MADE FOR A MISSION
Purpose #5 EVANGELISM — 40 Days of Purpose
Colossians 4:5
Adapted from Outline by Rick Warren—Saddleback Church
INTRODUCTION:
What is the largest living organism in the world? How about the blue whale weighing in at 120 tons and over 80 feet long? Or perhaps it may be a giant sequoia standing over 300 feet tall with a trunk measuring 30 feet in diameter? Maybe we should consider the aspen tree. While the aspen rarely grows more than 100 feet tall and it’s trunk is no more than a foot wide, the aspen has a hidden secret. A single tree does not stand alone. Each aspen is interconnected to the others through it’s root system. The aspen’s preferred method of growth is by sending new shoots of the old roots. In this way a single plant may actually cover hundreds of acres growing from a single interconnected root system. While a single tree, or stem may only live 100 years the roots may be thousands of years old.
Perhaps you have already thought of the connection between the aspen and the church. Through our 40 days of purpose we have learned that those of us within the church belong to each other. As the body of Christ we share the same interconnectedness as the aspen. We are collectively joined to Christ, and He makes us all one. However, I want you to think with me about the way the aspen grows. The root system sends out new growth, unseen and unnoticed until a new tree breaks through the ground and begins to grow. That’s a picture of how the church as a whole and our church is growing.
Unnoticed by many, the church prays for family and friends to find Christ as their personal savior. Unseen by the church as a whole, individuals will talk with people at work or school about their personal relationship with Christ; you and I invite family and friends to attend church with us. Eventually something happens in the lives of people around us and they decide to open their lives to the love of Christ. They come to church and make a commitment to the Lord. The church is growing, but growth comes through individuals praying and sharing their faith one on one—unseen and unnoticed by the church as a whole, but nevertheless the key to the growth of the church!
Today we continue with our 40 days of purpose; my how quickly the 40 days are passing—today is day #36, and our spiritual journey is rushing towards a close. While the 40 days will come to an end this week, we still have a lifetime to put into practice the things we have learned over the last several weeks. It’s not enough to just know our purpose for life; we need to live it!
What is our purpose? It all begins with the understanding that God loves us. What on earth am I here for? I’m here because God loves me and wants to spend eternity with me. This life is preparation for living with God forever in heaven.
So what does God want me to do to get ready for eternity? #1 WORSHIP; #2 FELLOWSHIP; #3 DICIPLESHIP; #4 MINISTRY. Have you noticed how these purposes build upon each other? As we learn to fulfill each purpose of life it prepares us to live out the next purpose. It’s difficult to do ministry if you haven’t learned fellowship. Once we’ve got the first four, we’re ready for #5—a purpose that is impossible without the other 4 in our lives and is the only purpose we can do here on earth.
• Colossians 4:5 (NIV)
Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.
Purpose #5 shows us that God does not want us to just think about ourselves. God wants us to make the most of every opportunity. Use your head and think about it; God loves people outside the church! God could have taken us immediately to heaven once we became a Christian, but He left us in this world to interact with people who are not apart of the church for a reason!
• John 17:18 (MsgB)
In the same way that you gave me a mission in the world, I give them a mission in the world.
Underline the phrase “in the world.” Jesus had a mission to complete “in the world,” and likewise we also have been given a mission “in the world.” God has given each of us an assignment, a job to do. This is not “mission impossible;” if it were NONE OF US WOULD BE HERE TODAY! We are a part of the church—God’s family—because someone fulfilled their mission. God uses people to reach people.
• John 20:21 (NIV)
. . . As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.
Jesus was sent by the Father to fulfill a purpose. Likewise Jesus has sent us as His followers to fulfill a purpose. What is that purpose? Have you figured it out yet? If you haven’t this next verse will make it clear.
• Acts 20:24 (NLT)
But my life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about God’s wonderful kindness and love.
The reason we have been sent by God, the mission we have been given to do in the world, and the opportunities we are to seize is to simply tell others about God’s incredible love for them. Our work is to share the Good News with people who don’t know about God’s abundant love and forgiveness He offers to them.
So write this down: my fifth purpose is to share the Good News. You and I are to pass on to other people what we have received from God; don’t keep it to yourself!
