Effective evangelism for all (14:1-7)

‘Effective evangelism for all’ (Acts 14:1-7)

I couldn’t share my faith!  I am not smart enough.  I don’t know how to answer the difficult questions that people may ask.  I am not a good communicator.  I never know what to say.  I’m afraid.  I don’t want to offend people.  I am scared my friends and family might reject me.

The apostle Paul went to the hill country of Galatia because he was ill (Gal. 4:13).  He would not have struck them as being an impressive person.  In another context he claims that he did not depend on wise and persuasive words (1 Cor. 2:4).  In at least one situation he approached an area and its people with a great feeling of weakness and with great fear and trembling (1 Cor. 2:3).

These early Christians knew that evangelism can be hard.  But they rejoiced to share the good news.

What makes effective evangelism?  

Background

Effective evangelism is what we read about here.

We are following Paul’s first missionary journey.  Last week we saw that Paul and his companions were expelled from Antioch in Pisidia.  But they did not give up sharing their faith.  They travelled ninety miles (145 km) south east to Iconium (also in Galatia).  There they entered the Jewish synagogue and spoke about Jesus.  They also shared their faith with non-Jews.  They spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed (Acts 14:1).

They were effective in their evangelism.

So, what makes effective evangelism?

1.       Speaking about Jesus is for every Christian

We must not think that it was only Paul and Barnabas who spoke about Jesus.  In last week’s reading we saw that ‘the word of God spread through the whole region’ (13:46).  It was spread by all those who had come to faith.  We see the same pattern earlier in Acts, after the stoning of Stephen.  ‘The believers were scattered, and those who were scattered went about preaching the word’ (8:4).

2.       The good news centres on the person of Jesus

Again, look back at last week’s passage.  When Paul was preaching he focused on the saviour Jesus (13:23), the message of salvation (13:26) and the grace of God (13:43).  A few months after that visit we wrote the letter of Galatians to those Christians, where he explained that he had portrayed Christ as crucified before their very eyes (Gal. 3:1).  Paul can sum up his whole message by declaring, ‘we preach Christ crucified’ (1 Cor. 1:23).

Have you come up with your couple of sentences that explain the gospel?  Mine is imperfect, but it says, ‘my sin is so serious before a holy God that nothing less than the death of God’s only Son can deal with it, and that is exactly what God has done for me.’  Any summary of the good news about Jesus must centre on why He died.

3.       Sharing the good news needs follow-up

Last week we saw that Paul and Barnabas urged those who had responded to the message to continue in the grace of God (13:43).  A person has not been born again if, like the seed that feel on shallow soil, they make a response and later drift away (Mark 4:4-6).  Only those who persevere to the end will be saved (Matt. 24:13). 

In Iconium the apostles stayed on for a long time (14:2).  This was a short reading, but don’t let that give you the impression that this means if was covering only a brief stay.  They will have stayed for months.  They wanted to ensure that those who responded got what being a follower of Jesus was all about.  They wanted to ground these young converts in the truth.  When you start to talk to someone about Jesus be prepared to keep in touch with them.

Notice the ‘so’ at the beginning of verse three.  The unbelievers tried to poison the minds of those who had responded.  ‘So, they remained there for a long time.’  The threat that existed from opposition to the local church caused the apostles to work and stay harder and longer.  

On the return leg of this missionary journey they would revisit Iconium and appoint elders for them in every church (14:23).  You see the New Testament knows nothing of believers who are not connected into a local expression of the body of Christ.  Our evangelistic task is not complete until the person has become connected with a local church.  Our church needs to become a place where new believers can be grounded.  In fact, bring a friend to church has the advantage of showing that person the type of community they are going to get involved with if they come to Christ.

4.       We need to depend on God

In the book of Acts the Word of God seems to have a power all of its own.  ‘The word of the Lord was spreading through the whole region’ (13:49). 

Later in Acts we will read of Lydia, and how the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul (16:14).  It was God at work as the word was spoken!

In the last chapter we read, ‘as many as were appointed to eternal life believed’ (13:48).  Becoming a Christian is a work of God.  We can’t boast.  On our own we would never choose Jesus.

This is why effective evangelism begins with persistent prayer.  That is why we have a ‘5’ on our wall challenging us to pray every day for five people.  We can’t persuade anyone.  We don’t depend on clever arguments. 

We even ask that God might grant signs and wonders to confirm the gospel to people (14:3).

5.       The message produces a divided response

While salvation might be all of God, those who refuse the gospel are held totally accountable for their rejection of the truth.  Paul tells those who would not turn to Jesus that, ‘you thrust aside the word of God and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life’ (13:46).  Here in Iconium we read of ‘unbelievers’ (14:2), but the word translated ‘unbelievers’ it not the usual word used, it is actually a word that can be translated ‘disobedient’.  They simply would not accept the truth of the gospel.

