You Might Be a Healthy Christian If... You Are Active and Persistent in Soul Winning and Evangelism

So the scripture that we are going to read for this morning's message is found

in 1 Corinthians 9, verses 19 through 23, and I'm going to read those today.

1 Corinthians 9:19–23

So follow along if you would. Though I am free and belong to no one,

I have made myself a slave to everyone.

To win as many as possible to the Jews, I became like a Jew to win the Jews.

And I want to pause there because you remember at the end of our service every

Sunday, we say, go now and serve a world that desperately needs Jesus.

So Paul was even talking in this that he is a world that desperately needs Jesus.

And he goes on and says this, to those under the law, I became like one under

the law, though I myself am not under the law, so as to win those under the

law. to those not having the law.

I became like one not having the law, though I am not free from God's law,

but am under Christ's law, so as to win those not having the law.

To the weak came weak to win the weak.

I have become all things to all people, so that by all possible means I might save some.

I do all this for the Savior and its blessing.

So I know some of you know Dr. Seuss or know who Dr. Seuss is,

and my sermon this morning is from Dr.

Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham.

So we're going to read a little bit of this. I'm not going to continue to do

like the thing we do with our children and turn pages and all that,

because that's just really hard to do and speak at the same time.

So it starts out like this. I am Sam.

Sam, I am. That Sam, I am. That Sam, I am.

I do not like that Sam, I am.

Do you like green eggs and ham? I do not like them, Sam, I am.

I do not like green eggs and ham.

I do not like them, Sam, I am.

Would you like them here or there? I would not like them here or there.

I would not like them anywhere. I do not like green eggs and ham.

I do not like them, Sam I am.

You know the story? You know the story. It's almost certain that everybody who's

grown up in the United States, even though he's been canceled,

everybody knows that story. It's one of Dr.

Seuss's most popular works. Most of us would say that it's pure silliness with

funny looking characters and funny sounding rhetoric.

Some of us have even come to hate this book and others like it. You know the story.

Sam I.M. keeps trying to get his friend to try and eat green eggs and ham.

Would you eat them in a house? Would you eat them with a mouse?

And at every rejection, Sam tries something different.

Would you like them in a box? Would you like them with a fox?

His friend keeps saying, no, no, no, I do not like them. But Sam persists.

Would you eat them in the rain?

Would you eat them on a train?

Until finally, it would seem that Sam has tried everything to no avail because

his friend says this, I could not, would not on a boat. I will not,

will not with a goat. I will not eat them in the rain.

I will not eat them on a train, not in the dark, not in a tree,

not in a car. You let me be.

I do not like them in a box. I do not like them with a fox. I will not eat them in a house.

I will not eat them with a mouse.

I do not like them here or there. I do not like them anywhere.

I do not like green eggs and ham.

I do not like them, Sam I am.

I would say that was a pretty definite, absolute rejection.

An absolute no, wouldn't you? I do not like them, Sam I am.

Today we're going to look at the next message in our series,

You Might Be a Healthy Christian If.

The first lesson was titled, You Might Be a Healthy Christian If You Pray Continually

Even When Things Are Good. The second message was kind of like it,

was titled, You Might Be a Healthy Christian If Your Worship Is More Than a Sunday Feeling.

Last week's message was titled, You Might Be a Healthy Christian If Your Love Is Worth Giving Away.

And this morning we're going to look at, you might be a healthy Christian if

you're active and persistent in soul-winning and discipling,

and at that, everybody in the church just kind of shuts down.

Doesn't that happen? I'm sure at this point in Dr.

Seuss's book, every adult reader says to Sam, get a clue. Give it a rest.

Sam doesn't take the hint. He keeps going on and on.

He's always up for one more try. He will not give up on his friend.

He's not going to let his friend down.

By refusing to continue to get his friend to like something that he knows that he will like.

So he says, you do not like them, so you say, try them, try them,

and you may, try them, and you may, I say. Does that work?

Does his plea to just give away these greening hams make a difference to Sam's friend?

