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So over the holidays we became addicted to watching taskmaster on tvnz. For those not in the know, it’s a slightly irreverent game show that has 5 comedians pit themselves against each other in tasks set by the taskmaster that are insane, crazy, stupid, frustrating and purely wonderful. And as a youth pastor I’m always like how can I recreate this? How can we do this? Make it happen! Most of them are so out of the box though or messy or long that I’m like oh well, that just made my heart happy.
My favourite task, and there is a point to this, was one called shoe who. Its like guess who, you know, the game where you ask questions to find the person on your game board and then you flip them down and find the last person standing. I always loved that game, especially because there was a claire and her name was spelt right.
Anyway, shoe who. The setting was an old church, pews, altar, nooks for saints, cross beams, and the objective was to find the shoe that the taskmaster was thinking of. There were shoes on the pews, hanging fom the beams, in the nooks. They had to find the one shoe the taskmaster was thinking of. The others they had to throw out the window. They could do this by asking questions. Every question earned them a point. Fastest shoe find with fewest questions wins.
Deep down most of us want to share our faith and talk to someone about Jesus. We know rescued people rescue others, we know that we’re called to be disciples who make disciples, we know we’re meant to be a light on a hill shining so everyone can know that God is good and real but we can look around us and see all the people, all the options, all the places, all the possibilities.
Sometimes finding the right person to talk to can feel like you’re in a room of shoes trying to figure out which shoe the taskmaster has in his mind. Does the shoe have laces? Is it a man’s shoe? Is it a sports shoe? Is it sitting on a pew or hanging from a beam? Is the one at my workplace? In my dance class? At the gym? How will I know the right one? In the game it was hilarious as one person asked would you wear the shoe to a funeral?
But finding people who might be open to talking about God or hearing our story can feel as confusing and daunting sometimes as this shoe who task was on taskmaster.
I think we’re worried we’ll get it wrong. Or what happens if we get it right?
I also want to point out – that we are also the ones jesus is looking to disciple. We’re not trying to find someone else for Him to work on – you work on my friend, you work on my husband, you work on my kids God, you sort my boss out because man they need to be discipled. I need to be a disciple. I need to know God. I need all that He has to say. We’re really just inviting someone else along for the ride with us and maybe we’re just a little bit further along the road than them.
God has given us this mission – to go into all the world and make disciples. It’s not mission impossible but mission possible for each one us, regardless of personality, regardless of profession, regardless of age or stage. If you’re someone that calls yourself a Christian, tag you’re it.
SEEK GOD
The very first step in the process is to seek God. Ask God who can I talk to? Who can I share with? God is at work behind the scenes in their lives, He knows where they are at and how open they are. He speaks their language. He knows the times and seasons of their lives. As we draw near to God He shows us His heart. Jesus said that I only do what I see the Father doing. So many of the amazing encounters Jesus had with people were because Father God had initiated them and Jesus was in step with Him to know it was the right time and the right person.
In John 4 we read about one such moment. Jesus was travelling from Judea to Galilee. John 4:4 says He had to travel through Samaria which can seem like a throwaway statement. It’s when we did deeper we see that Jesus was travelling with a different GPS. If you follow GPS from Judea to Galilee you do not go through Samaria. Especially when you factor in the geopolitical climate of the time. Jews did not go to Samaria. Samarians were despised and rejected and avoided like they had the plague. There was no reason for Jesus to go this route apart from the incredible life changing conversation that happens at a well there with a woman, that not only changes her life but a whole community. Jesus knew what the Father’s heart was and made room for God to work through Him.
Another time in Luke 19 out of all the crowds – all the people wanting to see Jesus, wanting to encounter Jesus, wanting to be with Jesus – Jesus soloed out Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus with his short people problems had climbed a tree to see that man that the whole town were talking about – and Jesus looked up into that tree and said “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” How did Jesus know His name? I believe its because again this was the Holy Spirit in action speaking to Jesus and showing Him the next move. It was a connection initiated by Father God that Jesus then in obedience did.
Our brains are wired to look for and notice the things that we’re looking for. We just got a new car. A Toyota aqua. With a shark fin. Now as I drive around I’m like hey its an aqua. Hey nice aqua. It’s like my brain has rewired itself to spot the aquas. The aquas were there before but now I’m more in tune to notice them.
