Talo Sataraka
July 20, 2008 - W0829

Ohayo gozaimasu (good morning)! Our guest speaker today is Pastor Talo Satoraka. He is our New Hope Pastor in Tokyo, Japan and has been working wonderfully there. He grew up in Hawaii and is still a local boy at heart. If you saw him, you would think he came from a Sumo stable. But his heart is soft, pliable as well as moldable in reaching the lost for the kingdom of God.

How many of you love to hear good news? Yes, we all do! And, when we hear good news, don’t we share it with others as well? We sure do! It’s just hard to keep good news a secret. I remember when I proposed to my wife. I was filled with the anticipation, hoping her answer would be yes. And when she did say yes, I wanted to put it on the front page of a newspaper!

News flash! The power of His Good News is the greatest. It simply cannot be hidden. Just look at what God has already done in our lives. Each one of us has a story to share with others. It is a story of redemption and hope. Yet, are we willing to share this with the world? Or, do we allow our fears and doubts to hinder us? Listen, the Good News is so much greater than all our fears and doubts. Did you know that sharing the Good News of Christ is evangelism? Yes it is! And if you ask, how do we become evangelistic. Well, first let’s pray and ask. By doing so, it would that one prayer that would unite us together.

                                         HOW CAN WE BECOME EVANGELISTIC?

Jesus said, the harvest is plenty but the workers are few. Can you imagine the passion of Christ when He said the harvest is plenty? He challenged His disciples to pray to the Lord of the harvest that many workers will be sent forth. Why? Because the message of the Good News.

The Good News is something we should not hide, but share. The Good News of Jesus was so powerful that in the book of Acts the disciples were excited about the things they had seen and heard. Despite religious leaders trying to silence the disciples’ voices, Peter spoke up. He replied, “Well judge for yourself whether we should listen to you or obey God.” And he added, “But for us we cannot help but speak about that name.”

In addition, Paul says, “I’m not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus, for it is a power unto salvation.” The same goes for us. Jesus wants us to be like Peter and Paul where we cannot help but talk about the Good News. Listen to what Jesus tells us:

“Jesus came and told His disciples, ‘I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age’” (Matt. 28:18-20 NLT).  This tells us Jesus gave the command first. It is He who gave the commission to do the work. And then He says to go tell it to the nations. The same goes for us today.   

Listen, who would have ever thought God would send a Samoan man like me to Japan? Yet, God told me to go and in obedience I did. Here is something to enlighten you with: the nation of Japan has around one hundred twenty-seven to one hundred twenty-eight million people. It is said that only .5% are believers. But I’m more optimistic about this. You see, I’ve been in Japan since 1983 and I’ve seen God do things that I couldn’t imagine being done. I’ve seen lives changed. Therefore, I don’t believe there’s a nation that is closed to the Good News.

Remember, God has placed a passion in you and me. And He wants us to go forth. So how can we be evangelistic? Here is the first of three keys in making us evangelistic.

1.      GO AND BE AN AMABASSADOR FOR CHRIST.

“For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And He gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making His appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, ‘Come back to God!’ For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. (2Cor. 5:19-21 NLT)

If you’re wondering how you could be an ambassador, just look at me. Do I look like an ambassador?  When we imagine ambassadors, we usually think of people with finely dressed and well spoken but ambassadors are really people with great qualities. It is not necessary to have a college degree to be an ambassador. For when God says go, it is by the power of the Good News that prompts you to go.

Here is some other interesting information. The average number of people in a church in Japan is thirty to forty people. And that was the reason why I went there. My experience thus far has been great. However, before departing the islands I will admit that I didn’t know anything about Japan. And I learned quickly that I should have done my homework before departing the islands.

For example, I remember wearing shorts, slippers (flip flops) and a tank top to go to Japan. I didn’t do any research on Japan before I went so I didn’t have any idea what Japan looked like or what to expect. My impression or understanding of Japan was based on old shogun movies.  I almost expected people to be wearing samurai outfits and kimonos, and wielding swords.  I was so ignorant about Japan that I thought Japan it was in the middle of China somewhere!  To me, Japanese, Chinese and Korean people all looked alike. Yes, I had no idea!

When I landed in Narita, what I saw was not what I expected. Instead, I saw men wearing suits and carrying brief cases. Suffice it to say, I noticed people looking at me. And I was looking at them as well. Not only did they look at me, but they gave me a second glance. Now if you know anything about the Samoan culture, they don’t like second glances. In fact, it took everything in me to NOT say, “What!?!”  What stopped me?  I remembered that I was an ambassador for Christ.

How I qualified to be an ambassador for Christ in such a beautiful country is beyond me.  This goes to show that God has already chosen you and me to go forth. And, He has already prepared and provided a way for you to be there as He did for me.  Amazingly, all we need to do is say yes! I encourage you to be a person who will appeal to the world. God will use you to touch a heart by the power of the Good News. In fact, we don’t have to be philosophical to be an ambassador.  We cannot change hearts with philosophical arguments.  Rather, we will change them with Good News, with the reality and simplicity about what God has done and is doing our lives. He will appeal to the world through your life and the lives of others – His ambassadors. God will heal others through you even with our imperfections. How can we be quiet when we’ve seen so much of what God has already done in our lives?

So take that first step of evangelism, go out and be an ambassador with the wonderful message of reconciliation. Then comes the second key…

2.      GO, AND BE A FLAVORFUL INFLUENCE ON PEOPLE.

The Good News is a wonderful message to the world. And this is what the Lord wants us to do.

“Let Me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage. Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand-shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.” (Matt. 5:13-16 MSG)

If you are generous with the Good News, people will be ready to open their lives. Listen, there’s more than enough bad news in the world. It’s about time people hear the Good News! In fact, this is a time of opportunity. For when the world goes hopeless, there’s hope through you in Jesus. So bring flavor to the world by being an influence. The scriptures tell us to be light-bearers, to shine and bring light into other people’s lives. It is written that He’s putting us on a light stand and on a hill-top. So go and share the treasure that is within you with a passion. You are indeed a gift of influence.

And finally, the third key in becoming evangelistic is… 

3.      GO, AND SHARE THE TREASURE THAT IS WITHIN YOU.

“You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,’ has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.” (2Cor. 4:5-7 NLT)

It is by what Jesus has done in our lives – the light that now shines within us -- that we are able to share with others. Scripture says we are like clay jars that may break easily. Yet, God has placed His Son in us so we can go unto the world and preach the message of reconciliation.

It is the message of God’s love for us, His forgiveness and sacrifice for our sins. And the hope and salvation in Jesus. The question now is. “How much are you willing to reach out to others instead of waiting for them coming to you?”  My challenge to you is this:  go to people no matter where you are. They could be in your family, work place, school or community.

It is written, for the harvest is plenty but the workers are few. With this, let’s be a church of workers and ambassadors for Christ, sharing the Good News. For we are more than able to tell others how He has changed our lives. And in addition, let us be salt-seasoned people who can be a gift of influence to others. Let’s bring out the God-flavors of this earth, allowing His light to shine in your hearts and through our lives. Share the treasure we’ve found in Jesus.  May the Lord continue to make New Hope an evangelistic church!

DISCUSSION SUGGESTIONS

Q1) What is your testimony? What has God done in you and for you?

Q2) What is the extent of your reach to others?

Q3) In what ways are you able to be a gift of influence to others?

Q4) In what ways can you tell or show others that God loves them?

Q5) What impacted you most and how will you become a better person for the harvest?