EVANGELISM 101 “THE POWER OF A CHANGED LIFE” ACTS 9:20-31

This is a weird Sunday for you to be here if you’re not a Christian…

-today you get a first hand sneak peek into something you might be curious about

-what are Christians told when it comes to relating to someone who’s not a Christian

-I hope that you’re encouraged by what you hear

Everywhere we look people are trying to sell us something.

-for every 1hr tv show – 20 min. of commercials (fact)

Here’s what I’ve realized of the people selling us stuff…

-the ones who do it the most effectively are often the ones that do it with pers. testimonies

-what do diet adds do to try and sell you on their diets (*Before and after pictures)

-it’s hard to argue with real proof right? wow, really they lost 65lbs, I got to try it

-the before and after pictures are amazing, what isn’t so clear is disclaimer in tiny letters

-and it usually says what? “RESULTS NOT TYPICAL”

-so people buy in, but most people end up disappointed, why?

-the truth is, if U want to really lose weight & keep it off your life needs to change

-is it possible, absolutely, can anyone do it, absolutely

-can you do it without making significant changes in your life – absolutely not

-real/healthy/long term weightloss happens with a change in diet & exercise habits

So what’s does that have to do with evangelism and Christian community…

-simply this, you can’t be a follower of Christ without experiencing change in your life

And, your changed life is part of what God wants to use to show himself to people…

-We live in a world where people are fed up with empty claims

-Jesus promise is that he came to give us life to the full John 10:10

-and so we have to ask ourselves, when, or if, we say we are Christ-followers

-what does the evidence of our lives tell people around us about the life Jesus offers

-are our lives telling people, the results Jesus promises are not typical

-or are our lives saying to people around us, this is the real deal!

-what would the people you live with, work with, play with, relax with say?

Let’s read Acts 9:end of 19-31 – Apostle Paul right after he becomes a Chirstian

Pray

Paul meets Jesus and Paul’s life is changed!

-before he met Jesus Saul was determined/committed to destroying Jesus’ church…

-he meets Jesus and he lines his life up with God’s purposes

-instead of destroying the church, his purpose now is to build the church

Jesus Christ changes lives. And if you’re a follower of Christ, your life should change…

-you could say witnessing is like one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread

But here’s the thing, once a beggar finds a limitless source of bread, life should change!

-their faith should get strengthened, they should grow, become different

-why would you keep begging for bread if you have a limitless source of it

None of us were always a Christian, you can’t be born a Christian…

-so there is a day/time that I can point to that I turned my life over to Jesus Christ

-and as I began to be obedient to Christ, changes began to happen

For me, one of them was my language, before I was a Christian I had the foulest mouth

-my jokes, especially with my non-Christian friends were also mostly obscene

-and most often my joking was sarcastic and at other people’s expense

-that had to change and in time, it did – (esp. when a friend asked to come to church)

-there were things in my life I had to throw out, even some things I had to stop watching

-don’t get me wrong, I’m not perfect, there’s stuff that God’s still changing today

Just an aside, there’s a not so good trend among Christians these days…

-and I confess, there’s been times where I’ve gotten caught up in this

-for many Christians swearing is getting trendy…

-but how we use our language matters (read Collosians 3:5-10)

Notice, the things that are supposed to change, don’t just change on their own…

-Paul says, put these things to death!

-Put them to death because they take away from your exp. of full life Jesus promises

-Put them to death, because they destroy your witness to others of the full life

-don’t miss this, dying isn’t fun – there’s a reason Paul uses death language

-putting stuff to death that need to die in your life is hard, U can do it with God’s help

-& it’s good for you as well as for the people in your life

If our lives are going to show Jesus, there has to be outward visible changes!

-and I’m not talking about just dressing up for church Sunday morning

-I’m talking about deep down inside changes (love,joy,peace,patience,kindness…)

-visible not just here on Sunday morning, but out there, where we work, play, relax!

So if you’re a true follower of Christ, your life should change. But other things happen (v.21)

People were amazed/baffled! Paul’s life was changed and…

-the people who knew the old Paul, his friends who were out hunting Christians

-the guys who had stood beside him as he had witnessed the murders of Christians

-now they’re thinking, who is this guy? What happened to the Paul we know?

Let me say this,

-if the only thing that baffles your friends is that now go to church on Sunday morning

-that doesn’t say a lot for the power of Jesus Christ in your life

-if Jesus doesn’t have the power to change the real stuff in your life

- “ “ “ “ “ “ to change your perspective about the challenges in your life

-“ “ “ “ to change how you treat other people or even your value system

-if Jesus doesn’t have the power to bring victory to your life

-when you try to tell/show your friends that Jesus has the power to give them life to full

-here’s the question, why would they believe it?

