Are We A Good Church Or A Bad Church? # 7

This is the final Message in this Series – Next Sunday we start our new 2019 Winter Message Series the Gospel Of John

Today I want to finish this Series by talking about how we can improve our evangelism – for the glory of God!

Jesus last command to His disciples (and to us) was to go and ‘make disciples (evangelize) of all the nations’

Matthew 28:18-20 18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

If we want to succeed in evangelizing the nations, there are two things we need to improve

Firstly, we need to make sure we are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit

Jesus said this

Acts 1:8 ‘you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about Me everywhere — in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’

Notice, ‘power’ comes first; second is ‘telling the people about Me’

That promised power of the Holy Spirit to evangelize, was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost
Acts 2: 1-4

In the power of the Holy Spirit, Peter and the other disciples begin to evangelize the crowds of people in Jerusalem
Acts 2: 22-24

Secondly, we need to make sure we tell people the truth about the way of salvation in Jesus

Now, look at Peter’s evangelistic Message to the crowds of people
Acts 2: 32-36

See how the people responded
Acts 2: 37 ‘Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” (to be saved)

Now, contrast Peter’s powerful Message of salvation, given on the Day of Pentecost, with these 4 popular yet misguided attempts to invite people to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior

1/ “Come to Jesus and your Life will get better” = this is called the Prosperity Gospel

On the Day of Pentecost, Peter didn’t say to the crowds, “Come to Jesus and your Life will get better”

For some people who come to Christ, their Life will get better, but for some people their Life might not get better, in fact, it might get worse
Acts 12: 1-2 James the disciple was executed

And, for some people their Life is already great – so why would they want to come to Jesus?
Acts 24: 24-26 Felix the Roman Governor, who had the Apostle Paul in custody, was a very rich and powerful man – so why would he want to come to Jesus?

2/ “Come to Jesus, God has a wonderful plan for your Life” = this is called the Wonderful Life Gospel

On the Day of Pentecost, Peter didn’t say to the crowds, “Come to Jesus, God has a wonderful plan for your Life”

For some people who come to Christ, a wonderful plan is probably better than no plan

But for some people, they already have a wonderful plan for their own life, and they don’t want God telling them what to do
Mark 9: 59 Jesus said, ‘Come follow Me.’ The person replied, ‘first let me…’

3/ “Come to Jesus, God will heal you of your sickness” = this is called the Healing Gospel

On the Day of Pentecost, Peter didn’t say to the crowds, “Come to Jesus, God will heal you of your sickness”

Now, God might heal your sickness, but He might not
2 Timothy 4:20 ‘I left Trophimus sick at Miletus’

4/ “Come to Jesus, see Him bleeding and dying on the cross with His arms outstretched to you in love” = this is called the Poor Jesus Gospel (Graphic: Cross)

On the Day of Pentecost, Peter didn’t say to the crowds, “Come to Jesus, see Him bleeding and dying on the cross with His arms outstretched to you in love”

That’s just pathetic! Jesus didn’t die on the cross so that we would feel sorry for Him – He doesn’t need a hug!

No, these 4 popular, yet misguided attempts to invite people to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior are not the true Gospel of salvation

Look closer at Peter’s Message of salvation in Christ
Acts 2: 38 RE-READ ‘You must repent of your sins and turn to God and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins’.

Now see how effective his Message was!
Acts 2: 41

Finally, dear Friends, Jesus has given us the responsibility to evangelize the lost (Matthew 28: 18-20)

If we are going to be effective in our evangelism, we desperately need the power of the Holy Spirit, and we need to clearly, accurately, and biblically tell people about the way of salvation in Jesus Christ – for the glory of God, Amen?!

2 Corinthians 5: 18 ‘He (God the Father) brought us back to Himself through Christ’s death on the cross. And He has given us the task of bringing others back to Him (self) through Christ’. (NIRV)