Date Written: October 12, 2006
Date Preached: October 15, 2006
Church: OZHBC (AM)
FOUNDATIONAL ELEMENTS
Series Title: Living A Life of Evangelism
Sermon Title: Evangelism reflects Communication in
our Christian Walk
Sermon Text: Acts 5:19-21
INTRODUCTION:
I once heard a story about a very peculiar fisherman from Minnesota. You see, this fisherman was very well prepared. He knew how to fish. He had everything you need to be a good fisherman. He had poles, nets, bait, and even a really nice boat, but this fisherman had a problem. You see, for all his preparation he never caught anything. Not one fish. Not one, not ever. And you know why he never caught a fish? What do you think? The answers easy: He never went fishing. He had all the knowledge and all the equipment, but he never got into the boat, he never left the dock.
1. We can communicate the Gospel with our lives…
At times we probably feel it would be so much easier if we could be like Lucy in the old Peanuts cartoon: Lucy says to Charlie Brown, "I would have made a great evangelist." Charlie Brown answers, "Is that so?" She says, "Yes, I convinced that boy in front of me in school that my religion is better than his religion." Charlie Brown asked, "Well, how did you do that?" And Lucy answers, "I hit him over the head with my lunch box."
When we look at the lives of the men and women in the early church we can see that they communicated God’s love simply in the living of their lives!
When a problem arose in the church, there were several men who were called out by the church to meet a need in the church. The reason they were called out was because of the life they were living… they communicated God’s love by the way they lived… let’s look at Acts 6:1-6 and see what I am talking about…
1 Now at this time while the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food. 2 So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, "It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. 3 "Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. 4 "But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word." 5 The statement found approval with the whole congregation ; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas , a proselyte from Antioch. 6 And these they brought before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them.
Acts 6:1-6 (NASB)
Unless you live the life… there is NO amount of words or things you can do to share Christ because the people of the world simply will NOT believe you… in their minds they are going to be thinking… "He is NO different than me… He lives the same kind of lifestyle I live… why should I change… why should I listen to him?"
Our lips will NEVER have meaning unless our lives reveal the Truth of the Gospel. Listen to this…
Once there was a young salesman and he was so very disappointed about losing a big sale! Later that day as he spoke with his sales manager and he was saddened by his failure! In hopes of getting some consolation from his boss the young man said, "I guess it just proves you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink."
The young man was surprised by what the manager then said, he said, "Son, take my advice: your job is not to make him drink. Your job is to make him thirsty."
And so it is with evangelism or the communicating of the Gospel of Christ. When we live our lives it should be so filled with Christ that when people see our life, it creates a great thirst for the Gospel in theirs! How are you living your life today!
We have to live a life of righteousness and a life of evangelism because that is obedience to God’s call on our lives, but when we live a life that communicates the Gospel to the world around us, it helps us to know that…
2. We can communicate the Gospel with our lips…
Living a life that communicates the Gospel of Christ is great, but simply living a life that communicates the Gospel falls short of what we are called to do as believers.
Jesus called us to Go, to preach and teach… to SPEAK the Gospel of Christ to the world! When our lives reflect Christ and communicates God’s Love to the world… it is only part of our duty to Christ! To share God’s love, we must learn to SPEAK the Truth in love to those around us!
For the past 100 yrs personal evangelism has been on a downward spiral and has increasing lost favor in the eyes of the average believer! In fact, I dare say that the average church member in today’s society will actually go out of their way to avoid speaking about Jesus!
I once heard an evangelist say that we can talk to others about God, but far too many believers… those who CLAIM Christ as Savior simply refuse to talk to people about God!
Howard Hendricks once said this about the state of the church, “In the midst of a generation screaming for answers, Christians are stuttering.”
Far too many times, we find ourselves wanting to run away from divine appointments and divine encounters! We want to run and hide in the safety of our Christian friendships and our church.
Understand that Christian friends are a good thing and church is where we come to be recharged and refreshed… but it is NOT where we are to come when we should be out in the world speaking the Gospel of Truth to the lost of the world!
There was once a young girl who came to her pastor and confessed, “Pastor, I just cannot stick it out any longer. I am the only Christian in the factory where I work. I get nothing but taunts and sneers. It is more than I can stand. I am going to resign.”
The pastor gently asked this young believer, “Will you tell me something? Tell me, in your factory, where do they put the lights?”
The young believer was really confused and she snapped back at her pastor and said, “What has that to do with it?”
The pastor, as gently as he could say it, said, “You did not answer my question, where are lights placed?’"
She then answered her pastor by saying, "…in dark places,”
“Yes, you are absolutely right, and I believe that is why you have been placed in that factory where there is such spiritual darkness and where there is no other Christian to shine for the Lord.”