Sounds like every person's attempt to get their children to eat peas and spinach

and Brussels sprouts Try them, you'll like it Remember the commercials,

give it to Mikey He'll eat it, he eats anything,

So let's continue and we'll see what happens Sam, if you will let me be,

I will try them, you will see Say,

I like green eggs and ham I do, I like them, Sam, I am and I would eat them

in a boat and I would eat them with a goat and I would eat them in the rain

and in the dark and on a train,

and in a tree they are so good so good you see,

so I will eat them in a box and I will eat them with a fox and I will eat them

in a house and I will eat them with a mouse and I will eat them here and there

say I will eat them anywhere.

I do so like green eggs and ham Thank you, thank you, Sam I am.

Based on what we know about typical Christians in every typical church,

in every typical town, if Sam had been your typical Christian from your typical

church in your typical town, when his friend said, I do not like them,

Sam I am, I do not like green eggs at hand,

then Sam would have simply given up and said,

okay, no problem. him, no sweat off my back.

You don't like Christianity? That's okay. It's good enough for me. We don't need you.

And that would have been the end of the story. Sam would have gone on his own

way, and the friend would never have experienced the joy of eating green eggs

and ham, or in particular,

the friend would not have known the joy of following Christ if we had given

up in the typical church,

in the typical town, as a typical Christian.

Luckily for his friend, Sam wasn't like the typical Christian in the typical

church in the typical town.

He wasn't worried about what he looked like and he cared deeply about his friend

and his friend's happiness and his friend's life and his friend's future.

Sam cared everything about his friend, and he wanted his friend to know the

joy of green eggs and hams.

Shouldn't we want our friends to know the joy of following Jesus?

Now, I'm not trying to make evangelism and discipleship seem like a trivial

matter, but I think we've made it too difficult of a matter.

And as a result, it's been something that's been seldom tried.

We look at it in our churches, and we think about evangelism,

we think, I can't do that, I don't know how to do that, I haven't been taught

to do that, as if evangelism is a course that we can take to teach us how to do it.

I'm telling you, evangelism is just our life, and it should be.

And oftentimes in churches and in denominations, we have evangelism departments

as if you have to compartmentalize evangelism to one place and one time.

Thankfully, the Freemothers Church that found out that evangelism is not something

to be compartmentalized, but

something to be included in everything we do in all of our departments,

in all of our committees, in all of our work.

But I do believe that it's a vitally important matter, one that every healthy

Christian should be concerned about.

If a character in a Dr. Seuss book knows the importance of being persistent

when trying to convince somebody to try something new, how come we aren't persistent

with the greatest treasure on all the earth?

Greatest treasure known to

mankind. Paul knew this kind of persistence and this kind of adaptability.

Paul also knew that, like Sam I am, that one method might not work for everybody.

But it's interesting, isn't it, that Christians who have the most powerful and

most valuable message of love and the commodity of grace available from God

himself are the ones most silent and fearful with that message,

intimidated by the world around us.

According to Barna Research Group, over 95% of all born-again Christians in

evangelical church believe that it is the job of only the pastor and the paid

professionals in the church to lead people to faith in Christ.

95% of born-again Christians in evangelical church believe that the job of soul

winning is left up to the pastor.

And yet Jesus instructed all of his disciples to go and make disciples of all nations.

We've been called ambassadors for the gospel of Christ, and yet so much like

ambassadors at the United Nations, we just want to tell everybody else what to do.

As active attendees of the Richland Center Free Methodist Church,

we pride ourselves in loving God and loving people and caring about people,

but how far does that love really go?

Sam I.N. wanted his friend to experience the great taste of green eggs and ham. Why?

Because he liked his friend, and he felt like his friend was missing out on

something really great in this life, green eggs and ham.

In this case, it was the green eggs and ham, but he cared enough that he not

only asked his friend, but he continued to ask his friend, even offering it up to him for free.

Tell me about the gospel. How much did you pay to receive the gospel of Christ?

Christ gave it to us free.

And his friend mattered so deeply to Sam that he refused to give up.

Here at the Richland Center Free Methodist Church, we believe that God is on

a mission to redeem the lost world to himself, and he chooses to use us,

his chosen people, to accomplish his mission. Say that with me.

God is on a mission to redeem a lost world to himself, and he chooses to use

us, his chosen people, to accomplish his mission.

