Evangelism

Do you know what a palindrome is? If you have watched the fantastic 2020 movie Tenet, written and Directed by Christopher Nolan you may know what it is. A Palindrome is a word, phrase, verse, numbers or in this case, movie that is the same backwards and forwards. Tenet spelled backwards is Tenet. 91019 is the same forwards and backwards. Words like Wow, Mom, Race-car, Hannah, delivered, Kayak, and the list can go on are all Palindromes. No matter what way you read it they spell out the same word.

I bring this up because we are in the book of acts, in a series called Ecclesia. Where we as a church are looking at at how the early gathering of Jesus followers who had no electricity, no social media, no central hub for funding, no strategic plan for church building, ended up changing the world by spreading the gospel of Jesus and creating Jesus centered communities. How can we at Journey learn from those in Jerusalem and how can we see God do it again here in North Peoria.

So back to palindromes, the book of acts frontwards and backwards has two major themes through the entire book and we will look at them over the next two weeks. In fact these themes go hand in hand with each other so I encourage you to no miss this week or next week specifically. In acts the first palindrome that defines the book of acts Evangelism. We see it in acts 1:8 where Jesus says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses to Jerusalem, and in Jude’s, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Right off the bat Jesus says you are to go and tell others about me and my kingdom and the good news of the Gospel, and all throughout acts it is the story of how Jesus followers went and did just that, and at the very end of the book we see this, as the last verse acts 28:31 “He (Paul) proclaimed the kingdom of God and through about the Lord Jesus Christ, with boldness and without hindrance.” From beginning to end, if you read it frontwards or back you will see the book of Acts is the story of how Jesus followers changed the world.

But here is the amazing thing about this book as we will see, it wasn’t just the apostles responsibility to Evangelize, and evangelism as seen today isn't just inviting your neighbors to church and hope that there is a gospel message. The key contributing factor as we will see in the growth of the church and impact on the world is that Individual Jesus followers took responsibility on themselves to tell others about Jesus. In fact here is an amazing thing to think about, when the Apostle Paul died in 65 ad, until the time Chrsitinanity became the official Roman religion in 313ad we do not have one record of a greatest missionary who traveled the world. We have church leaders, but it was on the shoulders of other Jesus followers to spread the message. And this is where we at Journey church, you have to begin to take on that responsibility also if you ever want to see North Peoria changed.

I have separated this sermon into two parts, the first part is 1: Evangelism as seen in Acts, part 2: Evangelism as seen at Journey. 1: Evalgeliams as seen in Acts. If we are going to look over the entire book of Acts and see how it is a book focused on Evangelism we have to see it how they say it. 1: The Mandate. 2. The Message. 3. The Methods.

1: The Mandate - We have already covered this one earlier and in fact we say this all the time at church the we have a mandate and mission by our Lord Jesus to go and be his witness to your community, your state and the world beyond. We hear it all the time in the church world, but we especially in America, we don’t see this as a mandate, rather we view it as a suggestion.  If you can, if you are gifted, if you have the time, if you feel like it, if you want to, then go and be my witness. But the early Jesus followers took it as an official command that they could not and would not disobey. If Jesus is who he says his is, and did what he said he did, and he defeated death and sin, and gives salvation from the consequences of our sin and if you have placed your faith in Him, then why wouldn’t you want to tell others about him?

In the American version of Christnity that we are seeing today, and especially in the age of not wanting to have conflict with others there has been a movement in the faith that simply says, “I know I am a Jesus follower, but it is not my place to tell others what to belive.” So if you are Mormon, Muslim, Hindu, atheist, wicken, New Age Theist, or the progressive “christiniaty”, or live an alternative life style I mean you fill in the blanks, as a Jesus follower these people would say, I have no right to tell them about Jesus. Let people believe what they want to believe. And this is where we are going to draw a line in the sand as a church and say if you are a Jesus follower and you think that way, then you are wrong. Jesus doesn’t say, “go be my witness unless they belive something else other than me, then just leave them alone.” No it is a mandate to go and tell others about the great love and sacrifice of the one true God. You are empowered by the Holy Spirit to go out and tell others the message of Jesus. So what is the message?

