My Gospel Witness

REFLECTION: 1 Peter 3:15

SERMON: John 4:31-38

BENEDICTION: Eph 3:17-19

INTRO

Last week, we were challenged with the words of our LORD at 12 years of age, when He stated clearly that He must be about His Father’s Business - about the things pertaining his Glory and mission.

Over the next few weeks, we’re going to explore some practical ways that this works out for each of here, young AND old, in 2021.

If we sum up the Father's Business the way Jesus did, it can be captured in the 2 "greats": The Great Commandment & The Great Commission.

We’ll talk about Being About Our Father’s Business in the local church, in the community, and around the world - it’s going be practical and formative for us in 2021.

We’re starting today, though…with this foundational and realistic expectation the Bible conveys of those who claim to be followers, disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ - Christians.

BASIC LEVEL CHRISTIANITY requires an evangelistic HEART & MINISTRY. That is…Christians point people to Jesus - we use our words & lives to proclaim the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ.

If we look at Paul, Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. If we look at Peter (we quoted right at the beginning that familiar passage from 1 Peter 3 that implicitly and explicitly:

1 Peter 3:15 ESV

15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,

In that little verse you see both the HEART & the WORK of Evangelism.

If we look at Jesus in the text we just read from John 4, it’s laid out pretty clearly with a good example to follow.

This morning, we’ll talk a little about the WHY of evangelism, a bit more on the WHAT of evangelism, and focus in on a few HOWs of evangelism.

Let me remind you that it is dangerous for you to come to a church that preaches the Bible as authoritative. It’s dangerous to our comfort zones, and serves as a warning to the enemy forces as well - WE BELIEVE THIS BOOK! WE WILL TRUST OUR GOD! WE WILL BE A FAMILY, A FLOCK, A BODY, A CHURCH ABOUT OUR FATHER’S BUSINESS.

TRANSITION

Before we recap John 4 AND look at another instructive passage from Jesus, let’s look at some big picture items related to the Gospel.

"The church is the arena in which God has chosen above all to showcase his wisdom and the glory of the gospel.” - Greg Gilbert (What is the Gospel)

We expect the CHURCH to be Gospel-preaching / Gospel-revealing. But if we’re not careful, I think we get comfortable with that Gospel message ONLY happening on Sunday mornings at around 10:15am on the corner of South Blvd and East Blvd in Charlotte.

But I would remind you that YOU are the CHURCH. I am not the lone evangelist because I am your Pastor.

In fact, I do not set out to an evangelistic message EVERY Sunday.

All Sermons should be Gospel-Revealing.

All Services should be Gospel-Proclaiming.

But I am preaching to the assembled church on-site and online each Sunday - fully aware that not everyone here is a Christian (according to what the Bible says a Christian is).

The ELEMENTS OF THE GOSPEL - the GOOD NEWS!

WHAT IS THE GOSPEL MESSAGE?

1. It is God to whom we are accountable. He is the creator and ruler of the world.

Rev 4:11; Rom 1:1-7

Revelation 4:11 ESV

11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

2. We have rebelled against God - directly against God by trying to run our life our way.

Rom 1.18, 21-23; 3:10-12

Romans 3:10–12 ESV

10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

2a. That rebellion has consequences

Heb 9:27; Rom 6.23

Hebrews 9:27 ESV

27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,

3. Because of God’s great mercy he sent His son, Jesus Christ as the solution for all of humanity through His sacrificial death and resurrection

Rom 3.21, 24-25; 1 Peter 3:18

1 Peter 3:18 ESV

18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,

1 Peter 1:3 ESV

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

4. How can we be involved in this great salvation? Repent & Believe

Rom 3.22, Rom 4.5

Mark 1:15 ESV

15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

John 3:36 ESV

36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

Romans 10:9 ESV

9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

John 1:12 ESV

12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

WHAT A GREAT MESSAGE! IT’S GOOD NEWS!

We are accountable to the Holy God that created and rules everything.

We have rebelled against Him with our sin

The death, burial, resurrection of Jesus Christ is God’s solution to our sin problem

We must repent and believe

Two Word Headers:

God’s Authority

Man’s Rebellion

Jesus Christ

Repent Believe

WHERE ARE SOME GOSPEL ENCOUNTERS IN SCRIPTURE?

The Samaritan Woman (John 4)

RECAP JOHN 4

Jesus leaves Judea and heads for Galilee again. The straightest shot / shortest distance would take him right through Samaria.