If we are praying every day for that opportunity to share with someone then our brains will be more in tune to look for them and spot them. We can ask God to show us – who today can I talk to? Who should I sit with at lunch today? Is there something you want to do through me today God? God might drop a name into your mind. Don’t discount that name – it could be a random thought or the affects of too much coffee or it could be God speaking to you in response to you asking Him a specific question.
If our identity is that I’m someone who makes disciples, I’m someone who shares my faith, then we’ll be wanting to make opportunities to live out that identity.
Knowing God’s heart for people – general – that He wants all to be saved and none to perish – and for the individuals – helps us be on mission with Him. In Luke 19:10 – in the same passage about Zacchaeus Jesus says “I came to seek and save the lost”. Lost people are on Jesus’ mind. They’re His thing. They’re His purpose. If you were to ask Jesus what His why is He’d say lost people. This is His heart.
If you’re talking regularly with God about this then you’ll know his heart more.
START TO SOW
One of the points I’ve been loving in Atomic Habits is that when we start a habit we don’t have to be an expert or do it perfectly. We just have to start. Most people who become concert pianoists start with a perfect rendition of Mozart. Most people when they start to drive are at lewis hamiltons level. You don’t become a five star Michelin chef in the first week of food tech at intermediate or in my case when you go flatting. We start. We learn. We upskill. We improve. We grow. In the same way becoming a disciple who makes disciples is all about just starting. Having the first conversation. Throwing out there that we went to church on Sunday. Small steps that as we repeat them become part of who we are and what we do.
The more times we repeat these small steps, the more times we just start, the more proficient we become, the bigger steps we take, the easier it gets. The first flight by the wright brothers in 1903 led to an epic flight 66 years later that landed men on the moon
Our identity shift is that we don’t wait for huge signs from heaven, booming voices from the clouds or choirs of angels saying this is the one, we just start. We start in our everyday life to have everyday conversations that include that we’re a Christian and that God is real.
This week we will sit beside, or have lunch opposite, or be in the cubicle next to, or be watching from the sidelines people who God loves. People Jesus died for. He has positioned us there on purpose to be a person who is brave enough to believe He is real, brave enough to believe knowing Him is worth it and brave enough to step out so God can step in.
By the way, being brave is doing it vulnerable, doing it kind of scared, doing it unsure, doing it anyway. We start.
Acts 1:8 it says that the Holy Spirit will come upon us and live within us and give us power to be His witnesses. We’re not in this alone. God doesn’t say tag you’re it and just throw us in the deep end, though it can feel like that. The Holy Spirit will give us the right words to say and the right things to do.
As much as it helps us identify people who might be open to talking more about Jesus in a way sowing is just like walking into a dark room and turning the light on. It let’s people in your circles of influence know that you have a Christian faith so that you’re identified as someone that people might want to talk to, to learn more.
It’s a team effort. We are links in the chain. A process. We sow seeds. We water. We tend. We weed. God is at work doing the actual growing.
Let me encourage you. Our job is to sow the seed, to start the conversations, to be out there and open, and it is God’s job behind the scenes to be at work in that person’s life and to prepare them. If people respond with questions and are interested – win. But that seed sown might just stay hidden as it grows until just the right conversation, just the right time, just the right invitation.
In Luke 8 Jesus tells a parable about a farmer who goes out to sow his seed – some falls on the hard ground, some falls on the wayside, some falls on the shallow soil and some falls on the good soil. If you’ve been a Christian for a while you’ll probably be familiar with the story. But I love how you can read a passage even hundreds of times and then see something brand new.
It’s because God’s word isn’t just a book, it isn’t just a collection of wise ways to live, or a history of God’s actions on behalf of people, it is an alive supernatural revelation of who God is and as it speaks to us and transforms us and realigns us with who God is creating us to be. It takes us from ordinary living to extraordinary adventures as we say YES to Him.
Up to then I’ve always read the passage and about how different people are at different places in their receptivity to God. Some people are closed off and reject the good news right away, others maybe are interested but it doesn’t take, others say yes but then when the going gets hard they give up and others are good soil, they say yes to God and you see an evident tangible change as they become Christians and as they grow.
