Surprising the World
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Turn with me to the fifth chapter of 2 Corinthians.
What is the fastest growing religion in the world right now? The fastest growing religion is Islam. Over the next century the global Muslim population is expected to continue growing at a faster rate than the non-Muslim populations. Why? How are they growing so fast? The answer is simple – childbirth. Muslims have more babies than anyone else. They of course have converts – non-Muslims becoming Muslims – but the number of people leaving Islam is equal to the number joining so that’s not the reason they are growing. They are growing so fast because they have lots of children who grow up and remain Muslims.
Growth through reproduction works – it certainly is for Muslims – but Jesus has called us to more than this. Paul wrote:
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:17-21)
God loves the world and doesn’t want to see anyone perish so he sends us to tell them about Jesus so he has called us to be his ambassadors. He has called every Christian to reach out to the lost.
Last week we finished our series on the “I Am” statements of Jesus. In those seven passages Jesus tells us who he is and what he’s like. This morning I want to start a new series on us showing and telling the world what Jesus is like. I’m titling the series: Surprising the World – Fulfilling the Mission of God.
We’ve done series like this before so I doubt that I’m going to say anything you’ve never heard before. But that’s not why I’m preaching this series. I’m preaching it because we need – and more specifically I need – to constantly be reminded of our calling to share the gospel with a lost and dying world. We are called to be witnesses for Jesus. Jesus made that clear before he died and again after his resurrection that we are to be his witnesses.
I know even before I start this series that some are going to be excited about it. They are going to make sure they are here for each message in this series and they’ll be sitting on the edge of their seats eager to hear how they can be more effective witnesses for Jesus. However, those people are in the minority. Most people – and I’m sure you know which category you fit into – will not get excited about another series on evangelism. I put myself in this latter category. I hear sermons or workshops on how to share the gospel and I beat myself up for not doing better. But that’s not what I want to do in this series. Over the next five weeks we are going to look at five habits we can develop with the overarching theme that we are to live in such a way that people ask us about our faith.
Turn to the fourth chapter of Colossians and we’ll spend the rest of our time there.
Most Christians, even the majority of Christians, are intimidated by the thought of talking to someone about how to become a Christian. What I want us to understand is that while we are all called to evangelize for Jesus, we are not all called to be evangelists. While the words are similar, there’s a difference between evangelism and being an evangelist. Evangelism is telling others about Jesus. An evangelist is a position in the church. In Ephesians 4 we read that it is one of the leadership roles God has given the church. Not everyone is called to be an evangelist even though we have all been called to evangelize. Every believer has been commissioned to be a witness for Jesus and tell those who don’t know Jesus what Jesus has done for them.
In this passage we are going to read from Colossians 4 we find both of these roles: evangelism and the evangelist. Paul was certainly an evangelist. In these verses Paul talks about his role as an evangelist and the role of the believers who are not evangelists but are called to evangelism. So if we are not evangelists or our knees start knocking every time we think of sharing our faith, what are we supposed to do? Let read what Paul has to say.
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. (Colossians 4:2-6)
First, we are to pray for evangelists.
Paul asks the Colossians to pray for him. Paul, as an evangelist, will be able to go places they will not be able to go and speak to people they won’t be able to speak to. Paul has been able to travel throughout the Roman Empire sharing the gospel and starting churches. The majority of believers can’t do that. So what are they called to do? They are called to pray for those like Paul who do. Paul asks his readers to pray for him and he makes two specific prayer requests.
One, Paul says to ask God to provide opportunities for him to share his faith. An example is when Paul traveled to Athens. As he was talking to people in the marketplace he was overheard by a philosopher and invited to speak to a group of philosophers who met nearby. That was a unique opportunity God gave him to speak before some influential men of the city. Paul instructs the Colossians to ask God to give him more opportunities like that one.
What we need to remember is that Paul was a prisoner when he wrote his letter to the Colossians with this request. He had been arrested, beaten, stoned and left for dead, and was now in chains again all because he had been telling people about Jesus. And here he is asking for more opportunities to talk to others about Jesus.
We might wonder just how many opportunities he might have considering he was a prisoner, but we might just be surprised. Because he was a prisoner Paul was able to share his testimony to the Felix (the governor of Judea) and King Agrippa (the ruler over Galilee). He would never have been able to have a personal meeting with either of those men had he not been arrested. Paul later wrote to the Philippians how he’d been able to share the gospel with every guard in the palace where he was being held in Rome. God had indeed answered Paul’s prayer for opportunities to share the gospel.
Two, Paul says to ask God that he would help him share the gospel plainly so that it might be understood.
You’ve probably had a teacher try to explain something to you and you were more confused when they finished than you were before they started. Or maybe you’ve had someone try to explain how do to something on the computer. They showed you how, but they did it so fast there was no way to follow what they were doing. It was a very simple task for them, but the way they explained it didn’t help you at all.
When sharing the gospel we need to be able to present in such a way that it can be understood or else we’re wasting our time. It doesn’t matter if what we’re saying makes sense to us, does it make sense to the person we’re talking to?