-our friends shouldn’t just be baffled by the message we have to tell them

-they should be baffled 1^st by change they witness – then our words mean something

-and God uses that to help people see, if Jesus has the power to do this in your life

-just maybe, he has the power to deal with the stuff in their life too

But what happens when the people you know now don’t know who you were before Christ

-for all they know you’ve been a goodie, goodie all your life

-the message they see now is only baffling in that you’re weird to them

-after all, who in their right mind would believe that some guy rose from dead 2k yrs. ago

This is where it’s harder and where what I said last week matters…

-this is where it’s all about building friendships with the people in your life

-not so that at the first chance you get, you try to convert them…

-but so that you’re real enough, close enough and safe enough to be the kind of person

-they can come to and open up and ask you why you believe this stuff you believe

-also so that as stuff happens in their lives, without pounding on them…

-you’re able to respectfully, gently and lovingly share what God has done/doing in you

-I hope we all understand this, it’s not your job to convert anyone – that’s God’s job

-your job is to be the best visual aid of Jesus Christ you can be

-& if you are I guarantee, people will be asking you, what’s the deal with this X thing

So, if you’re a follower of Christ, there should be changes in your life

-if changes come some people will be amazed and baffled by them & God will use that

-but something else could happen as well

-Verse 23 says… "After many days had gone by the Jews conspired to kill him."

Paul had lots of friends before he became a Xian…

-and many of those people who wanted what he wanted before he met Jesus (destroy X)

-many of those people decided the new Paul had to go!

Not everyone around you will respond well to you if you become a Christian

-even if you’re the most loving, kind, respectful Christian, certain people just won’t like it

-it might not have anything to do with you…

-and so there are strong reactions that happen in life to people who decide to follow X

-unfortunately some Xians make it worst, by becoming judgmental people…

-but even if the changes in your life are Godly and good – some people won’t like it

-when I told my highschool friends who had been my buddies since grade school

-I couldn’t do the strip club thing – even though I said, I’ll be there for anything else

-that was the last time they talked to me

But, that's minor stuff. As you know, there are people right now, in our modern world

-who are tortured for embracing Christ, and still many who are killed for it

-there are people who are disowned by their families / or pressured to turn away

-there are people who can’t go further in their jobs/ or even lose their jobs

-these things happen in our world today

-just so you know, not everyone will love you for it..

But even if following Christ costs you…

God provides a new family and protection for his followers (verses 24,25)

-God provided a new community/family for Paul

-people who Paul had been trying to kill just months before

-were laying their lives on the line so that he could be protected and he was kept safe

We know it doesn’t happen this way all the time, some Christians die for their faith

-don’t understand everything, but we know all things happen to build endurance…

-But often God provides a miraculous sort of protection

-and very often the Christian community is part of that support and protection.

And so we as a community we are a part of God's answer to help/protect/care 4 each other

-emotionally and physically, spiritually and any other way necessary

This begs a question, would you lay your lives down for your brothers and sisters

-or would you say, well, for them I would and for them I would but for them not so much

-imagine if Jesus had done that, I’ll die for him and her, and her and him, but him – umm

-and Paul says, our attitude has to be the same as Christ

-that doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy there are some people you have to pray a lot

-just to put up with them, but if that’s the case, then happy praying!

So what does this all mean for us…

What does this mean for new Christians in our midst?

-or even if you’re not a new Christian, but you never really understood this before.

-first it means that you should expect and be committed to Godly changes in your life.

We can’t look at Christianity as an insurance policy

-where you can act the same way you did before, except now there’s no repercussions.

-we are talking about a new way of life. Following a new master

-letting God change us into the kind of people he created us to be

-people who love, who have a joy, peace that goes deeper than our circumstances

-who are patient, kind, gentle, good, faithful, and who demonstrate self-control

What does it mean for the whole of the Port of Grace community?

-It means that we have to be a community that's always ready to embrace people

-good people, bad people, hard to deal with people, messy people…

-We can't get satisfied with just having good relationships with other Christians/people like

-because we were messed up before we met Christ

Let me say this as a wrap up…

-People have a right to look at our lives.

-We can't go around and say listen to our message

-but don't look at how we live. It doesn't work that way

Perhaps the biggest part of our witness is the witness of a changed life

-and so those of us who have been walking with Christ have to ask ourselves,

-what do people see when they get close to me/ to my family?

-What do people see as they work around me?

-What do people see when we are on the golf course or playing some other sport?

-A real Christ will make real difference in real lives.

If you’re not a Christian, I hope you have good examples of what it means to follow

-don’t be afraid to ask what’s the deal and why and what was it like before you decided

-and if you are a Christian, be the best visual aid of Jesus Christ you can be

-and be ready to answer those questions when you’re asked