Share Jesus Every Week

Background

If we havent had the pleasure of meeting my name John Colunga and I have the privilege to serve here as lead pastor

I also have the privilige of bringing todays message from God’s word

If you have your Bible, please turn to Romans 10:14-17

Today, we will be continuing our sermon series called The New Day Way

This is not to say that our way is the right way and everyone else is wrong,

Rather, the new Day Way is our action plan to fulfill our vision

3 weeks ago we had our New Day Launch and we got our vision from 1 Peter 3

It was in this message that our vision was cast for the New Year

The New Day Pasadena Vision - To pursue healthy growth through unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, tender heartedness, humility; and will seek and pursue peace within the church and the world

And so we talked about having an action plan in order to help to grow in these characteristics as a church

And the first step of this action plan is that each of us need to start our day with God

We talked about how we encourage you to read your bible and do a bible study every morning

We also clarified that if you do this at night because its the best time for you, then do it, cause thats good too

Last week, we talked about our second step which is to, “Never miss church”

We looked at Hebrews 10 and how the author encourages us to have full assurance of faith in Christ, to get baptized,

And then to join together as a body of believers

Do not forsake gathering together

We talked about how we come to church to worship God and we come with a posture not for self, but for him

That we rejoice together, we share with one another, we serve with one another

We do this willingly and with eagerness! Church is not a burden, rather its a time of glorifying God

And so we get to today, our third action step which is to “share Jesus every week”

When I say this, I know that no matter if you are an introvert or an extravert, some anxiety may come over you

For an intravert, this means that you have to actually talk to and interact with people

People that you may not know and people that you are unsure how they would respond to you

This means that you have to leave your comfort zone and talk with others

For an extravert, you probably dont have fear of talking with others but you have fear of being ostrasized and rejected

You dont want rejection and isolation

ANd it doesnt matter which one you are, both often fear debate or feel inadequate to talk about Jesus

And so in society, outside of these walls, when we leave here, -

As Christians, we often find it is easier to do other things that represent Jesus, rather than to talk about him

Most often it is first hard to trust and give your life to Jesus because it is hard for you to give up control of your life

And whats crazy is that we never have full control in the first place - But

Even after we give our life to Christ, we learn about baptism and what it signifies

And so we are like yea yea I can do that! And so we get baptzied

And then we learn that we are to come to church amongst fellow believers once a week for an hour and a half and give God glory! Yea Yea I can do that!

And then, the church disciples you and now you learn that you are to go and tell others about Jesus!

Skirt!

Hold Up!

Wait a minute, I have to do what now?

This is often the response........

or

It’s like cmon lets go! I’m ready, whose door we knocking on today!?!

It’s like they are ready to quit their job and move out of the country!

I use these two examples becuase often these are the two extremes, but we must disciple according to scripture and according to scripture we are commanded to share Jesus and there is a way we are to share him with others

As we turn to God’s word and prepare for the reading of it, I ask that you please stand now, while I read

Romans 10:14-17 “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

This is the word of our Lord, you may now be seated

If this text sounds familiar to you, it is because I used it when we talked about New Days Core Values. They are -

Bold gospel

Deep Discipleship

Real Family

True Love

Wide Reach

And so we used this text for Wide Reach on November 20th

You may also recall that last year I also preached over the Great Comission

Remember I used the analogy of multi level marketing companies (pyramid schemes)

One person signs up another who then signs up another and then you are suppossed to get residual income

In the same way, I noted that as believers we make disciples and it multiplies

That sermon was on May 1st, last year

And so I ask, Since I May 1st, or since November 20th, How many people have you shared Jesus too?

Yes, today is going to be one of those sermons

Today I want to get real

Because if we are serious about getting healthier as a church, if you are serious about your individual spiritual health

Sharing Jesus has to be part of getting healthier

Sharing Jesus has to be part of your growth

Context

As we look at our text, we do know is that Paul is the author of Romans

In Romans, Specifically in chapters 1-9, Paul gives the most comprehensive and detailed statement of the gospel

At the end of chapter 9 we find that the Jews are particularly having a tough time with this

They got so wrapped up in their keeping of the laws that they were rejecting Jesus by not having faith in him

I read this verse 2 weeks ago,

Romans 9:32-33 “Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.””