Was the apostle Paul any less effective in sharing the gospel with those who believed and those who disobeyed?  No!  He presented the same message.  The soil that melts the ice can also harden the clay.  Our job is to be faithful to the message.  If people reject it, that is not our fault.

Notice that the message divided the people of the city (14:4).  Often when we try to speak about Jesus we are simply met with apathy.  I wonder if that is because we don’t explain the whole truth.  We don’t warn people that without Jesus they are lost and condemned.  That there is a hell as well as a heaven.  I am not saying that all people will hate us.  Earlier in Acts we read that the Christians enjoyed the favour of all people (2:47).  But Jesus did say ‘woe to you when everyone speaks well of you (Luke 6:26).  Jesus said, ‘do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth.  I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.  For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—a man’s enemies will be members of his own household’ (Matthew 10:34-35).  As one evangelist said, ‘sometimes we are so low key that we’re no key.’

Conclusion

The time came when the apostles learned of a threat on their lives.  It was at that point that staying would be counterproductive.  So, they moved on to Lystra (twenty miles southwest) and Derbe (58 miles) where they continued to preach that good news (7).  The difficulties did not stop them.  

One of the things that we want to do as a church is to help each other in the area of sharing our faith.  I was talking to someone in Crown Jesus Ministries this week and we hope to have another evangelism training day in the autumn.

Have you come up with your one sentence definition of the gospel, for the next time someone asks you what we believe in this church?

Why not invite someone to the concert or the baptism?

Many of us will soon be going on holidays.  Will you imitate the early Christians and talk about Jesus wherever you go?

Will we ask people questions that get them thinking?

Will we seek to do more than just talk about generalities but present the whole truth?

Will we pray for God to bring people of His choosing across our path?

Will we speak this truth to ourselves, and pray that God plants it deep in our hearts, so that we will see how good Jesus is and be compelled by love for God and love for people?   

The motive and message of an ambassador (2 Corinthians 5:11-21)

 

At the start of the Ukraine war there was a lot of talk about the Russian Embassy in Dublin.  You see, it had a staff of thirty-two.  The significance of that is that this was bigger than the staff in the Russian Embassy in London, even though Ireland has a small Russian population and Britain has a huge one.  So, why was there so many people working at the Russian Embassy?  There were so many people in the Russian Embassy because it is a centre of the training and use of Russian spies.  Ireland is seen as a soft country, which is in the European Union and with the European headquarters of many multinationals.  An ideal place to train and operate political and industrial spies!  (Apparently the American Embassy and British Embassy also use their Dublin base for spy use and training.)

So, the Russian Embassy isn’t here to simply serve the people of its country and represent its country to the people of Ireland.  There was lots of talk of expelling the ambassador and some of his staff.

As ambassadors of Christ, we serve a very different role.  Our job is to represent Jesus to the world, and we want to bless people by offering them peace with God.  In fact, in our modern political language I wonder if peace envoy is a better description of our role than ambassador.  As we look at our role of ambassadors we are going to think about our motivation and our message.

Motivation

In his little commentary of 2 Corinthians, Jonathan Lamb speaks of an interview he conducted with a young man who was applying to be a missionary with IFES.  The young man was asked, ‘why do you want to serve with IFES in Europe?’  The guy responded that he was hoping for a job that would give him financial security and enable him to see Europe.  He was motivated simply by self-interest and so he was not given the job.

The apostle Paul outlines the motives for an ambassador of Christ.

a.        Fear.  Not the servile fear of being afraid, because the apostle John such that love drives out all such fear of God.  But the reverence and awe of God that makes us want to live for his pleasure.  The motto verse for an ambassador of Christ might be verse 9—aim to please the Lord.  Then in verse 10 we read of judgement and reward—even though we deserve nothing from our heavenly Father, he delights to reward his children for the things that he has enabled us to do, and he does not want us to miss out on eternal reward.  The mention of judgement in verse ten also reminds us that those who refuse to trust in Jesus will face God’s judgement for their guilt and surely if the love of Jesus is in us we will want to see them rescued from this judgement.

b.       Example.  Paul talks about the fact that he is seeking to set an example for other believers: ‘we are giving you the opportunity to take pride in us’ (12b).  Paul speaks of the power of example in his letter to the Philippians—Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel.  As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.  And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear (Philippians 1:12-14).  Don’t we know that dynamic!  We hear about persecuted Christians in other countries and we feel challenged (after all we have the same calling as them), and we hear of their courage and faithfulness and we are strengthened.  In our verses here, we hear that Paul’s opponents boasted about their experiences and abilities, but Paul places his emphasise on heart motivation.  Heart motivation can drive us even when people think that we are ‘out of our mind’ (13).  That heart motivation must be love for God and love for people.

