The summer after my graduation I went on one of the greatest adventures of my life: a mission’s trip to Europe. During my grade 12 year, a group from Operation Mobilization came to my church to make a presentation. During the whole presentation I had a burning desire to be a part of their summer program called “Love Europe.” “Love Europe” was a campaign that brought thousands of young people from all over the world together to minister in the many countries of Europe.
So I went through their application process, got accepted and then began to get the financial support that I needed to go. Finally the day came for me to leave – my “great adventure” was starting. I flew from Victoria to Seattle, then from Seattle to Chicago, and then from Chicago to Toronto. All the Canadians met in Toronto for a week of orientation before we went to Europe. After our week of orientation in Toronto, we took a red-eye flight (that is, we left at midnight) to Germany. Needless to say we were pretty tired when we got there.
In Germany, we had another week of orientation with all that were part of the “Love Europe” campaign. I think there were over five thousand people in attendance. After our week in Germany, we finally set out to our respective countries. I went to England because I wanted a cross-cultural experience but I also wanted to speak the language. In England we had another week of orientation with all the team members who were there and finally we set out to our various cities around England. I ended up in a little town just outside of Birmingham.
It was here that my “great adventure” really began because now I could be involved in sharing the gospel to those who did not know Christ. We did door-to-door evangelism, outdoor presentations, event evangelism and many other things too! I had the privilege of seeing people giving their lives over to Christ! It was a great adventure!
Sharing the gospel, wherever we are, is the greatest adventure that we could ever be involved in. We don’t have to go across the world to do it either, we can do it right here in Port Hardy. Philemon 6 says, “I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you may have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.”
This morning, I want to start a series called “The Great Adventure: Helping our lost peers find Christ.” There are four parts to this series. The first part is called the “The Call.” The second part is called “The Challenge.” The third part is called the “The Conditions.” Finally, the fourth part is called “The Commitment.”
Well let’s turn our attention to the first part of this series “The Call.” Today we are going to answer this question: What have we been called to as Christians? We are going to see that we have been called to reach the lost for Christ! This is our mandate! This is to what we are supposed to be all about. This is not optional because it’s not just a calling, it’s a command!
God has commanded each and every one of us to a lifestyle of reaching the lost. We see this in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20). Verses 19 and 20 say:
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”
The Great Commission is a command to “make disciples” that is: win the lost for Christ, build them up in their faith and then equip them to reproduce this process in the lives of their unbelieving peers. This should be a natural part of every day lives because the Great Commission tells us to be doing this “as we are going.” That is, as we are going about our lives we are to be making disciples.
Sadly, it seems that the area that we most neglect in the Great Commission is the “winning the lost for Christ” part. We seem to be very good at building up the saved part but fall short on the winning part. Actually, someone did a study that showed that 87% of churches had 100% of their programming directed to the saved. It appears that we have forgotten the importance of sharing our faith with a lost and dying world. It appears that we have forgotten that Jesus has called us to be fishers of men, to be his witnesses in this world to be the labourers of sharing the Good News. We need to remember that we have been commanded to share our faith.
But we must also remember that we share our faith not just because it is commanded but also because we love God and we love others. This is the Great Commandment that Jesus gave us in Matthew 22:34-40. When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was He replied:
“’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’”
Our love for God and our love for others should be the driving forces behind our motivation to share our faith. Jesus said in John 14:21
“Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”
We should be compelled to share our faith because we love God and seek to please Him and because we love others and seek to see them become a part of God’s family.
Who should we share our faith with? As we go through this series, my emphasis is going to be on peer evangelism. This is the main priority that I believe God has called us to in sharing our faith. But please understand me; this in no way down plays the other methods of evangelism. God uses all kinds of ways to reach people but I believe peer evangelism is the most effective.
The Institute for American Church Growth asked 10,000 people about their pilgrimage. What got them into church? How did they come to Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour? Answers were: Special need – 2%; Walk-in – 3%; Pastor – 6%; Visitation – 1 percent; Sunday School – 5%; Evangelistic crusade – 5 percent; Special programs – 3 percent; Friend/relative – 79%
Usually, when we think of our peers we think of people who are our own age. When I speak of peer evangelism I am referring to those individuals who cross the natural path of our lives. A group called “Sonlife Ministries” has come up with an acronym to help us identify who our peers are. We can begin to identify the peers in our “natural life path” by learning to L.O.V.E. our lost peers.
The “L” stands for location. These are peers at or near our homes. These could be our brothers and sisters, our Mom’s & Dad‘s, our relatives or our neighbours.
