What Jesus Said About Evangelizing The World Series

WHAT JESUS SAID ABOUT EVANGELIZING THE WORLD

MATTHEW 22:1-14

1. Illus. of my friend Charles

• Had a little Chevette

• Saw him on side of road, I thought he was broken down.

• “Couldn’t remember where I was supposed to be going, thought I ought to sit here until it came to me.”

2. I know a lot of churches like that. They are sitting on the sidelines doing nothing because they have forgotten where they are supposed to be going! Now, don’t misunderstand what I am saying. They have a lot of activities going on. It will wear you out to belong to one of these churches. Strangely enough, in spite of all the activities, they will baptize only a handful of new converts a year, with most of those being the children of existing members. Their Sunday School enrollment will be about what it was 5 years ago. Every year the average age of the church will increase because few teens or young married people are being reached.

3. These churches have forgotten that Jesus established His church in order to carry the gospel to the world. They have forgotten the commission given to the church in Acts 1:8.

4. See vs2. The Kingdom of heaven is like… Just like this King invited people to be a part of his wedding feast, so God the Father is inviting people to become a part of His Kingdom.

5. In this parable, Jesus told His listeners about God’s plan for extending His Kingdom around the world.

6. Today: The purpose of the church is to be actively involved in God’s plan for world evangelization.

7. What does this parable tell us about evangelizing the world?

I. THE ORIGINATOR OF WORLD EVANGELISM IS GOD THE FATHER

1. See:

• Vs 2-

• Vs 3a- sent out his servants

• Vs 4a- he sent out other servants

2. The king arranged the marriage, the king sent out the invitations, the King sent his servants to follows up on the invitations. The king formulated the whole plan. It all originated with him.

3. That king represents God the Father. This business about carrying the gospel of Jesus Christ to the whole world? It wasn’t my idea, and it wasn’t your idea. It was God’s idea.

4. Illus. of Christian

• Came to ask my opinion about something

• I gave her clear word from the scripture. It all but had her name written on it.

• She got mad at me! I told her, “listen, don’t get mad with me! I didn’t say this, God did! If you don’t like it, take it up with Him!”

• You say, “I don’t appreciate you telling me I’m sinning if I don’t share Christ with my next door neighbor. I don’t like all these Home Mission and Foreign Mission offerings.” Take it up with God! This is not my idea, it’s His idea! It’s not my plan, it’s His plan!

5. Our marching orders are clear, and they come straight from the top. Acts 1:8

6. Now, if evangelizing the world were my idea, it would be open for debate. If it were the President of the SBC’s idea, it would be open for debate. However, this is God Almighty’s plan, and it is not open for debate!

II. THE TARGET OF WORLD EVANGELISM IS THE ENTIRE WORLD

1. See vss 3-7. The invitation was first extended to the nation of Israel. God had sent the prophets in OT times to predict the coming of the Messiah. In the latter times God sent John the Baptist in the spirit and authority of Elijah to say, “He is here!” But notice the response of the Jews- they rejected His invitation. The Jews were looking for a political, not a spiritual, Messiah. They wanted someone to rescue them from Rome, not someone to rescue them from sin!

2. What was God’s response? See Vss 8-10. God gave a legitimate Kingdom invitation to the Jews. He told them, “you can enter into a special relationship with me through my Son Jesus.” Once they rejected this invitation, He said, “then I will make this same offer to the rest of the world!”

3. God wants the people of every nation to hear the gospel of His Son and have the chance to come into His Kingdom. Nobody is excluded!

4. Illus. of Six Flags trip

• I wanted to ride a new roller coaster.

• Stood in line, as I got to front of line saw a little cartoon man with a sign saying, “you must be this tall to ride this ride.”

• I wasn’t eligible to get into ride because I wasn’t this tall.”

5. Some think the Kingdom is that way. Before you are eligible to enter the Kingdom you must be this financially well-off, or this nationality, or this skin color.