Introduction: How are we to witness to others? How do we get their
attention? What do we have to offer that will attract the secular
person to what we have to say? Does our hope have anything to do with
how we witness? Let’s dive into the Bible and see what we can learn!
- Jesus’ Method For Attracting Crowds
- Read Matthew 9:35-37. Have you ever held an evangelistic
series in your church? What is your first goal for your
evangelistic series? (To get people to come.) - What was the problem with the witnessing that Jesus
was conducting? Was His problem the same as ours? (He
did not have a problem with getting people to come.
He said the problem was the lack of workers! He had
more people who wanted to hear than those workers who
wanted to share the gospel.) - Why do you think Jesus’ problem was just the opposite
of our problem? (Verse 35 tells us that Jesus “healed
every disease and sickness.”) - Would we attract huge crowds if we healed the
sickness and disease of everyone who came to our
meetings? - Is it reasonable to conclude that the tool we need
for witnessing is to heal people? - Jesus’ Method for Attracting Crowds Applied to Us
- Read Matthew 10:1. Do we today have the same authority as
that given to Jesus’ disciples? - Our lesson (Monday) points out that we have hospitals
and “medical missionary workers” around the world. Is
that an admission that we (ordinary Christians) do
not have the authority given in Matthew 10:1 to heal
every disease and sickness? - If you could heal every disease and sickness,
then you would obviously not need a hospital,
right? - This brings us to a very important decision. If we have
the authority to heal diseases and sicknesses, and we are
not using it, then we have a serious spiritual problem. On
the other hand, if we no longer have the same authority as
was given to the disciples in Matthew 10:1, then we need
to figure out what we can do to attract people to the
gospel. - So, which is it? Are we unspiritual or unauthorized?
(If we were just talking about me, then I would be
inclined to vote for “unspiritual.” I would figure
there must be something wrong with me. However, it is
hard for me to believe that everyone is unspiritual.
No one that I have ever seen or heard about in modern
times can heal every disease and sickness in a city.
We have “faith healers” like Benny Hinn. I cannot and
will not pass judgment on this well-known minister.
However, assuming everything I ever heard about his
faith healing is true, I have never heard that he
healed everyone in a single hospital, much less
everyone in an entire city.) - If, as I think, we do not have the authority to heal
everyone we encounter, then what is the modern equivalent
of what Jesus did in Matthew 9:35? What can we do that
will come as close as possible to Jesus’ example? - Is the answer hospitals and medical missionary
workers? - If so, do we need to shift our careers to the
medical field and our work to the hospitals? - Should our evangelistic efforts be held in
hospitals? - Our Method For Attracting Crowds
- Those people that Jesus healed: Do you think they lived
forever? Or, did they ultimately die? - How big a crowd would Jesus have attracted if He gave
people a permanent cure for disease, sickness and death? - When I was a boy, Camel cigarettes had the slogan,
“I’d walk a mile for a Camel.” How far would you walk
to have your physical diseases cured? - How far would you walk to obtain eternal life
free from disease or sickness? - Let’s read 2 Corinthians 3:7-9. What ministry, involving
Moses and engraved stone, brought death in the middle of
glory? (This refers to the Exodus 24 account of God giving
the Ten Commandments in a blaze of frightful glory.) - How did the Ten Commandments bring death? I thought
it was the transcript of God’s character? (The Ten
Commandments do reveal God’s view of sin and right
living. However, no one is justified by the law
( Galatians 3:10-11). Rather, the law condemns us
because we do not obey it.) - Look at 2 Corinthians 3:9 again. What is the ministry
that brings righteousness? - Compare 2 Corinthians 3:12 with 4:13-14. What gives us
hope? What makes us bold? (Our hope and our belief are
that the one who raised Jesus to life will also raise us
to life. Jesus does what the Ten Commandments could never
do – He justifies us. This gives us hope of eternal
life.) - Read Titus 1:1-3. How can we be certain of our hope of
eternal life? - Do we boldly proclaim eternal life for those who accept
Jesus? - Would people flock to our evangelistic series if they
thought we were showing them the way to eternal life? - Should eternal life, a permanent cure for sickness
and disease, be the focus of our outreach? - Is offering the hope of eternal life the closest
thing to Jesus’ method for attracting crowds? - Should that be our focus, instead of tying to
focus on healing? - Jesus was healing people immediately and those around
could see the results. The healing we are promoting
cannot be seen now and will take place sometime in
the future. Does that make a difference? - Do we have a “harder sell?”
- Read Romans 6:4. When does this new life experience begin?
Is it now or is it only some time in the future? - If our lives reflect the “new life” experience now,
how will that impact on attracting others to the
gospel? - If our lives reflect the “glory” and the “boldness”
discussed in 2 Corinthians, how will that impact on
the job of attracting others to the gospel? - Our Motivation for Witnessing
- Read Ezekiel 3:17-19. Does this warning apply to us? Or,
is this something said only to Ezekiel? - Are we “watchmen” like Ezekiel?
- If you think this text applies to you, what does it mean
(v.18) to “be accountable for his blood?” (It means we
have a responsibility for those around us.) - What is the extent of our accountability? Is it just to
deliver the message? Or, is it to make sure the person
repents? (The Bible tells us our responsibility is simply
to give the warning. The rest is up to the Holy Spirit
and that individual.) - How does this text fit into our previous discussion about
attracting crowds? Instead of God telling Ezekiel to
explain to the people that they can have eternal life
without sickness or disease, God says “Warn them they are
going to die.” Is this just the opposite approach? (These
are two ends of the same message. Either you have eternal
life without sickness and disease in your future or you
have death in your future. Since I am an optimist, I
prefer to lead with the eternal life side of the
argument.) - Friend, we have a tremendous hope – the hope of eternal
life free of sickness and disease. That hope attracts the
world. Will you share that hope with the perishing world?
Or, will you bear responsibility for letting the perishing
die? - Next Week: Hope: Too Much or Not Enough?