And right along with that is this. We believe that people matter deeply to God,

and therefore, they should matter deeply to us.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength,

and love your neighbor as yourself.

We know all the words. We know all the catechism.

How often do we put those in practice? I wonder if we are more concerned about

getting people into the church than we are about getting them into the family

of God by winning them to Jesus.

You know, if I led them to Jesus, they might go to some other church,

so I don't know if I want to do that. How crazy is that?

Right? Our friends don't have to be here to follow Christ. They don't have to

come here to be led to Jesus.

Still, I believe that if we are healthy Christians and are active and persistent

in soul winning and discipleship outside of these four walls,

then people will come with us and be part of our family.

When people come to know Jesus through the lifestyle of us, it doesn't matter

where they go to church as long as they are followers of Jesus and obedient followers of Jesus.

There's another mantra that I'd like us to learn and to see in the progression

of order and becoming a follower of Jesus and growing to likeness. It is this.

Belong, believe, behave. That's the progression of becoming a follower of Jesus, okay?

You do not have to behave like a Christian to become a Christian.

You don't have to believe in Jesus to begin the process.

People are looking more than anything to belong to somebody,

have somebody care about them.

In fact, I've said this before, but if you look at the history of the constructions

of homes in the United States, or something happened around the year 1961.

Maybe into 70. Have you noticed what's happened in the construction of homes

between around 1960, 1970?

Where have all the front porches gone? We used to build homes with front porches

so that we could sit with our neighbors and visit with our neighbors and sit

out in front with a cup of coffee and just sit and visit.

Now we build decks behind security

privacy fences so that nobody sees us while we're out in our yard.

If I were to ask you individually how many of you know your neighbors on a personal

basis, a lot of you would, but there's probably a lot of us that don't.

We don't know everybody that lives around us.

What people in this world today care most about is a place in which they can belong.

Our first objective is to love and care for everyone and to make their acquaintance

in the effort to make them our friend.

And once they know that they are welcome and belong, they will listen to what

is taught and shown, and then they will come to believe, belong, believe.

And when they have made the decision to follow Christ, to follow,

they will follow our behavior and learn to behave like Christ,

they will be on their way with us to become Christ-like.

Belong, believe, behave. safe.

Sam didn't wait for his friend to come to him or try to get him to a special place.

Went to his friend with this message. So did the Apostle Paul.

He said this, I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.

He knew he wasn't going to save the entire world, and he in fact didn't save them. Jesus does it.

But it was through his message, and we need to receive a deep compassion from

Christ for the people around us that need Jesus. so much so that we cannot rest

at night knowing that there are people who are going to hell without Jesus.

Bluntly put.

There are people all around us who are going to be going to hell in a Christless eternity,

unless we and Christians like us share the message of Jesus with them and they accept.

How can they accept if they have not heard? How can they hear unless someone is sent?

Our numbers in this church have declined over the past 20 years.

Or numbers of attendance have declined over the past 20 years.

The last couple years, we've increased slightly.

But as a matter of fact, we have declined from around 100 in attendance in.

1997 or 8, something like that, to where we are today. Even before that,

we were greater in attendance.

Why has attendance declined? And is that the important thing?

But when that happens, we tend to, when churches tend to have a decline,

and we've seen many churches around our community that had this decline,

even to the point that some have had to close because they just couldn't afford to keep going on.

But when that tendency happens and we tend to decline in attendance,

we have this sort of fortress mentality.

We guard the four walls of our place, and we have to be very careful who we

let in and who we let out because they might just change what's going on here.

We can't expect to have a healthy church if the pastor and people as individuals are not healthy.

And healthy Christian individuals are ones who are engaged in building relationships

with non-believers and bringing them to the point of building their own relationship with Christ.

And I believe that one of the first things that we need to do is to pray for

an all-consuming passion to become soul winners and disciples.

We need to have a passion for the gospel of Christ. and the good news that God

shows each one of us and has provided the way for us to escape our own punishment

and return to him in a full and complete love affair.

So in this, the first, now I'm just now getting to the first point.

Aren't you so glad? The first point in all of this is this.

We need to be convicted of the validity of the gospel.

