Every Christian is called to have a passion and take action in reaching the lost.
My prayer is that the statement above would be true and real in our generation. Yet it is important that we start with proper motivation.
Like everything else meaningful in life it starts with our hearts.
Throughout the bible the phrase Jesus had compassion on them was used many times.
One of those times was found in the book of Mark.
Mark 9:35And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 36When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
Tie all the thoughts in that short set of verses into our overall message of today.
Mark 9:36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Jesus gazes upon the crowds of hurting people.
His heart breaks for them. He Brings healinh, Brings hope, Meets tangible needs, Shares the Gospel with them, and ltimately loves them enough to die for them.
Then he says a prayer for their age and for ours.
Mark 9:37Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
The harvest is plenty
God’s desire is that all would be saved
But there is a problem
Not enough workers
I often wonder our churches are often so large but the laborers are so few
Could it be that Christians get lazy
Get distracted
Don’t realize what they have been saved from and what they are saved for
Return to self centeredness
Continue languishing in sin
Or maybe they are just not taught?
The answers could be numerous, but my job is to ensure that everyone who comes here knows what the word of God says, knows how to apply it, and hopefully lives it out with great passion.
SO I join with Jesus this morning in praying that prayer.
So how do we live it out?
Many ways — last week we started by talking about sharing out testimony — again I hope you will film that today.
In the weeks ahead I we will talk about relational evangelism, and servant evangelism among other topics but today I want to circle back to
Mark 9:35And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.
Jesus proclaimed the gospel, and accompanied it with signs and wonders.
Could we cry out for that together?
Jesus set the example for us
We know his disciples did the same thing and have done the same thing for years and years.
It made me wonder the tech geek that I am how we might leverage this digital age we live in to advance the gospel and in fact proclaim it to the ends of the earth.
Think about this — may it blow you away as it did me.
Jesus went from city to city on foot teaching in their synagogues –
Why did he do it that way?
That was the technology of their day.
The synagogues were one of the significant places in the city where people gathered to discuss spiritual things.
Jesus was being super strategic in where he would share — in the long run the cities would be the place that the gospel would stem from and reach out to all the world
The cities are a place of influence — even more so in our generation where culture is set in places like New York, LA, and Miami.
There was another scene found in
John 10: 22At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. 24So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 25Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, 26but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. 27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29My Father, who has given them to me,a is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30I and the Father are one.”
Collonnade of Solomon — famous gathering place outside the temple where people spoke about religious issues at the highest level — Pharissees, Saducees and others.
Or think of Paul
Acts 17: 16Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. 17So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.
Acts 17:
22So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28for
“‘In him we live and move and have our being’;
as even some of your own poets have said,
“‘For we are indeed his offspring.’
Look at those choice words
He so understood the culture
He communicated both in the synagogues — the gathering place of the Jews
And in the market place where he could reach the greeks.
God empowered his words to touch the hearts of many to compel them to come to know Jesus.
My big question is — why couldn’t you and I do that?
Marketplace is an incredible place — definitely where people gather today
People don’t just come to church — we need to reach them where we are at.
But this is but a digression that I will dig deeper into in the weeks ahead.
A bit more history.
Earliest days of humanity ideas were shared through conversation.
Then came written language.
In Jesus day, very few were educated or had the ability to read so much of what happened leading up till that time is what scholars might call oral tradition.
But there were SCRIBES who followed them to write their words down.
But distribution was difficult and probably remained in the hands of the elite.
Some of whom controlled the information flow not letting common people read materials they deemed offensive.
Sadly even in places like the catholic church they preached masses soley in Latin even in the US up until the 1970’s or 80s’ people would go and not even know what in the heck they were saying.
So information can be used as a tool for good or a tool for evil.
We certainly see that in todays headlines — Fake News..
Every generation has used the available technology of the day to spread their ideas.
Even Jesus — I have been to the place where the feeding of the 5000, how could you communicate with all those people?
Natural bowl like amphitheater that allowed for his voice to be projected easily across the mountainside.
Over the years communication methods even shaped how churches were built.
So for 1000’s of years very few people could read or write, and the main way of sharing ideas remained oral tradition.
