Go and Show Jesus
Notes
Transcript
Our theme through this summer is Evangelism. I am praying that each of you will join us in this summer of Evangelism. I introduced you to the concept last time I preached but over the next 9 weeks we will dive further into the key aspects of Evangelism. Today we will start with Jesus. The fact is that Evangelism is not something that should be a burden or something that we have to work at. Evangelism comes from our hearts and our lives. We are to make much of Jesus. Today the prayer is that we will reignite that passion about Jesus in our hearts to the point that the next couple of weeks you will come in and say, Ryan we already have this and are doing this! Evangelism happens from the heart and from the life when we are excited about Jesus. Do you remember the day you gave your heart to Jesus? I do. I remember the fact that I knew that I was destined for Hell on my current path and that there was nothing I could do to save myself and nothing I had done would make me worthy of saving. Still with that Jesus looked down in love and mercy and gave me a gift I did not deserve. I could not help it I was filled with joy, I was filled with excitement, and I was filled with courage. Time and life though have their ways of taking that away from us. Fear has its way of creeping in and shutting our mouths when we should be speaking. Anxiety has its way of tying our hands when we should be serving, and comfort has its way of binding our feet when we should be walking. Today we will see in the Scripture how the Early church had 3 things that were all because of Jesus. Jesus gave Courage, Jesus gave Excitement, and Jesus gave Joy. Turn with me in your Bible to Acts 8 and in this chapter of Acts we find the church right after Stephen was murdered. You would expect that they would go into hiding and cower at the risk of being killed, the fact is though we find a very different church. Read with me in Acts 8:1-8
1 And Saul approved of his execution.
And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. 3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.
4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. 6 And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was much joy in that city.
Jesus gave courage
Jesus gave courage
1 And Saul approved of his execution.
And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. 3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.
4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ.
When you read this passage your initial reaction is to believe that the church scattered and hid themselves to avoid being killed. I’m sure there were those in the church that took the quiet route but I want you to read the passage again and I want to show you something very important. As you read it you see that they were scattered yes but did they stay quiet? No! they were scattered and went about preaching the word. These believers were not scared they were courageous. I hear it all the time, if only I was not so afraid then I would do this, or I would do that. The fact is that you attempt to overcome fear as apposed to rest in Jesus. You may be saying well whats the difference? If I try to overcome fear then that means that I am resting in Jesus and I am telling you that they are not the same. I want you to see this today. Here is the difference. When overcoming fear of something you may be able to overcome it to a degree or for a time but the fact is that you are only quieting the fear.
I would say that I am not afraid of heights, I am afraid of the sudden stop at the end. The fact though is that I am not a fan of heights. I can however quiet that fear and get things done. With ATT there have been times where I had to work at a height of 20 plus feet off the ground. I remember working in North Carolina for a period of time and when you go up a mountain to install service you find that the telephone poles are not accessible most the time from a ladder so you have to do what we call hook the pole meaning you put gafs on your feet and they attach to your legs and you climb the pole. The difference though is that in Florida this isn't really a big deal, in the mountains however the poles look like they are not high until you get to it and its on the side of a mountain with a 100’ fall on the other side of the pole so in all actuality you are only working at 18’ and you will only fall 18’ unless you do something really stupid but you can look down 118’. I found myself in a few of these situations and I knew the work had to be done so I quieted the fears and I did the work. I was still fearful I just worked through it.
Resting in Jesus on the other hand removes fear. When you trust and rest in Jesus there is no fear. Remember this scripture?Th
2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
There are so many lessons in this simple scripture but have you ever noticed how children have no fear of things? We learn to fear. Don’t get me wrong there are things that you should be wise about and should know not to tempt the Lord your God with however fear is not an attribute of a believer. What does the Bible say?
10 fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
The church in Acts did not quiet their fears, Jesus took their fears away. What is it that you are fearful of that is preventing you from speaking about Jesus? Be honest with yourself and I want you to write what that fear is. Now I want you to see what happens when you rest in the power of Jesus. You see the power of Jesus removes fears from our lives.
My kids love to climb on things and they climb on literally everything. Most recently after watching spider man they have begun to climb up the door jambs and hang on them like spider man. Rylan has no fear whatsoever and I have to keep telling him to come down and not go so high up the door because I don’t want him to fall. Hunter is too tall to go very high. Then there is Camden. Camden will climb up the door but will not go very high if I am not behind him. If daddy is behind him though all of his fear goes out the window and he climbs like there is nothing stopping him. I sometimes have to remind him to slow down. Having me behind him removes the fear and he is able to have fun climbing.
This is what I am talking about this morning. Your fears in evangelism are nothing more than the doubt that Jesus has your back. Now don’t get me wrong I am not sitting in a judgment seat, I am telling you from a place of reflection. I see in myself this very behavior from time to time. The fact is that when I believe in the power of Jesus all of my fears fade away. What does the Bible say about the power of Jesus?
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
That is the Jesus we serve. He has the power given to Him by God. He is standing with you. Have courage. Quit using the fear of rejection, the fear of not having the right words, the fear of confrontation as reasons not to tell others about Jesus. Speak of Him constantly, point everything back to Him, be Courageous!
20 Then David said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous and do it. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the Lord God, even my God, is with you. He will not leave you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished.
