A Crash Course on Evangelism & Discipleship: The Gospel Is for Everyone

The following message from Pastor Greg Laurie is made possible by harvest partners, helping people everywhere know God, to find out how to know God personally go to know God.org KNOW know God.org he would you do me a favor sure this message was someone who needs to hear the gospel is not designed for unit Q dear so the gospel is designed for you to share one of the great things about sharing this in hopes of your own spiritual growth and if you don't look for Libby you will think spiritually.

The great commission was given to all believers today. Pastor Greg Laurie points out, sharing our faith in our own lives. You have a choice.

You can evangelize. You can also real Christmas tree decorated home about 30 million Christmas trees became long after the home. There's a spiritual peril.

Today Pastor Greg Laurie points out how to keep our faith drying out. Learn how to keep it rekindle sharing the hope with others pleasure long for a new beginning bring some practical pointers on effective evangelism opportunity. No we talked about our faith preaching a lot of us get very tight. There's one thing the believers and nonbelievers have in common.

They're both uptight about evangelism. Nonbelievers are uptight about being about the lies. Believers are uptight about evangelizing them. Okay so were in a new series recalling that faith 101. The title of this message is a crash course on evangelism and discipleship.

Let's remember a point from our message last time it was simply this to be a growing Christian you must go into all the world and preach the gospel we call it the great commission. There's two variations of it.

One is in the gospel of Mark. The other is in the gospel of Matthew Mark's gospel simply states it this way.

Mark 1615 Jesus says going to wall the world and preach the gospel to everyone.

Matthew's version states it this way and Matthew 28 and that's our text for this message. By the way we read in Matthew 28 verse 16 then the 11 disciples went away in the Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them when they found him they worshiped him, but some doubted that Jesus came and spoke to them saying all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the father son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you, hello, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen. That's a great commission to go to all the world and preach the gospel and make disciples of all nations preach the gospel and make disciples. Point number two. These words are directed to every follower of Jesus Christ, not just the so-called professionals.

The pastors the evangelists the missionaries. Everybody is suppose to do it. We are all called to go to all people everywhere.

So here's my question for you. Are you doing your part to fulfill the great commission point number three. This one might surprise you to not share the gospel can be a sin, you might say Greg, you've gone too far. Well understand that sin has many definitions. There's a sin of commission and sin of omission. The sin of commission is when you break a commandment when you cross a line when you do a wrong thing. A sin of omission is when you don't to the right thing.

The Bible says to him that knows to do good and does not do it to him it is sin. So how could failing to share my faith possibly ever be a sin.

Let me illustrate, let's say that you are in a house that caught fire and you rushed out to save your own life, but you knew there were other people in their innocent people who could not get out and you didn't lift a finger to help them. You didn't even call the fire department you just walked off and acted as though it didn't happen is that wrong. Yes it is that's even a criminal act or let's say you're a doctor and you run tests on a person found out they have a certain problem and you know a course of antibiotics could correct it or a simple surgery would make it right. But you're uncomfortable telling people bad news.

It's kind of awkward for you, so you don't tell them anything anything you're good to go on your two month vacation.

Enjoy yourself here in a responsible doctor okay so those are illustrations that say how much worse is it for me to know the way to heaven the way for a person to be forgiven of their sin and find the meaning and purpose of their life and not tell them you see that's how not sharing the gospel could potentially be a sin.

Why is this important point number for the primary way people come to Jesus is through sharing the gospel.

Romans 1014 says, how can they call him Kim to save them unless they have believed in him, how can they believe in him if they've never heard about them and how can they care about him unless someone tells them go to everyone you can and share the gospel. Now what is the gospel we throw that word around a lot as Christians.

What is it actually mean lamina defined in the moment but we want to get this one right. Because we don't get the gospel right.

Everything else is wrong. Point number five were not only to preach the gospel. We are to make disciples, let me say that again were not only to preach the gospel. We are to make disciples remember he says in in Matthew that we are to make disciples of all nations. I need only preach the gospel and make a disciple would be like a doctor delivering a baby and then giving the baby a little boxer pampers a little handle. Okay kid to tough world out there.

I got a go but hope it works out for you by now, you need a hopeful little baby. The baby needs to be nurtured and protected and cared for and I would someone accept Jesus or like a little baby but they're a baby Christian. And they need to be disciple. What is it mean to disciple someone meets help them to get up on their feet spiritually and come to a place of maturity.

Then encourage them to repeat the process. You know, we have a great tool here harvest that we make available to people and I mentioned a pretty much every time you see is it's called the new believers Bible. Let me explain what this is. This is the New Testament it's filled with hundreds and hundreds of notes that I wrote, geared to a new believer. I wrote them in a very easy to understand way almost as a work setting down over a cup of coffee and I'm just going through the basics of the Christian life without so this is a resource we offer to people you want to get a bunch of these and have them on hand and then hopefully get a new believer or a young believer in your life and do what you can for them.