c.       Love.  ‘Christ’s love compels us’ (14).  Philips translates this verse, ‘the very spring of our actions is the love of Christ.’  The New English Bible translates this, ‘The love of God leaves us with no choice’.  We have experienced the love of Jesus, we want to serve him in love.  We want to reach out in love to people.  Love causes us to seek to ‘persuade others’ (11) as ‘God makes his appeal through us’ (20).

d.       Conviction.  One of the things that we need to do is see the world as God sees it.  Paul says that ‘we regard no-one from a worldly point of view though we once regarded Christ like that’ (16).  Paul once viewed Jesus as an insignificant Galilean who had died a shameful death on a Roman cross.  Now the risen Jesus rules his life!  We have to see people as Christ sees them.  Their status and accomplishments mean nothing.  These things matter nothing in light of eternity.  C. S. Lewis points out that there are no mortal people.  Our greatest concern for people is that they receive the life of Christ and are living in the light of eternity.

Message

The story is told of a British Foreign Secretary who created some trouble in Peru.  He was known for having drinking too much.  At one function he approached someone in a long flowing purple outfit and tried to waltz with them.  The person replied accusing him of being drunk.  ‘Why do you say I am drunk?’  ‘Because this is not a waltz, this is the Peruvian national anthem, and I am the archbishop of Lima!’

Diplomatic incidents can happen when ambassadors behave badly, and they can also happen when the ambassador is unclear of their message.  We need to be clear about what we are communicating to the world.  The Bible Speaks Today commentary on this passage explains that ‘this passage is the most comprehensive statement about the death of Christ made by the apostle Paul.’

Paul had told the Corinthians that his message could be summed up as ‘we preach Christ crucified’.  Now in verses fourteen and fifteen he speaks of the death and resurrection of Jesus.  What was the point of this death and resurrection?  What did the cross achieve?  Verse seventeen explains that it brought reconciliation and new creation.  It brings ‘life’ (14) and enable people to no longer live for themselves (15).  We are now called to a ministry of reconciliation—offering people peace with God (18).  We speak of a God who no longer counts our sins against us, if we are united to His Son (19).  Can’t we see that this is a great calling and a great message?  God wants to transform those around us.  He wants to give them purpose and meaning.  He wants them to have peace and forgiveness.  He wants them to be free and joyful.  He has entrusted us with the amazing privilege of sharing this good news. 

I think that verse twenty-one is one of the most important verses in the whole of the Bible in terms of explaining the cross.  It is a verse that would well be worth putting to memory.  It speaks of substitution.  ‘God made him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God’ (21).          

Vaughan Roberts explains this verse in this way.  It is as if on the last day, when Jesus returns, a great book is opened and a huge list of failures and wickedness is read out.  You begin to recognise what is being described.  This is a day-by-day record of your life.  Then when the book is finally finished, God asks, ‘whose name is on that book?’  The angel replies, ‘Jesus Christ’.  Jesus took on himself all our sin.  Then another book is opened, and you read a day-by-day account of the most beautiful and compassionate life that has every been lived.  You begin to recognise that what is being described is the life of Christ.  When the book is finally finished God asks, ‘whose name is on the cover of that book?’  The angel replies with your name.  ‘God made him who had no sin, to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.’

Conclusion

One last thought about being an ambassador.  When ambassadors are at work they are not at home.  The Irish ambassador is never stationed to Dublin.  He is stationed in a foreign land.  That is true for us.  There was an old song that said, ‘this world is not my home, I am only passing through.’  We are here for a time.  We are here for a purpose.  We are here with a great job to do.  We are to be compelled by love and be confident in the greatest message of all!

Some honest thoughts on sharing your love for Jesus

Lee Strobel tells the story of how his friend, Jack, shares his faith.  Jack lives in a residential facility for the developmentally disabled in suburban Chicago.  Jack wears thick glasses, speaks in a low mumble, his hair is always tousled, his cloths are dishevelled, and he wears a tie that is askew.  He thinking is unfocused and his speech tends to consist of a string of disconnected thoughts.  Although, when Lee told his story, Jack was probably in his late thirties, talking with him was like communicating with a child.  Jack attends the same church as Lee.

People in the church wondered how much Jack understood of the gospel.  Until he came to church with his arm in a cast and sling.  ‘Did that hurt?’ Lee asked.

