Ephesians 2:1-10 (NIV)
1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions–it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Introduction:
Illustration:
There is a story told about a man who was accused of some wrongdoing and was brought before a judge. When the judge asked if he had an attorney to represent him, the man answered, “No, I can?t afford one.” The judge replied, “Well don?t worry about that. I?ll appoint a lawyer to represent you, and I will choose a real good one.” “I appreciate that, Judge,” answered the man. “But if you really want to appoint somebody to help me, what I need most is not a real good lawyer, but several real good witnesses!” (source: James W. Moore, “When You?re a Christian, the Whole World is from Missouri”)
A good witness is one who knows something firsthand through their experience, and who can bring the truth to the light. In Paul?s words that I just read, he identifies with an experience that every single one us can claim as Christians ? “we once were lost, but now we?re found”.
God doesn?t need a couple of good lawyers defending Him and trying to prove Him to lost humanity. But what He needs is a couple of good witnesses that are willing to tell what He has done for them. It?s called “Evangelism”?the telling or announcing the gospel or good news of Jesus Christ.
This is what evangelism is?Jesus in giving the Great Commission to His disciples was calling them to spread the good news ? the gospel of Christ. Now, many of us when we hear the word “evangelism” we immediately thing of a crusade type of ministry. That is, gathering a whole bunch of people to a specific place where they will hear the gospel preached by an evangelist. In one sense, this is evangelism. But the word “evangelism” has much more weight than that. In a way, every Christian is called to be an evangelist because Christ?s desire is that all Christians be fulfilling the great commission. Yet, there are many Christian?s that hear the word evangelism and immediately thing of confrontation style of witnessing ? something that makes some people squirm in their seats saying “that?s not my ministry!!”
Last week I talked about the need for Christians to stand unashamed of the gospel in the world around them. Many of you stood up with me at the end of the service and declared that you weren?t ashamed of being a Christian. This, friends, was an important moment. Evangelism requires an attitude of heart, mind, and spirit that is willing to declare the marvelous good news of the gospel without being ashamed of it.
It is a natural progression from saying we are not ashamed of being a Christian ? to declaring our faith to the world around us. I believe that while there are many different methods of evangelizing the world for Christ, there is one prerequisite to evangelism ? Evangelism 101 (one on one). By one on one ? I mean your one on one relationship with Christ. The deeper and closer your relationship is with God the more powerful your witness will be in the world. Answer this question ? How can you be a witness for something you?ve never witnessed? Our one on one relationship with Christ is the barometer that predicts our effectiveness as His witnesses.
ILLUSTRATION: inspired by the best?
Leonardo da Vinci had started work on a large canvas in his studio. For a while he worked at it ? choosing the subject, planning the perspective, sketching the outline, applying the colors, with his own inimitable genius. Then suddenly he ceased, the painting still unfinished, and, summoning one of his students, invited him to completed the work. The student protested that he was unworthy and unable to complete the great painting that his master had begun. But da Vinci silenced him, “Will not what I have done inspire you to do your best?”
Our Master began two thousand years ago ? by what he said, by what he did, and supremely by what he suffered. He illustrated his message and he has left us to finish the picture. (Autoillustrator.com, “evangelism”)
As I said before, there are many methods of evangelizing. However, I believe that there are three principles that are applicable to every method and I believe that when these simple principles are followed then you will be effective in your witnessing. As these principles are uncovered you?ll start to understand why your one on one relationship with Christ is of vital importance.
Evangelism is most effective when?
Christians REALIZE that it is God who gives them opportunities to share their faith.
Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)
10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
We need to understand as Christians that witnessing isn?t something that?s manufactured by what we do! It?s not saying, “Okay, today I?m going to go out and tell X number of people about Christ!” or, “This year I?m going to get x number of people saved”.
Evangelism starts with our understanding that it is God who places us in situations and circumstances that give us opportunities to demonstrate our faith ? by words and action. When you realize this it doesn?t become a matter of trying to force things to happen but merely making yourself AVAILABLE to be used by Him.
When Christians ignore this principle that it is God who creates opportunities for evangelism then?
Failure leads to defeat.
- when we fail in our witnessing attempts ? that is people are unresponsive to the message of the gospel, or they reject us, or they don?t understand us. Then we tend to blame ourselves and this defeat eventually prevents from witnessing at all because we?re afraid we?ll botch it up.
- But when we realize that it is God who creates opportunities for us to share our faith ? failure is not a measure of the response of the person you are witnessing to but rather a measure of whether you seize the opportunity!
- We need to remember that when we plant the seed of the gospel of Christ we may never see the fruit but that doesn?t mean that our evangelism of that person was a failure.
Success leads to pride. (unwillingness for change)
- the opposite of this, of course, is when a person is successful in their evangelism attempts and many come to know Christ through their efforts then the danger is that that success can lead to pride!
- What happens with the prideful person is that they begin to see their efforts being the reason why they are successful and then they limit themselves to only reaching certain people or using only certain methods. And then witnessing becomes an art form rather than a responsibility, a mission of esteem rather than a measure of our love ? both for Christ and for the person we are sharing our faith with.
- The danger is that this pride often will lead to the person resorting to manipulation or forcefulness to “win” more people.
It is the power of God that saves people ? not through eloquent words; not through logical reason; not even through emotional pleas ? but simply through our availability to God for Him to reveal His grace, His love, and His Son.
Christians RECOGNIZE those opportunities that God has created for them to share their faith!
