Sharing Jesus is fun! I love it when people want to talk about spiritual matters. It’s fun, simple, exciting and we never know what will come out of it. Sharing Jesus should never be seen as a burden or even an obligation. Sharing Jesus should be a natural outflow of your new life in Christ. However, way too often, in our zeal to share Jesus with others we may tend to be overbearing. We end up pushing people away rather than attracting them to see more for themselves. We’re always trying to “close the deal” instead of simply loving on people. Then it becomes awkward. Chances are we have all burned bridges in sharing Jesus with friends. Be patient. It's all in God's timing.
Last week I shared some statistics. People want to talk about spiritual matters, but they don’t want to go to church to find it. People prefer to talk about these matters through relationship. This is a shift from the way we have done church for centuries. I believe God is moving behind this shift. This shift includes every believer sharing about Jesus in their circles of influence.
Share Jesus Without Fear
PRAY – Pray for God to break your heart for the lost. Pray for your neighbors, coworkers, friends, family - by name, daily/weekly. Ask God to give you opportunities to reach out to them. Ask God to open their hearts to spiritual conversations and the gospel. Pray for wisdom on what to say, how to say it and when to proceed and stop.
PREPARE – Prepare your heart and mind. What is your vision, purpose and goals in life? What do you value most? Create your own personal statements of faith and live it. If exalting Christ, spending time with Him and building His kingdom, is at the bottom of your life goals and core values, then you have idols. Sharing Jesus will become a burden and distraction for you. Repent of it and get yourself right with God.
PLAN – Brainstorm for ideas on building relationships with friends, coworkers, neighbors, etc. Plan BBQ’s, beach days, movie night at your house, lady’s tea, have coffee or lunch. Do these things with a group, on your own or as a family. You need to plan these and set dates and times or else in your busyness you will never do it.
PURSUE – Pursue first in daily prayer, allow God to open doors then just do what the Spirit leads. It might be scary at first but remember you’re simply having a conversation with a friend. Steer to spiritual conversations and see if they bite. If not, don’t worry. Don’t be pushy and don’t rush. You want to build the relationship. Listen more than you talk. Always keep it sweet so you can continue with future conversations.
Last week I shared some statistics. People want to talk about spiritual matters, but they don’t want to go to church to find it. People prefer to talk about these matters through relationship. This is a shift from the way we have done church for centuries. I believe God is moving behind this shift. This shift includes every believer sharing about Jesus in their circles of influence.
Share Jesus Without Fear
PRAY – Pray for God to break your heart for the lost. Pray for your neighbors, coworkers, friends, family - by name, daily/weekly. Ask God to give you opportunities to reach out to them. Ask God to open their hearts to spiritual conversations and the gospel. Pray for wisdom on what to say, how to say it and when to proceed and stop.
PREPARE – Prepare your heart and mind. What is your vision, purpose and goals in life? What do you value most? Create your own personal statements of faith and live it. If exalting Christ, spending time with Him and building His kingdom, is at the bottom of your life goals and core values, then you have idols. Sharing Jesus will become a burden and distraction for you. Repent of it and get yourself right with God.
PLAN – Brainstorm for ideas on building relationships with friends, coworkers, neighbors, etc. Plan BBQ’s, beach days, movie night at your house, lady’s tea, have coffee or lunch. Do these things with a group, on your own or as a family. You need to plan these and set dates and times or else in your busyness you will never do it.
PURSUE – Pursue first in daily prayer, allow God to open doors then just do what the Spirit leads. It might be scary at first but remember you’re simply having a conversation with a friend. Steer to spiritual conversations and see if they bite. If not, don’t worry. Don’t be pushy and don’t rush. You want to build the relationship. Listen more than you talk. Always keep it sweet so you can continue with future conversations.
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