Know Jesus and Make Him Known WORSHIP

Suggested Worship Songs:

Again I Say Rejoice, In Christ Alone, The Wonder of Your Love, Hosanna

September 9, 2012 Vol. 12, No. 36

WELCOME WORD
35Jesus

True to Life Story:

If you were to put your life testimony into a movie, what would the title of the movie be? Briefly explain.

Matthew 9:35-38
was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. 36Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. 37Then He said to His disciples, The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. 38Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.

What can we learn from Jesus in this passage?

He went through all the cities and villages teaching and proclaiming the good news. To make Christ known, we must be sensitive to Gods leading and divine appointment. We are to be intentional to get out of our comfort zone:

1. Jesus went out of His comfort zone.

As committed followers of Christ we are to know Jesus and to make Him known.

Do not be disheartened if you cannot lead the person to a prayer at once. Sometimes we are blessed to do that, but often our role is to sow seeds, helping the person move closer to knowing Christ in a more personal way. Jesus sees our helplessness and what is going on deep down in our life, and He feels a deep sense of caring emotion for us. Until we truly know Jesus, we cannot see the deep needs of people or feel compassion for them as Jesus did. 2. Jesus felt compassion for people.

It is not a calculated formula. Instead, talk about God naturally. Our testimony is powerful, because our life speaks louder than our words.

Connect by asking basic questions. Discern the real needs of the person. Direct the conversation to spiritual matters as you are led by the Holy Spirit.

The greatest investment we could make in our life is to invest in people. People are the most valuable creation of God. When one lost soul is found, all of heaven rejoices (read Luke 15:10). Read also the parables of The Lost Sheep, The Lost Coin, and The Lost Son in Luke 15. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 19:10) 3. Jesus urged His disciples to act. Then He said to His disciples, The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest. (Matthew 9:37-38)

To make Jesus known, we must first know Him personally. We must also be interested in people, willing to make time for others, and able to prioritize one thing that will last forever: people. Peoples souls will outlast anything in this world.

But sometimes we are preoccupied with too many things. We get sidetracked with worldly concerns and trivial matters.

If we will only open our eyes and look around us, we will see people hungry and thirsty to know God. We are surrounded with people who need the Lord. If they are ready to receive Jesus, we, as followers of Christ must all the more be ready to share who Jesus is and what He has done in our life.

WORD (contd)

Know Your Story. Tell Your Story

When we get to know Jesus Christ in a personal way, each of us has a unique story to tell people to make Jesus known. We must know our story by heart for it is an effective point of conversation that could bring people that we meet, a step closer to Jesus. We do not know exactly how God will use us with our personal story, but we can be ready for His divine appointments. We may fear that we will not be able to say anything right, or make a difference in the life of people, but we just have to

do our part. It is not about us after all but it is all about God. I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. Its not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. Whats important is that God makes the seed grow. (1 Corinthians 3:6-7)

Discussion Questions:

WORKS
Your Story

1. First Attraction. How was the Gospel shared with you? What attracted you to listen and believe in Jesus? Did you receive Him the first time the Gospel was presented to you? 2. Too Comfortable. When was the last time you went out of your comfort zone to make Jesus known to others? After hearing about how Jesus went out of His way to reach the lost, what steps will you take to follow His example? Give specific steps. 3. One Step Closer. Looking at your life, can people say, I want to know Jesus the way you know Him in your life? Does your life bring them a step closer to Jesus or away from Him? Use the graph below to show where you stand today in your relationship with Jesus. 0 is where you are open to a personal relationship with God. You would move to a point to the right of 0 the more intimate you are with the Lord.

(Leaders: Please choose questions that are appropriate to the level of spiritual maturity of your members)

We are Gods workmanship; we are the laborers for the harvests. The Apostle Paul reminds us that we are not to worry about the outcome of what we shared with people for it is God who will make it grow after all.

Weekly Prayer Points

Remember to be intentional, to go out of your comfort zone, to make time for people, to be interested to ask and to listen, to be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit to trust and obey, and then leave the results to God. Share your new experiences to your Dgroup in your next meeting.

Summarize your milestones to fit a 45 second long testimony. Know it by heart and practice talking about it. As you start each day this week, pray that God will use your life story to specific people you meet for the day.

Higher numbers indicate a greater intimacy with Jesus Christ. Share how you got to the point where you are at today using spiritual milestones that you had along the way.

III. Church Pastors & Leaders Ministries & Churches worldwide

II. Country Upright and moral governance of Public Servants from the President to Barangay Captains Cooperation & unity of Filipinos towards a God-centered Philippines

I. Thanksgiving Worship God for Who He is, what He has done, and what He will do in our lives

IV. CCF Facilities New Worship and Training Center Prayer Mountain V. Personal Concerns

Deeper intimate relationship with God Salvation of family and friends