Sermon: "Sharing Christ with the World"

5th in the "Being a Jesus Follower" series.
Delivered January 31, 2010 by Rev. John Schmidt.
Sermon Text: Matthew 28:18-20; 1 Peter 2:9-12

Click to download & listen to the sermon MP3

I want to tell you a story that happened in 1967. It's an important year because that was about the year the Saints started as a football team. That's right. We've been waiting that long for a Super Bowl. In 1967, a missionary, Doug Nichols, was serving with Operation Mobilization in India. He made this commitment to serve God there, didn't know the language yet, faced all kinds of hardship, and the reward for all of that is that he caught tuberculosis. Found himself in a sanitarium, a long-term hospital for people with chronic illnesses that take long periods of time to heal.

He had no money, and so he went into the same sanitarium as poor Indian patients. Serving with OM, he didn't have any cash, and so he found himself in a place where he didn't know the language, and everybody around him was angry because everybody around him thought he was a rich American because all Americans, of course, are rich. The fact that he actually had no more money than the Indian people surrounding him didn't even occur to them, and he couldn't explain it because he couldn't speak the language.

But he did have some tracts in the local language and Gospels of John, and so he tried to hand that out to people while he was staying there and repeatedly was rebuffed. No one would take these from him. Day after day he's living there. Everyone is angry at him. No one will touch the literature. He can't speak the language. He falls into a deeper and deeper depression, "God why do you have me here?"

One morning he finds himself waking up around 2:00 in the morning in order to cough. The coughs were so bad he had to sit up in the bed. And while he's coughing, he notices an old man across the aisle, the bed immediately across the aisle from him. The old man is sitting there, he's much older than Doug, much sicker, and he's rocking in the bed. And Doug watches him, wonders what he's trying to do. And after he pushes down on the bed and he rocks and all, finally he just lays back into the bed and curls up and begins to cry.

Doug didn't think much more about that and went to sleep, wakes up the next morning to a stench in the room. It turns out that that older man was trying to get up in order to go to the bathroom, and he couldn't. He sort of went to the bathroom there in the bed. Everybody is angry at him. All the patients are angry that he's dirtied up the place like that. The nurses, who are having to clean him up, are treating him roughly, and one of them even slaps him. And the old man whimpers and cries through much of the day there.

The next morning, 2:00 in the morning, Doug finds himself up again, coughing. And again, soon after that, he sees the old man rotate to a sitting position and try to get himself up from the bed. Doug didn't know the language and didn't want to have anything to do with this. It was far beyond anything he wanted to touch. And yet he found himself getting up and going over to the old man, putting an arm under his head, an arm under his legs, and picking him up and carrying him over to the bathroom, which was just a hole over a pit that was outside the room. And Doug was in there with him and helped him, carried him back to bed. Then the old man, as he's putting him down, the old man grabs him, kisses him on the cheek, and says something that Doug didn't understand, that he assumes was, "Thank you."

Doug didn't get that much more sleep that night because around 4:00 he was awakened by another patient standing there with a hot cup of Indian tea to give him, with a big smile on his face. And that Indian person made gestures that indicated he wanted one of the tracts or the Gospels of John, and so he gave it to him. And across that day, every patient and most of the doctors and nurses in that sanitarium came to Doug and asked for a copy of the Gospel of John or the Christian literature that he had. And over the next few days and weeks, Doug discovered that a number of those people gave their lives to Jesus Christ just reading that.

What Doug discovered that day is something the Church has always known. It's something we have to remember now, and that is that our witness to the world, presenting Christ to the world, sharing Christ with the world, is more than words. There's an equation that the Church has known. It hasn't always expressed it this way, but it's true in the experience of the church, and we see it from New Testament times on. Good deeds lead to good will, leads to an opportunity and an openness to the good news. Good deeds lead to good will, leads to openness to the good news.

Doug discovered that in a compelling way in just the course of a few days. What did it take to reach these people? It wasn't just the message that he had, it was a life and a message. And this is something we see in a passage that I want us to look at today. We see it all the way back in Bible times in 1 Peter, chapter 2, verses 9 to 12. It's on page 1111 of the pew Bible that you'll find, 1 Peter, chapter 2.

Let's pray: Lord, we pray that you will open our eyes and hearts to all that you want to say to us. For we ask it in Jesus' name, Amen.

