During this Advent Season, Pastor Andy and I have been using the theme, Go Tell It on the Mountain.

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1 Go Tell It on the Mountain: Our Attitude in Telling (Advent 3) Acts 18:1 11, 1 Corinthians 2:1 5 December 14, 2014 During this Advent Season, Pastor Andy and I have been using the theme, Go Tell It on the Mountain. We ve talked about HOW to tell the story of Jesus, WHO should tell it and WHY we should tell it. This morning, I want to talk about the ATTITUDE we should have when we tell the story of Jesus to those around us. We read two passages this morning: The Acts 18 passage where we ll spend most of our time is Luke s account of when Paul came to Corinth to plant a church there. And the passage in 1 Corinthians 2 is Paul s own account of that same period as he talks to the Corinthians about how he felt when we was starting their church. And that s why I ve included it because he opens up his HEART to them, and we get to see not just a third-person account of a successful church plant We get to see Paul s heart and his humanity. Paul was hands down the greatest evangelist in the early church, and it would be very easy to dismiss him and say, Well, of course! He s PAUL, and I m just ME. I could NEVER do that stuff! But 1 Corinthians is almost like looking over Paul s shoulder and reading his DIARY. We get to catch a glimpse of his most personal thoughts. So, let s see what Paul can teach us about what our ATTITUDE should be as we tell our friends about Jesus. I. First of all, be aware that as we share the Good News of Jesus, We will face resistance and even opposition Acts 18:5 6, When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ [Messiah the King of the Jews that the Old Testament prophets had promised]. But when the Jews opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, Your blood be on your own heads! I am clear of my responsibility. From now on I go to the Gentiles. You would think that the greatest Missionary, the greatest Evangelist (and probably the greatest Theologian), in the early church would have had such a polished presentation that these people would have been standing in line to receive Jesus. But you d be wrong! 1

2 We re not selling people on the latest and greatest WIDGET, we re helping them understand they need a SAVIOR. And, even though that s the Greatest News in the World, they may not (and often don t) see it that way! I say this because you may have shared some of Jesus story (and maybe something about your own faith) with one of your co-workers or a friend, and they weren t interested. Maybe they even put your down or became offended and maybe you decided the problem was with YOU. If you could just tell it better, or if you could just do a better job of answering their questions, you d be more successful. You need to understand that these are not usually intellectual battles but spiritual battles, and people are not always ready to hear. In fact, Paul will say to the Corinthians in chapter 3, I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. Sharing your faith is not a one-shot deal! Maybe you re just the first step in a very long process or MAYBE (by the grace of God) you get to be at the END of the process, and YOU get to harvest what others have planted and watered! But don t be surprised or overly discouraged when you face resistance and opposition to the gospel. II. Second, as we share the Good News of Jesus, We will struggle with our own self-doubt and fear In fact, in Acts 18:9, the Lord says to Paul in that vision, Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. And WHY does God say that to Paul? Well, let s hear it from Paul s own heart: He writes to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 2:3, I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words. Listen to that again (and remember that this is the great Apostle Paul speaking): I came to you in weakness and fear with much trembling. I love Paul s open-hearted HONESTY here, don t you?! 2

3 This is a man who studied under the greatest rabbinical teacher of his generation we could say he was a Harvard man! He knew the Scriptures inside and out he had all the credentials anyone could want. And remember, Paul came to Christ because Jesus Himself had confronted him on the Road to Damascus Paul was not just book smart he had seen Jesus! But when it came to talking about Jesus in this town that was so prosperous and so wicked not a bad description of our own country, is it? Paul said, I came to you in weakness and fear with much trembling. And Jesus, in this vision, had to remind him, Keep talking, Paul; stop being so afraid! I don t know about you, but FEAR is probably the biggest thing that keeps me from talking to others about Jesus Fear of REJECTION Fear of making a FOOL of myself Fear of not being able to ANSWER all their questions And I need to hear that voice of Jesus saying to me: Don t be afraid, Bob, keep on speaking, for I am with you. And so do you. We will face resistance and opposition. We will struggle with our own self-doubt and fear. III. But, third, as we share the Good News of Jesus, we can have HOPE and the expectation of success! Acts 18:9 11, One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city. So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God. I suppose Jesus could have said to Paul, Look, Paul, I understand that you re afraid. Why don t you just go back to being a tentmaker and serve me in that way. I ll find someone else who isn t afraid to speak for me. Thanks for your service! But Jesus says, Don t be afraid; keep on speaking, and He gives Paul two reasons for continuing to spread the Good News. 1. First, Jesus said, I am with you. After all, He s Emmanuel, isn t He? God with us. 3

4 But, I would suggest He s with us in a very special way when we talk to others about Him. Because these are the very same words Jesus spoke to the 11 when He gave them that Great Commission: All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore Go and make disciples of all nations And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age. What you come to realize after a while is that Jesus is the REAL evangelist! That s why Paul could say to the Corinthians, My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit s power. It s not us and our great words It s Christ. It s the Holy Spirit who really do the evangelizing. That s very freeing, isn t it. He is with us. 2. But, second, we can have hope and expectation as we share the Good News because God has gone before us and prepared people to hear. Look again at Acts 18:10, For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city. How did God know that? How did He know His people were there? Well, of course, because He had long ago CHOSEN them as His people. As Paul would put it to the Ephesians in chapter 1 of his letter, For he chose us in him before the creation of the world. So often, when we talk about this Doctrine of Election, we get into all sorts of philosophical discussions about freewill and determinism and all those sorts of things. I just want you to see how PRACTICAL this doctrine is: Christ is saying when you go out and share the Good News you can do it with hope and expectation because I ve already chosen and called these people And, in effect, they re just WAITING for you to come and tell them so they can believe! This is not some technical doctrine for theologians in an Ivory Tower somewhere this is for us here at Bible Presbyterian Church in Merrill. 4

5 God has many people in OUR city, and if WE don t find them, our brothers and sisters in other churches WILL! The great thing, of course, is that God doesn t hang a CHOSEN sign on these people. We have to go out and find them. But if we re faithful in sharing the Good News of Jesus, we WILL find them. They are out there! The other great thing is that because GOD is doing the choosing and the saving, His people may not fit our pre-conceptions of what a Christian should look like! Look at the people JESUS found: Crusty old fishermen, cheating tax collectors, prostitutes and hypocrites all came to Jesus because He chose them and called them and saved them. So, as we share the Good News we don t have to tell it just to good, moral, upright people you know: the kind we d like to have come to our church! God has many people in Merrill, and He longs to use you and me to bring them to Himself. Several years ago, I was talking about Jesus with a friend of mine, and I realized I wasn t really getting through. And so I said to him, Pete, I can see you re not getting it. One of these days you will, and when you do, just call me and say, Bob, I get it! Now, I wouldn t say that to anyone I knew he wouldn t be offended because we know each other. But, you see, we can say things like that because we know that Jesus has many people in Merrill we just need to find them! So, don t worry when people don t listen. Don t worry about your fears and feelings of inadequacy. Keep talking about Jesus, because believe me He s got lots of people right here in Merrill! Rev. Robert Smallman Bible Presbyterian Church (Presbyterian Church in America) 1605 Highway G Merrill, WI