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When Lassana Bathily went to work on January 9th being a hero was not on his mind. The Malian
immigrant probably just wanted to do a day’s work at the Kosher grocery store in Paris and go home.
But what was important to him that day…what was essential…suddenly changed. When a heavily
armed terrorist stormed into the store and killed 4 people Bathily jumped into action, rounded up a
number of Jewish shoppers, herded them into the safety of the store’s freezer, and risking his own life
escaped the building to inform police of the dangers inside and the people he had hidden. Bathily has
been hailed as a hero and this week was informed he would be given French citizenship as an act of
gratitude by the French people.
None of this, of course, was part of Lassana’s plan. Risking his life for others that day became
essential. It suddenly leapt to the top of his to do list.
Sometimes something is essential because it is a matter of life and death.
This business of essentialism…choosing what is most important in life…many times is a long process
of cost benefit analysis.
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For instance: I need to get healthy.
o So I consider the trade offs – less sugar, more exercise, more water, better sleep, etc.
o It’s essential to be healthy so I will work my plan. And over time I make personal health
an essential thing.
But, other times essentialism…choosing what is important in life…is knee jerk, it comes in a moment
of wide eyed panic.
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Sometimes we choose what is essential because we realize it is a matter of life and
death…seizing upon the situation we jump in…ignoring all else – and we make instant tradeoffs (my safety, my health, my welfare)…I will ignore on behalf of others.
It’s this second way of essentialism I want to explore with you today. I want to talk about an important
thing that is a matter of life and death.
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this essential thing is costly and time consuming
this essential thing is at times frustrating and annoying, maddening and uncomfortable.
As tough as it is I am going to try to convince you to make it an essential element of your life.
The way I’m going to go about it is to tell you the story of a man who was so convinced of and so
motivated by it that some accused him of being out of his mind.
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he was so rabid about it that he allowed it to shape who he was – this is so important to me
that “I have become all things to all men” for it. I will “make myself a slave” to see that it is
accomplished.
So…what was so essential to him?
Evangelism – the act of persuading others to surrender their lives to Jesus.
The man was the Apostle Paul:
This is how essential evangelism was to him:
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I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. I have become all things to all men so
that by all possible means I might save some. 1 Corinthians 9:19-22
Why such hyperbole?
Evangelism is an essential thing because it is a matter of life and death.
Stop and think. For a moment mentally scan your sphere of influence.
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your own home…immediate family…work, school, neighborhood
Look at who’s there:
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some of them are in deep pain, some in angry disbelief, some lonely, some struggling with life,
some utterly lost.
See their faces…feel their pain and frustration
All of their lives matter to you…don’t they? Of course they do. And some of them are far, far from
Jesus.
You know don’t you that if they have any hope of experiencing life it will come by them surrendering
their lives to Jesus Christ.
…and until your person comes to terms with that they will stay lost, hurt or lonely…they will
continue to die slow painful spiritual deaths and one day face the judgment of God without an
advocate.
They need someone around them to see this as a matter of life and death and begin to practice
evangelism.
Evangelism is an essential thing because it is a matter of life and death.
Need convincing of that? Let’s look inside the mind and heart of the man who others thought was a
lunatic about it.
2 Corinthians 4
The occasion of the letter:
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this church needed some serious help on a number of fronts
and Paul had some explaining to do about himself. He spends an inordinate amount of time
defending himself against his critics
Here is this section of the letter he is explaining why he was so committed to evangelism.
4:18 So
we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but
what is unseen is eternal.
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First - I believe that this is not all there is. There is a world beyond the senses.
o there is more going on than what you might think
o there is a world of God and angels and demons and battle
And once it’s over – it ain’t over.
o human life is just a dot on a very long line.
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So I fix my eyes on this other reality…when I look at people I see eternal souls who are in the
throes of battle.
5:1 Now
we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an
eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with
our heavenly dwelling, 3 because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4 For while we are
in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed
with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.
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I do not believe in YOLO. I believe in heaven and eternity…I do not believe that people just
cease to exist after they die
I believe that while we are on this planet we groan and long for release
Stop again…think about those people in your life…behind the smile is a soul that is
groaning…longing for life.
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it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit,
guaranteeing what is to come.
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I believe that God’s ultimate desire for every human being is to eventually reside with him
through eternity
I believe God wants to fill every person with his Spirit to guarantee it.
Reminder: there are only two kinds of people in this world: those who have the spirit of God and those
who do not.
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Of your family and friends – who does? who doesn’t
You don’t know? Does that matter to you?
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we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due
him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
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I believe everybody will face the judgment of God …and what people do with Jesus will have
direct bearing on the scope and scale of God’s judgment in eternity.
Let’s stop and take stock…we’ve got a guy who has made evangelism an essential thing in his life.
And now we know why.
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He sees people as eternal souls…ones that are groaning now in this mortal existence and
who desperately need to be filled with the Spirit of God before they face his judgment.
11 Since,
then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men.
Evangelism is an essential thing because it is a matter of life and death.
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we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14 For
Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15
And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for
them and was raised again.
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So call me crazy…label me as nuts but now you know why. It’s because of what I believe about God
and about human beings.
Vs 14 - I am compelled and convinced.
I am convinced that:
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Jesus died and was raised again for all:
o his death was substitutionary … there was something that was transacted in that
moment on Golgotha
o that hill far away with the old rugged cross was a portal between the seen and unseen
worlds.
o the fate of all human souls lies in what happened there 2000 years ago
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Jesus death is the evidence and confirmation of the lostness or death of all human beings. ( Vs
14 we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.)
o the fact that he had to die shines the light on why he had to die – because we are all
spiritually dead
I am convinced so I am compelled:
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compelled is a word that implies pressure…two forces pressing in to compress something.
So yeah, I’m out of my mind…but now you understand why.
Evangelism is an essential thing because it is a matter of life and death.
At this point it would be easy to feel a tremendous amount of guilt and pressure and for good reason.
Never a good motivation to do anything – right?
But…come on…at some point we have got to get real about this. We can through our hands up in the
air and say the world is going to hell in a hand basket and bemoan the state of the souls of people
around us or…we can go popeye…and say we can’t stands no more.
I won’t let people slip past me without me taking a shot at persuading them to surrender to Jesus.
And one more thing…let’s end this with some energy and hope. Look at Verse 17.
17 Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
If we need any more convincing of the need to evangelism it is this: Imagine the people in your life
who are currently far from Jesus absolutely recreated.
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Imagine them filled with the presence of God despite their pain
Imagine them with something to live for beside themselves
Imagine them able to get up in the morning with hope
Imagine them experiencing a peace that passes understanding
Imagine them pursuing reconciliation with those who they hate
Imagine them walking with a new energy that comes from a call on their lives
Imagine them experiencing victory over their addictions
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Imagine them loving again
Imagine them laughing again
Imagine them with a gleam of hope in their eyes.
Imagine them whole and alive
Imagine them as new creations
That is why evangelism is essential.