Telling Others
Romans 10:13-15, "For ’Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’14 But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how
can they believe in him they have never heard about him? And how can they hearabout him unless someone tells them? 15 And how will anyone go and tell tehm
without being sent? That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, ’How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.’"
God gave his own Son, Jesus Christ, to suffer like we suffer, to be tempted like we are tempted, to live a perfect life, to be killed by crucifixion, and to be
raised again to rule forever. He did this great thing so that we can have a relationship with him. But there is a huge dilemma. Only those who believe can have this relationship. If nobody ever believed in Jesus and believed because of what God did, it would have been for nothing. Christ would have died in vain.
And of course, as this verse makes very clear, the only way people can believe that God did this for them, is if they know about it. Now, since he can do
anything, God could have chosen any way he wanted to let people know about Jesus. He could’ve formed the stars to spell out the Gospel. He could have
written in the sky, before airplanes were even around to do that. He could have carved the good news into the sides of rocks. He could have sent all of his
obedient angels out to tell everyone. And since God is so far more intelligent than we are, he could have come up with many other ways, that I can’t even think of. However, God chose only one means of spreading this Good News. That one way was that the believers would tell others.
There is a legend which recounts the return of Jesus to glory after his time on earth. Even in heaven he bore the marks of his earthly pilgrimage with its creul
cross and shameful death. The angel Gabriel approached him and said Master, you must have suffered terribly for men down there. I did he said. And continued Gabriel, do they know all about how you loved them and what you did for them Oh No Not yest Right now only a handful of people know. Gabriel was perplexed. Then what you have you done to let everyone know about
you love for them.
Jesus said I’ve asked Peter, James, John and a few more friends to tell other people about me. Those who are told will in turn tell still other people, and my
story will be spread to the farthest reaches of the globe. Ultimately, all mankind will have heard about my life and what I have done.
Gabriel frowned and looked rather skeptical. He knew well what poor stuff men were made of. Yes he said, but what if Peter and James and John grow weary? What
if the people who come after them forget? Havn’t you made any other plans?
I have no other plans. I’m counting on them. Twenty centuries later, he still has no other plan. He’s countin on you and me. High on God’s to do list is the
evangelization of the world. His early disciples adopted his prioritiesand devoted themselves to reaching their world. Christ counted on them, and they
delivered. Have we done as well?
A. The Sensibility of the this plan -- Really this method makes the most sense. If you want to buy a new car, who would you rather here from, the car salesman
or someone who owns that car? Even when I’m sick, I don’t trust my doctor as much as someone who tells me, I had those symptoms and this is what I did. With
all of our great studies in advertising, we have discovered what God knew all along: that the best kind of advertising is "word-of-mouth." In fact, in the
same letter to the Romans, Paul says, "From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God has made. They can clearly
see his invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God." So, going back to my previous
suggestion that God could write the Good News in the sky, he basically did. However, nobody paid attention to it. As long as the message was "somewhere out there," it was easy for them to ignore.
However, if you are a believer, God has done something incredible for you. He has changed your life. And when you tell your friends and your co-workers and your relatives about what God has done, it is hard for them to ignore. They can see the change in your life. They can see that you no longer do the things that
you used to do. They can see that you have joy and peace, even when the situations around you are bad. They can see the power of God at work in your
life. When they have seen all that God has done for you, they may not know that it was God. But when you tell them that it was God through Jesus Christ that did
all of this for you, they too can believe in him. They can believe, because they have already seen evidence that it works. They can read the Bible or read a
tract and see the message of the Gospel, but that will only give them the facts.
They may not believe it just because they read it. But our lives can provide the proof that Christianity is really true. That we do not believe simply because
we must choose something to believe. We believe because we have discovered that Christianity is true, because it works.
B. The Spirit’s help with this plan -- Even though God gives us each the responsibility of spreading the Gospel, he does not leave us to do it alone. He
does not expect us to do it in ourselves. He knows that we are weak.
Acts 1:8 "But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere – in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in
Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
So, through the Holy Spirit, God gives us the power to be witnesses for him. The fastest growing church in all the world is the Pentecostal Church. Why is
this? It’s not because we have the most money. When the Pentecostal revivalfirst came to the U.S. in early 1900’s it was mostly the poor people who experienced it. For a long time the Pentecostal churches were the poorest of all the churches around. It’s not because we’re the best educated. Most of the denominations require far more education of all there minsiters than the Pentecostal churches do. It’s not because we’re the best organized. It’s not because we have the best plan or the best strategy. There is only one secret to
the success of the Pentecostal church in evangelizing the world. We have the power of the Holy Spirit. God gave the church, and each individual member of the
church, the responsibility of sharing the Gospel. But he never expected us to do it, without the power of the Holy Spirit. If we want to reach non-believers with the Gospel,we must ask God for the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
Luke 11:13
If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him."