Do we really believe that Christ came to die for us and for others,

for the salvation of their souls, for their return to eternity,

for their presence with Christ and with God as children of God.

Do we really believe it? That's the kicker, isn't it?

How convinced are we that this Bible is true?

How convinced are we that there's a heaven to be gained and a hell to be shunned?

How convinced are we that it is our personal responsibility and mission to get

that message to everyone?

If we really believe in the reality of hell, and according to the Word of God,

hell is a reality, then we should be absolutely heartbroken over the fact that

family, friends, acquaintances who are dying,

who in reality be tormented by Satan for all of eternity.

I can't wish that on my worst enemy.

And we need to have the compassion of Christ. We need to be so convicted of

the gospel of Christ to know that we must do all things by all means.

So that our neighbors, our friends, even some of our relatives.

Do not express the powers of hell. That's what the Bible says,

and we don't seem to question it.

Did you know that the Bible speaks more about hell than it does about heaven?

I wonder if we are as convinced about the reality of heaven and the value of

the gospel as much as Sam was convinced of the reality and the power and the

greatness of green eggs and ham.

Are we as convinced of people's need for Christ and the transforming power of

the gospel as the Apostle Paul was convinced when he considered his own life

as worthiness, worthless, except for the sake of the gospel.

I remember in Peoria, Illinois, a gentleman who is now deceased,

but we were having a meeting at the church about the church history,

the church presence, the church future, and what we were going to be doing,

how do we reach the neighborhood.

It was a very inner-city neighborhood, very poor neighborhood.

Most of our people drove in from a ways away to come to church.

We were having this meeting out in our lobby, which was a very large lobby,

actually about as big as the sanctuary,

leading into the sanctuary that was there, and there were glass doors,

tinted glass doors into the sanctuary, and I said, what is it going to take

to reach this neighborhood with Christ?

And one of the gentlemen said, well, if they ever accept Jesus as their Lord

and Savior, then we can welcome them into our church.

How are they going to accept the message unless the message is preached to them?

And how is the message going to be preached to them unless we are not sent to go that?

Paul said, you're the ambassadors of Jesus Christ to share the message with them.

How dare we say, yeah, we'll let them be one of us if they ever accept Jesus.

Belong, believe, behave. We skipped to the behave part and said,

if you behave, then you can be part of us.

We don't care whether you belong first or not, or believe first or not,

just act like one of us and then we'll let you in.

And the thing about heaven is you can't get there by how much good you do,

nor about being sincere.

Being a Buddha or Zoroaster won't get you there, nor will following Mahabba.

Jesus said this in John chapter 14, verse 6, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

John 14:6

No one comes to the Father except through me.

And friends, this is not being narrow.

This is trusting the truth of the word of God. Many people say all ways lead to God.

No, sorry, Jesus said my way leads to God. I am the way, the truth,

and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

That's not intolerance on our part.

That's the message of the Word of Christ, the Son of God, and God himself.

If he says it, we don't even have to believe it to be true. It's true.

If a building were on fire and we know about the whereabouts of the only door

to escape that building on fire,

wouldn't we be consumed with helping others to escape the rapidly advancing fire and certain death.

We simply leave them to fit for themselves and find our own way of escape out

and not worry about our friends and neighbors dying in that fire.

Think about it. I think most of us were to say if there was a fire in my home

or in a building, I would help everybody else to find out.

In fact, actually, there were many people, they know many people died in 9-11

and the World Trade Towers that were helping others get down before they got themselves to safety.

Second thing, we also need to be convinced of the value of the church.

Have you ever heard about how people talk after they've seen

a really good movie or discovered a musical artist that they really liked or

found a really awesome new restaurant or watched a particularly fascinating

football game or watched on Thursday night as the Richmond Center High School

volleyball team won the conference championship,

how excited are people when they see those things?

They simply cannot shut up about them. They want to tell everybody about them,

about their wonderful secret of a new restaurant or a new movie.

I'm convinced that what Christ started as the church Church is the most fantastic

organism ever thought of.

Who else but God would have thought of a grassroots method of word-of-mouth

evangelism? Not some big program.

Who else but God would have thought of lifestyle evangelism?

