"How to Become a Drunk?"
Introduction: Some accused the disciples on the Day of Pentecost of being "drunk." My response to that is: "Whatever they were drinking, I want some!"
Our Church needs to have a "Pentecostal" experience." Here is how!
1. Find a private place, and pray!
The disciples had been in the upper room fasting and praying for the past ten days. Jesus had risen from the dead, and walked with them for forty days. He commanded them to fast and pray for the filling of the Holy Spirit.
Whatever drives us to our knees is good for us!
Christ, their Shepherd, had been removed from the flock. He was now in Heaven. As the sheep of his flock, they had lost their "security blanket." The disciples had been driven to their knees in prayer!
2. Take your faith to a public place!
Thousands of people had gathered in the public streets of Jerusalem for Pentecost. From "henceforth" I want to be known as the "Tennis Shoe Preacher."
Personal testimony: Our Church attendance had hit an all time low. What was wrong? There was nothing wrong with our building, our music program, our preaching. If a visitor had come into our midst, he would have been confounded. The question he would have asked from observing our Church from the back pew, would have been, "I don’t get it? Why don’t more people attend this Church?"
The answer: Because bit by bit, we have let the Church die. The focuss of my attention for a few years back had been that of our "new" building. And more recently, for the past couple of years, it has been the redmodeling my home. The harvest fields surrounding our Church have been sadly neglected. People die, move on, backslide, AND... the Church attendance hits an all time low! It should not come as a surprise.
It is time for me to put on my tennis shoes and knock on doors. We need to bring Christ into the world that surrounds us. We need to bring Christ to a pubic place.
On Sunday Afternoon, instead of watching the PGA Golf Championship on television and taking a nap, I put on my tennis shoes, headed to the Church, parked the car in the empty lot, went into the empty Church, emptied myself on the altar, and then started knocking on the doors... It was amazing. I felt the resurgence of God’s power once again in my life. My vision restored.
3. Talk to people in their own language!
The verse says, "Every man heard in his own language."
I have been schooled to witness by using the "Roman’s Road." I am going to say something alarming: Forget the ceremonializing of the Roman’s Road! Note, that I did not say, "forget the gospel." In the back of my mind, I am always going to take lost sinners on the road that leads to Calvary. But how I get people on this road is the question?
The answer is to "talk to them in their own language." That is what happened on the day of Pentecost.
Let me make an application. Assume that everyone has a question mark and a hurt on their heart, find out what it is that is "bothering" them, and begin your conversation in their world. You can begin by telling who you are and where you are from, but then, take the time to learn who they are, and where they are coming from!
4. Brag about Jesus. He’s better than anything they have ever known!
Once you have gotten to know something about the people to whom you are visiting, you have the advantage. Jesus is better than anything that they have ever known!
The Bible says, that the people on the day of Pentecost were told the wonderful works of God! Now you can continue to take them down the Roman’s Road! Jesus is the "Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!" He is the risen Lord and Savior! He alone is the only hope of salvation!
Another personal note: Instead of finding people to build your Church, find people because they need Christ to help them build their lives! Ask God to help you to see yourself as a help to them, rather than seeing people as a help to you! The natural desire that we should leave a person with is a hungar and thirst after righteousness. That thirst alone will bring them into the confines of the watering well of your local Church!
The last thing on the minds of the disciples on the Day of Pentecost was that all of these new converts would "join their Church!" Their real concern was that the thousands that were there on the Day of Pentecost would not kill them! By giving them the gospel they were not only bringing the way of salvation to the lost, it was a way of "salvation" for themselves. These were desperate men in desperate times. I must see myelf in desperation!
5. Put the drunk into the dunk tank!
The disciples had been accused of being drunks. Now these converts were drinking from the same cup! The natural desire of a new convert is to want to identify themselves with Christ. Those who call upon his name will not be ashamsed. The disciples baptized the new converts. A new birth for the Church had begun.
Conclusion: Does the Church that you attend, need a new birth? Pray for BBT. Pray that this preacher will keep wearing his tennis shoes!
