Sunday, November 22, 2009

The Three Questions of a Non-Believer




To HEAR Pastor Yolanda preaching this sermon, please click the link above!


SCRIPTURE


John 18:33-37 (NRSV)
The kingdom of Christ

Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?" Pilate replied, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?" Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here." Pilate asked him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."


SERMON

In today’s pericope we encounter Jesus shortly after he has been apprehended by a mob of soldiers and officials led by Judas Iscariot. He is taken to Caiaphas, high priest of the Jews and then on to Pilate the Roman governor. It is there that his enemies hope that Jesus will be “judged” and sentenced to death.

What a terrible day for our Lord and Savior! Two of his own disciples severely disappoint him--Judas, by giving him up to his enemies and Simon Peter for denying their relationship three times in one evening.

By the time Jesus gets to Pilate, Jesus must have been physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausted for it is not easy to endure one terrible betrayal, much less know that two will occur, by the end of the day, and at the hands of your friends.

When Pilate sees Jesus he asks him a simple question, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus does not choose to immediately answer him forthrightly, but allows him to come to his own conclusions. In response Pilate asks, “What have you done?" Again, Jesus eludes the question in favor of going in another direction. Finally, Pilate asks, “So you are a king?” This time Jesus answers plainly, “You say I am a king…For this I was born.”

This exchange hits me right in the gut as a person who has committed her life to the work of evangelism. It seems to me that these are the exact three questions that most of our non-Christian friends ask us as they seek to discern God’s call to Christian discipleship. If we would but prepare to answer these questions, we would be used by God to lead many a soul to Christ!

So, let’s look at each question, one at a time. First of all Pilate asked, “Are you the king of the Jews?" Fundamentally, this question seems to address a non-believer’s question regarding whether Jesus is just for some people or if Jesus could be for them also.

I have talked to many non-Christian friends who are confused about whether Jesus belongs only to Mama, Grandmama, Daddy, or Pastor, or if Jesus can belong to them too. It is a sad fact that many non-Christians believe that Jesus cannot be for them because of how they dress, wear their hair or talk. They fear that Jesus does not want anything to do with them because of the mistakes of their past or present and they worry that if they come to Jesus “just as they are” people will ostracize and ridicule them when they seek to belong to a community of faith.

“Are you the king of the Jews?” is really about whether Jesus is a friend only to Christians, rich people, white people, American people, and so on. In other words, are there certain groups that have a monopoly on Jesus?

Our answer as Christians must be “for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” We must offer the blessed assurance that God loves all human beings, regardless of race, religion, national origin, color, sex, age, veteran status, disability, or any other defining factor. God knows us, made us, and loves us all equally. God knows the good and the bad that we have done in our lives and God stands always ready to welcome each of us into arms of love, forgiveness, mercy and grace—if we will but come.

This leads us to the second question we should expect from our non-Christian friends, “What has Jesus done?” This is my absolute favorite question to answer when raised by my non-Christian friends!

This is our opportunity as Christians to share our good news testimonies with family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors who need to hear it! We can start with scripture teaching our non-Christian friends all of the wonderful stories that we learned in Sunday School about Jesus healing the sick, feeding the hungry, welcoming the outcast, and raising the dead.

We can go on to share our own good news stories about what Jesus has done for us personally. I love to tell everyone who will listen about how my love relationship with Jesus left me open to hearing His voice, recognizing my husband, accepting the blessing of two beautiful children, and obeying God when I was called into Christian ministry!

More than that, I love to share with my non-Christians friends the story of Easter morning when the women went to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus and encountered an angel who said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.”

Hallelujah! Our joy and excitement about the death and resurrection of Jesus ought to be contagious, my friends! As we answer the question, “What has Jesus done?” we ought to be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit in such a way that our non-Christian friends will leave the conversation marveling about the power of God to do the impossible thing!

As I was writing this sermon, I began thinking about the 1986 song by Janet Jackson, “What have you done for me lately?” When our non-Christian friends boldly ask, “What has Jesus done for you lately?,” it is our honor and privilege to declare the good news that overflows out of our lives as a result of walking with Jesus.