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us." (1 Peter 2:9-12 TNIV)

Now, that passage is filled with special words, words like royal priesthood, holy nation, pagans. These are all important words that would be good for us to spend time on, but sometimes the special words make it a little harder for us to see the flow and the scope of what's happening. So, I want to go to a paraphrase, The Message, by Eugene Peterson, and look at that same passage but in more contemporary framing.

"But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God's instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you-from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted. Friends, this world is not your home, so don't make yourselves cozy in it. Don't indulge your ego at the expense of your soul. Live an exemplary life among the natives so that your actions will refute their prejudices. Then they'll be won over to God's side and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives." (1 Peter 2:9-12 MSG)

These verses divide into two halves. Verse 9 and 10 talk about speaking out, and verses 11 and 12 talk about living right, and they go together when we talk about this issue of sharing Christ with the world. Speaking out, as it says in Today's New International, (TNIV) "Declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light " Telling others about the night and day difference that Jesus has made in our lives, it's good news. Once we were rejected and now we're accepted. This is good news, and it has nothing to do with who we are. It's something that God offers to everyone.

And so, people need to hear about this forgiveness, this gift that comes from our creator, God. This new life is open to them, a new life that hopefully has made a profound difference in who we are. And so, this is what we think about when we think about sharing Christ with the world, we think about the words we need to say, and that is important, it's essential.

But they, the words, don't come alone. Speaking is not all this passage talks about. As you go to verses 11 and 12, it talks about living right, talks about good deeds, talks about living as aliens, as foreigners and exiles in this world. In other words, there needs to be a tension between who we are and what the world is around us, because the world around us isn't the way God has created it to be. And if we are becoming more of who we're created be there's going to be a tension. And so, as Eugene Peterson puts it, "The world isn't your home, so don't make yourselves cozy in it."

We're called to be examples, to live an exemplary life, so that the actions of our lives refute the prejudices that people carry around us. Now, at the time of Peter there were all kinds of prejudices that those who knew nothing about the Christian God had about the Church. In fact, they called them atheists because they didn't believe in the Roman gods, and so they thought they were godless. We live in a culture that's been impacted by Christianity for untold centuries, and yet, even now, there are all kinds of prejudices that surround us that's built off of the bad example of the Church for centuries, and the good things are often forgotten. And so, you know some of those prejudices that people have in your workplace, who live around you. And you think that you're going to be able to confront those prejudices by being better at arguing than them? At being eloquent, having the right word to say at the right time?

Now, the words are important, but what's going to change the prejudice is living a different life. Do you live a different life? Can you point to your life and say, "You know, if somebody sees this part of who I am, it's an example of what we're talking about when there's a new kingdom coming with new values and a Jesus, a God, who loves us and wants justice in this world and wants people to know the love of God and have their lives changed. Does my life show that reality? We are to live lives that are examples to the people around us.

If we don't live differently on some fundamental level, our words are going to seem empty. When it's been healthy, the Church, over the centuries, has always done two things well. They have lived well. They've been moral, compassionate, generous, concerned for justice, and they have also spoken clearly, having a clear message of the grace of God, or forgiveness given in Jesus Christ, both things. And that's what Doug discovered in 1967, that he needed both.

When the elders here at Central thought about what it means to be a disciple, and particularly about this issue of sharing Christ, they wanted to be sure that whatever we said about it didn't sound like it was a program, or a technique we could learn, or an organization we could join. And so, as they wrestled with that, they realized that one of the critical things is that it's a matter of loving people, that that's the foundational thrust of what it means to share Christ with the world.

And so, we came up with three "I's," three important "I's" that describe this kind of lifestyle. And I'd like to go through that. And I want to just point out that you have with you a brochure like this, and if you don't, later we can make sure you get one. And on the back, under "Sharing," there are these three "I's." We made this colorful and the right size that you can put it in your Bible because I would hope that many of you would find this helpful repeatedly in thinking through what it means for you to walk with Jesus Christ.

The first "I" is invest. I invest in personal relationships beyond Central's walls. A disciple is someone who develops a lifestyle that focuses on people, that loves people, that serves people. Now, that's going to be different for each of us, but for all of us it means it's an intentional lifestyle, that we have to make some choices. We deliberately choose people over all the other things that could consume our lives. It's not an easy choice. It means that we don't fear people who think differently, or live differently than we do. Or worse than that, we don't look down on them, but that we are trying to cultivate a sensitivity to God, a courage, an availability to God, that we can invest into the lives of people around us.

