Gotta tell somebody – Jim Lambert

Gotta tell somebody!

A few weeks ago Pastor Justin shared an illustration that God gave Him.  He shared how that the love of God is not just this gift that we receive and hold onto and take for ourselves.  All of us are at different places and we may start there, but ultimately God wants to call us up where we begin to stand up confidently in who He says we are and we take this baton of God’s love and begin to run down the proverbial sideline of life and say put me in God, I’m ready to go love on somebody.

When I was a kid my Dad used to listen to a guy named Don Franciso.   He was a folk singer that would take a Bible story and make it into a song.  One of the songs I really liked was about a man named Jairus in Mark chapter 5.

• Jairus was a ruler of the Jewish synagogue whose daughter was very sick.
• Upon hearing the miracles that Jesus had done, he went looking for Jesus and when he found him, he bowed down at his feet weeping, saying my daughter is sick to the point of death, but if you will come lay your hands on her I know that she will live.
• Jesus decided to go with him and on the way to Jairus’ house, they were interrupted.
• A woman who had a bleeding issue for 12 years, presses through the crowd, and grabs onto the hem of Jesus garment and the moment she does Jesus fells power go out from Him and the lady was healed.
• At the moment this miracle is taking place a group from jairus house comes to tell him, its to late your daughter is dead.
• Imagine if you were Jairus, you are trying to get back to your house as fast as you can so Jesus can save your daughter and Jesus is asking people who touched me.
• The story concludes with Jesus going to Jairus house and raising the little girl from the dead. But Jesus tells Jairus don’t tell anybody.
• The song’s title is called Gotta tell somebody

This is what it means to Reach People Right Where their at – you take that baton of God’s love and you give it to somebody else…

• My daughter was dead but now she’s alive
• I was blind but now I see
• I was broken but now I’m restored
• I was poor but now I’m rich
• I was sick but now I’m healed
• I was a sinner but now I’m saved
• I was bound but now I’m free
• I was depressed but now I’m joyful
• I was hopeless now I’m hopeful
• This is relational evangelism.

Mark chapter 5 gives us a second example of this relational evangelism.

• A man came out of the tombs demon possess and tormented
• Jesus casts these tormenting spirits out of the man and into a bunch of pigs.  The pigs go running down the side of the hill and into the sea.
• Lets pick it up in Mark 5:

Mark 5:14-20 So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that had happened. 15 Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 16 And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine. 17 Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region.

18 And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. 19 However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” 20 And he departed and began to proclaim in [e]Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.

There are people that you can reach, that Jesus in the flesh may not have been able to reach. 

HOW DO WE REACH IN THE POWER OF THE NEW MAN?

1.Understand you are fully equipped to be a light

• Iron man

Matthew 5:13-16 13 “Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.14-16 “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

• Summer and Karly
• John’s little girl

Romans 5:5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

• We made sharing the Gospel such a functional part of our Christianity – I’m a Christian so this is something I’m supposed to do.  But it is supposed to be completely relational.

Matthew 10:8 Heal the sick, [a]cleanse the lepers, [b]raise the dead, cast out demons.Freely you have received, freely give.

• If you cut open God’s heart you find people – and when we begin to allow the love of God to be that baton that we give to someone else it is amazing what God starts to do.
• You’ll be at a restaurant and God will drop an idea in your heart – like bless this waitress.
• You’ll be talking to a coworker and simply asking them how their day was and when they say, its been pretty tough – you offer to pray for them.
• You see someone with a brace or a cast, and you just offer to pray God’s healing over them.
• Everyone of you is here today because someone

2. Know that your new man is equipped with the power of God. Your new man has the ability to do the impossible

• Last month in the preschool they were learning about Joseph so its been on my mind a lot.
• Here is a guy who his fathers favorite and God gives him a dream.  And he wasn’t to smart and goes and tells his brothers I had this dream and we were binding sheaves and my sheaves stood up and your sheaves bowed down to mine.  Then he has another dream and the Sun, the moon and eleven stars bowed down to me.
• Brothers throw him in a pit, then they sell him into slavery, as a slave he is falsely accused of rape and gets sent to prison
• One day pharaoh has a dream and Joseph is able to interpret it and gets made the prime minister of Egypt.
• His brothers unknowingly come to Joseph looking to buy food not knowing  he was still alive.
• As prime minister he could have had them killed but he says Do not be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve your lives, to save you, and deliver you.

• Your new man is equipped with the power of forgiveness.
• Your new man is equipped with power of generosity –  Amy and I love to listen to people…
• Your new man has been given given the power to heal the sick and the hurting

Mark 16:15-18  And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who [a]believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they[b] will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Over the last couple years I’ve really begun to pray for people.  I’ve seen 28 healing / miracles.

3. Know there is a ministry inside of you

God uses ordinary men in ordinary places to do extraordinary things – he uses fisherman, tax collectors, students, accountants, teachers…

I Corinthians 2: 1-5 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony^[a] of God. ² For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. ³ I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. ⁴ And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human^[b] wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, ⁵ that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

Throughout the scriptures we see God pick ordinary, everyday, common people, even ignorant people to do his work on the earth.

• Moses went from hiding in the desert to delivering the Israelites from the hand of Pharaoh.
• Joseph went from being a slave to being the prime minister of Egypt.
• Gideon who was a self proclaimed weakling, defeated the army of the Midianites with only 300 men.   The Midianite army was estimated to be 135,000 men.

• One of my favorite examples is Ananias….

In Acts 22 the Apostle Paul is telling the story of his salvation experience.  He says he was on the road to Damascus when suddenly there was this bright light that shone all around him.  Jesus tells Him I want you to go to Damascus and there you will be told what your assignment is.

Acts 22:12-13 “Then a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there, ¹³ came to me; and he stood and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that same hour I looked up at him. ¹⁴ Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth.¹⁵ For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’

What do we know about Ananias…

• Was he a great preacher?
• Was he an elder or a church leader?
• None of that is recorded in scripture..
• All we know is that he was a devout, respected disciple of the Lord and God used Him to heal a future apostles blindness.
• How interesting it is for this spiritual giant, the Apostle Paul – to be healed by an everyday normal guy who just chose to be obedient.