Psalm 105: Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Those who know the Lord are to tell the nations what He has done. And the greatest thing the Lord has done is send the Son of God from Heaven to Earth on a great rescue mission. The Son of God become a man; lived a perfect life; died to atone for our sins; and was resurrected. He was raised from the dead. Then this risen and victorious Lord and Savior ascended to the right hand of the Father. From that exalted place, He sends His Spirit to live in His followers.

How often are we to make known among the nations what the Lord has done? Every day. All day long. Psalm 71: My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds, of your saving acts all day long. Evangelism part of our daily lifestyle. Every day and throughout the day we pray for opportunities to tell others about the Lord’s saving acts. We look for opportunities to tell others about the Lord’s saving acts.

What is the focus of our telling? Psalm 96: Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his yeshua, his salvation, day after day. With the coming of the Son of God, God’s yeshua, God’s salvation, is centered in Yeshua the Messiah. Telling people about Yeshua is how we proclaim God’s yeshua, His salvation – day after day. Evangelism is to be part of our daily lifestyle.

My brothers and sisters, we need to understand that it is the solemn duty, it is the grave responsibility of every follower of Messiah to be actively involved in evangelism. And Messiah’s communities are to be engaged in evangelism, involved in evangelism, focused on evangelism. We are to be witnessing, testifying, evangelistic communities.

Why should we be actively involved in evangelism? Lots of reasons:

We must be actively involved in evangelism because our Lord Yeshua was actively involved in evangelism, and we are to be like Him. He are to imitate His example. Matthew 9: Yeshua went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom.

Luke 4: Yeshua went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind.” That’s evangelism. Evangelism was at the heart of the ministry of the Lord Yeshua. For us to be like Him, we must engage in evangelism like He did.

We must be actively involved in evangelism because of love. God is love and He wants us to be full of love like He is. Love tries to meet the greatest needs of those who are loved. And what are the world’s greatest needs? To be saved from the things we can’t save ourselves from – Satan and the demons, sin and the sin nature, death and Hell. And the only way to be saved from these deadly things is by responding to the Gospel, the Good News, the message about Yeshua.

The world is perishing. Love motivates us to prevent people from perishing. Yeshua said: God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Whoever believes in Yeshua by believing the Good News will have eternal life. And the opposite is true: Whoever does not believe in Yeshua will perish. Love motivates us to help people who are perishing by telling them about Yeshua so they can believe in Him and not perish but have eternal life.

We must be actively involved in evangelism because all people, Jews and Gentiles, are under the power of sin. They are dead in their sins. They must have their sins forgiven before they die, or they will die in their sins. Yeshua informed some Jewish leaders – men who believed in God, knew the Torah, practiced Judaism, offered God-ordained sacrifices at the temple – that now that He had come into the world, they must believe in Him or die in their sins. He said to them: Unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins. Anyone who dies in his sins will remain unreconciled to God, estranged from God, alienated from God. He will not be forgiven. He will not be accepted or welcomed by God. He will not live forever with God. Love motivates us to help people not die in their sins by telling them that atonement is available through Yeshua; that all their sins will be forgiven when they believe in Yeshua.

Rabbi Paul taught that people must hear and believe the message about the Messiah in order to be saved. He wrote this to Messiah’s people in Corinth: I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you … by this gospel you are saved (1 Corinthians 15). He taught that everyone, Jews and Gentiles, are under the power of sin; that no one is righteous, not even one; that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God; that his heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Chosen People is that we may be saved – because we are not saved; and that the peoples from the nations are not saved. They are without God and have no hope of living forever with God.

The Rabbi also made it clear that there is a way for Jews and Gentiles to be saved: If we confess with our mouth that Yeshua is Lord and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead, we will be saved. Love motivates us to help Jews and Gentiles to be saved by telling them that they can be saved by believing in Yeshua, risen from the dead, and by confessing that He is the Lord.

We must be actively involved in evangelism because Yeshua made it clear that there are not many ways of salvation. There aren’t even two or three ways. He made it crystal clear that He is the only way of salvation: I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Yeshua is the Way – the way to God the Father – which means there is no other way to God. Yeshua is the Truth – which means no other religion or ideology has enough truth bring people to God. Yeshua is the Life – which means those who don’t believe in Him will never experience eternal life. Love motivates us to direct people to Yeshua, who is the only way they can live forever with God the Father.

Peter said the same thing. He stood before the Sanhedrin, the religious and political leaders of the Chosen People and told them that Yeshua is the only source of salvation. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. If the leaders of the Chosen People need to believe in Yeshua in order to be saved, then we can be sure that Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, agnostics, atheists and everyone else need to believe in Yeshua to be saved. Love motivates us to tell people the truth – that salvation is only found in Yeshua.

We must be actively involved in evangelism because we are Messiah’s ambassadors who alone have been entrusted with the responsibility to bring the message that reconciles people to God: We are therefore Messiah’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Messiah’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. We must not fail the One we represent, the One who made us Messiah’s ambassadors, by not imploring people to be reconciled to God.

