Back to the Fight: Part Two

Start with calling up Amy and Jason Ward and having the church bless them and pray over them!

OPEN UP WITH PRAYER BEFORE TEACHING!

OK, so how many of you were here last Sunday? Well, if you were here, then you heard the first part of my message that is continuing on today, entitled, “Back to the Fight”.

And in the first part of this message, I began speaking to you about “we”, as Christians, getting back to what we WERE and still ARE called and commissioned to be doing, as followers of Jesus Christ.

Our very title, “CHRISTIANS”, speaks volumes about us, right?

We understand that a title given to us, in the natural, comes with rights and responsibilities. For instance:

If you carry the title, “Manager”, then you adhere to the training and responsibilities of managing others in some capacity. (A department, a store, a whole company!)

If you are in local law enforcement and carry the title, “Officer”, then you have taken on the role of one who defends and protects and serves those in whatever community, city or county that you are hired into.

If you carry the title, “Quarterback”, then you are the offensive leader of the football team on the field in a game of football.

If you carry the title, “Astrophysicist”, then you are an expert in the branch of science, known as “astrophysics” and you thus, apply the laws of physics and chemistry to explain the birth, life and death of stars, planets, galaxies, nebulae and other objects in the universe.

If you carry the title, “Mother”, then you are a woman who has been given the gift of pouring your life into the rearing of children and that blessing and covering that goes with it.

And in like fashion, you would most likely, have the title of “Wife” along with it, which means that you are a woman who has made a COVENANT agreement with God and a man, to spend your life with that man, (slaving under him), I MEAN SERVING ALONGSIDE of him and building your lives together and becoming ONE flesh!

So, we all get the gist of what I am saying, about the “titles” that we carry in life and the understood meaning and responsibility that goes with them, right?

Well, the word, “CHRISTIAN”, literally refers to: One who worships Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah and Son of the God of Israel; the earliest usage of the term “Christian” was used to denote a follower of Jesus the Christ.

So, if you and I say that we carry the title of “Christian”, then we are saying that we are followers of Jesus, adherents of the teachings and commandments of Jesus, right?

Well, is that what you are doing in and with your life, FOLLOWING JESUS? Hmmmmmm?

You know, Jesus, as the CEO, of this organization, known as the “CHURCH”, didn’t burden us, or weight us down with a long list of obligations and rules. In fact, He is such a loving and benevolent overseer, that He took some 611 laws and condensed them down into 2 laws and then refined that for clarity. (ELABORATE on the golden rules and the last commandment and then the great commission of Matthew 28:19)

So, Jesus gives us TWO RULES that we operate under and that we apply to the job description to which we are brought into the company (a.k.a. “the kingdom”), to perform, which we refer to as the GREAT COMMISSION!

So, if your title is a “Christian”, then you are someone who serves under the Lord Jesus and adheres to His primary rules that enable you to complete the command of spreading the gospel message everywhere you go.

Sound about right?

Great! Well, then how are we doing with this TITLE that we have been blessed to come under by God’s grace and through our faith?

You know, last week I gave you some facts about Christians in America and of how that many say that evangelism is not really “their” job, but rather it is the churches!

And who, may I ask, is the church? (HOLD MY HAND UP TO MY EAR FOR THE PEOPLE TO ANSWER!)

Right, YOU AND I ARE!

Well, if you and I are not living up to the title with which we cling to and we are not fulfilling our calling in the kingdom of God, then who is?

We each have the general calling of the great commission and then we each have a specific calling for our lives

That is the whole point of these messages, to bring those who claim Jesus as Lord of their lives, to the understanding of and desire to begin to fulfill our calling!

Did you know that statistics tell us that:

Less than 2% of evangelical Christians in America witness weekly to unbelievers or annually lead someone to Christ.

90% of all Christians in America will never share their faith with anyone in their lifetime!

Only 21% of American evangelical Christians will invite anyone to church in a year.

Only 2% will invite an un-churched person to the church in a year.

95% of all Christian believers in America have NEVER led anybody to Christ!

Now, admittedly, these are stats from 2012, and yet I doubt very seriously that you would find a huge deviation from what they WERE telling us about the health of the body of Christ in comparison to the current, actual condition of the body of Christ.

Especially when you look at studies like I read to you last week, that were taken this year, about the role of evangelism in this nation.

And so here we are, back to the question of, “Why are people (Christians) not getting back to the fight?”

