A. Today’s sermon brings to a conclusion this series on outreach that we have been addressing this fall.
1. We are going to spend a few moments thinking about Jesus’ famous last words, but before we do, I thought it might be fun to think about some other famous last words.
2. Here are the Top 10 Famous Last Words:
a. “I know this great shortcut we can take.”
b. “Don’t worry, it’s not contagious.”
c. “Pull the pin and count to what?”
d. “So, you are a cannibal.”
e. “Which wire was I supposed to cut?”
f. “I wonder where the mother bear is.”
g. “Trust me I know what I’m doing.”
h. “Gee, that’s a cute tattoo.”
i. “Of course it’s safe.”
j. “Well, it can’t get any worse!”
3. Famous last words!
B. You remember Jesus’ last words, don’t you?
1. “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 will be with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Mt. 28:18-20)
2. Jesus said this to his disciples in 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.”
3. The next verse reads, “After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud him from their sight.” (Acts 1:9)
C. So, those were Jesus’ last words to his disciples, but let’s travel back in time to an earlier encounter with Jesus.
1. This episode is recorded in Matthew 4:18 and following.
2. Jesus was walking one day beside the Sea of Galilee, and he saw two brothers, Peter and Andrew.
3. Peter and Andrew were common fishermen. That’s how they earned a living.
4. They were working hard that day, casting their nets into the lake and pulling in their catch.
5. Jesus came up to them and said, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
6. Verse 20 says, “At once they left their nets and followed him.”
D. In essence, what Jesus said to the two of them that day was, “I understand your preoccupation with catching fish. But if you will trust me and follow me, if you will try to understand who I am and what I am up to in this world, then I will make you fishers of men. And believe me, this is infinitely more significant an endeavor than merely catching fish!”
1. Now, it’s important to understand that Jesus was not knocking the fishing business, any more than He would have knocked the woodworking business, from which He and Joseph had made a living.
2. There’s nothing wrong with those occupations, nor the food business, the travel business, the insurance business, or any other wholesome business.
3. They are all fine. But no earthly enterprise is as important as the business of bringing lost people to the cross of Christ.
4. This soul saving enterprise should be central to the lives of all Jesus’ followers, regardless of what they do for a living.
E. Those of us who choose to follow Jesus must eventually come to the conclusion that there’s nothing more important than reaching people.
1. When we do, our values will change.
2. We will be seized by the realization that every other earthly activity pales in comparison with helping an individual man, woman, boy or girl come into a saving relationship with the God of the universe.
3. When we finally come to that understanding, then we will live differently. We will pray differently, love differently, work differently, serve differently and give differently.
4. We will become preoccupied with people and their spiritual needs.
5. And we will want to know how we can become more effective fishers of men.
F. Let me ask you a personal question: Has that kind of thing happened to you yet? Have you come to that conclusion yet?
G. In 2 Peter, chapter 3, Peter describes what will happen on the day of the Lord.
1. He describes how that everything that so many of us are so concerned about getting will be burned up.
2. Peter writes, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? (2 Peter 3:10-12)
3. What a waste to invest ourselves in things that just won’t last!
H. In 1 Corinthians, chapter 9, Paul talks about competing in the games.
1. Paul writes, “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.” (1 Cor. 9:25)
2. Paul was saying, in effect, “Don’t get all cranked up about the wrong race! Rather, set your sights on winning the right race: the one that makes your life count for eternity by the way you serve God and the way you serve and save people.”
I. In reality, only a few of us will be asked to leave our nets and abandon our professions.
1. Some of us will be led by God to make ministry our career, but the vast majority of Christians will be asked to function within their present occupations.
2. But all are challenged by Jesus to do so with a whole new mindset, one that reflects God’s perspective on the eternal importance of people.
J. I’m thankful that Peter and Andrew chose to major in the people business rather than the fishing business.
1. And in John 21, after Peter’s miserable failures, he thought about going back to catching fish, but Jesus went to him and renewed His challenge to stay preoccupied with people.
2. Three times Jesus told Peter to stay with the people business.
3. That’s what Peter did, and he was used by God to impact the entire world.
K. But what will we do? How and where will we invest our lives?
1. I implore you, for your own sake and for the sake of others, stick with the people business.
2. Let’s say to God each day, “Today, let me do more than merely catch fish. Help me do more than sell a product. Inspire me to go beyond providing a service. Enable me to touch a human life. Work through me to reach a man or woman for you. I want to be in the people business.”
