I'm back after a few days off following the General Baptist Mission and Ministry Summit. God moved in a mighty way upon the hearts of those in attendance. It was awesome to see believers energized about reaching those who are far from God with the greatest message the world has ever heard ...The Gospel!
Below is an excerpt out the sermon I preached at the Summit.
God Bless,
Chris
Simple Instructions for Multiplying Disciples:
Key passage: Matthew 28: 19-20
Simple Instruction #1: Evangelize: Go and make more of what you are! Take the Gospel message of Christ and lead those far from God, the Spiritually Lost into Salvation in Christ.
Go to the unbeliever and proclaim that God sent His Son, that He died on the cross for our sins, was buried and three days later arose from the grave! And don’t stop telling them after you reach one! Don’t stop after you get uncomfortable or when the Church is full, keep on telling them!
Evangelism is not an option…It is not simply a good idea or a suggestion. It is a Command! Our Lord, our Commander-and-chief, the Lord Jesus has entrusted to us the duty of populating Heaven!
It’s not complicated – Go make disciples, multiply disciples! It’s like the Nike Slogan; “Just Do It.”
Simple Instruction #2: Incorporating New Believers into the Local Family of God.
Baptizing them! What does it mean to baptize? Baptism is an outward expression of an inward confession! Through baptism a new believer confesses to the body of believers that their old man has died and they are new in Christ!
We bring them into the Family of God so they can declare; “I Am Changed!” In Christ there is Life-Change!
Simple Instruction #3: Mature them with Sound Biblical Teaching.
Jesus said to teach them all things! Teach them so they can become like Jesus!
The Word of God speaks to every issue of life and faith:
2 Timothy 3:16: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,” NKJV
These instructions are simple. They are not complicated. In fact, for many, they may be too simple. These instructions are simple to understand, but not simple to accomplish!
Why? What is the reason it is so hard for us to make and multiply disciples for Christ? The reason? Because there is an adversary who does not want you to accomplish the mission that the Lord Jesus has given. John 10:10 says that this adversary has come to steal, kill and to destroy every soul he can.
He does not want you to be successful in Multiplying Disciples for Christ. He doesn’t want you to lead men, women, boys and girls to live and act just like Jesus.
He is constantly trying to lull us to sleep through discouragement, distraction and discontent so we don’t fulfill our mission. That adversary of course is the devil – Satan.
We must possess the right ingredient in order to be successful. An ingredient that will be a fuel to light a fire in us.
We must possess an ingredient that will give us the edge we need to fight against the forces of Hell with a determination that refuses to fail.
That ingredient is Passion….Passion for the non-believer! The type of passion Paul had when he said; “Woe is me if I do not preach the Gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16)
Ability is not enough to enable us to reach our potential. Opportunity alone will never get us to the top. Knowledge is a great asset, but comes up short helping us “be all that we can be”. Even putting together a good team is not sufficient.
Passion is the Difference Maker!!!
I) We Must Possess a Passion for the Spiritually Lost
Census experts tell us that there are now over 6 billion people on Planet Earth. 1/3 of them claim to be Christian. And I dare say that is a liberal number. But even if we give them the benefit of a doubt, that still means that 4 billion people on planet Earth are spiritually lost! They are without Christ and will spend a Christ-less eternity if someone doesn't reach them with the Good News of Salvation.
Without a Passion for the Lost that fuels us past the frustrations, discouragements, heartaches and heartbreaks, We Will Fail!
Let me ask you a very pointed question…When was the last time you lost sleep over a person because you knew they did not know Jesus Christ as their Savior?
If you want to judge the passion that most Christians have for the lost, just attend the average Baptist prayer meeting. We spend the bulk of our time praying for the sick, not the unsaved. We don’t just pray for the sick, we pray for sick Saints! Now think about it. We spend more time praying to keep Saints out of Heaven, then Sinners out of Hell.
We need a Burning Passion for the non-believers!
A) A Passion for the non-Christian will change how we See People.
D.L. Moody was preaching in London. He was approached by a British companion who wanted to know the secret to his success in leading people to Christ. Moody directed the man to His hotel window and asked; “What do you see?” The man looked down on the square and said; “Crowded streets.” Moody said; “Look again!”
This time the man mentioned seeing people – men, women, boys and girls. Moody was still not impressed. He urged the man to look a third time. The man became frustrated because he could not figure out what Moody wanted him to see.
With tears in his eyes, the great evangelist walked to the window and said; “I see people going to Hell without Jesus and until you see people like that, YOU WILL NEVER, EVER LEAD THEM TO CHRIST!”
Friends, we don’t have time to waste. God has invited us to get involved in the work of building His Kingdom, one soul at a time and it will require a Burning Passion for the Lost in our heart!
Someone once said; “If we become keepers of the aquarium, instead of fishers of men, we might start to stink.”
B) A Passion for the non-Christian will Motivate us to Go Make Disciples.
Read again verse 19: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…”
The key word is “Go”! A passion for the lost will force us to action!
In Luke 14:23: the Lord Jesus said; “Then the master said to the servant, 'Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.” NKJV
2 Peter 3:9: “ The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” NKJV
In John 4, we find a Samaritan woman who met Jesus at the well. She, an outcast in her society for the embarrassing lifestyle she had lived – ran back into her city and cried; “Come see a Man who told me all things that I ever did, could this not be the Christ?”
When was the last time you saw someone with that kind of passion?
In Acts chapter 4, the passion for the lost motivated the disciples, even after being imprisoned, even after being threatened to continue to tell the unsaved about Jesus.
Illustration: A country church was holding a Revival. The services were packed each night, the preaching was soul-stirring and the choir was majestic. On the final night of Revival the choir seemed to sing with a fresh anointing of God’s presence. The choir finished out the service with the hymn; “Rescue the Perishing.” When the choir came to the final verse and sang:
Rescue the perishing, duty demands it;
Strength for thy labor the Lord will provide;
Back to the narrow way patiently win them;
Tell the poor wand’rer a Savior has died.
The young man leaped to his feet. He was ready to tackle Hell with a spit-gun. After the service, he approached the evangelist and asked; “When do we go forth to rescue the perishing?” The preacher put his arm around the boy and said; “Son, that’s just a song.”
O’ may that not be just a song to you and me. May we not be that cold toward the Lost. May we be like the young man and Go Forth!
C) A passion for the non-Christian may cause us to change our Methodology.
The Message must never change, but methods can. There is no cookie cutter method of evangelism. The greatest tool of Evangelism is an excited Christian who is willing to do whatever it takes to win one more soul for Christ.
In reference to Methodologies, the Apostle Paul said; “To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. 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.” 1 Corinthians 9:20-23 NIV
The Mission is Simple – Multiply Disciples
The Instructions are Simple – Evangelize, Incorporate, Mature
But it is a Passion for the Lost that fuels us into action, Without it we will fail. I don’t want to fail and I don’t believe you do either.
C. H. Spurgeon said; “If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. If they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees. Let no one go there unwarned and unprayed for.”
That is my prayer for us in Jesus Name, Amen!
