3 Ways to Reach a Nation
The church's main work is witnessing to the salvation in Christ, and there are three ways to reach a nation: shattering complacency, exposing limited securities, and being a light in the world.
Lou Sutera preaches on the importance of evangelism and world missions as the main work of the church throughout all ages, emphasizing the need to witness to the salvation found in Christ. Despite the unchanging nature of Christ's great commission, there is still much work to be done both locally and globally in spreading the message of salvation. Various speakers highlight the urgency and specific task of the church in reaching out to a dark and squalid world with the light of Christ, emphasizing the need to follow the three ways revealed in God's Word to reach a nation.
Text
Mark 16:15.16 3 WAYS TO REACH A NATION
John 14:31
1. These words form one of the last messages Christ
gave His church, a message on evangelism and world
Wide missions.
2. Thus, the main work of the whole church in the whole world throughout the whole age is witnessing to the salvation there is in Christ.
3. Jesus Christ has not changed his mind concerning The great commission for the church. Yet we have not really scratched the surface today on the home field or the mission field when it comes to
the matter of getting the job done.
Myron Augsburger: "Our task is to shatter man's complacency, destroy the comfort of his apathy, & expose his limited securities, so that either in desperation or in new understanding he will come to Christ and his Kingdom." Conf. on Evangelism, Mpls. MN, 1969.
5. Dr.Howard Sugdon: "We have a specific task in the world and our church has become a center of instruction that the saints may be built up to do the work of ministering in the world. Happy is the church that has found that this is the way God is operating."
6. John, and 7 candlesticks. Rev.1:20 Dr. Sugdon.
"The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels (pastors) of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks are the seven churches."
"Imagine John sees the church flung out into a dark and squalid world and she stands in the world to bear light. How tremendous Light has no boundaries. You can't shut light in. Light leaps all boundaries. It leaps over the wall; it tangles with all hearts. The church is in the world to shed its light and to be light."
7. Rev. Lester Pritchard: In world's largest train station on early morning, walking down the stairs thru the underground tunnel. 3 million people pass thru its gates every day. "Coming at me like water that had broken thru a dam."
"Lord, how can we reach so many thousands of people? It looks hopeless. Must they all Perish?"
The Holy Spirit spoke to me, "There are 3 ways to reach a nation that He the Lord has revealed in His Word and though the church has tried many other ways, it has almost totally ignored, these 3."
"I thought of the scores of methods that I had employed in evangelism, yet none seemed to stand out as a special
"Then 3 thoughts came to me in clear order."
Sermon Outline
- I. Introduction
- A. The Great Commission
- B. The Importance of Evangelism
- II. The Main Work of the Church
- A. Witnessing to the Salvation in Christ
- III. The Three Ways to Reach a Nation
- 'A. First Way: Shattering Complacency'
- 'B. Second Way: Exposing Limited Securities'
- 'C. Third Way: Being a Light in the World'
Key Quotes
“Our task is to shatter man's complacency, destroy the comfort of his apathy, & expose his limited securities, so that either in desperation or in new understanding he will come to Christ and his Kingdom.” — Lou Sutera
“The church is in the world to shed its light and to be light.” — Lou Sutera
“There are 3 ways to reach a nation that He the Lord has revealed in His Word and though the church has tried many other ways, it has almost totally ignored, these 3.” — Lou Sutera
Application Points
- We must be willing to shatter complacency and expose limited securities in order to reach people for Christ.
- The church must be a light in the world, shining brightly for all to see.
- We must trust in the power of the Holy Spirit to guide us in our evangelism efforts.