1) The sermon discusses the need for Christians to have total commitment to sharing their faith, using examples like a boy who swam to raise money for charity and a missionary who spent decades in difficult conditions spreading the gospel. 2) It notes that many Christians are not committed to witnessing for Christ, for reasons like fear, lack of power, or not caring about the lost. 3) The pastor urges Christians to pray for boldness from the Holy Spirit to overcome these obstacles and have courageous conversations about their faith.

1. Adapted from a Steve Shepherd sermon
http://www.sermoncentral.com/print_friendly.asp?
SermonID=84137

2. You have perhaps heard the old story told
about a pig and a chicken walking down the
road together.
As they walked along they read a sign
advertising a breakfast to benefit the poor.
The chicken said to the pig, “You and I should
donate a ham and eggs breakfast.”
The pig replied, “Not so fast, for you it would
just be a contribution, but for me it would be a
total commitment.”

3. Total commitment is lacking today in many
areas of life and especially, when it comes to
the Lord Jesus and His church.
A 9-year-old boy swam the precarious waters
between Alcatraz island and the San Francisco
shoreline, raising $30,000 in donations for
Hurricane Katrina victims.

4. Johnny Wilson, a fourth grader from
Hillsborough, called the swim in the 53-degree
San Francisco Bay "tiring" but said he kept
telling himself, "I’m almost there, I’m almost
there."
"The beginning was the hardest because I was
all cold," said the boy, who had practiced
swimming in San Francisco Bay to get used to
the chilly, choppy water.

5. The waters also are known for sharks.
His classmates were waiting on shore,
cheering as he made it to Aquatic Park.
"Go, Johnny! Go, Johnny!" the group chanted.
Johnny finished the 1.4-mile swim from the
infamous prison island in under two hours.
He was accompanied by two adult swimmers.
Two kayakers followed and a Coast Guard
helicopter monitored from above.

6. That’s commitment for a cause! Would to God
we were that committed to the cause of Christ!
Adoniram Judson (1788-1850) sweated out
Burma’s (between India and China) heat for 18
years without a furlough and six years without
a convert.
Enduring torture and imprisonment, he
admitted that he never saw a ship sail without
wanting to jump on board and go home.

7. When his wife’s health broke and he put her on
a homebound vessel with the knowledge he
would not see her for two full years, he
confided to his diary:
"If we could only find some quiet resting place
on earth where we could spend the rest of our
days in peace..."

8. But he steadied himself with this remarkable
postscript: "Life is short. Millions of Burmese
are perishing. I am almost the only person on
earth who has attained their language to
communicate salvation." That’s true
commitment to Christ.
Adoniram Judson was a man of great
commitment to Christ!
WE CAN LEARN FROM HIM!

9. I want us to think about a greater commitment
to making disciples and/or witnessing for
Christ.
1- The commission to witness
2- The omission of witness

10. ESV

11. ESV

12. ESV

13. !
When you believe in something strongly
enough YOU WILL TALK ABOUT IT TO
OTHERS!
What do you believe in?
I believe in many things: Chinese Buffets,
(well, any buffet) America, computers, smart
phones & tablets, (replaces my brain anymore)
apple pie, (any pie) Silver Dollar City and I also
believe in God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, the
Bible, etc.

14. I am sure that some of you could talk to me all
day about your hunting and/or fishing
experiences, etc.
Still others could fill my ears with stories about
trips you’ve made, etc.
Everybody has a story to tell or some
information to share.
And if we are sold on it, believe in it, excited
about it, etc. we will share it with others!

15. I could tell you all kinds of stories about flying,
scenic trips, etc. but these wouldn’t be as
interesting or nearly as important as talking to
you about the Bible or the gospel of Christ.
Actor Tom Cruise is famously known for his
action films, and for the church of Scientology.
In an interview with Reader’s Digest here is
what he said.

16. RD: You were Catholic originally.
Cruise: Well, we went from Episcopalian, to
atheist, to Catholic.
(Mercy! Sounds like he doesn’t know what he
believes)
RD: What does Scientology offer that those
religions didn’t?