Jesus is the cornerstone and so the church must not rely on the law but in faith in Jesus Christ

Paul solidifies this in chapter 10 Vs. 4 “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”

And then we get to Romans chapter 10 verses 5-13 and Paul expounds on faith

And we find That this faith is not exclusive to just one person or group of people

Rather it is inclusive to all who have faith

Paul is teaching and exhorting the church that Salvation is for people of all tribes and nations

And in todays text it starts with 2 questions:

“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?

These questions are a direct result of verses 5-13 that points directly to Jesus

We know that the “on him” and the “in whom” and the “of whom” is referring to the Lord Jesus Christ

The first thing we need to realize is that No one is going to accept a Savior unless they realize they need a Savior

And no one is going to believe in Jesus unless they believe that Jesus can save

Jesus needs to be shared!

And he shouldn’t be shared as a genie who can solve all of your problems but he must be shared as a loving God who came to take away the punishment of your sins

And the reason why someone needs him is because our punishment is hell

Let me tell you that I am not a hell, fire, and brimstone type of guy but Hell is a real place!

We normalize the word heaven and shy away from the word “hell” but people need to know that the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is everlasting life through Christ Jesus

Gospel message starting from Creation

Only Jesus saves!

And so Paul writes this to the church to shift gears from their old ways of thinking lawfully and to start to live by faith

And they were to go out and share Jesus to the gentiles

To everyone who would listen so that they may have faith in Jesus

Many times, we can act like faith is just for us. When we do not go out and share Jesus with others, we are actually affirming many nonbelievers view that Christianity is exclusive

The truth is, Christianity is the most inclusive of religions out there

When you have a conversation and you share Jesus as the only way to get to heaven, many times the response is what happens to all the other people

And the correct response is that they go to hell

So then they say well thats harsh that only those who belive go to heaven, thats exclusive, what about all the other good people?

I love hearing this! Because what they have just done is said that heaven should be exclusively for all of the good people

And so I tell them, do you realize that you have just exclusively reserved heaven only for only good people?

What about bad people?

Jesus teaches that all people are spiritually dead and bad and they get to go to heaven if they just have faith

You are only including good people, Jesus includes all because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God - they just need to repent and have faith

But brothers and sisters, when we hoard the gospel for ourselves, when we do not share Jesus with others, we are excluding others from the faith

It doesnt matter if you are an introvert or an extravert, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ then you are called to share Jesus

The Church

Next we find two more questions, And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?

I am not of the belief that you are to just bring all of your friends to church in order for me to preach the gospel to them

You know I will do it, but your friends, and your family, and those around you need to hear the gospel from you!

I will promise you that every Sunday the gospel of Jesus Christ will be preached here at New Day Pasadena

That teaching and exhorting will occur in order to exhalt God on High

Teaching that we need Jesus and exhorting to give your life to Jesus

The church must be a place of preaching and discipling and sending!

Heres the thing, I told you I am going to be real

I’ll be honest that there are times when I look around and I wish I had more help

I wish I had another full time staff member with me

I was listening to the Acts 29 replant podcast lately and it talked about Michael Jordan saying that he would be nothing without Scottie Pippin - And the preacher was exhorting the pastors to look for their Scottie

And I was at the gym when i was listening to this and out loud, in front of everyone, I blurted out, “where is my scottie Lord!?

But you know what? Regardless of the circumstance, regardless of if I am alone or not,

I have a responsibility and a mission to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ

I will preach and share Jesus within these walls and outside of these walls

It is in Jesus that I will rest, it is in Jesus where I draw my strength, and it is in Jesus who I rely on to uplift me

And so no matter what I think I need, my primary responsibility will always be to preach the gospel

And I do have a responsibility to ensure that this church will preach, disciple, train, and equip the body of Christ to go out and to send out so that others hear about Jesus

So that when the opportunity presents itself, you are able to share Jesus

You do not have to know all the ins and outs

It’s ok if someone asks a question that you need to look up, but can you articulate the gospel to them!?

