Intro: We have started talking about the purpose of the church. I hope you came out to church on purpose this morning. If so, for what purpose? We mentioned last week that the church exists to celebrate the presence of God: Worship. But, there are other purposes as well. What would you think of a baseball player who wouldn’t take the field: he only wanted to bat. We’d say, no way, if you want to bat, you’ve got to take the field. What would you tell a child who only wanted to eat cookies. Cookies are good, but you need to eat your vegetables as well. What would we say to a church that just wanted to focus on worship? If that’s all God called us to do, that would be great. yet, there are other purposes for the existence of the church. This morning, we want to look at a second purpose of the church: Evangelism - to communicate God’s message.
One of the truths we base our faith upon is that God himself has communicated with man. God made man; he is His creation; He loves him; and He wants to communicate with him. Yet, Hebrews 1 tells us that God who communicated in the past through visions and prophets, now communicates to us through his son and through his word. What is our purpose as the church? To declare God’s message to the world!
I. Our Job Description -
Matt. 28:19-20 - 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, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Acts 1:8 - 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."
That seems pretty simple. It’s a wonder that we so often have a hard time understanding that this is our task. We often feel we need to build nice buildings, have bingo games, raise money for the poor. All these things are good, but we are called to share the good news, the gospel with the world. What is the gospel? It is declared very simply in 1 Cor. 15: Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.
##Now, our job as a church is sort of like a spiritual fire station. I need 5 volunteers for this. I need 5 firemen. . . . . . Now, raise your right hands: I’m hiring you as firemen - your job is to put out fires. Your official - you’re all firemen.
Now, we often have a lot of down time when we’re not fighting fires, and we need to keep preparing for whenever we’re needed.
1 - You can fold the fire hoses
2 - You can wax the pole
3 - You can lead the exercise program
4 - You can ring the bell
5 - You can stir the chili
Now - what’s your job? To put out fires!
In the church, often we forget what our job really is. We get caught up in ushering, greeting, working in the nursery, doing crafts for vbs: but our job is to be Christ’s witnesses!
Now, if our job is to make disciples, how are we doing at our job? each of us is here today because someone else had an influence on our life in some way.
II. The Fine Print - As we think about job descriptions, often there can be a lot of fine print. Let’s explore a little more about what this job of making disciples is all about. First, let’s look at the
A. Who - who can we witness to? Now, I want to help us identify our witnessing prospects. I want to make this personal for each of us. Pull out your bulletin, and jot down a time or a couple times in your schedule this week when you have a block of a couple free hours. Start thinking about what you have going each day. It may be that some of your time is taken up with meetings, appointments, ball games, getting groceries, haircuts: that’s fine. It may be that you say, there’s no way I can come up with a block of 2-3 hours. Now, since your schedule is so full of things to do, think about the people you do those things with: your insurance agent, the guys on your ball team, the neighbors, your boss or secretary, the clerk at the checkout, your barber. Each of these is a very good prospect to be a witness to. Now, don’t think that you have to carry a big family Bible, complete with family genealogy into the Kroger store. No, but wherever we are, we can give a witness. There is someone who will meet this day who you could be a witness to. Let me share with you a few contacts I’ve had recently.
Frank Rotundo - copier salesman - Catholic - now going to Bible study at work
Jay Weiseman - ADP - payroll - Christian - sharing with him about witnessing / disciplesh
My neighbor Karen - have shared in past, continue to share
Guy at yard sale yesterday
Let’s look at some examples in the Bible of those who share in very natural ways.
John 1 - Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which, when translated, is Peter). The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, "Follow me." Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."
Who do we share Christ with? Everyone we meet!
B. What - do we share? Acts 1:8 says we are to be witnesses. A witness is someone who share the truth about what they have seen or experienced, what they know to be true. God never calls us to share about something we don’t believe in.
##summer - sold Vanguard heat detectors - overpriced - never sold one!
We are to be witnesses of that which we firmly believe in!
1 John 1 - That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched--this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
God desires one heart to reach another heart. Evangelism is not about how many Bible verses you know; it is a sharing from your heart. Now, to explain what you know and have experienced you will find that scripture is very helpful. But God wants real people to share in real ways.
Our message: a crucified Christ - For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel--not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
C. When? Where? - when your child comes up to you and wants to learn to tie their shoes, we don’t tell them they won’t learn that till next year: we take the time and teach them. It’s called the teachable moment. In the same way, we need to be witnesses whenever God opens the door for us.
#Ronda - convention - lawyer - cruise - party boat - bible study
- gay hotel - chance to witness
When does God want you to witness this week? Whenever he gives the opportunity. Now, that doesn’t mean we say, if someone calls me up at 10:15 and asks about God, I’ll tell them!
Acts 8:26 - Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south to the road--the desert road--that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it." Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked. "How can I," he said, "unless someone explains it to me?" So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: "He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth." The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?" Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
D. Why? - Because people matter to God! 2 Peter 3 - He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
*There is a hell - those who died without accepting Christ are separated from Christ eternally. It is so easy to think this life is all there is. But this is just the preparation for our real life!
Concl: I have tried not to lay a “guilt trip” on anyone about witnessing or our lack of it. The Holy Spirit can do that without me. Rather, what I do desire is to remind each one of us that we work on a commission basis: we are commissioned in the work we do.
2 Cor. 5 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
Each of us can be a witness.
#Craig Cassatt - unlikely candidate - but bold, effective witness!
Will we speak out this week as God gives us opportunity!
Let us pray.
