Outreach of the Church

John 1:35-46

Welcome to Mountain View Baptist Church! We are delighted you have chosen to attend one of our Sunday morning services. It is a great honor to have you join us. If this is your first time, please stop by the welcome center after the service so we can better connect with you.

Welcome to the Family Class begins next week. Please let me know if you are able to attend.

We are finishing up a summer series entitled: the Cause of the Church and today will be next to the last message on the Outreach of the Church.

When the church was founded by Christ with the apostles, how were they to get out the message? There was not TV, radio, no written literature, no internet, and no electric signs. How would the first century dwellers in Jerusalem know about the gospel? How would they know about new life in Christ? How would the rest of the world know?

Last week, we learned Romans 10:14 “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” Someone must tell them. The message must go out so that lives can be touched and changed by the gospel. God has chosen mankind to carry His truth. This truth is one life telling another life. “

“Evangelism is one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.” (DT Niles)

You must tell others. You don’t have to have a college degree or a Bible expert or teach a class.

In the verses we just read, we are introduced to the Biblical pattern God gives us to give out the gospel. The apostles here have heard the message of Jesus and accepted Him as the Messiah. Believers began telling others about Jesus in the shadows of Christ’s ministry. There are some essentials we must recognize the church is to reach out to our community.

These essentials are not created by church growth experts but come from the Biblical pattern God gives here.

Essential one . . .

Exalt the Savior vv. 35-37

This was a Jewish audience and they knew about the Lamb of God. This Lamb mentioned goes back to the OT when the Jewish people would sacrifice a lamb for forgiveness of sin. They realized this was to be done often but what John was saying is Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of the sacrifice for man’s sin. When He will go to the cross, He will complete the sacrifice for man’s sin. This is the greatest message.

Recently there was a survey given regarding church attendance and the report from Outreach Magazine says 85% of churches are either not growing or plateaued. Why would that be the case? It reminds me of the passage in John 12 where the man said, “Sir, we would see Jesus.” Could it be that in coming to church, we are seeing the buildings, or the music, or the teen ministry or the children’s program, when our focus should be on Christ. Or could it be the church is trying to be something that God did not intend it to be. We are not in the entertainment business or the political business. The church is to preach Jesus.

John here is exalting Jesus as the only hope for heaven. Could it be that preachers have forgotten their message is Jesus as the Christ, the Savior of the world?

If you are here today hoping to get to heaven through your good works or your denomination or your baptism, you are missing the message. Jesus is the only way to heaven. Jesus is the doorway to heaven. John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

Our churches need to get back to preaching the gospel where the focus is on Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:5–7 “For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”

We must exalt Christ. As we tell others the message, we must focus our message on Him. It is strange the reasons people give for their salvation and sometimes even when they claim Jesus, it is not the Jesus of the Bible. Jesus is not a man who became God, He is the virgin born, sinless, Son of God, who died, was buried, and rose again the third day.

He paid the price for our sin on the cross. 1 Timothy 3:16 “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”

Our message should be about Christ and every message should make a beeline to Christ. We have way too many messages about how to feel better about yourself, how get along with others, when all of those those can be settled when we meet Christ.

In every Sunday School and Connection Group lesson, Jesus should be the focus. Here the disciples exalted Jesus as the Savior and they followed Him. When you meet Christ, there is none other you want. That day back in 1972 in a small building where I heard the message of salvation in Christ, there was nothing else in this world I wanted but Him. These apostles only wanted Him and wanted to continue following Him.

The Psalmist said it best Psalm 73:25 “Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.”

Listen Christian, when you meet Christ, there is nothing else in this life that really matters. Oh the world will push into believing it has something better than Christ, but that is not the case.

These early believers would rather die for Christ rather than live without Christ.

It is essential we exalt Christ if we are to be effective in our outreach to this community. This is mission critical because the message of the church is Jesus.

Essential 2. . .

Offer an invitation vv. 38-40

Jesus asked them what are they seeking? This seeking means are you looking for something that has purpose and meaning. They are looking for answers and hope. Jesus was asking them to define their purpose and goal in life. Jesus was saying what you do you want in this life? What do you want today? Do you want what this life offers? Or do want something with eternal value?

