Useful

 I want to start us out with a quick video - it's something you might have seen before; it's something marketed as a 'useless box'.

***Video

You can get the 'useless box' on Etsy for $80. You flip a switch to turn it on and its flips itself back off - and you repeat the process over and over as long as you want. I'm sure that some have gotten a kick out of this kind of box over the years - but once the initial curiosity wears off, it's really more for novelty purposes. The 'useless box' is fun, it's cute to show off to your friends - but I wouldn't say it's overly useful.

I'm concerned that there are Churches who might be little more than 'useless boxes' themselves. You can have a Church that's fun, it may look good – but it doesn't really accomplish much. It may even do quite a bit more that just flip a switch, maybe it does a lot of things - but it still may not be very useful for the purpose for which Jesus originally established His Church.

Jesus called His people to be the light of the world! He called us to use the Spirit He placed in us to 'light the world on fire' - to spread the Word! We could do a lot of things, but if we're not working on the right things – we become just a novelty like a 'useless box' - a little fun, makes you smile, but perhaps not overly useful on a daily basis. This morning, I want to talk about how to be truly useful.

I read a quote that said, "It's easy to determine when something is aflame. It ignites other material. Any fire that does not spread will eventually go out. A church without evangelism is a contradiction in terms; just as a fire that does not burn is a contradiction."

So, how do we put our faith into action and actually be useful to people? I want to start with two words…

I. Seek and save

We can do a lot of things, but if we aren't keeping our eyes open for lost people – we aren't going to accomplish our purpose. And we aren't going to be as useful to people or God's Kingdom as we could be. Jesus pointed out why He came in the first place in Luke 19:10 (NIV)...

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.

If we're going to be useful, we need to refocus on helping to seek and to save the lost. If someone hadn't ever reached out to you – you wouldn't be here right now. You wouldn't know about Jesus and the hope of eternal life. You would be missing out on all of the blessings that come from knowing Jesus. So, if we - you and I - are going to be about Jesus' mission of seeking and saving the lost, we need to clearly deliver His message.

And I'm not necessarily just talking about 'preaching' in the conventional sense, nor am I really talking about programs that a Church can do in these four walls. I'm talking about each of us just sharing what we know with others in our everyday life. It's not our job to save anyone. We couldn't if we tried. Our job is to tell what we've learned - to help make disciples. Our job is to deliver the message and let God worry about the results. Jesus instructed His early disciples this way, in Matthew 10:11-14 (NIV)...

Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave. (12) As you enter the home, give it your greeting. (13) If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. (14) If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.

Many people get discouraged because any time they've even attempted to share Jesus with someone; it doesn't appear to make a difference. We're called to plant seeds, to point them in the right direction and then let God convict their heart if they are receptive. We do have to be careful in our approach in delivering the message, but as long as it's done in humility and love – that's what we're called to do.

A good example of this from scripture is who we call John the Baptist. John couldn't forgive anyone for their sins or take anyone to Heaven, but he knew the One who could…

John 1:24-29 (NIV)

Now some Pharisees who had been sent (25) questioned him, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" (26) "I baptize with water," John replied, "but among you stands one you do not know. (27) He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie."

(28) This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing. (29) The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"

John saw his entire purpose as pointing people to Jesus! It wasn't about him at all, but the One who came after Him – Jesus. We can point people to a lot of good things. We can point them to living a good moral life. We can point them to fellowship with good people. We can even point them to Church – but if we don't ultimately point people to Jesus, we've missed the mark!

A young salesman was disappointed about losing a big sale, and he complained to his manager, "I guess it just proves - you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink." The manager replied, "Some advice - your job is not to make him drink. Your job is to make him thirsty."

Does the way we live our lives make anyone thirsty for the Gospel message? Does the way we present the message make them want to learn more about Jesus? In order to be useful in helping to seek and save the lost, the very first thing we need to remember is to…

II. Talk about Jesus

That may sound like a 'no brainer', but how many are uncomfortable talking about Jesus outside of a Church building? Oh, we might be able to talk about God in a general sense - since a majority of people claim to believe in a higher power – but do we talk about Jesus? In our culture it's 'socially acceptable' to talk about God, within reason – but bringing up Jesus' name moves you from the camp of 'God fearing American' to 'religious nut', right?

And believe me - I wholeheartedly understand - it's a whole lot easier talking about Jesus up here on a Sunday morning than it is to talk about Jesus to someone in Wal-Mart. It's expected that I mention Jesus here - but if Jesus is The One who saved me - why isn't it expected that I talk about Him elsewhere...? And I'm not talking about pious, 'religious speak' to make ourselves sound spiritual. I'm talking about plain talk about Jesus as a real person who has changed our lives!

And yes - some people will instantly throw us into the camp of religious nut. But some will be intrigued - maybe they'll be shaken out of the mundane of their regular life and choose to raise their vision to spiritual realities. It's okay to talk about Jesus outside of a Church service!