2: The Message - The message is simple we see it in acts 4:12 when it says, “salvation is found in no one else for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” This means that the only way to be restored back to God is through a relationship with Jesus Chrsit. That anyone who repents of their sins and believes that Jesus died, for their sins and rose again they will be saved. All throughout the book of acts we see Paul, Peter and Stephen preach this message over and over again, in fact they were put into prison because they kept preaching about Jesus to anyone and everyone. And while they were in prison guess what they did? They preached this message to the guards and in Acts 16 we see the guards believed in this message, went and told his family and the whole family believed and were baptized and then that guard being changed by Jesus washed the wounds of Paul.

In our world today everyone wants to mix and match spirituality to try and get peace or connection with God. I remember growing up I would get a cup at a restaurant and put a little bit of each drink in it, you know what we would call it, a graveyard, and that’s exactly what you get when others try to mix and match, they find themselves in a spiritual graveyard that will not produce life or produce fruit. Only a relationship with Jesus give you spiritual life.

Evangelism is our Offense in this world. It is where we drive the ball down the field and I will unapologetically say the goal of evangelism and telling this message is that people would be converted and become Jesus followers. That’s offensive in this world, but it is God’s offense to change this world. And you have to know this message if you are ever going to convert others. So how do you share it?

3: The Method - All throughout the book of acts we see different ways in which people shared this message and for the most part, these ways have not changed over the years. The first way is

1: Preaching: Nearly 1/3rd of the book of acts are sermon or “speeches” that proclaim the message of the gospel in various ways. We see Peter at Pentecost in Acts 2, Stephen before he is murdered for this message in Acts 7, Paul addresses Jesus at Antioch in Acts 13, in Athens in acts 17, to the Roman governor Felix in acts 24 and king Agrippa in Acts 26. We see a lot of people throughout time give their lives to Jesus because of a preaching they have heard, from Charles Spurgeon to Billy Graham to your local church here at journey or other bible believing and following Churches. People do believe in Jesus because someone preached the word. But as I have said earlier, most American Jesus followers see this as the only way people come to faith. But acts shows us many more ways that had far greater impact.

2: Individual Witness: Preaching is public where individual witness is personal. Of course we see the apostles go out, Thomas went to India, John went to Asia, and others all across the mediterranean sea. But it wasn’t just the apostles, but regular Jesus followers Priscilla and Aquila who worke, carried on the church in Ephesus. We see large gatherings of Jesus followers in Italy, Egypt, and in Rome where we don’t have names of those people who went out and told others about Jesus, but we know that they went boldly out telling people. They simply lived their lives and told people about Jesus and it started forming communities of like minded Jesus followers and started churches. They did it as they traveled, shopped, worked, they shared about Jesus in their mundane day-to-day lives. It was so natural to them it was like breathing. And if people didn’t belive right then and there, ok, tell someone else. They constantly witnessed. And listen, there are a lot of people in your life right now who are more likely to hear your individual witness than they are to step foot in a church. But after you evangelize to them, and if they accept Jesus or begin to question their faith they may come to this local expression of church.

3: Meeting Needs: In acts people came to faith in Jesus after their needs were met. For some it was signs and wonders like the lame man in acts 3 who miraculously had his ankles healed. But we see it all the time in the world where Jesus followers meet the needs of people and have the opportunity to give an individual witness that they may never of had the opportunity for if they didn't serve others. And now people are saved because you served them and told them. 2nd saturday is a great ministry that we are doing here at Journey that allows us to go and meet needs of the homeless in our community and gives us the opportunity to to tell them about Jesus also.

4: Teaching: Teaching and Preaching are similar but different. Preaching focuses on large groups think of a Sunday service, teaching is focused on smaller groups think of a journey group or a class that helps us understand the bible or faith. For instance we see the Apostle Paul in Acts 17 would go to the Jewish synagogues and reason or teach them about how Jesus was the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies. For some people telling the message of Jesus if enough to help them believe, others it takes times and they have to have answers to their questions before they come to faith.

Those are the 4 different methods used in Acts to share the message of Jesus to others.

These early Jesus followers didn’t view evangelism as the Apostle job, they viewed it was their responsibility Because they knew they had a mandate from their Lord and their savior to tell anyone and everyone about him and invite them into a relationship with Jesus. That is one of the greatest differences between the first church and the church we see today. Most people who follow Jesus have given up their responsibility to fulfill the mandate. So that leaves us with

Part 2: Evangelism as seen at Journey

If we want the same results of the first church where people were being saved, healed, restored, families came to faith, marriages restored, generosity overflows, culture being changed and shaped by Jesus then we must have the same focus as the first church. We need to be a group of Jesus followers here in north peoria that takes the mandate of Jesus as our personal responsibility. It is our responsibility to get the message out, its not cam’s only, Carlyle’s only Jenn’s only, it is the responsibility of you to go out and tell others about Jesus.