That is, why are so MANY of us not engaging the world around us and at least attempting to share the gospel message and make disciples of others!

Just ask yourself right now, right where you are sitting, “How do those statistics apply to me and my life and my walk as a Christian?”

“What do they say about my effective service in the kingdom of God?”

If we could formulate a few reasons as to why the majority of those within the evangelical church, do not share their faith, what would we come up with?

And for clarity, because this word is used all of the time, EVANGELICAL, is a word that we use, which is derived from the Greek word evangelium, which means "Good News" or "Gospel."

Evangelicalism, is not based upon a denomination, or a certain race or creed or any tenants made by men.

An evangelical Christian, is simply, someone who believes and adheres to the GOOD NEWS or GOSPEL MESSAGE of JESUS CHRIST as we find in the New Testament! (That is a really basic way of saying it!)

And so, EVANGELISM is thus, the sharing or spreading of the GOOD NEWS, the GOSPEL MESSAGE!

OK, so back to reasons that people may give for not sharing their faith.

There are various reasons and answers that people will give as to why they are not engaging in sharing their faith, but when you get to the bottom of them all, you can pretty much narrow them down to a few and basic reasons.

Probably, the biggest one that I have heard from other people, or read about most often, and have even experienced in my own life, is that of “FEAR”!

Now there are different fears that people list when stating why they are not sharing their faith with others:

Fear of failure - they don’t feel they have what it takes to be able to succeed and thus they might fail.

This fear is closely related to another reason why people will not witness for Jesus - they are poorly equipped (they do not know the word).

Fear of rejection - they are worried about how they will feel when people openly reject them and their sharing of the gospel message!

This is a fear of man!

Fear of persecution or suffering

Another common reason that people do not witness to others, is one that I just touched on in the fear section; they feel that they are NOT EQUIPPED, or NOT PROPERLY TRAINED to share their faith. (And this one has both a personal as well as church responsibility attached to it!)

Then some people say that they CAN’T share their faith, because NO ONE THAT THEY KNOW IS LOST. (That is, in the circles that they run in, their are no lost people to witness to.)

Then there are those who never share their faith and the bottom line reason why, is because they flat out don’t have the desire to do so. (They don’t really care; it’s NOT IMPORTANT TO THEM!)

Now, there are other reasons, but these are really prevalent ones.

Now, before we take a closer look at any of these reasons that people give as to why they are not witnessing to others, let me state and then re-state something to you about these “reasons” I just listed, as well as all of the other possible “reasons” that we are out there for not evangelizing.

These “reasons” for not witnessing and evangelizing are not “reasons” at all, but rather they are excuses that we make to deflect blame and shame for being remiss in our calling!

There is a saying that reads as follows about excuses, “An excuse has been defined as the skin of reason stuffed with a lie!”

Now before you get all in an uproar and form a lynch mob to come after me for calling these “reasons” for not witnessing, just“poor excuses” that we make, let me defend my statement by asking you a question and then commenting on it.

Does God, or His Son, or His Holy Spirit, or the Bible lie to us?

OK, well if you say that within your walk with the Lord, your witnessing is simply just a weakness for you and that’s all there is to it, then, according to the Bible, you should be excelling in this area!

, God says to Paul, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.”

How many of the men in here today, want to be considered a man’s man, a powerful, godly man?

Well, listen to this same statement from God, as found in the AMP Bible, “My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble MANFULLY]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness.”

The word MANFULLY is the same as saying, “bravely, courageously, boldly, gallantly, heroically, intrepidly, fearlessly, valiantly”!

2 Corinthians 12:9 NLT

Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.

It’s no wonder then why Paul quickly responds back to this, “So now I am GLAD to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Paul was GLAD in his weakness, to be equipped by God to respond to all things, MANFULLY!!!!

And then let’s consider what the Bible says to us in , “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.  And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.”

By his divine power, God has given us_________________for living a godly life?

“EVERYTHING WE NEED!”

Everyone repeat after me, “God has given me EVERYTHING I need for living a godly life!”

And finally, the icing on the cake as to why we cannot ever say that we have legitimate “reasons” for not sharing our faith with others, look at what the Bible says to us in a very familiar passage, ,

Philippians 4:13 ESV

I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Now let me read that same passage to you with the increased unction and emphasis that is placed upon it within the AMP Bible, “I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].”

