Loving People Enough to Tell them the Truth!
Acts 20:18-21
March 16, 2014
AM
Pastor Craig
Ledbetter
Bible Baptist
Church, Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland
I. Introduction
A.
Jesus defines the
goal of the Christian life (Matthew 22:35-40):
1.
To truly,
passionately love God
2.
And to
truly, passionately love our neighbours
B.
Love is more than
a word – it is an action, a risk you take, a way of life
1.
Sometimes it is
kindness and compassion, like the Good Samaritan showed
2.
Sometimes it is
paying someone else’s debt, just for no other reason than to show love
3.
Sometimes it is
giving a gift
4.
Sometimes it is
allowing someone ahead of you in a line
5.
Often it is a
commitment to another person, beyond their worth
6.
And sometimes, it
is telling someone the truth, even though they may not want to hear it
C.
How do you tell
this world about who Jesus is – who He REALLY is?
D.
How do you tell
them He is the only God, and the only Saviour of mankind?
E.
How do you
convince them that the Bible is true and vital for life?
F.
How do you let
them know that God is THERE, and that He cares, and that He is LORD of every
situation, and working things out the right way?
G.
This entire coming
week, I want us to love our neighbours through the giving, not of money, or of
random acts of kindness, but by giving them our testimonies!
H.
The goal of advertising is to
get people to make certain choices. And any advertiser knows the benefit of
having real people come on TV or on the radio and give real life “testimonials”
about how such and such a product revolutionized their laundry, and how
so-and-so’s insurance company saved their home, etc.
I.
Well, I’m telling you, nobody
can beat the testimony of a sinner’s salvation!
J.
You see, this world is turning
to US for a testimony – a reason for hope (Lk 21:9-13). Do you offer any? It
comes only to those who follow Jesus. This world desperately needs to see living
proofs of God’s grace! They desperately need to know if Jesus is really there!
II.
Background (Acts
20:18-21)
A.
Paul had an open life
as a Christian – everyone could easily see he was different (18)
B.
He actively served the
Lord, at a high cost to him personally (19)
C.
But he didn’t just do
it quietly… he testified (20,21)
1.
Which means, he taught
people publickly, and in every house he could get into
2.
He taught pagan Greeks,
and hyper religious Jews…
3.
Repentance towards God
4.
And faith towards our
Lord Jesus Christ
D.
That was his life!
E.
That was his testimony
F.
That is Christ’s will
(Acts 1:8) for every believer (Ephesians 6:19)!
III.
Message
A.
What is a Christians
Testimony?
1.
Not an opinion, or an
idea that you just have
2.
But, it is “A solemn
declaration or affirmation made for the purpose of establishing or proving some
fact.”
3.
In other words, It is
what you KNOW happened to you, spoken for the benefit of others who do not know
it yet for sure.
4.
Usually testimonies are
used by Laundry commercials, new Car commercials, deodorant commercials, denture
commercials, weight-loss commercials – because they help sell things
5.
But Christ asks us, His
followers, to tell our world, to help PROVE to our world, that He lives, and
that He can save and fix absolutely anybody!
B.
Examples of Testimonies
1.
The Woman at the Well
(John 4:5-19, 25,26, 28-30, 39) – what was her testimony?
a.
5 failed marriages
b.
Living with a man that
was not her husband
c.
In a false religion in
Samaria – not Jewish
d.
Did not know God
e.
Then one day, Jesus
found her
f.
He told her about
herself, and answered all her questions
g.
And offered her a drink
of “living water” - eternal life – forgiveness from all her sins!
h.
And she took it
i.
And she has never been the same!
j.
And THAT simple testimony, when told to the people who knew her, her
neighbours even, it drew THEM to knowing and following the very same Saviour!
2.
The Demon Possessed Man
of Gadara (Mark 5:1-20) – What was HIS testimony?
a.
A man FILLED with
filthy, unclean demonic powers
b.
Used to live in tombs
amongst the dead
c.
Angry and yet totally
depressed
d.
Crying day and night
e.
Hated himself - Cutting
himself – constantly attempting suicide
f.
Absolutely NO one could
help him
g.
Then Jesus found him!
h.
And Jesus conquered
every last demon in his life – thousands of layers of problems
i.
And from that day he was a different man
1)
Fully clothed
2)
Sitting at the feet of
Jesus, no longer in rebellion, no longer angry and depressed
3)
But in his RIGHT MIND
4)
Listening, and
learning, and growing in his own understanding of who Jesus is
j.
And from that day on, he went everywhere, TESTIFYING
1)
At home, and to friends
and neighbours
2)
Just how great are the
things that the Lord had done for him
3)
And most of all, how
the LORD had compassion on him
4)
And offers the SAME
compassion on anyone who would come to Him!
k.
Now THAT simple
testimony of ONE MAN affected an entire COUNTY for God!
3.
Young David (Psalm
40:1-4) – What was young king David’s testimony?
a.
Of a ruined life – when
we are honest about our lives, we will admit that we ALL start off ruined, when
we finally turn to God!
b.
Of a horrible pit –
stuck in it – couldn’t get it no matter how hard he tried
1)
Quit trying to dress up
your life!
2)
A testimony starts with
an open admission of where you WERE
3)
Horrible pit of sin
4)
Of porn
5)
Of drugs
6)
Of anger, and
depression
7)
Of greed and envy
8)
Of hatred, and wrath
c.
Being brought OUT OF
that horrible pit!
d.