It was only at that moment that this young Christian woman began to realize…for the first time that the opportunity to communicate the Gospel with her lips…that was hers.
She felt she could not fail God by allowing her light to go out. So, she went back to the factory with renewed determination to communicate with her lips and not just her life. She went back into the darkness to let her light shine in that dark corner!
The wonderful moral of this story is that before long, this young lady believer was the means by which nine other girls gave their hearts and souls to Christ.
We are not only called to communicate the Gospel with our lives and our lips… but I can see at least 1 more and it is that…
3. We can communicate the Gospel with our legacy…
Paul was on his way to Rome to be tried and eventually executed by the Romans. But as Paul traveled to Rome from Jerusalem we find that the legacy of his life devoted to Christ… was one that even he could not have expected…
Paul had been shipwrecked and spent a winter on the island of Malta where he was bitten by a snake and suffered NO poison or sickness. He healed the sick and taught about Christ and many people came to know Jesus.
When Paul arrived on the mainland of Europe, word got around fast about this man of God and they came from all over to see him…read verse here…
15 And the brethren, when they heard about us, came from there as far as the Market of Appius [some 43 miles from Rome] and Three Inns [some 33 miles from Rome] to meet us; and when Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.
Acts 28:15 (NASB)
Paul was even respected by those who were charged with prosecuting him as we read in this next verse…
16 When we entered Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who was guarding him.
Acts 28:16 (NASB)
To NOT be thrown in prison in Rome was actually the Roman gov’t acknowledging that there was something special about this man, and that his captors held him in high esteem…but it was simply more than that.
Paul was able to have home Bible studies for the next 2 years in a home he rented while awaiting trial in front of Caesar. This was another indication that Paul was treated differently, and it was because of the legacy he was leaving behind… because of the life he had led and because he had willingly and courageously shared and communicated the salvation of Christ with his own words.
Paul also left a legacy in not only words he said, but the words he wrote as well. Our Bible today contains 66 books [39 OT and 27 NT] Paul wrote 11 books of the NT… and there are some who feel that he wrote the book of Hebrews as well…
11 out of 66 books in the Bible is a pretty impressive legacy for a simple believer who was willing to BE what God wanted him to be! Paul left a legacy of communicating the gospel… and that was because the steps he took were careful and sure… he first lived the life of a believer and then he followed that up by sharing the story of the Savior with those around him… and because of this he left a legacy that carries on to this very day!
I want you to think about what kind of legacy you want to leave in this world. Do you want to be known as that man or woman who was very successful in making money… but not one you could count on in a spiritual battle?
Do you want to be the one who at the end of their lives… look up and realize that they have NOT led one single person to Christ as Savior!
We can make a legacy for ourselves, not for our glory, but to glorify God! But that legacy begins by us beginning with the step of living a godly and upright life, it continues by us being willing, submissive and obedient in sharing Christ with our lips!
Doing these things faithfully, as the Apostle Paul did, will bring about a godly legacy for you and your family. You really do NOT know how many people you touch, and your legacy will not be fully known until you set foot in heaven…
You may be sitting there thinking that for us to want or desire a godly legacy is selfish and prideful, but let me share with you why it is NOT!
First, our desire for a godly legacy is based on the fact that it is a "godly" legacy… or a legacy that uplifts Christ to the world and not ourselves…
Let me give you several examples of people who communicated the Gospel with their lives and then we can see them communicating the Gospel with their lips… but ultimately we can find that they are still communicating the Gospel with their legacy…
First, let’s look at the Apostle Paul. He was born of privilege and trained in the finest of schools. He was on the fast track to becoming the High Priest over the nation of Israel. If anyone had a right to try to establish a legacy based on his works it was Paul.
But God changed him on the road to Damascus and where Paul had seemingly GREAT plans as High Priest… God had even greater plans for Paul in serving the kingdom and establishing the first major movement in Christianity. What a wonderful legacy to leave!
Let’s look at a lady named Lottie Moon.
Conclusion:
A man flew into Chicago & hired a taxi to take him downtown. As he was riding along they came to a red light & the driver went right on through the red light.
The man said, "Hey, the light was red. You’re supposed to stop." The driver said, "Yeah, I know, but my brother does it all the time."
Soon they came to a second red light & again he went right straight through. The passenger said, "You’re going to get us killed. That light was red. Why didn’t you stop?"
The driver said, "Don’t worry about it. My brother does it all the time."
Then they came to a green light & he stopped. The man said, "The light is green. Now is the time to go. Why don’t you go on through?"
The driver answered, "I know it’s green. But you never know when my brother may be coming through."
Sometimes it seems as if all the world is going through on red & stopping on green. We’re constantly trying things that don’t work. But the Gospel works. Folks, the Gospel works.
Add your own invitation here...
