Missions And Your Means

“MISSIONS AND YOUR MEANS”

Luke 5.17-20

We began our annual missions emphasis at Calvary Road Baptist Church on Wednesday night when I brought a message from God’s Word about the preacher’s motivation to serve God in missions outreach. Our theme for this conference is “Who Will You Impact?” And I will relate to you more fully at our missions banquet, especially the surprising ways my ministry footprint has increased to impact the cause of Christ.

But for now, how about we direct our attention to your ministry footprint and the intentional things you must decide to do to engage in missions at home and abroad? Please turn in your Bible to Luke 5.17. When you find that verse in God’s Word, please stand and read along silently while I read aloud:

17 And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.

18 And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him.

19 And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.

20 And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.

21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?

22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts?

23 Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?

24 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.

25 And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.

26 And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day.

I have previously preached to you from this passage when considering the topic of forgiveness. This morning, I want to direct your attention to the part you are supposed to play in seeing someone saved from his sins. We are in the middle of our annual missions emphasis, and we have no expectation of our missionaries doing what we do not do. God deliver us from such hypocrisy and mercenary spirit. We want to do what our missionaries do, and we want our missionaries to do what we do.

That said, there are profound differences between the way the Bible teaches missionary work and evangelism should be conducted at home and abroad. The way most contemporary decisionists at home and abroad seek to bring the lost to Christ.[1] That is if the conversion of the lost is their goal rather than mere virtue signaling.

The decisionist is, after all, what I identify as an externalist. Decisionists believe the way to see someone saved is by persuading them to “pray the prayer,” or to “believe that Jesus died for him,” or to “ask Jesus into your heart,” as if those external deeds, supposed infusions of grace, and intellectual realizations could possibly substitute for the miracle of the new birth.

Doing evangelism and missions the Bible way, on the other hand, ought to take into account the factors over which no Christian has control, such as the mind of the sinner, the heart of the sinner, the convicting work of the Holy Spirit, and this very important matter of the miracle of the new birth.

Who tells God when to perform miracles? Certainly not me. Also, on what basis does anyone presume that mouthing the words of a prayer that is not found in the Bible (or even a prayer that is found in the Bible) or asking Jesus to do something that He will not do while He is enthroned in heaven will result in sins being forgiven and a new heart being wrought?

Our Church has observed firsthand the sad consequences of trying to reduce evangelism to a formula. The tragic results here and on the mission field are huge numbers of sinners who have been pronounced Christians by so-called soul winners based upon a bowed head, closed eyes, and repeated words as if that is how a sinner becomes a Christian. Though some sinners do become Christians despite that methodology and not because of it, most Christians I have known who have shared their testimonies with me were not saved when someone directed them to bow their heads, close their eyes, and mouth the words of a prayer, no matter how sincere they were at the time.

John R. Rice, the great proponent of personal evangelism in the 20th century (though, sadly, a decisionist), was careful to remind those who read his Sword of the Lord periodical that most sinners are saved as the result of sitting under Gospel preaching. His words seem to have fallen on deaf ears in those days, since most evangelistic efforts take place beyond the four walls of Church auditoriums, and since most pastors studiously avoid preaching Gospel sermons.

Let us take a fresh look at our text, Luke 5.17-20, seeing here a picture of our own calling to labor for the salvation of the lost:

18 And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him.

20 And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.

Notice three things:

First, NOTICE THE ABILITY OF THE PALSIED MAN

What could that man do of himself? Is it not obvious that the whole picture painted with words in this account is a picture of complete inability, of total helplessness? In other examples found in the Gospel accounts we are shown a blind man, a dead girl, a diseased leper, a possessed demoniac, an arrogant ruler, an ignorant teacher, a thieving tax collector, or a boisterous fisherman.

Does not each example show us but another aspect of what we see with this palsied man, the sinner’s total inability to save himself because he is powerless. He is blind, because he is dead, or because he is hopelessly defiled? This palsied man is you, my lost friend. It was me at one point.

That palsied man represents all lost individuals in one respect. His crippled body speaks of the depravity of sinners, their complete inability to make their way from where they are to where they need to be to cross paths with the Lord Jesus Christ’s primary means of saving the lost, which is the preaching of the Gospel.

Thus, while the sinner you know or are dealing with may be a fit athlete, he is still a sinner. He is still dead in trespasses and sins. He is still a blind wanderer. You may not need to carry him on a mat or hoist him with others using a stretcher. But he, just as surely as the palsied man needs to be brought to the place where an encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ is likely.

