January 20, 2008 "You’re Invited: Come and See"

Doug Scalise, Brewster Baptist Church

"The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared,

"Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

This is he of whom I said,

‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’

I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel." And John testified, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God."

The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, "Look, here is the Lamb of God!" The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, "What are you looking for?" They said to him, "Rabbi" (which translated means Teacher), "where are you staying?" He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon.

One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated Anointedj). He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas" (which is translated Peterl)."

In Bible study the last couple weeks we’ve shared tips for reading and understanding the Bible. One of things we shared was looking for words, phrases, or images that are repeated. There are several in this passage and one that is most significant. I tried to make it a little obvious by how I read it.

This passage is about Seeing and Sharing Jesus.

Seeing – Did you hear all the words and phrases related to seeing?

(review underlined references in scripture above)

Very simply this passage teaches us:

When You See Jesus You Share Jesus. That’s what John and Andrew did.

When you follow Jesus, you believe in Jesus.

When you come to Jesus, he knows who you are and he knows your real name, your true identity. Jesus knows Peter is going to be rock, even though he isn’t one yet. I always feel a little for Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. Do you know anyone with a famous brother or sister or parent? Every time he’s introduced, it’s, "This is Andrew. You know, Peter’s brother." It’s as if he has no identity of his own. That was poor Andrew’s predicament, but Andrew excelled at intentional, relational evangelism.

Intentional Evangelism

Did you know that the majority of people in New England have not yet embraced a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ? These people need to hear the good news about the God who loves them and who sent His Son Jesus to teach them how to live as God’s children and who as the Lamb of God died so that we might be forgiven and have the opportunity for eternal, abundant, joyful life.

Who do you think are the people who can best bring the good news to these people? Do you think it is television evangelists? Do you think it is Christian radio programs? Guess what, the answer is you. Followers of Jesus who live, work, shop, and go to school with all these people are the best way to connect these people with God. Through developing personal relationships with the people around us who do not yet follow Jesus, we can share with them in ways that are appropriate the good news about who Jesus is and what Jesus has done.

Research done by Vision New England has shown that 5 out of 10 New England Christians have not shared their faith with a non-believer in the past 12 months. Only 3% of Christians are involved in personal evangelism (for those of you who didn’t major in math that means 97% are not). A typical New England Protestant congregation has less than 90 adults and averages bringing in 1 new believer per year. 90% of church growth comes from people who are already Christians leaving one church and going to another, only 10% comes from new believers.

The percentage of the US population attending Christian churches is dropping steadily by 2-3% every decade, if this trend is not changed by 2050 only 10.5% of Americans will be attending a Christian church.

What do we intend to do about these ominous statistics? What are you prepared to do. What kind of legacy do you want to leave?

This year I want to challenge our church to get more intentional about practicing relational evangelism. Relational Evangelism is several things:

1. Authentic – flows out of a genuine, living relationship with Jesus where his love for people passes through us to others. The truth of the Christian faith is demonstrated by a life that has been noticeably marked by God’s love and leadership. Joe Aldrich said in his book, Lifestyle Evangelism, that "Christians are to be good news before they share the good news."

2. Natural – we don’t have to be someone we are not. Relational evangelism reflects our own personality, interests, and temperament. It fits who we are.

3. Personal – There are two approaches to reaching people who need Jesus, personal or impersonal. People are far more open to talking with a friend they already know than they are to being influenced by a tract, direct mail or some other impersonal approach. When we need advice on an important decision or need help with a problem we are going through we turn to someone we know and trust. When it comes to spiritual issues, people are more likely to confide in a faithful friend.

4. Verbal – Relational evangelism is more than just building friendships and hoping others notice the difference in our lives and figure it out all by themselves.

Paul said in Romans 10:14, "But how can people call for help if they don’t know who to trust? And how can they know who to trust if they haven’t heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them?"

For people to get the message, someone has to explain it to them. Actions and words need to go together. We are to both live and explain the gospel. 1 Peter 3:15-16, "In your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect."

5. Process-Oriented – not event oriented. For most people coming to faith is not a one time event but a process that takes time. We don’t want to rush or pressure anyone. It takes time to understand the Christian message, believe it, and act on it. It is not that common for people to commit themselves to Jesus the very first time they hear the message. We patiently bring people along step by step.

6. Team-Oriented – God rarely uses just one person to bring someone through the whole process of coming to faith in Jesus. More often God uses a number of people, places, events, and circumstances to lovingly draw people to Jesus. There are two implications to this. We do not have to feel that we individually carry the full burden of leading family members and friends all the way to the point of trusting Jesus. Cliff Knechtle wrote in the book, Give Me An Answer, "A person’s coming to Christ is like a chain with many links. There is the first link, middle links, and a last link. There are many influences and conversations that precede a person’s decision to convert to Christ. I know the joy of being the first link at times, a middle link usually, and occasionally the last link. God has not called me to only be the last link. He has called me to be faithful and to love all people."

Aretha Franklin did a song a long time ago called Chain of Fools in which she lamented after being dumped by a guy, that she was just another link that had been added to his chain of fools.

On a much more positive note, we can be a link or two in the chain that God is forging to help bring someone safely across the line of faith.

God doesn’t intend for to do this alone, that is why the church provides opportunities for us to bring friends to. As a local church we strive to have an environment of love, forgiveness, and acceptance and to provide a host of opportunities for you to invite friends to - including worship, special events, group activities for folks of all ages, and so on. We also use radio messages and a fine web site with all kinds of information to get the word out about BBC but nothing can top the influence you have with people you know.

7. Putting Others First – Being a Christian in general means putting others first.

Looking not to our own interests but to the interests of others. We earn the right to be heard by investing our lives in the lives of others.

In 2008 I would like to challenge every person who comes to BBC to make it a goal to influence and invite at least one other person to become involved in BBC by coming to worship, a ministry, a group, a class, a mission.

What you can do:

Pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, pray for Boldness and Love to Share the Good News. Pray for sensitivity and awareness of the people God’s brings across your path. See encounters with people whether family, friends, co-workers, customers, class mates as divine appointments and opportunities not something that is random or chance.

Who can you pray for, very specifically can you write down three names of folks who you will begin praying for – that God would open opportunities for you to speak the gospel? Who can you spend time with and build a bridge of friendship with that Jesus can walk across? We have created BBC business cards so you all can take 3-5 cards with you and carry them in your wallet or pocketbook and use them as a way to invite people to worship or some group or event at BBC.

We’re all invited by God to come and see Jesus for ourselves and to see that Jesus is the One we can truly trust.

God simply calls us to be a witness, a witness simply testifies to what he or she has seen, heard, and experienced. John the Baptist was a witness, Andrew was a witness.

We are not called to be a prosecutor or a judge. The verdict is not up to us. It is the Holy Spirit who ultimately enables conviction and conversion, faith and following.

Always remember most people are loved into a relationship with Jesus, not argued into a relationship with Jesus.

What is Evangelism? An old simple answer is one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread. A newer more elaborate and inclusive answer is:

Evangelism is

the joyous witness of the People of God

to the redeeming love of God

urging all to repent

and to be reconciled to God and each other

through faith in Jesus Christ

who lived, died, and was raised from the dead,

so that

being made new

and empowered by the Holy Spirit

believers are incorporated as disciples into the church

for worship, fellowship, nurture and

engagement in God’s mission

of evangelization and liberation within society and creation,

signifying the Kingdom which is present and yet to come.　

Prayer: "Lord open my eyes today to a person who needs to know you,

And give me your words to say.

Lord, what is it you want to do through me to build relationships, transform lives, and change my community?"