Sharing our Faith pt 2

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How should we share our faith? There are all sorts of different methods, techniques and programmes, but what does the Bible lay as the foundation for effective outreach? This sermon explores what the Bible emphasises as the keys to effective evangelism, and challenges us to make them a part of our Christian life.

Sharing Our Faith pt 2

How Do We Do It?

07/06/09

Recap:

We are exploring 4 key questions about sharing our faith:

· What is It? (Witness and Evangelism)

· Who Must Do It? (All of us)

· How Should We Do It (today’s topic)

· Why We Must Do It (because of eternity)

Introduction

What is the best way to share your faith?

Ask 10 different people and you’ll probably get at least 5 different answers!

There are so many different programmes and methods designed to help Christians to be effective and more confident in sharing their faith – which ones should we use?

Today we are going to build a biblical foundation for how we can share our faith, before we look at some practical things that you and I can do to be obedient to God and loving to those around us by sharing the most important news that anyone will ever hear.

In order to get a feel for how God has designed His church to grow as people come to faith in Christ, let’s look at how it got started. Turn with me to the book of Acts chapter 1 as we look at

Acts 1:1-11

In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach ^2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. ^3 After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. ^4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. ^5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

^6 So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

^7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. ^8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

^9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

^10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ^11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

^[1]

Acts 1:12-14

^12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk^ from the city. ^13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. ^14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

…

Acts 2:1-14

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ^2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ^3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ^4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

^5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. ^6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. ^7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? ^8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? ^9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ^10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome ^11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” ^12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

^13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.” ^14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd…

^ Acts 2:41-47

^41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

^42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ^43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. ^44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. ^45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. ^46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ^47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Conversion is God’s Work

Who added to the early church daily those who were being saved? God did!

Speaking to Christians in Corinth who had taken their eyes off God and were following certain leaders instead, Paul wrote: “^5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. ^6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.” (1 Cor 3:5-6)

Conversion is God’s work. He uses His people in some of that task, but it is never people who do the work – it is God working through those people, as well as through other means”.

We must not forget that we are in a spiritual battle.

In 2 Corinthians 4 we read: “^4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. ^5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. ^6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” (2 Cor. 4:4-6)

In other words, unless God causes His light to shine in our hearts to illuminate our minds to the truth, we cannot comprehend or accept the gospel message in order to be saved.

I came across a book recently in which the author was saying that ordinary Christians are like witnesses – they simply testify to what they have seen and heard and believe. He went a step further to argue that some Christians are soul-winners. They are more like the prosecuting attorney, who “…employs a skillful approach to the prospect. Using calculated phrases, he extracts information from his prospect and then uses that information to bring him face to face with Christ. With careful timing he moves up to the crisis point and presses for a decision. Everything he does and says is geared to getting his man to DO SOMETHING with Jesus. If he does it right, there is no way for a prospect to avoid a face to face encounter with the Lord. You can see that it takes skill and confidence.”[2]

There is a real danger in thinking that skill and confidence on our part can win others into the kingdom. Churches fall into this trap when they seek to copy methods that work elsewhere, thinking that if they have good enough music, good enough speakers, good enough programmes, good enough facilities and so on, that they will grow God’s Kingdom.

What they’ll actually do is grow their own kingdom, with people who’ve transferred from other parts of God’s Kingdom and people who aren’t in God’s Kingdom but who go there because of the good music, entertaining speakers, helpful advice, the promise of a more satisfying life, good child care and so on!

Conversion is God’s Work, and if we try to do it our own way we will only get in His way!

So what can we do to see God’s work go ahead in and through us?

That is the real question for us.

Well, what did the early Christians do after they received Christ’s command?

They stood around gawking at the sky! They did nothing!

Then they were reminded by two angels that Jesus had gone into heaven and would return the same way He left!

That got them going! Jesus is coming back, we’d better do what He asked us to!

