Tell in the Light

Most of us need a boost of confidence, especially when we have to do something new or different.

· Some of us even fail to recognize our worth; the world is very good at putting us down - More often than not, it simply ignores us.

In this world, a sense of our self-worth is difficult to build and even more challenging to maintain.

· So when we are told that we, as followers of Jesus Christ, are to go out into the world and tell others about him, it terrifies us. It is out of our comfort zone.

· Jesus knows that the world will not treat us any more kindly than it had treated himself.

o Believers are often persecuted.

o We are bypassed, shunned, withdrawn from, isolated, talked about, ridiculed, mocked, considered strange, and joked about.

Our Gospel lesson for this morning is a great encouragement to all of us who face persecution and who become weak at the knees when we think about telling others about Jesus.

To us, Jesus says three times: “Do not be afraid.” (Pause)

· He encouraged His disciples not to fear persecution.

· As a matter of fact, we must expect persecution because Jesus Himself was persecuted....

.... “A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.”

Some years ago, Japan took over Korea.

· Many of the leading Christians were bitterly persecuted.

· Some were imprisoned in Japanese jails.

· Those who weren’t persecuted felt that they were somehow lacking in their Christianity.

A native Methodist went to a missionary and said, “There must be something wrong with us Methodists.

· I fear that we are not living as godly as we ought to live.

· There are 37 Presbyterians in jail and only one Methodist!

Does not the Lord count us worthy to suffer shame for His name?”

Imagine!

We are called by God’s very own Son, the Master and Lord of the Universe---this is the highest privilege imaginable!

Therefore, it is a very high privilege to suffer for Him.

As the Bible says in 1st Timothy:

“In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

One day John Wesley--the founder of Methodism-- preached to a great throng in an outdoor meeting.

· He pleaded with the unsaved to flee from the wrath to come.

· Later Wesley wrote in his journal, “Many of the people acted like beasts and did their best to disturb the meeting. They tried to drive a herd of cows into the crowd but without success.

· Then they began to throw stones--showers of them.

o One of them struck me between the eyes.

o I wiped away the blood, and went right on, declaring that God has given to them that believe, ‘not the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.’

Jesus tells us: “What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.”

My friends, the message must be proclaimed!!!

· And the message is urgent--it is to be proclaimed loud and clear for all to hear!

We are living in very desperate times....

....the end may very well be near.....

.....and those who perish without the saving grace of Jesus Christ will be condemned to hell!

If we believe this....we will proclaim this!!!

Jesus has given all of us--not just the paid clergy--for paid, ordained, or not--we are all ministers of the Gospel....

...Christ has given all of us the great commission to “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.”

And many people do this

....there are many missionaries who we support financially to do this.

....but if we expect to be able to just pay somebody else to do what all of us as Christians are commanded to do.

....we are coping out---we are fooling ourselves.

...we are self-diluded!

Take a look around our neighborhoods....how many of our neighbors know Christ and attend a Solid Christian Church?...

...or any church at all?

Look around us....look at the violence....look at the unhappy faces....look at the spiritual depravity....

“Go...and tell the people the full message of this new life.”

What have you done this week… this past month… this last year

To invite someone to church. If more of us had invited someone to church, there would be more people sitting here this morning.

How many of us have shared our faith in Christ Jesus?

My friends....it’s the least we can do!!!

Jesus says, “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.”

Are we ashamed of the Gospel of Christ?

Are we ashamed that we are aligned under the Creator of this universe...rather than the destroyer of this universe? Jesus says,

“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.

Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

God has given each of us a great and glorious cause:

to reach men, women, and children for Christ.

Now, some people don’t want to be reached; therefore, they rebel and become our persecutors.

· But some people do want to be saved!

And the fact that they are saved to live forever is so glorious that it is worth whatever suffering we may have to bear.

· We are called to confess Christ even to those who might sneer at us, mock us, curse us, slander us, abuse us or avoid us....

