Samaritan’s Purse is not a relief organization; it is an
evangelistic organization that does relief work. The real emphasis is to share
the gospel of Jesus Christ. If we
leave that out, we’ve left out everything.
We’re going to talk about how to share your faith—how to
share your faith effectively or Jesus style.
John 4;
Believers and unbelievers are all uptight about sharing the gospel
Who is called to “God
into all the world and preach the gospel?” – We are (Matt. 28:19,20)
Our mission is to lead people to Christ, get them on their
feet spiritually, and do it again and again.
It’s the Great Commission and not the Great Suggestion but
for many it’s become the Great Omission.
Sin can be not doing what we are supposed to do—the sin of
omission.
Where are we to
preach? – EVERYWHERE! We call
it FRANgelism (friends, relatives, associates, neighbors)
Why should I preach
the gospel? – because God’s way of reaching people is through people. I Corinth. 1:21 -- the primary way God chooses to
bring people into the Kingdom is by the verbal proclamation. Jesus didn’t say
“go into the world and be a good example”
When are we to share
the gospel—ALL THE TIME! 2 Tim.
4:2-- be on duty at all times. One day I went into a restroom and
took my seat then heard someone beside me in the stall clear his throat. Then the person said, “hi” so in as
masculine a tone as I could muster I said, “hi”. He asked “Are you supposed to meet me here. I was gonna buy
some drugs.” I wondered if God’s
Spirit could use me in a men’s room.
So I said “I don’t have any drugs for you but I have something better—a
relationship with jesus.” He said,
“I already tried that. I even went to church at Harvest Christian
Fellowship.” I said, “I’m Greg
Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship>” and He replied, “Oh, my God.” I moved the conversation outside the
rest room and he made a recommitment.
How do we share the
gospel?-- There’s no
better example than Christ Himself.
The Bible says “The common people heard Him gladly.” He was the friend of sinners.
Unbelievers were drawn to Him.
--Our objective in sharing our faith is to build a bridge
not burn one. Everyone’s favorite
subject is themselves. Start
talking with the person about himself.
We see this in John 4 with Jesus and the woman at the well. We know she made bad moral
decisions. My own mother was
married and divorced seven times and I was conceived out of wedlock. So I feel I know this woman at the
well. This woman thought men would
meet the basic needs of her life.
John 4:3-10 –
Jesus NEEDED to go through Samaria – it was really out of the way for Him but
Jesus needed to go because He knew there was a woman who needed to hear the
gospel
--“Jesus Style” sharing
starts with caring… the Care
Bears have one thing right – If you don’t care about non-believers it doesn’t
matter how much you know. Sharing
our faith can’t just be a job; it has to be a passion; We must be ‘weepers’ of souls before
reapers of souls. Jesus
overcame prejudice and went to a woman of a different race. Jesus wants us to leave our comfort
zone.
Jonah—God asked him to go to Ninevah but Jonah didn’t want
them to be spared. God said “Go”;
Jonah said “No”; God said “Oh” (God will always have the last word.) The story of Jonah is not about the
fish; it’s about one of the largest revivals in human histories with the whole
city repenting.
--If we want to
evangelize “Jesus Style”, use tact –
Isaac Newton said, “Tact is the ability to make a point without making
an enemy” We tend to speak
Christianese. We call them ‘sinners’ and ask them to ‘repent’ and be ‘washed in
blood’ and you freak them out.
Don’t assume your listener understands what you’re saying. Use illustrations. Jesus made it a dialogue not a
monologue. Engage in conversation.
Jesus engaged people.
--To share “Jesus
Style” we have to adapt to the situation – A person cannot fully appreciate
the good news of the gospel unless they know the bad news. The whole gospel is you’re a sinner
separated from God. If they don’t
think they’re a sinner, ask if they have ever done anything wrong. Let them know there is a judgment; God
doesn’t send people to hell; we send ourselves there because of our rejection
of Him. You have to tell the whole truth or you haven’t given the gospel
--To share “Jesus
Style” you have to stay focused – John 4:20-24 – don’t get sidetracked on
side issues. The main thing is to
keep the main thing the main thing and that’s the gospel. The main thing is not politics or a
certain point of view—it’s the gospel.
I once asked Billy Graham “What would an older Billy Graham
say to a younger Billy Graham? He answered, “Preach more on the cross of Christ
and the blood of Christ. That’s where the power is.”
Telling your story (your testimony) is a wonderful bridge to
the gospel. This woman, minutes
old in the faith, immediately goes out and tells others. Many people believed as a result of her
testimony.
Paul would always start with his testimony about the
Damascus Road. People can’t argue
with your story. It’s a way to
preach to a person without really preaching.
Tips on sharing your testimony—
--Don’t glorify or exaggerate your past
--Don’t make your past sound better than your present.. We all have the same story—you were
guilty and afraid to die and headed to hell…
--Lift up the name of Christ in your testimony—He is the
star of your story. Don’t boast about what you gave up for Him but what He gave
up for you!
My mom was a beautiful woman raised in a Christian home but
she ran away from home, eloped, got divorced quickly. She’d drink every night
and pass out. I was more of a
parent to my mom and I followed in her footsteps. But God in his mercy got hold of me at age 17. The hardest person for me to reach was
my mother. She’d come to my crusades but never received Christ. She never wanted to talk about it. I prayed for over 30 years. At age 70 she had an auto accident
because of driving drunk. She was on dialysis. One day the Lord spoke to me about having that conversation
and I went to talk with her and pressed the issue. That resulted in her making a recommitment to Christ and one
month later she died. Sometims the
Lord will prompt you and you need to respond. My mom was married to Bill for 25 years and he never seemed
that interested in the gospel. He lived a few years after my mom and when he
was dying someone said I should go talk to him. God spoke to me on the way to
the airport and I went to talk with him.
I realized he was not far from death and I shared the gospel and he
prayed with me to receive Christ.
Minutes later he did. When
the Lord prompts you to have that conversation, do it!
Next to knowing Christ myself the greatest joy is leading
others to Christ.
We have our marching orders to go to all this world to
preach the gospel. And I pray God
uses you in the months ahead to see more fruit than you’ve ever seen.
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