Sharing the Gospel: The price, privilege, power, pleasure.

Ephesians 3:1-9
I, Paul, the servant of Christ, am here in jail because of you—for preaching that you Gentiles are a part of God’s house. 2-3No doubt you already know that God has given me this special work of showing God’s favor to you Gentiles, as I briefly mentioned before in one of my letters. God himself showed me this secret plan of his, that the Gentiles, too, are included in his kindness. 4I say this to explain to you how I know about these things. 5In olden times God did not share this plan with his people, but now he has revealed it by the Holy Spirit to his apostles and prophets.
6And this is the secret: that the Gentiles will have their full share with the Jews in all the riches inherited by God’s sons; both are invited to belong to his Church, and all of God’s promises of mighty blessings through Christ apply to them both when they accept the Good News about Christ and what he has done for them. 7God has given me the wonderful privilege of telling everyone about this plan of his; and he has given me his power and special ability to do it well.
8Just think! Though I did nothing to deserve it, and though I am the most useless Christian there is, yet I was the one chosen for this special joy of telling the Gentiles the Glad News of the endless treasures available to them in Christ; 9and to explain to everyone that God is the Savior of the Gentiles too, just as he who made all things had secretly planned from the very beginning. (Living Bible)

The Price of Sharing the Gospel
Paul imprisoned for the faith of the Ephesian Gentile believers
Paul’s life was dedicated as a servant of Christ. He lived for one purpose and that was to fulfill his calling as an Apostle. He was willing to pay the price and in this case it involved imprisonment for preaching the gospel to the Gentiles. Paul was in prison in Rome because he had been accused of bringing a Gentile into the temple in Jerusalem, into an area that was forbidden to them. I am constantly inspired and challenged by the life and ministry of Paul. He did not back down from any challenge even if it meant imprisonment, beatings, trials and hardships. He was a true servant of Christ and was willing to accept whatever came his way as he walked in obedience to his calling. As servants of Christ and stewards of the gospel message we have to be willing to pay the price of what God may ask of us and of what the world may do to us. Persecution and suffering are part of the price we must be willing to pay to bring the gospel message to the nations that are in opposition to it. The first missionaries to Africa sent their goods in coffins because they knew they were not coming back. Most of them died within the first year but their deaths only served to inspire others to go. O that there would be more men and women like Paul today who are true servants of Christ willing to sacrifice everything for the Master.
I read a testimony of an Indian believer who came from a village that rejected Christ and killed his messengers. When this man came to understand salvation he left his village to study in a Bible school. When school ended he was determined to go back to his village to share Christ with his people. Others knew that death would probably face him yet he was undaunted, unmoved by what others said to him. He felt compelled to fulfill his calling to return to his village and share the gospel message. He did return to his village but no one ever heard from him again and it was understood that he laid down his life for the opportunity to share the gospel message. We hold to life so tightly at times and often fear going places where we may be persecuted or martyred. The reality is that we have no guarantee that we will return and it does not matter if we are fulfilling what God has called us to do. This was Paul’s attitude and it has been the same with many who have left the comforts of home to have the opportunity to share the gospel with those who have never heard.
The Privilege of Sharing the Gospel
Paul regarded his special ministry as a privilege. It involved revealing the gospel message to the Gentile world and giving them equal status with the Jewish believers. The Jews and Gentiles were now united in one body, joint heirs and recipients of the promises. The early church focused its evangelistic efforts on the Jewish people and did little to reach out to the Gentiles. It took a special revelation from God to open the minds of the Apostles and Prophets to the plan of God to include the Gentiles in his kingdom. He is the God of all people not just the Jews. You and I are the recipients of this plan of inclusion and of his kindness. God is not a respecter of persons and He has always had all people in mind regarding his plan of salvation. God’s heart has not changed; he still wants every ethnic group to come to know Christ as Savior. He has opened heaven to all to be a part of his Church. Paul saw his ministry to the Gentiles as a privilege. It was not a drudgery of duty among dirty people but a privilege to share the life changing gospel message with them. God is looking for people today who will go to the unreached masses. There are still many people groups today who have never heard the gospel message.
The Joshua Project has listed the number of unreached people groups and people.
Total People Groups
# People Groups 16,344
# Unreached People Groups 6,639
% of Unreached People Groups 40.6 %
 
Total Individuals
World Population 6.70 billion Unreached peoples maps and statistics.
