“Toughen Up” (Part 2)

“Toughen Up” (Part 2)

(“Toughen Up” is a six-part series on how to get strong in the faith. Each article is a similar version of a sermon I shared with The Refuge at our Sunday morning gatherings. You can watch the sermon on our YouTube channel.)

Back in the 1950’s there was an advertisement campaign targeted toward men about getting tougher and stronger. These ads appeared in magazines and comic books with a picture of a bully kicking sand into the face of a man on the beach with his girlfriend looking on. Now, some 70 years later, we still have bullies. I’m not talking about the physical or the emotional type that people face today. I am talking about the chief bully himself, Satan, and his tactics to intimidate Christians from not being strong and tough in the faith.

Last week we talked about how to grow strong in the faith by not getting easily offended. In this article I want to encourage you to get tough about sharing your faith.

When I was in 7^th grade, our church’s youth group traveled to Six Flags over Texas. I had never been to a large amusement park, so I was excited about riding all the rides and seeing all the sights. Right before we entered the park, our youth Pastor gave everyone five gospel tracts with the instructions of handing them to complete strangers as each of us gave a gospel presentation. I was not too thrilled about the assignment. If anything, I was put off by his request. I just wanted to ride the rides.

I remember waiting till the last hour before we had to return to the bus to fulfill my requirement. The way I remember it, I handed one tract to this elderly gentleman without exchanging a word and deposited the other four tracts in the men’ bathroom. (I figured someone might need some reading material when they did their business.) All that to say, I was greatly intimidated to share my faith back then. Come to think about it, I didn’t even have a faith in the 7^th grade.

A lot has changed since those days in the mid 70’s. Today, I have a faith that continues to grow as I walk in Christ. But to be completely transparent, I still get intimidated at times to share my faith. Why? Don’t get me wrong. Sharing my faith energizes me when I do it. It’s one of my greatest privileges as a follower of Jesus. But I still get nervous when preparing to share the gospel with individuals. Is this normal? Am I just a weak Christian? Or is there something else in play?

You see, in my deepest core, I want people to like me. I like the idea of people liking me. So, to put myself in the position of someone rejecting me or belittling me does something to my psyche.

On the other hand, I want people more than anything to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. I don’t want people to spend an eternity in a devil’s hell. And on top of that, I know what transformation through a relationship with Jesus Christ can do in a person’s life and I desire everyone to have the same experience I had back in 1979. All that to say, there is a real conflict that goes on inside of me.

In the next few paragraphs, I want to share with you the Why, Who, When, and How of sharing the good news of the gospel of Jesus:

1. Why share the gospel?

For starters, we need to know what the gospel is. The word gospel literally means, “Good News!” The gospel is the good news story of what Jesus did for us. He came to earth, lived a perfect life, died on the cross for our sin, was buried, and on the third day came back to life. And if we will turn from our sin and life of brokenness, confess Him as our Savior and Lord,  surrender our lives to Him and make Him our King, then He will enter our lives, forgive us, transform us, guide us in this life, and secure a place in Heaven for us to be with Him for eternity.

So why share the gospel?

• First, because the Bible commands us to do so. In Matthew 4, Jesus told us to follow Him and He would make us fishers of men. Throughout the first four books of the New Testament Jesus told us we need to follow His lead by taking the gospel with us and to share it with anyone and everyone who would listen.
• And second, because people need the Lord. Every man, woman and child has a sin problem and needs to be rescued. The good news is that this is the very reason Jesus came. It is the Good News of the Gospel story.

2. Who is to share the gospel and who is the gospel to be shared with?

This is an easy answer. You and I are to share the gospel. And we are to share the gospel with anyone who will listen. Matthew 28:19 and Acts 1:8 tells us that every follower of Jesus Christ is to go here, there, and everywhere, and share the gospel of Jesus with anyone and everyone who will listen.

Several years ago, I had a conversation with two believers that helped shape my life. One of my friends shared with the two of us a prayer he prayed every morning. “Lord, I pray that today you would reveal to me who I need to share the gospel with.” This was a great prayer I thought. I need to do the same. That was, until I heard what the other guy’s prayer was. He said, “I pray something different. Every morning when I get up I ask the Lord to reveal to me who I am not to share the gospel with.” Wow. That really shook me.