L. Before we bring this lesson and this series to a close, let’s look one more time at the final challenge Jesus gave before finishing His earthly ministry and ascending into heaven.
1. Jesus said, “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 will be with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Mt. 28:19-20)
2. There are several important things we notice in Jesus’ challenge.
3. First, we notice to whom He was talking.
a. He was talking to his disciples, those who had given up everything to follow Him and to become more like Him.
b. Two thousand years later, we are that group of people and His challenge comes down to us.
c. If they didn’t embrace that mission, then no one would be saved, and if we don’t embrace it today, then the result will be the same.
4. Second, we notice that we must go to the lost.
a. Jesus didn’t tell them to wait for the lost to come to them, He told them to go, or better yet, they were to do this soul-saving work, as they were going into all the world.
b. We have talked a lot during this series about the importance of close proximity.
c. We simply cannot have an effect on others if we are not in close contact with others.
d. The salt doesn’t have any effect if it stays in the salt shaker!
5. Third, we notice the need for clear communication.
a. As disciples are made they need to be taught, and not just taught a few things, but all things that Jesus commanded.
b. God wants people to know of His love and saving grace, but God also wants them to know what He requires from those who would follow Him.
c. Jesus must be believed and received as both Savior and Lord.
6. Finally, we notice that Jesus promised to be with them.
a. This challenge and mission would be far to great and overwhelming without God’s help.
b. But Jesus promises to be with us always to the very end.
c. His presence, protection and provision is ours all the way to the end.
d. He will enable us to have maximum impact and He will make our efforts fruitful.
e. And isn’t that good to know?!
M. So, let me ask you, is this mission of Jesus one that you can get excited about embracing?
1. Is it one that will be worth getting out of bed for every day?
2. Maybe you’ve heard the story of Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple Computers.
3. He realized that the incredible growth of his corporation required the hiring of an experienced executive who could provide overall leadership.
4. So he went after a top executive with Pepsi-Cola named John Sculley.
5. After wining and dining him a bit, he started to get the sinking feeling that Sculley was going to turn down his offer.
6. So, Jobs took him to the top of an apartment building overlooking Central Park and made his final, last ditch effort to try to get him to join Apple Computers.
7. Jobs said to Sculley, “Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water, or do you want a chance to change the world?”
8. In his book, Sculley writes that this challenge knocked the wind out of him. And eventually it prompted him to leave Pepsi and join Apple Computers.
N. In our mission as Christians, God has given us the challenge of changing the world, one person at a time.
1. Isn’t today a good day to mark as the day that you and I decided that there’s more to life than just selling sugar water?
2. Wouldn’t it be an ideal day to say to God, “With your help, I’ll go, and through your power we’ll change some lives?!”
O. I like what Daniel Webster wrote about investing our lives in people.
1. I like it so much, I have had it hanging in my office for many years.
2. I look at it from time to time and am reminded about the importance of our mission.
3. He wrote:
“If we work upon marble, it will perish; if we work upon brass, time will efface it;
if we rear temples, they will crumble into dust; but if we work upon immortal minds
and instill into them just principles, we are then engraving that upon tablets which no
time will efface, but will brighten and brighten to all eternity.” Daniel Webster
P. Louis Pasteur, the pioneer of immunology, lived at a time when thousands of people died each year of rabies.
1. Pasteur had worked for years on a vaccine.
2. Just as he was about to begin experimenting on himself, a 9 year-old boy named Joseph Meister was bitten by a rabid dog.
3. The boy’s mother begged Pasteur to experiment on her son.
4. Pasteur acquiesced and gave injections to Joseph for ten days.
5. The treatments worked and the boy lived.
6. Decades later, of all the things Pasteur could have had etched on his gravestone, he asked for three words: Joseph Meister Lived.
7. When we get to heaven some day, our greatest joy and reward will be those who live eternally because of our efforts.
8. Are there any whose names could be etched on your gravestone because you helped lead them to Christ?
Q. So, how do we get started?
1. As I have said in previous lessons – let’s begin by praying and making a list of those in your sphere of influence whom God might reach through you.
2. Then let’s begin investing through prayer on their behalf. Pray for them every day.
3. Next let’s begin investing through our time and actions. Treat them with God’s love. Serve them. Build a stronger relationship with them.
4. Finally, invest through our words. Plant seeds of truth. Ask them about their faith. Invite them to study or to some Church related event.
5. Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of the world…let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Mt. 5:13-16)
(This lesson is based on Chapter 15 of Hybel’s book Becoming a Contagious Christian)
Prayer