Population in Unreached People Groups 2.74 billion
% Population in Unreached People Groups 40.9 %
Top Ten Unreached
People Group Rank
Aimaq, Taimani 94
Comorian, Ndzwani 91
Arab, Najdi Bedouin 90
Pashtun, Southern, Afghan 90
Sanaani, Northern Yemeni 90
Baloch, Eastern 89
Beja, Bedawi 89
Jat, Dagar, Hindu 89
Gypsy, Domari 88
Mazanderani, Tabri 88
The challenge of world missions is before all of us. We are part of the 60% of the people groups that have been reached with the gospel. Are we doing our part and all we can to go, give, and pray for laborers for the harvest of the 40% who have not been reached?
Oswald Smith was the pastor of the People’s church in Toronto Canada for many years. He wanted to be a missionary and was one for a short time among the native Indians of northern Canada. His body could not withstand the harsh conditions and he had to return to regain his health. After a couple of these bouts with sickness, his doctor told him that if he went again he would most likely die. He decided to focus his ministry in a different area but make missions the primary emphasis of the church. He was invited to be the pastor of the People’s church and accepted the call without knowing much about the church. His first Sunday preaching he was told by one of the leaders of the church as he went to the pulpit that the church was in serious financial trouble. Maybe the leader was hoping he would make a special appeal to the people to give generously toward the debt. Oswald Smith did not make a special appeal but instead told the people that he would be hosting special meeting all the next week and the focus of the meetings was going to be world missions. Pastor Smith was still a missionary at heart. He wanted the gospel to be proclaimed to the people who had never had the opportunity to hear the message. He felt it was not right that some nations had the opportunity to hear the gospel many times while some had never heard the message one time. During the week of special meetings he challenged the people to give sacrificially toward world missions as this was the priority of the church, the evangelization of the lost, especially those who have never heard of Jesus. The people responded and began to give generously and sacrificially. It was not long after that the entire debt of the church was eliminated and they began to send missionaries to the unreached people groups. Pastor Smith made a promise that he kept while he was pastor and that was there would never be more money spend on administration than what was going to world missions. God blessed the church as they began to catch a vision for a lost unreached world. Millions of dollars have been given by the members of this church and they have sent hundreds of missionaries out from their church.
Paul saw his ministry as a privilege; Pastor Smith saw his ministry in the church to mobilize missionaries as a privilege to be able to send people out to the unreached. What about the church today? Is evangelism and missions seen as the priority and the privilege that it should be? Is it reflected in how the money is spent or is it given a low priority or no priority in the business of the church? I read where three tenths of 1% of the money given to the church in the USA is dedicated to world missions and much of that never makes it to missionaries serving but is spent on administrative costs. The Christian Post had an article published this week that announced a church in Dallas was going to build a new facility that would cost $134 million. I struggled to find understanding of the amount that would be spent to erect a building. I am not against big churches but I find it hard to justify the expenditure when there seems to be a pressing need to reach the lost. I pray the leaders are being led by the Holy Spirit and have the mind of God in their decision. Lest we be too hard on this church we also have to evaluate how we are using the money God has entrusted to us in regards to missions. As missionaries we need to be supporting other missionaries, sowing seeds into their ministries. Often we are the recipients but God also wants us to sow into other missionaries lives. With the privilege of sharing the gospel also comes the responsibility to carry out the mission and use the resources God has given us to do it.
The Power to share the Gospel
Paul understood that the power to carry out the ministry he was called to was given to him by the Lord. Paul knew the power of the Holy Spirit at work in his life and he depended upon him to be able to do his work well. Christianity is a supernatural experience and it requires supernatural power. God gives us His Holy Spirit to operate in us to do the work he has called us to do. Miracles, signs and wonders were part of Paul’s ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit. Let’s look at a few verses that speak to this regarding his ministry.
Romans 15:19 I have won them by my message and by the good way I have lived before them and by the miracles done through me as signs from God—all by the Holy Spirit’s power. In this way I have preached the full Gospel of Christ all the way from Jerusalem clear over into Illyricum
1 Cor. 2:4 4And my preaching was very plain, not with a lot of oratory and human wisdom, but the Holy Spirit’s power was in my words, proving to those who heard them that the message was from God.
1Thes 1.5 5For when we brought you the Good News, it was not just meaningless chatter to you; no, you listened with great interest. What we told you produced a powerful effect upon you, for the Holy Spirit gave you great and full assurance that what we said was true. And you know how our very lives were further proof to you of the truth of our message.
Acts 15.12 12There was no further discussion, and everyone now listened as Barnabas and Paul told about the miracles God had done through them among the Gentiles.