1) We need to Remember the Return of Jesus

One of those present was the apostle Peter. Many years later he wrote the letters which we now know as 1 & 2 Peter. If you ever need reminding to live as someone who expects Jesus to return at any time, read those letters! It’s clear that Peter never forgot this lesson from the angels, and it never stopped filling him with urgency and purpose in life.

Satan wants to lull us into a stupor of selfish and pointless pursuits that indulge our own comfort and desires. He wants our lives to be about things that have no eternal purpose. He wants to keep us distracted from the main game. Don’t let him do that to you. Remember the return of Jesus as Judge over all the world. Be ready. Help others be ready.

2) We Need to Pray Constantly

We discover that as they waited for the promised Holy Spirit, the believers met together constantly for prayer. They did not run ahead of God and start the work on their own, but they obeyed Jesus and waited. As they waited, they prayed.

So often when we think about reaching the lost, we leap straight to ideas and methods that we can use. We need to learn how to wait and pray. When we pray, we do a number of things all at the same time. We somehow influence the actions of God in ways that we cannot understand. Why would the all-knowing, all-powerful God listen to us, answer us and even grant us our desires? Yet, according to His sovereign knowledge and plan, He does. In prayer, our hearts and minds are also drawn closer to God. Our desires are moulded after His desires. Our thoughts are changed to be more like His thoughts. It is where we receive guidance and are shaped in character.

Perhaps the greatest hindrance faced by many churches today is the lack of spiritual wisdom and power that comes from a lack of time in prayer.

When you look at the lives of the Apostles – who followed the example of Jesus Himself – as well as the many Christians that God has used to accomplish great things over the centuries, you always find this common thread: great devotion to prayer. Of course, you also find many, many examples of people who were fervent and committed in prayer and who never achieved anything great according to our estimation. But who knows what their true accomplishments were in God’s sight?

Prayer is not a tool we use in order to get God to bless our efforts. It is spiritual breathing – we do it just to stay alive.

3) We Need to be Filled With the Spirit

What was it that got the people in Jerusalem curious about what was going on with the group of believers, and gave Peter the chance to share with them about Jesus? It was the evidence of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Not everyone understood what they were witnessing. Some mocked. But both the mockers and the curious inquirers got to hear the message of the gospel because they heard and saw evidence of spirit-filled lives.

The Holy Spirit works in all sorts of ways in Christians. He works through the quiet consistency of a holy life. He works through passionate preaching in churches, auditoriums and street corners. He works through acts of kindness. He works through intellectual debate. He works through miraculous signs. He works through conversations among friends. He works through art – music, painting, drama, literature, architecture – the forms are limitless. Anything we do by the Holy Spirit is able to produce spiritual life.

In one of the home groups that Carolyn and I were a part of several years ago we were going through a book called “Honest to God?” by Bill Hybels. In one chapter he described six different New Testament characters who all had different ways of leading people to Jesus. The point is that we don’t have to be like someone else, or be something we’re not, in order to share our faith. As we are watchful and prayerful we will discover that God has made us the way we are on purpose. He will work in us through His Spirit as we faithfully respond to the prompts that He gives us.

In Acts 2:42-47 we see described what it looks like to be Spiritually filled. It produced

· a devotion to growth in spiritual maturity (the apostle’s teaching)

· a devotion to Christian fellowship (the fellowship)

· a focus on Jesus as the source of our life (the breaking of bread)

· a devotion to prayer

· evidence of supernatural power (wonders and miraculous signs by apostles)

· a generosity of spirit (everything in common, selling possessions)

· public and private worship (temple courts and homes)

These things are all evidence of a spirit-filled life. When we see these sorts of things, we can also expect to see God working through us to add to our number those who are being saved.

4) We Need to Be Bold

Regardless of how God has designed you to best share your faith with others, it will still require boldness. It will not be easy. You will be tempted to hold back, to temper down you witness so as to not offend or alienate.

When people wanted to know what was going on with the early believers, Peter had to stand up and speak. He couldn’t even speak to one servant girl about Jesus 6 weeks ago, but here he is preaching to thousands! The Holy Spirit was working in him, but it still required a choice of will to get up and open his mouth. The same thing is true of us.

