INTRODUCTION: The Big Question – What Are We Here For?
It is an immense joy to be here with you today, a family of 28 different nationalities, united by the love of Christ in this very special place. As we look at our community in Monaghan, I ask myself: why does Shalom Ireland Church exist? Is it for our personal pleasure? our fellowship, our worship? All of this is good, but there is something deeper, more urgent, in God’s heart for us!
We are on a Mission, a Mission of Life and Death!
Today, I want to issue a challenge that can change the way we see ourselves and our mission. I want to confront you with the central truth of our existence. The church exists because God’s heart beats for the lost. Our reason for being is to extend the invitation of salvation, to pull people from eternal punishment and lead them into the Kingdom of God.
My brethren, “Winning the lost is not an option; it is our most vital mission!” The Bible is filled with the story of a God who seeks, who sends, who loves and rescues. This is the story we are called to continue. May the Holy Spirit give us discernment, boldness, and compassion for the lost today.
- THE REALITY OF THOSE WHO DIE WITHOUT JESUS
Brethren, we need to speak the truth with love and clarity. There is a terrifying and undeniable reality that we often try to avoid or soften: There is no salvation without Jesus. Jesus Himself declared in John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me.” There are no multiple paths to God. Salvation is exclusively through Christ.
To leave this earth without Christ is eternal damnation. It is an eternal separation from God, with no hope of return. The Bible is unequivocal about this. John 3:18 tells us:
“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
And Revelation 20:15 warns: “Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.”
Many ask me: “How can a good God send someone to hell?” The answer is simple, and we need to not only understand it but accept it: God does not send anyone to hell. It is our choices that lead us there.
Just as no one goes to prison because of a judge, but because of their wrong decisions and choices, no one goes to hell because God wills it, but because they reject the salvation He so graciously offers through Jesus. The reason why so many are condemned is the rejection of salvation in Jesus.
- THE DANGER OF NOMINAL BELIEVERS
And the reality of perdition is not limited only to those who have never heard of the gospel. Jesus says in Matthew 7:21: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”
We need to awaken the church! There are people within our walls, singing hymns, but living in sin, without repentance, without commitment, without real life transformation. There are many who call themselves believers, but who, in practice, live a nominal faith, without the passion and brokenness that mark a true follower of Christ. Salvation is not just joining a club or converting to a religion; it is a total surrender to Jesus that results in a new life.
- THE MISSION IS NOT OPTIONAL — IT IS A COMMAND
“We need men whose hearts are aflame with a passion for the salvation of men. God is looking for men to shake nations. He is looking for men who will care about the lost world.” A.W. Tozer
In the face of this reality, Jesus’ answer is clear. He didn’t say: “If you wish, consider…” He said in Matthew 28:19-20: “Go and make disciples!”
This is not a suggestion; it is a commandment. It is the Great Commission! The church does not exist to entertain believers, create endless programs, or merely solve internal problems.
While these things may have their place, the primary purpose of the church is to win souls, make disciples, and expand the Kingdom of God! If our greatest concern is not the lost, if our focus is only on ourselves, we are losing the reason for our existence.
- WHY DO MANY NOT EVANGELISE?
Let’s be honest with ourselves. Why, then, do many of us not evangelise? Why are we not actively making disciples?
Are we embarrassed to speak? Or is it out of spiritual laziness? Out of fear of rejection? Fear to get out of the comfort we find in our Christian bubble? Or is it out of a spiritual coldness that has killed our passion for souls?
But the Bible is clear: Romans 1:16 reminds us that “The Gospel is the power of God for salvation!” It is not your eloquence, it is not your perfect English, it is not your theological knowledge that converts people. It is the power of the Holy Spirit acting through you!
- PERSONAL TESTIMONY: THE PASSION THAT OVERCOMES EXCUSES
I miss it, brethren. I miss the time when I wasn’t a pastor, when I didn’t have the responsibility of looking after a church, of solving problems among believers. I miss it when I worked secularly, among many unbelievers where I preached to them and led people to Christ!
My journey led me to live in different cities: Barretos and Monte Aprazível while studying, and then in two more cities working as a company manager. And everywhere I went, something extraordinary happened: people converted, disciples remained, and churches grew.
As a student, I led many of my class mates to be saved, and today they are still serving Jesus. After I started working, I joined a company where there was not one born-again Christian. Fifteen years later, 50% of the company was converted, and they were members of our church!