The Bible has a word for sharing the good news, and just like all these other words we’ve looked at every week, it is often misunderstood. It is the word "evangelism.” What do people think of when they hear the word “evangelist?”
The words “evangel,” “evangelist” and “evangelism” all come from the Greek word “euaggelion” which simply means GOOD NEWS. An evangelist is a person who shares good news, and evangelism is the process of sharing good news. Look at your neighbor and tell them, “God expects you to be an evangelist!”
Once we know God wants us to share the good news with others, the obvious question then is who should I tell, or where should I share it?
• Acts 1:8 (NIV)
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.
Jesus told His disciples that they were to share the good news in three places. Jesus began with where they were, Jerusalem. The starting place is to share with people in my world; I’m to tell my neighbors, the people in my own community. Next is Judea and Samaria which is a little further from home. I am to dare to reach people beyond my world; I’m to tell the good news to people who live nearby, but are different than me. Last Jesus said to tell the ends of the earth. God wants me to care about the whole world, that’s everybody—all 6 billion of us.
We are going to take a closer look where God wants us to share the Good News in just a moment, but first I want to share two quick things with you about the first part of this verse.
Jesus said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.” Why are we baptized in the Holy Spirit; what is the purpose of the Holy Spirit in our lives? Jesus says when this happens, “you will be my witnesses.” Now don’t miss this! When you are baptized in the Holy Spirit and pray in tongues it is not just to make you feel good. The Holy Spirit is given to you so you can be a witness. In other words, YOU PRAY IN TONGUES SO YOU CAN TALK MORE EFFECTIVLY IN ENGLISH! The same Holy Spirit who enables you to pray in an unknown language is going to be with you to enable you to share the good news with others in your native language.
Second, Jesus said you will be His witness. Jesus did not say, “You will be my defense attorney,” or “salesman.” Jesus does not need you to defend Him. It’s not your job to convince people to accept the claims of Christ or to “buy into” the Christian faith. Jesus also doesn’t say, “You will be my prosecutor.” God does not expect you to make people feel guilty for their sin telling them to “repent or burn!” Jesus said, “you will be my witnesses.” A witness tells what happened to them. You are the expert on your life. No one can tell what God has don in your life better than you. It’s not up to a pastor, or an evangelist, or anybody else to tell what God did for you; God has called you to be the star witness and tell others what Jesus has done for you.
Alright, where does God want us to share the good news? We are empowered by the Holy Spirit to be Christ’s witnesses telling people in Jerusalem—the people in my world, those in Judea and Samaria—the people beyond my world, and to the ends of the earth—the people of the whole world. Let’s begin with our Jerusalem.
1. I must share with people in my world.
Jesus said the starting place is at home, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem”—right where you live. We have people all around us—people we come into contact through the regular routine of life that need to hear the good news. God wants us to tell the people around us.
Luke 8 tells of a time when Jesus traveled to the other side of the sea of Galilee with his disciples. When Jesus got out of the boat He was met by a man who was possessed by demons; by any standard this man was crazy and uncontrollable. But Jesus healed him and set him free.
• Luke 8:38-39 (MsgB)
The man whom he had delivered from the demons asked to go with him, but he sent him back, saying, [39] "Go home and tell everything God did in you." So he went back and preached all over town everything Jesus had done in him.
The starting place is at home. Jesus sent this man to the people who knew him the best; “Go tell your family and friends what God has done for you.”
God wants us to do the same thing. We are to share with the people in our world, the people in our family, those who live in our neighborhood, the people we work with or go to school with—these are the people we are to tell about Jesus.
What keeps us from telling the people in our world about Jesus?
One reason is because we believe the myth that people aren’t interested in spiritual issues. Nothing could be further from the truth.
o One Gallop poll discovered that 65 million Americans have no church home, but 34 million of them said they would attend if somebody would just invite them. Over half the people without a church home, 34 million, are just waiting for an invitation! Let’s bring those numbers a little closer to home. The Ohio District Council of the A/G has tells us that 8 out of 10 people in Ohio are not attending any church (they are apart of the 65 million Americans without a church home). That means if you look around your neighborhood at least 40% or 4 out of 10 of your neighbors are not going to church today, but would go if they just had an invitation!
o Another Gallup poll said teens would rather talk about God than sex, drugs or music. What teens is he talking to? Gallop is talking with kids just like those who attend Garfield High School—normal kids all across America. Gallop’s research shows that our teens are interested in talking about God.
