Rev. David Holwick F Purpose-Driven Life #6
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
February 8, 2004
Romans 10:6-15
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I. How good a job did Jesus do?
A. At least nominally, one out of three humans is a Christian.
1) There are Evangelicals in every major language group.
2) How many are real disciples of Jesus?
a) They find their purpose in him.
b) They actively obey him.
c) They effectively serve him.
3) The discipleship number must be a lot less than 1 in 3!
B. One of the clearest signs of discipleship - evangelism.
1) Evangelism has a bad reputation.
Radio report yesterday - an American Airlines pilot made a
special announcement to his passengers.
First, he asked the Christians to identify themselves.
(I believe he asked them to raise their hands)
Then he told everyone else to start a conversation with
the Christians.
He concluded by saying, "You have a choice.
You can sit back and just have a nice plane ride.
Or you can experience something that'll change your life.
It's up to you."
Not surprisingly, the airline received multiple complaints.
Here is unrelated advice from a pastor:
Do you want to be left alone on a plane ride?
Just open your Bible...
One of our fears (and especially a fear that non-Christians
have) is being trapped in a religious discussion that
we cannot escape.
Visualize having two Jehovah's Witnesses at your doorstep.
Many non-believers feel the same way about us.
#2302
2) Evangelism literally means "good news."
a) You have found something that is life-changing and
want to share it with others.
b) Only a small percentage of Christians actually does
this.
II. The Good News isn't hard. 10:6
A. It never has been.
1) Paul is quoting from Deuteronomy 30.
a) Don't have to climb to heaven.
b) Don't have to descend to bottom of ocean.
2) God is accessible to those who come to him in faith.
a) The word is near you. 10:8
b) Faith, not works-righteousness, is the key.
c) Jesus has done the hard stuff for us.
3) However, we must be careful of easy-believism.
a) (Rick Warren and "free ticket to heaven" illustration?)
B. Jesus must be Lord.
1) This is the basic confession of Christians.
a) Confess with mouth, believe in heart.
b) Outward expression of inward conviction.
2) We must TRUST in him. 10:11
a) It is not just assenting to a formula.
b) Commitment (trust) and obedience (Lord) are involved.
When missionary John Paton went to live in a remote corner of
Africa, he taught the native villagers the Christian faith.
John Paton was the first person to teach the villagers about
Jesus Christ.
As his work progressed, he baptized some new converts and started
a church.
Then he began the difficult, exhausting task of translating the
Bible into their own language.
With the Bible translated into their own language the people
could read and study the Bible.
As John Paton carefully translated the Bible, he realized that
they had no word in their language for the word "believe."
This presented quite a problem.
"Believe" is an important word in our Bibles, appearing more
than 200 times in the New Testament alone.
Paton was stuck.
How could he translate the Bible for the people without the word
"believe?"
One day, as he was grappling with this dilemma, one of the
villagers came in for a visit.
The native villager was exhausted from a hard day's work in the
hot sun.
He sat down and leaned back in the chair.
In his native language the villager said how wonderful it is
when you are tired to "lean your whole weight on something."
It was as if lightning had struck.
That was the image Paton was searching for.
"Lean your whole weight on something" was what it meant to
believe.
Now he could continue his work translating the Bible.
#3641
C. Anyone can trust in him, and everyone should.
1) The good news is not limited to certain classes.
a) It is not just for the drug addicts and alcoholics.
b) Everyone you meet is eligible.
c) And they are more interested than you think!
2) Only thing that is limited is the working material - you!
III. The logical layout.
A. Evangelism is a chain of events. 10:14
1) You cannot be saved unless you believe.
2) You cannot believe unless you hear.
3) You cannot hear unless someone speaks to you.
4) No one will speak to you unless they are sent.
B. And guess what - you are the one being sent with the news.
1) It is your fifth purpose in life.
2) Once you experience it, spread it around.
3) You will get a blessing when you do! 10:15
a) (Nice feet!)
IV. How to get the word out.
A. Have a desire to do it.
1) Complacency is dangerous - and widespread.
2) Evangelism won't happen if you don't want it to happen.
Herb Miller, in his book FISHING ON THE ASPHALT, shares
that the average church member has listened to
6,000 sermons, heard 8,000 prayers, sung 20,000 hymns
over and over -
- and asked ZERO persons to accept Christ as personal
Lord and Savior.
#2249
B. Take it to the Lord in prayer.
In essence, God is not interested in our level of sophistication,
but our level of commitment.
Sang Kyoo Lee and his wife, Young Gum, visited Methodist Bishop
Richard Wilke at his office one day.
Sang Kyoo wanted to start a new church for Koreans.
"We have been praying for one hundred nights -- 1, 2 hours every
night -- asking God to give us power and victory," Sang began.
"Yes," his wife seconded, "every night, faithfully for one
hundred nights.
We have been praying before coming to see you."
"We believe God wants us to begin new work with Koreans in
Arkansas," said Sang Kyoo.
"And we need much power."
Bishop Wilke sensed their dedication and commitment.
But he also knew of their struggle to learn English, as well as
their financial problems in completing seminary.
"We don't have many Koreans in Central Arkansas, do we?" the
bishop asked.
"Oh yes," Sang Kyoo replied. "We think as many as three or four
hundred.
We can travel fifty miles in every direction and make class
meetings in different towns."
Next, Wilke asked if the Arkansas Koreans were Christians.
"No, not most," they answered enthusiastically, "but we must
lead them to Christ.
