The Purpose of The Church #5 “Evangelism”

The Purpose

of

The Church #5

“Evangelism”

Jeffery Anselmihttp://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon.asp?SermonID=60867&Sermon%20The%20Purpose%20of%20The%20

Church-%20Evangelism%20by%20Jeffery%20Anselmi

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?

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.

Matthew 28:18 NET Then Jesus came up and

said to them, "All authority in heaven and on

earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go

and make disciples of all nations, baptizing

them in the name of the Father and the Son

and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to obey

everything I have commanded you. And

remember, I am with you always, to the end of

the age."

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?

Do we compromise the message?

Jesus did not compromise

His message to attract people.

Why do churches struggle with growth?

Is there something wrong with the

message or messenger?

Too many times, churches that do not attract

people wear that as a badge of honor, a

testament to the fact that they do not

compromise the Gospel.

This scenario really paints a picture of a church

that does not care enough for people to reach

out to the lost around them.

Sometimes churches do not reach out

because they do not really want to grow, they

are comfortable with the way they are, and

they do not want other people rocking the

boat.

Sometimes fear holds us back, fear of

rejection, fear of being made fun of, fear of not

having ALL of the answers to ALL of the

questions.

Sometimes false views of evangelism have an

effect on us.

God will do it,

or we hired someone to do it,

someone else will do it.

I want us to examine three principles that Jesus

used to attract people, giving Him the

opportunity to reach the lost sheep that He

coveted so much. What do we need to do in

order to make our evangelism, or outreach

efforts more effective?

For Evangelism to be successful….

WE MUST HAVE LOVE

FOR THE PEOPLE.

When you study the ministry of Jesus, He

attracted crowds because of His love for them.

Matthew 14:13 NET Now when Jesus heard

this he went away from there privately in a

boat to an isolated place. But when the crowd

heard about it, they followed him on foot from

the towns. 14 As he got out he saw the large

crowd, and he had compassion on them and

healed their sick.

Jesus and the Rich young ruler.

Mark 10:21 NET As Jesus looked at him, he felt

love for him and said, "You lack one thing.

Go, sell whatever you have and

give the money to the poor,

and you will have treasure in heaven.

Then come, follow me."

Matthew 9:36 NET When he saw the crowds, he

had compassion on them because they were

bewildered and helpless, like sheep without a

shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples,

"The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are

few. 38 Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest

to send out workers into his harvest."

When Jesus looked at the people,

He loved them so much that

He wanted more people

to be reached with the Gospel.

1 Timothy 2:4 NET since he wants all people

to be saved and to come to a 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.

Compassion is the ability to put yourself in

the other person’s shoes.

Burdened!

Feeling a heavy heart for the lost.

We see non-Christian’s as the enemy instead of

seeing them as

victims of the enemy.

PAUL’S BURDEN

Romans 9:1 NET I am telling the truth in Christ

(I am not lying!), for my conscience assures

me in the Holy Spirit — 2 I have great sorrow

and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I

could wish that I myself were accursed — cut

off from Christ — for the sake of my people,

my fellow countrymen,

Zeal! Enthusiasm!Excited about who Jesus is.

Love!Christian’s should be the most gracious winsome witnesses the world has ever seen. Love for Jesus

should motivate us the most. 2 Corinthians 5:14 NET For the love of Christ controls us, since we have concluded this, that

Christ died for all; therefore all have died.Love for the lost should motivate us.

Appreciation that someone shared with us should motivate us also.

Motive and attitude relates to how we will or will not act.

It will help us……not to be obnoxious…not to be hostile…to not share out of obligation…to not share to exalt self…to be judgmental…not to be judgmental …to be fearful…not to be fearful…to remember our limitations

1 Corinthians 3:6 NET I planted, Apollos

watered, but God caused it to grow.

It will help us…

…not to be discouraged with God’s

timetable.

…to be tactful.

…to be prepared

1 Peter 3:15 NET But set Christ apart as Lord in

your hearts and always be ready to give an

answer to anyone who asks

about the hope you possess.

It will help us…

…not to be lazy.

…not to be guilty of direct disobedience to

Christ’s direct command.

For Evangelism to be successful….

NEEDS MUST BE MET

How many people want to hear a sermon

when they are hungry or sick?

Psychology has this thing called

“Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.”

Basically it says that we have different levels

of needs and until one level is satisfied,

we cannot get past that level.

He draws it as a pyramid.

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!

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 NET Then large crowds came to

him bringing with them the

lame, blind, crippled, mute, and many others.

They laid them at his feet, and he healed

them. 31 As a result, the crowd was amazed

when they saw the mute speaking, the

crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the

blind seeing, and they praised the God of

Israel.

32 Then Jesus called the disciples and said, "I

have compassion on the crowd, because they

have already been here with me three days

and they have nothing to eat. I don't want to

send them away hungry since they may faint

on the way."

Luke 6:18 NET and those who suffered from

unclean spirits were cured.

John 6:2 NET A large crowd was following him

because they were observing the miraculous

signs he was performing 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 come to Church because a friend or

relative invites them.

This happens because a friend or family

member has the respect of a person because

they have been there for the

good times and the bad.

James 2:14 NET What good is it, my brothers

and sisters, if someone claims to have faith

but does not have works?

Can this kind of faith save him?

15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and

lacks daily food, 16 and one of you says to

them, "Go in peace, keep warm and eat well,"

but you do not give them what the body

needs, what good is it? 17 So also faith, if it

does not have works,

is dead being by itself.

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 NET and one of you says to them, "Go in

peace, keep warm and eat well," but you do

not give them what the body needs, what good

is it? This points out that words don’t mean

much if we have the ability to do more.

For Evangelism to be successful….

THE PRESENTATION OF THE

GOSPEL MUST BE PRACTICAL AND

INTERESTING. Jesus attracted crowds by teaching in an

interesting practical way.

Matthew 7:28 NET

When Jesus finished saying these things,

the crowds were amazed by his teaching,

Matthew 22:33 NET

When the crowds heard this,

they were amazed at his teaching.

Mark 11:18 NET The chief priests and the

experts in the law heard it and they considered

how they could assassinate him, for they

feared him, because the whole crowd was

amazed by his teaching.

Mark 12:37 NET If David himself calls him 'Lord,'

how can he be his son?" And the large crowd

was listening to him with delight.

Jesus preached the TRUTH.

Today truth is relative. Too many preachers

have let themselves be sucked into this

thinking.

Truth is truth. We can attract people with the

truth that is preached in love. 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.

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.

If we are not making the effort to evangelize we

are in error.

Each one of us has a responsibility to reach out

to the lost.

I bet most every one of us has a neighbor that

does not belong to Jesus. We can start with

our neighbor, 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 Jesus love with them.

Let us be a church that loves people so much

that we hurt when we know someone is lost.

Luke 15:7 NET I tell you, in the same way

there will be more joy in heaven over one

sinner who repents than over ninety-nine

righteous people who have no need to repent.