CONNECT CITY CHRIST
BE NOT ASHAMED
ROMANS 1: 16
Friendly
reminders
God has great
plans for TBC. Remember a few weeks I
talked about my dream of a TBC train station?
Here is a picture drawn by one of the TBC elementary children of TBC
TRAIN STATION.
Remember
DECEMBER 7
WORSHIP AT AOYAMA UNIVERSITY AUDITORIUM
6,000 people
faith goal
IT IS UP TO YOU
TO INVITE 3 OR 4 PEOPLE
PRAYER
Today I want to challenge each of you to be a brave and bold witness for
Christ to pray for a DIVINE APPOINTMENT.
Dub Jackson is the founding pastor of TBC and has been a Christian
believer for 77 years. I interviewed
Dub and asked him to talk to us about telling people about Christ Jesus.
DVD INTERVIEW
DENNIS AND PASTOR DUB JACKSON
Dennis: Dub….welcome back again and I know you and
Doris are enjoying your time in Japan.
Our purpose today is to challenge each believer to be a bold personal
witness for Christ….and not to be ashamed of the Gospel.
Dub….I know you
have always been bold and quick to talk to men and women you meet about Jesus.
I tell everyone
that TBC could easily have an increase of 1,000 new believers and 1,000
baptisms….if each person would share the gospel with a family member or friend.
QUESTION
TELL US ONE THING
THAT PREVENTS A CHRISTIAN FROM SHARING CHRIST?
DUB JACKSON:
Remember….salvation takes a miracle from God!
We do not have to convince a person to believe. God’s Holy Spirit does the work.
So….one thing is
not really believing a person without Christ is lost and cannot see God causes
a person not to have any urgency. And
connect to that is our lack of faith in really believing that God will keep His
promise and give salvation to a person when he prays a simple prayer of faith
to believe in Jesus.
That is the big
problem. Lack of faith that hinders
most people from telling others how to be saved.
DENNIS: Dub….please let me mention a Scripture from
Ephesians 2: 8 says “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and
this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”
That is what you
are saying….right Dub?
DENNIS
We all know
that you were in Japan arriving here as a fighter pilot within days after the
end of WW2, spent some time here before returning to the states, was prepared
educationally and then you and Doris returned to Japan for ministry.
QUESTION
Based on your
experience and observation, what do you believe is the biggest stumbling block
or obstacle for Japanese, or anyone, to become a believer in Jesus Christ?
DUB JACKSON
MOST JAPANESE
BELIEVE THEY HAVE TO UNDERSTAND HOW GOD SAVES BEFORE THEY TRUST AND BELIEVE AND
THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE. YOU DO NOT STUDY TO BE A Christian, you
become a Christian by faith in believing that a simple prayer OF FAITH asking
for salvation is going to be heard by God and answered! ALWAYS!
DENNIS
Dub….do you think
universalism or believing Jesus Christ is NOT the only way to God is a problem?
DUB
Yes….In Japan or
in the United States or wherever people live….if they believe there is more
than one way to know God other than through Jesus Christ….this could also
hinder the gospel.
DENNIS
Acts 4: 12 says
“Salvation is found in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven
given to men by which we must be saved.”
My wife Judi became a believer at age 6. She was baptized on the
same day. You became a believer at age 7. I know both you and Judi could not read very well at that young
age and did not know a lot about the Bible.
QUESTION
What does a
person need to know and do to become a believer in Jesus Christ?
DUB JACKSON
KNOW THAT IT
TAKES A MIRACLE BUT GOD IS READY TO GIVE IT! JUST NEED TO REALIZE THAT
YOU ARE LOST AND A SINNER AND BELIEVE THAT GOD WILL GIVE LIFE ETERNAL IF WE ASK
IN FAITH LIKE A LITTLE CHILD. THERE IS NO ADULT PLAN!! ONLY THE PRAYER OF FAITH
AS A CHILD IS ACCEPTABLE.
DENNIS
I know you and Doris are the founder of the Hotel New
Otani Garden Chapel which is in the beautiful gardens of the chapel. You
and Doris
are here in Tokyo for a month or so living at the
hotel and being in the chapel daily. I know people come by each morning.
QUESTION
Tell us one
exciting thing about the chapel. Any
DIVINE APPOINTMENTS?
DUB JACKSON
YOU NEVER KNOW
WHO THE LORD IS SENDING BY DIVINE APPOINTMENTS….TO US IN THE CHAPEL BUT WE KNOW
HE IS SENDING FOLK AND WE NEED TO BE FAITHFUL TO SHARE CHRIST. ALWAYS!!
