“2024 Vision Message: Share the Good News!”
Sermon Title: 2024 Vision Message: The Church as a Family - Living in Spirituality
Scripture: Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:1-3 ESV
Introduction
Aliston McGraph, in his book Evangelicalism and the Future of Christianity, identifies the beliefs of evangelicals. Evangelicals is not a denomination, but rather it identifies Christians who hold core beliefs or convictions:
The supreme authority of Scripture as a source of knowledge of God and a guide to Christian living.
The majesty of Jesus Christ, both as incarnate God and Lord and as the Saviour of sinful humanity.
The Lordship of the Holy Spirit.
The need for personal conversion.
The priority of evangelism for both individual Christians and the church as a whole.
The importance of the Christian community for spiritual nourishment, fellowship, and growth.
It is important to remember that these core beliefs are foundational for us as individuals and as a church.
The Great Commission
New Hope Fellowship has been committed to missions as a community since its founding days. As a church, we have been involved in sending mission teams to different parts of the world. Equally important is our commitment to personal evangelism- our role and responsibilities as individuals and the impact we can make in our community. Sharing the gospel is a great privilege and everyone of us has opportunities to do so.
Evangelism comes from the Greek word Euangelion. Eu means good and angelion means announcement. This is where we get the word Gospel, which means good news.
In Matthew 28:18-20, we are given a direct command from Jesus and are given the authority to preach the gospel and to make disciples. It is important to remember that when we have made a commitment to Christ, we are not alone to share the gospel. We do not have to have special degrees or have memorized the Bible before we share about Jesus. It is the Holy Spirit who will teach us to do this. In the book of Acts, we learn of the acts of the Holy Spirit through the apostles. In vs. 8, we see the Great Commission and the need for the Holy Spirit to help us to be a witness.
The cost of being a witness
In Mark 13:10-11, we are reminded that the Holy Spirit is the One who leads us. We are also reminded that when we share the gospel, we are bearing witness to Jesus and that we will be persecuted. Witness in Greek is martus, which means someone who sees something important or amazing. The word martyr comes from the the word martus. A martyr is defined as someone who bears testimony to their faith, especially one who willingly suffers death.
When we become a witness in our workplace, we may be ostracized or “cancelled”. In essence, when we are called to share the gospel, we need to know that we are called to be a martyr.
Evangelism as a core in the life of a Christian
When we consider what Jesus taught as the two greatest commandments- to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love others as ourselves- we begin to see the Great Commission as a defining purpose for us as Christians. When we love the Lord first, that becomes our primary motivation to love others and to witness to them. As we put this as a priority in our life, all other challenges and decisions we face will come into place.
Always be prepared
In 1 Peter 3:15, we need to have a preparedness in our hearts. We need to revere the Lord and allow our view of the world and the choices we make be aligned with Scripture and not pubic opinion. Our retention of Scripture can be maximized by spending time listening to it, reading it, talking about it in group discussions, and practising what we have learned. We can retain most when we teach someone else what we have learned.
1. Being prepared with Scripture is one way to share the good news. When we know Scripture, we can share with others why we need be saved from a biblical worldview rather than a worldly one. For instance, John 3:16 talks about how God loves the world and sent His Son to die for us and Romans 3:23 explains why Jesus has to die for us: we have all sinned and fallen short of God’s goodness. Romans 6:3 further explains the need for us to be saved because the wages of sin is death. Revelations 3:20 helps others to see that Jesus is personally seeking a relationship with each person- I stand at the door at knock.
2. Being ready with our testimony is another way that we can share the good news If we are not familiar Scripture. If we rely rationale to be an apologist, we are likely to meet someone with arguments that we cannot answer. Our testimony (i.e., Who am I before? Who am I after?)- is irrefutable evidence that the Gospel has the power to transform lives.
God is already working
John 5:17 says that God is always working. There is a chance that God is already at work in the hearts of the people in your life. In 1 Timothy 2:1-4, we see that it is God’s desire that all may come to a saving knowledge of Him. Our role is to seek to partner with Him, to ask Him to open our eyes to see what He is already doing, and to partner with Him to do His work. Our job is not to convert others. It is the work of the Holy Spirit. Share the gospel out of passion and not out of obligation, but because we truly love God and care about other people.
Conclusion:
When we make Jesus as Lord and Saviour, we are never alone. We have the Holy Spirit as a deposit within us. May we remember that God is already at work, already moving in the lives of many people. May we not keep back the good things of who God is from those who are wondering whether there is more to this world. May we have the humility before God and the boldness before people to be a martyr, to be a witness.