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Advancing the Gospel
Introduction to the Sermon.
Discuss upcoming youth events.
How many of you have made plans for the rest of today?
We all made plans this morning to come to church - and I’m thankful for that.
Everyday, we make decisions and plan for our future - whether those are big plans or small plans, we are planning.
A common saying is, “The plan is useless, but planning is essential”.
Do you realize, that God has a perfect plan for every single one of us?
He does - and it’s a perfect plan!
The problem is, we get in the way!!!
We don’t follow his plan or we don’t even try to discover his plan for us.
We think we are in charge and make our own decisions without even thinking about God’s plans.
Part of God’s perfect plan for all of us - is for us to advance the Gospel of Christ.
That is how he plans to reach the world in need - through us!
We are all called for this task - we must be aware of that and willingly participate in spreading the gospel of Christ.
April 20, 1999 at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, two young teenage boys entered the school that morning with a plan to kill as many students as they could.
The teenage boys had made elaborate plans and details of how they would execute their fellow students and teachers.
They went through the classrooms and hallways while wreaking havoc on anyone they could find.
In the end, they would take the lives of 12 people while injuring another 23 before taking their own lives.
This was one of the first large mass shootings to ever occur on school property and it sent shock waves throughout the nation.
Shortly after the event, a story began emerging about one of the victims.
A young lady was encountered by one of the murders that morning and she was asked if she believed in God.
After a brief hesitation, she answered yes and was then shot on the spot.
I cannot imagine the thoughts that young lady had before answering the question to her soon to be killer.
I am sure she hesitated for a second to consider the consequence of her response.
Ultimately, she decided it was worth whatever the cost to profess the gospel of Christ.
We are all called on to profess the gospel of Christ.
We can however choose if we will answer that call and boldly profess the gospel of Christ or if we will hide in fear.
Our text today describes Paul’s imprisonment but shows his boldness and determination to profess the Gospel of Christ regardless of his circumstances.
No matter our circumstances, we are called to profess the gospel.
Why should we profess the gospel of Christ?
So that everyone can experience the joy of Christ through his never ending love
It is important to be aware of why Paul was in prison.
Paul was in prison in Rome for several different reasons.
One being a rumor that he had taken a Greek into the Temple which at that time, would be considered a capital office and requirement imprisonment.
He was also in prison due to his professing the gospel of Christ.
His preaching had drawn large crowds and a considerable amount of attention.
The Roman Empire obviously would not like this as they strived to be in control and lord over everyone.
The Roman leaders were threatened by Paul and the preaching of Christ and so they put Paul in prison essentially to silence him.
On top of that, Paul was in the interior of the prison and guarded by Caesar’s guards who were the highest trained prison guards.
Paul was now faced with a decision to make.
Should he be silent and not profess the gospel in hope of being released from prison alive or should he continue to profess the gospel regardless of the cost.
Thankfully, Paul chose the latter and continued preaching the gospel.
Paul did not care about the potential penalties or even death and he stayed determined to profess the gospel to everyone he encountered – even the prison guards!
Paul was determined to profess the gospel of Christ to everyone that he encountered
When my son Cooper was 6 years old, he made the decision to follow Christ and committed to a relationship with him.
It was an exciting time for our family to say the least.
I remember having a conversation with him shortly thereafter about sharing our faith with other people.
We talked a little bit about the Great Commission and the need to follow the commandment given to us from God.
Time went on and we got into the normal business of life.
One day, we were running some errands and were at the stop light by Burger King and Walmart.
There was a man standing by us with a sign asking for money.
Cooper read the sign and said to me that instead of money, we should pull over and share the gospel with this man.
This was a moment that struck me.
A lot of times we see people standing at stoplights asking for money or food and we tend to think they are abusing the system, asking for money so they can get alcohol or something worse.
In the eyes of a child, Cooper did not see that person the way we often do.
Cooper saw that gentlemen as an opportunity to share Christ.
How often do we look at our situation in the eyes of the world and not in the eyes of Christ?
Paul was not looking at his current situation through the eyes of a mortal man, but through the eyes of Christ and saw an opportunity to profess the gospel.
We too should strive to see the world that way.
Why is it important to advance the gospel of Christ?
I want to focus primarily on one word that you find in this scripture passage.
The word is commandment or commanded.
Jesus was commanding his disciples to go and spread the gospel message and to make other disciples for Christ.
This was not a suggestion or a simple request of them to do this whenever they had time.
Jesus commanded them to do this and to make it a priority as a Christian.
Also, consider the context of the passage.
In this period of time, commandments were viewed differently than they are today.
If you broke a law or a commandment, there was a serious penalty to pay.
Everyone knew that when a commandment was given, it was fully expected to be carried out to completion.
In today’s society, we have become complacent and lackadaisical in following through on our side of this commandment.
Commandment is like a law.
Let’s pretend its like a speed limit for a road - that’s a law you must follow right?
No, that’s not a good example.
It’s more like the law to not murder somebody, because then you’ll go to jail.
No, that’s not good because you may not get caught.
Here we go - this commandment should be like us knowing how to breath.
It should be so important to us as Christians that it becomes second nature…something we do automatically, all the time!
We somehow develop the mindset that it’s the pastor’s job, or the evangelist’s job, or the deacon’s job to profess the gospel of Christ.
That is wrong!
It is every single Christian’s responsibility to spread the gospel of Christ.
We need to make the commitment to intentionally spread the word of God to everyone.
Just like the Great Commandment instructs us, Paul was determined to profess the gospel message to whomever he could.
Paul took advantage of his situation and preached to the guards and everyone in the palace.
He knew the importance of professing the gospel.
We also need to realize this importance and strive to carry out the Great Commission as instructed to all of us by Jesus Christ himself.
We must know the Gospel of Christ in order to advance the Gospel of Christ.
Maybe that was the first time you heard of the Great Commission.
Regardless, we need to make reading scripture a priority in our lives so that we can be properly equipped to advance the gospel.
We are called to advance the Gospel without fear!
Paul was not afraid to profess the gospel of Christ while in prison.
He was facing the possibility of death for professing the gospel but continued to do exactly that while in prison to the prison guards!
But look at what happened, because of his relentless dedication to profess the gospel of Christ to everyone without fear, people were gaining confidence to proclaim the gospel themselves!
People realized that Paul was not afraid to profess the gospel and that inspired them to do the same.
Paul was facing the possibility of death for essentially preaching the gospel and stirring up trouble in the Roman’s viewpoint.
He could have decided to take a step back from professing Christ in an effort to appease his accusers and not face punishment.
However, Paul made the decision to follow Christ regardless of the fear he may have or the potential consequences.
Let’s look at some other passages about fear.
We have nothing to fear!
Let me give you an example of having fear and deciding to not allow it to control you.
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