The Purpose of The Church - Evangelism

Matthew 28:18-20

 

Have you ever seen the movie “Back to the Future?”

           In the story, Marty McFly goes back in time to the year 1955.

                      To make sure that his mom falls in love with his dad.

 

           And there’s a scene where Marty tries to get his dad to ask her out.

                      And the dad says, “You mean on a date?”

                      And Marty says, “Yeah.”

 

And the dad says, “Gee, I don’t know, Marty. I mean, what if she says no? What if she laughs at me? I just don’t think I can take that kind of a rejection. You know what I mean?”

 

                      And Marty looked down and said, “Yes. Yes, I know what you mean.”

The truth is that we all know what he means.

           No one likes to be rejected.

                      It hurts.

 

           It makes you feel like you’re not good enough.

                      That everyone is better than you.

                                 That you’re a loser.



What is one of the most intimidating things God calls us to do as Christians?

           What is the one thing that we are asked to do that sends shivers up most of our spines?
                      That causes us to fear rejection?


           Evangelism is one of the most intimidating of the purposes of the church.

                      The command to tell everyone about Jesus.

 

           To evangelize means to share the good news about Jesus with other people.
                      In Matthew 28:18-20 we are called to evangelize the world.

                      We are called to reach out to the whole world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

In order for us to be able to tell people about Jesus, we must be able to attract people.

           This is true of the church and of each of us individually.
           As a church we can have all the programs that look good,

                      but if we do not follow the principles that Jesus used to attract people,

                                 we will not get the opportunity to use the wonderful programs.


I want to focus in on what we need to do in order to attract people, so that we can share the gospel with them.              

           How do we attract people?

 


For Evangelism to be successful we must….

I. WE MUST HAVE LOVE FOR PEOPLE.

When you study the ministry of Jesus, He attracted crowds because of His love for them.

MATTHEW 14:13-14 Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the people heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities. When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.

           Jesus and the Rich young ruler.

MARK 10:21 Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, "One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."

MATTHEW 9:36-38 Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. "Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest."

When Jesus looked at the people, He looked at them through the eyes of Love & Compassion.

           Desiring above all else, to save them from their sin.

           1TIMOTHY 2:4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Jesus did not look at the people like they were a bunch of losers, but instead He looked at them with love.

                      He did not despise them.

                                 He pitied them.

Correct motives flow from a correct attitude.
           Compassion.

                      This was God’s motive for sending Jesus.

 


A. J. Gordon once said, I have long since ceased to pray, “Lord Jesus, have compassion on a lost world!” I remember the day and the hour when I seemed to hear the Lord rebuking me for making such a prayer. He seemed to say to me, “I have had compassion upon a lost world, and now it is for you to have compassion.”

 

           Compassion is the ability to put yourself in the other person’s shoes.
                      Burdened, that is how the Bible describes Jesus as He looked at people.

                                 He had a heavy heart for the lost.

 

                      We are to see non-Christian’s as victims of the enemy,

                                 instead of seeing them as the enemy.



Listen to what Paul says in ROMANS 9:1-3. In the presence of Christ, I speak with utter truthfulness—I do not lie—and my conscience and the Holy Spirit confirm that what I am saying is true. 2 My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief 3 for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them. NLB


           Paul had a real burden/heart for the Jewish people.

 

Yes, they had persecuted him, tired to kill him, put him in prison, but he still saw them as sinners in need of the salvation of Jesus Christ, not as the enemy.

 

“Compassion costs. It is easy enough to argue, criticize and condemn, but redemption is costly, and comfort draws from the deep. Brains can argue, but it takes heart to comfort.”
Chadwick, Samuel


           Paul was excited about Jesus and His salvation.

                      Paul was zealous about the cause of Christ, to bring salvation to all the world.

                                 So as Jesus loved people, so did Paul.



Christian’s should be the most loving, caring people the world has ever seen.
           Jesus love for us and our love for Him, should motivate us to share the Good News of Jesus.

 

2 Corinthians 5:14 (NCV) The love of Christ controls us, because we know that One died for all, so all have died.

 

 

Some time ago, a teenager, Arthur Hinkley, lifted a 3,000-pound tractor with bare hands.

           He wasn’t a weight lifter, but his friend, Lloyd Bachelder, 18,

                      was pinned under a tractor on a farm near Rome, Maine.

 

Hearing Lloyd scream, Arthur somehow lifted the tractor enough for Lloyd to wriggle out.
Love was the real motivation.

Our motive, our attitude will translate into how we relate to the non-Christian..
           If we are motived by the love of Christ, then...


           • It will help us not to be obnoxious
           • It will help us not to be hostile
           • It will help us to not share out of obligation.
           • It will help us to not share to exalt self.
           • It will help us not to be judgmental
           • It will help us not to be fearful.
           • It will help us not to be discouraged with God’s timetable.
           • It will help us to be tactful.
           • It will help us to be prepared.

1 Peter 3:15 (NIV) But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

           • It will help us not to be lazy.
           • It will help us not to be guilty of direct disobedience to Christ’s direct command.


Christ’s love for us, and our love for Him, will change our attitude about the lost,

           and will motive us to share the Good News of Jesus with them.



For Evangelism to be successful we must….

II. We Must Meet Peoples Needs.

How many people want to hear a sermon when they are hungry or sick?

