"GOD LEFT YOU A MESSAGE... DID YOU GET IT?" LUKE 1:1-5
JOKE--- After directory assistance gave a woman her boyfriend’s new telephone number, she dialed him and got a woman.
"Is Robert there?" she asked.
"He’s in the shower," the lady responded. "Please tell him his girlfriend called," and she hung up.
When he didn’t return the call, the woman dialed again. This time a man answered. "This is Robert," he said.
"You’re not my boyfriend!" she exclaimed.
"I know," he replied. "That’s what I’ve been trying to tell my wife for the past half-hour."
INTRO--- We live in the high-tech information age where the key to communication is the ability to send and receive messages. From answering machines to cell phones; from email to instant messaging; from fax machines to conference calls and beyond, we are a society of message receivers and senders.
It would seem preposterous to include the Bible in with all these high tech communication tools I just mentioned. Ah but the fact is the Bible is the highest of all high-tech communication devices! In this world which sends millions of differing messages around the world every second, the Bible has been sending only one message to the world from the beginning: Jesus Saves!
We who received this message (Matt. 28:18-20) are commanded to send it to others.
My friends, if you are a Christian here today, there is no doubt that God left you a message; nor is there any question that you received His message; the question is, "Did you get it?"
PRAYER
TRANS--- Dr. Luke the Physician begins his Gospel with a carefully composed message to a man by the name of Theophilus. On the surface this may seem a somewhat irrelevant part of Luke’s Gospel, until we fully understand Luke’s whole purpose for writing the Gospel to begin with. You see, in his own words, Luke said he wrote this Gospel to send it to Theophilus.
As we share the Christmas message again this year, just the same as we did last year, and as we most surely will do next year, one question comes to mind, WHY?
In order to answer this question, we must first understand why the 12 Apostles gave the message of Jesus to Luke and why Luke then passed the message on to Theophilus and so on.
I. THE MESSAGE WIDENS WITNESSES INTO DISCIPLES
A. In v. 2, Dr. Luke refers to the 12 apostles as eyewitnesses aujtovptai which is the root to our modern word autopsy.
1. The word for eyewitness aujtovptai literally means "a seeing for oneself," and it involves "a critical assessment or examination."
2. Being a witness involves the tools of discipleship.
a. The word "disciple" in the original Greek language means learner.
ILLUSTRATION--- The word "disciple" or "disciples" is used 273 times in the New Testament. The word "Christian" is only used 2 times. And the noun "convert" is not used at all. Could it be that God has put a priority on making disciples instead of just converts? Without a doubt!
3. The sad thing is our churches are chock full of converts!
a. Somewhere in between receiving the Good News of Jesus and learning what God wants you to do with it, most Church people just stop!
b. In Hosea 4:6, God says, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." Proverbs 11:9 says, "The righteous are delivered through knowledge."
c. Lets all do an "autopsy" on our own discipleship this morning. Ask yourself...
1) Am I just going through the motions of church attendance?
2) When was the last time I even touched my Bible, let alone studied it?
3) Do I somehow think I have arrived and no longer need to learn anything more?
4) Or do I know all to well what God expects of me, but I am just too lazy to do it?
I. THE MESSAGE WIDENS WITNESSES INTO DISCIPLES
II. THE MESSAGE DEVELOPS DISCIPLES INTO SERVANTS
A. Also in v. 2, the word for servant uJphrevtai literally means an underling or attendant; one who is subservient to something or someone.
1. THINK ABOUT IT FOR A MINUTE! Why on earth, in the face of such considerable persecution, would these Christian men make it their business to pass on to us this story of Jesus Christ?
a. Because first saw the Messiah with their very own eyes;
b. They studied with Jesus very intently and knew the truth well and they became disciples.
c. And because they not only received and studied the high cost of the free gift of salvation they freely devoted themselves to serve Jesus Christ!
ILLUSTRATION--- Ten years ago, Richard Foster, in his book Celebration of Discipline, put together a brief comparison of the characteristics of self-service as opposed to Christ’s service:
Self-righteous service comes through human effort.
Christ’s service comes from a relationship with Holy Spirit deep inside.
Self-righteous service is impressed with the "big deal."
Christ’s Service does not distinguish the small from the large service.
Self-righteous service requires external rewards.
Christ’s Service rests contented in hiddenness.
Self-righteous service picks and chooses whom to serve.
Christ’s Service is indiscriminate in its ministry.
Self-righteous service is affected by moods and whims.
Christ’s Service ministers simply and faithfully because there is a need.
Self-righteous service is temporary.
Christ’s Service is a life-style.
2. My friends when you couple the rapid rate at which the godly generations are passing away from this world with the rapid decline of discipleship and service in the Church, the result is chilling!
3. We have no time to spare! Our broken spiritual condition has to be redeemed!
a. The only way this can be done is by teaching every believer the fundamental truths of God’s Word so that he or she will grow in the faith, overcome all obstacles, and do what God wants for them to do.
I. THE MESSAGE WIDENS WITNESSES INTO DISCIPLES
II. THE MESSAGE DEVELOPS DISCIPLES INTO SERVANTS
III. THE MESSAGE MOVES SERVANTS TO MAKE DISCIPLES
A. So we now know why the Apostles did it! We know why Luke did it! And now we are beginning to understand why we still tell the story!
1. Look at vv. 3-4---Luke had been so slain by the message of the Savior of the universe which he had received and studied that he said, passing it on to Theophilus was the only fitting thing to do.
a. You see Theophilus was just a new Christian.
1) Look at v. 4 closely, Luke’s ultimate motive was so that Theophilus (and no doubt all other new Christians) "might know the exact truth about the things you have been taught."
ILLUSTRATION---Did you know that if you only helped one person saved per year, but you really discipled him or her to the point that he or she also helped one person to be saved and fully discipled per year, the number of Christians in the world would explode?
One would become two in a year, and then there would be four after the second year and so on. If you do the math, you would discover that in just 33 years one person could help 4.2 billion people to be saved! And that’s approximately the number of unsaved people on the planet. So the whole world could be evangelized in 33 years by simply making disciples.
2. My friends, God left you a message, now do you get it?!
CONCLUSION---When I was a child, my sisters were addicted to talking on the phone. Man oh man, they would fight and fight over that little black phone! You see we used to be on the party-line system and had worked out with our neighbors what time we would get to use the phone and what time they could use the phone. So time was of the essence.
The funny thing was, if you called my house, for anyone other than my sisters, you would most likely get hung up on. You see, whenever the phone would ring, they would race to it and both would answer it simultaneously. Upon determining the phone call was not for them, both would hang up assuming the other one would take care of it!
Today, we treat the Gospel call much the same way don’t we. We have so many opportunities to share the good news of Jesus Christ. The trouble is when the opportunity to tell a person about Jesus arises; we think someone else will take care of it!
I thank the Lord that when He looked down upon my sin and that of all humanity, He knew that no one else could take care of it but Jesus!