Next, NOTICE THE EFFORTS TO BRING THE MAN TO CHRIST

It is remarkable to everyone who reads this passage that the Lord Jesus Christ took note of the four men who carried the palsied man, commending their faith instead of the palsied man’s faith. Verse 20 reads,

“And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.”

This should be no surprise to anyone familiar with the Bible. James tells us that faith without works is dead, being alone. His four friends exhibited a lively but challenging, energetic faith in Christ through their grueling effort to get their crippled friend to the Savior. This was not an easy thing to accomplish. Perhaps that is why Paul identifies such activity as the work of faith. It is hard. That said, what is the alternative? Perhaps the four were tired at the end of a long workday. But what else could they do and still be that man’s friends?

As well, there is no necessary suggestion here that their primary goal was to see this man healed. They may have desired to see him granted forgiveness for his sins by the Savior since our Lord did not heal his physical infirmity except to prove a point to His detractors. Thus, the four men who carried the crippled on his bed were every bit the evangelists, knowing full well that their task was done, and their duty performed to its fullest when the sinner on the pallet was brought into the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Oh, to be sure, they doubtless did their best to extoll the Savior's virtues and urge the man to accompany them to see Him. If the afflicted man had been disabled for very long, he probably had already lost all hope of remedy. I imagine the four met with resistance when they approached him and asked him to let them bring him into the Savior’s presence. They likely had to persuade him. But as Paul wrote in Second Corinthians 5.11, “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord we persuade men.” They persuaded him. Remember that appropriate persuasion stops short of the manipulation and the arm twisting that is sometimes passed off as evangelism these days.

Let me caution you. A danger can sometimes result from our refusal to engage in unethical and unscriptural manipulation and sometimes even bullying of the lost. Oh, yes! Once you grasp that God sovereignly saves the lost, the danger of the incomplete picture can arise, imagining that God’s people are excused from doing anything. To be sure, while the conversion of the lost is not the result of persuading them to perform some external act or submit to the directions of a so-called soul winner, it does not follow that believers are left without any responsibility or obligation. It is one thing to recognize that while we are freed from any ministry of coercion, some wrongly conclude that we have no responsibility. They imagine that our efforts are not significant enough to warrant us inconveniencing ourselves enough to work with others to reach the lost. They ignore what Paul refers to in First Thessalonians chapter one as the work of faith and the labor of love.

You have heard me enough to know that I place very little stock in the present practices of most ministries these days. They grieve me. I am not persuaded an ill-informed zealot with a Gospel tract can knock on someone’s door, talk to him for fifteen minutes without once seeking to discover his grasp of vital truths about God, and persuade him to bow his head, close his eyes, and repeat words, bring him to faith in Christ. What does the sinner know about Jesus, sin, and salvation? How dare we presume the Holy Spirit will convict the sinner of his sins in that same period, bring his heart to a proper preparation, and the Father will draw him to embrace Christ at the precise moment the soul winner has completed his presentation of the Gospel?

Neither do I believe that a so-called positive message, in which sinners are convinced that life is better with Jesus, that Jesus solves life’s problems, or that God has a plan for their lives, is the answer. Paul is very clear in his letters that the issue was sin, is sin, and will always be sin.

In short, I believe that reaching the lost typically takes considerably longer than many people realize. Too much unripe fruit is being picked. Quick decisions do not necessarily result in real conversions. With the Spirit of God the convicting of sinners must run much deeper than most are willing to tolerate. The sinner’s understanding of the critical issues of sin and salvation needs to be much deeper than is typically expected. After all, in the Parable of the Soils, Jesus pointed out the genuine conversion in Matthew 13.23:

“he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it”

I am further convinced the Christian’s efforts to bring a sinner to a real encounter with the Savior are much more involved than most people understand, requiring much greater devotion and effort than decisionists are willing to exhibit.

That is why it takes an entire congregation working very hard to make contacts, cultivate those contacts into friendships, and then communicate care and concern for the lost. All the while, praying and working together as a team is imperative to bringing sinners to where they are exposed to the primary means of grace, preaching the Word of God. Furthermore, when sinners sit under the preaching of the Word of God, they need accurate facts and details presented to them. Then, they need exposure to the consequences of their sinfulness, at which time they should hear the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and the challenge to come to Christ.

What should all this mean to you and me? It means that he would not have been reached if you refused to exert yourself on behalf of the palsied man. What would have happened had one of the four carrying him on his bed said, “You don’t need me. Three men can do the job.” I dare say the three men would not have been able to get the palsied man up the stairs or been able to lower him down through the hole they made in the roof. Have you ever tried picking up the dead weight of a full-grown man? He who ordained the end also ordained the means to achieve the end.

