From the
newsroom at Christian radio FM Woodbridge we have the following press release.
Parish to
share the good news of Jesus to many
As you know
press releases usually comprise of who, then what when where and why
It would
seem to make sense to start this press release with Why but we will stick to the regular
format. Because, the Who, is critical,
The who is
you and me. Too easy. We invited Billy Graham but unfortunately his calendar is
a bit full. In fact we have been handballing this role for too long. inviting other
people to do this job for us over a very long period of time.
The reality
is, the buck stops with us.
Although it
should belong in the why, lets take a sneak peek at the reason why you and I
are featured in this event.
Matthews
Gospel, the final passage, the great commission
Matthew
28:16-20New International Version (NIV)
The Great
Commission
16 Then the
eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to
go. 17 When they
saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and
said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 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. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the
age.”
That would be more than enough but there is more which we will
come to later.
WHERE
Everywhere, in church but mainly not in Church, Those in Church usually
have an understanding of the great gift from God in Jesus, Larger churches may
see more non believers walk in of the street. Some of who, may be invited by parishioners. It is
relatively rare in my experience in this Parish so the good news has mostly to be spread outside these walls.
I doubt if we will have many takers for the street corner with
soap box, probably fruit box in these parts. The logical place to start is
within our circles of influence. I know
that we usually avoid raising controversial matters with those close to us and
discretion and diplomacy are required, more so, guidance from the Holy Spirit.
Situations arise within families where life gets out of control. Those family
members who share their concerns with us do not want to be told that they are going
to hell, but no doubt would appreciate being told that they will be held in
prayer or even an offer to pray with them apart from any other guidance we may
offer. We know that God acts through the Word and the Spirit so some scripture
may be appropriate.. Such situations can and will arise in all our spheres of
influence, clubs, workplace and so on. Starting every day with the prayer that
asks God to cross our paths with those to whom we can witness or reach to for
God is a great start. It is amazing what follows.
WHAT
That cat is out of the bag already also, sharing the good news of
Jesus Christ, Go’s gift to the world.
It is very straightforward for most Christians that the good news
is the salvation that we have gained through Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the
cross, that he has taken the sins of the world to himself. Humankind would
appear to have been sacrifice focused since as early as people formed
communities and wondered at the vagaries of nature, the capricious nature of
life, lives that may be taken through accident, attack by animals, or other
humans, lightning, earthquake, flood sickness and the list goes on. Most
civilisations have had a culture of sacrifice usually to appease the gods and
enable those living to have a fair chance of making it to beyond reproducing
age before departing this world .But God
for God, there can not be a more perfect sacrifice.
It is interesting that the majority opinion in the world at large
when asked what is the essence of Christianity would answer, they have a great
set of morals, everybody should learn that and the world would be a better
place..
Many religions have good sets of moral guidance, but none other
than Christianity has confronted the Devil and defeated him through the cross
and the resurrection, death has been defeated, Christ does reign supreme over
all creation.
There is more good news, as well as salvation and a great set of
moral guidelines, what about answered prayer, what about the knowledge that as
promised God will never leave us God is with us through thick and thin. It is
like the marriage vows but there is no divorce with God. We might stray but god
does not., The worst sinner can repent
and ask God to save them and God remains faithful.
Healings, spiritual and phusical. Lost car keys, Guidance through
life, nudging and prompting this way and that through lifecomplex obstacles and
hurdles.
There is a lot of good news for sure.
WHY
The good news is that it is the job of the Holy Spirit. All we do
is to assist the Spirit by passing on God’s word. Because God acts through
God’s word and God’s spirit. I have no doubt that God could dispense with our
help but Jesus made it clear that this is what he wants us to do. It is not
just these words of Jesus that prompt us. We know of God’s intention made clear
from Genesis onwards that it is God’s intention to bless humanity through the seed
planted in Adam, and Eve. The covenant he made with Abraham, that all nations
would be blessed through his offspring, that the messiah would come and be a
savior for humanity and as Isaiah tells us, that every knee will bend , every
head bow and every tongue confess Jesus to be Lord. We are part of God’s plan
revealed in the bible and Jesus just made that absolutely clear so that we do
not have to rely on deciphering the Old Testament and draw the conclusions
therefrom.
There is another reason, another why. Jesus summarized the law and
the prophets with the two great commandments, Love God first and love thy
neighbor as thyself. That means don’t be selfish, that means that our response
to Gods love is to share the good news. When we are gifted with such a
priceless treasure as a relationship with Jesus which brings salvation and the
other benefits we know, how can we sit on that and keep it to ourselves.
You are likely to be going to the training day on the 29th,
next Saturday and I expect that one of the themes which comes through will be
that of pathways and another theme, small steps. The pathways theme is very logical and
straightforward.
There is a process in the formation of most Christians which may
not begin at the same place but usually contains all the same elements. People
are first engaged, engaged by other Christians, their interest is aroused, they
develop relationships with Christians, they observe, question maybe aloud as to
what it is that Christians treasure so much. The next step is witness, the
sharing of that very thing, what it is that makes our faith so important to us.
It may be how we came to Jesus,. It may be the before and after story, before
Christ was at the Centre of our lives and the after. The difference that has
made in our lives. Bill Hybel’s book Walk across the room suggests a statement
of around one hundred words is adequate. A concise statement that does not
confuse or sidetrack listeners with stories about miracles or visions, those
things which are going to raise more
questions than answers for a listener. Once interest is raised it is time to
cut to the chase as they say, evangelise, tell the story of Jesus Triumph over
evil, of how all are offered salvation through faith in Jesus,. The next step
once people have started following Jesus is the establishment of their faith,
helping new Christians to grow, through small groups, through having someone
help them read the bible, perhaps being a bible reading partner, certainly a
study guide at least.. the process continues as the traveler is established
into maturity, Preaching is of course valuable in many of the stages and most
so for the establishment process which is a point on the journey where people
are well positioned to share the good news themselves. To help them do so. The
final step is that of equipping, equipping people with the tools which help to
help people at any stage of the process to take the next step. Having laid out
that logical process, there is no secret that the most effective evangelisers
are new Christians who are so enthusiastic in their new found faith that it is
contagious with their peers. We need to wear our own enthusiasm on our sleeve
also.
We talk about steps in the process, the book which Bishop Richard had clergy read prior to the
clergy conference spoke of helping people take steps towards Jesus, not leaps,
steps of whatever size was appropriate for the individual. None of us are
expected to convert anyone in one session, We encounter people at somewhere
along the spectrum between engaging and equipping and with the help of the Holy Spirit as to where they are and what we can offer them to
assist on helping them take another step closer to the Lord. Knowing all the
time that it is God’s spirit who convicts and it may take a number of
encounters with different messengers who convey the appropriate message for their
stage on the journey. We may think our efforts are inconsequential or
ineffective, but every straw on the camel adds to the end result.
I pray for God’s blessing upon each one of us as we join with the
Holy Spirit in the sharing of the best news in the universe. Amen
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