"Impacting Our Community"
Luke 7:34; 1 Corinthians 3:5-9

Sunday, February 18, 2007

(taken from “Seismic Shifts” by Kevin G. Harney)

Introduction: Did you know that there are camps in communist countries that help young people maintain their atheistic worldview? These people are passionate about not wanting to be corrupted by the teachings of Christianity. These people have an undeniable love and concern for others around them to adopt this view as well. And these people usually target young people, because they know that the minds of the young are the most vulnerable to being swayed.

Now I would say that an atheistic belief is misguided. Many people who are atheistic, are also humanistic, meaning that they are concerned with the dignity and worth of human beings and what they are capable of achieving. But the truth is, those who are humanistic should be open to Christianity, because Jesus cares about the dignity and worth of human beings as well.

This morning, as we finish our “Seismic Shifts” series, I want to talk about making the shift from “us to them,” a shift away from the “one size fits all” strategy, and the shift from being afraid to talk about Jesus, to understanding how to tell people about Jesus.

I. From Us to Them- (Matthew 9:12, 28:18-20; Acts 1:8)

The first shift is from “us to them.” Now when we use the word “Us,” it is

referring to those who are in the church; those who know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and are a part of a church. So then, the “them” would be those who don’t know Jesus and/or are not in a church. But the problem is, when we have this “us and them” mentality, then we tend to isolate ourselves from those who we consider in the “them” category.

a. Love that risks- There are many who will not set foot in a church

building. The very idea of going to church puts some people off. This does not mean that people are against Jesus or Christianity. They might just be against the formal church structure, but not Jesus. In fact, a week and a half ago I was at a Pastor’s Conference, and one of the seminars was titled: “They like Jesus, but not the church.” In this seminar, the teacher of the seminar had gone out to colleges to ask people about Jesus and the church.

While the people liked Jesus’ loving and giving and sacrifice, they didn’t have a positive view of the Church. Here are some comments they made about the church:

I believe in Jesus and his teaching as inspirational, but the church has corrupted his teachings.
Church confines people minds, keeping them from other forms of spiritual expression.
Church rearranges things that don’t go along with their beliefs.
The church is made up of close- minded individuals.
The Church tells you what you should believe.
I haven’t met very many true Christians.

I think what Jesus did to connect with people, was ground breaking. Jesus said in Matthew 9:12- “...‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.’” In saying this, Jesus was talking about His ministry strategy. Jesus’ ministry strategy included going to the synagogue to talk to the people, but He also went into the towns, and villages, and people’s homes. WHY? Because this is where the people were who needed Jesus’ message and ministry. Love compelled Jesus to cross every boundary to reach out to those who were lost and wandering far from God.

b. From “you come” to “we go”- Here I am holding a stone. I want to also

pass out a stone for each of you to take home from church today. What does a stone have to do with what I am talking about?/ Keeping our focus off ourselves and on those outside of the church is hard; it is like trying to roll a large stone up a hill. So maybe this stone will be a reminder of God’s call to us to do this.

Talking about Jesus is hard. I know that I say all the time we need to tell others about Jesus, but the truth is that for most people it is difficult to do. Right? For most people it is difficult. Why is it that we struggle with fulfilling the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20, which says, “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’"? One reason it is hard, is because we get caught up in our daily life and forget to do it. Another reason is that like the subject of politics, religion can cause dissension. A third reason is because many people don’t know enough to answer people’s questions.

I have to be honest with you, when I was a youth minister, it was much easier to talk to youth about Jesus. They usually were open to the discussion, and didn’t get argumentative about it. But adults are more closed-minded. Adults know that if they start believing in Jesus, then they will have to change the way they live their lives. They also have become set in their way of thinking. It is much harder to talk to adults about Jesus!

And yet, the message from Jesus is clear; we are to go out and make disciples. We are called to share His love on the highways and byways of the world. In the book of Acts, chapter 1, one of the last things that Jesus said to the disciples is found in verse 8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." We are called to go where the people are, just like Jesus!