Because when you share Jesus and his love and his power, if that person comes to Christ we rejoice but the glory isn’t for us

The glory belongs to Jesus

And if they say no, we are not absolved from our responsibility, we continue to share the gospel

Responsibility

And listen to this: As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

There will be those who reject the gospel!

And our responsibility isn’t to save them, its simply to share Jesus

Jesus does the saving

So if we are simply to share, how much more should we strive to share the full picture of Jesus

We must be faithful in running the good news to others!

And so intraverts and extraverts, dont give up when someone rejects the gospel

Dont stop sharing Jesus with others just because one person is rejecting

And depending on the person, maybe you will be able to share again and again

We should be more weighed down with the fact that we havent shared the gospel rather than being so weighed down in fear of the outcome

And when we have one conversation, and another, and another

It becomes easier and more fluid

And there will be disheartening times, there will be times where you wish you knew more, and thats why you get back into the word

But as we go, as we share, this is how it should be done:

1 Peter 3:15 “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,”

Do it to honor Christ - prepared - we should be gentle and have respect

Colossians 4:6 “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”

Gracious - Preserved

Matthew 5:16 “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

Walk the walk and talk the talk - Do it for God’s glory

Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

We are to go unashamed and to go emboldened for it is God’s power

We are to go and share the gospel in this way so that God can use us

Often, I think we underestimate how God can use us

We do not see things as he does and we do not know his plan as he does

What I do know is that in scripture we find over and over again average people being called

Look - if you are starting a team, you more than likeley wouldnt have picked Peter; James; John; Andrew; Philip; Judas Iscariot; Matthew; Thomas; James, the son of Alpheus; Bartholomew; Judas Thaddeus; and Simon Zelotes.

They were not the most educated, they were not the cream of the crop

But God displayed his power through them and used them to carry out his plan

You must believe first that the God who has called you, will also use you to do his work

You must believe that there is power in the gospel

And as you speak with gentleness and respect

As you speak with grace and truth

As you preserve and prepare the gospel

The hearing through the word of Christ is all that it takes

Application

And so please - make a commitment to share Jesus with someone, somehow, someway

I have a very detailed and lengthy gospel presentation

Sometimes you may not be able to have a lengthy talk

So have a 30 second elevator pitch - Mine is 5 points

We are separated from a holy and righteous God because of our sin. God sent Jesus to live the perfect that we cant live. He died on the cross and paid the penalty for our sin. We are now able to be reconciled with God through faith and trust in Jesus Christ Alone. And because of his faithfulness, I have peace that I will be with God in heaven.

Another thing you should do is memorize scripture - Ephesians 2:1-9 is a great one to start with

We have been hearing testimonies each week - are you ready to give a testimony?

Hey how are you? - You know I have been going through a rough time but I’ve put my faith in Jesus and I know he is faithful to get me through it

What a conversation starter - hey it might be a conversation killer too but thats ok.

We have yellow yard signs in the back of the sanctuary - if you dont have one in your yard, I encourage you to take one. However, a sign in the yard is not sharing Jesus

If you want to learn more about how to share your faith, please come to me and lets sit and talk

Lets not be shy to talk about Jesus and to share him with others

(Communion)

Announcements

Connect Card - Please fill out and turn it in

February 1st (Wednesday) 6:30pm, will be our first community group meet of the semester (Sign Up Sheet out in the foyer)

It is at the Hansen home and we wil get you the address, please feel free to reach out if you have any questions

February 5th - Connect Class (Get to know us, get to know each other, have a lesson) 8:45am

New Day Mens Retreat - Men from all three locations will join together February 24-26 at Trinity Pines

Sign up online, it is $150 please please please do not let that deter you, let us know if the money aspect is an issue and we will take care of that for you

New Day Reading Plan - Website, top right tab you will see the BIble reading plan

Mon-Fri - Matthew chapters 11-15

Please stand and recieve the benediction before we leave -

Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” Amen

Thank you, you are now dismissed