           In Psychology class, we learned about this thing called Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

 

Basically it says, we have different levels of needs, and until one level is satisfied, we cannot get past that level.

                      He draws it as a pyramid.
At the bottom are the physiological needs

                                            (air, food, water, sleep, etc basic human needs)
                                 then you have safety and security
                                 followed by loving and belonging,
                                 Esteem and self-esteem
                                 Self-actualization (self fulfillment)

           Now, a person is usually only concerned with the level they are at.


                      If your safety is threatened, you cannot worry about feeling loved,

                                 or if you are starving, you are not worried about self-esteem.


I am not promoting Maslow, but I do think there is some truth in what he says.

           Jesus knew this principle also.

           What did Jesus do for people before He taught them?

                      He took care of needs.

                      He found out what their needs were and addressed them.


           Jesus earned the right to be heard!
 

 

A pastor had gathered a selected group of workers to train them to witness for Jesus.


           A young worker was complaining to a veteran caller, about one of the people he had visited.

“I’ tried to tell him about Jesus, I tried to tell him about the love Jesus had for Him. I tried to tell him that Jesus was interested in helping him to live a life of grace, to help him with the burdens he was caring. But the man replied in this manner, " I am a poor old man and must stagger under this load of firewood that I had so much trouble in cutting. I can feel nothing of the love of God. I can feel nothing of God caring for my burdens. I can feel nothing of his grace for me.”

The visitor turned to the young; depressed visitor and said,

“My son, if you would have offered to carry his load of ’wood for him. He would have believed in your words because he would have not only have heard about ’the love of God for him, but he would have seen an illustration of it in you.”



When you look at the ministry of Jesus and the Apostles, you will see that they did not try to cram a message down people’s throat, without regard for their needs.

Matthew 15:30-32 (NIV) Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. 31 The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel. 32 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way."

 

Luke 6:18 (NIV) who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by evil spirits were cured,

 

John 6:2 (NIV) and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miraculous signs he had performed on the sick.



Jesus did not make people feel bad, because they had a need.

           He did not judge some needs, as being more legitimate than others.
Jesus often met a felt need in order to establish a beachhead for evangelism in a person’s life.

                      A hungry, hurting person does not want to hear a message,

                                 unless you earn the right to share it with them.

           Studies have shown that 70%-90% of all people who come to Church,

                      do so because a friend or relative invites them.


                      This happens because a friend or family member has the respect of that person,

                                 because they have been there for them, in the good times and the bad.

In James 2:14-17 (NIV) we read: What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
 


A young boy, on an errand for his mother, had just bought a dozen eggs.

           Walking out of the store, he tripped and dropped the sack.

                      All the eggs broke, and the sidewalk was a mess.


           The boy tried not to cry.


           A few people gathered to see if he was OK, and to tell him how sorry they were.


           In the midst of the words of pity, one man handed the boy a quarter.

Then he turned to the group and said, "I care 25 cents worth. How much do the rest of you care?"


           James 2:16 points out, that words don’t mean much, if we have the ability to do more.


                      Evangelism of the lost starts with meeting their needs!

For Evangelism to be successful we must….

III. We Must Present the Gospel in a Practical and Interesting way.

Jesus attracted crowds by teaching in an interesting practical way.
Matthew 7:28 (NIV) When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching,

 

Mark 12:37 (NIV) David himself calls him 'Lord.' How then can he be his son?" The large crowd listened to him with delight.

           Jesus preached the TRUTH.

                      We can attract people with the truth, when it is presented in love.
 

 

When cartoonist Charles Schulz dined in the home of a friend, the host remarked that he needed something to setoff his dinner jacket.

He disappeared and returned a few minutes with a heavy chain from which a medallion hung. Across the face of the medallion were the letters “love”.


           Schultz fingered it for a few minutes, and then handed it back.


           With a wry “Charley Brown” smile on his face, he said,

“It’s just too hard for me. Do you have one that says, LIKE?”


           In his honesty, Schultz pointed out an important truth.

                      No matter how necessary it is, love is not easy.


                      Only God can really turn our “likes” to “loves.”.


           Jesus accepted people, but He did not accept their actions.

                      Jesus always confronted their sin in a loving way.

Jesus related truth to life.
Jesus used everyday language.

                      He was understood by the common people.

                      He did not break into some jargon that no one could understand without a dictionary.

           Jesus used everyday situations to relay the truth to people.
                      A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.
 


CONCLUSION:


Let us be a church that loves people,

           a church that is willing to meet people’s needs,

                      and a church that presents the Word of God in an interesting and relevant way.

           We do not have an option when it comes to reaching out to the lost.
                      As a Christian, as a follower of Christ,

                                 each one of us has a responsibility to reach out to the lost.


 

Most people have a neighbor that does not belong to Jesus.

           We can start with our neighbor.

                      If not a neighbor, then a co-worker.


           Show them you care about them.

                      Look for ways to help meet some need in their life.

                                 When the time comes, talk to them about Jesus.


 

If we all did that, then at best we will make more disciples.

           At worst, at least when a person dies outside of Jesus,

                      they will not be able to say that no one cared enough to share.


Let us be a church that loves people so much, that we hurt when we know someone is lost.

Luke 15:7 (NIV) I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.