How to Become the Kind of Church God Desires: Part 5- Engaging the Lost in our Community and World

How to Become the Kind of Church God Desires:

Part 5- Engaging the Lost in our Community and World

INTRODUCTION:

What we have covered:

A— Five essential activities of the church and their core elements (Acts 2:42-47)

1. Ministry (Working God’s Way) (Acts 2:45).

1- Discovery of spiritual gifts

2- Developing the effective use of spiritual gifts and their applications for

the benefit of the body.

3- Deploying gifted and developed leaders who can continue the ministry

process of discovery, development and deployment with others.

2. Worship (Acts 2:46)

1- Praise

2- Prayer

3- Proclamation

3. Discipleship (Acts 2:42)

1- Commitment to the person of Jesus

2- Commitment to learn the teachings of God's Word and obey them.

3- Commitment to fulfillment of Christ's commission

4. Fellowship (Acts 2:42, 46)

1- Communication

2- Common Goal and Purpose

3- Commitment to the common good

In this study we will cover:

5. Evangelism (Acts 2:47)

1- Through Seeking out the Lost

2- Through Serving to open the doors to hearts

3- Through Sharing the clear message of salvation and birthing new

disciples of Jesus.

I- EVANGELISM: THE CLEAR COMMAND OF SCRIPTURE

A. Jesus issued the clear command for his church.

(Matthew 28:18-20)

18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.

19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

(Mark 16:15)

And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.

Acts 1:8

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

2. EVANGELISM: THE COMPELLING CHALLENGE

A. We are to seek-out the lost and endeavor to engage them with the Good News.

1. Jesus said this was his purpose.

(Luke 19:10)

“For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”

(Mark 1:38)

But Jesus replied, “We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came.”

2. Jesus modeled this for us.

Jesus ministered throughout Galilee

Jesus preached in Judea

Jesus preached in Capernaeum

Jesus preached in Samaria

Jesus preached in the Trans-Jordan area

3. He sought out those bound by sin

The harlots, tax-collectors and outcasts of society

The common people like fishermen Scholars like Paul and Luke

4. Jesus has instructed us to do the same.

(John 20:21)

Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.”

3. The book of Acts records the story of Christians obeying the Great commission. (Acts.8:4; Acts 8:25; 8:26-40; Acts 10:19-48).

II- EVANGELISM: THE COMPASSIONATE OPENING OF DOORS

A- As Christ’s disciples, we are to imitate Jesus’ example of using practical compassionate ministry to overcome unbelief.

1- Paul instructed the Corinthians to follow his example of imitating Christ.

(1 Corinthians 10:33-11:1)

33b. “I don’t just do what is best for me; I do what is best for others so that many may be saved. 1 And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.” (μιμηταί μου γίνεσθε καθὼς κἀγὼ Χριστοῦ.)

(Ephesians 5:1-2) “Imitate God (μιμηταὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ), therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. 2 Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us* and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.”

2- Jesus ministered to the physical needs in order to overcome the unbelief of people, leading them to believe in him. (Luke 4:31-37; 5:17-26; 7:11-17; 8:22-25; 9:37-43; John 4:43-54; 6:1-14; 9:1-41; 11:1-44)

3- The early disciples mimicked Jesus’ ministry in order to overcome the unbelief of people, leading them to believe in Jesus. (Acts 3:1-25; 5:12-14; 8:4-12; 9:32-42; 19:8-20)

4- We must be ready at all times to follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit in carrying out practical, compassionate ministry in order to open the hearts of unbelievers to the Gospel of Christ.

a. The clear expressions of compassionate ministry in the name of Jesus will act to confirm the message of the Gospel. Just as God demonstrated his love by giving (John 3:16; Romans 5:8).

B- The acts of compassion performed by the apostles and other believers were coupled with a presentation of the Gospel.

1- Peter and John healed the crippled beggar and then presented the Gospel (Acts 3:1-26; Acts 4:1-12)

2- The Apostles and other believers healed people and preached the Gospel. (Acts 5:12-20; Acts 8:4-12)

III- EVANGELISM: THE CLEAR MESSAGE TO BE PROCLAIMED

A. Paul defined the gospel in clear terms:

1. The Gospel is the message about the atoning work of Christ.

(1 Corinthians 15:1-11) “Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters,* of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. 2 It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.* 3 I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. 4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. 5 He was seen by Peter* and then by the Twelve. 6 After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers* at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7 Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him. 9 For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church. 10 But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me—and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace. 11 So it makes no difference whether I preach or they preach, for we all preach the same message you have already believed.”

2. This gospel is the one Paul Proclaimed.

(Acts 13:26–40)

26 “Brothers—you sons of Abraham, and also you God-fearing Gentiles—this message of salvation has been sent to us! 27 The people in Jerusalem and their leaders did not recognize Jesus as the one the prophets had spoken about. Instead, they condemned him, and in doing this they fulfilled the prophets’ words that are read every Sabbath. 28 They found no legal reason to execute him, but they asked Pilate to have him killed anyway.

