Sermon for 2/12/2006
The Most Important Mission Field
Introduction:
A Sunday school teacher was discussing the Ten Commandments with her 5 and 6 year olds. After explaining the commandment to “Honor thy father and mother,” she asked, “Is there a commandment that teaches us how to treat our brothers and sisters?” Without missing a beat one little boy- the oldest of a family- answered, “Thou shalt not kill.”
WBTU:
A. Tuesday is Valentines Day and it is a celebration of romantic love.
B. There is an old saying, “Familiarity breeds children.” You thought I was going to say contempt. Since talking about romantic love leaves out several, I have several things I would like to share about reaching our families, both immediate and extended families, with Jesus Christ and the church.
C. The most important mission field that we have is our families. Lee Iacocca said, “No matter what you’ve done for yourself or for humanity, if you can’t look back on having given love and attention to your own family, what have you really accomplished?”
D. This past week I was struck by passages of Scripture that talked about Jesus’ family and Jesus’ hometown. Don’t these two really coincide?
E. First of all, I want to talk about Jesus’ family.
1. (Mat 1:24 NIV) When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. (Mat 1:25 NIV) But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son.
a. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and Joseph and Mary did not have sexual relations until after the birth of Jesus. Mary was a virgin until after the birth of Jesus. No union until, Joseph did not know her until after the birth of Jesus.
b. The idea that Mary was perpetual virgin is ludicrous and untrue.
2. (John 2:12 NIV) After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.
a. After Jesus in the temple at the age of 12, we have no record of Joseph. We can assume that he died somewhere between Jesus’ 12th birthday and Jesus first miracle here at Cana in Galilee.
b. We have his mother at this miracle of changing water into wine and also his brothers. This wedding may be of a family friend so Jesus, his mother and his brothers were all invited.
3. (Mat 12:46 NIV) While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him.
a. Some say that Jesus’ brothers wanted to tell him to stop doing what he was doing. They thought he was crazy.
4. (John 7:3 NIV) Jesus’ brothers said to him, "You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do. (John 7:4 NIV) No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world."(John 7:5 NIV) For even his own brothers did not believe in him.
a. We see here that his brothers did not believe in him. There suggestions here are probably more sarcastic than serious.
b. His brothers did not believe in his purpose.
c. Could we imagine for a moment growing up with Jesus? A man who never sinned, who always did what was right at all times. I am sure that there were some family conflicts over the character of Jesus. The jealousy that was in these brothers probably was great. Proverbs 17:17 says a brother is born for adversity.
F. Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth
1. (Mat 13:54) Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. "Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?" they asked. (Mat 13:55) "Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? (Mat 13:56) Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?"(Mat 13:57) And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor."(Mat 13:58) And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.
a. We do not know if Jesus’ brothers poisoned the minds of the Nazarenes against Jesus, or the Nazarenes poisoned the minds of his brothers against Jesus. Probably a little bit of both.
b. This town was probably filled with Jesus’ relatives. These people had known him for a long time and how dare he make such a spectacle of himself.
c. The carpenter’s son- Imagine Jesus and his brothers learning the family business from their father Joseph. Carpentry was a skilled trade and Joseph would have taught his sons. Many people came to have work done. The whole town would have come to know Jesus and his brothers. I am sure that when Jesus left the carpenter’s shop to minister, his brothers resented him and the whole town might have been surprised that he left.
d. We learn the names of Jesus’ brothers. We also learn that Jesus had at least two sisters.
2. On a later occasion, Jesus came to Nazareth and after a bitter discussion in the synagogue, we read (Luke 4:28 NIV) All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this.(Luke 4:29 NIV) They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff.(Luke 4:30 NIV) But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.
a. We don’t know if Jesus’ brothers or sisters were in this crowd. I am sure that many of Jesus’ relatives were in this crowd.
b. This episode did not help relations between Jesus and his family.
I. ON the other hand, Jesus did not sever ties with his family. His mother was around many of the events in the gospels. However, only on 3 occasions do we see Jesus with his brothers. From the above we can see that they had a strained relationship.
J. I know that some of you have this experience with your relatives/ families. If we are going to try to share Jesus Christ with these people, we need to first seek forgiveness for our part in the bad relationship.
K. Nothing brings families together faster than forgiveness. This is step #1, but most of us find forgiving hard. Ask for it from those wronged and seek to give it from those who have wronged you.
L. Steve Bowen in Rev Magazine wrote an article called “Family Discipleship” on how to share our faith with our relatives and family members.
M. He uses an acrostic on the word SHARE. This is interesting considering that our mission is to share our lives and Jesus Christ. The points under this acrostic can also apply in other areas of life.