What struck me as I read it that time was the very first phrase. You see I’ve mostly read it in a version that says “A farmer went out to sow his seed”… but on this day I read “A sower went out to sow his seed.” For me this was a aha moment. The sowers purpose is to sow seed. It’s in his name. It’s in his identity. It’s in his calling. It is who he is. A sower sows seed. A sower doesn’t write novels, or bake cakes, or build bridges. He sows seed. It’s who he is. A sower sows.
You and I are sowers. We are called to sow seeds.
Note also this. The sower isn’t the grower. The sowers full responsibility and job description is to sow seed. And as the passage says, to sow it wherever. The wayside. The hard ground. The shallow ground. The good soil. As you go, sow. Sow the seed.
So sower, what does sowing seed look like?
Sowing seed is done in our everyday real lives, with everyday real people, being our everyday real self. It is ordinary conversations that then become God conversations, sharing about how God is real in our lives.
Sowing can be asking how someones weekend was or saying you went to church when someone asks how yours was. Sowing can be talking about how God helped you for real with a real answer to a real problem. Sowing can be sharing something on your Instagram feed about being a Christian. One question I’ve found works, as kind of dorky as it sounds, is are you a church person? If they’ve got any church in their background, even if it was when they were a kid, or just at easter or Christmas, it can be a seed and a conversation starter. It can be noticing that someone is having a bad day and asking how you can help. It can be talking about how sitting on the beach talking to God helps you destress. Starting small. Small seeds that open the door for more conversation.
Often we can think of an evangelistic opportunity or conversation as having a discussion about the 4 spiritual laws or 10 commandments or walking a person through a tract – which may be what it looks like. But often they start out very normal and then someone brings up something that we can use as springboard to talk about God and how He helps us.
I remember having a coffee with the mum of one of my sons friends when he was at primary school. Im not even sure how we got onto the topic but I think it was over books or movies that we liked and it might of being about the da vinci code movie or something but we found ourselves talking about how Jesus didn’t die but he moved to spain and started a family with Mary Magdalene. For some of you you might be thinking abort abort get me out of here but honestly I was like THIS IS AWESOME! Best conversation springboard ever! We ended up having an amazing conversation about how yes mary loved him, maybe that way at first but maybe not but anyway she was the first to see him after the resurrection and because a disciple and why Jesus died and all the good stuff.
We are sowers. Empowered by the Holy Spirit with power to sow. Let’s be asking God every day how can I sow, who can I sow to, help me be a sower.
SEE WHERE THEY’RE AT
As you’re sowing you want to pay attention to how people are responding. You want to see where they’re at. As you go about sowing, youʼre seeking for someone who could potentially be interested in taking that next step, and would be in beginning a relationship with God.
Some discipleship methods call this person a ‘Person Of Peace’
Jesus ministered to, loved, and helped everyone He came across – and weʼre supposed to do that too. But when it comes to choosing someone who will be part of a discipleship process and go on to disciple others, seeing where someone is at and identifying them as “the right one” becomes really important.
Jesus was followed by thousands and even had hundreds sometimes travelling with Him but when it came to choosing disciples, people He would invest into and go deeper, people He would train and be close with He spent time in prayer – He sought God – and then chose 12. We can also see that Jesus also had His inner circle of guys, peter, james and john that were at that next level of discipleship.
A person of peace is a person who is open to hear what you have to say about God and is willing to begin the journey.
Now a person of peace doesn’t mean that they have their life together or are a good person already. It just means that they’re open not argumentative and that they’re willing to explore not explode. Think about the 2 people I mentioned earlier – the woman at the well and Zacchaeus. They are people of peace. They didn’t have their lives together, in fact for both of the them they were rejected by their community and their lives were falling apart. But they were looking for answers and looking for hope – the type of answers and the type of hope that can only be found in God.
When it comes to looking for people to take that next step and join a group to explore the bible people who have done a lot of discipling encourage us to look for F.A.T. people! Obviously this is not to do with their physical weight – but an indication of their attitude and heart:
Faithful – look for someone who follows through on their commitments.
Available – someone who has (or can make) the time to follow through with discipleship (this will become evident in the Share part of the process.
Teachable – someone who is actually willing to learn and grow.