Jews would avoid Samaria because of the disdain and utter hatred they had for these half-breeds

He comes across the woman at the well - an account we all know well

“Let’s look at this together”

(v7) Jesus engages her in context.

John 4:7 ESV

7 A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.”

There is some back and forth - there’s something distinct about the way Jesus makes the request - he stands out.

He’s a Jew in Samaria

He’s a man asking a woman

He’s a Jew engaging a Samaritan

Jesus gets to a gospel element

John 4:10 ESV

10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”

Jesus does not ignore SIN in his conversation.

John 4:16–18 ESV

16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” 17 The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.”

As a side note, I know that you and I are not Jesus…it’s tempting to think that this doesn’t apply.

it is highly unlikely that we would so specifically name the very sin that someone is entrenched in that moment.

our culture is so negative, it may seem like we’re coming off as judgy to even mention sin.

we think, “can’t we just entice them with the promises and blessings of the Gospel and leave sin alone?”

Jesus didn’t. The Disciples didn’t. The Bible doesn’t.

You can’t understand just how good the good news is unless we have an awareness of the bad news.

BG STORY OF MORDECAI HAM - “YOU’RE ALL SINNERS!”

Then the disciples return as the woman departs:

John 4:28–30 ESV

28 So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” 30 They went out of the town and were coming to him.

She is converted into an evangelist.

“EVANGELISM isn’t complete until the EVANGELIZED become EVANGELISTS.”

The disciples ask Jesus - why don’t you eat? You should eat something. Jesus responds:

John 4:34 ESV

34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.

or…I MUST BE ABOUT MY FATHER’S BUSINESS!

The result shows up in verses 39-41.

Many believed based on the woman’s testimony alone…but not her testimony of Heaven - it was, “He told me all that I ever did.” There was a harvest.

Many came to check Jesus out for themselves and were converted (She sowed, the harvest came later)

As we cover the HEART and MINISTRY of sharing the GOSPEL - Our Personal Gospel Ministry. Let’s consider one other encounter this morning though there are many.

Jesus and the Rich Young Ruler (Mark 10:17-22)

Mark 10:17–22 ESV

17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’ ” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Often referred to as The Way of the Master, Jesus uses the Law to shine the light on the ruler’s heart.

Romans 3:19–20 ESV

19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

It’s essentially a way of confronting someone’s “goodness” when held up to the mirror of God’s Word.

It shows us that we are incapable of moral purity on our own.

HOW DO I SHARE THE GOSPEL WITH SOMEONE?

If we capture the HEART of the GOSPEL from 1 Peter 3:15.

1. We Love Jesus and surrender to the Lordship of Christ

It leads us to that second part that I’m fairly confident the handful of texts we’ve seen today have made the case for!

2. We live ready to articulate the GOSPEL

Instead of being SO VOCAL about lesser matters…where we have little credibility, authority, or influence:

• Politics

• Culture

Shouldn’t our loudest voice be when we herald the GOSPEL with JOY…and URGENCY?

SO, YOU WANT TO ENGAGE SOMEONE WITH THE GOSPEL?

Here are a few things to keep in mind, regardless of what method you use:

1. Your own LIFE is a great part of your witness!

You don’t have to be perfect or completely mature before God can use you, but our witness is much more effective when we obey the leading of the Holy Spirit!

2. You EARN THE RIGHT TO BE HEARD BY SINCERELY LISTENING TO OTHERS.

3. YOU’RE NOT PRESENTING A FORMULA…BUT THE PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST!

4. KEEP IT SIMPLE!

You don’t have to convince them of Grace Covenant’s Statement of Faith, or all 99 Doctrines we are covering in our Gospel Project Curriculum.

CONVERSATIONALLY...

On 2 recent occasions with my wife at a restaurant, she sensed the door opening to engage...

…she asked questions and actively listened

…because she listened, she saw the door opened

…she was able to clearly share her testimony with Jesus as the main attraction

…it was a Gospel witness

SHARE LAW

THEM - Are you a good person?

Ever told a lie?

Ever taken something that didn’t belong

Ever looked at a woman with lus?

YOU - (Beverly Lawing) Do you think I’m a good person?

Do you think I’m good enough to get to Heaven, I’m not?

SHARE 2 WAYS TO LIVE!

PERSONAL INVITATION