Have you ever considered your circle of influence? Regardless of your. spot in your family s birth order, or where you live in the community, or what

Transcription

1 Series: Circles of Influence Sermon: First, Look Across the Table Text: John 1:35-43 Preaching/Date: Rick Messer/March 9, Copyright of Howard Lake Christian Church of Howard Lake, Minnesota. All Rights Reserved. All scripture taken from the NIV unless otherwise noted. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. Introduction: Have you ever considered your circle of influence? Regardless of your spot in your family s birth order, or where you live in the community, or what your position is in the marketplace you have a circle of influence. And as a church we want to discover how to make the most of these circles of influence so that we can point more people to a saving relationship with Jesus. Obviously, the first circle of influence is the people who we are closest with: Our friends and family who are an significant part of our lives. And because these people are so close to us, it is a natural thing for them to be our first priority when it comes to sharing our faith and there s nothing wrong with that. So with that thought in mind we could actually say that our mission within the first circle is to guide those who are closest to us, into a saving 1

2 relationship with Jesus. So as we prepare to explore this first circle of influence I want us to turn to John 1: (John 1:35-43 NIV) " (35) The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. (36) When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, Look, the Lamb of God! (37) When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. (38) Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, What do you want? They said, Rabbi (which means Teacher), where are you staying? (39) Come, he replied, and you will see. So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour. (40) Andrew, Simon Peter s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. (41) The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, We have found the Messiah (that is, the Christ). (42) And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas (which, when translated, is Peter). (43) The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, Follow me. " This is a great example of someone who shared their faith in Christ with their family first. As soon as they met Jesus, they started telling those closest to them about Him. 2

3 So when it comes to sharing our faith with our family and friends, how can we become more like that? How can we begin to bring those closest to us, to a saving relationship with Jesus? I believe the first way is through consistent example. I. Through Your Consistent Example. (1 Peter 3:1-2 NIV) " (1) Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, (2) when they see the purity and reverence of your lives." Now this passage could be a whole sermon on its own. But I want you to notice the basic truth of this passage and how it can really apply to all of us who are close to family members who do not believe or follow Jesus. It can be summarized like this: share the Gospel by how you live more so than by what you say. Is it easy? Not all the time! Is it worth it? The dividends are for eternity. Friends the principle of living out our faith in the day to day hum drum of life is universal in its application. And if you want to have the credibility to talk 3

4 to your friends and family about Christ, then Saints you need to consistently live the life of a devoted follower of Christ. 24/7! People want to see you living your faith and not just talking about it. You see talk is cheap. In fact there are a whole lot of people who can talk about having faith in this or that, but it s a whole other story to see someone living it out in the day to day routine of life. As the great song from Brice Carroll say s I d rather see a sermon than hear one any day Ask yourself, what is the sermon that my family and friends see in my life? I your answer is Jesus 24/7. Have you ever noticed what often happens when a light burns out? Many times when a light is turned on for the last time it produces a sudden burst of light (even burning brighter than it normally does) until the element burns into darkness. A sudden explosion of light is followed by the search for a new light bulb. None of us want to light our homes with flash bulbs, or the pulse of a strobe 4

5 light. We want a steady consistent light that will make the room comfortable to be in. 1 And this is what God wants from us as we shine for Him. Our lives are to have that same kind of consistency. Jesus said that our lives should be as lights for the world to see. Not lights that are fading in and out, or flashing on and off. But lights that are a steady stream shinning the love of Christ into a darkened world. And as a result people will not just see your light they will ultimately see your genuine excitement for Christ. And that s another way in which you can share your faith with family and friends. II. Through Your Genuine Excitement. Have you ever meet someone famous? What did you do? I have watched people over and over again who have had the opportunity to meet someone who was famous in person, and they are excited, and they are telling everyone about it whether you want to hear it or not! 1 (Ebie, D. Greg n.d.) 5

6 I truly think Andrew was like this after meeting Jesus, because once Andrew had met Jesus he couldn t wait to tell his brother about him. He was motivated by genuine excitement which is far stronger than any fear you may have. I ve said this many times over the years and its true, you cannot give away what you do not have. And it is the same for our relationship with Christ, you can t share your faith in Christ and love for him if you don t have a relationship with Christ. You see it is impossible to lead someone to a spiritual place where we have never been; on the other hand if our faith is real, then there will be a personal excitement that shines through. The news boys have a great song called shine. I want to read the lyrics from the chorus: Shine make em wonder whatcha got make em wish that they were not on the outside looking bored shine let it shine before all men 6

7 let em see good works and then let em glorify the lord Saints of God if you are going to share your faith in that first circle of influence then you need to be consistent and genuinely excited about your faith in Christ so that you can shine like a light on a hill for all to see the love of God. But sometimes being, consistent and excited is not enough sometimes you have got to be creative too. III. Through Your Creative Efforts. Remember the message never changes but the methods do. Jesus said in (Matthew 5:13 NIV) " (13) You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men." Without question salt adds some flavor to what is common, and Jesus expects you to do the same within your circles of influence. We should always be on the lookout for new ways to share the gospel. Perhaps it is in a travel opportunity or a family gathering or a handwritten 7

8 letter. In May we are planning on renting out an entire theater so that you can have the opportunity to invite friends and family who are not involved in another church to visit with us and then attend a free movie on the opening weekend! That begin creative in sharing our faith, that s adding salt to flavor the meal. Luke 5 tells us that when Matthew became a disciple, he threw a party for all his friends to meet Jesus. And you can do the same things. Why not throw a new-birth birthday party to celebrate the day you were baptized into Christ and raised into new life. You could invite your family or friends to join you at the Minnesota Christan Convention. Ladies could invite their girl friends and family to join them in getting healthy at the women s kick boxing at HLCC. There are great opportunities for men as well to invivte their family and friends to attend the Men s retreat or the new men s group in April a new Men s Bible group that will begin in April of Teens you could invite your friends to the Wednesday Fusion every Wednesday night! And don t miss the opportunity to invite friends and family to bring their Kids to Kids Club on Wednesday afternoons. 8

9 The pint in all this is that there are many creative ways and opportunities to invite your family and friends to see and hear the Good news of Christ. that takes place on Christian Or why not begin now to invite friends and family to join you for Easter at HLCC. It s not too early to begin making plans and to think creatively because will bless the efforts you make. You say okay Rick everything sounds great so far. I m living out my faith consistently. I m excited about what the Lord has done for me, and I am truly being creative in telling people about the Lord and inviting them to come to HLCC, but what is the next step? Because eventually you will have to make the appeal, you will have to do more than just be consistent, excited and creative, you have to talk to your family and friends about your faith. IV. Through Your Sincere Appeal. 1 Peter 3:15 (NIV) says, But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and 9

10 respect Friends, this is the toughest step, but it is also the most critical. It is the step that immediately elicits feelings of uneasiness, awkwardness, and fear. In fact I think it is harder to share your faith with a family member or a close friend than with a perfect stranger, because they really know who you are! But you need to remember the purpose of why you are doing what you are doing. The point of this step is not to impose your spiritual beliefs on someone else. It is to build a relationship, to be an encourager, to invest in their lives and attract them to God s Word so that they can make the most important decision of their life. Conclusion: The quickest way to change the world is for every Christian to see their family as their primary mission field. Even though the people who are closest to us are sometimes the hardest to speak to about spiritual matters, they should be where we start. But with the support of those closest to us, we can make an even bigger impact on our neighborhoods and our world. 10