You Are Plan A. There is No Plan B
1. God’s plans are often beautiful in their simplicity.
2. And we are part of that plan.
3. If you or I were to win one person to Christ, and then each of us won one person to Christ every year, and those folks won one a year, the number of believers would keep doubling as follows: (SEE CHART….33 years, over 8 billion)
4.We will never win all or most people to the Lord because many people have no desire to come to know the true God, but SOME do, perhaps more than you REALIZE.
Revelation 7:9 describes the number of the Redeemed, “After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.”
Main Idea: When it comes to reaching people for Christ, God’s plan is YOU. There is no Plan B.
I. You Are WITNESSES to the Grace of God
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."
1. Authentic, not a SHOW; people DISLIKE near perfect people
• When the Port Authority in New York and New Jersey ran a help-wanted advertisement for electricians with expertise at using Sontag connectors, they received 170 responses – even though there is no such thing as a Sontag connector. The Authority ran the ad to find out how many applicants falsify resumes in order to get a job. James Emery White, You Can Experience an Authentic Life (Nashville: Word Publishing, 2000), 126-127, submitted by Joel Smith at Sermoncentral.
• There are enough phonies out there; we do not need to add to their number
• “You don’t have to be perfect, just authentic.”
2. You don’t reach people by INIMIDATING or CONDEMNING them
• Ditch the ain’t it awful syndrome; that makes it sound like God has left
• Trash Scolding; don’t scold people for not coming to church, not knowing their Bibles; many people do not even know the Christmas story anymore….
• Scolding is very non-motivational; people avoid scolders; I do
• So let me scold you scolders…oops, there went authenticity!
3. You don’t reach people by POLICING them
• If people at work stop swearing around you because they know you’re a Christian, that’s nice for you….but it does zero to bring them closer to the Kingdom of God
• Our goal as Christians is not to get lost people to act like believers, but to see them become believers; now as Americans and human beings we want them to behave in decent and civil ways for the sake of our society and out of love for them, but that is nor really our main calling as Christians…
4. Sometime, you need to share Gospel CONTENT, or
5. Bring them WHERE they will hear content
• What do we mean by “content?” You have a bulletin insert that exemplifies Gospel content
• The Gospel is primarily the Good News about how the Son of God became a man to die on the cross for our sins and how He rose again…
6. Share your TESTIMONY
How you came to know God and how knowing Him has enriched your life!
When it comes to reaching people for Christ, God’s plan is YOU. There is no Plan B.
II. You Are Best Able to Reach People LIKE You
I Cor. 9:20. “To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews…”
1. Often a common INTEREST
• Most folks are afraid of the unknown; to many lost people, the Church is a gathering of weird people who do strange things; we no longer have a common Christian heritage…
• Curt Cizek wrote: “I went to a conference this past fall. The pastor leading the conference challenged us all on the first day. He convicted us all by asking us three questions. I was sitting in the back near the side so I could see everyone’s body language. The pastor asked, “Those of you who have kids or grandkids, do you love them?” You could see everyone’s heads nodding. Then he asked, “those of you who have kids or grandkids, would you die for them?” There was a slight hesitation but then their heads again were nodding.
• “Then he convicted us. He asked, “Those of you with kids or grandkids, if it would help them to know Jesus more intimately, it it would be beneficial for their faith, would you change the music that you play in church?” You could see everyone’s shoulders slump and see their heads bow. We realized that we have been selfish. We have not always looked out for the interests of others. We haven’t done all that we could to make the church a place for our children and the unchurched people in our community.” Sermoncentral
2. They need to see Christ in REAL life
Integrity is important: not taking more money than is right:
• Morris a building contractor was being paid by the week for a job that was likely to stretch over several months. He approached the owner of the property and held up the check he’d been given.
"This is two hundred dollars less than we agreed on," Morris said.
"I know," the owner said. "But last week I overpaid you two hundred dollars, and you never complained."
Morris said impatiently.... "Well, I don’t mind an occasional mistake. But when it gets to be a habit, I feel I have to call it to your attention."
3. They feel less THREATENED with you
4. Share Christ COMFORTABLY
When it comes to reaching people for Christ, God’s plan is YOU. There is no Plan B.
III. You Are to Participate in WORLD Missions
Matthew 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."
1. Through PARTICIPATION with Missionaries
• Many Christians go on a mission’s trip or serve in a soup kitchen, but to back a missionary family with finances and relational support…that’s not an interest they have….
• Short term trips are important, and so are local outreaches; but Christianity is not about America, it’s about the world
• Last week, Marylu, Luke & I saw the Chinese acrobats; I thought to myself, “you know, in a few decades, these people might be leading the world; I hope the Gospel keeps growing in China, because I’d hate to be under the thumb of the current Chinese government.”
• Too many of us forget that there is a world out there beyond Indiana and the U.S.
2. Through going YOURSELF
• Rick Warren encourages short term trips
• God also calls people as career missionaries….the rest of us need to back them
• Remember that William Carey, the Father of modern missions told his churches, If you will hold the ropes, I will go down to look for the lost." He started out with only six supporters but ended up staying 47 years in India and setting in motion the entire modern missionary movement because of those six faithful partners.
Paul Fritz, Sermoncental
3. Through PRAYER
Eph. 6:19-20, “Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.”
When it comes to reaching people for Christ, God’s plan is YOU. There is no Plan B.
CONCLUSION
1. In today’s bulletin is a gray half-sheet.
2. You can cut it down and glue it into your Bible; this will give you the content you need to lead someone to Christ.
3. Ask God to give you an opportunity to tell someone about how they can be saved.
4. You don’t need a degree to lead someone to Christ who is ready and open; and if someone is not open, not amount of information can make them believe…so don’t worry that you don’t know it all…
