INTRO.- ILL.- You have perhaps heard the old story told about a pig and a chicken walking down the road together. As they walked along they read a sign advertising a breakfast to benefit the poor. The chicken said to the pig, “You and I should donate a ham and egg breakfast.” The pig replied, “Not so fast, for you it would just be a contribution, but for me it would be a total commitment.”
Total commitment is lacking today in many areas of life and especially, when it comes to the Lord Jesus and His church.
ILL.- A 9-year-old boy swam the precarious waters between Alcatraz island and the San Francisco shoreline Monday, raising $30,000 in donations for Hurricane Katrina victims.
Johnny Wilson, a fourth grader from Hillsborough, called the swim in the 53-degree San Francisco Bay "tiring" but said he kept telling himself, "I’m almost there, I’m almost there."
"The beginning was the hardest because I was all cold," said the boy, who had practiced swimming in San Francisco Bay to get used to the chilly, choppy water. The waters also are known for sharks.
His classmates were waiting on shore, cheering as he made it to Aquatic Park. "Go, Johnny! Go, Johnny!" the group chanted. Johnny finished the 1.4-mile swim from the infamous prison island in under two hours. He was accompanied by two adult swimmers. Two kayakers followed and a Coast Guard helicopter monitored from above.
That’s commitment for a cause! Would to God we were that committed to the cause of Christ!
ILL.- Adoniram Judson (1788-1850) sweated out Burma’s (between India and China) heat for 18 years without a furlough and six years without a convert. Enduring torture and imprisonment, he admitted that he never saw a ship sail without wanting to jump on board and go home. When his wife’s health broke and he put her on a homebound vessel with the knowledge he would not see her for two full years, he confided to his diary: "If we could only find some quiet resting place on earth where we could spend the rest of our days in peace. . ."
But he steadied himself with this remarkable postscript: "Life is short. Millions of Burmese are perishing. I am almost the only person on earth who has attained their language to communicate salvation." That’s true commitment to Christ.
Brothers and sisters, Adoniram Judson was a man of great commitment to Christ! WE CAN LEARN FROM HIM!
PROP.- I want us to think about a greater commitment to making disciples and/or witnessing for Christ.
1- The commission to witness
2- The omission of witness
I. THE COMMISSION TO WITNESS
Matthew 28:18-20 “Then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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."
In Acts 1:8 When Jesus ascended back into heaven He said, "You shall be my witnesses..."
What do you believe in? I believe in many things: America, Chevrolet, Toyota (even more), baseball, apple pie, fishing, and I also believe in God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Bible, etc.
II Cor. 4:13-14 “It is written: I believed; therefore I have spoken. With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.”
I believe; therefore, I speak! When you believe in something strongly enough YOU WILL TALK ABOUT IT TO OTHERS!
I am sure that some of you could talk to me all day about hunting or your hunting experiences, etc. Still others could fill my ears with stories about trips you’ve made, etc. Everybody has a story to tell or some information to share. And if we are sold on it, believe in it, excited about it, etc. we will share it with others!
I could tell you all kinds of stories about fishing, marathon running, etc. but these wouldn’t be as interesting or nearly as important as talking to you about the Bible or the gospel of Christ.
ILL.- Actor Tom Cruise is famously known for his action films, for Katie Holms and for the church of Scientology. In an interview with Reader’s Digest here is what he said.
RD: You were Catholic originally.
Cruise: Well, we went from Episcopalian, to atheist, to Catholic. (Mercy! Sounds like he doesn’t know what he believes)
RD: What does Scientology offer that those religions didn’t?
Cruise: First of all, there are Baptist Scientologists, other Christian Scientologists. (I question that, because if a person is truly a Christian they would follow Christ only, not some kind of worldly philosophy, which is what I think Scientology is).
Cruise goes on: Scientology is an applied religious philosophy. You learn tools that you can apply to your life. It gives me a greater understanding of myself, greater compassion, and the ability to help others in a way that I’ve always wanted to. It’s helped me raise my children, to understand what they’re going through. I went from someone who was basically a functional illiterate to someone who flies airplanes.