You see, opportunities to share the Good News really are all around you. They are staring you in the face every single day. You just have to be ready for them.
God wants to use you; He wants you to be an evangelist—to share the good news with the people in your world. If you are willing to let God use you, then there are thousands of ways for you to be His witness saying, “This is what God did for me in my life.” “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.”
As a church we want to help you fulfill your purpose—right where you live! Reach out to your friends and neighbors with the love of Jesus.
If you are alive and call yourself a Christian then God expects you be a witness and tell the people around you about His love. We began this series asking the question, “What on earth am I here for?” As a Christian, have you thought about what that question means for you? The moment you were saved God could have taken you to heaven, but He didn’t. Why? There are only two things you can’t do in heaven: one is sin and the other is to tell people about the love of Jesus. Now which of those two reasons do you think God has left Christians on earth for?
The only reason your heart is still beating after you come to Christ is because God wants you to share it with people who haven’t heard. If somebody hadn’t shared it with you, you would still be lost.
• 2 Peter 3:9 (NLT)
He does not want anyone to perish, so he is giving more time for everyone to repent.
As long as there’s one person on earth who doesn’t know the Good News, God says we’ve got to keep reaching out to let people know about His love. When we as individuals, or as a church stop telling people about Jesus and His love, then what we are really saying to the world is “Go to hell.” God isn’t willing for anyone to perish—ARE WE?
You and I must share the good news with our world; we need to start right were we live telling our family and friends. That’s our purpose for living.
2. I must dare to reach beyond my world.
Jesus didn’t tell the disciples their mission stopped at the city limits of Jerusalem. Jesus said, “you are my witnesses. . . to Judea and Samaria.” Jesus extended the vision of the disciples beyond home; broaden your circle and reach out to people beyond your immediate world.
In this second circle Jesus included the Samaritans. These were people who didn’t live too far away from Jerusalem, but were racially and culturally different from the Jews in Jerusalem. Jesus is saying, “The message extends beyond the limits of your hometown and people just like you. Dare to reach beyond your world.”
Love demands I move beyond my comfort zone to people with different backgrounds, different education, different language, and different economics status; whatever difference you can imagine reach beyond them! Eternal consequences are at stake; people will either spend eternity in heaven or hell. We must be willing to risk anything to get the message out.
• 1 Corinthians 9:22 (The Living Bible)
Whatever each person is like, I try to find common ground with him so that he will let me tell him about Christ and let Christ save him.
Christians are called to build bridges, not walls. We’re challenge to do whatever it takes to tell people about the love of God through Christ Jesus.
• Galatians 6:2 (MsgB)
Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law.
The Bible says, “Carry each other’s burdens.” We often read this verse and only think of sharing the problems of people within the church, but it’s bigger than that. What is the law of Christ we fulfill when we lend a helping hand to people who are hurting? “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Our neighbor is not just other Christians. We’re to show love in practical ways even to the non-believer.
o The Wednesday small group is reaching out this week to an individual in the community who needs help. Her husband is in jail; she is expecting a baby and trying to make enough money to survive. We are going to give her some groceries and share God’s love with her.
o We don’t have to look far to find people who are different than most of us. The Windham projects are full of people with a different race or economic status than many of us here today. THEY ARE WITHIN OUR REACH, BUT WE MUST BE WILLING TO MOVE OUT OF OUR COMFORT ZONE!
• James 1:27 (MsgB)
Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight.
God says our faith is proved genuine by our actions. We need to be willing to share with people the love of Christ with practical even tangible ways.
• Matthew 25:35-36, 40 (NLT)
[35] For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. [36] I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me . . . [40] I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!
Jesus tells us two important things in these verses. First, whatever ministry we offer within the body of Christ to our brothers and sisters is done as unto Jesus Himself. Second, when we share with those outside the church to help meet their needs, while at the same time pointing them toward the cross of Christ we are likewise doing it unto the Lord.
