Let me remind you that we are in a series that is entitled “Pushing Back the Darkness” and the subtitle is “A strategy to locally fulfill the Great Commission.” Our desire here at NABC is to do exactly what Jesus asked us to do in one of His last statements. His words are found in Matthew 28:18-20,

This would be the evangelism part of this month’s theme. We are to go and tell others about the Gospel who do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Jesus desires for us to tell them that they can know Him personally and His love because He died for their sin and will give them eternal life if they will surrender their lives to Him. We are to share the Gospel (the Good News) with the lost.
Right before Jesus ascended into heaven, He told his disciples that watched Him leave into heaven, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) To do what Jesus asked them to do, He told them that they needed to wait to receive the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives because the Holy Spirit would give them the power to be able to share this “Good News” with those around them. The implication was that they could not do it alone without the Spirit’s help.
If we are going to “Push Back the Darkness” then we will need the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives to be able to tell others the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ so that lives will be changed and the darkness of this world will be pushed back out of the lives of the lost. Notice, we are to go and share and make disciples as a matter of a command from our Lord. It was also a command for His disciples to wait until the Holy Spirit had come on them, which basically means now that we can witness at anytime to anyone because the Holy Spirit has been living in our lives since the day we were saved. Jesus tells us to go everywhere: here and there, and even until the ends of the world. We have the power to be a witness NOW!
Guess what? That means all of us, every one of us, none of us are left out of the command, and we are to go everywhere. Have you been looking for the lost?

When I worked with the late Dr. Eddie Greene, he would tell the story of some old country boys who were fighting for the Confederate army during the Civil War. These old boys were just country boys and they were attached to a group that were from the city. The officers kept saying to the company of men that the Yankees were a far off and they were safe where they were. One day, the country boys came into camp with ten or fifteen Yankee prisoners. The commanding officer asked them, “Boys where did these Yankees come from?” The Confederate country boys replied to the officer, “Well, sir, the woods are full of them!”
Then Eddie would say, “Friends, there are lost people everywhere, the woods are full of them!” “Go get them.”
Jesus knew where the sinners were and He went searching for lost men and women and found them “everywhere.”
Today, let’s look at the example of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and see how He did the “searching” or the evangelizing of the lost.

We have probably all heard this event in the life of Zacchaeus and Jesus. But since some might not have, I thought we needed to read it in full so everyone will be on the same page.
Zacchaeus was in darkness. Such darkness fell over him and his sin was great before the Lord. Jesus knew all about him him and had a plan to draw Zacchaeus unto Himself. Zacchaeus didn’t know that Jesus was drawing him and maybe that is the way it is when Jesus draws us to Himself; we just wake up and realize, “Here I am in front of Jesus.”
The story of Zacchaeus is that he was a chief tax collector, that meant he was in charge of other tax collectors and got a lot of money from them, who got it from the Jewish people. Everyone knew what he did for a living and hated him and the rest of the tax collectors. A lot of people went through Jericho to get to Jerusalem and there was a lot of money to be made in taxes. The Romans let the Jews tax as much as they wanted so long as they got what they wanted from the people. The tax collectors could then make a hefty profit from their fellow Jews, and because of that they were hated by everyone.
One day, the Son of David came to Jericho and the crowds were immense but Zacchaeus was small and could not see over everyone. The tree he climbed up into was a sycamore tree, (by the way, when we were in Israel we saw a good many of these trees and they were large and could hold a man and they had some low hanging branches) and it was on the route of the Savior was to take. When Jesus got to the tree Zacchaeus was in, Jesus stopped and looked up at him, and calling him by name, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”
Remember, I said that Jesus is showing us an example of “seeking for the lost.” How did He know Zacchaeus was lost? Jesus knows everything. How can we know who is lost and who to share the Gospel with? If you remember Jesus said that you would have the Holy Spirit, and He is to lead you, give you the wisdom to seek the lost and find them so you could witness to them. Also notice that Jesus said to Zacchaeus, “I must” stay at your house today. Jesus knew this event was coming and planned to be at the house of this tax collector so he might be confronted with the Good News of eternal life.
The hated little man quickly responded to Jesus who wanted to go to his house. Who else ever wanted to go to his house but others just like him? Jesus, a Man of worth and value, wanted to spend time with him and so he was excited and “welcomed Him joyfully.” When Jesus came into his house a change came upon Zacchaeus, he was different and the evidence proved it. Notice he said, something had happened to him such that he would give…

Question for you and me? Has Jesus come to your house and into your life? By what evidence can you prove that? Zacchaeus gave, (to the poor and gave back to those he cheated) that was his proof of change; is that yours too? Has a real change come over you that you have decided to give… Jesus said of Zacchaeus, that this tax collector had salvation come to him because Jesus knew his heart and they all SAW what he did as a result of that salvation, a life change in an old sinner. Jesus sought out a lost man, found him and the results were another person came to know the Father in heaven because of the witness of Jesus. We are to seek out and to present the Savior and Lord Jesus Christ and tell them of the Good News of eternal life! For Zacchaeus and for all who come to know Jesus personally “Love covers a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8
When you present the love of Jesus to a lost person, His love for them will cover their sin when salvation comes to their lives. That day Zacchaeus stepped out of the darkness and into the light of the love of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Peter says it this way,

You who were once in the darkness are to seek those who are there now and declare to them God’s love in Christ so they too might receive mercy, the forgiveness of their sin, and then they can live in the light!
To evangelize the lost we must ask the Holy Spirit to lead us to those He wants us to witness to and share the love of Jesus with them. There will be some we will sow seeds of the Gospel into their lives and others we may have the chance to reap a harvest from the Gospel story. The lost are all around you, open your eyes and your heart to them and share with them the great gift God gave to you, His love, forgiveness and salvation.
How do you do it? You are to go in obedience to His command (The Great Commission) and be faithful to share the Gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit, always leaving the results up to Him. You and I are called to faithfulness and obedience.
May the Lord embolden you with His Spirit and may love guide your every step.