Video Transcript: Vocal Witness is Necessary

Well, here we are back again, talking about witnessing for Jesus Christ. It's the number one item on his list, and it's a number one item on ours, because we love him. Let's pray again together.

Jesus, all we want is to do what you want us to do. We know your heart. We've seen your tears for those who don't love you. We want that heart. We're going to talk today about using these mouths and these tongues to speak for you. We love you. Amen.

The last time we talked, maybe you remember about it's very possible for each on of us - ordinary and everyday people, the Bible calls us - to give a witness for Jesus Christ. And today, we're going to see something very important that a vocal witness is necessary. And I say that for this reason: there are a lot of people who say, "We'll just live out our faith, and that's the way people will know." But that's not always so. 

So, we're going to look at a verse in Acts again. There's so much about speaking for Jesus Christ in the book of Acts. And this is in chapter 14, starting at verse 11. And what happened was that Paul was out there doing the work of Jesus, and he healed somebody. And as that person was dancing around, showing his joy. Can you imagine what that would have been like? To be a cripple all your life from birth, never be able to play with the kids, never be able to run around the block. Your mother couldn't send you to the store. All at once, this guy comes from another place and says, "Just stand up and walk." 

People were standing around and because they were not Christians, because they had pagan religions, they said, "This couldn't happen by a human being." So, they said, "Do you know what happened? The gods have come down in human form. These two men who have been teaching us this new way of religion, this new way of belief, they must be gods. Because look what they did."

That's a temptation for us too sometimes to think we're better than others. But I'll go on with it because Paul and his friend, they took their garments and they tore them to show that they were scared and they were sorry about what was happening. They said, "No, no, no. We are not gods. We are only people - human, just like you." 

Do you see what happens? When Christians come with the power of the Gospel, good things happen. And when you live out the Christian life and you do good and you help others and you be like Jesus, who's going to get the credit? If you don't speak the name of Jesus, who gets the credit? Well, in the first place, God with a capital g does. People will say, "Oh, you must love God." They don't have any idea who God is.

Good ole God. We hear a lot about God bless us, God bless this country, God bless you. God who? What's his last name? Who is that God that everybody's talking about? It's not a God that they know personally. It's not necessarily the God of the Bible. Do you know why? Because everybody inside, even an atheist, knows that there is a true God. They might not know him, so they just think maybe he's some force or they talk about Mother Nature or whatever it might be. But if you don't talk about the name of Jesus, then this unnamed god will get the credit for what is going on. 

Another thing that can happen if you don't mention the name of Jesus when you witness for him is that you'll get the credit. You're being a good neighbor, right? People are seeing you go off somewhere on Sunday - to church, they know. They don't know what happens there. They think, "That's pretty nice." Maybe your name is Peter or Mary or whoever it might be. And they say, "Peter's really a nice man." Or, "He's a good family person. He's faithful to his wife. She's faithful to her husband. They're nice people." Or they'll say, "Once it was raining and I left the windows open, and they came over and closed them for me while we were gone." Or, "Once I was sick and they brought me some soup and some sandwiches." Whatever it might be. 

Do you know what? I believe you are good. Because you're following Jesus and that causes us to live in a certain way. But if we don't mention his name, we get the credit. They'll come to my funeral someday. I've always tried to be a good neighbor. And they'll come to my funeral someday. If I never mention the name of Jesus, they'll look at me down there in that box, and they'll say, "Ren was a good guy. He lent me some money when I needed it. He helped me wash my car once. My kid was wandering in the street, and he got him out of the street."

Ren will get the credit. You will get the credit if you don't mention the name of Jesus, because a Christian lives in a certain way. And they'll end up saying, "That's a nice man."

Or maybe one other way that it shows up is that people will talk about the faith. We hear a lot about that on TV. A person who does something noble, and they'll say, "Oh, he's a person of faith." What does that mean? But that's what they say, because they don't know Jesus. The name has not been mentioned. And you and I, we have to mention the name of Jesus when we witness. We don't throw it at people. We don't hit them with it. But they have to know. It's not because we're a member of another religion, but it's because we love Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ controls us. We do what he wants us to do. It's very important when we give our testimony, our witness that we mention the name of Jesus. 

Another reason that it's important that we have a vocal witness about Jesus is because it says in a book in the Bible - in the New Testament, one of the letters that Paul wrote - in 1 Thessalonians 1:8, "The Lord's word sounded out from you." People believed in that church because others were talking about the Lord and about the Bible. He didn't say to them, "Your religion sounded out." He didn't say, "god, good ole god, you talked about him, your faith." 

No. He said, "Jesus' words." The Bible is what you were talking about. And because of that, there were other people there who believed in Jesus Christ. Do you know what? Your vocal witness about Jesus Christ brings life, capital L Life, to other people. Think about that. You can talk about religion all day long and people will leave and they're still dead in their sins. You can be a nice person all day long and not mention Jesus, and people will still be dead in their sins. But when you talk about the Lord and about his word because you love him and because he's done what he has for you, then others will come to Life as well. 

