Get all excited tell everybody that, Jesus Christ is King. I have been thinking and praying about our church over the past ten days. I know that God has BIG plans for us as a church family and this fact excites me (I hope it excites you).
Over the next couple of weeks, we are going to be talking about evangelism on Sunday Mornings as we prepare for our relaunch coming August 20. I want you to start thinking of a person or people, that you are going to invite for the very first time to be a part of our church family. It is going to be a fantastic day for our church, and I am prayerfully looking forward to it. We have to be concerned about growing. Churches that neglect evangelism because they are living out their final chapters as an organization. I want our church (and I am certain that you do too) to be vibrant, inviting and alive for many years to come and I know the way to make this happen is through evangelism.
So, let’s talk about evangelism. Before we can speak about evangelism, we must understand what it is, and we need to know how it works. According to my dictionary, evangelism is “the spreading of the Christian gospel by public preaching or personal witness.” Evangelism is the simple sharing of the gospel with the intention of exposing God’s love to all humanity through Jesus Christ. I have always said that a changed life, is going to change lives. People need to see Jesus in the life of the believer. People far from God should see the hope that is in the lives of those who have been radically saved forever because of Jesus. If we are busy loving God, Loving God’s People and making disciples, evangelism is going to be easy because it will come from the overflow of our lives. This station is where we as believers want to be.
I’m convinced that more people are interested in hearing the gospel than most Christians are willing to share. Folks, this has to change. We need to make much of Jesus. People need to know about the hope that we have. God gives us opportunities each day to be a witness. We have got to live out our faith through conversations with people who do not know Him. A sold out believer cannot help but share Christ. Everything that the believer does should proclaim Jesus. Everything we do is promoting Him. Farmers know that the size of the harvest is in proportion to the amount of seed the sowers scatter. I learned this from my grandmother while planting potatoes; she taught me that 10 pounds of spuds would net 100 pounds. If we do not plant the seeds of the gospel, we are not going to see any lives changed. If you are a believer, you were born for this. As my friend Alvin Reid says “God hardwired you — yes, you — for this.”
So when I mention evangelism, I’m talking about sharing Jesus with others. Evangelism, is less about delivering a polished presentation and more about having a real conversation? People need to know that you actually care about their eternity. We do this by creating opportunities to talk and get to know one another. I want to ask you a question, where do you engage lost people? For many of you, you just don’t! We have the greatest gift ever given, and we can freely share it with others, but too often we keep it to our selves.
What if I told you that God has created you to bring glory to himself by sharing Jesus with others and that you don’t need years of training to obey what he already made you accomplish in life? God created you for His glory to advance his gospel with the gifts, talents, and opportunities he gave you. You live at this time in history for a purpose bigger than yourself. Think about this, and the possibilities are unlimited. I want to be a part of a movement; I want to see lives changed forever. I want the glorious gospel to be lived out before those who are searching for hope. Jesus said that believers are Salt and Light.
So the fundamental question for this morning’s message is this: Are you Salt and Light? Only you can answer this question, and it is an issue that we must consider. Being salt and light to a dark and bland world is fundamental. People need to be able to see Christ in you!
In verse 13 Jesus is talking, He says “You are the salt of the earth.”
He is telling us why we have been placed here on this tiny ball called earth spinning around the cosmos at 66,600 miles per hour for a reason. Jesus said that we are to be salt! Think about salt with me for just a second. Salt is a season that brings out the flavor in our favorite foods. For the believer, we are to bring out the God Flavor. People should be able to see Christ in our lives. If as believers we lose our saltiness, how will those far from God be able to taste our godliness? Salt that no longer brings flavor is good for nothing.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden.
In verse 14, Jesus tells us that we are the Light of the world! I like thinking about light. I know that a little bit of light goes a long way. You can see a lone car on a dark road from 5 miles above the earth in a commercial airliner traveling at 500 mph. Being the light of the world is a pretty big deal. It means that people can see something bright in you. Being the light of the world means that people can see Christ in us. Like a bug light, I remember as a child my parents would purchase those yellow lights that were supposed to deter bugs. But I always seem to remember them attracting bugs Bugs are drawn to the light. People like bugs are sometimes drawn to the light of Christ!
God’s people in any age and under any condition are both salt and light in the world! What is salt? It is savory. It adds that flavor, that goodness, like pepper adds the pep! We need to be salty! We are to be salt and have influence over the good things that are happening on this planet.
We need to be light in our homes our neighborhoods and communities! Our cities should feel the effects of our salt and light! Our great state and the world should notice a difference. Being a light means that we regularly give out the word of God to those who are searching! We are to be a reflection on the SON!
Getting conversational and engaging those who do not know Him gives the opportunity for people to see Christ in you. By getting people talking, they can see the hope that is in the life of the believer. A sold out believer is an attractive person to a lost world. I am not talking about a holier than though individual like the Pharisee’s, their lives brought notoriety to them selves, if we are salty and bright, we are to be reflecting Christ.
This verse means that we are to be consistent. Everyone should see Jesus in us. A lamp stand benefits everyone in the room. Matthew wants his readers to understand that we as believers are to let our lights shine brightly before everyone, every second of every day. When we let our light shine, it brings glory to God!
Verse 16, just like 15 means that we are not to hide our Jesus glow under a basket. Everyone should see a difference in you! In everything that you do, your Facebook post, your tweets, your conversations, your actions while you drive. We are to be salt and light! Are you salty this morning? Are you providing light for a person far from God?
Do you know HIM?
He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.” 1 Tim. 3:16
He is the indisputable Savior He is King Jesus! That’s, my king
So we are to go and tell!
I love you all!
Pastor J