I was not ashamed to speak of Jesus. In every city I’ve lived in, I’ve left disciples behind. At that time, I was not a pastor, I did not have the responsibility of looking after the church. This brings me to a crucial point: Every believer can and should win souls! It doesn’t matter your role, your diploma, your social standing. What matters is your love for Jesus and for souls.
- OUR ROLE AS PASTORS
Now, Fabiana and I are here as your pastors. And what is our role, according to the Bible? Ephesians 4:11-12 tells us: “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.”
It’s not for the pastor to do everything. It’s for us to prepare you to do it. My role and Fabiana’s is to raise soul-winners in Monaghan! It is to equip each one of you to be a disciple who makes disciples!
Our vision, the great challenge of our church, is simple and powerful: Go and make disciples! Empty hell and populate Heaven!
7.”YOUR KINGDOM COME” — HOW?
We often pray: “May your Kingdom come.” But how will the Kingdom of God come upon people’s lives? It doesn’t just fall from the sky by chance.
The Kingdom comes when you invest in people! When you give of your time to an unbeliever, when you set aside time to disciple someone, when you love, when you walk together. The Kingdom of God flows through you, through your actions, your love, your testimony.
God spoke to me to share this message last year, after a period of fasting. And today, I feel it is time to bring this urgency and challenge to each of us.
- THE CHALLENGE OF 4 — PARABLE OF THE SOWER
Jesus taught us a powerful principle in the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23). Not every seed you sow will bear fruit, because the heart is the soil where the seed is planted.
According to Jesus, only 1 out of 4 hearts bear fruit – that is, about 25%. This is a spiritual principle for us today: If you want to win one person, invest in at least four!
- DISCIPLESHIP IS RELATIONSHIP
And how to invest? The challenge for this year is clear: Start praying for at least 4 people! Intercede for them. Fast for them. Love them. Get close to them.
If you do this faithfully, by the end of the year, you can end up with at least one faithful disciple you have won for Jesus.
This is spiritual warfare against darkness! The disciples I saved and won did not come easily; they were the result of spiritual battle with much fasting and prayer.
Consider 4 friends, work colleagues or class mates you have who are still unbelievers and start praying and fasting for them. Start getting closer to these people! Invite them out for coffee, lunch, dinner. Bake them a cake, make some bread and give it as a gift. Show love in practical ways.
Remember something fundamental: Before a person can be a disciple, they need to be your friend!
Do you like to listen to a stranger you’ve never seen or don’t know?
I don’t pay attention to strangers, but I listen to my friends. The key to making true disciples is to build a friendship first, a relationship, and be a true friend.
- HOW DO PEOPLE NORMALLY COME TO CHURCH?
Studies and research over the years have shown a clear pattern about how people start attending church and convert. And the vast majority, the most significant percentage, come by invitation from: friends, family or someone close to them. It is much more effective than isolated street evangelism, flyers, or advertising.
In other words, statistics prove what God’s heart already tells us: You are God’s greatest tool! You, with your life, your testimony, your friendship, are the channel God wants to use to reach Monaghan and Ireland.
- FINAL CHALLENGE: MONAGHAN IRELAND FOR JESUS
Beloved brothers and sisters, there are many people perishing without Jesus right now, and we, the Church of Christ, cannot remain silent! People die every day without Jesus, and we have the answer, the hope, the life they desperately need.
CONCLUSION — THE CALL
Jesus said: “Go and make disciples!” I ask you today, beloved brother, beloved sister: Have you been praying for anyone in specific? Who are you discipling? Do you have disciples? Who are you reaching?
A long time ago, the prophet Isaiah heard the voice of the Lord asking: “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” (Isaiah 6:8). What will be your answer today? We cannot afford to remain silent. May our answer be like Isaiah’s: “Here am I. Send me!”
FINAL APPEAL — “HERE AM I, LORD”
Let’s quieten our hearts before God. It’s no longer time to just listen. Now is time to respond. The Holy Spirit spoke to us today. The Word was released. The truth was proclaimed. And now God is asking each one of us: “What will you do with this?”
“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?” Romans 10:14 NIV
People can’t believe in or call on God for salvation unless someone intentionally shares the message (the Gospel) with them!
“Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” Isaiah 6:8
God bless you