We need to love God and love others enough that we will put ourselves on the line and share the truth when we are given the opportunity to do so.

Common Mistakes Churches Make

1. Forgetting our Purpose
We are here to make disciples. To witness for Christ in the places He puts us, even to the ends of the Earth. There are many other good things we can do and should do, but there is one thing we must do, and nothing must get in the way.

2. Forgetting our Power
We are not to do it on our own. If we try, we will either fail dismally and our churches will die, or else we will succeed and our churches will be full of people who may not be genuinely saved, but who have bought what we were selling. We will become market-driven, doing anything to bring people in. The only way to save people is for God to do it, and let Him use us however He wills. Spiritual power comes from personal holiness – seeking God and forsaking sin.

3. Forgetting to Follow
Sometimes people think that since God does the saving, we should not get in the way. We should pray and leave the rest to God. The same thinking applies to churches – we should continue to do what we do the way we do it and let God bring in the ones He wants to. It’s the opposite extreme of trying to do it all ourselves. Instead of seeking God and letting Him lead them into effective witness, they just keep doing whatever it is that they do and expect that at any moment God is suddenly going to make it work!

So What Do We Need To Do Next?

1. Pray More!
I want to encourage people to step up in the area of prayer. I get encouraged when I hear stories of people praying. Neville was praying as he was going round the paddocks the other morning when out of nowhere God gave him an opportunity to share with someone. We can all pray more, not as another task that we are supposed to do, but as spiritual breathing. We can learn to pray constantly, being watchful and thankful.

2. Prioritise
I want us to look at our lives and ask the questions of what we are doing of eternal value. Are we busy doing the things that God has asked us to do, or are we doing what we want to do? Do we play sport just for fitness, fun or ego; or are we representing Christ among our teammates, opponents, referees and spectators? Believe me, answering this question transforms the way you behave!

Are we socialising for our own amusement or the purposes of God? Are we working for our own gain or the purposes of God? Look at what you do and why you do it.

Remember what the early Christians were devoted to, which was a testimony to their spiritual life. Do you share their priorities?

3. Pursue Holiness
If we want God to work through us we must be vessels fit for His use. If our lives are clogged up with sin and selfishness, God is not going to working in and through us. We will be guilty of grieving and quenching the Holy Spirit because of our lifestyle. Our witness will not point to Christ, but will show that what we say does not really affect who we are. On the contrary, when we are letting the Holy Spirit cleanse us from unrighteousness He is able to shape us to be effective tools in the Master’s hands. Our witness will be powerful, and we will have the spiritual sensitivity to be able to sense opportunities and respond with spiritual wisdom and power.

4. Preach the Gospel
Remember what we discussed last week. We share our faith through the witness of a transformed life, and we also share our faith by sharing the message of salvation. We must be prepared to do both. If we tell people how to be born again but do not show them transformed lives our message lacks credibility, but there’s no power in living good lives among people if we do not tell them about Jesus. People need to hear the truth if they are going to have a chance to place their faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins and adoption into God’s family.

Are you able to summarise the message of the gospel? Do you know it well enough to share it? There are many good outlines and methods for learning and sharing the gospel. I recommend that you get to know the gospel so well that you see it’s relevance in every situation of life. No matter what topic you might be discussing, the message of the gospel has relevance. Practice it with each other!

As helpful as it can be to learn a gospel outline well, nothing compares to a thorough overall knowledge of the Scriptures. As you are sharing with people the Holy Spirit can bring to mind Bible verses and stories that can be very powerful. In order for that to happen you must be a student of God’s Word. Make it a priority!

When we preach the gospel we should be passionate – this really matters to us. We must be careful not to manipulate people and try to orchestrate or force a response. It is God’s job to convict of sin and produce faith in Jesus. Our part is to bear the message with integrity and love.

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^[1]All Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

[2] C.S. Lovett, from http://www.soshelp.com/how_to_be_a_successful_soul_winner.html © Copyright 2007. SOS Inc.