The apostle Paul tells us to be in the world, but not of the world. We have to find ways to be around people who don’t know Jesus. Otherwise, it is impossible to live out the Great Commission. We can’t share Jesus with people who already know Jesus. So what are the places around you where you can be involved and get to know non-believers? I encourage you to keep your eyes open for these opportunities. But one note of caution: don’t build a relationship with a person for the sole purpose of trying to “save them.” If this is the case, people will just feel used. We need to build genuine friendships, and in time, there will be the opportunity to share Jesus with them by sharing what Jesus means to us.

II. One Size Doesn’t Fit All- (John 3:16; Romans 3:23, 6:23, 10:17;

John 14:6, 1:12; 1 Peter 3:15)

a. Do it with style- You women might not know about “the chair,” but it

is a place where all married men find themselves. [SET OUT A CHAIR ON THE ALTAR] “The chair” is right outside the dressing room of every department store. The chair is the place where we men hear the questions: “How does this look on me? Do you think this is the right size? And, does this make my hips look too big?” Giving the right response to these questions is essential for a healthy relationship. The right response is “grace filled honesty.” I talked a couple weeks ago about the importance of being honest, and yet being loving in our honesty.

In regards to people, we need to speak the truth, and that is that “one size does not fit all.” There is no one way to share Jesus with others. The Bible gives models are many ways to do it.

EX. When I was in college, shortly after becoming a Christian, I learned about the “4 Spiritual Laws.” [SHOW THEM THE BOOKLET] This was a little booklet designed for people to share Jesus with others. What you would do is sit down with someone, and then go through the booklet with them. It went like this: Law #1- God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life. Law #2- Man is sinful and separated from God. Therefore, he cannot know and experience God’s love and plan for his life. Law #3- Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for man’s sin. Through him you can know and experience God’s love and plan for your life. Law #4- We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know and experience God’s love and plan for our lives. For verses that go along with these laws you can see the verses in the outline under point II).

Now in and of itself, the 4 Spiritual Laws are not bad. The problem with it is that it limits how we can talk to people about Jesus, and created a formal atmosphere of presentation. In his book “Becoming A Contagious Christian,” author Mark Mittelberg helps us to understand that we should be sharing Jesus in our own style. For some it will come through normal conversation and sharing what Jesus means to us. For others it might be a discussion on religion. Still others it might be finding ways to show Jesus’ love through service. THE POINT IS, THERE IS NO ONE WAY TO SHARE JESUS WITH PEOPLE!

b. Faith comes by hearing- In the book of Romans, 10:17, the apostle

Paul says: “Consequently, faith comes from hearing them message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” And Peter tells us in 1 Peter 3:15- “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.” There are many ways to share Jesus with others: taking them to a Christian concert; bringing them to church; serving others. But in every way, there will come a wonderful moment when we tell the story of Jesus and how through believing in Jesus we will be saved and given life in heaven with God.

It might come when someone asks us: Do you really believe this Jesus stuff? OR, Why do you care about my life so much? This is our opportunity to share; to give them the faith they are seeking for by speaking words about Jesus to them.

EX. When I was in college I had a girlfriend named Patty. She wasn’t a Christian, and I was. Usually speaking, I don’t believe that we should date non-Christians because non-Christians usually pull Christians away from their faith rather than Christians pulling non-Christians towards faith. But in this case, I didn’t listen to my own advice. During our time together, which only lasted 3 months, there were many times she asked me questions about my faith. I did my best to share answers with her. She even decided to start going to church with me. Then one day it happened, she asked me what she needed to do to become a Christian. I shared with her that all she needed to do was to pray for forgiveness for her sins, and ask Jesus to be the Savior and Lord of her life. She did it!! While the relationship didn’t last, her salvation will.

Ask yourself this question: How did you come to believe? Was it through a friend? Was it through a church service? Was it through just reading on your own. People come to faith in different ways. …………………The key to any relationship we have with a non-Christian is to pray for them. Prayer is the key to any revival. Prayer is also the key to anyone becoming a Christian. When we pray for others, we will be amazed at the opportunities we have to share Jesus, and to share how Jesus makes a difference in our lives. When we pray, it will provide openings that we could never imagine would come about.