‘I come here … and hear … about Jesus … and I think about … all the pain … he went through … for me … and I think … this is nothing.’  There is no doubt that Jack loves Jesus!  And what happens when a person truly adores someone?  They can’t keep it to themselves.  So Jack is involved in the adventure of sharing his faith.  He routinely tells the other residents and staff at the home where he lives that Jesus loves them, and encourages them to visit his church.

In that residential home there is a stereo in the common room.  Each of the residents get half an hour a day to choose what is played on it.  Most of the residents tune in to a sports match or play music.  Jack uses his half hour to play sermons from his church.

One of the staff at the home is a woman named Michelle.  Over and over Jack would tell her that Jesus loved her.  He would lend her Christian tapes and invite her to come to church with him.  Michelle was deeply touched by his genuine concern, after all, she was supposed to be caring for him, and here he was turning the tables.  But she kept turning down his invitations to join him at church.

One day Jack reached the conclusion that he was getting nowhere just asking Michelle to come to church.  So, in his own endearing way, he told her.  ‘Meet me there Sunday.’  He really wasn’t demanding it, but he was gently insistent.  Jack was so sincere, so full of love and perseverance that Michelle thought ‘why not?’  She went, listened intently to the message of grace, felt her heart begin to open to ideas she had long resisted.  By the end of that day she found herself saying yes to Jesus.  She now thanks God that Jack cared enough to persist in reaching out to her even though she rebuffed him so many times.  ‘Jack,’ she declares, ‘is my hero!’

Sharing our love for Jesus is something all Christians are commanded to do.  We called into an adventure.  However, this adventure can be scary, and fear often causes us to miss opportunities.  Today, I want to share some honest thoughts about evangelism.

Evangelism is not easy                                                      

Just before he sent his disciples out for the first time, Jesus warned them ‘I am sending you out like sheep among wolves’ (Matthew 10:16).

Think about it.  You are sharing a message that is considered intolerant—Jesus is the only way to God.  You are telling people that they are spiritually blind, lost and condemned.  Not everyone is going to thank you for such opinions.

Peter tells us to ‘be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have’ (1 Peter 3:15).  Maybe we have waited for that opportunity hoping that someone will come up to us and say, ‘what’s the difference about you?  I want what you have.  Please tell me about your hope, and where it comes from.’  However, the reality is often far more hostile.  The whole of Peter’s letter is filled with warnings about how Christians suffer for their faith.  In fact, the previous verse speaks about suffering for doing what is right.  It is more likely that they will approach you with an attitude that says, ‘the way you live offends me, your beliefs are ridiculous, why on earth would someone believe such superstitious nonsense?’

Of course, being sneered at, is nothing compared to what Christians face in most of the world; it is nothing compared to what we have in Jesus; and our current afflictions are light and momentary compared that are preparing for us an eternal weight of glory (2 Corinthians 4:17).

Evangelism is exciting

Lee Strobel and Mark Mittelberg write a wonderful book about taking everyday risks to talk to people about Jesus.  In it Strobel says, ‘this is the missing ingredient in so many Christian lives.  I’ve never heard anyone complain by saying, “My spiritual life is so dry right now; it’s like I am living in a desert,” and then add, “Oh, by the way, I’m actively trying to reach a friend for Christ.”  Sharing our faith is one of the thinks that makes our faith feel alive.

Evangelism is important

When we pray the Lord’s Prayer we say, ‘hallowed by Thy name.’  ‘To hallow his name is to be overwhelmed by the sweetness of his sacrifice’ (Rico Tice).  It should grieve us that those around us do not hallow his name—that they do not worship him, adore him and acknowledge his incomparable glory.  Ordinary Christians in the early church went out to evangelise ‘for the sake of the Name’ (3 John 7).  Many Christians rightly get upset when Jesus’ name is used flippantly.  However, our concern for his name must not stop there.  We want to see people speak his name in love and commitment.  John Stott writes, ‘we do not speak for Christ because we do not so love his name that we cannot bear to see him unacknowledged and unadorned.’

Evangelism is also important because love for people must compel us to warn them of the danger they are in.  Rico Tice writes, ‘The reason Jesus talked about hell is because he does not want people to go there.  The reason Jesus died was so that people wouldn’t have to go there.  The only way to hell is to trample over the cross of Christ.’

Tice tells the interesting story of an occasion when he was a student and he gave a guy on his rugby team a tape of a sermon that he had preached.  It was on ‘behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world’ (John 1:19).  In that sermon he pointed out that we either pay for our sin in hell, or the Lamb pays for our sin on the cross.

His friend, called Ed, played that sermon one night to his housemates, who were on the same rugby team.  One of them, Dave, got very upset, and said, ‘if that’s what Rico believes, the fact he’s said nothing of it to me in months means he’s really my friend.’  So Ed rang Rico and said: ‘Rico, you need to speak to Dave; he’s upset that you’ve not talked to him till now about what’s in the sermon.’  Dave understood that if a Christian believes what Jesus said about hell is true, then we are not very loving if we do not warn people about the dangers of been sent there!

