These 40 days have gone fast. We’ve looked at the fact that life is preparation for eternity. We’ll do four things in heaven forever. And God wants us to practice these things here on the earth.
Worship – knowing and loving God.
Fellowship – learning to love each other.
Discipleship – learning to become like Jesus.
Ministry – learning to serve others
That brings us to the 5th purpose- the only purpose we can only do on earth. We were made for a mission – evangelism. Evangelism is simply sharing the good news about Jesus. Once I know the good news – that God loves me in spite of my sin, that Jesus died to pay for my sins, that I am forgiven when I turn form sin and trust Jesus, that Jesus sets us free, and that God has a purpose and plan for my life – then God wants me to pass it on.
You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Acts 1:8
Look at that word witnesses. God’s not looking for defense attorneys. You don’t have to defend God. He’s not looking for salesmen. You don’t have to sell God. He’s looking for witnesses. A witness is someone who just says what he’s seen. God just wants you to tell people what’s happened to you. Tell people what He has done in your life.
Where? I start at home to the people close to me. I go to people nearby who are culturally different. And I go to everybody else.
Three places to be on mission:
1. I am made for a mission here… locally.
… you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem…Acts 1:8
I must share with those in my world. Where does your mission start? at home. Why don’t we do this? We think people aren’t interested in spiritual issues. But polls and surveys say that Americans are more interested in spiritual things now than ten years ago.
There are thousands of ways you can witness. Today we are going to introduce you to a little tool called “Steps to Peace with God.” It’s simple and to the point. You can carry it in your wallet or purse. All the verses are written out right there in the booklet. And it links you to a well-respected leader, Billy Graham. It’s non-threatening. It helps you share your story when you say, “Here’s how I came to know a peace with God.” I encourage you to share it with someone this week.
Why in the world should you take the time to share that with somebody else? It’s the reason your heart is still beating. We can worship in heaven. We can fellowship in heaven. We will be like Jesus in heaven. We will have a ministry of serving God in heaven. But what we can’t do is share the good news with people who don’t know it yet. The only reason we are left on this earth after we have come to Christ is because God wants us to share the good news with people who haven’t heard.
Every once in a while, people will say, “Greg, isn’t our church big enough?” Part of me agrees because my job was a lot easier when we had 100 people coming here.” We don’t grow for our benefit. We grow because more people need to be set free. “Aren’t we too big?” Wrong question! How can we help more people meet Jesus?” Right question! When we forget we were made for a mission – when we fail to evangelize – we are saying to the world, “Hey! I’m in. Best of luck to you. Hope you make it!”
2. I am made for a mission there… regionally.
It’s not enough for us to care about the people who are around us. We must dare to reach beyond our own little world. Love demands that we move beyond our comfort zone to people with different backgrounds, educations, languages, cultures.
… you will be My witnesses… in all Judea and Samaria… Acts 1:8
I don’t just seek to reach people who are like me. We build bridges, not walls. We must dare to reach beyond our world.
Next Sunday, we will have some boxes in the church lobby. What we want you to do is to fill them up with non-perishable food items. We are going to distribute these groceries to needy families in our own community, to the City Rescue Mission, to the Fishes & Loaves food pantry.
3. I am made for a mission everywhere… globally.
God cares about the whole world.
… you will be My witnesses… to the end of the earth. Acts 1:8
Jesus said, “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men. If you are not fishin’ you’re not followin’. He says, “Go everywhere because I want the whole world to hear the good news.”
We can reach our world through our missionaries. When you give to missions, you give to reach the ends of the earth. Not everyone can go to the mission field. But everyone can reach the mission field by giving to missions.
I am made for a mission here, there, and everywhere.
You’ve got four possible responses.
Moses – “Who me?”
Jonah – “Not me.”
Habakkuk – “Why me?”
Isaiah – “Send me.”
You will never regret saying “Send me” to God. Because God will use you to set people free. A point to ponder: My goal – to go to heaven and take as many people with me as possible.
Jimmy Carter, in his autobiography WHY NOT THE BEST? shared an incident that made him aware of his lack of witnessing to people. Each year Plains Baptist Church holds a one-week revival service. In preparation for the week, the congregation would venture into the community inviting non-churched members to the services. As a deacon, Carter participated in this exercise. He would visit a few homes, read Scriptures, have prayer, share some religious beliefs, then 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, he decided to make an impression on the audience by sharing with them how many home visits he made for God. He figured in the fourteen years since returning from the Navy he had conducted 140 visits. As Carter sat there, he reflected on the 1966 governor’s election. As he campaigned for the state’s highest office, 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 300,000 Georgians. Sitting in his study the truth became evident. “The comparison struck home–300,000 visits for myself in three months, and 140 visits for God in fourteen years!” Are we in the same boat as Jimmy Carter?