29 “When they had done all that the prophecies said about him, they took him down from the cross and placed him in a tomb. 30 But God raised him from the dead! 31 And over a period of many days he appeared to those who had gone with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to the people of Israel.

32 “And now we are here to bring you this Good News. The promise was made to our ancestors, 33 and God has now fulfilled it for us, their descendants, by raising Jesus. This is what the second psalm says about Jesus:

‘You are my Son.

Today I have become your Father.’

34 For God had promised to raise him from the dead, not leaving him to rot in the grave. He said, ‘I will give you the sacred blessings I promised to David.’ 35 Another psalm explains it more fully: ‘You will not allow your Holy One to rot in the grave.’ 36 This is not a reference to David, for after David had done the will of God in his own generation, he died and was buried with his ancestors, and his body decayed. 37 No, it was a reference to someone else—someone whom God raised and whose body did not decay.

38 “Brothers, listen! We are here to proclaim that through this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins. 39 Everyone who believes in him is made right in God’s sight—something the law of Moses could never do. 40 Be careful! Don’t let the prophets’ words apply to you. For they said,

B- The other Apostles proclaimed the clear message of the Gospel.

(Acts 5:19–32)

Acts 5:19–32 NLT

But an angel of the Lord came at night, opened the gates of the jail, and brought them out. Then he told them, “Go to the Temple and give the people this message of life!” So at daybreak the apostles entered the Temple, as they were told, and immediately began teaching. When the high priest and his officials arrived, they convened the high council—the full assembly of the elders of Israel. Then they sent for the apostles to be brought from the jail for trial. But when the Temple guards went to the jail, the men were gone. So they returned to the council and reported, “The jail was securely locked, with the guards standing outside, but when we opened the gates, no one was there!” When the captain of the Temple guard and the leading priests heard this, they were perplexed, wondering where it would all end. Then someone arrived with startling news: “The men you put in jail are standing in the Temple, teaching the people!” The captain went with his Temple guards and arrested the apostles, but without violence, for they were afraid the people would stone them. Then they brought the apostles before the high council, where the high priest confronted them. “We gave you strict orders never again to teach in this man’s name!” he said. “Instead, you have filled all Jerusalem with your teaching about him, and you want to make us responsible for his death!” But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than any human authority. The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead after you killed him by hanging him on a cross. Then God put him in the place of honor at his right hand as Prince and Savior. He did this so the people of Israel would repent of their sins and be forgiven. We are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit, who is given by God to those who obey him.”

(Acts 10:34–43)

Acts 10:34–43 NLT

Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right. This is the message of Good News for the people of Israel—that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee, after John began preaching his message of baptism. And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. “And we apostles are witnesses of all he did throughout Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a cross, but God raised him to life on the third day. Then God allowed him to appear, not to the general public, but to us whom God had chosen in advance to be his witnesses. We were those who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. And he ordered us to preach everywhere and to testify that Jesus is the one appointed by God to be the judge of all—the living and the dead. He is the one all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in him will have their sins forgiven through his name.”

C- The message preached by the early believers and apostles proclaimed the essence of the message Jesus taught and preached.

(Matthew 4:17) “17 From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”

(Mark 1:14–15)

14 Later on, after John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee, where he preached God’s Good News. 15 “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!”

John 3:16 (NLT) 16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

(John 7:37–39 )

37 On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! 38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’ ” 39 (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)

(John 8:23–30)

23 Jesus continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You belong to this world; I do not. 24 That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I Am who I claim to be, you will die in your sins.”

25 “Who are you?” they demanded.

Jesus replied, “The one I have always claimed to be. 26 I have much to say about you and much to condemn, but I won’t. For I say only what I have heard from the one who sent me, and he is completely truthful.” 27 But they still didn’t understand that he was talking about his Father.

28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man on the cross, then you will understand that I Am he. I do nothing on my own but say only what the Father taught me. 29 And the one who sent me is with me—he has not deserted me. For I always do what pleases him.” 30 Then many who heard him say these things believed in him.

(Luke 9:21–23)

21 Jesus warned his disciples not to tell anyone who he was. 22 “The Son of Man must suffer many terrible things,” he said. “He will be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.”

23 Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.

Key elements of the Gospel:

Jesus died for our sins.

Jesus arose the 3rd day. (Proving that God approved of Jesus’ work).

Individuals must repent of their sins and believe in the good news of Christ’s atonement for our sins. (receiving the Kingdom [reign] of God in their lives.) Rejecting this good news is to chose to die in sin and miss the Kingdom of God.

* Note: The Kingdom of God is made up of individuals who have believed the Gospel and have been transformed by it. The “Gospel of the Kingdom” is the good news about the atoning work of Christ and its power to transform lives. The Gospel of the Kingdom should never be confused with the works that will be the outgrowth of the Gospel’s transformation of believers’ lives. Good works are the result of Gospel transformation, not the catalyst for it.