So it means that our meaningful relationships don't end with just the church, that we have real friends outside, we have real concern for them, there's real service coming from our hearts, and there's no manipulation about it. Doug didn't serve that old man and carry him to manipulate anything. He did it because the man needed it, and he had a concern for him. We just do it because God loves them, and we are starting to love them too.

The second important "I" is invite. I invite people to opportunities to move towards Christ. We need to be people who help others see life spiritually, or at least speak into the way they're already seeing life spiritually, to help them wrestle with the identity and greatness of Christ. And this happens in relationships. Occasionally it will happen in a chance encounter, but the primary place that God is going to call us into this level of communication with people is in existing relationships, asking honest, probing questions about what they really believe and listening and trying to understand, by bringing up things they haven't considered, and by pointing to God's mercy and grace which is what covers it all over. It's what gets us excited. It's why it's good news.

And then sometimes we can invite them to events that may help them along their own journey of discovery with God. And we try to be a church that offers some of those sorts of opportunities. Now, some of those opportunities are just going to happen in your own family, in your own personal life, but some of them will happen at church. We have the ALPHA course, which is an opportunity to invite someone to ask those questions. We have Financial Peace University. If they have financial needs they can think about that within a Christian framework, and that may raise other questions in their lives. We have Women on Wednesdays which is just wide-open fellowship time that has great opportunities to share about some of the fundamental questions of life as well. It's all over our life, and we try to offer those, but we are, as individuals, are so important because we have to invite someone to join us.

The third "I," impact. I impact the world with compassion and justice. Disciples make their mark on the world. It takes a certain amount of courage and determination. We have to have a commitment to compassion and justice in this world. We can't be content to leave the world as it is because the world is not right. And so the Church shouldn't be behind everybody else when it comes to social change and standing up for justice. We ought to be in the front because this angers God, and it breaks his heart. So how can we separate ourselves from the things that are on the mind of God?

So we need to be involved in that. We share God's passion for the hurting and the oppressed, the powerless and the hidden, the poor and the weak. A disciple gives their time and talent to be sure that people are loved and respected and helped because those people are created in the image of God and are loved by God. And thankfully, so many of the opportunities to do that are together with other people. We don't have to do it alone. It can be real easy things like Love and Fishes that happens right after this service, where we can do things for people who are shut in and are feeling more distant and maybe alone in the world. We can do bigger things. International Justice Mission, Habitat for Humanity, things that happen around Christmas, things that are here in Baltimore, things that have a world embrace, there are lots of opportunities. Some of them through this church, others outside.

So, what does this look like in somebody's life? To live where all these "I's" are at work in our lives. It's going to be different in your life than in mine, and when I look out at you I know that many of you have a better pattern of this in your life than in my life. And so, I have been learning from you over the years. I've rearranged the chairs around my house because of you. I pray for the people in my neighborhood because of you.

So, let's take a look at what this looks like in somebody else's life. Ann, why don't you come up and share with us.

Ann Hutson: Good morning. My name is Ann Hutson, and some of you may know me from my work for the past seven or eight years in children's ministry downstairs here at Central. And I was asked to share with you today a little bit about how I invite people to move toward Christ.

First, I want to say right off the bat that I'm no different than most of you who are busy juggling life's responsibilities, which also includes, this morning, cleaning off your cars. I run a household with my husband. I care for two kids, fixing meals, doing laundry, and shuttling them to activities, and I volunteer. So how can I find time to serve God?

I know that God has a purpose and plan for me, and I pray daily that he will guide me in what I do and use me to touch others. And the key, I believe, is to make it part of my daily life, not some huge project that I have to take on. And I start by using my gifts, recognizing my God-given gifts, talents of hospitality and caring for others, and invest in people's lives in my community. Like we say in our mission statement, where we live, work, and play.

And by investing, I mean taking the time to develop and build a quality relationship with others, and not just other Christians, and connecting with them by caring about them and for them. I try to be a friend to others. I listen. I ask them at the bus stop how they're doing, call them on the phone and touch base, send notes, provide meals, bring their kids to VBS here at Central, invite them to my home, and most especially I pray for them.

Last year, around this time, I hosted a pancake supper before Ash Wednesday in my home and invited two families in my neighborhood to come and join us, sharing pancakes, bacon, and real maple syrup with eleven of us squished around my dining room table. It was an opportunity to connect with my neighbors, to share about our lives, and to talk a little bit about the purpose of the holiday. I even gave them a Lenten devotional, like the one I have here from last year that we give out in children's ministry and provide to families. It's a wonderful, interactive, and kid-friendly way to really share the true meaning of Easter. I know my kids have really enjoyed these. And I know Anne Nielsen wouldn't mind if I said that we have some, not quite yet, but coming up, in children's ministry and would be happy to share them with you.