A man said to me one time, Pastor, will you offer me hope? My life is a disaster, my home is a wreck, and I headed towards a major catastrophe. The only hope in this world is Jesus. He is called the blessed hope and here they are looking for hope in the first century world where they worshiped man instead of God.

Come and see is an invitation to come to Christ. Every message and every service is intended to offer an invitation. Here is a biblical invitation. It is strange how the invitation at the end of the service is almost nonexistent.

]Notice here: Jesus did not restrict those who could come to Him. He did not say, if you are religious, if you are well-known, if you are intelligent, if you are a certain social standing, if you are a leader or wealthy. The invitation is offered to everyone. One time a man came to me and said, “Why do you have a bus ministry? Don’t you know that costs something? “ I said, “we did not start it to make money, we started it so that our bus riders can hear the gospel.” It is worth it if just one soul would be saved. That one soul like Terri Chappell who married Paul, was a bus kid growing up.

The gospel is not good advice to men, but good news about Christ; not an invitation to us to do anything, but a declaration of what God has done; not a demand, but an offer.

John Robert Walmsley Stott (English Preacher)

There are tracts in the lobby for you to take to offer invitations to your family members, friends, neighbors, and the places you frequent. They are updated with both service times on the inside. You can invite them to read the tract or come to church or you can turn to the back of the tract and share the gospel with them when you hand it to them. The more tracts we give out, the more opportunities God will give us to offer an invitation. Also the more will be saved.

Please notice here, it is not a difficult presentation. It is simply and invitation to come and see. Jesus invited them to spend the day with Him notice in verse 39, the tenth hour here is 4:00 PM. It is strange how we can spend the day playing rather than spend the day praying. We can spend the day recreating but when is the last time we spent the day meditating?

“At this grim hour, the world sleeps in the darkness and the church sleeps in the light. “ (Leonard Ravenhill)

“God never intended His church to be a refrigerator in which to preserve perishable piety. He intended it to be an incubator in which to hatch out converts.” (F. Linicome) Ushers with tracts

Every tract given, every invitation offered, and every opportunity to give out the gospel is the great privilege of all believers. The invitation at the end of the service is another part of the essential invitation for a person to meet Christ or get right with Christ.

John invited Andrew to meet Christ. You may not have all the right words or have all the “supposed” knowledge, but you can invite someone to meet Christ just like It is not really us but it is Christ that makes the difference in someone’s life.

The invitations of the Gospel are invitations to happiness. In delivering God’s message, we do not ask men to come to a funeral, but to a wedding feast! “Marvelous Things”, Volume 54, Sermon #3086 - Psalm 98:1, 2

Charles Spurgeon

We invite you to come to Christ today. He died for you and for me on a cross because of our sin. Will you turn from your sin and accept Him today as your Savior?

Essential 3. . .

Find someone to tell

Andrew told his brother Peter. Here is a case for telling your family about Christ. It is not always easy to tell family members, but God shows us it is essential to find someone to tell. They told Philip and of course wherever they went, they spoke of Jesus.

When is the last time you told someone about Christ? While the world may not want to hear the message, we are told to Go ye into all the world. There are people in your world that you can tell about Jesus. Maybe your boss, your coworker, your neighbor, or maybe that purpose sitting next to you in the doctor’s office.

Waiters and waitresses are great candidates because everyone needs the gospel Let me encourage you to let everyone know that Jesus is your Savior. I trust He is your Savior.

Benjamin George visited our church and told us about the goal for coke was that every household in the world would know about coke. There has not been a place anywhere in the world I have gone that they don’t know. I would say they are very successful. However, there have many places I have gone who have never heard about Jesus Christ as Savior. It should be in our heart that everyone in the high desert hear a clear gospel presentation of the gospel.

There might be some people in your world who would listen if you were to tell them. Would you find someone to tell them about Christ this week? The Biblical pattern is established here by the apostles and the command is given to us by Jesus.

Do you need to come to Christ? It is the purpose and outreach of the church. Do you need to tell others about Christ? Next week is Friend Day. Invite someone who you can tell about Christ. Invite them to attend with you.