A person's relationship with Jesus is a life and death matter.
The stakes couldn’t be higher. Romans 10:13 (NIV) says, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."A person’s relationship with Jesus is no trivial matter. It's a matter of life and salvation.
If a person embraces Jesus as Lord ofher life,she can be set free from sin, forgiven, and live for eternity. But if a person denies Jesus there is no forgiveness andshe must face the full fury of God’s wrath alone. A person’s eternity hinges on her relationship with Jesus. IsJesus Lord? Is he Savior?
Romans 10:9-13 (NIV) says, "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, 'Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.' For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile— the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,for, 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' "
It is conceivable that some here do not believe Romans 10:13. This message isn’t for you this morning. It's for the majority of you who do believe in Jesus,who hold deep convictions about Jesus’ divinity, his identity as the Christ, and who have become convinced of his power to save people from the grip of sin and death.
Romans 10:14-15 (NIV) asks a rather logical question."How, then, can they (people) call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!' "
For those who believe in Jesus Christ, silence is not an option.
Silence is not an option. You play a critical role in the salvation of others. If you don’t proclaim the name of Jesus to others, they’re just not going to be saved. They can’t call on Jesus, they can’t believe on Jesus, and they can’t know Jesus unless you bring him up in your everyday conversations.
In Romans 10 you’re the preacher. And people’s response to the gospel starts with your obedience. No one can take your place. No one else can stand where God’s called you to stand. Your relationships are your relationships. You are the living link between God and your acquaintances. You either embrace the mission God’s given you, or thereare going to be dire consequences for those you never share Jesus with.
But we know this. We know the stakes of remaining silent. We don’t need another guilt trip. The simple fact is that when push comes to shove, we lack boldness to tell others about Jesus. We’re afraid. We’re insecure. We feel paralyzed.
The Bible is full of stories of reluctant preachers.
Sometimes we feel like Moses. God anointed Moses to lead several million Israelites from slavery in Egypt. But Moses wasn’t thinking about those God wanted to save. He was thinking about himself, his fears, and his insecurities.
Exodus 4:10-16 (NIV) says, "Moses said to the Lord, 'O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.'The Lord said to him, 'Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.'But Moses said, 'O Lord, please send someone else to do it.'Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses and he said, 'What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and his heart will be glad when he sees you. You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him.' "
Moses wasn’t the first or the last person to lack boldness. Remember the story of Jonah? When God commanded Jonah to preach to the wicked city of Ninevah, Jonah fled! Jonah 1:3 (NIV) tells us, "But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord."
When the Lord appeared to Jeremiah the prophet, he wasn’t too responsive either. Jeremiah 1:6-10 (NIV) says, " 'Ah, Sovereign Lord,' I said, 'I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.' But the Lord said to me, 'Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,' declares the Lord.Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, 'Now, I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.' "
Do you remember how Peter lacked boldness on the night of Jesus’ crucifixion in Luke 22:54-62? "Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. But when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, 'This man was with him.' But he denied it. 'Woman, I don’t know him,' he said. A little later someone else saw him and said, 'You also are one of them.' 'Man, I am not!' Peter replied. About an hour later another asserted, 'Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.' Peter replied, 'Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!' Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: 'Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.' And he went outside and wept bitterly."
Then there was the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:1-5 (NIV). "When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power."
And what about young Timothy? In 1 Timothy 4:12-16 (NIV) Paul instructs Timothy."Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you. Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers."
We need to rely on the Holy Spirit for boldness.
Don’t be discouraged if you lack boldness to tell others about Jesus. You are certainly not the first or the last to be lacking in boldness. But at least see it for what it is. Telling others about Jesus is an opportunity to experience the full power of God’s Holy Spirit. You’ll never feel more alive in the power of the Spirit then when you are telling another person about Jesus,when you are relying on God’s Holy Spirit to teach you, and give you the words, and guide in a relationship.
When we rely on God’s Holy Spirit as we tell others about Jesus, our personal insecurities suddenly melt away. Instead of focusing on ourselves, we become focused on Christ and on the needs of the person we are speaking to. We stop worrying aboutthings like, "What will people think of me? How will I look? Will people like me? Will they pay attention? Will they reject me?" Instead, our concern is to be faithful to God, faithful to the opportunity at hand, and expectant for God to be at work through his Spirit.
Remember Jesus’ promise in John 14:24-26 (NIV)? "...These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."
Or consider 1 Peter 4:11 (NIV)."If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen."
In Acts 4:23-31 (NIV) we see how the early Church relied on God’s Spirit for boldness after Peter and John were persecuted. " 'Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.' After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly."
By now it should be quite obvious to us all that boldness doesn’t come from within. It comes from God himself through prayer and in obedient proclamation. May God’s Holy Spirit make up what’s lacking in us so that the world may know Christ.