Who Are You Bringing?

WHO ARE YOU BRINGING? - MARK 16:15

-what’s happening next week? [Back To School Bash]

-why are we having the Bash next week?

-it’s not because it’s fun. Hey, I like to have fun, but I would much rather have one of you have a party and me show up there. We could all have fun at your house.

-we’re not celebrating you going back to school. Who wants to go back?

-we’re not having fun because it’s the first Sunday night of the new school year. For Drink Deep I’d much rather worship and talk about God with a few games.

-we do it for one reason. So you can invite your friends.

**Mark 16:15 -> 15And then He told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.” (NLT)

-that would be Jesus speaking.

-we’re supposed to tell every single person about the Good News. Well, what is it?

THE GOOD NEWS

-here it is. Jesus loves you. But if you just run up to people “Jesus loves you!” and run away it doesn’t explain much.

-first we have to realize that we need Jesus.

**Ro. 3:23 -> 23Everyone has sinned and is far away from God’s saving presence. (GNT)

-our society teaches us that we don’t need anyone. That we can do it on our own. The American Dream. That no one is really “wrong”, you’re both right with different points of view. And that idea works, until you mess up and wind up in court.

-people won’t go looking for a Savior because a lot of them don’t know they need one. Now, don’t go running up to people, “You suck, sinner!” It’s one of those things that a lot ofpeople need to figure out for themselves. And surprisingly, most have, they just don’t know to turn to Jesus.

**Acts 15:11 -> 11We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus. (NLT)

-the Good News is we deserved to die for our sin, but Jesus died in our place, and since He is the placeholder, He decides who His sacrifice is for, and He has decided it’s for everyone who asks. But, we have to ask, we have to start that relationship.

-Jesus wants to make us whole, forgive us and live with us forever in heaven! Pretty good news.

WHY ME?

-so why do I need to do it? Why can’t someone else tell people about Jesus?

1. WE’RE TOLD TO

-it’s not a matter of choice, Jesus told us to do this.

-the verse we started with, it doesn’t say, “And Jesus asked, ‘please, would you like to…’ “. He said do it.

**II Cor. 5:18 -> 18All this is from God. Through Christ, God made peace between us and Himself, and God gave us the work of telling everyone about the peace we can have with Him. (NCV)

-who did God give the job to? Us.

-God wants us to tell everyone about this Good News. He could do it any other way. He could write it in the sky. He could have dogs speak, and all they would ever say is “Jesus loves you” between barks. He could make billboards grow like trees. But He chose you.

-from Jesus’ own lips, talking with God about His job to tell people:

**John 17:18 -> 17Just as You sent Me into the world, I am sending them into the world. (NLT)

-Jesus is sending us into the world to tell people about Him.

-we are told to share the gospel with people.

2. WE’RE THE MOST EFFECTIVE WITNESS

-where else do you think people are going to see Jesus?

-do you think your friends will one day turn on the TV, flip to LeSea Broadcasting, see some preacher TV show, the guy up on stage in a really expensive suit and go, “Wow, Jesus does love me, I want to be like that guy.”

-do you know what percentage of people who go to church come because of a televangelist or crusade? .0001%. So out of 1 million people who see an evangelist on TV, 1 will go to church. That’s not good odds.

-1 or 2 out of 100 would come out of a stranger coming up on the street and sharing the Good News. That’s ten thousand times better than the TV, but still not great.

-2 or 4 will come because of a good church program. So that means if we went to the high schools and told all your friends who don’t go to church about our great Student Ministry here, 1 out of 50 might try it.

-there are better odds of someone driving by and thinking, “hmm, look a church, I wonder what they’re like.” than there are of me making an add campaign. Actually, double, 4 to 6 out of a hundred will try a church just because over the 2 to 4 that actually know about the program.