Rules of Engagement
Notes
Transcript
I. Introduction
I. Introduction
Over the past couple weeks we have been on this journey of Staying the Course. We’ve looked at many different things but the overarching theme behind all of these recent messages is that there’s a lost and dying world out there who needs to know Jesus and we are just the ones to tell them!
Over the last couple weeks we’ve looked at a two part message called “What Legacy will We Leave behind” and we’ve looked at the Church of Thessalonica and how the Bible says that they “Sounded out the word of the Lord” and so today I want to continue on with this same thought process of sounding out the word of the Lord and I want to look at a message I’ve entitled “Rules of Engagement” and my prayer is that we walk away from here today with a greater knowledge of “How” to sound out the word of the Lord!
Because you see, you can know that you’re supposed to do something but if no one ever shows you how to do that thing, then chances are, it will either never get accomplished at all or it won’t get accomplished properly!
I believe that this is one of the major downfalls of the Church today. We tell people they need to tell others about Jesus but then we’re not explaining to them how to tell others about Jesus! With that being said, my goal into the foreseeable future is to help you, encourage you, educate you and express to you how to go about telling a lost person about the Lord Jesus and how to lead a lost person to Jesus Christ!
My goal is for you to feel confident when talking to someone about Jesus! My goal is for you to feel comfortable when talking to someone about Jesus! And my goal is for you to feel challenged to tell someone about Jesus!
So, if you have your Bible with you, I would ask you to turn with me to the Book of picking up in verse 13 and we’re going to use a couple verses here as our launching pad this morning.
II. What is Evangelism?
II. What is Evangelism?
Evangelism is the action of telling people the gospel.
Now, just so we’re all on the same page here, the word gospel means what? It means, “good news”, right? And what is the good news? That a savior named Jesus Christ, the one and only Son of God, came to this world to redeem us of our sins. He died on a cross, taking upon himself the sins of the whole world and three days later He gloriously arose from that grave defeating death, hell and the grave! He now sits at the right hand of the Father making intercession for all who believe upon him!
What is Evangelism?
What is Evangelism?
The good news in a nutshell is that you and I were destined for hell because of our sins but Jesus Christ came and paid the penalty for those sins and now, we who had no hope, can have hope in Him! He is our Saving Grace!
So, now that we know what the gospel is and we know that Evangelism is the action of telling people the gospel, then we can surmise that Evangelism is simply telling someone about the Lord Jesus Christ, right?
Now that we know what Evangelism is, let’s ask this question? Who is called to Evangelize?
III. Who is called to Evangelize?
III. Who is called to Evangelize?
It is every born again believers responsibility to tell someone the good news of Jesus Christ!
How shall they hear without a preacher?
Some of you may be saying well I’m not a preacher, your a preacher! Yes, I am a Preacher but you are as well! You see the word “preacher” used here in Verse 14 is the Greek word “kēryssō” and it simply means “to proclaim or tell!”
Anyone who has been affected by the good news of Jesus Christ ought to be a preacher and I want to prove this by showing you a couple instances in scripture where Jesus changed someone’s life and then they became a “preacher!”
Leper — — 44 See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. 45 But he went out, and began to publish (kēryssō — same word translated “preacher” in ) it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.
The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., ). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
Legion — — 19 Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. 20 And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.
Deaf Man w/ Speech Impediment — — And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it;
And I want to show you one more here where we can plainly see the effects of someone proclaiming the name of Jesus!
The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., ). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
Woman at the Well — , — 29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? 39 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did. 40 So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his own word; 42 And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.
Now this passage doesn’t contain the word “kerysso” but it carries the same idea! Someone’s life was changed, they went and preached the word to someone else and then other people’s lives were changed in the process!
In order for others to come to know Jesus and how good He is, we must tell them and that’s the tone that these Verses here in Romans Chapter 10 set before us!
Verse 13 says — whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved
Verse 14a says — in order to call upon Him, they need to believe in Him
Verse 14b says — in order to believe in Him, they need to have heard of Him
Verse 14c says — in order to hear of Him, someone needs to tell them about Him
That’s where you and I come in! For those of us who have been born again, it’s our job to tell people about him for if we don’t tell them, they will never hear; if they never hear, they will never believe; if they never believe, they will never call and if they never call upon the Lord Jesus Christ, then they will never be saved!