Listen church, you don’t have to know all the answers people ask, you just need to know the  message of salvation and you need to know your story. I was once lost and dead in my sinful life, before Jesus and now this is how my life has been changed after believing in Jesus. You don’t need to have be fearful, but be bold and obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit. You don’t need to be afraid of conflict, but know that the devil would want nothing more than people to shy away from conflict if that means the message of Jesus isnt getting out. The early church evangelized where they were, they looked and prayed for opportunities, and I pray that we will be a church that does the same. You can get people to chruch but that doesn’t mean they will get to heaven.  The goal of Evangalism isn't just to see people in church, the goal is to see them in heaven.

So out calling card challenge this week, and then im going to end with a story and we are done.

Up: Go on prayer walks around your neighborhood and ask God to give you opportunities to share your faith with others.

In: Be aware of the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

Out: Do what the Holy Spirit wants you to do.

You never know what hangs in the balance of telling others about Jesus. You never know if you are the first person to ever tell them about the true gospel, you never know if God is using you to chip away or till the soil of someone’s soul. You never know how you sharing your faith may impact someone else and you may never know this side of heaven. It reminds me of a true story of Frank Jenner…

This all started a number of years ago in a church in Crystal Palace in South London.  The Sunday morning service was closing and a man stood up at the back and raised his hand and said:  “Excuse me pastor can I share a short testimony?”  The pastor looked at his watch and said “You have two minutes.”   The man proceeded with his story: “I’ve just moved into this area.  I used to live in Sydney Australia.  Just a few months back I was visiting some relatives and I was walking down George Street.  A strange little white haired man stepped out from a shop doorway, put a pamphlet in my hand and said: ‘Excuse me sir, are you saved, if you die tonight are you going to heaven?’  “I was astounded by these words. No one had ever asked me that.  I thanked him courteously and all the way home to London this puzzled me.  I called a friend and thank God he was a Christian and he led me to Christ.”

Everyone applauded and welcomed him into their fellowship.

The pastor flew to Adelaide, Australia the next week and 10 days later in the middle of a three day series in a church in Adelaide, a woman came up to him for some counseling.  He wanted to establish where she stood with Christ.  She said “I used to live in Sydney and just a couple of months back I was visiting some friends in Sydney and doing some last minute shopping down George Street.  A strange little white haired man stepped out of a shop doorway and offered me a pamphlet and said ‘Excuse me madam, are you saved, if you die tonight are you going to heaven?’  “I was disturbed by those words.  When I got home to Adelaide, I knew this church was on the next block from me.  I sought out the pastor and he led me to Christ.  So I am telling you that I am a Christian.”

The London pastor was now very puzzled.  Twice in two weeks he had heard the same testimony.  He then flew to preach in the Mount Pleasant Church in Perth.  When his teaching series was over the senior elder of that Church took him out for a meal and he asked the elder how he got saved.  “I grew up in this church from the age of 15.  I never made a commitment to Jesus, just hopped on the bandwagon like everyone else.  Because of my business ability I grew up to a place of influence.  I was on a business trip to Sydney just three years ago.  An obnoxious spiteful little man stepped out of a shop doorway, offered me a religious pamphlet and accosted me with a question:  ‘Excuse me sir, are you saved, if you die tonight are you going to heaven?’  I tried to tell him I was a elder in my church.  He wouldn’t listen to me.  I was seething with anger all the way home from Sydney to Perth.  I told my pastor, thinking that he would sympathize, but he agreed.  He had been disturbed for years knowing that I didn’t have a relationship with Jesus, and he was right.  My pastor led me to Jesus just three years ago.”

The London preacher flew home and was soon speaking at the Keswick conventions in the Lake District and he threw in these three testimonies.  At the close of this teaching series, four elderly pastors came up and explained that they too had been saved between 25 and 30 years earlier through that same little man on George Street, offering them a pamphlet and asking that same question.

The following week he flew to a similar Keswick convention in the Caribbean to missionaries.  He shared the same testimonies.  At the close of his teaching three missionaries came forward and said that they had also been saved between 15 and 25 years earlier by that same little man’s testimony and the same question on George Street in Sydney.