Signs, wonders and miracles have always been a part of the gospel message. Jesus’ ministry was full of miracles. He sent out the disciples and gave them power of demons and over sickness. The early church also continued seeing the miraculous healings of the Holy Spirit. This power has never left the believers and it was never intended to not be a part of preaching the gospel message.
Many people will not respond to simply hearing words, they need to see the miraculous to prove to them that our God has more power than their gods. Miracles always point to the truth and the reality behind them.
We should expect to see the same things as we proclaim the gospel message. Mike Francen is an evangelist who God called as a young man to go to the nations with the message of salvation and healing. I want to challenge all of us tonight with some of his thoughts regarding evangelism taken from his book entitled, “A Miracle Settles the Issue.”
“God still uses signs, wonders and miracles to reach unbelievers today. Why should He change time-tested, proven ways?
Many have become desensitized to the written and spoken word, but miracles break through barriers once thought impenetrable.
Those who do not know God need to experience Him more than they need to understand Him.”
I have seen the reality of this when I was in India. As people were healed they saw the true power of God and gave their lives to him. They did not enter an intellectual debate with us but saw God’s love demonstrated in his healing power and were drawn to him.
Many believers never experience the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit in signs, wonders and miracles. If this is God’s normal way of demonstrating His power then why are we not seeing more of it in our ministry?
Let me share with you Mike Francen’s thoughts on this.
“Who is to blame? Are we to attribute the lack of results in our ministries to the people’s hardness of hearts? Does the fault lie there? No, my fellow ministers and coworkers, the fault and blame must rest with us. If we were what and where we should be, the signs and wonders would follow us, as they did our forefathers in the days of old. I would suggest to you that every failure, every sermon that fails to grip and break the hearts of the people, every service where God’s presence and miracles are not prevalent should drive us to our knees! It should cause us, in all humility; to search our hearts….Let each of God’s ministers challenge his own spirituality and ministry. What is the outcome? What are the results?”
Please do not take these words to be words of condemnation but words of challenge. Is our ministry marked by the power of the Holy Spirit? Are we seeing change? Are we experiencing miracles, signs, and healings? If not we need to ask God to show us if there is anything that is hindering us. I believe our greatest hindrances are sin, lack of faith or unbelief, not putting ourselves in places where the Holy Spirit wants us to go because of fear; lack of passion and compassion and unwillingness to pray, fast and seek God wholeheartedly. Paul encouraged the early church to examine themselves to see if they were in the faith and this is still a message we all need to heed.
The Pleasure of Sharing the Gospel
One of the greatest joys as a believer is leading someone to Christ, praying with them to give their lives to Him. Paul experienced this joy and it motivated him to continue to share the gospel. This gospel message changes people radically. Last week we heard just a few testimonies of the radical power of God to change a life. I remember one of the testimonies of a young man who had come forward at the crusade in India to give his life to Christ. He said he had been a very wicked man and did many evil things in his community. When he prayed to invite Jesus to be his Savior he said he literally felt a weight come off his body! His eyes were filled with light and his joy was contagious. He had experienced God’s forgiveness and was made a new creation in Christ. The gospel is good news let us never forget that. It sets people free from bondages, it brings hope, it changes families, it changes nations, it brings physical healing but most important it brings eternal life. When the 70 disciples whom Jesus has sent out to proclaim the Kingdom message returned they were thrilled that the demons were subject to them but Jesus said they should have greater joy knowing that their names were written in heaven (Luke 10). Heaven rejoices when a sinner is saved and we also get to experience the joy of participating in bringing the message and seeing someone come to Christ. We have been entrusted with a message that must be shared; it is the only hope for this world. Let’s share it with great expectation and with great joy.
Charles Wesley on the one year anniversary of becoming a Christian wrote one of his 6,000 songs to commemorate what God had done for him in the song, “Oh for a Thousand Tongues to Sing.”
Oh, for a Thousand Tongues to Sing
By: Charles Wesley
Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer’s praise,
The glories of my God and King,
The triumphs of his grace!
My gracious Master and my God,
Assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the earth abroad
The honors of your name.

The name of Jesus charms our fears
And bids our sorrows cease,
Sings music in the sinner’s ears,
Brings life and health and peace.
He breaks the power of canceled sin;
He sets the prisoner free.
His blood can make the foulest clean;
His blood avails for me.
Sharing the gospel message comes with a price but it is also a privilege with responsibilities. We have been given the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish what God has asked us to do and we should expect God to demonstrate his power through us as we share the gospel. Finally we have the pleasure of sharing the message that brings great joy to those who receive it, those who share it and God Himself.