Everyone is potentially a brother or sister of Christ, so when we help people with their need while at the same time giving them the opportunity to respond to God’s love in their life, then God says this is good.
If you give a dollar to a homeless person on the corner, it may satisfy your conscience that you did something good, but that’s about all. If that person doesn’t know Jesus, then you took resources within God’s kingdom and put it back into darkness. It would be better for you to give that $1 to the benevolence ministry of the church or to the Salvation Army. Why? You left that person in the same position spiritually; they have had no opportunity to change. But if you give to the homeless, and take the time to share the love of Christ with them, then you are offering them more than a meal. You have given them the chance to change their eternal destiny. That’s when God will remember what you have done for Him.
Jesus wants us to share His love with people in our world, to dare to reach out beyond our world, and finally
3. I must care about the whole world.
Jesus said we are to be his witnesses “in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” We start at home sharing God’s love with the people in our world; we continue to reach out to people beyond my world. And we don’t stop until we have a heart for the whole world.
• Mark 16:15 (NLT)
Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere.
The message of the Good News is for everyone, everywhere. Why should we be willing to tell everyone and to go everywhere? Because God loves everyone everywhere and people everywhere deserve to hear the Good News.
When Jesus said this He was not holding a pastor’s conference; He wasn’t talking to potential missionaries. Jesus was talking to ordinary believers; people just like you and me. Jesus said, “If you’re a Christian follow Me, and I’ll make you a fisher of men.” If you’re not fishing, you’re not following.
When Jesus said to tell everyone, everywhere it was virtually impossible. The most common way to travel was by foot; some people rode or horse, a donkey or a camel.
Today it’s a whole different world—a smaller world! We can get in our cars and travel farther in a day than many people in Jesus’ day would travel in a lifetime—most people then were never any farther from home than they could walk. We can travel by airplane thousands of miles in a single day. I’ve started my day at home and went to bed that night in places like Germany, Russia, and Chili. And the world keeps getting smaller. Not only can I make a phone call to almost anyone in the world, I can use the internet and actually see the people I’m talking with—all right form my own home! We have opportunities today people 100 years ago would have never even dreamed of.
You can decide to use your vacation time from work for yourself, or you can go on a short term missions trip anywhere in the world. This year 3 of the girls form our youth group will be going to Argentina to share God’s love with people there. Today anything is possible!
Some of us may never be able to go, but we can send those who are going. We are presently helping to support over 20 different missionaries around the world; they are unable to go unless people like you and me give to send them to the mission field. Last year we gave over $12,000 to help spread the gospel around the world. I’ve said many times, “The church is not a bank.” We’re not here to save money or just use it for ourselves. We are to be a conduit of God’s resources to place them wherever they are needed.
We need your help to do even more. You can make a faith promise to help support our missionaries, and to enable us to help even more missionaries go to the places God has called them. We have some people giving $20 per month, others giving $100 per month; some of our children and youth give $1 or $2—whatever they can. I want to encourage you to have a vision bigger than just what you can see with your natural eyes. God wants us to reach out to the whole world; to tell everyone everywhere.
Is anybody going to be in heaven because of you? When you get to heaven, is anybody going to say thank you, thank you for telling me the Good News; thank you for giving to enable a missionary to come tell me about Jesus?
This year 2.4 million Americans will die, and most of them will go into eternity without Jesus Christ. In the next 365 days, 54 million people in the world will die; most of them will go into eternity without Jesus Christ. You and I have been given the Good News. Who will we share it with?
• Isaiah 6:8 (MsgB)
And then I heard the voice of the Master: "Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?" I spoke up, "I’ll go. Send me!"
The most dangerous prayer you can pray is "God use me." Do you have enough courage to say, "God use my life?" Are you willing to give God whatever He asks for and let Him use it?
Will you let God use you to share His love with the people in your world—those who live around the corner, the people at work or at school. Lord, I’m here; use me?
Will be bold enough to say God I’ll dare to go beyond my world? Lord, use me to touch people who are different than me. I’m here, Lord; use me.
Are you willing to care about the whole world? Will you say, “Lord, I want to see everyone everywhere learn about your love?” Will you be willing to go? Are you willing to give? I’m here Lord; use me!