Thus, if you are not up to the task illustrated by these four men in our text, the encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ does not occur, the man is not carried up the stairs, and he is not lowered through the hole in the roof. The Jesus encounter does not occur.

Suppose we apply their actions to our day. Might I suggest that your efforts to reach the lost include the coordinated activity of all our members to get the word out, proclaim our Church’s name and times of services, meet and befriend people on the highways and byways, and go the extra mile? Then, on Sunday, arrive early to warmly greet and be hospitable to those we can bring in. How dare we walk past someone because we choose not to greet them? Do you imagine both men and angels will not witness such intentional slights? And after the preaching, walk with new acquaintances next door to share food and fellowship. Meet and greet after the service those you did not meet before. Do not stand aloof in the auditorium with friends and family after the service. Such is not the time for fellowship with friends and loved ones. This is evangelism time! Arrange times to cultivate your new friendships. Do what is appropriate so they will want to come back to our Church, want to sit under the preaching of the Gospel, and perhaps someday want to embrace our Savior. Do this rather than bolting out the door and running to your car after Church.

Every activity that helps to achieve these goals and work toward these ends is illustrated by the four men in our text, without whom, humanly speaking, there would be nothing to rejoice for.

Finally, NOTICE THE MIRACLE OF SALVATION

I have gotten ahead of myself somewhat, but during this era, all physical encounters with the Lord Jesus Christ have been replaced by the preaching of the Gospel. This has been necessary for two reasons: First, our Lord Jesus Christ’s ascension to the Father’s right hand after His glorious resurrection from the dead makes a physical encounter with Him impossible at this time.[2] Second, the sending of the indwelling Spirit of God could not have occurred apart from Christ’s glorious ascension to the Father’s right hand on high.[3]

What happens now is that sinners are brought, much as the palsied man was carried by the four men, to a place where a spiritual encounter is prepared for, prayed for, and anticipated. That spiritual encounter occurs when God’s people worship, when there is singing, praying, and preaching the Word of God.[4] It is there. Then we hope the Spirit of God will take the preached Word and apply it in a powerful way to the minds and hearts of the lost who are here to hear. But if not, then and there, then later and elsewhere.

Though our text does not give us any clue concerning the spiritual opposition that always occurs at such times, we know fierce opposition is an ever-present reality.[5] Other portions of Scripture reveal to us that Satanic opposition works to blind unbelievers to the truth and that the sinner’s spiritual deadness hinders their reception and grasp of the truth.[6] On top of that, you have distractions of people and distractions of other types, all working to interfere with the Holy Spirit’s efforts at convincing sin, righteousness, and judgment to come. Thus, there is a need for the miracle of a new birth.

Reflect on the posters around the auditorium walls and the question, “Who Will You Impact?” You do understand that God’s plan for your life involves personal interaction with the lost in some way. Only by blatant disobedience can personal interaction be avoided in Christian ministry.

The text we have looked at focuses on your role in seeing someone converted to Christ rather than the role of the preacher or the Holy Spirit. We see four men working to overcome the obstacles created by other people who were in the way, blocking access and interfering by their dullness and inattention to the spiritual needs of those around them.

Is it any different these days? How are you different from one of the four who would carry the crippled man to the Savior? How will he be transported? How will he be persuaded to come? Will you be the one who helps to carry the crippled man, or are you someone who is in the way, blocking access?

How would he be brought if one of the four had listened to a family member and decided to do something else, or you had concluded you were not really needed enough and decided to stay home because you were tired from working all day?

How is your task to get visitors in again and again any different than the task of those four men? “They sought means to bring him in and to lay him before him.” They hoisted their friend, while you might transport someone in your car, or arrange to meet them here before inviting them to your home for lunch.

No one is required to be a theologian. Neither are you required to demonstrate unusual skills. The Christian life is really quite simple. Like those four men, you are to work with others to bring sinners to where a spiritual encounter with Jesus Christ will occur. Find the means to bring him in and lay him before the Lord.

It may be the guy will hear the Gospel and will not be saved. That is his problem. You have done your part. You have fulfilled your duty. You have discharged all your obligations except the obligation to pray. You have shown love for your neighbor. Come next week, do it again, either by getting that lost person back to Church once more or another lost person into Church.

What percentage of the crippled men, the blind men, the leprous men, and the dead men did the Lord Jesus Christ save or heal? We will not know this side of heaven. That is between the Savior and each sinner. However, if you do your part be assured that He will do His part.

Your task is to do your very best to bring about an encounter between the sinner and our Savior. Is persuasion a part of it? Yes. Is hard work required? To be sure. Is fervent prayer crucial? Absolutely. Will your Church’s efforts be affected should you or I decide to stay home? You know they will be.

