CAUTION!!!  I’M CONTAGIOUS!!!

John Clardy

Matt 5:13-16

13            Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

14            Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

15            Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

16            Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

 

Mark 16:15-18

15            And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

16            He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

17            And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

18            They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

 

Acts 17:6   … These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;

 

What do you think of when you hear the word "contagious?" I suspect most of us think of synonyms like "infectious" or "communicable," as in spreading a disease. But it also means, "an influence, a quality, or viewpoint that spreads rapidly through enthusiasm and passion."

 

Are you a contagious Christian? Does your life make people want to know you, want to know what you know and want to know who you know?  Do we infect those around us with our enthusiasm and passion for God?  Is our faith in Jesus contagious?

 

One thing I know: whether or not contagious Christianity exists today, it existed in the Early Church. They used every opportunity to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

Acts 1:8  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

 

Acts 2:42-43

42           And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

43           And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.

 

Acts 8:4 Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.

 

They were contagious!  They influenced those they come in contact with in their daily lives.  They were effective and feared to the point that it was said … These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;

Michael Green writes about it in his book Evangelism in the Early Church.

"They went everywhere spreading the good news, which had brought joy…and new life to themselves. …Not formal preaching, but the informal chattering to friends and chance acquaintances, in homes and in shops, on walks and around market stalls. They went everywhere gossiping the gospel; they did it naturally, enthusiastically, and with conviction... Consequently they were taken seriously and the movement spread…”

Have you been “gossiping good gossip” lately? Have you picked up the telephone or stopped someone in a store and gossiped about the “Good News” this week? Has anyone caught a blessing from you?

 

Christianity, lived the way God designed it to be lived, is contagious!  It has a drawing effect.  It has a wooing effect.

 

Jesus called us to be salt and light. 

 

SALT:

As salt, our primary purpose is to live our lives in such a manner before others that it creates a thirst in them for Jesus, the Living Water.

There is an old saying, “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.”  No, but you can put salt in his oats! 

Not a one of us can make people live for God, but we can infect them with our passion and joy so that they will want what we have.

LIGHT:

As light, we push back the darkness and deception of satan and this evil world.  We reveal and radiate “… the praises of Him who has brought us out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

Are we pleasing the Lord by doing our part to "share the gospel"?  It's unthinkable that a Christian would not be telling others about this Great and Mighty God we serve and what He has done for you.  Sharing the gospel is not just the job of the preachers- it's the job of every born again believer.

 

You may not be called to be a preacher, a deacon, a singer, but we are all called to be witnesses and to spread the gospel!  But to often we search for an excuse or a way out of witnessing. 

 

Paul Harvey said, "Too many Christians are no longer fishers of men but keepers of the aquarium."

 

You are never excused from being a soul winner!  We have Good News and Good News is to be shared!  Let me ask you this morning, "Are you sharing this good news with others? Or have you been silent?"  You may say that you can't talk to others; you don't know what to say.  What to say really isn't that difficult, just tell them what He has done in your life.  Tell them how He brought you out of the darkness of your sins.  Tell them about how He washed your sins away and gave you eternal life.  Tell them about His mercy.  That Jesus gave His life on the cross so that we could be forgiven and have everlasting life.  Jesus left us with a commission- tell others about Him.  It's not that hard, the gospel message is simple---- Jesus saves.

 

Samaritan Woman sparked a revival with her own personal testimony of what Jesus had done for her.  She left her waterpot (dead, dry, empty religion) at the feet of Jesus and left with a well (living, vibrant) experience.  That brief encounter with the Savior would not allow her to enjoy her experience alone nor be satisfied with just a quiet acquaintance.  It demanded an enthusiastic, dynamic relationship that immediately began infecting others.

 

John 4:28-30

28           The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,

29            Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?

30           Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.

 

You don't have to be flaky or act weird or become someone you're not. What's so cool is that God wants to use you the way you are - your interests, your personality, and your strengths.  God made you "just the way you are" to enable you to reach people who are "just the way you are."  Be authentic.  Be real. 

During ‘Operation Desert Storm’, a colonel was getting situated in his brand new office, when he saw a private coming down the hallway and walking into his office.  In an effort to impress the private, he picked up the phone on his desk and proceeded with a fake phone call, "Yes, General Schwartskoff, I will get on this right away."  And then be put down the phone.  "Yes, can I help you?" he asked the private.  The private responded, "Yes, Colonel, I am here to hook up your new phone.

 

The world doesn't need more religious people who act like they are connected and contagious when they are not.  In fact the Bible even tells the lost to avoid those who are not authentic in their faith.

 

2 Tim 3:5                Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

 

The NIV speaks even more plainly about those that are pretending to have a form of godliness but deny its power.  Have nothing to do with them.        2 Tim 3:5 (NIV)

 

The world needs more real Christians who go through real pain and real crisis points, but pull through by the power of the Lord.