But somewhere along the line we've separated evangelism and discipleship and we should not do it because it's all part of the great commission. Think of Saul of Tarsus. He came to faith in Christ Saul of Tarsus was a notorious Christian killer.

He was hunting down followers of Jesus torturing them, putting them in prison and Saul of Tarsus was responsible for the death of the first martyr of the Christian church Stephen but while he was on his way to arrest Moore Christian Susie Mead on the Damascus Road. He meets Jesus who says why are you fighting with me, Saul, and Saul believes in Jesus. So when it comes out that Saul is now a Christian. No one believes it would be like announcing O. Howard Stern just became a Christian in these going to a Bible study now are all Bill Marr is a strong follower of Jesus Christ or he Lady Gaga's leading worship over here at this church service is a what you talking about unexpected people and don't think that God cannot reach any of those people he could reach them and anybody else but people were believing that so the Lord directs a man named Ananias to go to the newly converted solids recorded in acts nine and God says to Ananias go visit Saul. He's a brother and he's in prayer.

So Ananias went and helped Saul and introduce them to people later on.

A guy named Barnabas came along and encouraged Saul, later to become Paul as well that we don't know much about Ananias and Barnabas, but we know a lot about the apostle Paul. So here's my point. God wants to use you to be in Ananias to us all. He wants to use you to be a Barnabas to a Paul he wants to use you to be in Andrew to a Peter. He wants to use you may be behind the scenes to help someone that needs to grow in their faith.

A don't be overwhelmed by this discipling someone just means to show them what a Christian looks like maybe this is one of the reasons we don't want a new believer in our life because we don't want them to examine us all.

This is our Christian drives. All this is what a Christian watches on TV. All this is what a Christian does in their free time. I don't want them judging me know you need to be an example for them. Limitation after I accepted Christ at the age of 17 on my high school campus. I was really oblivious to what I had done the school bell rang. Lunch was over, I did not realize what it just happened to me nobody was there to know Greg here's a new believers Bible.

Why don't you read this.

No one is there to say Greg, why don't you come to church on Sunday with us. No one was there to do anything.

I just walked away not really sure what I done but thank God there was a guy named Mark who came up to me a day or so later so high concerning Greg and Cynthia said my name is Mark okay. He said hey I saw that you went forward and prayed to ask Christ in your life the other day that are lunchtime Bible study. I was sort of defensive and they said yeah whatever it because I think it's great okay what I want you to come to church with me. Mark said I said I want to do that know Greg I want you to come to church of the I don't want to go to church with you Mark. I really don't because you were you live moment to come pick you up. No, I don't want you to come to my house to pick me up.

I want to go to church if you Mark wouldn't take no for an answer. Next thing I know he's on my house pick you up and he takes me to church. Mark introduced me to the church. He introduced me to his Christian family. He took the time to explain the basics to meet. In short, he began to disciple me that I could've fallen through the cracks and there's a lot of people that do fall through the cracks. Will you be a mark one of those people.

When you fulfill the great commission. Mr. Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message just a moment. It's a blessing we hear the people are listening to pastor Grace messages on the radio. Pastor Greg I listen to a new beginning every morning on K PDQ radio in Portland, Oregon. It's a wonderful way to start my day. Thank you for sending me your Christmas card last year with the pictures of your family. It's a good reminder to pray for you and your family. God bless you. Are you being impacted by the teaching hereunder new beginning. If so, why not drop Pastor Greg an email and let them know. Send it to craig@harvest.org doing today what you think. Again, that's great harvest.org were talking today about our role in fulfilling the great commission. Pastor Greg is presenting a message today titled a crash course on evangelism and discipleship. There's another reason we should seek to fulfill the great commission do it for your own good.

Seek God's given us these blessings that we experience as Christians to share not to be hoarded. You are blessed to be a blessing you receive those shows on TV of people who hoard stuff and they have like floor-to-ceiling newspapers from days gone by, and they usually have a lot of cats. I don't know why the cats in the newspapers go together, but they have to do. But this is crazy now I'm sort of a micro hoarder. I don't have my home filled with all the things that I do save a lot of stuff. We can be this way with our faith are just want to hear another Bible study and has want to grow more and learn more. That's good, do that, but it's not designed for you to keep to yourself. The gospel is designed for you to share and one of the great things about sharing as it helps in your own spiritual growth sound get it will what would it be like if you only ate and you never exercise you literally sat in a giant chair and you never moved. I've a friend who has this weird thing.

It's like a pot and it's sort of like a massage chair meets a pod and you lay in it and the closes up in your arms and on your legs and all these rollers are going back and forth. Here are yeah I mean is great. I have to admit I was in it for one week.

