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Made for
a Mission - Evangelism by Reverend Murray Spackman, Vicar. Sunday 14th November, 2004 Well, Good Morning, Everyone!
I’m glad you're here. Would
you take out your outlines, in the pew sheet, for this the last week
of our 40 Days of Purpose. Over the
past weeks we’ve seen that
life is simply a preparation for eternity!
And God wants you to practice here on earth, those things we will
be doing for ever. First
there is worship, to know and love God.
The second is fellowship, to learn to love each
other. The third is discipleship, to learn to
become like Christ. And the fourth
was service, to learn to use my SHAPE, my abilities for God
in serving Him. Now the fifth purpose is
the only purpose you can only do here on earth.
We wont be able to do this in heaven. We wont need to do it
in heaven. And it is there on your outline.
You were made for a mission. In John 17, verse 18, Jesus said (let's follow it
together) – "In the same way that you gave Me a
mission in the world, I give them a mission in the world."
Notice the phrase "in the world."
Last week we talked about how you need a ministry in the church.
Well You also need a mission in the world!
In John 20:21, Jesus said, "As
the Father has sent me, I am sending you."
Now, what are we being sent to do? Well,
Paul is really specific. He
tell us in Acts 20, about his own mission. He says
"the most important thing is that I complete
my mission, the work the Lord Jesus gave me” – which is
– “to tell people the good news about God's grace.”
So write this down: my fifth
purpose is to share the
Good News. Once I
know that God is in control, that God made me to love me, that my
life isn't an accident, that life has a purpose, -- then God expects me to
share that with other people.
Everything we've been talking about for the last 40 days, God says,
“I want you to pass it on to others.” Now,
there's a word for this! -- It is the word "evangelism.” Evangelism is just the Greek word for “good
news.” And the Bible says
that once I know the Good News, that God loves me, has a
purpose and plan for my life and all the things we've talked about, God
wants me to pass it on to others, also.
That’s quite simply what Evangelism is - Sharing the Good News. Now that raises the question of
where or with whom am I supposed to share it?
Well, let's look at the next verse. Acts 1:8, let's read it
together: "You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,
and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the
ends of the earth." Now, when Jesus told this to his followers they were in
Jerusalem. So here's the
point. He is saying, first, I
want you to start at home, with
the people closest to you, right there in your own natural family, your
own community, your own city.
Then he says I want you to go beyond that circle to those
who may be different racially and culturally – like the Samaritans were.
Then, He says, “I want you to go to the ends of the earth.
I want you to reach everybody else.”
Now, notice -You don't have to defend
God, and you don't have to be a salesman for God.
All God wants you to do is to be a witness!.
A witness is somebody who just tells what they have seen. So God says, “I just want you
to tell other people what's happened in your life.”
And He says, “I want you to tell
the people close to you, the people who are FURTHER AWAY
but different, and then to everybody else.”
Now WHY does
He say this? Because, God says I want
the whole world to know the Good News of my love for
them. So, in more detail now,
how do you let God use you and bless you, so that you can
be fulfilling your Purpose. Well, you do three things. First, to complete
my God-given mission, I must share with those in my world. In Luke 8, we read about a man whom Jesus healed. After he was healed he wanted to follow Jesus
– but Jesus said- "No,..’Go
back home and tell people how much God has done for you.’ So that man
went all over town telling how
much Jesus had done for him.” Jesus
says the same thing to you! He says “I want you to share the Good News
with your friends and family , right
here in your own neighborhood, with anybody who crosses your path.- tell
them what I have done for you!”
So why don't we do
this? Well, a couple reasons.
One reason is because we believe the myth that people aren't
interested in spiritual issues. But nothing could be further from the truth. I believe that
society is far more open to the discussion of spiritual matters
than it was 30 years. A Gallup poll
in America recently said teens would rather talk about God, than sex, drugs or music. Opportunities
to share the Good News really are all around you.
You just have to be ready and open for them. You aren’t required
to try and ram religion down people’s throats – that’s definitely
not wanted – and you will find the conversation quickly come to an end
if you try it , but people are keen and willing to discuss spiritual
things if we will give them a chance. Let them have their say – and
then, when it’s appropriate simply say -“This is what God did for me
in my life.” I
would like to thank those of you who took the trouble some weeks back now,
to write out your story and
email or hand it to me. And
each of you who have come close to Jesus Christ, with some reflection,
should be able to say – “This is what He has done for me!”