Of course, becoming a Christian is more than simply escaping hell.  If you see a great movie you want others to see it to.  I enjoy going to Thomond Park for a big match hoping that they will get the same thrill from it as I do.  We should want others to share the delight we have in Jesus.

Have you forgotten how great it feels to realise that your sins are forgiven?  Are you growing in the awareness of the width and depth of the love God has for us in Christ?  Do you enjoy that peace of knowing that we no longer need fear death?  Do you realise that you are not only justified, you are adopted as a dearly loved child and heir of the most gracious and kind of all fathers?  Do you understand being in Christ is life in all its fullness?  Do you know that you have being rescued for the empty ways of our world, and now have real purpose?

Our idols will stop us evangelising

So what stops us sharing our faith?  Our idols stop us sharing our faith!  An idol is anything that is more important to us than our love for God.  If I love the approval of my friends and relatives more than I love the name of Jesus then I will keep silent about my faith in case they reject me for what I believe.  Of course this not only reveals that I love popularity more than I value Jesus, it also says that my love for my friends is based more their approval of my than my concern for their eternal well-being.  I am nervous about how some of my friends will react when they begin to understand what I believe; I feel a huge responsibility that if I don’t speak to them about Jesus they may never hear the gospel; and I dread the fact that they might not like me for what I believe.  But we must love the name of Jesus, and those around us, enough to step out and face the consequences. 

The only way you will be able to handle the inevitable rejection that comes through sharing the gospel is through experiencing God’s ever-present love, the comfort of his people and the certainty of your heavenly hope.  Indeed, as I read about evangelism I am reminded how gracious is in giving us each other.  Our church fellowship is to be a place where we come together and encourage each other, because it is difficult out there in the world, and a need the support of God’s people.  

Conclusion—being faithful doesn’t guarantee conversions

 mentioned a book that I have recently read by Lee Strobel and Mark Mittelberg.  It is entitled, ‘The Unexpected Adventure’, and it encourages all of us to be engaged in sharing our faith.  But one of the things that struck me was the amount of times they talked about speaking to someone and being left with no sense of whether that person came to Jesus or not.  I actually found it encouraging.  They weren’t judging success in sharing their faith in the numbers of conversions they had seen.  They were judging success in terms of lovingly, respectfully and gently telling people about Jesus.  After all we can’t open the eyes of the spiritually blind, or raise the spiritually dead—only Jesus can do that.  Our responsibility is to be motivated by a passion for God’s name and a love for people. 

Evangelism - Whose job is it anyway?

‘Are you missing one of the most exhilarating and fulfilling dimensions of the Christian life?  Here’s an energetic guide to everyday steps you can take to influence others for Christ.  Suddenly, what once seemed scary or daunting becomes an exciting and doable adventure that will energize your own faith while you make an eternal difference in the lives of others.’  That’s what is written on the back of an exhilarating book I recently read on sharing your faith.  Evangelism is important because we want the name of Jesus to be hallowed, people to be rescued from hell and we want to enjoy the happiness of a life lived actively for God.

In the book of Acts we are reminded that evangelism the calling of every Christian.  We read that after Stephen was killed for his faith ‘a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria … Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went’ (8:1-4).  The key leaders were in Jerusalem but the gospel went wherever God’s ordinary people went.  But, how do I do it.  I am going to give you six keys to effectively sharing your faith.

1.  Use words

Francis of Assisi is reported to have said, ‘preach the Gospel at all times … if necessary use words.’  However, words are actually always necessary in evangelism.  The apostle Paul wrote, ‘… faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ’ (Romans 10:17).  The words of the gospel have power.

George Whitefield was a famous evangelist in the eighteenth-century.  He spoke to crowds of thousands.  But he had his detractors.  Some people loved to stand there and mimic him as he spoke.  On one occasions the ringleader of such a group was a man called Thorp.  Thorp entertained his friends as he put on an accent and imitated Whitefield’s gestures.  He was having great fun repeating Whitefield word for word, until the Holy Spirit used those words to convert him there and then.

Charles Spurgeon was a great eighteenth-century preacher.  On one occasion he was asked to speak to thousands of people in London’s Crystal Palace hall.  The day before the event Spurgeon was helping the organisers find the best place to erect the pulpit.  He tested the acoustics by speaking out ‘behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.’  Years later he discovered that a workman on one of the galleries had heard these words, was cut to the heart and been converted.

