Spiritual Disciplines-Evangelism

“Jim, I’ll be by your house around 5:30 tomorrow morning to pick you up, make sure you are wearing your warmest clothes, boots and something to cover your ears.”

“I will be ready Pastor Jake, what exactly will we be doing?”

Jake went on to tell me about a young 13-year-old boy by the name of Matt who, along with his Springer Spaniel, had gone out for a walk earlier in the day and had ended up getting lost when the heavy snow storm moved in quickly and unexpectedly. Crews had been out searching for him all afternoon but had been able to find him. We were to meet at the local fire station before the sun was up to organize and prepare to continue the search as soon as we were able to see. Things looked very bad for Matt, as the snow was deep and the night was going to be frigid, and he was not dressed for either.

Jake picked me up early the next morning and took me with him to the fire station. There we begin to organize the search parties and receive our commissioning. There were over 100 men that had come to assist with the search and to receive instructions. I must admit, some of the instructions were rather eerie, for instance, we were told to be careful stepping on any large clumps in the snow, as it could easily be Matt buried under the snow. We then proceeded to go out into the Wildcat Hills above Scotts Bluff Nebraska, to finish the organizing of the search and to begin the search. Our instructions were to be no more than 10 feet from one of the other men, and to look behind every rock, every fallen tree, any possible place that Matt could have gone to to take cover. Every fourth or fifth man was given a walkie-talkie to be able to communicate with the fire department. I do not know about the rest of the search party, but I know for Pastor Jake and me, as we searched, we prayed! We prayed that Matt would be alive. We prayed that he would be safe. We prayed that he would be uninjured. We prayed that he would be found.

Time was of the essence, because the longer he was out there, the less chance he had of survival. As we searched all of us regularly shouted out Matt’s name as well as the name of his Springer Spaniel, hoping and praying that one of them would hear us and we could rescue him. None of us felt awkward in the slightest, we understood the importance of what we were doing.

In the end a helicopter that was assisting in the search, spotted some footprints on the edge of a meadow, and begin to hover back and forth over that area. After a short time, his dog came running out into the meadow where the helicopter was, and the helicopter contacted the search party, to let us know where they had spotted the dog. Within a short time, Matthew was safe.

Perhaps you are wondering what this story has to do with the Spiritual Disciplines. This story has to do with a young boy lost, and likely about to perish unless he was found. It also has to do with the great lengths that a group of men were willing to go to in order to rescue the lost.

The Spiritual Discipline that we will begin to look at this morning, is the Next Slide

Spiritual Discipline of Evangelism.

My guess is, that if I were to start making phone calls tonight to organize a search party for a young boy or a girl who was lost in the cold and in danger of perishing, that practically every single person I called would drop what they are doing and join the rescue party. All of you would be willing to go to where ever the meeting was set to receive your commissioning order on what needed to be done to rescue the perishing, realizing the time was of the essence.

The truth is, the story is a perfect lead in to what we are looking at this morning, you see people, people you know, people you love, people you work with, that you’re related to, that you live next door to, or just down the street. They are perishing and time is of the essence. None of us is guaranteed tomorrow, we aren’t guaranteed this afternoon! It is a fact that time is of the essence, and if you haver trusted in Christ as your Savior, you should be willing to put at least the same effort into reaching the spiritually lost that you would a young boy or girl that is lost out in the cold.

Turn with me in your Bible to Matthew 28. We will be looking at verses 18-20 this morning. Next Slide

Matthew 28:18-20 Page 1062 in the Pew Bibles. Next Slides

Matthew 28:18-20

Matthew 28:18–20 ESV

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

As most of you know, this set of verses is known as

The Great Commission

Unfortunately for the vast majority of those that consider themselves Christian it is more like the Great Suggestion, or maybe the Great Omission. As in people are willing to follow pretty much all the other things Christ has called us to do, but when it comes to sharing Christ with others…well that is another thing altogether. We use excuses like;

“It’s just not my spiritual gift.”

Oh, ok, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize it wasn’t your spiritual gift, you get a pass on this one then. I mean it’s not like it is a direct command from God or anything....

Let’s look at verse 19 again; “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” Did you notice? This isn’t given as a suggestion or option, it’s a direct command from God Himself. Next Slide

It is a very very big deal to ignore a direct command from God.

and sometimes I don’t think we realize that.

So what do we do, I mean the truth is, fulfilling The Great Commission is not an easy task. I believe that there are 4 important keys in these verses that are vitally important to our fulfillment of The Great Commission. Next Slide

3 Keys to Fulfilling The Great Commission.

Next Slides

Start by believing in the Authority of God. Vs. 18

Look at verse 18 Next Slide

Matthew 28:18 ESV

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

The first thing to note here is that Jesus is acting on behalf of the God of the universe. The God Who holds 2 trillion galaxies in the span of His Hand. In other words, when Jesus spoke, God Himself spoke. That is the authority Jesus brings to the table when He gives the Great Commission. So Jesus doesn’t just have authority over the believer who has placed his trust in Him, He is the authority over all creation. He continually displayed His authority during His earthy ministry.