These people might be right here in the building right now. The point of the groups is to become better disciples of jesus who then make more disciples of jesus, who know God and make Him known, who live by His teachings and follow Him. That doesn’t exclude how beneficial it will be to the person you might be sitting with right now. We can all take it to the next level and doing a group with someone you know can be a great way to start and learn so that maybe next time in 6 months or a year you’re feeling more confident to have a group with people who don’t go to church yet.
They might be someone you work with or are at school with. Or your kids know each other. Or they live next door. Groups in this day and age don’t even have to be in person anymore – you could have a group with people you’ve connected with online or people who live anywhere in the world.
So how do we see where people are at and if they’d be a good fit for the process?
In Shoe Who the contestants asked the taskmaster questions to narrow down the criteria for their choice. Is it a white shoe? A sports shoe? A child’s shoe?
In the same way our conversations and questions can help us identify who might be a good person for this style of discipleship.
We often think we need a lot of the right words or precise formula to win others, but in reality, people are more willing to tell you exactly where they are spiritually if we are willing to listen to them. People aren’t projects. To make this work we actually have to care and be willing to form a connection. Asking questions communicates that we’re not assuming we know what they believe or what they need. Genuine questions about their life experience, their trials, and their family go a long way in building trust and respect. Doing life with people matters. The response we’re looking for is when they open up and start to talk about their felt needs, their pressure points and begin to ask questions about God. They might have some church in their history and have questions about whether it really is real. They might be looking at the world and seeing all the brokenness and wonder where God is in the middle of the mess. The good thing about the process is we don’t have to have all the answers. The point of the process is to open the bible together and to ask God to speak and He does. He encourages, He teaches, He challenges, He draws, He answers.
As we start with this refocus on being disciples who make disciples, who start to sow in our everyday lives with the people in our world we are going to see the ripple effect this has, not only for the people who are open and ready to take that next step, but in us as we see what happens when we step out and God steps in. There is nothing more awesome than being part of that link in the chain of someones story with coming to God and I don’t think we’ll see the impact we really have until the other side of this life. I hope you’re catching the potential this has to go viral in such a good way. This is how Jesus changes the world!
Last year I went with a bunch of people to Wakanda Forever. During the movie there was a guy with a deep booming voice who “gave commentary” on certain people and easter eggs. He gave context to about people and some of the marvel lore. I know that some of the people in the theatre would have been annoyed at this but I was impressed at his level of knowledge and to be honest, it was just funny.
At the end of the movie I was waiting with my kids and some of the other guys near the carpark and we were just chatting about the movie. A guy was standing next to us.
Next thing I knew this random guy was asking how long we’d being marvel fans and did we notice the connection between xyz.
I left challenged.
This random guy started up a conversation with us, a group of complete strangers, because he was passionate about marvel movies. He wanted us to know the cool stuff he knew. He wanted to know the cool stuff we knew. He was a marvel disciple, making disciples, sowing seeds, starting and seeing where we were at.
when I was growing up we lived in a tiny town in southland called Edendale. Edendale has a cheese factory and not much else. Lots of farms. My dad worked in “town” and I was not a farm type girl. At all. But all my friends were farm kids so I would go for playdates at their house, their farm and got to see lovely things like lambs being born and calfs been born – so gross both of them – and smell the silage and avoid all the poop everywhere. My dad took us fishing once. Once being the operative word. My brother was into it and my dad would go fishing with the farmers for fun and business appointments. So I went one day. My dad and brother had these cool flash looking fishing rods and I had the baby rod. Like it was way smaller than the others and well, it was the baby rod. So we’re doing the stuff and my dad showed me what to do and my brother hard core mocked me. As brothers do. Until I caught a fish. A 5 pound trout. I have a photo of me holding it and literally I could hold it straight out from my body and it went all the way to my toes. The thing with fishing is when you catch a fish you catch a fish. And they smell. And are slimey. And you have to kill it. And then gut it and gross. I refused to bonk it on the head with a rock and only consented to the photo for bragging rights as I was the only one to catch a fish that day. Fishing is gross.
Now in the bible a couple of Jesus’ disciples were professional fishermen. Not on the edge of a river but with boats and nets and a lake.
In Luke 5 we read about this time when they had been out fishing all night long and caught nothing. That is a bad days work. Anyway they meet Jesus, for the first time ever, and have this amazing encounter.