2.  Memorise a definition of the gospel
Has anyone every asked you what people believe in your church?  Don’t worry about Baptist theology—take the opportunity to tell them the gospel. 

Your presentation needs to include the bad news, the good news and a challenge.  I hope that the next time I am asked what we believe I will answer something like this.  ‘My rebellion and resistance against God is so serious that I deserve to be separated from him for ever and punished eternally.  Yet God loves is so amazing that he sent his Son to live the perfect life and die a death that takes the punishment I deserve.  Now he offers to make us his dearly loved forgiven and adopted children if we simply believe—which means to trust Jesus as our forgiver and king.

Now you may be thinking that you can do a better job than that.  So, I challenge each of you to write a short summary of the gospel, explain it to a friend who doesn’t attend any church, and ask them if they think it is clear. 

3.  Make sure that your message is complimented by your actions

Mitsuo Fuchida was the man who led the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour.  After the war he became a Christian.  One of the things that opened his heart to the gospel was hearing about eighteen-year old Peggy Cowell.  Mitsuo had wanted to show that all nations had treated their prisoners disgracefully.  But as he interviewed some of the Japanese prisoners of war that had been held in America they told her about Peggy.  She volunteered at a prison camp and showed incredible love and kindness.

On one occasion a prisoner asked Peggy why she cared for them so much.  She explained that her parents had been missionaries in Japanese Philippines, who been accused of communicating with the outside world and beheaded.  She believed that God wanted her to respond to this evil with forgiveness and blessing. 

Peter writes, ‘be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you for the hope that you have within you’ (1 Peter 3:15).  Earlier in that same letter he commands, ‘live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us’ (1 Peter 2:12).

However, be careful.  Our job is not to make ourselves look good, but to make God look good.  This means that we don’t have to pretend to be someone we are not.  We don’t have to hide our failings.  We can be honest about the fact that God is so amazingly gracious that he cherishes us even though we let him down every day.  Indeed, self-righteousness is a denial of the gospel.

4.  Remember that God directs your life
One Christian leader said, ‘when I pray coincidences happen, when I don’t they don’t

In Acts 17 the apostle Paul says that God determines the times set for people and the exact places where they should live (Acts 17:25-26).  Rico Tice takes this principle and reminds us that this truth is applicable to every detail of our lives.  This excites me!  This summer God might seat you on a plane beside someone he wants you to share your faith with.  Your neighbours are placed beside you for a purpose.  Pray that God would reveal that he has placed you in strategic places for heavenly purposes!  Pray that the Holy Spirit would guide you into conversations about the gospel.

5.   Learn to guide conversations towards Jesus

The story is told (it is made up) of the man who wanted to turn a conversation towards Jesus, so he looked at his friends earrings and said, ‘I see that you have piercings.  Do you realise that Jesus was pierced for your transgressions?’  I believe that we need to learn how to guide conversations gently towards Jesus.  Lee Strobel comments that ‘people are generally more interested in spiritual matters than we think they are.

How many of you have been waiting for people to ask you about your faith, but are frustrated that no-one has?  Kerry and Chris Shook wrote a bestselling book entitled, ‘One Month to Live,’ in which they encourage Christians to focus on how we would shape our priorities if we only had thirty days left in this life.  Who would you show more urgency in talking to if your time was short? 

Be intentional!  If you read a book that might help a friend understand more of the gospel, lend them your copy.  If you hear a sermon that might help them, get them one of the CDs.  But don’t avoid talking to them about faith.  Talk to them about your faith.  Ask questions.  Be a good listener.

I am working on this idea of transitioning with questions.  A friend of mine admires a particular Methodist minister, so a good question to open up conversation with him is ‘what is it about Tom that you admired?’  A cousin comes from a family that has atheists, agnostics and evangelicals in it, so a good question to open him us is ‘where do you fit in among the diverse opinions of your family?’  Ask people what they believe about life, the universe and everything.  But don’t be rude or pushy, for we are told to speak with gentleness and respect.      

6.  Your job is to witness, God’s job is to convert

Finally, remember that your job is to witness, and God’s job is to convert.  Even great evangelists like the apostle Paul couldn’t covert anyone.  He could only share the truth.  It is God who brings spiritually dead people to life.  When he explained the gospel to a woman called Lydia we read that ‘the Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message’ (Acts 16:12-15).

Rico Tice writes, ‘Our job is not to convert people.  It is to witness to Christ.  Conversion isn’t the mark of a successful witness—witnessing is.  Think about a courtroom.  Witnesses are there to tell the truth.  That’s successful witness.  If the jury doesn’t believe them, that’s not their fault or failure.  You have not failed if you explain the gospel and are rejected.  You have failed if you don’t try.’