A FEW DAYS AGO
A COUPLE CAME WHO HAVE NEVER EVER HEARD THE PLAN OF SALVATION AND DID NOT HAVE
A BIBLE. AFTER SHARING GOD’S PLAN FOR RECEIVING FORGIVENESS THROUGH CHRIST
AND ETERNAL LIFE AND EXPLAINING THAT ALL WE HAD TO DO WAS TO RECEIVE THAT GIFT,
THEY BOWED AND PRAYED TO RECEIVE CHRIST AND JOYOUSLY ACCEPTED CHRIST AS LORD!
THEY HAD BEEN MARRIED 10 YEARS AND THEY SAID THIS IS GOD’S GIFT TO US ON
OUR ANNIVERSARY! THEY ARE COMING BACK TO SHARE THAT VICTORY WITH THE
CHAPEL! THAT IS TYPICAL!!
WE HAVE HAD
MORE THAN 300 JAPANESE BOW AND PRAY TO ACCEPT THIS GIFT OF LIFE ETERNAL IN THAT
SIMPLE WAY, IT IS A GIFT!!!!
FOR EXAMPLE….A
JAPANESE MAN….MR. SHIMAZU CAME AND PRAYED TO RECEIVE THIS GIFT IN THAT WAY AND
WAS SO HAPPY HE MOVED HIS COMPANY TO THE WHOLE 4TH FLOOR OF A
BUILDING HERE AT THE NEW OTANI AND LED MOST OF HIS STAFF TO BECOME
CHRISTIAN. HE WAS SO THRILLED HE GAVE OVER $10,000 TO BE USED IN WORLD
WITNESSING ON TWO OCCASIONS.
THERE HAVE BEEN
MANY AMAZING VICTORIES OF SALVATION IN THE CHAPEL. WE JUST PRESENT CHRIST
AND INVITE THEM TO RECEIVE! THAT IS ALL!
THERE ARE TOO MANY VICTORIES TO REMEMBER! AMAZING! GOD IS GREAT AND
FAITHFUL!
DENNIS
Question. After God uses you to lead someone to the
Lord Jesus Christ….how important is discipleship?
DUB
THE NEW BELIEVERS
NEED BAPTISM AND ALL THE ENCOURAGEMENT THEY CAN GET TO GROW AS THE LORD WANTS
THEM TO BUT REMEMBER, WHETHER THEY GROW OR NOT – THEY ARE CHRISTIAN. WE
WANT THEM TO GROW! I ALWAYS GIVE THEM A
BIBLE AND TALK ABOUT THE IMPORTANT OF CONNECTING TO A BIBLE BELIEVING
CHURCH. DEPENDING UPON WHERE THEY ARE
FROM….I TRY TO GET THEM INTO A CHURCH.
DENNIS
Question. As the founding pastor of TBC what do you see
that is most exciting?
DUB
ALWAYS THE
GREATEST JOY AND THRILL OF ANY GOOD CHURCH IS IN SEEING PEOPLE PRAY AND RECEIVE
THE LORD. I SEE LIVES BEING CHANGED HERE AT TBC. YOU HAVE A GREAT CITY WITHOUT THE LORD AND A
NATION WITH ONLY 1% OF THE PEOPLE CHRISTIAN AND IF YOU PRESENT THE LORD TO THE
PEOPLE THEY WILL ACCEPT! EVERYONE….JUST GO OUT SHARING AND
TELLING ABOUT CHRIST THE SAVIOR AND EXPECTING THE LORD TO GIVE THE MIRACLE!
DENNIS
Question. Dub….you have heard and you know that right
now at TBC we want everyone to be involved in MISSION 3 C CONNECT our CITY to
CHRIST.
What kind of
challenge would you give us?
DUB
I BELIEVE EACH
BELIEVER SHOULD ALWAYS PRAY FOR GOD’S HOLY SPIRIT TO CONVICT NON-BELIEVERS OF
SIN AND THE NEED FOR GOD THROUGH CHRIST JESUS.
I BELIEVE EACH
BELIEVER SHOULD PRAY FOR ONE PERSON TO BECOME A BELIEVER AND ASK GOD FOR THAT
DIVINE APPOINTMENT….TO TELL THAT PERSON ABOUT CHRIST.
MY CHALLENGE
WOULD BE….EACH ONE WIN ONE PERSON TO CHRIST.
DENNIS
AMEN….AND THANK
YOU DEAR FRIENDS DUB AND DORIS JACKSON.