We must be actively involved in evangelism because if we don’t bring people the message of salvation, no one else will. Paul wrote to Messiah’s people in Rome: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How, then, can they 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 anyone preach unless they are sent? The world is unsaved. People need to hear the Gospel to be saved. Messiah won’t come from Heaven to bring that message. Messiah won’t send angels to proclaim that message. The unsaved people of the world certainly won’t proclaim that message. We are the ones the Lord has chosen and sent to preach the message of salvation. We must not fail the One who sent us to preach that message. We must preach the Gospel to an unsaved world.

We need to be actively involved in evangelism because the Lord has made us the light of the world. The world is in darkness, which represents chaos, confusion, unhappiness, defeat, death. Light represents God’s presence, truth, salvation and life. Yeshua said: You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. In ancient times it was common to build a town on a hill. A town built on a hill was highly visible by day, or by night when it was illuminated by fires or lamps. He also said: Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. A lamp is lite to give light. It makes no sense to light a lamp and put it under a bowl.

Just as a town built on a hill is highly visible, and just as a lamp is meant to give light to everyone in the house, we are to live the Good News and proclaim the Gospel to everyone around us. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven. We need to be actively involved in evangelism because the Lord has made us the light of the world.

We must be actively involved in evangelism because Messiah didn’t suggest that we be involved in evangelism; that it might be a good idea if we were involved in evangelism; that He was making a recommendation for our consideration that we be involved in evangelism. He commanded us to continue His mission of world evangelism.

Before He ascended to Heaven, His parting words to His disciples were: All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. We must be actively involved in evangelism because world evangelism is our Lord’s command to us, and we must not disobey His command.

We must be actively involved in evangelism because Messiah’s mission of world evangelism is incomplete. It’s His stated purpose that His people preach His message to the entire world. After He died and was resurrected, and before He ascended, Yeshua said to His followers: You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. We must be His witnesses until the whole world has heard the message.

We must be actively involved in evangelism because the Lord will not return until the Gospel is preached to the entire world. Yeshua said: this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. The end will come. Yeshua will return. Therefore the Gospel will be preached to the whole world – and it is our responsibility to do that preaching.

All of us as individuals must be actively involved in evangelism; and Messiah’s communities must be actively involved in evangelism – every day; all day long; day after day.

So, how do we do that? It’s simple: Be filled with the Spirit. When we are full of the Spirit of God, we are close to God and understand that salvation from Satan and the demons, sin and the sin nature, death and Hell is people’s greatest need.

When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we are full of the love of God and we want to meet people’s greatest need.

When we are full of the Holy Spirit, we understand that it is our responsibility to bring the message of salvation to the world.

It’s not easy to testify to a world that is satanically controlled and in rebellion against God and under a curse, a world that hates God, hates Yeshua and hates the followers of Yeshua about the reality of Yeshua. It’s not easy to be Gospel-centered. It’s not easy to boldly proclaim the Good New about Yeshua the way we should. When we are full of the Holy Spirit we will have the wisdom and the power to overcome the fear of man and proclaim the Good News to those around us.

When we are walking in the Spirit, close to God, close to Yeshua, filled with the Spirit of Yeshua, we will testify about Yeshua. We will want to testify. We will be compelled to testify. We won’t be able to prevent ourselves from testifying. We will be able to testify. We will be empowered to testify.

It’s so important to receive the Holy Spirit, and then walk in the Spirit, and live in the Spirit and be filled with the Spirit.

How do we do that? We make sure we are followers of Yeshua. We end our part in the great rebellion against God. We humble ourselves and allow God to be God. We turn to God and God’s ways and away from our own ways. We make a serious commitment to follow Yeshua, the risen Messiah, as our Lord.

If we do this, we are given us a new, godly nature. And the Spirit of the Father and the Son is given to us. He lives in us – now and forever.

Then, after we receive our new nature and the Spirit of God is living in us, we live by the Spirit, we walk by the Spirit on a moment by moment basis.

If we sin, or if we slowly drift away from God, we confess our sin, we confess our drifting away, and pray to be filled again with the Spirit – and we will be. And we are re-energized to tell the world the Good News about salvation through Yeshua.

Let’s pray:

Father, Your Son came into this world on a great rescue mission – to save a lost and dying world. And He still wants to save people, but now that He died, was resurrected and ascended to Your right hand, He saves people through us. Help us to be faithful to carry on His mission of world evangelism.

Father, You are full of love and You want us to be full of love like You are. And love tries to meet the greatest needs of those who are loved. Only the gospel meets the world’s greatest needs. Fill us with love which will try to meet the world’s greatest needs by proclaiming the Gospel to a lost and dying world.

Father, help us be filled with Your Spirit so that we will overcome the fear of man and testify about Yeshua.

Father, help us fulfill our responsibility to be Messiah’s ambassadors who alone have been entrusted with the responsibility to bring the message that reconciles people to God.

Father, help us to be actively involved in evangelism because You have made us the light of the world.

Father, help us to be actively involved in evangelism because Messiah commanded us to continue His mission of world evangelism.

Father, Your Son, and our Lord and Savior commanded us to go to those who are not disciples and make them into disciples. Help us take the evangelistic initiative. Help us go to them, not to wait for them to come to us. Help us make evangelism happen, not wait for it to happen.

Help us make known Your saving acts among the nations every day, day after day, and all day long. May evangelism be part of our daily lifestyle.

Make Shema a witnessing community the way we should be. Make Your entire Church a witnessing community the way we should be.