There are three ways that the Holy Spirit works in evangelism, and two of these involve us.
1. The Holy Spirit convicts the heart of the unbeliever. We cannot change a person’s heart. Only the God can do that through the Holy Spirit.
Peter and John had been thrown into prison when they healed the man at the Gate Beautiful. When they got out of prison, they went back and met with the believers, and this is what they prayed:
Acts 4:29 "And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give your servants great boldness in their preaching. 30 Send your healing power; may miraculous signs
and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus." 31 After this prayer, the building where they were meeting shook, and they were all filled
with the Holy Spirit. And they preached God’s message with boldness.
2. The Holy Spirit gives us boldness to share the Gospel. This Peter is the same Peter who denied Jesus three times the night he was arrested the night before
his crucifixion. Of Jesus’ twelve disciples only one had the courage to go to the cross. And yet, now these same people, who have just been thrown into prison
and threatened by the authorities not to preach in Jesus name anymore, are praying that God would help them to preach this message with even more boldness.
The same ones that ran from trouble, are now saying, "Give us more trouble if that’s what it takes to spread the Gospel." What accounts for this? One thing is that they were transformed when they saw the Risen Christ. The second reason is that they had all been filled with the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit had given them boldness, where before they had only timidity.
2 Timothy 1:7
For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.
God knows that each of us has a unique personality. Some of us are very loud and outspoken naturally. But some of us are more reserved and quiet. Some may even
call themselves shy. It is very easy to say that sharing the Good News is for those people who enjoy talking to people. Those who are naturally shy may say
that God really can’t expect them to share the Gospel, because he didn’t make them outspoken like the others. But we don’t have to rely on our own personality. God has the given us the Holy Spirit. He gives us power, even when naturally we are timid. It may be a little more difficult. It may make you a little more nervous, but even if you’re a shy person, you must still share your faith. Sharing the Gospel is for everyone! The boldness to share the Good News does not come from our own personality, but from the Holy Spirit.
Another reason some people don’t share their faith is because they don’t want to offend people. In fact, many people feel that Christian’s are arrogant because
we believe that we are right and that everyone else is wrong. I was reading just this week about a Hindu group that is offended that a church has been praying
for the Hindus. This sort of offense is ridiculous though, because all of the views, which are in direct opposition to each other cannot be right. It only
makes logical sense that someone has to be wrong. And if you have a belief then you must think the opposite one is wrong or you would believe it. For example,
the Hindus think that every road leads to heaven, and therefore that every religion is right. Then they attack the Christian religion and say we are wrong
to pray for their conversion. But by their definition of every religion being true, we must be right if we believe that they need to be converted. We cannot
be worried about these kinds of nonsense offen!
ses. These are not legitimate offenses. When a Jehovah’s Witness or a Mormon tries to convert me, I don’t get offended. Even when my atheist friend tries to convert me to atheism, I don’t get offended. I feel sorrow and pity for them. But I don’t feel offended. If the plain Gospel is offensive to someone, then there is nothing we can do about it. The fact is that sometimes the truth hurts. We still must share the Gospel with those people. What will be more offensive to them? Being told that Jesus is the only way to heaven, giving them an opportunity to repent. Or will it be more offensive when they stand before God and find out that they were wrong? But nobody ever told them, because they were afraid to offend them. It is truly offensive to not share the Gospel with someone. Some would emphasize that the Holy Spirit is gentle and would not want to offend people. However, the Bible
says that the Holy Spirit gives us boldness.
Now, I must mention that we should not, like some people I have known, intentionally try to offend people. We do not need to add offense on top of the
Gospel. When we are communicating the Gospel we must be sensitive to the person.
1 Peter 3:15b And if you are asked about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. 16a But you must do this in a gentle and respectful way.
Some people think that once we have shared the Gospel, if people don’t accept it, they have no excuse before God, because we have told them. While this is
technically true, it is a terrible attitude to have when sharing the Gospel. We need to remember that our goal in sharing the Good News is to bring people to a
relationship with God. We are not trying to seal their judgment. We are trying to help them avoid judgment. So, we must present the Gospel in a way that is
sensitive to them. We must do our best to be gentle and respectful. If the message itself offends, we cannot do anything about it, but we must be careful
that it is not the way we present the message that offends. And remember, God gave everyone a free choice. We cannot take that choice from them. While we may try to persuade people to accept Christ, it must be their choice. We cannot force people to accept Christ.