LET’S DO THIS AGAIN NEXT YEAR WHEN TBC IS 50 YEARS OLD.
PRAYER
DENNIS….MESSAGE
Paul’s words….in
the Bible in
1 Corinthians 2: 1 – 5 expresses my desire as your pastor:
“Dear brothers
and sisters, when I first came to you I didn’t use lofty words and brilliant
ideas to tell you God’s message.
For I decided to
concentrate only on Jesus Christ and his death on the cross.
I came to you in
weakness, timid and trembling.
And my message
and my preaching were very plain. I did
not use wise and persuasive speeches, but the Holy Spirit was powerful among
you.
I did this so
that you might trust the power of God rather than human wisdom.” NLT
These words
express my desire
TO PREACH CHRIST
CRUCIFIED ALWAYS IN A SIMPLE AND CLEAR WAY SO YOU CAN APPLY THE MESSAGE TO YOUR
DAILY LIFE
Notice 1
Corinthians 2: 5
“I did this so
that you might trust the power of God rather than human wisdom.” NLT
And please let me
tell you….if Tokyo Baptist Church….and that is each of you as a believer….is
going to have any kind of impact on Tokyo….it will only be through the power of
God and not depending on human wisdom and human ability. My message series theme is CONNECT our CITY
to CHRIST and this is why as a believer in Christ….YOU ARE AN AMBASSADOR FOR
CHRIST….and YOU ARE A MESSENGER FOR CHRIST.
As an Ambassador you represent the Kingdom of God and your message is
the GOSPEL OF CHRIST JESUS.
This is why you
should pray daily for God to give you a Divine Appointment.
Remember
A DIVINE
APPOINTMENT IS A PLANNED OR AN UNPLANNED MEETING WITH A PERSON WHEN YOU HAVE AN
OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT SPIRITUAL THINGS
A DIVINE
APPOINTMENT IS AN APPOINTMENT MADE FOR YOU BY GOD SO THAT THE PERSON YOU COME
IN CONTACT WITH CAN HEAR THE MESSAGE OF SALVATION OR RECEIVE SPIRITUAL HELP
Do you remember
last week when I shared with you about my brief conversation with a man at the
Apple Computer Store? I missed what I believe
could have been a Divine Appointment.
Here is what God
did this last Monday as a follow-up to the Divine Appointment that I
missed. Remember I told you that the
man in the Apple Store was from Philadelphia and asked me for “pocket change.”
This past Tuesday I received this email from one of TBC’s faithful
members….Samuel Collins . All of you
know Samuel. He is a leader of our
Media Team. This is his picture with
his wife.
With his
permission I share his name and email.
This is an AMAZING STORY.
Pastor Dennis,
How are you?
Rest easy! Your
divine appointment tapped me on the shoulder in Shibuya today. I’m usually not
in that area, but I was today. I was listening to my iPod as I crossed the
bridge at the big intersection. I felt a tap on my shoulder and a grey-haired
man was asking me if I spoke English. I thought about your message on
divine appointment.
He proceeded to
tell me that he was out of work and wanted to know if I knew of a sponsor and
where to get work. He also asked for some pocket change. I figured this was
your guy. We talked a bit more. His name is Ricardo and He asked where I am
from; I found out where he is from, Philadelphia. So, I thought that was a good
springboard, talking about the city of “brotherly love.” He seemed to have a
few words about that “brotherly love.”
From there, the
Lord just gave me appropriate scripture and direction to go in. He received a
clear message of God’s love, Jesus’ substitution, and what he needs to do to be
right with God.
Thank the Lord
for your message and a chance to make up for a missed opportunity.
Samuel
DENNIS
God is
amazing! Remember….pray for your Divine
Appointment.
The point is this
To impact lives
for Christ in Tokyo is the main focus of MISSION 3 C CONNECT our CITY to
CHRIST….and the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5: 20 “You are
Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.” And you are a messenger for Christ. Peter and John said in Acts 4: 20 “We cannot
help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” And the message you take as an ambassador for Christ is the
GOSPEL OF CHRIST.
Let’s take a look
at our Scripture for today from Romans 1: 16….because if you completely
understand the meaning of the statement “the gospel is the power of God for the
salvation of everyone who believes…”your life will be transformed and forever
changed and you will never be ashamed to share the gospel….with anyone.
Scripture
Romans 1: 16 “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it
is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes…”
Let’s look at
some of the important words in Romans 1: 16
1. GOSPEL
The word
translated “gospel” simply means good news.
