The gospel- why, how and what should we share. 2 COr 5:11-6:2
WBC 29 May 2005
It was May 7, and Roger Simms was hitchhiking his way home, having been discharged from the Army. He flashed his hitchhiking sign at a car, but almost lost hope for a ride when he noticed it was a black, sleek, new Cadillac. To his amazement the car stopped. As Roger entered the car from the passenger’s side, he notice that the driver was a handsome, well-dressed man, who appeared to be in his fifties.
"Going home for keeps?" asked the driver.
"Sure am," Roger said.
As the two conversed, Roger was able to find out that the driver’s name was Hanover. Mr. Hanover owned and operated a business in Chicago-a rather successful business at that. The longer Roger talked to Mr. Hanover, the more impressed he felt to witness to him about Christ. Finally, when they were only thirty minutes away from Roger’s home, he got up the nerve to share Christ with Mr. Hanover, eventually asking him if he would like to receive Christ as his personal Saviour. To Roger’s amazement, the gentleman immediately pulled the Cadillac to the side of the road, bowed his head and received Christ. Mr. Hanover thanked Roger, and said, "This is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me."
Five years later, Roger had married and was the proud father of a two-year-old son, and even had a business of his own. While packing for a business trip to Chicago, Roger found Mr. Hanover’s business card, given to him five years earlier. He decided he would look him up while in Chicago.
After arriving in Chicago, Roger looked up Hanover Enterprises. The receptionist there told him that it would be impossible to see Mr. Hanover, but that he could see Mrs. Hanover if he wished. He was ushered into a beautiful office where a keen-eyed woman greeted him. She extended her hand and said, "I understand you knew my husband." "Yes. I was hitchhiking home after the war, and he gave me a lift."
"When was that?" Mrs. Hanover asked. "It was May 7, the day I was discharged from the Army," Roger said. "Was there anything special about that day," asked the lady. Roger hesitated for a moment. "Yes ma’am. I shared the Gospel with Mr. Hanover. He pulled over to the side of the road and leaned over the steering wheel and wept. He gave his heart to Christ that day."
With that, Mrs. Hanover suddenly began to weep. She wept so hard her whole body shook. When she regained her composure, she said, "I had prayed for my husband’s salvation for years. I believed God would save him." "And where is Mr. Hanover now," asked Roger. "He’s dead," the lady said, struggling to speak. "He was killed in a car crash right after he dropped you off. He never got home."
Barely able to speak through her sobs, Mrs. Hanover then said, "You see-I thought God had not kept His promise. I stopped living for God five years ago because I thought He had not kept His word!"
J. Kirk Johnson, Why Christians Sin: Discovery House, 1992, pgs. 39-41.
And I could tell you so many other stories of how God works to bring people to Himself.. back to Himself. How faithful and incredible He is
- and He uses us in this
- we have an incredible ministry of reconciliation
o just think how different your life would be if someone hadn’t sacrificed to share the gospel with you
o if Jesus hadn’t sacrificed to save you
So- why should we share the gospel (the good news about Jesus) with others?
WHY?
Reverential fear- self: Motivation 1 in here is in V11: "since we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade people"
- what does Paul mean? Is he afraid of God who he has called ’Abba’?
o no: this is reverential awe and respect. Something we can know little of in these days of ’being all-matey with the Almighty"
Paul knows that he is going to have to give an account of his life to God (V10)- and for his OWN sake he does not want to be held to account for
- wasting his life
- the blood of other people who he could have changed
This is salutary stuff! Listen to how salutary it was for Ezekiel! (3:17)
17 "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. 18 When I say to a wicked man, `You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. 19 But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself.
We are our neighbour, brother’s watchman, keeper. Motivation? Our own sake. YOU and I are going to have to stand before God and account for our lives
Reverential fear- them: Motivation 2 is about THEM not Paul, or us
- he knows THEY will have to give an account for their lives
- and you know what will happen: most will try and answer back to God and give justifications on their own merits as to why He should let them into heaven
o it’s just not going to work!
- He has fear for them, as well
Think about it- some of your friends: you are the only Christian they know and you are the only means by which they can call on Jesus rather than self to be saved
- I’m frightened for some of my friends. Johnny Marshall. Cliff. I really care for them
Love: Motivation 3 is love
- Christ’s love compels him. So much so that they might think he is off his trolley!
- But ’who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good’…. If your motivation is love
Paul is catapulted by his love.. driven by it… to tell people about Jesus
- because he believes! That Christ died for his friends V14
I’m telling you: belief is everything! Money motivates people…but their beliefs even more so. Behaviour follows belief.