Follow me as I follow Christ. Who else but Jesus Christ would have empowered

his staff of fishermen and tax collectors with power beyond their limitations?

Who else but God in the person of Jesus Christ would have empowered us to be

his disciples and followers in light of all that we have been in our past life?

Who else but Jesus Christ would have instilled his followers with a never-dying

passion to surrender everything they have and everything they are for the master.

The purpose of the church is not to get big numbers or to run big programs or

to build big buildings or to hold the hands of its followers.

The purpose of the church universal is to glorify God by depopulating hell.

Jesus said, I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

The correct translation of that would probably read something like,

I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not be able to withstand.

The onslaught of the church.

Our job as followers of Jesus Christ is to do everything we can to depopulate hell.

Can you just imagine this church of the first century, where all the resources

were in caring for the disciples and followers of Jesus and the depopulation of hell?

Can you just imagine the church of the first century, which continually sent

out its missionaries at their threat of their life from their own body of believers

to go and speak the gospel to people in other places.

Can you imagine a church that is more concerned about winning people by whatever

means possible like Paul did than they are about the protocols and legalisms

of their particular denomination?

You imagine a church that is less condemning than the Pharisees and more embracing

like Paul and Jesus, who loved people where they were and was able to say to

them, hey, I've been where you are now.

I know how you feel. I've gone through something similar to what you have,

but let me tell you about what I found is the answer. Let me show you another way.

Tries Jesus, and you'll like him.

Third thing we see is we need to be rigidly committed to flexibility.

As I read Green Eggs and Ham, I thought, hey, this guy just don't quit.

And as I read Paul's letter, I thought the same thing. He was not willing to give up.

He said, for me to live is Christ, to die is gain.

I will do everything available to me to help people find Jesus.

Paul was totally sold out to the gospel of Christ. He was totally committed.

He was totally surrendered to getting the message of forgiveness and love to

the people who desperately needed Jesus.

He counted as many abuses in many places as opportunities to get the message

out to as many people as possible.

He thought that when he was in prison, he thought that when he was being flogged,

he thought when he was being stoned, he thought that when he was shipwrecked,

it was all for the purpose.

God had him there for that reason, for that place in time, to share the message

of Christ to those around him.

Now, how many of us look at the woes in our life as an opportunity for Jesus

to shine through and share him with others?

Paul did. And in the accomplishment of this, Paul was rigidly committed to flexibility.

Sounds like an oxymoron, doesn't it? Rigidly, flexibility.

Paul never said, I can't witness in this manner because it's not the way I was taught.

In fact, we don't see any record of Paul having taken a course in personal evangelism.

I don't think they offered it then.

That didn't come until we have modern-day seminaries now that teach people personal evangelism.

That's why it's the pastor's job, right?

Didn't have the pamphlet for spiritual laws to use in telling people about Jesus.

He looked at the person he was with, saw what their particular need was,

and he went there with the method that the Holy Spirit gave him.

You see this God that you have listed as the unknown God? I know him.

Let me tell you about him.

And Jesus did his ministry in the same way, saying or doing whatever was necessary

to share God's redemptive love with those whom he encountered on a daily basis.

Now listen to the following this and think in terms of belong, believe, behave.

To the woman at the well, Jesus first offers friendship and acceptance, belonging.

Then he offered her the living water, and she came to believe,

and then she turned in her disobedience and showed others what she had found.

To the woman at the well, excuse me, woman caught in adultery.

Jesus offered, first offered escape and protection from her accusers.

Then he offered her forgiveness and a new way of life and belief and behavior.

To Zacchaeus, Jesus offered love and acceptance in the face of angry jealousy and hatred,

then he offered a way of redemption, and he went into his home and offered him

a way to come to behave like a follower of God.

Paul said, I am free and belong to no man, but I make myself a servant to belong

to everyone to win as many as possible.

But in other words, I will surrender everything and give up everything,

even my possessions and my life for the sake of winning as many people to Jesus as possible.

What greater love has no man than this, that he give up his life for his friend.

Continued, to the Jew, I became a Jew. To those under the law,

I became like one under the law.

To those not having the law, I became like one not having law.

To the weak, I became weak.