17. Cruise: First of all, there are Baptist
Scientologists, other Christian Scientologists.
(I question that, because if a person is truly a
Christian they would follow Christ only, not
some kind of worldly philosophy, which is what
I think Scientology is).

18. Cruise goes on: Scientology is an applied
religious philosophy. You learn tools that you
can apply to your life. It gives me a greater
understanding of myself, greater compassion,
and the ability to help others in a way that I’ve
always wanted to. It’s helped me raise my
children, to understand what they’re going
through. I went from someone who was
basically a functional illiterate to someone who
flies airplanes.

19. One thing is sure: Tom Cruise believes in
Scientology, right or wrong, and he isn’t afraid
to talk about it.
I don’t think Scientology has anything to do
with God the Father and Christ the Savior but
he sure believes in it and talks about it!

20. What about us?
We believe in something far greater and far
more real than any man-made philosophy or
religion and we should be talking about it to
others!
It should be obvious to us that Jesus wants us
to spread the faith or spread our faith about
Him since we believe that He is the Son of God
and Savior of the world.

21. ESV

22. If we have tasted of the Lord and His goodness
we should rid ourselves of everything that is
not good in our lives: malice, deceit, hypocrisy,
envy, and slander.
Even though the text does not say it, it seems
only reasonable to assume that we will also
talk about the goodness that we have tasted.

23. When something is really good in our lives how
can we not talk about it?
Have we not tasted of the goodness of the
Lord in various ways?
He gives us life, breath and everything else.
He has created us, He daily sustains us, and
He saves us.
These are different aspects of His goodness.
How can we not talk about Him?

24. God wants us to talk to people about Jesus,
because of who He is and what He did for all
mankind.
We don’t have to be obnoxious in talking to
others, but we should look for opportunities to
speak a good word for Christ.

25. (or the omission of our witness or why we don’t
talk about Christ to others)
ESV
This is called the sin of omission or failing to do
the good we know we should.
WE’RE ALL GUILTY.
We may be more guilty of this sin than
committing some sin.

26. I have heard figures that say 95% of all
Christians never win a single soul to Christ in
their entire lifetime.
If that is true, why is it true?
Probably because they never even tried to win
someone to Christ!
I think there are probably many things in life
that we could do if we would only try!
Some things may be beyond our reach, like
winning the Tour de France cycling race but
many things we can do if we would only try!

27. What is our problem when it comes to making
disciples and/or witnessing?
Why don’t we do it?
Several reasons could be cited.
ESV

28. A mild-mannered man was tired of his wife
always bossing him around, so he went to a
psychiatrist.
The doctor told him he had to develop self-
esteem and gave him a booklet on
assertiveness training, which the man read on
his way home.
When he walked through the door and his wife
came to greet him he told her, “From now on
I’m the man of this house and my word is law.

29. When I come home from work, I want my
dinner on the table.
Now go upstairs and lay out some clothes on
the bed, because I’m going out with the boys
tonight. Then draw my bath. When I get out of
the tub, guess who’s going to dress me and
comb my hair?”
“The undertaker,” she replied.

30. Whether we all want to admit it or not, we all
have an authority problem.
We like to run our own lives, do our own thing,
etc.
We don’t want anybody to tell us what to do
and when to do it.
However, Jesus said, “
therefore
you need to do what I tell you.”

31. I like the way preacher Robert Shannon put it
in a sermon a long time ago.
He said, “Christ is above all human persons.
He is above all princes, popes, and potentates,
above all bishops and superintendents, above
all preachers and teachers, above all editors
and elders. He is above all persons. That must
mean that He is above me! I can put Him
above prophets, priests, kings, governments,
wealth, etc. but can I put Him above me?”

32. ESV

33. In the early 1970’s a guy purchased a new
Chevrolet Vega Hatchback Coupe. It was the
cheapest made. It was powered by a four-
cylinder engine and had a 4-speed manual
transmission. It had something like 90
horsepower. He bought it in Iowa (in flat farm
country) and then moved to central Missouri to
hill country. He found it was as “sick as a dog”
so to speak. It wouldn’t even pull those
Missouri hills without shifting into third gear.