We each have a part in seeing someone saved from his sins. What kind of a person are you who will not do your part because your spouse will not do his or her part? What kind of woman are you to stop doing your part to play to your husband or to play to your children? That is not Christianity. Do your part, and let God deal with everything else.

I conclude by making a specific application to our Church and the missionaries we support. Since most of those in your Church who are ever going to give to missions already give to missions, reaching others with the Gospel is significant beyond that individual’s spiritual well-being. To support more missionaries so they will be more effective in the regions beyond, we need to reach the lost for Christ here.

Think of it. There are three ways to effectively interfere with and bring harm to our Church’s efforts to fulfill the Great Commission. The first impediment is prayerlessness. The second impediment is refusing to give to missions. The third impediment is noninvolvement in our Church’s efforts to reach the lost for Christ.

If you are a prayer warrior, the key for you is not praying more. You already pray. The key is bringing someone to Christ who will join you in prayer.

If you are a missions giver, the key for you may not be giving more to missions. Maybe you already give generously to missions. But you can bring someone to Christ who will, in turn, become a member who gives to missions.

Thus, even if you pray and give but do not seek to reach others with the Gospel, our church's missions outreach is still hindered. You see, the Christian life cannot be compartmentalized, so a person does one thing the Savior wants while ignoring another thing the Savior wants. If Jesus Christ is not lord of all, He is not lord at all.

Allow me to put it in practical terms for you: Involve yourself in seeing one precious soul come to Christ, accompanied by your ongoing commitment to encouraging that convert to grow and mature as a Christian.

You may not be able to walk the neighborhoods on Saturday afternoons, but you do go to the grocery store, the barber shop, run errands, and collect your mail pretty regularly. Or you could conduct a ministry like Wenona’s, Brian Spicer’s, Danny Jaich’s, Ken Barbosas’s, or Gary Isenbergers’s. What do they do? Ask them.

Imagine how much you help Samuel Rai’s ministry, Garry Matheny’s ministry, Ramzi Kammar’s ministry, and our other missionaries, if you play a part in bringing someone to Christ who ends up living for God, praying for them, supporting them financially, and perhaps visiting them on the mission field.

On one Friday several years back, my wife and I fellowshipped with a couple we had not seen in 35 years. I asked how they got to the Church where I served then because I could not remember so far back. They told me, and it was simple. One member reached out to one of them, who reached out to another of them, who reached out to another of them.

Thirty-five years later, they are faithful, serving God, giving to missions, visiting missionaries, and seeking the salvation of others still. Oh, how God has worked in their lives. Perhaps you can meet them someday. However you do it, do it, and keep doing it until Jesus comes or you die, whichever comes first.

God’s plan is for someone to be reached by someone. You can reach someone who can be reached by no one but you. And, as we saw several Sunday nights ago, if you are not involved in the work of faith and the labor of love, you cannot be a good mother or a successful father.

It all fits together, don’t you see? Leave one part out, one piece of the puzzle missing, a single area in your life of ongoing disobedience, and everything else, literally, everything else, is affected.

Step out by faith to discover who you will impact for Christ.

__________

[1] Decisionism is the belief that a person is saved by coming forward, raising the hand, saying a prayer, believing a doctrine, making a Lordship commitment, or some other external, human act, which is taken as the equivalent to, and proof of, the miracle of inward conversion; it is the belief that a person is saved through the agency of a merely external decision; the belief that performing one of these human actions shows that a person is saved.

Conversion is the result of that work of the Holy Spirit which draws a lost sinner to Jesus Christ for justification and regeneration, and changes the sinner’s standing before God from lost to saved, imparting divine life to the depraved soul, thus producing a new direction in the life of the convert. The objective side of salvation is justification. The subjective side of salvation is regeneration. The result is conversion.

[2] Psalm 16.11; 110.1; Matthew 26.64; Mark 12.36; 14.62; 16.19; Luke 20.42; 22.69; John 3.13; 13.1; 14.2-4; Acts 1.9-11; 2.33, 34-35; 7.56; Romans 8.34; Ephesians 1.20; 6.9; Colossians 3.1; Second Thessalonians 1.7; Hebrews 1.3, 13; 8.1; 9.24; 10.12-13; 12.2; 1 Peter 3.22; Revelation 19.11

[3] John 16.7

[4] 1 Corinthians 14.24-25

[5] Ephesians 6.10-12

[6] 2 Corinthians 4.3-4

Would you like to contact Dr. Waldrip about this sermon? Please contact him by clicking on the link below. Please do not change the subject within your email message. Thank you.

Pastor@CalvaryRoadBaptist.Church