As the crowd was pressing in on Jesus to hear God’s word, He was standing by Lake Gennesaret. He saw two boats at the edge of the lake; the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, which belonged to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from the land. Then He sat down and was teaching the crowds from the boat. When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” “Master,” Simon replied, “we’ve worked hard all night long and caught nothing! But at Your word, I’ll let down the nets.” When they did this, they caught a great number of fish, and their nets began to tear. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them; they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, because I’m a sinful man, Lord! ” For he and all those with him were amazed at the catch of fish they took, and so were James and John, Zebedee’s sons, who were Simon’s partners. “Don’t be afraid,” Jesus told Simon. “From now on you will be catching people! ” Then they brought the boats to land, left everything, and followed Him.
Luke 5:1-11 HCSB
Now you might be thinking how does this connect with my life here and now?
When Jesus said to Peter “from now on you’ll be catching people” – he is talking about how each one of us as Christians are called to know God and make Him known. We are called to know that God is real, that He loves us, that He has plans for our lives, that He answers prayer, that He is good and awesome and great and that living for Him and knowing Him is the best decision you can ever make with your life for this life here on earth and for eternity after we die. We’re not meant to keep it a secret but to invite others to find out for themselves that God is real and good and worth knowing.
Jesus didn’t just call Peter and Andrew and James and John to be fishermen – he calls each one of us to be intentional about knowing Him and making Him known.
But it can be awkward right. You should have seen me that one and only time fishing – trying to do the whole casting off and then when I caught the fish … ugh. You see people doing it on tv and they make it look easy and relaxing and fun. I don’t know if it was just me and I was super awkward and uncoordinated but it was not easy or relaxing or fun.
The same thing can happen when we think about talking to someone about being a Christian or think about inviting someone to church.
We can feel super awkward and not know if we’re doing it right or if it will work or what the right words are and put it in the too hard basket. Or we can worry about what people will think of us or how they’ll respond. We can be concerned that they’ll judge us or feel judged. They might have their own set of beliefs. They might unfriend us.
When Jesus told Peter to put the nets out again Peter was like like, dude, I’m the professional fisherman here, and we’ve been doing this al night and it didn’t work, there are no fish here today and its not how you do it and what do you know. But Peter still stepped out and obeyed Jesus, followed His instruction and they caught the motherload of fish.
In the same way when we step out and throw the nets out, when we talk to someone about being a Christian or invite someone to church– then its God who miraculously brings the fish to the catch. Think about it, on that night when Peter and that had been fishing there were no fish. Jesus says put the nets out on the other side of the boat and boom. Those fish had to come from somewhere. Maybe they portaled in but more realistically was they all swam from somewhere. They were perfectly positioned at the perfect time for the net.
In the same way God is working behind the scenes in peoples lives and is perfectly positioning them at the perfect time for a conversation and an invitation.
Becoming more comfortable about talking to people about God begins with first realizing how important it is.
Knowing the WHY behind why we do something helps us when the something might be hard or awkward. At the moment I have to take some pills in the morning and they taste GROSS. Like a mixture of sour and nastiness and just gross. But I know that I have to take them to get better. I know the WHY and so I just do it.
The other day I had to get a blood test – and I hate needles. Like hate. Like capital hate. But I knew I had to get it done and just do it and be brave. I knew the WHY.
Becoming a fisherman like Peter and John for people begins with knowing that WHY. It helps us overcome the awkward and to step out and throw our nets out.
There are people that God has positioned you with, in class, in your sports team, in your friend group that God has put there on purpose. They’re your fish. They’re HIS fish.
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Every man and woman who believes in Jesus are called to shine, to know God and make Him known. Its not just for special people or for pastors. It’s for all of us. We are all in ministry. We are the senior pastors in our world. This life is my ministry. My ministry is my life. This morning as you are at home with your family, your ministry is already happening. As you go to work, your ministry is already being lived out. Your ministry is happening wherever and whenever you live and are present in another’s life.
People are hungry for encounter with the real God. Within each person is a desire for forgiveness and innocence. Salvation isn’t an optional extra for life, it is a necessary essential, just as a parachute is a necessary essential for people about to jump out of a plane. As saved people we are called to tell others about the wonderful kindness and eternal rescue that we have experienced. God didn’t give the job to the angels but He gave it those who live the Gospel to tell the Gospel.
