Revival is Marked by Evangelism

We don't say yes to Jesus so that we have grace to waste our lives away in front of a TV screen. We don't say yes to Jesus so that his grace covers us, but we could spend money on whatever we want or we think we'll just satisfy the cravings of our flesh with whatever it is or just simply check-in and check out of church on Sundays. When we encounter Jesus, he changes everything. Amen? Amen. And then he sends us forward to go and tell other people about it because that is the best witness that we have. God has done something in my life and I can't hold it in but to tell the people around me that he's made a change in me. [00:21:33] (35 seconds)

The church didn't have buildings, the church didn't have pulpits, they didn't have personal bibles with the names on the front. They didn't have the technology that we have today, they didn't have the printing press, they didn't have news, they didn't have social media, They didn't have radio. They didn't have TV. They just shared the gospel with other people. They served. They were humble. They were hospitable. They looked different and they actually proclaimed that there is freedom from sin and abundant life now and eternal life forevermore. And they shared it in such a way that in three hundred and thirty years, the church grew from 120 that met in the upper room on the day of Pentecost to half of the population of the Roman Empire. [00:45:37] (41 seconds)

But, can I give you even gooder news? We don't have to wait until we're dead to experience that. Eternity starts right now. John three sixteen, for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Well, what is eternal life? Jesus actually defines it in John seventeen three. Now, this is eternal life that they know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. Jesus makes it abundantly clear, what is eternal life? It is knowing God. [00:34:21] (34 seconds)

Can I just tell you that we don't know what's ever gonna be on the other side of our obedience? And, I'm not gonna promise certain things will happen. I will promise you this, God will be with you. That's Jesus' promise. But, I will promise you this, when we are part of planting the seeds of God's good word in the people around us, we have this to stand upon. God is faithful to complete what he has started. And, he's gonna do the working and watering and he's been in the business of revival and evangelism for a long long time and we can trust in his hands to bring forth a good harvest. Amen? [00:50:29] (35 seconds)

If you are a follower of Jesus, you are a witness of him to the world. You are commissioned by Christ and filled with the same spirit that raised him from the dead to go and make disciples, to proclaim good news to the captives, to go and baptize and teach the the the the teachings of Christ unto obedience. This isn't a let's leave that to the professionals kind of thing, this is a command and a commission that our Lord has given to every single one of us. If you are a Christian, you're an evangelist. Amen? Amen. [00:19:58] (30 seconds)

When we encounter people, we don't have to tell them pseudo good news, we get to look at them and say, listen, you feel hopeless, there is hope for your situation right now and it's an anchor of hope for our souls, his name is Christ Jesus. We don't have to look at people and say, well, we just hope Jesus comes back real soon. We get to look at people and say, let's bring heaven here on earth. Let's live in the hope that we have of Emmanuel, God with us now and forever more. Rick Richardson once again wrote it this way, the whole gospel is about both eternity and now. Sozo, the Greek word for salvation means entire healing, spirit, soul, and body. The primary meaning is to make whole again. Can our gospel be anything less than that? [00:36:35] (46 seconds)

God wants all people to be saved and so our practice is to value what God values. I wanna unpack this with you. When we look to God's word, we see an overarching theme in the scriptures. God is deliverer and savior. Amen? From the beginning of the story, God is making good things and when those good things become bad or corrupted, God is in the business of reconciling and redeeming and restoring and making things good by his grace. In fact, all throughout the Old Testament, God continually delivers his people from sin and brokenness, restores them from death and decay, calls them not to do it again and then they do it again. Right? [00:24:17] (40 seconds)

Can I just say that I think a lot of us view talking to others about Jesus as a burden rather than an opportunity? Amen. Because we're so caught up in the distractions and the rumblings and whatever is being talked about that we miss opportunities every day. Or, can I just be honest that for a lot of us, the world revolves around us or another person or children or whatever it might be? And, fear is creeping in and it's stifling and it's silencing us. But, here's my question, what do we actually have to lose? What do we have to lose? I'm just gonna be straight up with you, we are not persecuted here in America. We are not. We go out right now and evangelize and what's the worst that somebody's gonna say? No, thanks. [00:47:31] (45 seconds)