 

People who are considering turning their lives over to Jesus don't expect perfection from you.  They're too street smart for that.  What they are looking for is someone who is willing to admit they've failed, but then, have gotten up and been successful in life.

 

God can even use some of your weaknesses.  It is amazing how these are the very things the Holy Spirit can use to help you reach your friends and bring them to the Lord

 

2 Cor 12:9-10

9           But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

10         That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.  (NIV)

 

God intended for evangelism to be a relational connection between people. Evangelism is being contagious wherever you are: at home, in the mall, at school, at the ballgame, or the pizza place.

 

He wants us to be living proactive lives filled with His purposes rather than living reactive lives based on fickle feelings and other forces of nature. That's contagious Christianity.

 

"Virus Warning"

 

Anyone with a computer online these days has seen the warnings. The email arrives labeled "VIRUS WARNING" and continues ominously, "Do not open this file, it contains a new, very aggressive virus that will reformat your hard drive and destroy everything in your computer."

 

 Most are hoaxes, but still there is that potential from running a program file, of a virus that not only damages your computer but spreads to others.  It's contagious.

It's the same with people viruses. When a particularly nasty flu was making the rounds last winter, the warning signs went up on the nursing homes "Don't come visit if you're not well." People stayed home to avoid catching the flu, or to avoid spreading it. It's contagious.

 

Being Contagious Without Becoming Contaminated

 

There are too many that are afraid that they are not mature enough or strong enough to influence their lost friends, but that they will be pulled away from the Lord.

 

To this I say Not So!  Yes there are dangers.  Yes we must be cautious.  Yes we must be submitted!  By why can’t we believe that there are people who refuse to compromise, refuse to lower their personal standards of integrity and character?

 

I believe there are still men and women who are like Daniel and the 3 Hebrew Children - who can be in the palace of a wicked king and be contaminated by what the king had to offer.  They were contagious!  And when the Lion’s didn’t devour them and the fire didn’t consume them, even that wicked king was infected and declared, “There is no God but the God of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach & Abindigo.”

 

Yes, there is bad stuff in the world and it is contagious. But we do not have to be isolated, just insolated with the Holy Spirit. Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world!

 

How do we remain contagious and not be contaminated?

 

James 4:7               submit you therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

 

Rom 12:2                And be not conformed (contaminated) to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing

of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

 

1 Cor 9:27              But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

 

Jude 1:20-21

20           But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,

21            Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

 

Jesus shocked the religious establishment of His day by eating with sinners, touching the lepers, going home with tax collectors. The assumption is that if Jesus eats with sinners, Jesus becomes unclean and a sinner too. We, like the Pharisees, tend to attribute great power to the bad stuff: A sick person and a well one eat together, and they both become sick. A bad guy and a good guy hang out together, and they both become bad. Isn't that what parents have said all along? "The company you keep matters. Don't run with a bad crowd."

 

But Jesus comes along and turns things upside down. When Jesus eats with sinners and tax collectors, contact with Jesus instead of contaminating Jesus, He is infects them with goodness and cleans up those who follow him.

 

Having a personal, vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ is no longer important, it is imperative.  Just a knowledge about Him is not acceptable. There must be intimate communication at the deepest levels - our whole being – body, mind, soul, and spirit so that we become highly contagious.

When a person contracts a very contagious disease, he is sometimes put into isolation or quarantine so that he doesn’t pass on the infection. It is recognized that the more relationships a person has, the greater the chance that he will infect others. 

 

It is not time to quarantine ourselves!  It is time to get bold, to get so much of Jesus that those who are around will take notice of us that we are infected with Jesus and that we are looking to infect others.

 

Acts 4:13                Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.

 

Has anyone accused you of “being with Jesus,” lately?

 

WE should all have big signs warning people “CAUTION, I’M CONTAGIOUS” a VIRUS WARNING that says, “If you enter here, you will catch the Spirit. Your life will be completely reformatted."

 

We should strive to be contagious at all times.

 

1 Pet 3:15               But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

 

The moment is always - always now. We are never off duty, always on show - that's why it’s important to be ourselves and relax. Every encounter with another person created in the image of God can become a divine appointment. Can you give an answer for the hope within you?

 This is our message. Don't fudge it, change it, soften it, deny it, and replace it. Instead live it and explain it when asked. Seekers have little respect for weak Christians. Deep down they are looking for somebody, anybody to step up and proclaim the truth and then live it boldly. Why can't that be us? We have the Holy Spirit, we have the Word of God and we have the Love of God. Lets “catch” the virus of God’s love and power and use it to “infect” one person at time until there is an “epidemic” of changed lives.  Lets become contagious with joy and kindness. And lets stand up boldly for what we believe. Lets declare it, without apology and see how contagious we can become.