You see, every person that you and I come in contact with are people that need some form of gospel story. A few years after that conversation, I committed that every conversation I had with people would have one of two elements of the gospel. If I was talking to someone who claimed to be a believer, I would encourage him/her toward a life of discipleship. If I was talking to someone who was lost or if I was unsure of their salvation, I would point them to the cross.

Why? Paul asks us in Romans 10:14, “How can people have faith in the Lord and ask him to save them, if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear, unless someone tells them? Romans 10:14 (CEV)

 Our job is to be His spokesman, His ambassador to the world, sharing the good news, the gospel, with our families, our neighbors, those we work with, our schoolmates, and everyone we encounter.

I encourage our people to carry in their Bible, purse, or wallet, a 3×5 index card where they can write down names of every person they know who is either lost or unchurched. This index card becomes a personal prayer list of people they are to pray for. The list is meant to grow as you come into contact with people you meet and are unsure of their spiritual condition. My list started out with two people a year ago and now it has over 50 people. And it is still growing. It includes friends, neighbors, relatives, people I meet out in public or on social media, and on and on. This index card also serves as a personal prospect list of people I am inviting to one of our weekly gatherings as a church, but also of people I desire to sit down and share the gospel with. It represents people that I believe God has brought into my life that I am to invest in. Where I desire to share the gospel with them, I also desire to befriend them the way Jesus has befriended me. They are people, not projects. Meaning if they reject the gospel, I am going to continue to be friends with them with the ultimate goal of reaching them with the gospel. Why? Because I love them and care for them. Way too often I see so called “Christians” simply dismiss certain people because they are not like them. My Jesus pursued people. I desire to do the same.

3. When are we supposed to share the gospel?

Again, this is an easy one. In Matthew 28:19, Jesus gives us, “The Great Commission.” He starts off by saying, “Go into all the world making disciples.” In the original Greek the word “go” literally means “as you go.” This means as you go through life, we should always be sharing the gospel story. As you go through school, as you travel, as you go through your workday, as you go to the ball-fields, as you go…anytime, anywhere, all the time! Make sense???

Paul told Timothy that he was to always be ready, in season and out of season, to teach, preach, and share the word of God with people. We should do the same! When should we share the gospel? The answer is, “At every opportunity.”

4. How are you to share the gospel?

On March 8^th during The Refuge’s weekly gathering, I shared a simple tool called “The Three Circles.” (Feel free to watch the presentation on our YouTube channel.) There are many gospel presentations out there. Many of them are good. It really comes down to your personal preference. Just make certain you include the major points of the gospel story as you share your faith. This would include: God’s original plan, man’s fall into sin, God’s solution to redeem man, and man’s response to God’s invitation.

There have been many times I have shared the gospel with people where I felt like I blew it, had forgotten something, or messed up the presentation. But at the end of the day I shared my faith. It is during those times you have to depend on the Holy Spirit to fill the gaps, correct anything you said wrong, and draw the person to Himself. We learn from every gospel presentation we make.

Bottom line, we need to share the good news of Jesus’ story with people. It is not enough just to live a good life in front of them. It must be motivated by the love we have received from God and the love we have for the people we share it with.

Pick a plan or a presentation you are comfortable with. Practice it over and over. Practice it in front of the mirror. Practice it by yourself. Practice it with a loved one. The more you do it, the more comfortable you will become doing it. Make yourself available to the Lord and you will find yourself in conversation after conversation about the goodness of God’s love.

I want to close with three quotes that have impressed me to take on personal responsibility in sharing my faith with others:

 “If not me, then who? If not now, then when?” -unknown, everyone

 “Christianity is just one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.” – D. T. Niles

 “The Holy Spirit can’t save saints or seats. If we don’t know any non-Christians, how can we introduce them to the Savior?” -Paul Little

Are you available to be used by God in the lives of the lost and the unchurched? Are you actively pursuing people as Jesus pursued you? Do you have non-Christian friends you are praying for and befriending?

Ask the Lord to deepen your heart for the lost. Stay close to His side and ask Him to burden you in the areas that burden Him. Wake up each morning and ask, “Who, Lord, do you not want me to share with today?” Then, go live that life that God wants you to live!

Until the whole world hears,

Pastor Scott