34. One man said, “That little 4cyl purred like a
hamster with asthma.”
That sounds like some people I know!
Do you have a power problem?
Do you lack the power, the gumption or the grit
to talk to people about Christ?
This could be our problem.
I’ve had that problem in life.

35. Has there been occasions in your life when
you were reluctant to speak to someone about
Christ.
You had the perfect opportunity to say
something but didn’t.
Why not?
You lacked spiritual power and perhaps feared
rejection.

36. One preacher tells of an occasion when he &
another preacher/evangelist were calling on a
young couple who had been attending the
church he serves.
They were not members but were Christians
and it only seemed reasonable for them to join
the church.
And they had even more reason to join
because several of their family members were
already members of the church.

37. We went into their home and I started to visit
with them about their lives, their children, their
work…on and on and on and on.
Finally, my preacher friend interrupted at the
right moment (not rudely) and asked if they
were Christians.
When they said “yes,” he then proceeded to
talk to them about joining our church and they
did the very next Sunday!

38. On reflection he thought if I had only gotten
down to business and asked, I would have
received a positive response in that situation!
Sometimes we are so fearful.
We lack the spiritual power to talk to people
about Christ.
How do you get that power?
From God’s Spirit, of course.

39. ESV

40. .
Doesn’t that sound good?
Wouldn’t it be great to have the boldness and
the knowledge to speak for Christ at any given
moment?
It is possible, but it’s not by our might or power.
It’s by the Lord’s Spirit who lives within us.

41. All of us are insufficient for the task of
witnessing, but He is strong. And He can be
strong in us if we’ll let Him. We must pray that
way and live that way!
ESV
ESV

42. Don’t we care anymore?
Don’t we care about people anymore?
Old Baptist preacher Vance Havner once said,
“It has been a long time since I have heard
parents speak of their unsaved boy or girl as
being lost. That old word has departed from
our Christian vocabulary.”

43. “Young couples who are prospering materially
and socially are admired and congratulated,
but if they do not know Jesus Christ, they are
not doing well.
We act as if their lostness were incidental, that
it does not matter.
Either it is a stupendous issue of heaven or
hell or we might as well forget it.
If our unsaved friends were in danger
otherwise, we would go to their assistance
without apology.

44. Yet Jesus came to seek and to save the lost
and died for their salvation.
There is something hypocritical about claiming
to believe that and then acting as though it was
unimportant.”
There are many reasons why we don’t speak
for Christ or witness for Him and this could be
one of them.

45. Will McRaney is associate professor of
evangelism at New Orleans Baptist Theological
Seminary.
He wrote about sharing Christ with post-
modern people in Rick Warren’s newsletter.
Lindsay is a prime example of someone who is
radically post-modern and confused about the
Gospel, in spite of her many and varied
religious experiences.

46. In conducting a video interview with 22-year-
old Lindsay, I discovered interesting insights
into her beliefs and background. She was
articulate, well-traveled, and open to
discussing her beliefs. She spoke freely about
her views of God or, in her case, god. She
stated that god was everywhere and in
everything, including the cigarette she was
smoking. "I am smoking god," she said.

47. At various points in her life, Lindsay had tried
Baptist churches, Catholic churches, Buddhist
temples and even aura readings but found
organized religion a major turnoff. She
acknowledged the Bible had some good
morals but believed that people take it too
literally. She believed in miracles and even the
possibility of the resurrection of Jesus.
Regarding Jesus, she said he was a leader;
whether he was a fictional or real leader does
not matter to her.

48. Lindsay holds several other positions that are
quite strange. She described God with
impersonal language, yet when asked about
what God requires of us, she used personal
language to describe God. She did not believe
in absolute truth, but in an individual absolute
truth, even if the respective truths are in direct
contradiction to each other.

49. How should the church and, in particular,
individual Christians respond to the Lindsay’s –
the confused who occupy every single
neighborhood in America?
Lindsay may seem "out there," but in reality,
most of the people who walk the streets – and
many who occupy our church rolls – are
confused as well.

50. Brothers and sisters, do you know what this
young lady tells me?
We live in a world of mixed up and messed up
people who know little about God, Christ and
eternal life!
And we need to recommit ourselves with a
heart of compassion to reach all people for
Christ!
This is God’s purpose for our lives!