If we don’t tell them, they will never hear; if they never hear, they will never believe; if they never believe, they will never call and if they never call upon the Lord Jesus Christ then they will never be saved!
Martin Luther — It is the duty of every Christian to be Christ to his neighbor.
And I’d dare say the majority of us sitting here today and watching online know that evangelism is our responsibility but we’re simply not doing it. And because we’re not telling the people we know about Jesus, many of them are dying and going to hell every single day!
A man by the name of said, Rico Tice — It’s no accident that you know the people you do. It’s no accident that they’re in your path. They need the gospel. You know the gospel. God wants them to hear the gospel.
So, we’ve looked at what it means to Evangelize and Who is called to Evangelize. Let’s finish it out by looking at how we are to go about Evangelizing.
The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., ). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., ). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
So, we’ve looked at what it means to Evangelize and Who is called to Evangelize. Let’s finish it out by looking at
The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., ). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
IV. How are We to Evangelize?
IV. How are We to Evangelize?
1. We are to Pray for Opportunities — ()
1. We are to Pray for Opportunities — ()
Notice what Paul says here in Verse 18-20. “18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; 19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”
The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., ). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 For which I am an ambassador xin bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”
Paul asks for the Ephesian believers to pray for him. He asks that they would pray for God to give him the words to say and then he asks that they would pray for God to give him the strength to speak boldly!
Isn’t this the exact same problems that WE struggle with when it comes to sharing the gospel?
Most of us struggle with evangelism for one of two reasons. We worry that we’re either going to say the wrong thing and we won’t know what to say at all, so we just don’t say anything!
Instead, what we need to do, is ask God to give us opportunities! And not only provide them to us but when those opportunities come, that He’ll give us the words to say and the boldness to say them!
The next day he was told to try again. He said, "Do you know what I'm going to say?" This time they replied, "Yes." So he said, "Then you don't need me to tell you." Again he fled.
He tried a third morning, saying, "Do you know what I'm going to say?" Half his hearers shouted, "Yes!" and half shouted, "No!" "Ah," said Brother John, "then let those who know tell those who don't know," and again he fled.
I’m thankful we have verses like this to encourage us and help us understand that even the greatest missionary this world has ever seen struggled sometimes when it came to evangelism!
The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., ). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
Goes to show that we all need divine help to overcome our personal weaknesses and that evangelism isn’t only the work of people but it’s also the work of God!
At first, his hearers sat in silence. Then the words hit home: "Let those who know tell those who don't know."
It’s God who opens doors and gives us opportunities to share the gospel of His Son Jesus with others!
So, first We are to Pray for Opportunities, Next, We have to Take the Opportunities when they’re presented to us!
2. We are to Take Opportunities — ()
2. We are to Take Opportunities — ()
Here’s Paul and Silas and they’re stuck in innermost part of a Philippian prison. They’ve been beaten and bruised but their spirits are not broken! Beaten half to death and no doubt recapping the exciting events of the day they begin to praise God!
I can just see these two ole boys, setting side by side with their backs up against the wall, hands and feet fast in the stocks. Blood running down their backs from the lashings they had gotten earlier in the day. Silence controls the room. Then all of a sudden Paul leans over to Silas and says, “did you see the looks on those guys faces when they realized their little slave girl had been set free from that spirit that possessed her?”
A little grin comes across the face of Silas and he says, “Oh yeah! That was awesome! Worth every stripe we just got!”
Then Paul says, “yes it was!” Then they break out with amazing grace and start praying and praising God and no doubt all these other prisoners thought these two guys had lost their mind that is until the whole prison slowly began to shake! Then, the louder they sang, the stronger the vibrations got until even the prison doors couldn’t contain the praise that was coming forth from the inner section of that prison!
The doors sling open wide and everyone looks at each other like, “what in the world!” Thing about it was, what they were experiencing wasn’t from this world, amen!
The earthquake continues to shake so much that the foundations of the place even begin to shake! The jailor fast asleep gets shook so hard that he probably fell out of the bed and when he jumps up to come in and see what’s happening, to his surprise, every door in the prison is standing wide open! For fear that all the prisoners had escaped, he draws his sword and would have killed himself, that is until Paul cries out in the darkness and says, “Don’t hurt yourself. We’re all still here!”
The jailor comes in, literally shaking in his sandals, and says, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved!”