This was Paul’s prayer. He wanted what he was saying to make sense and be understood. Paul talked to a variety of people from of a variety of places with a variety of backgrounds. He talked to governors, kings, guards, slaves, and everyone in between. He talked to older people and to the young. He talked to Jews and Greeks, those in Asia Minor, Greece, and Rome. All had different needs and different levels of understanding. There was no way Paul could know what would help them most, but God did. So Paul instructs the Colossians to ask God to give him clearly present the good news of God’s love to everyone he came in contact with.
If you are not an evangelist the first thing you can do is pray. You may not be able to speak in front of a crowd of people about the gospel but you can pray. You can pray for the missionaries we support as a congregation. We’ll be having our Faith Promise Rally soon so I’m sure that list will be reviewed. You can pray for missionaries we know but may not support financially. You can pray for Shannon and Sherry McGreedy as they prepare to plant a church in Boone. You may not be able to go to a foreign country or start a new church but you can pray for those who do.
Second, live a questionable life.
When I say live a questionable life I’m not saying live a life that is wrong or sinful. I’m talking about living such a good life that when people see you they will ask questions about why you live the way you do. In the weeks to come we’ll talk more about this, but that’s what Paul is talking about here. Live in such good lives that people take notice. And then he lists three specific ways.
One, we are to act wisely. Don’t be a hindrance to others believing in Jesus. In other words, don’t be a pain in the neck with the way you share your faith or give credibility to the world’s stereotype of a Christian.
Charles Chu tells the following story:
A few years ago I had a chance to become a hero, but it turned out to be an embarrassing moment. I was in China on a tour group. Our tour bus was on the way to a scenic spot with another tour bus in front of us. It was snowing, and the road was muddy.
Suddenly the bus ahead of us skidded off the road and tipped over on its side in a rice field. I quickly jumped off my tour bus, ran to the overturned bus, and jumped on top. Windows were shattered, and people inside were obviously hurt. The emergency door was facing upward, so I grabbed the handle of the emergency door and pulled. The door did not open. I kept pulling hard, but it wouldn’t budge.
By this time, others had come and were pulling people out through the windows, so I gave up on the door and joined them. After I moved away from the door, another man went over to the door. He turned the door handle, and the door opened easily.
I suddenly realized why the door did not open for me: I had been standing on the door as I tried to open it. With good intentions to save lives, I had become the biggest obstacle blocking the door of rescue.
Sometimes those who want to lead others to Christ become the biggest obstacle to their salvation. Remember that people are watching you. Don’t give people an excuse to reject the gospel because of the way you act.
Two, live with urgency. We need to capitalize on every chance and use every moment God give us. Time and opportunities are not unlimited.
Former president Jimmy Carter, in his autobiography Why Not the Best?, shares that every year his church in Plains Georgia held revival meetings. In preparation for the meetings the leaders of the congregation would go out into the community inviting non-churched members to the services. As a deacon, Carter says he always participated in these door-to-door visits. Cater would visit a few homes, read some scripture, have a prayer, share some religious beliefs, and then would talk about the weather and crops and depart. Carter wrote, “I was always proud enough of this effort to retain a clear conscience throughout the remainder of the year.”
One day Carter was asked to speak at a church in Preston, Georgia. The topic he was assigned was “Christian Witnessing.” As Carter sat in his study writing the speech, he decided he would make a great impression upon the audience by sharing with them how many home visits he made for God. He figured in the fourteen years he had made a hundred and forty such visits. Carter proudly wrote the number in his script. As he sat there, he began to reflect on the 1966 campaign to become governor. As he campaigned he spent sixteen to eighteen hours a day trying to reach as many voters as possible. At the conclusion of the campaign, Carter calculated that he met more than three hundred thousand Georgians. Sitting in his study, the truth became evident. Carter wrote in his autobiography, “The comparison struck me – 300,000 visits for myself in three months and 140 visits for God in fourteen years!”
Do we use our time wisely to make a difference for God?
Three, we are to speak graciously. To be “full of grace” basically means to be pleasant. Before we can convince people to follow Jesus we need to friendly and show the love of God. That means making friends and building rapport with unbelievers. Remember that we are to be witnesses, not judges or prosecuting attorneys.
That also means that we are able to speak intelligently. We need to have answers ready for those who challenge or are curious about their faith. We need to have answers for such common questions as:
How can a loving God allow evil and suffering to exist?
Don’t miracles contradict science?
If evolution explains life, why is God needed?
How could a loving God torture people in hell?
Isn’t it offensive to claim that Jesus is the only way to heaven?
How can you be sure that you can trust the Bible?
If we are serious about our faith then we need to know enough about our faith to give an answer for some of the questions we know people are going to ask. We won’t be able to answer every question, but that’s not an excuse for not being able to answer any question.
In the first few hundred years after the resurrection of Jesus the number of his followers grew exponentially. It was by far the fastest growing religion in the world. How did that happen? It wasn't because Christians were having more babies than anyone else. Nor was it because every believer spent their evenings and weekends of street corners proclaiming the gospel. It was because of the life style these believers lived. It was because of the love and concern they showed which, was a complete surprise to their pagan neighbors.
The church began with twelve – the apostles. It grew to five hundred – the number who saw Jesus at one time after his resurrection, multiplied to three thousand on Pentecost, within days was at five thousand, and three hundred years later the Emperor Julian feared Christianity would take over the empire – which it did.
If the kingdom of God is going to continue growing in the world today – or even in Elizabethton – it will be because of believers like us who have taken seriously the call to evangelize.