Be flexible (1 Cor. 9)

Imagine a missionary goes from here to a far off land, but he doesn’t get on well.  You see he doesn’t make an effort to understand the local culture.  When he is talking with the people he always says ‘back home what we do is ...’ in a rather patronizing way.  He refuses to eat any of the food, unwilling to even try it. When he talks about the local people he uses phrases like ‘them’ and ‘their sort.’  In short he makes no effort to become one of the people.  And he makes no progress in sharing the gospel with the people—not because the gospel is irrelevant to them but because he is not open to them.  

Compare that with the great missionary Hudson Taylor.  He worked for years in China.  He dressed like the Chinese, and had his hair in the Chinese pony-tail style of the time.  To the Chinese he became like the Chinese, to win the Chinese.  Hudson Taylor put the gospel above his cultural identity.

This morning we are going to think about putting the gospel above our rights, our comfort, our independence and our culture.

1. Will we forgo our rights and comfort for the sake of the gospel? (1-18)

Paul wasn’t everybody’s sort of leader.  To many in the church at Corinth he just didn’t seem impressive enough.  They respected those who lorded their authority over others.  But Paul wasn’t like that.  He didn’t make a big deal about himself.  He didn’t demand to be served.  He didn’t trumpet his own importance.  He didn’t even insist on his own rights.  

His critics suggested that he wasn’t an apostle.  But Paul was one of those unique apostles that we read of in Acts.  His apostleship had its root in that amazing encounter with the Lord on the Damascus road.  Of all people the Corinthians should have recognised his authority, after all he had planted their church—they were a seal of his apostleship.  

As an apostle Paul had certain rights—the right to be provided for where he went; had he being married, the right to bring a believing wife with him; the right to earn his living from preaching the gospel.  Paul offers incontrovertible proof of those rights—drawing from the world of the military, herding, the Old Testament, and harvesting.  It is even the Lord’s command that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.  Yet he had decided to forgo these rights rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.

You see some people suggested that Paul was only in it for what he could gain—that he was like the many travelling teachers of that day who were motivated by material reward and prestige.  If people thought this they might not take his message seriously.  So he went without his rights to provision and pay, and funded himself by tent-making.  

That was costly!  Tent-making was a hard and humble task.  It was sweaty and smelly work with leather.  After all the effort he would have put into sharing the gospel he then had to spend hours making a living.  But for Paul it was a cost worth paying for the sake of being able to communicate the gospel most effectively.

Indeed in verses 15-18 it seems that Paul delights in this humble circumstance.  Others might mock and look down on him for forgoing his rights for Paul it was a privilege.

A man who was serving as chaplain to the New South Wales cricket team was being interviewed. He was asked if he ever got autographs—the team had some famous players and their autographs could be sold. He replied something like this, ‘I never take anything. I don’t take tickets for games and I pay my own flights to away fixtures.  I don’t take any freebies. I could, but I don’t. I want the players and officials to ask why I am here, and I want them to realise that it is not because of anything that they could give me but because I have something to give them, the gospel.’  Though he had the rights to certain things, he felt that it was strategic for the gospel not to take them.  

The gospel is more important than rights and privileges.  If we are followers of Jesus then we are to be gospel people.  Our lives are not to be built around retaining our rights; they are not to be centred upon how much money we can earn, how comfortable we can be, or what status we can we can attain. For the Christian all things are to be put in perspective by the gospel, and how we can best live and speak in a way that illustrates it and commends it to others.

2. Will we forgo independence and culture for the sake of the gospel? (19-22)

In 2003 Tyrone beat Armagh in the All-Ireland final.  I remember that night.  I was taking a harvest service in a town in Tyrone.  It was bizarre.  Here we were a very sombre looking bunch of people yet outside you could hear the beeping of car horns as people drove up and down the street celebrating.  I suspected that no-one I was talking to cared much about the match.  It seemed like there were two cultures that had nothing to do with each other.  Yet if we want to be faithful to our gospel-calling we will seek to relate people from all the cultures that surround us.  

Paul writes, ‘Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.’  

Paul had grown up a Jew.  Yet as a Christian he was free from the Old Testament law, for example he could eat all foods.  He had a strong conscience—so while there were some in Corinth who, for example, feared it was wrong to eat food that had been sacrificed to idols, he knew there was no problem.  Yet Paul was willing to accommodate himself to people’s customs and scruples.  To the Jew he became like a Jew, to win the Jews—he would have observed their rules and customs while with them.

To those who weren’t Jews, those not having the law, people who had a different cultural background than his, I became as one not having the law ... so as to win those not having the law.  He does mention that he is under Christ’s law—he won’t morally compromise as he builds bridges.  To the weak I become weak, to win the weak—so while there was no problem with eating food sacrificed to idols he wouldn’t have done so in the company of those who thought there was so as not to offend them.  