III. I CAN Talk About Jesus- (1 Corinthians 3:5-9; Matthew 19:13-15)

a. It’s a journey- STORY: There is a story of a woman named Margaret,

who every day at the same time, would go to the medicine cabinet, take out some castor oil, go to the kitchen to get a tablespoon, and then set out for her Yorkshire Terrier named Patches. At the sound of the drawer opening, Patches would run and hide under the bed. Why? Because Patches knew what was coming; the Castor oil. You see, Margaret wanted her dog to have strong teeth, a beautiful coat, and a long life. She believed a spoonful of Castor oil every day would help this to happen. So as an act of love she would feed the castor oil to her dog every day. Once she would get a hold of Patches, with all of her strength, she would have to force the castor oil down. One day, in the middle of the battle, Patches knocked the castor oil out of her hand, and it spilled on the floor. Margaret let go of Patches to go get some paper towels to clean up the mess. When she turned around from the counter, she was astounded to see Patches licking up the castor oil off the floor. She realized that Patches actually liked the castor oil. It was the manner in which it had been fed that wasn’t liked!

This is true of how we tell people about Jesus. The message is wonderful: God loves us and came to earth to die for us so that our sins could be forgiven and so that we could spend eternity in heaven with God. How could anyone argue with this message? The problem is not in the message, but in how it is being administered. Maybe you have seen someone standing on the street corner with a sign that reads: “Repent, the end is near.” And they are yelling out at people. Or maybe you have heard people shouting out: “Turn or burn,” OR “Get right or get left.” Most of the time these people just turn people away from the Lord.

In most cases, people don’t come to faith by random contact with a Christian. The truth is, most people come to faith after a long journey. This is true, because the statistics show that what people believe by age 13, is what they will believe the rest of their lives. And so if someone isn’t a Christian by age 13, the process of them coming to believe takes a long time.

And so we read about this process in 1 Corinthians 3:5-9, “What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.” This passage is wonderful, because it reminds us that we are called to be a part of the journey, but it is God who will cause a person to move to that place of belief; it is not on us to convince them!

b. It’s about people- [TAKE OUT MY SOCIAL SECURITY CARD

AND DRIVERS LICENSE] Here I have two cards that identify me; my Social Security Card (say my number) , and my Drivers License (say number). In many ways, we have become depersonalized because of the numbers we are given. INTO THIS DEPERSONALIZED WORLD, JESUS WANTS TO SPEAK A MESSAGE OF LOVE. And just like Jesus, we need to love each person individually!

It only takes a quick survey of Jesus’ life to learn how much he cared about human beings. In the gospel of Matthew we read that “little children were brought o Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them. Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’ When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.” (Matthew 19:13-15)

Jesus loved everyone. Jesus loved lepers, social outcasts, blind men, people who were crippled, and even those who were demon possessed. Jesus spent time, not with the religious leaders of his day, but with sinners. Let me say that again: JESUS SPENT TIME, NOT WITH THE RELIGIOUS OF HIS DAY, BUT WITH SINNERS!! But even with this in mind, Jesus didn’t look at people as sinners, He looked at them as people lost in their sin, needing to be freed.

We are not to look at people as projects, but as people in need of friends and in need of love. If we are treating people as a project, then we should step away from that relationship, because we will end up doing more harm than good. However, when we walk with people on their spiritual journey because the love of God overflows in our hearts, and because we see them through the eyes of Jesus, then this is powerful.

Conclusion: In the movie Patch Adams, played by Robin Williams, we encounter a man/ a doctor, who is struggling against the norms of his profession. The doctors around him exercise the care of their patients without any emotional attachment; without letting their hearts engage with their patients. But Patch Adams is different. He refers to patients by their names, not their illnesses, he encourages laughter, and he even allows his heart to be broken for those who are hurting. Which kind of a doctor would you want, one who is superficial and disconnected, or one who cares about you? Jesus extends His care, His love, His presence to a hurting world. Jesus knows us by name, not by our sin. May we seek to make the shift to care about those in the world who don’t know Jesus, and seek to know them and love them. Amen.