Also, when moved by the Spirit, I invite people to join me in prayer, especially after someone shares something difficult or personal about her life with me. I've prayed in people's homes, on front lawns, over the phone, and even in a beauty parlor. I've never had anyone turn me down when I say something like, "Would you like me to pray about that now?" Or, "Is there something you would like me to pray about for you?" Often times I find people are very appreciative and really comforted by this.

One time, when I was getting my haircut, a woman who worked in the salon was talking about how worried and upset she was. When I asked her what was wrong she told me that her beloved Aunt Betty was having emergency surgery at that very moment and that she was anxious get to the hospital to be with her. I offered to pray for her and her aunt right there, and the next thing I know, four of us gathered, held hands, and I prayed. Thankfully, her aunt's surgery was successful, and she survived. And to this day, when I go in to get my haircut, I ask about her aunt, and she thanks me for my prayers still.

In the end I know that God has a lot more work for me to do, but I was heartened by a neighbor's comment recently. She said to me, "Anne, you truly live your faith." That was affirmation to me that I'm on the right track. I know that it's not my job to soften people's hearts, and I know that I don't respond well to being hit over the head with anything or argued into something, so I don't do that to others. I do know that my job is to be obedient to God and to share his love with others and that he will provide the opportunities daily to do just that. Thank you.

Rev. John Schmidt: We want to be a church that helps you with that sort of opportunity. In just a few weeks we're going to have Dan McWilliams, area director for Intervarsity here in Maryland. He's going to be teaching a class that focuses in on how to reach out to the people around us. We have Love and Fishes today, another opportunity to touch other people's lives. We have VBS during the summer. We have April 24th, something that's not on your calendars yet. Put it on your calendar now. We'll let you know more details about it, but it's a Saturday where churches all over the Baltimore region are going to try to impact the world around us through service and compassion.

But it comes to us personally with a choice. We can take advantage of some of the opportunities God puts our way, or we can ignore them. We can be deliberate about our walk with God, or we can coast along. This is the last week of our series on our discipleship path. And I want to just, once again, focus on each one of these things for just a moment, and then we're going to do some self-reflection together here today.

The first week we talked about knowing God. I desire to worship and experience the living God through a personal relationship with Christ. It's an essential part of who we are. We are God-centered people and that results in certain habits in our lives. The second was growing. I accept the responsibility to grow in my faith with the assistance of others. By the way, all of this is right here in this handout. So, growing is my responsibility. It's something that I do; I make decision to do before God. But, at the same time, it's something that's a community experience. We each can feed into each others' lives.

The third week was focusing in on serving. I worship God by serving the body of Christ. I use the gifts that I've been given and the resources I've been given to bless this community and through this community, to bless the world. And then finally, sharing. I share Christ with the world. I invest in personal relationships beyond Central Presbyterian Church's walls, moving people towards Christ where we live and work and play.

This is just a quick view of the whole picture and we talked about marks, or habits, of these disciples. Not the deep things that have to do with the heart, but just the visible things that we see in the lives of people over centuries. And those are marked on the back of this.

I want to point out this handout, and if you don't have one of these I'd like you to raise your hand, because everybody here needs one. Because this is an exercise we'll all do together. And while you hold up your hands and we distribute these, I'll explain what's going on here. Notice that there's no place for your name, because we don't want to know who this is. We just want to get kind of a picture, a composite picture of what's going on in the lives of people who gather together here at Central.

If you're a guest today I hope you still do it. If you don't view yourself as a follower of Christ, please, still do it. We just want to get a view of what a spiritual journey looks like, what the habits are, what the practices are in the lives of people here. And I hope that, as you look at it, you also find it a good time of personal reflection.

And I just want to affirm again, this doesn't tell whether you're a good Christian or not. This is just external stuff. Only God can say that. That's a matter of the heart. But these are still helpful things, both for you personally, in your own reflection, as well as for us as a whole community. So, we'll give you a few minutes to do that and then we'll hand them in as part of the offering today.

© 2010, Rev. John Schmidt
Central Presbyterian Church, Baltimore, MD 21204 410/823-6145
www.centralpc.org