One thing is sure: Tom Cruise believes in Scientology, right or wrong, and he isn’t afraid to talk about it. I don’t think Scientology has anything to do with God the Father and Christ the Savior but he sure believes in it and talks about it!
What about us? We believe in something far greater and far more real than any man-made philosophy or religion and we should be talking about it to others!
It should be obvious to us that Jesus wants us to spread the faith or spread our faith about Him since we believe that He is the Son of God and savior of the world.
I Peter 2:1-3 “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”
If we have tasted of the Lord and His goodness we should rid ourselves of everything that is not good in our lives: malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander. Even though the text does not say it, it seems only reasonable to assume that we will also talk about the goodness that we have tasted.
When something is really good in our lives how can we not talk about it?
ILL.- At the last two dinners we’ve had in the church I’ve certainly come to believe in Roberta Williams and her pecan pie. She makes and bakes one of the best pecan pies I’ve ever tasted and I don’t mind telling you about it! Red is one lucky/blessed guy!
Have we not tasted of the goodness of the Lord in various ways? He gives us life, breath and everything else. He has created us, He daily sustains us, and He saves us. These are different aspects of His goodness. How can we not talk about Him?
God wants us to talk about Jesus to people, because of who He is and what He did for all mankind. We don’t have to be obnoxious in talking to others, but we should look for opportunities to speak a good word for Christ.
II. THE OMISSION OF WITNESS
(or the omission of our witness or why we don’t talk about Christ to others)
James 4:17 “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.”
This is called the sin of omission or failing to do the good we know we should. AND WE’RE ALL GUILTY. We may be more guilty of this sin than committing some sin.
ILL.- I have heard figures that say 95% of all Christians never win a single soul to Christ in their entire lifetime. If that is true, why is it true? Probably because they never even tried to win someone to Christ! I think there are probably many things in life that we could do if we would only try! Some things may be beyond our reach, like winning the Tour de France cycling event but many things we can do if we would only try!
What is our problem when it comes to making disciples and/or witnessing? Why don’t we do it? Several reasons could be cited.
Matthew 28:18 Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples…”
ILL.- A mild-mannered man was tired of his wife always bossing him around, so he went to a psychiatrist. The doctor told him he had to develop self-esteem and gave him a booklet on assertiveness training, which the man read on his way home.
When he walked through the door and his wife came to greet him he told her, “From now on I’m the man of this house and my word is law. When I come home from work, I want my dinner on the table.
Now go upstairs and lay out some clothes on the bed, because I’m going out with the boys tonight. Then draw my bath. When I get out of the tub, guess who’s going to dress me and comb my hair?”
“The undertaker,” she replied.
Brothers and sisters, whether we all want to admit it or not, we all have an authority problem. We like to run our own lives, do our own thing, etc. We don’t want anybody to tell us what to do and when to do it.
However, Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given me….therefore you need to do what I tell you.”
ILL.- I like the way preacher Robert Shannon put it in a sermon a long time ago. He said, “Christ is above all human persons. He is above all princes, popes, and potentates, above all bishops and superintendents, above all preachers and teachers, above all editors and elders. He is above all persons. That must mean that He is above me! I can put Him above prophets, priests, kings, governments, wealth, etc. but can I put Him above me?”
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."
ILL.- In the early 1970’s I purchased a new (73 model, I believe) Chevrolet Vega Hatchback Coupe. It was the cheapest made. It was powered by a four-cylinder engine and had a 4-speed manual transmission. It had something like 90 horsepower. I bought the car in Iowa (in flat farm country) and then moved to central Missouri to hill country. I found it was as “sick as a dog” so to speak. It wouldn’t even pull those Missouri hills without shifting into third gear.
One man said, “That little 4 CYL purred like a hampster with asthma.” That sounds like some people I know!
Do you have a power problem? Do you lack the power, the gumption or the grit to talk to people about Christ? This could be our problem. I’ve had that problem in life.
ILL.- There have been several occasions in my life when I was reluctant to speak to someone about Christ. One was with my father. After his brother died (Uncle John) dad and I were walking outside John’s house. Dad said, “It was just John’s time to go.”