I think we know this but we hide our light for a few reasons and I want to give us 3 ways we can flip that switch.
- We forget we’re forgiven and don’t need to be ashamed anymore. I love what happened in Paul’s life – you can read about it in Acts 9. He used to be called Saul and his passion project was to go around Israel arresting and executing Christians. For real. Then He met Jesus and got saved. He became a Christian. He didn’t let what he had done before hold him back and the people were shocked, they literally said “hold up, isn’t this Saul who killed Christians?” We all make mistakes. None of us are perfect. That is why Jesus came. He is the only perfect one. We all have flaws and make mistakes. We all have good days when we feel really on fire and amped and its easy to shine, and we all have days when it feels like we shouldn’t have gotten out of bed because everything we did and do was wrong. We are all growing. There is grace to cover that. But that’s also the joy – authentically living it out – living in grace is an amazing demonstration to a world that is hungry for grace.
- We forget the sense of urgency – eternity is like real estate, its all about location location location and we get one life to make that decision as to where we spend it. We need to pray God show me your heart for the lost people in my life.
- We don’t know what to say, or how to say it. We don’t need to be Bible scholars, able to exegesis about the greater meaning of the third toe on the beasts left foot, but I think it is important to know your Bible – for personal reasons, you’re learning not just facts about God, but you are learning His promises and guidance for your own life, but also so that you have some answers to peoples questions.
1 Peter 3:15 Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have
Some people have religious backgrounds, others have studied philosophy and in this postmodern age everyone has an opinion on spirituality but the Word of God reveals to us WHO God really is and WHAT He has really done. The answers found in the Bible will challenge and convict and get all the way in because they are just not ordinary words but contain power from God.
In a way we’re all tailor-made with keys and strategies that help communicate the Gospel. I’m not talking about just personality and being an extrovert, but about a way of connecting with people and communicating the Gospel. Your story matters and is powerful and is your story of how God loves and rescues. Whatever your story looks like know that when you share it, when you tell people about the real things God has done and is doing, that it has an effect.
I asked some of my evangelistically wired friends what they do when talking to pre Christians, if they had a personal style in evangelism. One friend replied that he likes to use creation and science to open peoples eyes to the reality of God. Another likes to pray and introduce people to God through Holy Spirit encounter. Ray Comfort, international evangelist, uses the 10 commandments and tracts to communicate the need for a Saviour. When I was working in a customer service team before I had my kids I tried to just be myself. So when people asked me about my weekend I’d say I had an awesome time hanging out with friends and had church on Sunday. I’d talk about stuff going on in my life and how God had helped me. Every now and then one of my co workers would instead of asking me what I wanted from McDonalds down the road would ask if I wanted to help her get mcDonalds… code words for talk about her life, code works for asking advice, code words for me to watch for those transition moments. Sometimes they came, sometimes they didn’t, but they all knew I was a Christian and that it was real for me.
One thing we can also do is to intentionally look for those conversation transitions. Learn to recognize the moments in a conversation where you can talk about God, or flow the conversation in another direction. Learn how to ask open questions about what they believe and then reply with your own story. It takes practice to learn how to do this and the more often we do it the more comfortable we can become.
Also, our job may not be to close the deal. Every conversation we have with someone can be another rung on the ladder as someone journeys closer to God.
Remember – our job is to plant seeds and water seeds others have planted – it is God who grows the plant! Every conversation you have is doing something! Each time you talk to someone God is doing something. He is doing a hidden work in their hearts to draw them to Himself.
What works for you?
On Wednesday I celebrated my 26th born again day – the day I became a Christian.
I was invited to youth by a friend in class who had never talked to me about God or youth group or anything before, she just turned to me and said do you wanna come to youth group. I said yes. Because God had been at work in my life way before then to draw me to him.
But sometimes we forget this. We forget the power of invitation. We forget about how God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. We forget that God uses us to share the gospel and to invite people to church.
We get busy with life and family and work and doing, and we forget that Jesus Himself said that He came to seek and save the lost. His priority mission was one of rescue.
I want to take Evangelism out of the too hard basket and help us see that this is something we can do in our everyday real lives, with everyday real people, being our everyday real selves.