The final question that we can expect from our non-Christian friends is, “So you ARE a king?” I love it when I encounter people who are on the cusp of believing in Jesus. These folks have worked through the questions about whether Jesus is for them and if Jesus is as powerful, awesome, and mighty, as we say He is.

These folks have generally walked with Christians for a while—maybe popping in and out of Sunday services, or hanging out with Christians during the week. These are the people who are ready to take that final step but they need just one last answer.

Just as Jesus replied to Pilate’s final question, he replies to our non-Christian friends as well. In answer to the question, “So you are a king?” Jesus answers, “"You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."

See, by the time this question is asked, our non-Christian friends are ready to admit that Jesus is King. But, that cannot be the final step in their journey. I have met too many people who say to me, “I know that Jesus is King and that he died on the cross and rose on the third day. I believe that he is who you say that he is, but I’m just not ready to turn my life over to Him. When I get my life together, I will come…”

My Lord! This is where we really need to cover our non-Christian friends in serious prayer. It takes real courage to step out on faith and put all of our hope in Jesus. It takes something of a miracle for a human being to accept the Lordship of Jesus Christ over his or her life, trusting that God always has a good plan for us, not to harm us, but to give us a future and a hope.

We are a very individualistic, pull ourselves up by our bootstraps people. It is hard for many people to “give their lives to Jesus.” It is hard for some of our non-Christian friends to imagine living a holy and righteous life following the commandments of God. It is even harder for some of our non-Christian friends to imagine being loved unconditionally every single day of their lives!

This can be scary for some people because they feel so unworthy of God’s love, so it is at this time that Christians need to come along side of our non-Christian loved ones and let them know that although they will come to Jesus “just as they are,” God will not leave them that way!

As we walk and talk with Jesus, we are changed from the inside out! It is imperative that as Christians we are humble enough to remind our non-Christians friends that none of us comes to Jesus blemish free and spotless. Romans 3 says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God…there is none righteous, no not one!

Our non-Christian friends need to hear this from us as they struggle with the question of whether or not King Jesus will find them worthy of relationship. We must remind them that 1 John 1 says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. BUT, if we confess our sins, GOD is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Hallelujah! I am so glad that the Bible is true. We don’t have to DO anything extraordinary to be saved by Jesus! Jesus has done all of the work for us! All that we need to do is rest into God’s promise that when we say—and believe—with all our hearts that Jesus died and rose again, we are saved!!!

None of us has the ability to save ourselves—not by our good behavior, not by going to church every Sunday, and not even by being “a good person.” The only way that every single solitary one of us is saved is by getting out of the way as we invite Jesus into our heart to accomplish the work of forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life for us!

Dear ones, like Pilate, our non-Christian friends have lots of questions, but I believe that they all fit into these three categories. As we address their questions, with love and with patience, I believe that they will come running asking, “What must I do to be saved?”

Although scripture and history do not definitively tell us whether Pilate believed in Jesus when it came to his dying day, it is my sincerest hope that he did…

Are you ready to begin a series of one-on-one conversations with a non-Christian friend in order to lead them into a relationship with Christ? I sure hope so; God is counting on us!

In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.



INVITATION

There may be someone who is listening today whose questions have been answered and who is ready to put all of their hope in Jesus. If so, will you please pray with me today?

Holy God, thank you that your salvation is for everyone who will believe that Jesus died and rose again to save us from our sin and gift us with eternal life! I believe that you did great and marvelous things not only for me, but for all of humanity, when you gave Jesus to die on the cross. I know that you did not stop there, but that you have been blessing me every single day of my life. Please forgive me of my sin and fill me with the Holy Spirit. I want to start all over again under your guidance and direction. I pray this in Jesus’ Name, Amen.


SPECIAL NOTE

If you just prayed that prayer for the first time, today, you are saved! Let me encourage you to tell a Christian friend that you just put all of your hope in Jesus. Ask him or her to help you find a Bible that is easy for you to understand and to find a good Bible believing church where you can be baptized and make new friends who will walk with you on your Christian journey!

I would be honored if you would let me know about your decision today by clicking "YES" in the poll located in the upper-right hand corner of the good news blog in answer to the question, "Did God save you today?"

Congratulations and Happy Re-birthday! Your salvation is our GOOD NEWS, please go and share the GOOD NEWS with others!

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