....Jesus says, “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

Yes, Jesus lays some heavy demands upon His disciples....He states clearly what it will cost a person to be His disciple.

· And this is because Jesus’ presence automatically causes division.

o As believers---our godly and divine nature is so completely opposite from our fallen nature.

§ As Paul writes in Galations: “For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other.”

Let me hear an amen if you can relate to this biblical truth!

As certain people heed the call of Jesus--becoming one with Him and the Way of righteousness....

....there is suddenly a division inside and out.

· Inside, there is division between the person’s old fallen self, and their new divine nature.

· On the outside, there is division between the new Christian and those who choose to reject Jesus and continue to follow the way of darkness.

And this division often occurs among family members and friends.

· Shortly after I was saved, I was talking to a young lady who said: “Wow, what do your parents think? If I became a born again Christian...my parents would kill me!”

· A Christian friend of mine once told me that a girlfriend of his actually wept when he told her of his decision to follow Christ.

The saved person becomes a totally new person.

· Their perspective changes....and they will never, never ever be the same again!!!

· This does not mean that the saved person suddenly becomes perfect....

....it means that the saved person’s values and priorities have been turned upside down and inside out.

· And while this is happening, the unsaved family member or friend continues down the same road....remaining in darkness.

The believer is called to a life of righteousness and to a warfare against sin and evil.

· If a member of this person’s family is engaged on the side of evil--without a repentant heart--there is a natural conflict between the believer and the family member.

· The family member is still of the earth--they are repressing and subduing the very thought of God.

The believer is of this earth, but he or she is also of heaven.

· He or she is both physical and spiritual.

· They are living mainly for God and His righteousness, living to reach people with the glorious gospel of Christ....

....and these two natures differ drastically.

Now, there is a danger here...for the believer because there is often an intense inner turmoil to return to the ways of the world in order to stay on the ‘in’ with family members and friends who do not believe.

· This is why Jesus says:

o “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me;

o anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;

o And anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.”

Jesus demands supreme love.

If there is anything or anyone in our way of following Christ....of putting Christ first in our lives....we can not follow Him!

As believers, we are to love our families, but we are to love God more....

....God must be first and foremost.

When we allow our families to keep us from serving God and from doing what we should--we are making our families the supreme love of our lives....

....We are worshipping them....

....we are allowing our families to become our idols.

In Luke, Jesus says: “In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.”

What Christ says is strong....

We must die to self, sacrificing our wills, ambitions and desires.

Whatever it is that we want--comfort, ease, wealth, fame, power, family--all must be placed behind Christ and His will.

I get it. Our nature is to desire these things.

o We are encouraged to look out for number one.

o To gain all you can for yourself.

· And that is what many of you are doing.

But just look at what you gain when you put Jesus first... True life and that more abundantly.

(Passonately)

Jesus demands our lives.

· And life is the very thing that people are searching for, but what the world calls life is not real life....

...the flesh with all its goose bumps and chills and butterflies, it not life....

...wealth, with all the things it can purchase, is not life...

...recognition and fame, with all the ego it can boost, is not life...

....Power, with all the rights and privileges it can give, is not life...

....Pride, with all the self-image it can build, is not life!

All this and everything else on the earth that fades and passes away....well....it just does not last.

(big pause)

How can life, real life, be something that ends so quickly and leaves a person so empty?

Real life is found only by giving up one’s life to Jesus.

· The person who refuses to let go of their life and give it to Jesus misses out on the life that God has intended for them.

· They never get to experience the fulfillment of completing their mission on this earth and going on to that unique quality of life reserved for them for all eternity.

· So, those of us who believe, are charged with the great commission....making disciples of all nations.

· It is a big task, but their is no more important task imaginable.

So go.....

....tell the world about Christ....

So go...

....invite your friends, family members, neighbors, and even strangers to come to church.....

So go....

...and Do not be afraid....

So go....

....not one sparrow falls to the ground apart from the will of your Father....

So go....

....even the very hairs on your head are all numbered....

So go....

Do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.