- so… let me ask… if you’re not motivated- do you really believe this stuff? Do you really believe people need Jesus or, having crossed over safely yourself, are you just happy to have Him yourself and let others go without?
o When I feel like that I realise I need
" More love
" (Illustr: the love God gives! You see people so differently when Jesus comes into your heart)
" To strengthen my beliefs
" (ask myself: have I fallen for the ’spirit of the age’?)
God SO loved the world that He gave.
- love should be OUR motivation, as well
- -if WE don’t tell them, who will? (as the song goes)
Living for Jesus: Motivation 4 is in v15
- Jesus purchased us- so we are not our own… we were bought at a price. So we shouldn’t ’live for ourselves any longer’ but for Him who died for us
- C.T. Studd, "If Christ be God and died for me, there is nothing too great that I can do for Him."
President Lincoln bought a slave girl with the sole purpose of setting her free. He paid the price for her and then handed her her papers of freedom. "You are free to go... to go wherever you choose", he said. It took a while to sink in. Then she said "am I free to go ANYWHERE I chose". "Yes". "Then I will stay with you and serve you until I die"
New creations: Motivation 5- is the difference that it makes
- reading mag about Terry Thatcher: oh! How you need Jesus!
HOW
But how do you share about Jesus?
- Paul says, always with a clear conscience
o Never distorting, or tricking, or scaring
He says he ’tries to persuade people’ (v11)… ’he implores people’ (v 20)
And you find examples of him doing it
- reasoning with people in the Sanhedrin (acts 17:19)
- being a crafty fisherman on Mars hill- AC 17:22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.
But what does he try and explain about? Have we missed the ticket, today- and hence missed a motivating belief? I think so
WHAT?
He speaks about reconciliation. What does that mean?
- it suggests that two parties have fallen apart. One of them might think they are great buddies but the truth is they are not
o there are irreconcilable differences- at the moment
o something needs to be done to change things
o things are not all hunky-dory!
Sorry if this is a shock- but God does not think things are all hunky dory with people who pay Him no attention and do not honour Him as Lord
- I’m not saying He doesn’t love them. He does!
- In fact- it is His love for them that can make this ’breakdown’ of relationship all the more intense and hurtful
The truth is - all are made in God’s image, but all are not His children until they become so by adoption…into His family… by the way made by the ’big brother’ of the family: Jesus
- until then: the Bible actually says we are God’s enemies!
Rom 5:10 For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Sorry if this is not PC at the mo.
An irate hearer said to Samuel Barnett when he was canon of Bristol Cathedral in England, "I come to church to be comforted, and you sound a fire alarm."
Commenting on this incident, Halford E. Luccock suggested, "Perhaps there was a fire." (THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY)
There is a problem- a fire. And a right diagnosis is necessary for the doctor to bring healing
- the diagnosis is: people are not friends with God without Jesus. They need Jesus. They may think they are okay- but that is delusion
Paul pleads: be reconciled to God. become His friends.
- How?
He makes it clear. Again it’s not pc or popular- but it is essential to people being born again.
- he calls it sin… and it needs dealing with
It’s not my poor self image… or me feeling guilty or wretched (although that certainly can be helped!)
- the things I have done wrong… e living life my way… the barriers between them and God need dealing with
o and then He can come in and change them
If you want to know what to share with people- they need to lovingly and gently come to see that they are not perfect… HAVE missed the mark, standard of God’s perfection- and need to be forgiven!
- this forgiveness comes by Jesus
Roms 3:2 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.
Truth is- people have got to see this at one time or another - otherwise they will continue thinking THEY can get themselves
- right with God
- into heaven
- into God’s good books
We all come into heaven on our knees.
- Illustr: temple of doom: ’the penitent man will prevail’, Indiana Jones bows the knee and survives
This is what Christ died for. He didn’t die for our sin because-those were the thoughts of the day…. Made a nice story… as an example of sacrifice-
- but because that really was…IS… our greatest need and the means by which we are reconciled with God (become His friends)
If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist. But since our greatest need was forgiveness, God sent us a Saviour.
Roy Lessin
And when do people need to hear this?
- well you will know, I’m not a fundy…pushy person.. but I’m telling you
WHEN?- NOW
Now is the time. Through the Feast.
- 6:1 &2 "I tell you- NOW is the time"
The door of heaven has been open for 2000 years- and the cry is now more urgent than ever: "be reconciled to God!"
- come on inside! Know God’s favour!
Songs: we will give ourselves no rest, Rejoice Rejoice, Lead us on