He showed His authority when He healed the officials son without even going to see Him, He just told the official to go home, his son had been healed.

He showed His authority over the demonic realm on the many occasions when he cast out demons.

He displayed His authority over sickness throughout His ministry, over and over He eradicated sickness almost everywhere He went.

He showed His power over nature when, after an entire night of fishless fishing, he told the fisherman to let down their nets and they hauled in so great a catch that they had to call another boat and even then there were so many fish both boats began to sink.

He also showed His power over nature when he calmed a furious storm by simply saying 3 words; “Peace be still.”

He displayed His power over life and death when He raised the widow’s son in Luke 7, Jarius’s daughter in Luke 8 and Lazarus in John 11.

Honestly, I could fill the rest of our time this morning with the ways Jesus displayed His authority during His earthly ministry, but I think you get the picture, “All authority in heaven and on earth” has been given to Jesus. This includes authority over your life!

This brings me to a very important question all of us need to answer this morning; Next Slides

Have I surrendered myself to live under the authority of Jesus Christ?

I’m not asking if you prayed a prayer at some point in time, millions of people across this country have prayed a prayer and consider themselves a Christian. I am asking, have you surrendered yourself to live under the authority of Jesus Christ? As I ask this important question, I want to make one thing abundantly clear to all of us this morning, if you are not telling people of Jesus, the One Who redeemed you, Who saved you, Who died a cruel death on the cross to pay the price for your sins, the answer to that question is “NO”. You cannot be surrendered to the authority of Jesus Christ if you ignore His direct command! Let me repeat that; Next Slide

You cannot be surrendered to the authority of Jesus Christ if you ignore His direct command!

This brings me to the 2nd key to fulfilling The Great Commission, Next Slides

2. Obey the Command of Christ. Vs. 19

Did you know that it is possible to pray a specific prayer, then spend the next 50 years faithfully attending church Sunday after Sunday, going to Sunday School, working as a volunteer.....you know, doing church stuff....and not be used of God to bring a single individual to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ? One of the greatest tragedies in the church today is that this is not the exception, it’s the norm, IT’S THE NORM! Yet the gospels are clear that every follower of Jesus is a fisher of men. Every disciple a disciple maker. This is why you have the Spirit of God living in you! Think about this for a minute, why would God put His Spirit in you? So you can just sit in a worship service once a week, sing the songs, listen to a sermon and walk away filling good about yourself ? That’s not Christianity, that’s religion and religion is for the spiritually dead.

Do you mind if I get real with you for a moment? I received a lot of really positive feedback from people that listened to last weeks message. They were emotionally moved by the vivid pictures of the majesty and power of God. I received emails, text messages, comments from different individuals throughout the week, I have to admit, it really made me feel pretty good. But often times we listen to a message and it moves us emotionally, and we think to ourselves; “That was a successful day at church.” But if it doesn’t move us to action, if it doesn’t move us to change, if we don’t cultivate a growing passion for Christ, if we don’t commit to change in our life, it was not a successful message, it was not a successful Sunday, It is only a success if it brings about change in our life.

I got to be honest with you, I’m not here to tickle your ears week after week, to bring a message that leaves you emotionally charged. More often than not that emotional charge disappears before you pull up in your own driveway. If that is the only reason I am here, then I may as well devote myself to traveling the country doing motivational seminars.

I am here to surrender myself completely to the sovereign God and to allow Him to do a work in me and through me.

I am here to lead as He has called me to lead.

To proclaim His message not mine.

To lift His name high as I fade into the background.

To always point to Him at any point in time when people are moved by the words He gives me week after week.

I am here to make disciples.

I am here to train others reach this area with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Now let me speak to those of you that are regulars at Liberty Chapel. If you are a visitor here this morning this may not apply to you....but listen anyways.

Guess why you are here....

You are here to surrender yourself completely to the sovereign God and to allow Him to do a work in you and through you.

You are here to lead as He has called you to lead. Sure it may not be leading to the same level as a pastor, but you are still called to lead.

You are here to proclaim His message not yours.

You are here to lift His name high as you fade into the background.

You are here to always point to Him.

You are here to make disciples.

You are here to train others to reach this area with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Again, it may not be to the same level as a pastor, but it is still your calling.

Perhaps right now you are thinking; “Ok Pastor Jim, I’m in, but I got to level with you, what you are asking of me is way beyond what I can deliver.”

Perfect, that is exactly where we need to be, and that brings me to the next key to fulfilling The Great Commission:

Next Slides

3. Depend on the Presence of Christ.

This mission is not based on who we are and what we do.

Need proof? Look at what the disciples did. Keep in mind this was an uneducated bunch of misfits. It had nothing to do with the resources or their contacts or their programs. It had everything to do with the power of Jesus Christ in them.