That’s why you are still here
on this earth - because God
wants you to share that Good News with people who haven't yet heard. Look at the next verse. 2 Peter 3:9, "God doesn't
want anyone to be lost, but He wants all people to change their hearts and
lives!” As
long as there's one person on earth who doesn't know the Good News,
God says we’ve got to keep reaching out.
But it starts in our own home, in our own town, in our own
community, our Jerusalem. So, First, I must
share with those in my world.
But it’s not enough to just care about the people who are around
you. Number two,
I must dare to reach beyond
MY world. Love
demands I move beyond my comfort zone to people with different background,
different education, different language, different economics. The local
Mission Agencies like the City Mission and the Anglican Trust for Women
and Children help us to reach beyond our own natural communities and the
Overseas Missions agencies of our churches help us reach beyond our own
physical and national boundaries to reach out to those further afield.
African Enterprise which we will hear more about in a moment, when
Terrena is commissioned to be its N.Z. Director, was set up to help us
bring the gospel to those in Africa.
St.Paul tried to build bridges wherever he went between himself and
the culture of the people he was in. So he says to us, in I Corinthians 9:
"Whatever each person is like, I try to find common ground with
him so that he will let me tell him about Christ and let Christ save him."
And repeatedly in the Bible, we're told to reach out to others.
God has made us for a Mission
- to reach beyond our world and reach out to those who are
overlooked by others. Jesus said, “If you feed
people, you have fed Him. If
you clothe people, you have clothed Him.”
One day we're going to stand before God and He's going to do an
audit of our lives, and He's going to judge if we really learned to love,
or if it was just all talk. And
if it’s real and genuine love then it’s also going to cost time and
energy and effort and money- but
God has promised eternal rewards. Look at the next verse.
“Jesus replied, ‘Let me assure you that no one has ever
given up anything for love of Me, and to tell others the Good News, who
won't be given back a hundred times over.”
A hundred times over is 10,000%
interest on your investment. You're
not going to get those rates anywhere in the world, 10,000% interest!
God says, “Whatever you do for me is not in vain.”
It is not enough to just share with those in my
world; it is not even enough to reach beyond my
world. If I am going to be
like Jesus Christ, - then 3/ -- I
must care about the WHOLE
world ! And we have to care
because God cares about the whole world.
Mark 16, verse 15: “Jesus said to His followers, ‘Go
everywhere in the world and tell the Good News to everyone.’”
He says to His followers, go everywhere, because everybody deserves
to hear the Good News. Everybody needs Jesus. They
may mask it. They may pretend
and put up barriers, but in their heart they know they’re missing
something without God. Jesus said -
“If you insist on saving your life, you will lose it.
Only those who throw their lives away for My sake and the sake of
the Good News will ever know what it means to really live.”
When you get to heaven, is
anybody going to say “thank you for telling me the Good News”? You passed it on!
If we care, we must share.
When St.Paul was addressing a large crowd in Antioch – he
outlined how different people had each been part of God’s plan – and
when he came to King David he said ..
(- and it’s there on
your outline...)- “David
served God's purposes in his own time.”
That's my prayer for you. As
we come to the close of 40 days, at the end of this week, after our
celebration, my prayer is that you will continue to serve God's purpose in
your generation, in your time, And that's my prayer for you, and it is my prayer for me.
The most dangerous prayer you can pray is "God use me."
Let's bow our heads. “Father, you're calling all of
us to accept our mission from you, - which is to make You known! and I
pray you'll give all of us the courage to do that, for the rest of our
lives. Thank you for
the privilege of being invited to be a part of the greatest cause in the
Universe, the building of your family. Father, more than anything else, I
want to fulfill the purposes you made me for.
So today, I accept this fifth purpose, my mission to tell
others. I want you to use me, any time, any way, any place.
I want to bring others to you.
And I want to be a part of what you're doing in the world.
I want to build my life around Your eternal purposes, and I want to
help our church do the same. In
your name I pray. Amen.”
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