So, when we start to list the reasons as to why we are not, or cannot evangelize and share the gospel message, remember what the Bible tells us: God’s power works best in our weaknesses, and that through His power, God has given us EVERYTHING we need for living a godly life and that Jesus Christ, Himself, infuses us with inner strength to do all the things that He has called and commanded us to do!

Can somebody please shout me out an “AMEN”!!!!!!!!!

Look real quickly at this short video clip that Pastor Francis Chan did in reference to the Great Commission.

PLAY VIDEO, “FOLLOW JESUS”, by Francis Chan.

“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord’ and do not do what I say?”

When Jesus poses this question in , He says it in conjunction with the following analogy, “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say? I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house right on the ground, without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.”

Do you see the correlation between doing what Jesus tells us to do and our lives being able to withstand whatever comes our way, versus those who do not do what He commands us to do and then when life throws them a curve, they can’t withstand it and they cave in and begin to sing of their woes and grumble and question God.

If you and I are not doing what Jesus told us to do, (a.k.a. taking the gospel message to the world around us), then we are existing on a weak foundation!

Think long and hard about that!

OK, so let’s take a quick look at the reason of FEAR, that people give for not witnessing to others.

As I mentioned earlier, people fear failure in their witness to others, they fear rejection and with that comes the possible ridicule and scorn of some, which begins to feed into the last fear that I mentioned, the fear of persecution and suffering that may be incurred from sharing their faith with the world around them.

When you and I share our faith with others and witness to them about our personal relationship with Jesus, we tend to think, or hope that we are going to see a salvation come from the experience.

And this is not always the case. In fact many times over it will not be the case, as there are always going to be those who reject Jesus, either right then, or even permanently later in their life.

We are only told to share in love and faith the good news and always be ready to give a reason for the hope of our faith that dwells within us.

It is Holy Spirit who draws and convicts the other person and only God drawing them can result in true salvation; not what you said or didn’t say.

This is not a sales position and thus, we are not trying to sale Jesus and salvation to them and close the deal right then and there!

Remember what the word says to us about our witnessing to others: some of us will plant the seed, some of us will water it, but it is always God who brings forth the growth, the increase!

Don’t fear people when they reject the gospel message as you present it to them. Do not be alarmed if they become angry at your sharing.

Do as Jesus instructed you to: love them as He so loved you and present to them the wonderful news of grace and salvation. Then pray and believe that the seed will take.

If they reject it, they are not rejecting you, but the one whom you are an ambassador for.

Plant the seed and then move on to the next glorious chance to see the dead brought back to life!

Do not FEAR rejection or failure, because then your witness is already tainted with the enemy’s poison. The perfect love of Jesus within our hearts will cast out that fear and shut the door in the face of the enemy before he ever has a chance to worm his way into your evangelistic ministry!

Whenever we approach someone or someones with the gospel message, their is always the chance that we will be confronted with hate towards us because of that message!

Remember what Jesus said to us, before He was crucified, about the hatred of the world towards you and I, He said, “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. Do you remember what I told you? 'A slave is not greater than the master.' Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

That thought of facing trials and persecution and suffering for His name’s sake, produces fear in the hearts of many people.

I mean, let’s just be honest, in our natural state, we do not embrace and look forward to trials and suffering, which is why we must depend upon Holy Spirit, so that we can move past the natural and into the supernatural!

Only there, under the guidance and empowering of Holy Spirit will we truly be able to handle whatever comes against us.

And you know, suffering for the cause of our faith will vary from one person to another. To many Christians, suffering may be dealing with slander and false accusations and hate filled words and actions that people will bring against you or your loved ones.

To others, suffering for Jesus’ sake may be physical suffering, whether from the hand of those who reject the gospel message, or suffering due to illness and physical afflictions.

Do you remember when the disciples asked Jesus, with regard to the blind man? They asked Him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”

And Jesus answered, “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins. This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.”

Here is a man who was born blind and has lived his whole life that way and Jesus says that this occurred so that the power of God could be seen in him.

Now Jesus healed the blind man, but are there yet other ways that the power of God can be seen through the afflictions and suffering of others without it meaning they are to be healed?

Joni Eareckson Tada suffered a diving accident over 50 years ago that left her a quadriplegic and in a wheelchair for life. She has no use of her hands, she has been battling stage 3 breast cancer and has chronic pain and yet she leads an international ministry, advocates for those with disabilities, and is a sought-after speaker, best-selling author of more than 40 books, a radio host and an accomplished painter who paints by holding the paintbrush between her teeth.

