Reaching Beyond Your Walls

The following blog is a summary of a message preached by Pastor Eddie Lawrence.

Watch the Sermon HERE!

Most of us love gathering with other believers to worship, fellowship, and grow. But the call of Jesus doesn't stop at the church doors. Every follower of Christ has been given a clear mandate to reach beyond their walls and bring the good news to the people around them.

What Are the Marching Orders Jesus Left for the Church?

Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He gave His followers a clear and lasting commission. Matthew records it this way:

"All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on the earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." - Matthew 28:18-20

Notice the final words: "even to the end of the age." The age has not ended. That means this commission still applies to every believer today, including you.

Why Do So Few Christians Actually Invite People to Church?

Studies of over 50,000 people found that 75 to 85 percent of them said they would be likely to attend a church service if a friend or family member invited them. That is one of the most effective ways to reach people with the gospel.

Yet research also shows that only about 2 percent of regular churchgoers actually invite someone to church in a given year.

We are sitting on one of the most powerful tools for reaching the lost, and most of us are not using it.

Three Things Every Believer Must Choose to Reach Others

1. Choose Compassion Over Comfort

One of the biggest things that keeps believers from sharing their faith is simple comfort. We enjoy worship. We love fellowship. And there is nothing wrong with that. But that cannot be all we do.

God will stretch you. Just as there is discomfort in bringing new life into the world, there is stretching involved in what God wants to birth through your life. Being a witness is not optional. Jesus said:

"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." - Acts 1:8

You do not have to be a preacher to be a witness. Sometimes it is a smile. Sometimes it is a word of encouragement. Sometimes it is simply letting someone see the peace and joy you carry and being willing to explain where it comes from.

Ask God to help you see people the way He sees them. Ask Him to help you love people the way He loves them. There is nobody so far gone that Jesus cannot turn their life around.

2. Choose Purpose Over Preference

God will sometimes ask you to do things that are not on your schedule and not what you would prefer. But when He is Lord, you follow His leading even when it is inconvenient.

In Acts 8, Philip was in the middle of a powerful revival in Samaria. People were being saved and delivered. Then an angel told him to leave and go into the desert. That made no natural sense. But Philip obeyed.

"Then the Spirit said to Philip, 'Go near and overtake this chariot.'" - Acts 8:29

In that desert, Philip met an Ethiopian government official who was reading from Isaiah. Philip shared the gospel, baptized him, and the man went back to Ethiopia carrying the good news with him. One act of obedience helped carry the gospel to an entire continent.

God often sees something much bigger than we can see. Your preference might be to stay where it is comfortable. But God's purpose might be calling you somewhere else entirely.

3. Choose Power Over Passivity

Many believers hold back because they feel unqualified. They do not have a seminary degree. They do not know enough Scripture. They are too new in their faith.

But Jesus did not say you would receive ability when the Holy Spirit comes. He said you would receive power. That is a different thing entirely.

You may not know everything about the Bible. But you know what Jesus has done in your life. You have a testimony. And that testimony, shared in the power of the Holy Spirit, can open a door for someone else to find the same freedom you have found.

The story of Adrian Rogers is a powerful picture of this. As a young man, he went out to an empty football field at dusk and laid face down in the dirt, pressing his nose into the turf, crying out to God to use Him. He said it still did not feel low enough. That place of total surrender, of saying "Lord, I am as low as I know how to get, use me," became the turning point of His life. He went on to become one of the most influential preachers of the modern era.

Total surrender is not weakness. It is the starting point of everything God wants to do through you.

What Happens When We Pray for Others Even From a Distance?

Prayer is not passive. It is one of the most active things a believer can do. The story of FBI agent Scott Payne illustrates this powerfully. While he was in a life-threatening situation during an undercover operation, his wife, hundreds of miles away, felt an overwhelming sense of fear and pulled her car over to pray for him. At the exact moment she was crying out to God, he was in the basement of a dangerous group's clubhouse being searched for a wire He was actually wearing.

He was not found out. He was cleared. And when he called her that night and compared the timing, it matched exactly.

When you pray, you can go places you cannot go in the natural. The Holy Spirit can use your prayers to intervene in situations you know nothing about. And He can also use prayer to show you where to go, who to help, and what to do.

How Does the Holy Spirit Lead Us to Reach People?

Jesus said His sheep hear His voice. That includes you. The Holy Spirit will give you promptings, what some call holy hunches, that guide you toward people who need to be reached.

It might be a nudge to speak to someone in a grocery store aisle. It might be a burden to check on a friend. It might be a sense that someone at work is going through something and needs to hear about Jesus. The key is sensitivity and willingness.

Begin asking God to use you. Ask Him to make you more sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading. He will speak to you. And when He does, be willing to move.

Life Application

This week, take one concrete step to reach beyond your walls. Start with the simplest and most effective thing: invite someone. Think of one person in your life, a friend, a coworker, a neighbor, a family member, who does not know Jesus or who has drifted away from faith. Pray for them by name this week and then reach out. Invite them to church. Share something God has done in your life. Let the Holy Spirit lead the conversation.

You do not need to have all the answers. You just need to be willing.

Ask yourself these questions as you go into the week:

• Who in my life does not know Jesus, and when did I last pray for them by name?
• Am I choosing comfort over compassion when it comes to sharing my faith?
• Is there a prompting from the Holy Spirit I have been ignoring because it felt inconvenient or uncomfortable?
• When is the last time I invited someone to church or shared what Jesus has done in my life?

The Great Commission is not just for pastors and missionaries. It belongs to every believer. The harvest is real, the need is urgent, and the Holy Spirit is ready to empower you. The only question is whether you are willing to go.