"Off Them Christ "
Matthew 28-19-20
Kenneth Wyatt painted a painting called Offer Them Christ. In the painting is a depiction of an elderly John Wesley bidding farewell to Thomas Coke as Coke is departing for America. Coke asked Wesley what do I tell them, Wesley responded by saying, "offer them Christ".
1. First I think the key to Offer them Christ is by being Converted to do it.
A. Offer them Christ by Being Converted to Bring Good News
• The good-news of our redemption, is called the Gospel or in the Greek, Euaggelion. This is the mission of the church, to announce to the world the good-news of salvation. Remember John said, “Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world.” Hear the good news while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.
• WE do this because this Is what our Lord said to do?
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
WE offer them Christ by being Converted to “Making disciples for the Transformation of the World.”
• Understand there is a purpose when we are converted, Jesus redeems us, recovers us, and makes us whole,
but that is not the end, it is not just making disciples, but we make disciples for the transformation of the world. Maybe He desires the world to be better.
2. Second step to Offer Them Christ is to be Convinced to do it
• John Wesley said at Aldersgate “I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.” -Journal, May 24, 1738. Whether he was saved here we really don't know, but we know this was a period in his life he was absolutely convinced to Offer them Christ.
• A Heart Strangely Warmed is a heart Led “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.
• A Heart Strangely Warmed is a heart Burdened - Christ like Compassion
• A Heart Strangely Warmed is a heart Empowered- by Godly Love
• A Heart Strangely Warmed is a heart that expresses it love for God
Mother Theresa was an outstanding example of a life poured in the service of Christ. Of her well-known ministry among the poor, she said: “Our work is only the expression of the love we have for God.
3. Third step towards offering them Christ is to be Compelled to do it even Field Preaching or at the local grocery store, doctor visits, eating out, where ever I go
“At four in the afternoon, I submitted to be more vile, and proclaimed in the highways the glad tidings of salvation, speaking from a little eminence in a ground adjoining to the city, to about three thousand people.” - Journal, April 2, 1739.Wesley was a conservative high churchman, and therefore the idea of preaching outside was repulsive to him. Yet his friend George Whitefield had invited him to Bristol to see the great throngs of people who were eager to hear the gospel, and he was convinced that he needed to set propriety aside, becoming “more vile” in order to reach people. Field preaching became a key part of Wesley's ministry.
4. The fourth step towards evangelism or Offering Them Christ is being concerned enough to do it.
John Wesley said“You have nothing to do but to save souls. Therefore spend and be spent in this work. And go not only to those that need you, but to those that need you most. It is not your business to preach so many times, and to take care of this or that society; but to save as many souls as you can; to bring as many sinners as you possibly can to repentance it is our bounden duty.”
Offer Them Christ by being converted to it
Offer them Christ by being convinced to it
Offer them Christ by being compelled to do it
Offer Them Christ by being concerned enough to do it.
We are Privileged but now we are obligated to share
Be concerned enough to Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled
Be concerned enough to Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest
Be Concerned enough to , do something while we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,