We will hold Sunday afternoon worship in First Church,
Jacksonville.
Also, we'll have Friday night prayers and Saturday Bible Study."
"Let us know when you hold your first worship service," Wilke
said casually.
"Our first service will be the day we move into the parsonage,"
Sang Kyoo said with a big smile.
"My wife, Young Gum, son, John, daughter, Susan, and I will
kneel down and pray.
We'll have a congregation of four," he said lifting up four
fingers.
"Their spirit was contagious," Wilke writes, "I kept thinking of
practical things, like a refrigerator and clothes for the
children and automobile tires."
He asked them, "Is there anything at all I can do to help you?"
"Oh, yes, there is," this young couple answered in unison.
"Would you pray for us? We will need much power."
The three of them held hands and prayed together.
A few months later this young couple once again visited Bishop
Wilke.
"We have twenty converts," Sang Kyoo said.
"We started three home Bible studies in three different towns,"
added Young Gum.
"We are growing. People are coming from fifty miles away.
God is answering our prayers."
Bishop Wilke concludes with these words of hope: "As they spoke,
I felt the mighty hand of God in the church."
The reason Bishop Wilke felt the mighty hand of God was not this
couple's level of sophistication, but their level of commitment.
They were a living testimony to the power of the cross.
#2779
C. Learn simple conversation openers.
1) People invest time and energy into developing their careers,
bodies, and their relationships.
But they often neglect the spiritual dimension of their
lives.
How do you actively pursue spiritual growth?
2) Bring a friend to your church or a Christian event; then
ask - What did you think of it?
Did it make sense to you?
3) How has this experience (or tragedy) affected the way you
look at God?
4) We've never had a chance to talk about your religious
background.
Where would you say you are in your spiritual pilgrimage?
5) Most people in America say that they believe in God.
What does believing in God mean to you?
#4656
D. Learn simple commitment closers.
1) Know four or five verses that explain the process of
becoming a Christian.
a) "Four Spiritual Laws."
1> God loves you and has a good plan for you.
2> You have sinned and are separated from God.
3> Jesus died for you and paid your price.
4> You must choose to accept it.
b) "The Romans Road."
c) Romans 6:23. (single verse evangelism)
2) Ask them if they are ready to make a commitment to Jesus.
a) At Pentecost: "What must we do to be saved?"
1> This is the best, but usually YOU will have to ask.
b) Asking is the hardest part, but also the most important.
1> Don't demand a response, instead suggest it.
E. Stick to them like a brother (or sister).
1) "Praying the prayer" is not the end of evangelism.
2) Encourage them to become genuine disciples of Jesus.
3) We don't want them leaving out the back door as soon as
they enter the front. Follow-up is critical.
V. Don't enter the Kingdom alone.
A. How many members of your immediate family are not saved?
1) Pray for them by name.
2) Try to have a heart-to-heart talk with them.
B. Then move on to your neighborhood, where you work or go to
school, then join our mission trip to Haiti, then...
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
#2249 "Church Member Statistics," by Rev. Eric S. Ritz, in sermon
"Visioning or Vanishing?" Dynamic Preaching (www.sermons.com),
Winter 1992 "A."
#2302 "Pilot Tells Passengers To Discuss Christianity," Star Ledger
newspaper of Newark, New Jersey; February 8, 2004.
#2779 "Korean Prayer Power," from a sermon by Dynamic Preaching
(www.sermons.com), fifth Sunday of January 1993 "A."
#3641 "How To Translate 'Believe'," Rev. Robert L. Moss; First Church
of God in St. Joseph, Michigan; 50 Day Spiritual Adventure,
Chapel of the Air; April 7, 1996. Another version says he was
trying to translate the word "faith."
#4656 Adapted from "20 Questions That Turn A Conversation Christward,"
Discipleship Journal #110, Mar/Apr 1999, page 91. Originally
from Campus Crusade's Worldwide Challenge Magazine, 1998.
These and 25,000 others are part of a database that can be downloaded,
absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html.html
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Commentary Notes:
John Stott Romans, IVP
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I. How accessible is our faith?
A. Mosaic law required works, which we cannot do.
1) Deut. 30 - you don't need to go up to heaven or down to
depths.
2) Jesus has already done it for us.
B. Positive message of righteousness of faith.
1) The word of faith is near you.
2) Confess with mouth, believe in heart.
a) Inward belief and outward confession.
b) Both mouth and heart are keywords in Deut. 30.
C. Misused by Paul; overly allegorized?
1) Only actual quote is Deut 30:14
a) Paul seems to be taking a verse about the law which is
to be obeyed and applying it to a gospel that is to
be believed.
2) The similarity between Moses and gospel is their
accessibility.
a) The gospel is neither remote nor unavailable.
b) We don't have to hunt for Jesus because he is already
here.
c) Everything that is necessary is done.
d) It is available to everyone. No favoritism.
e) It requires "trust."
1> Belief is not merely mouthing a formula.
D. What is necessary for salvation?
1) Jesus Christ is incarnate and accessible.
2) The gospel makes him known.
3) We need simple trust, calling on the name of the Lord.
4) Evangelists must proclaim Christ.
II. The necessity of evangelism.
A. Six verbs in opposite order:
1) Christ sends heralds.
2) Heralds preach.
3) People hear.
4) Hearers believe.
5) Believers call.
6) Those who call are saved.
B. Even more strong when put in the negative.
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