Maybe your thinking, “Yeah, but they knew Jesus personally, they spent 3 years walking with Him, talking with Him, sitting at His feet. They had a front row seat to the miracles.”

You’ve got a point, but your point comes apart in Acts 6, 7 & 8. We don’t have time to go there this morning, but let me give you a synopsis.

Everything had been going fabulously for the early church until we get to Acts chapter 6. In Acts chapter 6 a dispute arrises in the church. It turns out certain widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of the food. The vast majority of the early church was made up of Hebrew speaking Jews who had converted from Judaism to Christianity. But as the message spread, many Greek speaking followers of Judaism also converted. These new believers were steeped in Greek customs and this had been long frowned upon by the Jews. Well they brought their disapproval into their Christianity and this had caused a serious division in the church. As a result the Apostles selected 7 godly men to oversea the daily distribution, to make sure everyone was being treated fairly. It was working, and then one of those 7 was seized and put to death. This was followed by a great persecution, so great that the church was scattered. For the most part the only ones remaining in Jerusalem were the Apostles. You know, the ones who “spent 3 years walking with Him, talking with Him, sitting at His feet.” The ones who “had a front row seat to the miracles.”

Guess what the 15-20,000 believers did as they were scattered? These people, most of whom-

who had not been with Jesus,

who had not walked with Him

had not talked with Him

had not had a front row seat to the miracles

Everywhere they were scattered they told others about Jesus, and the Gospel began to spread way beyond the Nation of Israel.

You see these scattered believers had learned to be completely dependent on the presence of Jesus. They had personally bought in to Jesus words at the end of Matthew 28:20 Next Slide

Matthew 28:20b

English Standard Version Chapter 28

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Virtually the same thing happened in Acts chapter 19. In this instance the Apostle Paul stayed for 2 straight years in Ephesus. We talked about Ephesus a couple weeks ago. Remember Ephesus was just off the coast of the Aegean Sea, and it had multiple trade routes leading all over Asia? While Paul stayed in Ephesus, he continued to proclaim Jesus to pretty much everyone. Well guess what happened? People trusted Christ as he faithfully preached, and as these people made there way all over Asia on the trade routes out of Ephesus, they proclaimed that same Jesus, and as a result, we read in Acts 19:10 Next Slide

Acts 19:10

English Standard Version Chapter 19

all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.

Just like the scattered believers from Jerusalem, these folks were dependent on the presence of Jesus. They also had personally bought in to Jesus words at the end of Matthew 28:20 that He would be with them always.

Honestly, what was accomplished in Acts 8 and Acts 19 could only have been explained by the presence of Jesus in the lives of these believers. I don’t know about you, but I want that too!

Let’s be a part of something that can only be explained by His presence.

So how do we go about doing this? Is there a secret formula or system I can follow? I can tell you that having been a Christian since 1966, I have seen hundreds of different formulas and systems over the years, almost all of which have been forgotten. I’d like to close out our time this morning with 3 somewhat simple things you can do. Next Slides

3 Things I can do to spread the Good News of Jesus.

Come and see-invite Others to church.

Research has shown that 82% of people that are unchurched would go to church if they were invited. Research has also shown that only 21% of church members will invite their unchurched fiends over the course of a year.

Simply put, one of the easiest things you can do is to invite your friends to church with you. Next Slide

Works for me-share a Simple Testimony.

When it comes to sharing your testimony, many claim they don’t have one, but the truth is, if you have trusted Jesus as your Savior, you have a testimony. Your testimony is nothing more than sharing the story of how you came to faith in Christ. Sharing what He means to you. Sharing what He has done in your life.

Sometimes I think we make this a more complicated than it needs to be.

When I was just getting my start in the Financial Services industry almost 20 years ago, I received a book written by Bill Hybels titled “Just Walk Across The Room”. Bill was the Senior Pastor of one of the largest and fastest growing churches in America, but he struggled sharing his faith with others outside of church settings. The basic message of the book highlighted how he changed this by just walking across the room to talk to others. This book made a significant impact in what Pam and I seek to do in cycling.

Lastly, and quite frankly most importantly, Next Slide

Christ is key, the Simple Gospel.

Whether you use the Romans road or whatever you use, it will take little effort or time to learn a simple presentation about the Gospel that highlights what Jesus did for us when He laid down His life on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. That’s really it in a nutshell.

One tool I recently found was an app called LifeonMission. It is an app you can get for free on your phone that will assist you in taking a friend that does not have a relationship with Jesus through the Gospel.

Ok, one last thing I want each of you that have trusted in Jesus as your Savior to do. At the bottom of your notes is numbers from 1 to 3. What I want you to do now is to write the names of 3 individuals you know. Next I want you to commit to praying for them regularly. Lastly, I want you to pray that God would open the door for you to share your story with them, or at a minimum invite them with you to church.

If each of us will commit to doing this for the rest of 2019, there is no telling what God will accomplish.

Let’s close in prayer.

Names of Individuals I am committing to pray for:

________________________

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