But you know we want to just get into our little Christian pod bring me a meal now and I eat my meal. You need to get out of your pod and you need to get to work and he needed take what God is giving you to other people and if you don't listen to me you will stagnate spiritually, you have a choice. You can evangelize or you can fossil lots and if you only take in and you never share your faith, it's detrimental to use spiritually the snow this new believer needs an older believer in their life to stabilize them in older believer needs a younger believer in their life to energize them to cartoons.

As an example, I like to watch cartoons with my grandkids. Generally when they're not around. I don't watch cartoons, but when they come over. They say Poppa can we watch a cartoon all enter into their world and all laugh at the cartoons and enjoy them but I'm enjoying them because they're enjoying them I'm seeing them to the eyes of a child and what happens when you open new believer in your life as you begin to rediscovered shoes.

You forgotten about. Is there discovering them for the first time you're saying wow that is amazing this and that I I don't know if I'm as appreciative, the God is much as I should be for what he has done for me. So you needed as much as the need it because we often forget things that really matter.

I keep saying preach the gospel. What is the gospel we way over complicate this people the gospel literally define is good news gospel teaches overall separated from God by our sin. The gospel teaches that there is nothing we can do to satisfy the righteous demands of God on our own. The gospel teaches.

Not that I'm good with that I'm bad and I'm separated from God.

But the gospel also teaches that 2000 years ago God sent his son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins.

And he rose again from the dead and if I will turn from my sin and ask Christ to come in on my life. He will forgive me. You'll feel that hole in my heart to give me the purpose and direction. The life I've been seeking the best of all, you'll give me the absolute assurance of heaven for the afterlife.

That's the gospel we need to share that with people. Point number six. We need to seek to lead others to Christ. We need to seek to lead others to Christ. Now, the Bible does teach that this is the work of the Holy Spirit.

No man comes to the father unless the spirit draws them. That's true. But God reaches people through people and I think one of the reasons we never led another person to Christ as we have not asked them the questions we can call it popping the question what's applied to marriage. I've heard of a lot of imaginative proposals that have taken place, one that I'm reminded of his of a friend of mine who went out snorkeling with his Fiat will not his fiancée just his girlfriend at that point there were underwater we had one of those little underwater tablets in the road out will you marry me so that's very imaginative. Now my wife says I never properly proposed. She says it were sitting in a restaurant and I looked at her and I said well I guess were going to get married, Billy said that she said yes. While the lease I said something I didn't do a very good job but thankfully she said yes and we been married 46 years now so hey, maybe there's something to that. I don't know, but my point is simply this, you've got to ask the question that's awkward for you to ask but do it anyway and here's a question ready for.

Would you like to accept Jesus Christ right now. I was in a restaurant a while ago with some friends and we had a waitress come and take our order and she said you you guys are all pastors are to yes you know we are and so she said I'm what your church services as a welder at this time of this time she's okay.

Okay.

And so she's taken order and I don't normally do this, trust me, but I felt prompted by the Holy Spirit. I said you know I'm glad you want to know when our church services are, and I'm glad you want to come to our church, but you don't have to wait till Sunday to get right with God. Would you like to accept Jesus Christ right now and she said yes. I would she's she's standing there in a liquid or little order book and and the good news is the owner of the restaurant is a Christian who attends our church.

I knew she wouldn't get in trouble. So why do we pray right now.

She said pray here helpless print. You want to pray and ask Christ to come into your life. She said yeah. So we pray, and right there the Lord came into her life and this is my point. You never know when the Lord will prompt you to ask that question and I trust that a lot of us are going to be asking this question would you like to accept Jesus Christ right now and I'm telling you if they say yes. Get ready for one of the greatest blessings you've ever experienced in life there is great joy in sharing your faith. Jesus said there is joy in heaven over one sinner that comes to repentance. Let me close now with a question for some of you I've been talking to Christians about sharing the gospel. Let me talk to someone that's watching that is hearing the salt for the first time and let me ask you this. Would you like to accept Jesus Christ right now.

See whoa yeah how would a white need to do. You need to admit you're a sinner and acknowledge the fact that tell your separated from God and then you need to believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sin and rose again from the dead, and you need to ask him into your life. You see, only you can do that I can't do that for you but I can lead you in a prayer when you ask him into your life to be your Savior and Lord, and in a moment I'm in a pray, and ask you the one Christ to come in your life to pray this prayer with me so again if you want your sin forgiven, if you want to know that when you die you will go to heaven if you want a big hole in your heart filled.