Next he stopped in Atlanta, Georgia to speak at a Naval Chaplain convention. Here for three days he spoke to over 1000 Naval Chaplains.  Afterwards the Chaplain General took him out for a meal and he asked the Chaplain how he became a Christian.  “It was miraculous.  I was a rating on a Naval battleship and I lived a reprobate life.  We were doing exercises in the South Pacific and we docked at Sydney harbour for replenishments.  We hit King’s Cross with a vengeance.  I was blind drunk, got on the wrong bus and got off in George Street.   As I got off the bus, I thought I saw a ghost as this man jumped out in front of me, pushed a pamphlet in my hand and said, ‘Sailor, are you saved, if you die tonight are you going to heaven?’  The fear of God hit me immediately.  I was shocked sober, ran back to the ship and sought out the Chaplain.  He led me to Christ.  I soon began to prepare for the ministry under his guidance.  I am now in charge of 1000 chaplains who are bent on soul winning today.”

Six months later that London pastor flew to a conference for 5,000 Indian missionaries in a remote part of NE India.  At the end the head missionary took him to his humble little home for a simple meal.  He asked how he as a Hindu came to Christ.

“I grew up in a very privileged position; I worked in the Indian Diplomatic Mission and I traveled the world.  I am so glad for the forgiveness of Christ and blood covering my sin.  I would be very embarrassed if people found out what I got into.  One period of diplomatic service took me to Sydney.  I was doing some last minute shopping, laden with toys and clothes for my children.  I was walking down George Street when a courteous white haired little man stepped out in front of me and offered me a pamphlet and said ‘Excuse me sir, are you saved, if you die tonight are you going to heaven?’  I thanked him very much but this disturbed me.  I got back to my town, sought out our Hindu priest.  He couldn't help me, but he advised me that to satisfy my curious mind, I should go and talk to the missionary in the mission home at the end of road.  That was good advice because that day the missionary led me to Christ.  I quit Hinduism immediately and began to prepare for ministry.  I left the Diplomatic Service and here I am today, by God’s grace in charge of all these missionaries who have together led 100,000 people to Christ.”

Eight months later that London Pastor was preaching in Sydney.  He asked the local Baptist Minister if he knew of a little elderly white haired man who handed out tracts on George Street.  He replied, “Yes I do, his name is Mr. Jenner, although I don’t think he does it any more because he is so frail and elderly.”

Two nights later they went to meet him in his little apartment.  They knocked on the door and this tiny frail old man greeted them.  He sat them down and made them tea.  He was so frail that he was slopping the tea into the saucer as his hands shook.  The London preacher sat there and told him of all these accounts from the previous three years.  This little man sat with tears running down his cheeks.  He told them his story.

“I was a enlisted man on an Australian warship. I was living a shameless life.  In a crisis I really hit the wall.  One of my colleagues, to whom I gave literal hell, was there to help me.  He led me to Jesus and the change in my life was night to day in 24 hours.  I was so grateful to God; I promised God that I would share Jesus in a simple witness with at least 10 people a day.  As God gave me strength I did that.  Sometimes I was ill and couldn't do it, but I made up for the days I missed it at other times.  I wasn’t paranoid about it.  I have done this for over 40 years.  In my retirement years, the best place was on St. George Street where I saw hundreds of people a day.  I got lots of rejections, but a lot of people courteously took the tract.  In 40 years of doing this, I have never heard of one single person coming to Jesus until today.”

You know, I would say that he has to be committed to show gratitude and love for Jesus to do that for 40 years and not hear of any results.  That simple little non-charismatic man witnessed to perhaps 147,000 people.  I think that God was showing that pastor from London was the tip of the tip of the tip of the iceberg.  s.

Mr. Jenner died two weeks later.  Can you imagine the reward when he went home to be in Heaven?   No one except a little group of Christian’s in Sydney knew about Mr. Jenner, but I tell you his name was famous in Heaven. Heaven knew Mr. Jenner and you can imagine the welcome and red carpet, and the fanfare that he received when he went home to Glory.

You never know what hangs in the balance as you take responsibility for the mandate Jesus gives and evangelize to others. It is how the church grew and how heaven was populated. May it be so here and now.

Up: Go on prayer walks around your neighborhood and ask God to give you opportunities to share your faith with others.

In: Be aware of the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

Out: Do what the Holy Spirit wants you to do.

Pray