Subject: Evangelism & the Jerusalem Churc
From: <Saved by Windows Internet Explorer 7>
Date: Thu, 22 Nov 2007 11:57:09 -0600

Evangelism & the Jerusalem
Church

-Introduction

-Matt 16:16-19; Col 1:18, Eph 5:27

-We need to be the church that Jesus built.  Our souls depend upon it.

-Therefore, we must abide by the doctrine of Christ (2 John 9-11, Matt
28:20)

and must follow the N.T. pattern.

-Acts 2 - the establishment of the church - From there it
spread and grew.

-Today, nearly 2,000 years later, that church still
exists.

-It still contains the message of the Gospel and the responsibility of spreading
it.

-It still contains the doctrine of Christ and the responsibility of conforming
to it,

defending it and enforcing it.

-So, the church of the 21st century can be, and
must be, the church of the 1st century in

terms of church authority, organization, worship,
overall mission and doctrine.

-The Church at Jerusalem

-Acts 2:41-47

-At this time, the apostles were the teachers.  They
were the leadership on earth.

-They had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and were being guided by
Him.

-Under such guidance and Divinely inspired teaching, we find the church in its
purity.

-Man-made doctrines and man-made organizations were not diluting the truth

nor shadowing the identity of Christ’s church - not yet.
Unfortunately, that

would not be the case for very long.

-When you consider the overall work of the church -
evangelism, benevolence and

edification - we find a wonderful example in the early
church at Jerusalem.

-Tonight, let’s focus on evangelism.

-Evangelism - Christ-Centered

-Acts 2 - The church was established in response to
evangelism.

-The church continued to grow through evangelism.\

-Acts 5:17-20, 25-28

-This evangelism was Christ-centered.

-Acts 2:22;  3:11-19;  4:1-4,8-12;  5:28-32,40-42

-Are doctrinal issues important? - Yes!  Is proper worship important? -
Yes!  Is

proper church organization
important? - Yes!  Yet, this is not where the apostles

began.  They began
with Jesus - the message of the Gospel.

-I’m afraid we sometimes talk to people about what
they should do without first talking

to them about why they should do it.

-The message of the Gospel provides the why.

-Evangelism - The Truth Unchanged

-Acts 2 - the message - Jesus - Lord and Christ - died for
our sins.  We must take that to

heart, repent and obey.

-Acts 2:36-38

-Acts 3:13-19 - (Compare Acts 2:38 and Acts 3:19)

-In the face of persecution:  Acts 4:10-12, 23-29

-Remember, these things were taking place in Jerusalem.  This was the
central

location for the Jewish leadership - those who despised Jesus, rejected
Him

and had Him crucified.

-There was going to be some resistance to the Gospel of Christ.  There
was

going
to be persecution brought against those who followed Christ.

-Yet, there was a request for a
different message.  The request was for boldness.

-Today, there are those who don’t like God’s truth.
Instead of following the doctrine

of Christ, they follow the doctrines of men.

-Due to a desire to be more acceptable to more people, some have suggested
that

we “filter” our message a little, “water it down” so that it will appeal
to more

people.

-We don’t need another message.  We don’t need to alter the truth.
Perhaps, we

need more boldness.

-Acts 5:27-32, 40-42

-Evangelism - An Individual Responsibility

-Acts 6:7

-The Gospel was spreading.  The church was growing.

-The Gospel is a powerful message (Rom 1:16).  It can lead to “unexpected”
results -

i.e. the priests in
Jerusalem.

-Acts 8:1-4

-vs 1 - “...and they were all scattered...except the apostles”

-There were a great number of disciples scattered.  What did they do? - vs
4

-They realized their individual responsibility in spreading
the Gospel of Christ.

-They didn’t depend on a select few to do it.

-Their courage in the face of difficulties motivated by their
love for their Savior, set the

church on a course of rapid and far-reaching
growth.

-Summary and Invitation

-We need to evangelize.  We need to be Christ-centered
in our approach.  We need to

stand boldly upon the Gospel of Christ and realize
that there is no need to alter it, filter

it or water it down.  We need to remember the
power of the message and we need to

consider evangelism on an individual, personal
basis.

-If we will work at the task at hand, we will see results -
some that might even surprise us.

-What about you?  Have you responded to the Gospel of
Christ?

-If not, Believe (John 8:24), Confess your faith (Matt 10:32), Repent of your
sins (Luke

13:3,5) Be Baptized into
Christ (Acts 2:38)

-If you’ve previously obeyed the Gospel, have you remained
faithful?  If not, confess your

faults, repent of them and pray for forgiveness (1
John 1:7-9, Acts 8:22-24)

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