Sharing (Jesus) Without Shoving (Him Down Their Throat)

August 28, 2005.  Pastor Matt 

Matthew 28:18-20. 

We are commanded to make disciples, but how are we to go about doing it?

How does the Bible teach us we are to share Jesus with others?

The following is in no particular order.  They are principles we should go by when we are sharing Jesus. 

Colossians 4:2-6

2Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

1. Effective witnessing starts with a devoted prayer life

(2) Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

-         It always starts with prayer

-         It our way of saying we are not starting the venture on our own

-         We are seeking His will about what to do.  We are asking for His guidance

What are some things we can pray for?

A. Pray that you are not fearful when you share

Ephesians 6:19-20

¹⁹Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

-         Ask the Lord for a courage you’ve never had before.  Ask Him for His courage.

-         Know that when you have an open door to witness, He will give you the words (so there is no excuse not to share.) all we have to do is make the effort to share

-         He will remove the natural fear to “confront” someone and tell them they are “wrong”

-         Fear goes away with time and practice

B. Pray for the unity of believers

John 17:20-23

    ²⁰"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, ²¹that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²²I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: ²³I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

-         Jesus knew that the church must be in unity if it is going to effectively share His Message with others

^-          1 John 3:10.  So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the Devil. Anyone who does not obey God’s commands and does not love other Christians does not belong to God.

^-          As Christians, there is nothing bigger than Christ that can tear us apart for it is the death, resurrection and purpose of sharing Jesus that brings us all together. 

^-          If we keep in focus why we are here, the little stuff falls away.  When we fight with each other, we are damaging our witness to the world

C. Pray that the message will spread to others

2 Thessalonians 3:1

Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you.

-         My dream is that I share Jesus with a person and they become like a wildfire, that it starts a chain reaction of people sharing Jesus with other people

-         Don’t think you are the only one who can reach others for Christ

-         At the moment of your conversion, you were given everything you needed to be able to share Jesus with others

-         How many people have you shared Jesus with?

E. Pray for God to send workers

Matthew 9:35-38

    ³⁵Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. ³⁶When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. ³⁸Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

-         Or pray that God would give you a heart to share Jesus

     -         Are you a worker?

-         Have you been working?

Once we spent time in prayer, we need to get our hands dirty, we need to do our part.  Look at the rest of the passage to get some practical advice

2. We must wait for an open door

(3) And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message,

-         don’t force the message, wait for an opening

3. Be clear in your message

(4) Pray that I may proclaim it clearly,

o       don’t cloud it with theories

o       state it just as it is

o       use words a nonbeliever can understand

4. Use your life as a witness

(5) Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.

-         people watch your behavior

-         every opportunity is an opportunity to share Jesus with someone  

5. Choose your words wisely

(6) Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

-         words have the power of life and death in them

-         grace….not anger or hatred or I’m better than you or you need to fix this first.  Show them unmerited favor as Jesus showed us unmerited favor.  How can you do this?  By seeing the best in them, by treating them better than they deserve

-         Salt… address people where their need is.  Show them the Jesus that can relate to what they are going through

-         Ready to give an answer…not for the sake of arguing, this is talking about being prepared for the answers you know people are going to ask…such as why do good things happen to bad people? Or know that individuals twist on life and be prepared to show them Jesus’ version

 6. Leave the results up to God.  

1 Corinthians 3:5-9

 ⁵ Who is Apollos, and who is Paul, that we should be the cause of such quarrels? Why, we’re only servants. Through us God caused you to believe. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. ⁶ My job was to plant the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God, not we, who made it grow. ⁷ The ones who do the planting or watering aren’t important, but God is important because he is the one who makes the seed grow. ⁸ The one who plants and the one who waters work as a team with the same purpose. Yet they will be rewarded individually, according to their own hard work. ⁹ We work together as partners who belong to God. You are God’s field, God’s building—not ours.

We are a team, we each have our job to do but ultimately the results are in God’s hands

-         But, whatever we do, don’t forget that God has called each and every one of you to do your part in bringing people to Jesus.

-         Not witnessing to someone is like telling them to go to Hell

-         In this world you can be found guilty of a crime, even if you did not do it, if you simply do nothing when you could have done something to prevent it.  How much more is our responsibilty to share Jesus with others!

Closing

Who do you need to share Jesus with today?

Who do you know that needs Jesus?

Do you need Jesus?