‘I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.’

If Paul worked with Muslims he might consider observing the Ramadan fasts or only eating halal meat in their company; if he lived in a loyalist area he might take an interest in Ulster-Scots history or the Twelfth; to reach nationalists he might support GAA and engage with Saint Patrick’s day; if he knew migrant workers he would surely learn at least a few words of their language and try some of their food.

We are to ensure that we do not place barriers between ourselves and people of differing cultural backgrounds.  We are to engage with people in their cultures seeking the opportunity to share the gospel with them.  Sometimes we may disagree on what the best way to do this is. So let’s pray for wisdom, for this is our calling!

3.  Will we strive with our hearts set on the prize? (24-27)

Paul finishes this section, and prepares his readers for what will follow, by pointing to the dedication of those who were preparing for the Isthmian games, that were held in Corinth every second year. They prepared for months for a perishable wreath, but we strive for a wreath that is imperishable.   

The prize that Paul speaks of may be the unspecified reward given to the faithful and dedicated believer that Paul writes of in chapters 3 and 4.  So when Paul says that he does not want to be disqualified, he is not saying that his salvation is in doubt, he is saying that he does not want to miss out on future reward.

Paul wants to excel in the Christian race.  While we are saved by God’s sheer goodness and grace, we won’t know what it is to hear ‘well done, good and faithful servant,’ without a life of discipline.   This crown was not won without hard work.  I beat my body, he is speaking figuratively, and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself might not be disqualified.  What we have seen so far in this passage is not a call to an easy life. Think of the Apostle Paul, having spent hours sharing the gospel with people, sweating over his leather-work—all so he could be more effective in sharing the good news.

Do we really think that it is easy to reach out to people who are different than us, to accommodate ourselves to their culture so as to gain a hearing for the gospel, to put up with those who might look down on us for doing so?  Paul strives—he forgoing his rights, praying, working, resisting sin and half-heartedness, as he seeks to remain steadfast and sure, setting his eyes on God’s gracious reward.  Our sinful nature would have us be a spiritual slob, to settle for a life of comfort and ease, to hang around only with people who are like us, to have little vision for reaching the lost, to have goals determined by wealth and status.  How tragic that would be for us and our church!  So, with God’s help, we make our bodies our slaves.  Despite the longings to be spiritually lazy let’s be dedicated and committed to the gospel of Christ, acting with love for God and neighbour as strive towards the reward that awaits those who live with determination and faithfulness.

Clumsy Evangelism

Last Thursday evening I went for a sauna at our local leisure centre.  I had been reading a book on evangelism, so I brought it with me.  I opened the door of the sauna, sat down, and immediately a man asked me 'what's the book about?'

'It is a Christian book about sharing what you believe.'

'That's a good thing to read, I believe in God myself', he responded.

A great conversation ensued.  There was Robert (who asked me the question), his friend Shirley, and another man whose name I did not get.  Indeed I apologised to this other man for getting more than he bargained for from his time in the sauna.  He replied, 'don't worry, I am listening intently.'

Robert was so keen to talk that when he went for a break from the sauna he asked me to come with him so that we could continue talking.  I was able to leave my calling card and a couple of tracts for him to collect at reception.

Now please don't imagine that I am a natural evangelist.  I know how important it is to share the good news, but I have often missed the opportunity to speak.  While my friend John Ryan is always looking for openings to speak the gospel I have to force myself even to ask God for such openings.  It is through gritted teeth that I go into the leisure centre and say 'Lord, let me talk to someone about you (but if you just want me to have a relaxing time to myself that is good with me).'

Anyway, an amazing thing happened the next day.  I was visiting friends in another part of the city when the man of the house pulls up in his car.  He had two people with him.  Guess who one of them was: 'Robert'.  So I am asking you to pray for Robert because it seems something of a God-incidence that I would happen to meet this guy the day after talking to him in the sauna.

Here is an idea.  It's called 'clumsy evangelism.'  Clumsy evangelism simply seeks to invite people into conversations about the Christian faith.  It's clumsy because you open the door for a conversation with no idea where it is going to head.  For example, supposing one of the ladies in the church takes a good book from the bookstall (we are promoting Christian biographies this month).  Then she brings it with her to the hairdressers.  Someone waiting there with her says, 'what's that book about?'  To which she replies, 'it's a book about a person who experienced God do amazing things in their life.'  Now leave that comment hanging.  You don't have to force the issue.  They might not want to take the conversation any further and change the subject, that's their responsibility.  But who knows, perhaps they will want to ask more questions.  How would you do clumsy evangelism?