We need to talk about Jesus, and a good place to start is in our homes. Do you ever talk to your kids and grandkids about Jesus? Do you ever talk to your adult children about Jesus? If there was ever a group ripe for harvest maybe it's right there! If you don't ever talk about Jesus in your home, you probably won't talk about Jesus outside of your home. - And what should we say about Jesus…?

Matthew 16:13-17 (NIV)

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" (14) They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." (15) "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"

(16) Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (17) Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven."

"The Christ" literally means that Jesus is The anointed One; The Messiah, The chosen One. It means that Jesus is not just some good teacher or just another religious leader – when we say that Jesus is The Christ, it means that He is THE one chosen by God, and the only One who can save people! That's important! Let's turn to 1 John 5:1-4 (NIV)...

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. (2) This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. (3) This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, (4) for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.

We need to talk about Jesus as The one way to Heaven. There have been many religious leaders over the years who've claimed to have a special status, or have claimed to be chosen by God. But there is only one Son of God. Let's continue in our passage from 1 John…

1 John 5:5-9 (NIV)

Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. (6) This is the one who came by water and blood - Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. (7) For there are three that testify: (8) the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. (9) We accept man's testimony, but God's testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son.

Men can claim to be special, but God says that Jesus is His Son! God says that Jesus is God's revelation to men! God says that Jesus is God in the flesh! If we don't talk about Jesus being The Christ and about Jesus being God's Son, we won't be winning anyone to the truth about Jesus. And, people need to know that we serve a living God, and that He is real, and - - that there are consequences for ignoring Him. They need to be told the truth.

The story goes that a group of soldiers were heading into battle. They cornered their chaplain and asked if he really believed in a literal place called hell. He considered himself too educated to believe that everything in the Bible is literal. So he told them, "Absolutely not. I don't believe that a loving God would send anyone to such a place as hell." Surprisingly, they demanded that he resign, saying, "If there is no hell, we don't need you. But if there is a hell, we don't want to be lied to anymore."

We need to deliver the full message and we need to talk about Jesus as The Son of the Living God - The One who saves us from Hell. And as we talk to people about Jesus, we also need to…

III. Bring people to Jesus

I'm confident, God will give you the words you need if you step out in faith and talk to people about Jesus. Let's turn to John 1:40-42 (NIV)...

Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. (41) The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). (42) And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which, when translated, is Peter)."

Repeatedly in John's Gospel, we see Andrew bringing people to Jesus. We're called to talk to people about Jesus, but maybe the best thing we can do is to bring them to Jesus and let Him do the work. I can't heal a broken marriage or family or broken relationships, but Jesus can. I can't make an addict stop their destructive behavior, but Jesus can. I can't change people's minds about the reality of God or sin or Hell or repentance or any other truth in the Bible... I can't change people, but Jesus can. Jesus changes lives completely!

In the book of Acts, we find the first recorded account of a person being killed for their faith in Jesus; the Christian martyr Stephen.

Acts 8:1-3 (NIV)

And Saul was there, giving approval to his death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. (2) Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. (3) But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.

Saul's mission was to destroy the Church and to kill and imprison Christians – before he met Jesus. After he met Jesus, he changed his name from Saul to Paul and became one of the greatest missionaries and preachers of the Gospel message ever. His letters of encouragement and correction and doctrine to the early Churches comprise over half of the New Testament. Jesus changes lives completely!

-Think about some of us. What were we before Jesus? Let's be honest here - some of us were downright awful people, but after meeting Jesus - we are nowhere near perfect - but we are not who we were!

We bring people to Jesus because Jesus changes lives! And Jesus alone saves! There are a lot of teachers and philosophers and counselors and 'life coaches' who can give a lot of decent advice on how to have a better life in this world. Only Jesus can do anything that makes a difference in the next.

John 14:6-7 (NIV)

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (7) If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."

If we don't tell people about Jesus, they have no hope of Heaven. We can do a lot of things as a Church, but if we don't individually tell people about Jesus – they will be lost. If we don't tell people about Jesus, this place, these four walls become that 'useless box'. We flip the switch on each Sunday morning and then flip it off - and then do it again next week....

So What?

How can we actually be useful to people in this world? Talk to them about Jesus! And remember - you are not alone in this! "Not by might nor by power, but by His Spirit".

Preacher Charles Spurgeon was quoted as saying, "If sinners will be damned, at least let them leap into hell over our bodies. And if they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees, imploring them to stay. If hell must be filled, let not one go there unwarned and un-prayed for."

I challenge you to try a little experiment this week. This week, maybe today - start small. If anyone asks you, "How are you?" or "How are you doing?" Respond with something like, "God has been really good to me!" And then see if you can develop it into a spiritual conversation. If not - that's fine - no harm, no foul. But if it does take that turn - see if you can naturally bring up Jesus or Church. And if you do have one of those conversations - let me know how it goes.

Palm Sunday is next week - Easter is the Sunday after that... Maybe you could invite them to our breakfast Easter Sunday...? There are a lot of things we can choose to do in this life. None of it really matters if we don't ever talk to people about Jesus.