Set upon a ROCK
e.
Changed his direction –
his goings – his life purpose
f.
A new song was put in
his mouth – praise to GOD, not to a new drug, or to a new relationship, but to
the ONE who did the transformation
g.
And then look at the
effect of that one simple testimony (40:3)
1)
MANY shall SEE the
changed life
2)
And MANY shall decide
to trust in the Lord God too!
h.
David wrote down this
testimony, to explain the changes that had happened in his life
i.
You should do the same!
4.
When the great apostle
Paul preached, he talked more about his own testimony than anything else! Every
time you find him in front of people, he would say, “Let me tell you what God
has done for me… how Christ saved ME, a religious lost man, and made ME a child
of God!”
C.
Every Christian Has a
Testimony of Some Sort (2Cor 5:17)
1.
There are only three
different kinds of Christian testimonies: Grace, Grace and more GRACE
a.
Ephesians 2:8,9
Saved by grace through faith
b.
1Cor 15:10
By the grace of God, I am what I am
2.
Listen to John Newton’s
testimony in the hymn, Amazing Grace…
a.
I once was lost, but
now I am found
b.
I was blind but now I
see
c.
God saved a wretch like
me!
3.
Okay, maybe your
testimony hasn’t been such a straight road
a.
Maybe you have fought
long and hard against God before you ever humbled yourself and got born again
b.
Maybe you ran from God
for years and years, and wasted most if not all your health and life on sin
c.
Maybe you resisted
God’s calling, His will
d.
Maybe you frustrated
the work of the Holy Spirit as he sought to finish all the changes needed in
your life
e.
So…?
f.
Are you born again now?
Saved by the grace and the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ?
g.
Then tell the world
that YOU prove that God can save the worst, the vilest, the filthiest, the
lowest! YOU are living proof!
4.
And then again, maybe
you haven’t gone into such dark sins… PRAISE GOD!
a.
Tell the world, that
there is NONE righteous, no not one
b.
That even though you
and others have not done some wicked sinful acts, does not mean that you didn’t
need to be forgiven of other sins – secret sins
c.
And PROVE to them, that
God seeks to save all, because ALL are lost (2Cor 5:14,15)
5.
Just tell them what
Jesus has done for you!
D.
The World is Looking to
US for a Testimony (Lk 21:9-13).
1.
They
might not admit it, but they are tired of the lifestyles of the Madonna’s the
Michael Jacksons, the Justin Beibers, Brittany Spears, the Roy Keans, the Neil
Prendervills, and a thousand other filthy lives that are paraded across their
view almost every day on TV and Radio and Magazines
2.
You
see, this world is turning to US for a testimony – a reason for hope
3.
Do
you offer any?
4.
It
comes only from those who actually follow Jesus.
5.
This
world desperately needs to see living proofs of God’s grace! They desperately
need to know if Jesus is really there!
E.
How to “Testify”
1.
No two testimonies are
the same
a.
There is no competition
for who has the more amazing testimony
b.
THEY ALL ARE AMAZING –
they ALL are absolute miracles
2.
Just tell people what
God has done in your life
3.
Ignore all the physical
blessings at first
4.
Talk about being
forgiven (Eph 4:32)
5.
Talk about the peace
that passest understanding Philp 4:7
6.
Talk about getting a
sound mind back
7.
Tel people that God
Almighty broke your heart, and softened it, and made it new again
8.
Describe what it is
like now to get up and live for God, instead of for drugs, and for friends, and
for drink, and for depression, and for money, and for fear!
9.
And then tell them HOW
it all happened! How somebody came along and found you – and gave you a Gospel
leaflet, and loved you enough to tell you the truth
a.
That sin was winning
and would send you to hell
b.
That RELIGION and
RELIGIOUS works do not change us
c.
That Mary and the
Saints did not die for any of us
d.
But that Jesus, died,
and was buried and rose again, as full payment for all our sinful records
e.
And that all any of us
need to do, is turn to HIM ALONE and believe HE is the Saviour, and ask Him to
save a wretch like me!
F.
What’s at Stake (Rom
10:13-15) – How shall they hear without a preacher?
1.
If they don’t hear,
they will die in their sins
2.
They will remain in
their blindness, ignorance, demonic deception, false hope, loss of another
generation – if we do nothing
3.
But if we do get the
courage, if you DO start to care…
4.
People WILL have a
chance
5.
People will motivated
to come and meet a man that knows them and yet still loves them enough to die
for them
6.
People will start to
search the Scriptures again for the TRUTH about heaven and hell, and the soul,
and about God’s forgiveness
7.
And people will repent
and then believe the good news of the Gospel – I DID! And most of YOU have!
IV.
Conclusion
A.
This week, what we all
need to do – to develop a HABIT of loving our neighbours…
B.
Is to open our mouths,
and tell the people who we see, and who know us, what God has done for us,
saving us,
C.
And I pray we don’t
ever stop – testifying!
D.
So take some Love Your
Neighbour tracts, and use them to go to YOUR neighbours, YOUR co-workers, YOUR
lost family members, and humble yourself enough to LOVE them enough to tell them
the truth… that Jesus can save them, like He saved you!!!
E.
But What If You DON’T
have a Christian Testimony? What if your testimony is just one of…
1.
“I have always been a Christian”
2.
“I’m not that bad a
person”
3.
“I don’t know what it
means to be born again”
4.
I DON’T have assurance
of forgiveness from God”
F.
Then today, is the day
you can GET your own testimony!