I have become all things to all men, so that by all possible means I might save some.

Does that mean we change the message of Jesus for everyone around us? No.

Jesus is the same. God is the same today, yesterday, today, and tomorrow,

but we change the method necessarily on how we approach people.

The Apostle Paul emphasized with everyone, he came into contact,

he empathized with them, and he found a way to reach out to them.

Jesus, when you look at the stories of Jesus' encounter people with people in

the New Testament, you will find more often than not, he met some physical need of that person,

usually through the point of acceptance, before he offered forgiveness from sins and to follow him.

He met them where they needed to belong, and he did it.

Can you imagine what would happen if we said to the lady who just had an abortion,

I can't imagine the anxiety and difficulty of having to make the decision you

did, but let me love you and be your friend.

What would happen if we said to the homosexual, I'm sure it must seem that others

hate you, but let's go grab a coffee and talk.

God cares for you, and so do I.

What would happen if we said to the black man, I really don't know anything

about your culture in which you live, or the anxiety you might have in this largely white area.

But please, can we sit down so that we can understand each other?

God loves both of us. Can we share that together?

Or what would happen if we said to the homeless person, it must be cold out

there without a home or shelter. Would you please come and share the warmth of my home for a while?

Or what would happen if we said to the wealthy doctor on the verge of divorce,

I'm sorry that this is happening to you, especially when life seems to be in so much of a hurry.

Let's have lunch today so I can share in your hurt.

Look at the person at the bank, or your boss is at work, or those students,

or your grown child, whom do you see?

If we are to be healthy Christians, we need to have flexibility that causes

us to do whatever it takes to reach people with the love of God.

And when we are consumed by the passion of Christ and are convicted of the validity

of the gospel of Christ, we need to be persistent in our invitation.

Sometimes we seem to act by the admonition, if at first you don't succeed,

be careful that you don't make a fool of yourself.

Thank God that God was persistent. Thank God that God kept after this guy.

He was looking for me for a long time, and I was doing my best to hide.

But thank God he found me, and he called me.

I wouldn't be blessed any other way.

Thank God Jesus never gave up on us. My question in all of that,

though, is are we giving up on others around us? If we're going to see people

come to Christ at our invitation, it's most likely that one-on-one is the way to do it.

We will seldom see anyone transformed into the image of Christ by standing on

the corner down by the courthouse with signs that say, repent or you're going to hell.

We're not going to win too many people that way, right? How do we win them?

By the progression of belong, believe, behave.

Will you pray for them continually and persistently, asking God to give you

the privilege and opportunity of leading them to Christ?

Will you pray to the Lord of the harvest to send forth workers into the field,

and to empower you to be that persistent, consistent harvester?

Will you pray to have the compassion of Christ.

Let you see your neighbor through the eyes of Jesus. Will you pray for the fire

of evangelism to be stoked in your heart?

For those you meet who are lost from the kingdom of God, will you pray for the

God of the universe to hold back the ends of times and give you one more chance

to help others find Jesus?

Lord Jesus, please don't come quickly. Not right now. We have so many people

that need to know Jesus. We do not want them lost.

To a Christless eternity.

I'm sure that each one of us knows people, loved ones even, who have and are

rejecting the message of Christ like this man in the story was rejecting green

eggs and ham, but God doesn't want us to give up on them.

Even in this, Jesus said, ask, seek, and knock. He meant to be persistent.

Keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking.

After all, you might be a Christian if you are active and persistent and soul-winning.

It's only a matter of telling your story in the context of his story.

Say this with me. God is on a mission to redeem a lost world to himself,

and he chooses to use us, his chosen people. Do you believe that?

Do you believe that? Let's stand and pray.

Father, this has been a time when we know that it's been a hard message,

but you didn't give us easy messages.

Father, we know this has been a service that oftentimes we have to look at ourselves

and wonder what are we really doing for the gospel of Christ.

Father, I pray that you help us to be on mission with you. What a glorious day

that will be when our friends come to know Jesus, whom we have prayed for for so long.

And now may the love of God the grace of the Holy Lord Jesus Christ and the

fellowship of the Spirit be yours now and forevermore as you go and serve a

world that desperately needs Jesus.