If you want your guild taken away if you want this relationship with God, I've been talking about. I want you to pray a simple prayer with me right here right now as I pray this prayer you can print out loud if you like you can print in your heart quietly but you pray this prayer. The Bible says whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. The Bible says for God so loved the world he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

That's what you're doing right now you're believing in Jesus. So if you want Jesus to come into your life if you want him to forgive you of your sin, pray this prayer with me right now but pray this prayer after me. Pray these words. If you would.I know that I'm a sinner but I believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead.

I turn from my sin. Now that I choose to follow you, Jesus.

From this moment forward be my Savior and my Lord be my God and my friend. Thank you for sharing this prayer. Thank you for answering this prayer in Jesus name I pray. Here Pastor Greg Laurie today on a new beginning. We been talking about the good news and some of just accepted that offer forgiveness if you just prayed with pastor Greg to accept Jesus as your Savior.

First of all, let us welcome you into the family of God and second letter sent you something free of charge to help you get started.

It's our new believers growth packet will answer some of the questions you might have and help you build a strong foundation for your faith. So ask for the new believers growth packet as you write a new beginning. Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514 or call 1-800-821-3300. We can take your call anytime around the clock at 1-800-821-3300 or go online to harvest.org and click know God. If you missed any part of today study you can get a replay by going to harvest.org and by the way, at that website. You can also find out more about getting copies of the new believers Bible pastor Greg mentioned a little earlier well is a real thrill to have baseball great Darrell strawberry with us were making available is brand-new book called turn your season around, and you know Darrell, I'm sure you can see God's hand on your life. You know, protecting you and the bad times.

Certainly giving you the talent to reach the highest heights in your sports career.

Do you think you were born for the game or did God just help you sort of bloom where you're planted. I think it was going to play baseball was that I was gifted to play all type of sports but baseball. I just had eyes for and I had that one-on-one competition that I like I like looking down at the picture on the Mount, who staring at me and just feel like you just go fast for master is not going to happen now and that was really a big thing about you know who I was and everything in it and I think I baseball talk me about the man that I would become in my faith because baseball is all about discipline. The entrées surfing on the discipline that I remember when the Lord called me he says okay you play baseball for all those years you know how you got there, you were very disciplined, so you have to do same thing, and discipline yourself in biblical principles. You have to learn how to train yourself and learn how to study, learn how to saturate yourself in the word you learn how to separate yourself from everybody baseball essay were at separate myself from everybody when I had to go train a workout by myself. I had to go to the ball field. I had to go run the bases ahead will talk to myself 1st to 3rd your work with nobody around is the same way God's word. You know you gotta get in the fireplace and and do do the things that you need to do to be able to hear God because you can't hear God. There is a lot of noise around. I can hear the crowd when I was working out so I would eventually hear the problem play, but I would like amount because I was used to like working out on my own and run the bases well, first, third, being at the brother been on the on deck circle and started doing all the things I did on the baseball for so that's basically what I did in my journey with God. I just bought my journey from baseball and got used to gift that I had a baseball to do the same thing, it's a ministry to bring about this appointment you just brought me to a greater place a greater understanding, just like I was when I went elsewhere baseball were goddesses being able spend that quality time you have to make the time by yourself with anyone else.

I think a lot of times people think you have to do it with everybody else know the church is important is important to go to church and and have your notepad in your Bible and write down notes and take it back home in Eagleman after the pastor sees you. I did a lot of that when I started growing and into the man that got one.

Be brief, but the baseball part of knowing who I was going to be.

I had confidence in that. So I had have sank on confidence going into my spiritual you know, the apostle Paul seemed to be a bit of a sports fan himself because he used sports analogies, a lot of one thing that he said is it one who was of an athlete and fighting. He needs to discipline himself and in that future talking about you discipline yourself and that prepared you for when the game was actually happening and one definition I go to the Christian life is long obedience in the same direction. You know some people live from experience to experience, and the reality is there are times you will have an emotional experience, and there are times when you won't but you get up each and every day and live the Christian life by faith and so we want to send you a copy of Darrell's brand-new book that is called churning your season around subtitled how God transforms your life. It was my privilege to write the forward for this new book by Darrell and we want to get your own copy that we will send to you for your gift of any size to help us continue to teach God's word and to proclaim the gospel. Yeah that's right in your investment is so important as we work toward the goal of reaching more people than we ever have before you know more than 150,000 people made professions of faith through Pastor Greg's ministry last year but were wanting to reach even more with this life-changing good news and your investment right now will help change lives. So when you send your donation today.

Be sure to ask for the new book turn your season around. You can write a set a new beginning. Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514 or call 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300 or go online to harvest.org you reasons for worry and anxiety are all around the Lord as an antidote pastor Greg discusses that next time as a serious faith 101 continues join us here on a new beginning pastor Greg Laurie and possible by harvest partners, helping people everywhere know God sign up for pastor greats free daily email, devotions@harvest.org