We’ve established that the church is a group of believers gathered in Jesus name for a specific purpose. That purpose is to glorify God in all things. (see Eph. 1: 11-12) How do we glorify God? Through worship, through community, and through witness.
The second sermon in this series looked at the area of worship, the upward movement into relationship with God, and the third focused on the area of community, an inward movement as the body of Christ. Today, we want to finish up the series by looking at the area of witness. John 20.21 tells us, “Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” Witness encompasses two distinct, yet interconnected concerns: 1. How do we as the church reach beyond ourselves into the community? 2. How does the community view the church? Witness, then, is the outward movement into the world, and it is made up of three areas.
1. Evangelism: This word comes from the Greek word evangel, which means good news. The word evangelism itself often brings to mind images of Billy Graham Crusades, hellfire and brimstone sermons, tent revivals, etc. While these can be labeled as evangelism, they move the focus of the action beyond the local body of believers. At its root, evangelism is one-on-one sharing of a Christian’s personal faith. It is one beggar telling another where to find bread that satisfies the hunger; it is one weary traveler telling another where they can find a drink of living water to quench the thirsting of their soul. It is one person telling another what God has done in their life and how much he loves them both. Evangelism is NOT sheep stealing. Too much “church growth” is simply the transfer of members from one church to another church. This process produces the illusion of growth, while not advancing the Kingdom of God at all. Instead, we should be focused on those who don’t have a church home, who need to hear the old, old story that you must be born again. Evangelism is also NOT something we do when attendance or giving has slipped a little bit -- it is not a program that we fall back on, for t it is the mission which Christ commanded us to follow. (Mk. 16.15 He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach [share] the good news to all creation. Acts. 1.8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” ) Evangelism, then, is something that you and I are commanded to do.
2. Service: A second area of witness is meeting the needs of others. There is an old saying, “people don’t care what you know till they know how much you care.” Service is perhaps the most effective ways to show them how much we care. Instead of talking about the love of God, service puts that love into action, living it out as a visible testimony. We need to ask ourselves what needs the unchurched in our community have and how our church can meet those needs. How can we love them like Christ does? On his last night on earth, Christ set the example. While the disciples argued about who was the greatest, (to find out who was the least -- who would wash everyone’s feet), Jesus began to wash their feet. It was a job reserved for the lowest servant, yet no job was too lowly. Jesus said to them “Go and do likewise and you will be blessed.” When we serve others, we get blessed!
3. Justice: This is an area that the more conservative parts of our denomination have often shied away from, because “Justice Ministries” have become synonymous with liberal theology and works based righteousness. The fact is that
Justice must work together with service and evangelism. We will not be effective in winning the lost of our area for Christ if we are not involved in all three areas of witness. Is. 1.17 commands, “learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.” The church is called to uphold justice. The orphans and widows (a common expression in the OT) speaks of all those who have no power or voice in the community and society. They are the downtrodden, those who fall between the cracks of the system. It is to these that we are called to action. I’ve served in churches that said “We should not become involved in such issues - they are political, not spiritual. But to step away from such issues ignores the long history of justice that God himself began with the children of Israel. When people are oppressed and exploited, can the church remain silent; when injustice and immorality become commonplace, can the church acquiesce and turn away? If we do, then we are no longer the church! We must raise up a standard, one based upon the solid foundation of God’s most holy word. We must raise up and make known the word of our Lord.
As we seek to glorify God, let us undertake the outward journey; let us begin to seek opportunities to share our story with others, let us find the needs of our community that will allow our church to reach out in love, and let us raise up a godly standard of justice in a society that has lost its moral and ethical sense of direction. And in all of these things, may we find reach others and glorify God.
As a United Methodist pastor, there have been times that I have been dry and hungry spiritually. It is my hope and prayer that these sermons and reflections may give you strength and inspiration to others who are on that same journey.