Paul and Silas tell the man to believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ and guess what, the jailor got saved! Not only him but the Bible records that the jailor took Paul and Silas to his house where they shared the gospel with his family and his whole house got saved!
Now, to the entire reason behind why we looked at this passage. Paul and Silas had a perfect opportunity to escape when those doors flung open, didn’t they? I mean they could have just high-tailed it out of there but instead, they looked at each other and said, “Thank you Lord! Let’s get back to work!”
They could have probably left after leading the jailor to Christ but instead they took the opportunity given unto them to lead not only a man but his whole family to Christ! And then, to beat it all, went back to prison!
I’ll bet you them fellows were thinking to themselves… “well, we just led the jailor and his whole family to the Lord, but I bet you there are a bunch of those prisoners who have some questions about what took place here tonight so let’s go back and see if we can’t snatch some more out of Satan’s grasp!”
I mean what do you do with a man who willingly puts himself back in prison to lead to the lost prisoners to Christ! The only thing you can do is try to kill him and believe me, Satan tried multiple times but every time he tried to destroy Paul, God would deliver him!
He made the most of every situation he was in, he took every opportunity that the Lord gave him to tell people about Jesus and we need to do the same thing! Instead of looking for the fastest route of escape, we need to look at every situation that comes our way as an opportunity to share Christ with someone!
750 Engaging Illustrations — There was an old man, walking the beach one morning at dawn and he noticed a young man ahead of him picking up starfish and flinging them into the sea. Catching up with the young fellow, he asked what he was doing. The answer was that the stranded starfish would die if left until the morning sun. "But the beach goes on for miles, and there are millions of starfish," said the old man. "How can your effort make a difference?" The young man looked at the starfish in his hand and then threw it to safety in the waves and said, "It makes a difference to this one!"
What if God put the next Billy Graham or the next Mother Teresa, in your path to share the gospel with but you didn’t take it? I believe one day when we get to heaven God’s going to show us all the missed opportunities we had here on earth! Determine in your heart today that you’re going to take every opportunity that God sends your way from now on to tell someone about His Son!
So, We are to Pray for Opportunities. We are to Take the Opportunities given to us. And lastly this morning, We are to Make Opportunities.
3. We are to Make Opportunities — ()
3. We are to Make Opportunities — ()
King James Version Chapter 17
16 kNow while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. 17 Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him.
sdfs
Paul gets run out of Thessalonica and Berea and gets brought down to Athens. While Paul waits for Silas and Timothy to come reunite with him there, he decides to take a stroll through the town and check things out but the further into the city he traveled the more upset he got!
King James Version Chapter 17
16 kNow while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. 17 Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him.
The Bible says there that “his spirit was stirred in him.” This phrase means he was angry but it was an anger that built up rather than to come on all at once. It was like the further he went, the more upset he got!
Everywhere he turned, there was an idol and a temple for every false god under the sun! The Bible says, “he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.” The phrase “wholly given” means “to be full of.” They knew of every God but the One True God!
So instead of waiting for an opportunity to tell people about Jesus, he goes and makes an opportunity! Notice the Bible says there, he went to the synagogue first. Surely at least someone there knew of Jehovah. Then he went to the devout persons and finally he made his way to the market place and began telling every person there he came in contact with about the gospel of Jesus Christ!
It’d be like us walking through Walmart as we get our groceries and every person we come in contact with, telling them about Jesus.
Paul decided he’d had enough! If they could worship every other so-called god under the sun then it wouldn’t hurt anything for them to know his God as well! So, he took the initiative and began telling all he could about Jesus and when it was all said and done, his determination actually gained him the opportunity to share the gospel with the most elect people in Athens and you know what happened?
The Bible records there, at the end of his speech after telling them about God, “certain men clave unto him and believed!”
Once again, people came to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ because one man decided in his heart that God was important enough to share with a lost and dying world!
Paul Made and Opportunity and when we find ourselves in those situations where it seems that everyone else around us is lost and undone, guess what, we need to make an opportunity to tell them about Jesus as well!
I love what one writer said...
1001 Quotes — The gospel is good news only if it arrives in time.
V. Closing
V. Closing
As we come to a close...
