them out.
Take the time and effort to lay the foundation needed for sharing the good news of Jesus.
It will bless you, and there is a world that’s literally dying to hear it.
Conclusion
I mentioned in the first part of the message that if you could not honestly look to heaven in thankfulness for being forgiven, then I wanted to tell you how to be forgiven.
It’s as simple as trusting that Christ did everything necessary for you to be forgiven. He died on the cross for your sins. He rose from the grave for your sake.
So call on Him to grant you that forgiveness. He grants not just forgiveness, but He also grants you eternal life, beginning right now. He also grants you a new life – making you a new creation. And who couldn’t use a new life? I sure needed one when I came to Christ.
Without Christ pulling at me, I could still be on the reservation, smoking dope and getting drunk with my buddies who are still there getting drunk and smoking dope.
I needed a new life. I needed to be forgiven. I needed the assurance that God loved me and wanted me with Him in heaven.
So let me offer you the same invitation He offered me, and offers all who will take it:
Jesus said,
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Are you ready to let Him have your burdens? Are you ready to let Him have His way in your life, allowing Him to run the show? Are you ready to find rest for your soul?
Are you ready to accept His offer of forgiveness and eternal life, as well as His offer of a new life filled with the presence of God?
If you are, then I want to pray with you right now. I’m going to lead you in a prayer that you can make your own to come to Christ in faith, to make Him your Savior and Lord.
And after we pray, I have just one other thing to say, okay? Let’s pray.
Before we go, I want to encourage you to do something for me today. We have talked about four things we should do to build a foundation on which to share our faith.
If God has pointed out one or more of these things to you as an area you need to work on, then I would like to know.
So what I want you to do is to take the response card and write down for me which point of the message God is especially impressing on you to work on.
You can either write out the point, or just write down the number from your note-taking guide. I’ll know what you mean.
I promise to pray for you, and if you want resources to help you, I will gladly find some for you.
But please allow God to move in your heart to gain His heart for the lost all around you.
Let’s close in prayer.