The “O” stands for occupation. These are peers at our jobs. These could our fellow employees, our boss or shift manager or even the customers that come in.
The “V” stands for vacation. These are peers at play. These could be our friends with the same hobbies, people at the gym or people we many come into contact as we walk or run.
Finally, the “E” stands for education. These are peers at our children’s schools. These could be our children’s teachers or other parents of children at the same school as our children.
God has called us to be a faithful witness to those that we come in contact with. These are the people who “WE” have relationships with. This does not take away the fact that we should work as a team when it comes to sharing our faith. What I am saying is that it is our personal responsibility to be sharing our faith with those that we come in contact with on a regular basis – those with whom we are building relationships with.
As Christians we are Christ’s representatives here on earth. And when we truly grasp what that means, it should stir within us a great joy. Have you ever thought that you are Christ’s representative; I mean that you are in this exact location at this exact time because God wants you to present the truth about Him to those around you? Think about that for a moment: We are not here, that is, in Port Hardy, at whatever role in life that we are in, by chance. This is all part of God’s plan. We are in the exact place that God wants us to be. God has put us in Port Hardy, in our neighbourhood, in our circle of influence for a reason and that reason is to tell others about Him.
We are not only Christ’s representatives but we are also Christ’s ambassadors. 2 Corinthians 5:20 tells us that we are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. God has given us the task of reconciling people to Him. That is our challenge. That is our privilege. That must be our passion! Paul says that we are Christ’s ambassadors.
I did a little work this past week and found out what it means to be an ambassador. Webster’s definition of the word “ambassador” is:
(1) an official envoy; especially: a diplomatic agent of the highest rank accredited to a foreign government or sovereign as the resident representative of his own government or sovereign or appointed for a special and often temporary diplomatic assignment and (2) an authorized representative or messenger.
An ambassador has to be a special person, not just any old person will do. An ambassador has to be a special person because you can only imagine the trouble our country could get in to if we had renegade ambassadors running around and spouting off things that did not correctly represent the sentiments of our leaders. Ambassadors need to be controlled by those in authority over them. This is no truer for our governmental ambassadors as it is if for you and me who are the ambassadors of the Kingdom of God.
Paul saw himself as an ambassador at all times. He wasn’t just an ambassador on Sunday morning when he went to church. He wasn’t just an ambassador when he felt like it. Paul was always acting as a representative of Jesus all the time. You and I are called to be ambassadors to this world for the cause of Christ. At all times and in all situations we are Christ’s ambassadors and representatives. And as Christ’s ambassadors and representatives we are called to reach our lost peers for Christ!
The abbot of a monastery called a novice into his office and instructed him to give the sermon at the next morning’s chapel. The novice was struck with fear. The next morning, chapel came. He stood in the pulpit. The brothers were there. His hands were trembling. His knees were knocking. His voice was quivering. There was a long pause before he first spoke, and then he asked a question, “Do you know what I am going to say?” They had no idea, so all of their heads went back and forth almost in unison, as if it were choreographed. He said, “Neither do I. Let’s stand for the benediction.”
The abbot was angry. He told the young novice that since he didn’t do what he was supposed to do, he was going to give the sermon the next morning at chapel. The abbot warned the young man that he’d better do a proper job or face the consequences.
The next day was almost an exact repeat of the day before. All the brothers sat there before him. His hands shook. His knees knocked. His voice trembled. Long pause. “Do you know what I’m going to say?” he asked. Well, after the previous day’s experience, they had a pretty good idea. So all of their heads nodded yes. “Then there’s no need for me to tell you. Let’s stand for the benediction.”
The abbot was angry beyond description. He brought the young man into his office and said, “If you do that again, you are going to be in solitary confinement, eat bread and water for thirty days, and receive any other punishment I can think of. Tomorrow morning give the homily; do it right.”
The third day, chapel attendance hit an all-time high. Everyone was there to see what he would say, and it was almost an exact repeat. He stood, trembling, voice quivering, and after a long silence asked, “Do you know what I’m going to say?” After three days of this, half of them had a pretty good idea and they nodded their heads yes. The other half noticed the switch from day-to-day, and they weren’t sure what to expect, and so they shook their heads no. The novice observed the confusion and said, “Let those who know tell those who don’t. Let us stand for the benediction.”
As those who know the Good news about Jesus Christ and what He has done for us we should be telling those who don’t know yet. We have been called and commanded to reach our lost peers for Christ – those who come across our natural path in life (our friends, our neighbours, our co-workers, our families and so on). God has put us in this exact place, at this exact time for a reason – to tell others about Him. As we go from here this morning let’s remember this: “Let those who know tell those who don’t!”