6 Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”
I could go on and on. We serve a mighty God, He gave all authority to Jesus and so Jesus stands with us. We must have courage. Imagine the courage it took for the church to continue telling of Jesus. The fact is that they were so excited about what Jesus had done for them and they believed in his power and they had no fear of death, they had no fear of speaking, they rested in Jesus and he gave them courage. Rest in Jesus today. Take what you wrote down and look at it closely, do you really believe after all Jesus has done for the world and for you that whatever is on that paper is a good excuse? We must have courage. Courage though is not all that Jesus gives us, He gives us excitement.
Jesus Gave Excitement
Jesus Gave Excitement
4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ.
These believers went about preaching the word. Why? Because they were courageous, but they were also excited about what Jesus did! Think about all that these believers saw in their time. Jesus healed the blind, made the lame walk, brought the dead back to life, and many more miracles. They knew that Jesus died on the cross and some of them even saw Jesus after the resurrection. These were things that never happened before to them until Jesus came on the scene. They were excited about the things that Jesus had done and they were not going to stop telling everyone about Jesus because of their excitement. Are you excited about what Jesus has done in your life? Do you see what Jesus has done in your life? Let me tell you Jesus has done a marvelous work in my life! I am not a perfect husband, father, son, or friend. I am so much better though because of Jesus in me than I would ever be on my own. When I walked away from my relationship with Christ, I was self-destructive in all of my relationships. Jesus has done more for me than I could ever tell of and when I take time to think of all He has done for me I cannot help but be excited. I’m excited for what He has done for me, I’m excited for what He can do for others! I’m just plain excited! Jesus is a world changer! Have you taken the time to consider where you might be without Jesus? The early church did. You can bet Lazarus did! You can bet that the lame man lowered down through the roof did. We see their physical ailments and we for some reason believe that Jesus did more for them than He did for us but the greatest miracle is when God through Jesus takes selfish human being and turns them into someone who seeks the best for others in all aspects of life.
Possibly one of the greatest things about being a parent is seeing how excited my kids get. I love surprising my kids with things that they are not expecting. It is not what I do for my kids that brings me joy it is their reaction. We had a pool 2 summers ago and it was a nightmare for me. I am not good at balancing the chemicals and I said I was done. Last year we did not have a pool and our kids resigned themselves to the fact that we were not going to have a pool. This year Rhaynee surprised them with a smaller pool that is easier to maintain. When we got the pool delivered I had to keep them away from the door. They were so excited they began to scream, they wanted to call their cousins, they wanted to tell their grandma. Every where we went they told other people like those people really wanted to know they had a pool. In the grocery store they were telling random strangers, in restaurants they were telling the people sitting at the next table over. Every where we went they were telling people about the pool. That is what brought me the most joy. I don’t care about what it takes to clean it, seeing how happy it made my kids and how they wanted the whole world to know they had a pool is so worth it.
How do you think God feels when we are so excited about Jesus and what He has done in our lives? It brings Him joy. Why do we worship? It is the time where we get to say that we are so excited. These songs are not for us they are an expression of our excitement for what God has done for us. The fact is that Jesus should bring such excitement in your life that you lose all fear of talking about Him and you cannot stop. If you are not excited about Jesus its because you don’t truly understand the gravity of your depravity. What does the Bible say about excitement?
9 And Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the Lord had done to Israel, in that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians.
24 This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
15 See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing,
You need to be excited about Jesus to the point that there is no fear in you because you are too excited to be fearful. Jesus gives Courage, Jesus gives Excitement, but Jesus also gives Joy.
Jesus gives Joy
Jesus gives Joy
6 And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was much joy in that city.
When Jesus does His work it results in Joy. It results in Joy for those who receive what Jesus offers, it results in Joy for those who are the messengers, and it results in the Joy of the Father. Jesus is a life changer, Jesus has done more good than any other person who will ever walk the face of this planet. We are the messengers of Joy. Jesus wants to change homes, Jesus wants to change marriages, Jesus wants to change employees, Jesus wants to change the World. He is not asking you to change the World He simply calls you to deliver the message. The Joy that was brought in the scripture is what caused the church to grow. People were drawn to the Excitement and Joy. How Joyous are you in the life that God has provided you. You may say well Ryan God took from me, no I say that God restored to you! You say well
I don’t feel like I can have Joy, you aren’t looking to the end of the book! I know when life is falling in and things are falling apart it is hard to see what God is doing but I promise you this. For those who are called according to the purpose of God He is working all things out to the good! I promise you this that God will give you Joy if you look to the things He has already done. Jesus brings Joy. Why because there is no death in Jesus, there is no segregation in Jesus, there is no hate in Jesus. The fact is that Jesus when you see and look to what He did for the World you find Joy. The people were Joyous not because they didn’t live with ailments but because in the name of Jesus they found healing. There is no death for those who are found in Christ Jesus, there is no loss in Jesus. Joy as you know is not the same as happiness. Joy is the understanding that no matter what you are going through God is with you in it, Jesus went through it already, and the Spirit will strengthen you though it.
3 You have multiplied the nation;
you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
as with joy at the harvest,
as they are glad when they divide the spoil.
8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Evangelism is no magic trick that I can teach you or anyone else can teach you, evangelism is a life of courage, excitement, and joy because of the great things that Jesus has done for us. Are you making much of Jesus? Do people know that Jesus changed your life because they see your courage, excitement, and joy? Do you remember what it feels like to have those? It is time for the church to make much of Jesus. In a world that is falling apart there is no time that has ever been more important than today for people to see evangelism and not simply hear it. Evangelism is not a set of words you say, its the way you live because of what Jesus did.