Sermon Tone Analysis

Evangelism

 

God’s Commission

* Make disciples

* Baptize

* All nations – mission field included beyond Jerusalem but even the Gentiles – Bring the good news before even the pagans – don’t be like Jonah

* He will be with us always – spoken to the disciples, but the breadth of the command indicates that it extends to the whole Church until the end.

The eleven and those who followed directly after them did well to spread the faith into the Roman world

* Commission came from all authority in heaven

* Mt Tabor (by tradition)

 

God’s commission was revolutionary

* Teaching them to observe all that he had commanded – uncharacteristic for Rabbis, they made disciples for themselves, but there were called on to make disciples for Jesus

* Gentile discipleship went outside of Jewish tradition, only few converts are known to have studied under Jewish Rabbis

* Remember who it was Jesus gave this commission to.

They weren’t trained in ministry, They had no diplomas, they were fishermen

 

Our commission

* It is believed that there were upwards of 500 people present at that time to hear Jesus

* The passage refers to “doubters” but it is unlikely that the disciples still had doubts at that time, there were others there

* It was given to the church, but that there were that many people present, it was a command to be carried out by each of us, not just the organs of the church set up to carry out the commission

* Some say, mostly the disciples were there, nevertheless, each of us is a part of the Church, and thus are responsible, in as much as we can affect things, to be a part of the commission

 

*Matthew 28:17-20 (NASB95)* \\ 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped /Him;/ but some were doubtful.

18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

[1]

 

*1 Corinthians 15:2-7 (NASB95)* \\ 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.

3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

6 After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; 7 then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles;

[2]

 

God’s purpose for Israel

* They were to be his witness

* A light to the world

* Despite their unfaithfulness, they still will be a light to the world

*Isaiah 42:6 (NASB95) \\ *6 “I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I will also hold you by the hand and watch over you, And I will appoint you as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations,

[3]

*Isaiah 43:10 (NASB95)* \\ 10 “You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord, “And My servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and believe Me And understand that I am He.

Before Me there was no God formed, And there will be none after Me.

[4]

 

Israel was to be his witness

* They had the experience of seeing divine salvation, and were to proclaim God to the world and his deeds for Israel were to be the evidence

* They were to bear witness that he was the one and true God

* This should be our guiding principle in sharing the Gospel, there is only God, we have the cross as our evidence

*Isaiah 44:6-8 (NASB95) \\ *6 “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me. 7 ‘Who is like Me? Let him proclaim and declare it; Yes, let him recount it to Me in order, From the time that I established the ancient nation.

And let them declare to them the things that are coming And the events that are going to take place.

8 ‘Do not tremble and do not be afraid; Have I not long since announced /it /to you and declared /it?/

And you are My witnesses.

Is there any God besides Me, Or is there any /other /Rock?

I know of none.’

”

[5]

 

God is patient and desires that all be saved

* Long suffering – fruit of the Spirit

* Will keep his promise but will wait – slow to anger

*2 Peter 3:3-9 (NASB95)* \\ 3 Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with /their /mocking, following after their own lusts, 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming?

For /ever /since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.”

5 For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God /the /heavens existed long ago and /the /earth was formed out of water and by water, 6 through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water.

7 But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

8 But do not let this one /fact /escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.

9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

[6]

Testimony (Merriam Webster’s)

* a divine decree attested in the Scriptures

* firsthand authentication of a fact

* an outward sign

* a solemn declaration usually made orally by a witness under oath in response to interrogation by a lawyer or authorized public official[7]

* an open acknowledgment

* a public profession of religious experience

 

Understanding testimony (/Marturia//)/* *μαρτυρία

* Testimony and reputation are intimately linked

* *Acts 22:18 *– Paul’s testimony of Christ would not be accepted in Jersusalem

* /Marturia// – /Is translated to “reputation” in *1 Timothy 3:7* – in the context of deacons and overseers; they were to have a good reputation with those outside the church; our reputation is a part of our testimony, we are like we really believe

* Some were beheaded because of their marturia of Jesus – *Revelation 20:4*

* Testimony is something that is verbal and lived out through application

* We die as a testimony or speak the Gospel verbally by our testimony

* Both give rise to the credibility of our testimony

 

Our Testimony as the spirit of prophesy

* The spirit of prophesy is to testify of Jesus *Revelation 19:10; *or to bear his testimony, that is the purpose of the Holy Spirit, manifested in what we read in the Bible, what we say with our mouths, and by how we live*.*

* The purpose of prophesy, by way of spirit, finds its ultimate course in Jesus

* When we bear witness of Christ, we do so by the spirit of prophesy

* The Spirit of God bears forth a true testimony of Jesus is *I John 4:2*

* If somebody portrays Jesus incorrectly and denies he is the Son of God, then they do not teach by the Spirit of God

* Our testimony needs to be accurate and uncompromising as to the nature of God and as to who Jesus really is

* Bad reputations do not come from the Holy Spirit – It is not according to the spirit of prophesy

* Jews of that time typically referred to the Holy Spirit as the “Spirit of Prophesy”

 

What is our testimony?

* Personal experiences that are the result of Christ changing our lives; have much more sway with most people than getting into the minutia of theology

* Life lessons – What we’ve learned from the Bible, what we’ve learned from trials, and what we’ve learned from reading the Bible

* It is almost like a personal case-study – point out that a lot of college curriculums are case studies, practical applications

* Keep a journal, so that you may have an extensive list of life lessons to share

* Our passions

* Our testimony should not be in conflict with the “Spirit of Prophesy”

* Ultimately, the end result is the Gospel, good news in your life should point to Good News in the life of the person you share your testimony

 

Make God known, praise his name in song *Isaiah 12:4-6*

* Let the whole Earth know what he’s done

* Evangelism – make the good news known – this is praising him – form of praise; It’s good news

* Let it come from the heart as if it were a song

 

Required to wait five years before they could eat the fruit from trees they planted after entering into Canaan *Leviticus 19:23-25*

* A Praise offering to the Lord

* Praised the Lord before they enjoyed the fruit – We should praise God in anticipation of what he will provide (testament of faith)

* Obey first, praise, then satisfaction – reverse of what we are used to doing; we don’t have to wait for things to praise the Lord

* Praising is a way of life

* Waiting for his lovingkindness – Psalm 147:11 – for the Lord’s favor

* Praising in anticipation of lovingkindness

* Giving things to God are praise.

He first gave them to us.

* Teaches sharing and sacrifice

* Fruit of our lips

 

*Hebrews 13:15*

Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the R650 fruit of lips that give thanks to His name