Can you envision a Christmas season where the stress and commercialism take a back seat, replaced by a focus on kindness, service, and proclaiming the true reason for the season? Hold on to that thought as we journey together through an episode that illuminates not just the "why" but also the "how" of making this vision a reality. We explore the profound theme of hope during this Advent season and our duty as Christians to share this hope, anchored by the Great Commission from Matthew 28:16-20. From preaching the gospel to living it out in our everyday lives and using relational evangelism, we shed light on effective strategies to share the hope of Christmas with the world.
Can you envision a Christmas season where the stress and commercialism take a back seat, replaced by a focus on kindness, service, and proclaiming the true reason for the season? Hold on to that thought as we journey together through an episode that illuminates not just the "why" but also the "how" of making this vision a reality. We explore the profound theme of hope during this Advent season and our duty as Christians to share this hope, anchored by the Great Commission from Matthew 28:16-20. From preaching the gospel to living it out in our everyday lives and using relational evangelism, we shed light on effective strategies to share the hope of Christmas with the world.
Hello and welcome to episode seven of our Advent series of Real Life Community Church's Real Friends podcast. Egan Matthew here once again, senior pastor Chris on hand as well, to continue our theme of hope for this Advent season.
Speaker 2:That's right, we've talked about for the last six episodes, the hope that we have as Christians as it relates to the Christmas narrative. But today we want to close this week with reminding our listeners of the mandate to share that hope with others, and so we're going to take our text today from Matthew, chapter 28, verses 16 through 20.
Speaker 1:Now the 11 disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them, and when they saw him, they worshiped him. But some doubt it. And Jesus came and said to them all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age Right.
Speaker 2:We call this text the Great Commission. It is our commission as believers to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. Now you're familiar with the classic Christmas song that admonishes us to go tell it on the mountain over the hills of Appalachia and everywhere. Go tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born.
Speaker 1:That's amazing that the ESV mentions Appalachia. That's right. Let me look at that again. I'm going to go around the hills while you go over the hills, if you don't mind, with my no glorified body yet. So we have Christians have what some people would term an unspeakable hope in a hopeless world. Part of our calling is, as Christians, is to share that hope with the world. So, just as a reminder, you want to keep Jesus in your heart and the front of your mind here for the Christmas season. Don't just think about it. Go, be active. Go and do it.
Speaker 2:So, to illustrate this, I'd like to make reference for the second time in seven episodes. Is it only the second? I think so, perhaps more. But I want to make reference to the movie Elf, and if you've seen the movie you know Buddy Elf was not content to stay at the North Pole, where everyone believed in Santa and experienced the joys of Christmas, but he longed to go to New York, a place largely void of the Christmas spirit, and he began to proclaim and live out the joy of Christmas, and it really impacted the city. And so that is our mandate as well we are not to stay huddled up in our little, you know, four walls of our churches, but we are to go out into the world to proclaim and to share the gospel. So how do we do that? How do we share the hope of Christmas, the hope of Jesus, with the world? There are three ways.
Speaker 1:What's the first Sure, first one we'll talk about is one that you've called a relational evangelizing. You want to take advantage of you know, people that you know, relationships you already have and people you know and if they don't know the gospel or don't know it well, to preach that to them.
Speaker 2:That's right. So we've got to know the gospel in order to preach it, and I hope, if you're listening and you are a Christian, that you understand the fundamentals of the gospel. But yes, we're to preach the gospel to those within our circle and even those that we meet, you know, in the supermarket, on the airplane.
Speaker 1:airplanes are great times to share the gospel because they're stock. That's right there.
Speaker 2:So, number one, we preach the gospel. But secondly, we are to live out the gospel. You know, matthew 516 says let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify their God, who is in heaven. So you know, there are some people who preach the gospel but they sure don't live it and their lives do not make an impact on others.
Speaker 1:No. And then, on flip side, there are people you know, perhaps like you, listening and certainly like me, sometimes someone who isn't a pastor. We often feel like, oh, evangelizing is the, you know, a pastor's job.
Speaker 1:Well, actually the pastor's job is to equip us for the work of the ministry, to go out and evangelize. And so while we want to, you know, put words and you know, give our testimony and preach the gospel. You also preach that just by living it out. People can see that. People will ask you why are you so happy? How are you doing so well? They'll want to know the secret and I can tell that sounds corny, but I can testify to that personally.
Speaker 2:So you just shared a story with me about that happened to you when you were getting your glasses tightened. Why don't you share that? Because you lived out the gospel in that moment.
Speaker 1:You know, I hadn't even thought about it in that way. I, you know I suppose I did. And you know, religion never comes into it. Maybe this girl knows the gospel, maybe she doesn't. But I went to the store, the optometrist and store, to get my glasses tightened, after having fallen asleep and smushed them somewhat and made an appointment, and then this girl was happy to help me tighten the glasses up for free, and a minute into the process, her to pop and she's kind of looking back and forth and finding different little things to do with the counter, leaves the room for just a little bit to go get something. Come back.
Speaker 1:I could tell in retrospect this girl was going through about 45 minutes of agony, not wanting to tell me that in tightening them she had actually broken the glasses, and finally told me just with the most dejected look and tone in her face, and I was like, oh well, do we have tape? You know, yeah, we have tape. And I'm like, okay, great, well, also, I guess it's a good. You know, I'm getting a new prescription in a few weeks. Okay, yeah, that is, that is a good thing. So you'll be getting some new ones, we'll get you some new ones. I was like, yeah, and I could tell she was still confused. And I was like, oh, and best of all, I'm in radio. So if you're going to have somebody with tape on their glasses, I'm the best person for that to happen even had to happen to somebody today. And just this huge sigh of relief. And she looked at me, she said, and I quote you know, most people would not be this forgiving in this particular. That's right, and so well.
Speaker 2:It could have gotten very upset, right, but there, if that's the worst thing that happens to you in a day, listen, you're having a pretty good day and so you were magnanimous, forgiving in a way that most people are not, and those kinds of episodes really build a platform to share the gospel.
Speaker 1:All right. So we're talking about, you know, the three ways that we can share our hope with people. We preach the gospel relational. Hopefully, the next time I run into this girl I'll have a platform you know I'll be able to mention if she brings it up, you know. Here's why I'm so forgiving. What do you think? We live out the gospel. This was my way of doing it, just as an example for you, practically. But then our third one we support our missionaries, and it's not one we talk about necessarily as often as we should, is it?
Speaker 2:That's right. There's a staggering statistic there are about 3.9 billion people in the world.
Speaker 1:I don't catch constant as well. Was that a million or a billion? The billion?
Speaker 2:3.9 billion people in the world who have no access to the gospel. These are not people who have access but have rejected it. These are people who have never heard about the Lord, Jesus Christ. And so we have missionaries who have committed their lives. They've left, you know, American missionaries, who have left the commodities of this great nation and they've gone to the most remote places in the world to share the gospel of Jesus. And so, without missionaries, the gospel would not spread to the ends of the earth. So God has called every Christian to be one of two things when it comes to missions One, a missionary themselves. What would the second be? Somebody who supports missionaries.
Speaker 2:So we could say it like this we're either to be a goer or a sender. We are called to sacrificially give to support the gospel efforts all around the world. We need to support our missionaries. So during this time of year people tend to act a little bit crazy, have you noticed From all the stress of Christmas? But don't be one of the crazy ones. If you're a Christian, even if you're not a Christian, don't be a crazy one. But listen, christians, be kind, serve others, proclaim the gospel and live it out. Live out the true reason for the season. Thank you so much for listening.