Billy Graham — THE EVANGELISTIC HARVEST is always urgent. The destiny of men and of nations is always being decided. Every generation is strategic. We are not responsible for the past generation, and we cannot bear the full responsibility for the next one; but we do have our generation. God will hold us responsible as to how well we fulfill our responsibilities to this age and take advantage of our opportunities.
Rico Tice — It’s no accident that you know the people you do. It’s no accident that they’re in your path. The need the gospel. You know the gospel. God wants them to hear the gospel.
Martin Luther — It is the duty of every Christian to be Christ to his neighbor.
1001 Quotes — The church that does not evangelize will fossilize.
Last week we talked about leaving our mark on history for ages to come. If we want that to happen Church, then there is one thing that must happen! No if’s, and’s, but’s or might’s about it, it must happen!
We must all, every born again believer sitting here today, become evangelists of the Lord Jesus Christ!
I want to close by telling you a little story about a fellow named Brother John.
Brother John — Brother John was a timid man who dreaded speaking in public. So when the day come that it was his turn to give the devotional message he was terrified! With his knees trembling and voice shaking, he faced his listeners and said, "Do you know what I'm going to say this morning?" "No," answered the audience. He then said, "Neither do I," and he ran from the room.
The next day he was told to try again. He said, "Do you know what I'm going to say?" This time they replied, "Yes." So he said, "Then you don't need me to tell you." And again he fled.
The third morning rolls around and he’s told to give it one more shot. He stands and says to the congregation once again, "Do you know what I'm going to say?" This time half his hearers shouted, "Yes!" and half shouted, "No!" "Ah," said Brother John, "then let those who know tell those who don't know," and again he ran away.
At first, his hearers sat in silence. Then the words that he had spoken hit home: "Let those who know tell those who don't know."
We have a duty and a responsibility to share the good news of Jesus Christ with people who are on a one way street headed straight to hell. God calls us to do many different things in this life but first and foremost we are all called on to engage a lost and dying world with the gospel of Jesus Christ! We are called to be Evangelists!
A man said to a friend, "I hear you dismissed your pastor. What was wrong?" The friend said, "Well, he kept telling us we're all going to hell." The first man then asked, "What does the new pastor say?" The friend replied, "The new pastor says we're going to hell, too." "So what's the difference?" asked the first man. "Well," said the friend, "the difference is that when the previous pastor said it, he sounded like he was glad about it; but when the new man says it, he sounds like it is breaking his heart."
Illustrations for Biblical Preaching.
1001 Quotes, Illustrations, and Humorous Stories: For Preachers, Teachers, and Writers.
The church that does not evangelize will fossilize.
1001 Quotes, Illustrations, and Humorous Stories: For Preachers, Teachers, and Writers.
The gospel is good news only if it arrives in time.
1001 Quotes, Illustrations, and Humorous Stories: For Preachers, Teachers, and Writers.
Rusty Stevens, a Navigators director in Virginia Beach, Virginia, tells this story: As I feverishly pushed the lawn mower around our yard, I wondered if I'd finish before dinner. Mikey, our 6-year-old, walked up and, without even asking, stepped in front of me and placed his hands on the mower handle. Knowing that he wanted to help me, I quit pushing. The mower quickly slowed to a stop. Chuckling inwardly at his struggles, I resisted the urge to say, "Get out of here, kid. You're in my way," and said instead, "Here, Son. I'll help you." As I resumed pushing, I bowed my back and leaned forward, and walked spread-legged to avoid colliding with Mikey. The grass cutting continued, but more slowly, and less efficiently than before, because Mikey was "helping" me. Suddenly, tears came to my eyes as it hit me: This is the way my heavenly Father allows me to "help" him build his kingdom! I pictured my heavenly Father at work seeking, saving, and transforming the lost, and there I was, with my weak hands "helping." My Father could do the work by himself, but he doesn't. He chooses to stoop gracefully to allow me to co-labor with him. Why? For my sake, because he wants me to have the privilege of ministering with him.
750 Engaging Illustrations.
The next day he was told to try again. He said, "Do you know what I'm going to say?" This time they replied, "Yes." So he said, "Then you don't need me to tell you." Again he fled.
He tried a third morning, saying, "Do you know what I'm going to say?" Half his hearers shouted, "Yes!" and half shouted, "No!" "Ah," said Brother John, "then let those who know tell those who don't know," and again he fled.
At first, his hearers sat in silence. Then the words hit home: "Let those who know tell those who don't know."