Listen to what Joni said about Christian suffering, “The first thing Christians ought to do before they even work on compassion is get a biblical view on suffering. Most Christians would rather escape, avoid it, drug it, medicate it, divorce it, institutionalize it—do anything but live with it.

We need to embrace the God who is found in suffering. He is the man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. He’s the Lord who was impaled on a cross. We’d rather Jesus be mild-mannered and mild-tempered, and we’d rather listen to him preach about lilies in a field of flowers. We don’t want to go down that hard path of Calvary. But once we do, I think then we can gain compassion. Because compassion means “with suffering.” Christian compassion means suffering with the sufferings of Christ.”

When asked about her faith in suffering, Joni said, “God says in Isaiah chapter 48, verse 10, “I have refined you, but not as silver is refined. Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering.” Yep, that’s what God loves to do. And it’s a very good thing. It’s hard and yes, it is often hot in that furnace, but oh, faith that is refined is worth it.”

Let me mention to you one more devout Christian who spent the majority of her life suffering and yet the beauty that blossomed in the midst of her pain.

Annie Johnson Flint was born in 1886 and very early on in life, she and her sister lost both parents, was given to be raised by a widow who did not want to take them and then finally adopted by the Flint family who raised them. After graduating high school, Annie began teaching, but her life would very soon be changed forever.

Annie contracted a very aggressive and disabling form of arthritis which contorted and drew her hands and feet to the point that she would spend the rest of her life either bed bound, or placed in a wheel chair.

Her health continued to diminish to the point that her internal organs began to fail her in such a way that she became completely incontinent and had to wear diapers daily and have people 24/7 care for her, change her and re-position her in bed with 9 pillows, because skin breakdown and bed sores were working against her.

Her eye sight began to fail her, until she became completely blind and eventually she was would face the diagnosis of cancer which added to her pain and eventually claimed her life.

In the middle of all of this pain and suffering we find a woman who took the life given to her and turned it into some of the most beautiful poems and hymns that you have ever read!

In the biography of her life that I read, it says this about Annie, “Miss Flint became thoroughly convinced that God intended to glorify Himself through her, in her weak, earthen vessel, and while like Paul she had three times, and more, prayed that this might be taken from her, there came to her with real assurance the voice which said, “My grace is sufficient for thee. My strength is made perfect in weakness.” She reached the place where she too could say with Paul, ‘Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

And it was from that passage found in , that Annie came to write the poem, “He Giveth More Grace”. Listen to what she says,

He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater, He sendeth more strength when the labors increase; To added afflictions He addeth His mercy, To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance, When our strength has failed ere the day is half done, When we reach the end of our hoarded resources Our Father’s full giving is only begun.

His love has no limits, His grace has no measure, His power no boundary known unto men; For out of His infinite riches in Jesus He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.

Look at the lives of these two women and ask yourself this question, “If having their afflictions and suffering would bring me to the place of perfect peace, and dependency and trust in God and His divine power in my life, would I be willing to walk that path to attain the measure and understanding of God’s grace and love that they each attained?”

For most of us, we would say a resounding “NO” as the answer. And yet their testimonies and their lives of witnessing for the God who allowed them to rest completely in His care and grace, has touched millions!

They did what the world said couldn’t be done, they took the impossibilities and ugliness of this life and turned into the possible beauty of human dependence upon our great and mighty God!

All that is needed to become the catalyst for a great evangelical breakout in these last days, is for someone, or someones, to rise up above the fears and failures that hold men back and begin doing the work that Jesus gave us.

When others in the body see it being done and the power of Holy Spirit that goes forth with them, then they will begin to rise up and join ranks and start sharing the gospel message.

It only takes one to break the barrier!

On May 6, 1954, a British runner by the name of Roger Bannister, did the impossible; he became the first man ever to break the four minute barrier in the mile. It was not considered possible to run a mile in under four minutes up to that point and yet, Roger crossed the tape finish line at a recorded time of 3:59.4 seconds!

Since that time, the four minute barrier record has been broken by over 1,400 male athletes and it is now considered the standard of all professional middle distance runners. In the last 50 years the mile record has been lowered by almost 17 seconds and currently stands at 3:43.13.

All because one man set out to what others deemed impossible and thus triggered a wave that still continues today!

Will you be the one who steps out in faith and begins to take the gospel message with you wherever you go and to every person who will listen to it?

Will you be the one who begins to make disciples of those who are being abandoned in churches and help to forever change the spiritual course of this nation?!