Proclaim Christ Wherever People Are

There was a time when we could just build a church building on a corner and people would come in to hear the message of Christ.

Everyone knew we were here

 and they knew why we were here

and they knew what we did here

      and many wanted to come here.

Sadly, those days are gone.

There will be more cars pass by this church building during the worship hour than there are people sitting in this church right now.

That’s a conservative guess.

I read this past week that the church is a rather unique organization.

Ed Stetzer wrote, “The church is one of the few organizations that does NOT exist for the benefit of its members. It exists for the mission of God.”

What is the mission of God? Why did God send His only begotten Son to die on a cross?

We all know the answer… it’s to save sinners.

To be on Christ's missions means then that we must be more concerned with those people driving by in their cars than we are about ourselves.

I can promise you that those people are perfectly content to let us meet in this building, wear any kind of clothes we want to wear, listen to any kind of music we want to listen to, say anything in a sermon or prayer we want to say, and believe anything in the world we want to believe as long as we leave them alone.

Why? Because as long as we’re in here and they are out there, it doesn’t make one bit of difference to them.

But if the mission of Christ is going to make a difference, what must we do?

We must engage those people right where they are.

Background:

Last week from Acts 17 we talked about the fact that when Paul arrived in Athens, Greece to await his companions, he was provoked in his spirit by the idolatry he saw all around him.

I tried to convince you that our world is not so much different, that we too live in a culture filled with objects of worship and adoration, idols if you will.

Paul, being jealous for God’s glory could not help but speak and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Everywhere he went he did that.

In the places of worship, where Jews and Gentles came to seek God, Paul met them there with Christ.

In the market place, where the people came to purchase things for their everyday needs, Paul met them there with Christ.

In the places of discussion, where ideas were exchanged and decisions made, the academy and the government buildings of our day, Paul met them there with Christ.

Wherever he was, Paul preached Jesus, crucified and resurrected.

But there is another aspect of Paul’s witness that is very important to realize.

The missionary apostle met the people not only where he was, but he also met them where they were.

But how do we do that?

We must connect with people at their point of longing and interest. 

Interested, I'll have more to post in a day or so.