Everything changed in 1440
1440 Gutenberg completed his wooden press which used movable metal type.
One of if not the first masterpiece printed was “Forty-Two-Line” Bible, completed no later than 1455.
The printing press actually became very controversial and many died printing the bible in plain language so that commoners could read — Ton’s of Martyrs
Get this headline from 1535: death penalty for using a printing press at all, to “prevent the spread of misinformation and false news”.
Printing press enabled the distribution of the gospel in written form to the masses.
Written form, think of the many other ways the gospel is communicated.
Art work telling stories that anyone could understand.
Enter the 20th century –
Circuit riders — get on horse back to go from city to city
Radio –
Or the invention of Telavision giving birth to people like Billy Graham to become probably the greatest evanglesit of the 20th century. Also enabling a method of multiplying the gospel never before scene in the history of the world.
All of these technologies as we know have been used for both good and for bad.
All of these things bringing us to a prophecy from the bible found in the book of
Daniel 12: But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”
A sign of the end days — We live in The Information Age.
So what is the latest invention that even surpasses the printing press — the digital printing press called the internet.
See with all the previous technologies there was still a bit of a barrier to entry and distribution.
Printing press cost money — how do you get everything out.
Radio — not everyone can broadcast on radio.
Tv — huge investments needed and huge amount of control by forces that are opposed to the gospel.
But the internet — now every one of us can be a publisher and in fact we all are with very little cost or barrier to entry.
Post on FB, Twitter, Instgram, or a blog for free or virtually for free.
So now we have been impowered in this digital age to spread the gospel in a way that was never possible before
The internet is solomons colonnade — it is a place where information is shared and debated.
Our timelines tell a story — what is yours saying? What are you posting about? Is it your last margarhita? Is it politics? Or is it a platform where you can share your faith in love and in the context of culture in such a way that can have an impact on any one who reads it.
Wait, how communication has changed — people barley talk together, people don’t read.
Now we live in an age of video — spoken word communicating via camera phone and images and maybe little sound bites but very few read something long, and fewer still embrace hours of conversation.
I fear even the medium in which I am using of the one to many communication from the pulpit may also be a dying art as what other context in life do you even see that?
Life centers around screens today for better or for worse. Maybe 1000 people a month go to even see theathre here in Jacksonville, fewer still go to view art.
One of the major communication medias of our day is digital.
And what an opportunity that presents for us.
Never before in history could every ordinary common person have a platform to share the gospel to the masses in a searchable fashion where people can find it by searching a few key words or share it so easily with their friends.
So I ask you to ponder again, what does your timelines say about your faith? And are you using these tools as strategically as you might to reach your friends with the gospel?
Here is some tips
Sounds simple but so true
1st one — think before you post..
Emotions can run high — we can say things online we would never say in person.
Is what you are writing going to cause division? Are twitter wars really profitable especially amongst brothers and sisters in christ while unbelievers are watching?
What about Romans 14: 13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.
Are your words or actions as posted posing a danger to others-
Example — say you post about drinking not a sin in and of it self if your not getting drunk.
But what about your brothers and sisters in christ who struggle with addiction and see that and it causes them problems..
I would pause for a second and say that the internet, phones, etc have literally become the most addictive technology in the history of mankind.
This could be very bad or could be very good.
Lets spin it for the good..
How can u use social media more effectively as a tool for evangelism.
Think of a few simple things — Say you read your bible daily and I hope you do .. Youversion.com has afeature where you can post a scritputre or bible image — share that online as an encouragement to others.
Pose meaningful questions that illicit healthy discussion.
Do something as simple as checking in on FB — do u know FB is like 45% of all internet traffic? Wow. What a multiplier — you check in here and encourage people to watch — if 100 of you do that on a weekend and each of you has 300 friends that is the possibility of literally reaching 1000’s of people with the message of the gospel.
What if we did less selfies and more posting about Jesus?
For those who know how to write — why not start a blog that can change peoples lives
For those who know how to do video — start a youtube channel
For those who know how to share — create a podcast
Simpler even yet — we will film a video for you today HE changed me — post it
DO the contents — hand out cards 0- film yourself post it.
Jesus could reach 5000 that day — through these tools you can literally reach people around the world.
May we use them for God’s glory.