Thesis: How can we SHARE our faith with our family?
For instances:
Serve them
A. Preaching mini sermons, pointing out their faults, warning them of judgment to come, leaving Bibles and gospel tracts all over the place, is not a good place to begin.
B. Serve them in consistent and practical ways. Actions speak louder than words. (Mat 5:16 NIV) In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
C. Francis of Assisi- Preach the gospel at all times, and if necessary use words.
D. I’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day.
Hear them
A. The goal in hearing is keeping the communication lines open to ensure that we stay connected. Part of the process is really listening- not just with our ears, but with our hearts. What are the members of our family saying?
B. Are we listening actively without attempting to fix or change them?
C. Do we hear their pain? Do we hear the needs in their lives?
D. Do we hear their dreams and disappointments?
E. (James 1:19 NIV) My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,
F. It’s wrong to attempt to persuade someone by manipulating them. Even though we may establish boundaries and speak the truth in love, we need to understand no matter how much we love our family members, their choices are their choices. They alone are responsible and accountable to God. Our job is to consistently love, care, and be honest with them.
G. Many times we are harder on family members than on others. Try to think of your family as just a group of acquaintances who happen to be related to you. This will probably help us to be less critical and better listeners.
H. We need to be interested in all areas of their lives, not just spiritual matters.
I. Arguing with people will rarely produce fruit, but listening opens hearts. Steve Bowen says, “My sister was introduced to Jesus by my consistent love, shown by my attentive listening, not by my persuasive arguments.”
Ask Questions
A. As we are listening, we need to ask questions to deepen our relationships with family members. Spiritual questions are not forced but should be natural and to get information. We’ll be surprised how much we can learn by asking questions.
B. (Mat 7:7 NIV) "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. Jesus was talking about prayer but the same principle can apply to people.
C. When hearing I don’t believe in God, what would we say? “What is difficult about believing in God?” A follow up question might be, “Is your disbelief in God due more to your experience with Christians or with God himself?”
D. Talking negatively about church, we can ask, “What turns you off about church?”
E. When talking about sins that family members enjoy, we can ask, “Why do you enjoy this so much? Is this what’s keeping you from following Christ?”
F. The worst thing that we can do is reply with shock.
G. Also, the one who asks the questions controls the conversation. If the questions you are asking are making this individual or group upset or angry, it is probably best to quit asking such questions. They might not be open to discussing this in a group, or they might not be comfortable with these thoughts at that time. Go onto another topic and this does not mean that we cannot pick up these thoughts at a later time. After all, these are family members and we are stuck with them.
Rescue them
A. Steve Bowen- My father in law was a bartender. He smoked and eventually was diagnosed with cancer. His wife had been a Christian for 15 years and, until his cancer, her efforts to introduce him to Christ had little effect. As the cancer spread, she became very concerned about his eternal fate. Finally, she courageously asked, “You’re dying. Where do you want to spend eternity?” His response, “What do I need to do?” After lengthy conversations, 2 weeks later he was baptized. Two weeks after he died. He was rescued.
B. To rescue people from their sins is what Jesus came to do. Sometimes we just have to go for it and ask for a faith commitment. We must always speak the truth in love even when it hurts.
C. I think this is what Jesus did to his brother James after his resurrection. (1 Cor 15:7 NIV) Then he appeared to James.
D. Sometimes we need to remind our families that there’s an eternity to face and they must choose their destiny.
E. These times are usually during a crisis, when they are obviously at a crossroads. It becomes evident that they must choose to trust God or trust themselves which leads to death.
F. Look for these times in family member’s lives. Make yourself available during these times to be a source of comfort and encouragement. They might reject your help and friendship but probably not. The best advice is to be there for them and guide them in the direction of Christ.
G. (1 Th 5:14 NIV) And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
H. (2 Cor 6:2 NIV) I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.
Encourage them
A. Tell the story of Jesus and what he came to do.
B. Tell your story about your walk with Jesus.
C. Offer good resources.
D. Invite them to church
E. Offer to pray for them
F. Keep the relationship open. Seeing them one time a year is not going to cut it.
G. Keep it real. Remember they know you! (1 Pet 2:12 NIV) Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
Conclusion:
A. Summarize SHARE
B. What happened to Jesus’ brothers?
1. (Acts 1:14 NIV) They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
2. James was an important leader in the Jerusalem church. He wrote the book of James in NT.
3. Judas, who changed his name to Jude, wrote the letter of Jude in the NT.
C. Challenge and invitation: (Jude 1:22 NIV) Be merciful to those who doubt; (Jude 1:23 NIV) snatch others from the fire and save them.