The gospel is the message that is good and the gospel is from Jesus
Christ….about Jesus Christ and based on His death, burial and resurrection
according to 1 Corinthians 15: 1 – 4.
The opening paragraph of Romans is packed with truth about the gospel. Romans 1: 1 calls the gospel “the gospel of
God.” Romans 1: 2 says the gospel was
promised in the Old Testament Scriptures and Romans 1: 4 says this gospel “was
declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead:
Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Important point
THE MESSAGE TO BE
DELIVERED TO NON-BELIEVERS IS CALLED THE GOSPEL
2. I AM NOT ASHAMED
Paul said he was
not ashamed of the Gospel. What about
you….as an ambassador for Christ and as a messenger for Christ? If a man is ashamed of his country….he
cannot be an ambassador and deliver a strong and effective message for his
country. Paul was not ashamed of the
Gospel because the gospel is the only way for man to have salvation.
The Bible is very
clear that a man or a woman cannot be spiritually changed by good works and
living a good life or by religion or any kind of religious ritual. Many people today want to have job success
and money and position….but none of these bring salvation. This is why the Bible says you should not be
ashamed of the Gospel….because only the gospel brings salvation.
It is an amazing
thing to know that the man named Paul who wrote this statement “I am not
ashamed of the gospel….”it was because of the gospel….that he was put in prison
in Philippi and chased out of Thessalonica and because of a plan to murder him
was smuggled out of Damascus and made fun of and laughed at in Athens and
called a fool in Corinth and declared a blasphemer and lawbreaker in Jerusalem
and stoned and left for dead at Lystra.
But even so….Paul
said in Romans 1: 15 “I am eager to preach the gospel…”and in Romans 1: 16 “I am not ashamed
of the gospel.”
What about
you? Are you ashamed of the gospel?
I am not ashamed
to say from Joshua 24: 15 “But as for me and my household, we will serve the
Lord.” I am not ashamed of TBC and I am
not ashamed to invite anyone to TBC and I am not ashamed of any ministry or
small group connected to TBC and I am not ashamed of any of our beliefs at TBC
and I am not ashamed of any of our music at TBC and I am not ashamed of any of
our Celebration Services at TBC.
Therefore….why
should I be ashamed of the gospel? Why
should you be ashamed of the gospel?
Remember….the Bible says in
Romans 1: 16 the
gospel “is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.”
Why should any of
you….as a believer….be ashamed of the gospel?
Jesus said in
Mark 8: 38 “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and
sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his
Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
I AM NOT ASHAMED
OF THE GOSPEL
SONG MIKI YOZAWA
3. THE GOSPEL IS THE POWER OF GOD FOR SALVATION
Salvation is an
act by God of rescue and this says that by the power of God….men and women
caught in sin….can be saved from spiritual death. Saved means moved from the danger of sin to the safety of
righteousness with God.
2 Corinthians 5: 17 says “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new
creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
Notice what this
means
SALVATION IS A
TRIP. YOU MOVE FROM ONE PLACE TO
ANOTHER….NOT PHYSICALLY BUT SPIRITUALLY
SALVATION TAKES
YOU FROM THE DANGER OF SIN TO THE SAFETY TO THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD
The only thing
that can rescue you and me and all of the men and women in Tokyo is THE GOSPEL
OF JESUS CHRIST WHICH IS THE POWER OF GOD.
The word “power” in Romans
1: 16comes from the Greek word “dunamis” from which gives us the English word
“dynamite.” People want to be changed
and always want change.
People want to
look younger….feel better….be happier….have more money….have a great job….have
more influence….be popular….no problems….no worry. But none of these things offer the kind of change people are
really looking for. These things do not
give spiritual change or change from the inside. Only the GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST can give real peace and joy and
true happiness….and real change.
4. SALVATION IS FOR EVERYONE WHO BELIEVES
This why the
gospel is good news. The gospel is for
everyone….regardless of nationality or culture or language or race or genealogy
or education or social class or male or female. The gospel is for Japanese and Koreans and American and Indians
and Africans and Chinese….everyone….the gospel is for all people who believe in
the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 3: 9 says
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone
to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
Romans 1: 16 “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it
is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes…”
Remember….the JOY
CAFÉ IS OPEN FOR PRAYER AND THE GOSPEL.
I AM NOT ASHAMED
OF THE GOSPEL. WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Let’s pray.
DENNIS FOLDS
TOKYO BAPTIST
CHURCH
NOVEMBER 15 &
16, 2008