Rev. Jeffrey T.
Howard
First Presbyterian
Church of Ocean City
July 12, 2015
We are now in our
fifth week talking about evangelism. We started off by looking at
the world around and seeing how much it has changed in our lifetimes.
And we concluded that now we must get out of the church and go into
our communities as missionaries of Jesus Christ. To do this we must
be prepared by daily reading and meditation on scripture, prayer and
by gathering with each other every Sunday in worship. Through these
practices we grow as disciples and develop our own story of how our
lives were transformed as we developed a relationship with Christ.
We also develop a Big Story where we can tell the story of God. The
Big Story includes God’s work in creating a world he declared good.
It includes the work of evil in corrupting God’s creation into
what we see today. It includes what God is doing about this by
sending his Son and establishing his church. This all fits into a
framework of good news we can share with people who need to hear it.
Today we will ask the question, “Who are the people who need to
hear the good news. We will get to this, but first let’s pray.
May the words of my
mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight O
Lord, our rock and our redeemer.
Acts 1:1-8 1 In
my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began
to do and to teach 2 until the day he was
taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy
Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After
his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing
proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of
forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On
one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this
command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift
my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For
John baptized with[a] water, but
in a few days you will be baptized with[b] the
Holy Spirit.”
6 Then
they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time
going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He
said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates
the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But
you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and
you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and
Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Just before Jesus
ascended to heaven he spoke to his disciples about their mission on
earth. First, they were to wait in Jerusalem. This means that they
must be prepared before they witness to others. They can’t go into
the world until they have spent sufficient time in prayer, meditation
on scripture and worship. So if you are spending time with God in
prayer each day and if you are worshiping with others every Sunday
then you are ready. You have received the power of the Holy Spirit.
Your personal story of faith is ready. And now you are ready to
witness.
Notice that
according to Jesus evangelism is a partnership. You have your
responsibility. The Holy Spirit has its responsibility. You are
witnesses. You are to tell your story of what God has done for you.
The Holy Spirit will handle everything else. We see this clearly in
the Gospel of Mark. The disciples shared their story of Jesus
calming the wind and waves, and the Holy Spirit revealed that Jesus
was more than a teacher. Then the disciples shared their story of
Jesus bringing a dead girl back to life, and the Holy Spirit revealed
Jesus to be a prophet. The disciples shared their story of Jesus
feeding thousands with just a few loaves of bread, and the Holy
Spirit revealed Jesus to be the messiah. And the disciples shared
their story of Jesus transfigured on a mountaintop, and the Holy
Spirit revealed Jesus to be the Son of Man who came from heaven.
This happens to us too. We share our story of what Jesus has done
for us, and the Holy Spirit brings people to faith. Your role is to
be witnesses and leave conversion up to the Holy Spirit.
After engaging in
prayer, Bible study and worship the disciples received power from the
Holy Spirit to begin their ministry of witnessing. They were ready
to begin sharing their stories, but with whom should they witness?
Jesus told them that the people to whom they should witness are
first, the people of Jerusalem, then the people of Judah, then the
people of Samaria, and finally all people on earth. Let’s talk
about each of these.
The disciples are
to start witnessing, sharing their story, in Jerusalem. This is home
field. These are the people they know, people they grew up with.
These people dress like them and speak the same language. They are
already talking with people in Jerusalem every day. So talking about
faith with people just like you is the easiest thing in the world.
So where is our
Jerusalem? Where should we begin our witnessing? Let’s start with
friends and family members. Talk with the people who come to your
business or clean your house, or serve you at a restaurant. These
are people you already talk to all the time. Now, share you story of
faith with them. Witness to the good news of what Christ has done in
your lives. As you grow as disciples this should be easy.
When I was in
business I called my company TARSUS Point of Sale Systems. Tarsus is
a city in Turkey where the Apostle Paul came from. I would have
personal conversations with my customers. Some of them would
recognize the biblical reference in the name and we would have
conversations about our churches. Others would have no idea what the
word “tarsus” meant and would ask. This would open the door for
me to tell my story of what Jesus did for me, and what Jesus did for
the Apostle Paul. That's what I did. Find some way to share your
story with the people you know.