What do you talk about? When you talk about your personal faith, do you talk about the church. Do you talk about the building? Do you talk about programs? Where does that get anybody? And do you know what's so important? Because we're looking at this, I know what you're thinking, because I used to be there too. You're thinking, "Yeah, but those were New Testament people. Those were people who knew so much. Those were people who had this life they lived for Jesus." 

There are two things I want to point out here. Number one, this church and the people in it are only about three months old. Three months from being pagans. And the other, when you read the rest of these letters, Paul is saying to them, "Yeah. You love him some, but you've got to love some more. Don't forget to get a job. Don't forget to respect each other." He's talking to them just the same way he would to us. Why? Because they're the same as we are. And in this church, that's just starting out, these dear people, they speak the name of Jesus and they speak his word and that brings Life. 

What an incentive that is for you and for me. There's another passage we can look at in terms of vocal witness being necessary. Romans 10:14. It seems like we don't have to spend much time on this one. Paul is writing about people coming to faith in Jesus Christ. And he had that great verse. He says, "If you believe in your heart, and if you confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, you'll be saved." Isn't that something? 

And then, he asked this question. "But if that person you know in the store or next door or maybe even an enemy you know, the one that want to be saved, the one you want to be forgiven, the one Jesus is praying for, if they don't hear the name of Jesus, how can they believe it?" Are they going to believe in a religion? Are they going to believe in a church building? Are they going to believe in some general comment about, "God has been good to me."? It seems like we don't have to spend time on this. This is not a trick question. It seems like we can just answer it. When you look at it, how can a person believe in the one they have never heard about? What about in your life? Is it your wife? Is it someone you're dating? Is it a child who lives in another village? Is the person who you get gas for your car? Is it your doctor? If they've not heard the name of Jesus from your lips, how can they believe?

There's one thing I know that we don't have to spend time on. We don't have to spend time about God wanting people to be saved. That's evident because he gave his own Son to die for us. We don't have to spend time wondering about Jesus. He cried for people who weren't saved. We don't have to wonder about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is sent to open people's hearts so they can believe. It's all there. How can they believe unless they have heard?

There's another thing that we have to look at as we talk about these verses. It's not a verse, but it's a quote that I've heard from seminary professors. I've heard it from teachers. I've heard it from Christians all over the place. I've read about it. And it's a quote that a lot of people attribute to St. Francis of Assisi. You know about him. He went about doing good, gave up a great big fortune, spent time just loving on people just the way Christ loves us to do. But there's a quote that people give about him, and that is they say that he said, "Preach the Gospel, and when necessary, use words." We hear that a lot. And I want to say very carefully that I disagree with it. I in no way can compare to who St. Francis is. My life would never match his life. But as humbly as I can, I believe he was wrong. 

What we have to do is look at the world when St. Francis lived about 700 years ago. Then, there was not all that attention being paid to all the religions of the world. And where he lived, you were either a follower of Jesus. You were a member of the church or you weren't. So, then, it was not a competition with other religions. People would notice your behavior by the way that you lived. But all of that has changed now. The world has become a small place. All of us live everywhere. And that means that all the religions of the world are familiar to us. I'm taping this here in the United States. We have hundreds of different religions here. And all the world's great religions are here - Islam, Buddhism, Shintoism, you name it. They all have their own buildings, their own followers. And if you go about living a good life, that's a wonderful thing. But who will they connect that to? 

You might be a Muslim. There are Muslims who lead very good lives. You might be a Buddhist. There are those who live dedicated lives. You might be from some little splinter religion off to the side. You might be from a cult that has departed from the true Christian faith. But here, in America-- and I believe around the world, because the world has become so small and because the Internet has bound everybody together, you can no longer say, "Preach the Gospel, and when necessary, use words."

We must mention the name of Jesus. He's the one we live for. Do you know why we have radio and TV and the Internet? It's because of the ads. Companies pay money so that we can bring programs on the radio, on TV, and the Internet. You can get so much on the Internet for free. Do you know why? Because over around the edges and on top, there are all those ads. They know that if you see that name, if you see that name, if you see that name, when it comes time to buy some soda or to buy a car or to buy something to clean your sink with or to buy some clothes, that name is going to come to your head. And that's the same with the name of Jesus. When people hear the name of Jesus and hear the name of Jesus, when they are blessed, when things are going well, they will think of Jesus. When they're in trouble and really in pain, they will think of Jesus. But all those ads around us, they're not doing it just for fun. When they pay millions of dollars for 30 seconds of a Super Bowl ad, it's because people will remember that name.

And there's another thing. There are a lot of people who deny that God exists. Not many. But there are a lot who do. We call them atheists. They define themselves by God. They say, "There is no God." But they're still talking about God. But there are some very nice atheists that care about poor people. They visit sick people. They bring food to hungry people. They look for justice for people who are being oppressed. How can you tell the difference between a Christian who is living for Jesus and an atheist who is doing good things if the Christian doesn't mention Jesus' name? 

The name of Jesus is throughout the book of Acts over and over and over again. We do this in the name of Jesus. The people believed in the name of Jesus. And through the rest of the New Testament, too, it is the name of Jesus that brings salvation. It is the name of Jesus that gives hope. And someday, at the end of the world, it will be the name of Jesus that is praised. And you and I, we have an obligation because it is necessary. And we have the opportunity to speak the name of Jesus.