Acts 4:29 "And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give your servants great boldness in their preaching. 30 Send your healing power; may miraculous signs
and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus." 31 After this prayer, the building where they were meeting shook, and they were all filled
with the Holy Spirit. And they preached God’s message with boldness.
3. The Holy Spirit gives us miraculous power to share the Gospel. Many times we think that we might as well not share the Gospel, because people won’t believe it anyway. This may be true, some people will not believe it. In fact, many people think that we are absolutely crazy for believing the way we do. However, it is not our responsibility to make people believe. When we tell people the Good News, God through the Holy Spirit will take care of convincing them.
Mark 16:20 And the disciples went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked with them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs.
God will not, however, confirm what has not been said. That is a logical impossibility. If we never share the Gospel, we will never experience the power of God confirming what we have shared. But when we do share the Gospel, God promises that he will confirm those words with miraculous signs. Sometimes it will be through big, visible miracles, and we praise God for those. Other times it will be through little things, that may not even mean anything to us. But often times those little things mean a lot to the person we are sharing the Gospel with. That little something may be the thing that "tips the scales" for them. The good news is that we don’t have to worry about this part so much. God knows exactly what each person needs to be convinced. The point is that we must tell them in order for God to confim what we have said. We don’t need to worry about whether or not the people we are sharing with will believe the Gospel, because that part is God’s responsibility. It is only our responsibility to live a Christian life and to present them with the Gospel. We do the easy part, and the Holy
Spirit does the hard part.
3. The simplicity of the Gospel message.
1 Corinthians 1:17 For Christ didn’t send me to baptize, but to preach the Good News; and not with clever speeches and high-sounding ideas, for fear that
the cross of Christ would lose its power.
One reason many believers do not share their faith is that think they aren’t knowledgable enough of Christianity to do it. Or sometimes they think that theyhave not taken any class on evangelism, so they wouldn’t know how to approach it. In our culture, where we have programs for everything, we have hundreds of courses to teach us about evangelism and probably just as many methods of evangelism. Some of these are beneficial. In fact, I’ve used many of them
myself, so I’m not trying to bash them. However, when it really comes down to it, they aren’t really necessary. If you have these tools, they are great, but
they are not essential.
Think about the original disciples, who were the ones responsible for the spread of Christianity. They were a bunch of uneducated fisherman and tax collectors,
and basically just normal people. But unlike the great philosophers, they weren’t coming up with hugely intellectual theologies. They were merely telling
a story. They were telling their experiences with Jesus and what he had done for them. They didn’t need a great education to do that. In fact, normal people
would be more willing to accept the message from other normal people than from the stuffy, academic type. In fact, that’s one of the biggest problems with the
fallacy that the pastor is responsible for evangelism. When the minister shares the Good News, it’s easy for people to say, "That’s good for him, because he’s a
minister. But I’m different." But when people hear from normal people just like them, what Jesus has done, then they can say, "Wow. If that worked for them. It can work for me too."
Acts 4:13
The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men who had had no special
training. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus.
It is not great eloquent arguments for Christianity that will win people over. It is not even great evangelists like Billy Graham who will win the most people. It is simple people, with the simple message of what Jesus has done for them, who tell that message to other simple people. Your greatest tool in sharing the Good News is not education or methods. Your greatest tool is your personal experience with Jesus. People aren’t interested in great intellectual arguments. Take for example, communism. It has been said that communism is the best system that doesn’t work. Communism looks great on paper and in books. But we have seen without doubt that communism can never work in real life. People don’t want to see if Christianity looks good on paper. They want to see if it works in real life. How will they know that it does. You will tell them, "Look what Christianity has done for me."
Dr. Ellin Greene, of the University of Chicago, has said, "We get so quickly sidetracked from the simple story nature of our faith. We begin to think that theology saves us, that truth is somehow embodied in our theology of the Atonement, or our mastery of eschatological charts. But when Jesus wanted to communicate the truth of God’s kingdom, he left
out the polysyllables and told a story about a woman who lost a coin or a man who dug for treasure. The kingdom of heaven is like this; he said. Dare we ask for more scholarly explanation from the Son of God?"
Conclusion:
Now, I once heard the story about a peculiar fisherman from Minnesota. You see, this fisherman was very well prepared. He knew how to fish. He had everything you need to be a good fisherman. He had poles, nets, bait, and even a really nice boat, but this fisherman had
a problem. You see, for all his preparation he never caught anything.
Not one fish. Not one, not ever. And you know why he never caught a fish? What do you think? The answers easy: He never went fishing. He had all the knowledge and all the equipment, but he never got into the
boat, he never left the dock.
c. 2001