Jesus told his
disciples that they were to start with the people of Jerusalem and
then move into Judah. Judah, at this time was a Roman province with
Jerusalem as its capital. Jesus’ disciples were to move from their
own limited circle of friends, families and acquaintances and begin
to talk with people they didn’t know. This was a little harder to
do, but still not too difficult. The people of Judah spoke their
language and dressed like them. They shared a national history and
faith in God. So there was already a basis for conversation. All
the disciples had to do was get out of Jerusalem and witness to
others. The Holy Spirit took it from there.
When I taught this
material to our Christian education classes they identified their
Judah as people coming to the church. They already have
conversations with people who come to the Grace Parker breakfasts, or
the Rummage sales, or summertime visitors to the church, or people at
Panera, or customers of Walmart. These are all people just like you.
They dress like you. They talk like you. They have the same
concerns you have. They all need Jesus as much as you do. These
people are your Judah. That’s where you begin to leave your
comfort zone and start witnessing to others about your faith.
The third place the
disciples were to go after Jerusalem and Judah was Samaria. A
thousand years before Christ, King David’s kingdom stretched from
Egypt all the way to the Euphrates River. After his death his
kingdom gradually became smaller and divided. A southern kingdom was
called Judah and a northern kingdom was called Israel. Three hundred
years after David the northern kingdom, Israel, was destroyed by the
Assyrian army. The people were deported to other places in the
Assyrian empire. Other people were brought to the former Israel to a
land now called Samaria. They became the Samaritans. The Assyrians
encouraged the Samaritans to worship the local God of Israel. And so
they became disciples of God through prayer, Bible study and worship.
But they were not ethnic Jews. They did not dress, or talk like
other believers. And this led to years and years of conflict.
By sending his
disciples to Samaria, Jesus was sending them to a place with people
not like them. These people spoke with an accent. They wore
different clothing. They were discriminated against. But Jesus sent
his disciples to Samaria as witnesses. This is more difficult, but
doable. So, who is our Samaria?
This winter
Worcester County taught ESL and GED classes for immigrants who have
moved into our community. These people live here in Ocean City, but
they speak with an accent and dress a little differently. They are
our Samaritans. And that is why we established this summer ESL
classes and simple English Bible studies so that you would have the
opportunity to share your story with people who are different from
you, your Samaritans. And we have almost 300 international students
coming for breakfast every Wednesday morning. They would love to
talk with you. That’s why they learned English and came to
America, to meet you. You don’t have to travel very far to find
your Samaria. It’s right here at the church. All you have to do
is come as a conversation partner and share your story.
Finally, Jesus sent
his disciples to the ends of the earth. Many of them left Jerusalem
and traveled great distances to share their stories. The Apostle
Paul started out three times to evangelize people in every country
around the Mediterranean Sea. We do this through our mission giving.
We support world missionaries through New Castle Presbytery and the
Presbyterian Mission Agency. Bill and Ann Moore, Presbyterian
missionaries in Japan, came here in May to share their story with us
and thank us for the stained glass windows we provided for his church
in Japan. Bill told us that many communities in Japan still have no
churches. There is a great opportunity for people who want to share
their faith at the ends of the earth. So all we have to do is to
continue to support missionaries financially and when possible go
visit them.
As you gather
around tables at lunch talk about where your Jerusalem, your Judah,
your Samaria and your ends of the earth are. Where is God calling
you to witness? Where is God calling you to go? Where would sharing
your story be easy? Where would it be harder? What would you have
to do to share your story with someone who looks and talks
differently from you?
As you grow as
disciples you will develop a story to share and God will show you who
needs to hear your story. Just follow God’s lead and be witnesses
of what Christ has done for you. Let's pray.
Heavenly Father
help us to grow in discipleship so that we may witness to others.
Help us to see you at work in our lives. Help us to develop our own
stories. And help us to share our stories wherever you may send us.
This we pray in your son's name. Amen.
1http://www.pcusa.org/resource/engage/
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