Yes, we need to realize that God has created opportunities for us to evangelize but it is equally important that we be able to recognize those opportunities. It is one thing for someone to go to the airport to pick up someone they?ve never met before and it?s another thing to actually recognize that person when they arrive. You need some way of connecting with the right person or ensuring that they connect with you! When it comes to meeting a person in the airport this is usually accomplished by a marker and a piece of cardboard but when it comes to evangelizing this can only be accomplished by your one on one relationship with Jesus Christ. Through your one on one relationship with Christ you become better equipped to recognize the opportunities for sharing His gospel with people around you because you become more aware of how Christ connected with people.
One of the primary ways in which Christ connected with people was by recognizing their needs.
ILLUSTRATION:
A wife relates this story. “My husband is a tractor-trailer driver and he dreads runs to New York City. His greatest fear was realized one day when his rig broke down on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. At 4:30pm, after he had been waiting for assistance for over an hour, a police car stopped and the officer called a tow truck for my husband. More hours passed. Then at 8:30pm a young man stopped his car and walked over to the truck. He handed my husband a white bag with the familiar golden arches and said, “I saw you here about four o?clock, and I saw that you were still here when I went by again a half-hour ago. I thought you might be hungry by now.? With that he gave my husband the bag and drove away. The tow truck got there a little before 10pm”(Autoillustrator.com, “EVANGELISM”)
The “Good Samaritan” on the highway recognized the need of the trucker on the highway. When Jesus walked the earth a common emotion displayed by him was compassion. Jesus was often moved by compassion as he recognized the needs of people. In the gospel accounts we find a number of needs that Jesus met sometimes, before even saying a word to people.
Some of the greatest opportunities we have for sharing our faith with people will be gained when we are first able to minister to their needs. Hence, our need to keep our eyes open to what people we see may need!
When we have a close relationship with Christ not only do we become more sensitive to the needs of people but we also become more sensitive to his tugging our heart. I believe that some of the greatest and oftentimes most nerve wracking evangelistic opportunities come when the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit speaks in your heart and directs you to a person to tell them about Christ. When you are close to Jesus you begin to know when He is speaking and directing you. I know how He does it with me. I get sweaty palms, I swear people can see my heart thumping and all my blood rushes to my head!
There?s an interesting twist to this principle as well. You see, a close one on one relationship with Christ oftentimes brings people to you rather than you having to go to them. Why? Because they see in you something that is far better than what they?ve got.
ILLUSTRATION:
One Sunday on their way home from church, a little girl turned to her mother and said, “Mommy, the preacher?s sermon this morning confused me.” The mother said, “Oh? Why is that?” The little girl replied, “Well, he said that God is bigger than we are. Is that true?” The mother replied, “Yes, that?s true, honey.” “And he also said that God lives in us? Is that true, mommy?” Again the mother replied, “Yes.” “Well,” said the little girl, “If God is bigger than us and he lives in us, wouldn?t He show through?” (Autoillustrator.com, “EVANGELISM”)
Ultimately, effective evangelism comes down to how?
Christians RESPOND to the opportunities that God gives them to share their faith.
ILLUSTRATION:
A story is told about a man who was on a luxury liner and suddenly he falls overboard. He can?t swim and in desperation he begins calling for help. Now it just so happens that there are several would be rescuers on deck who witnessed the incident. The first man was a MORALIST. When he saw the man fall overboard he immediately reached into his briefcase and pulled out a book on how to swim. He now tossed it to him and he yelled: “Now brother, you read that and just follow the instructions and you will be all right.”
The man next to him happened to be an IDEALIST. When he saw the man fall overboard he immediately jumped into the water and began swimming all around the drowning man saying: “Now just watch me swim. Do as I do and you will be all right.”
The person next to him happened to be a member of the INSTITUTIONAL CHURCH. He looked upon the drowning man?s plight with deep concern. He yelled out: “Now, just hold on friend. Help is on the way. We are going to establish a committee and dialogue your problem. And then, if we have come up with the proper financing, we will resolve your dilemma.”
The next man on deck happened to be a representative of the school of POSITIVE THINKING. He yelled out to the drowning man: “Friend, this situation is not nearly as bad as you think. Think dry!”
The next man on board happened to be a REVIVALIST. By this time the drowning man was going down for the third time and desperately began waving his arm. Seeing that, the revivalist yelled out: “Yes brother, I see that hand, is there another? Is there another?”
And finally, the last man on deck, was a REALIST. He immediately plunged into the water, at the risk of his own life, and pulled the victim to safety.
Friends, there are a lot of people who are drowning in the darkness of this world and they are in desperate need of the light that Jesus Christ provides. To be effective evangelists not only do we need to realize that God has created opportunities for us to share/show our faith, not only do we need to recognize those opportunities, but all that is worthless unless we respond to those opportunities and act to let the light of Christ shine.
Again, the prerequisite of a one on one relationship with Christ is so necessary with this final principle. Jesus Christ is the only one by which men might be saved ? if we don?t know Him how can we talk about/show Him?
CONCLUSION
Matthew 9:35-38 (NIV)
35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
Just as Jesus went through all the towns and villages while he was physically here on earth I believe He is aware of the town of Hanover. I believe he sees all the people in this town and is filled with compassion on them. And finally, I believe he is echoing the same words to His followers in this community ? “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.”
My prayer is that the workers will become plentiful as more Christians begin to adopt the principles of effective evangelism and share their one on one relationship with Christ to a dark and needy world.