And I had the perfect opportunity to say something to my dad about Christ but I didn’t. Why not? I lacked spiritual power and I perhaps feared rejection from my dad.
ILL.- I remember another occasion when a preacher/evangelist and I were calling on a young couple who had been attending our church. They were not members but were Christians and it only seemed reasonable for them to join the church. And they had even more reason to join because several of their other family members were already members of the church.
We went into their home and I started to visit with them about their lives, their children, their work…on and on and on and on. Finally, my preacher friend interrupted at the right moment (not rudely) and asked about if they were Christians. When they said “yes,” he then proceeded to talk to them about joining our church and they did the very next Sunday!
If I had only gotten down to business and asked, I would have received a positive response in that situation!
Sometimes we are so fearful. We lack the spiritual power to talk to people about Christ. How do you get that power? From God’s Spirit, of course.
Eph. 3:16 “I pray that out of his glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being.”
Strengthened with power. Doesn’t that sound good? Wouldn’t it be great to have the boldness and the knowledge to speak for Christ at any given moment? It is possible, but it’s not by our might or power. It’s by the Lord’s Spirit who lives within us.
All of us are insufficient for the task of witnessing, but He is strong. And He can be strong in us if we’ll let Him. We must pray that way and live that way!
John 3:36 “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him."
Revelation 20:15 “If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
Failure to believe in the condemnation of the 2nd death or hell also keeps us from witnessing. If we don’t believe that any person could be lost, condemned to separation from God then why would we speak for Christ?
Ps. 142:4 “Look to my right and see; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life.” KJV reads “no one cared for my soul.”
Don’t we care any more? Don’t we care about people any more?
ILL.- Old Baptist preacher Vance Havner once said, “It has been a long time since I have heard parents speak of their unsaved boy or girl as being lost. That old word has departed from our Christian vocabulary.
“Young couples who are prospering materially and socially are admired and congratulated, but if they do not know Jesus Christ, they are not doing well. We act as if their lostness were incidental, that it does not matter. Either it is a stupendous issue of heaven or hell or we might as well forget it. If our unsaved friends were in danger otherwise, we would go to their assistance without apology. Yet Jesus came to seek and to save the lost and died for their salvation. There is something hypocritical about claiming to believe that and then acting as though it was unimportant.”
There are many reasons why we don’t speak for Christ or witness for Him and this could be one of them.
CONCLUSION----------------------------------
ILL.- Will McRaney is associate professor of evangelism at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He worte about sharing Christ with post-modern people in Rick Warren’s newsletter.
Lindsay is a prime example of someone who is radically post-modern and confused about the Gospel, in spite of her many and varied religious experiences.
In conducting a video interview with 22-year-old Lindsay, I discovered interesting insights into her beliefs and background. She was articulate, well-traveled, and open to discussing her beliefs. She spoke freely about her views of God or, in her case, god. She stated that god was everywhere and in everything, including the cigarette she was smoking. "I am smoking god," she said.
At various points in her life, Lindsay had tried Baptist churches, Catholic churches, Buddhist temples and even aura readings but found organized religion a major turnoff. She acknowledged the Bible had some good morals but believed that people take it too literally. She believed in miracles and even the possibility of the resurrection of Jesus. Regarding Jesus, she said he was a leader; whether he was a fictional or real leader does not matter to her.
Lindsay holds several other positions that are quite strange. She described God with impersonal language, yet when asked about what God requires of us, she used personal language to describe God. She did not believe in absolute truth, but in an individual absolute truth, even if the respective truths are in direct contradiction to each other.
How should the church and, in particular, individual Christians respond to the Lindsay’s – the confused who occupy every single neighborhood in America?
Lindsay may seem "out there," but in reality, most of the people who walk the streets – and many who occupy our church rolls – are confused as well.
Brothers and sisters, do you know what this young lady tells me? We live in a world of mixed up and messed up people who know little about God, Christ and eternal life!
And we need to recommit ourselves with a heart of compassion to reach all people for Christ! This is God’s purpose for our lives!