It is not something for just special super spiritual people. It is not just something for pastors. It is not even something just for extroverts.
It is the on earth mission that Jesus has given every single one of us if we are Christians.
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In 1985 Clarence Duncan arrived in Africa as missionary to the solidly Muslim people called the Yao who live mainly in Tanzania, Mozambique, and Malawi. When he settled in his village, he called for a meeting with the elders. After the pleasantries the chief asked him his name. Clarence replied, “Mr. Clarence.”
The council looked at each other for a moment and then the chief asked, “Why are you here?”
Again Clarence simply said, “I want to tell your people about Isa Al Mahsi (Jesus the Messiah).”
A couple months later, when the chief decided he could trust Clarence, he said, “Do you know why we allowed you to stay?”
Clarence said, “I never thought about it.”
“Twenty-one years ago a very old Yao man came to our village and called for a meeting as you did. When we asked him his name, this Yao man said, ‘Mr. Clarence’—which isn’t an African name at all! When we asked him why he came, he said, ‘I want to tell your people about Isa Al Mahsi.’ These were your very words. Twenty-one years ago Mr. Clarence led four of our villagers to follow Jesus. So we ran them out of the village. And we killed Mr. Clarence. The reason we allowed you to stay was we were afraid.”
That was 1985. Two years ago on a January morning 24 Muslim elders approached Clarence Duncan’s house. After a meal the leader sat in the middle of the room and said that they had come to ask questions about Christianity. Clarence said fine but that he would only answer them by reading from the Bible so they would know he did not invent the answers. So he gave each of them a Bible in the trade language. The first question was, “Why do you Christians say that there are three gods?”
Clarence said the answer was found in Deuteronomy 6:4 and gave them the page: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God. The Lord is one!” And he mentioned that Isa (Jesus) said this very thing in Mark 12:29.
The questioning went on till five in the afternoon. When all had left, the leader, Sheik Abu Bakr, stayed and asked if he could see Clarence in a week.
When they met Abu asked if Clarence knew why they came to see him last week. Clarence said he assumed it was to ask questions. But Abu said, “No, it was because the Christian church is growing so fast we knew we had to kill you. We had consulted for three days and prepared our magic. You were to be struck dumb when we asked questions, then fall on the ground paralyzed and then die. But when you kept talking, and even stood up and moved around, we knew you had a stronger Spirit and gave up.”
Then Abu said, “I want to become a Christian.” And he told an amazing story.
“When I was a teenager, in our village we were not Muslim people and we were not Christian. We were Achewa people with our own religion. Behind our village was a hill where I would often go to pray.
“One day I was on that hill praying. Suddenly all around me was a blinding light. Out of this light I saw a big hand coming toward me holding an open book. I looked at the book and saw writing on the page. A Voice told me to read. I protested that I could not read, never having been to school. The Voice again told me to read. So I did. And suddenly the book and the hand disappeared.
“I ran back to my village and all the people were looking for me, thinking I had died on that hill! They asked about a fire they had seen up there. When I told them the story, they laughed at me saying, You can’t read!
“Someone got a book and I began to read! Then people came from all around to find out more about what happened and asked questions. The Muslim authorities found out about me and I was trained in the ways of Islam. Soon all or our village became Muslim. For 15 years I was the greatest debater against the Christians.”
He paused and then said, “You remember when I asked you the first question about why Christians believe in three gods? Your answer was Deuteronomy chapter 6, verse 4.”
“That’s right,” Clarence said.
Sheik Abu Bakr looked Clarence Duncan in the eye and said, “That was the same passage that this Voice on the mountain showed me. At that moment I knew that the God you were talking about was the True God!”
“Then why did you keep asking me all those questions the whole day?”
“Because,” he smiled, “I wanted all these Muslim leaders to know what the Christians believe and I wanted them to hear it from you. The whole day I pretended unbelief so that I could ask more questions. Now I want to become a Christian.”
from https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/the-leading-of-the-lord-in-personal-evangelism
Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com
Francis of Assai said “Preach the Gospel at all times, if necessary, use words.” Our whole lives are opportunities to demonstrate God and His power to save and transform. But there are times when WORDS are necessary to communicate the message of salvation. People usually don’t learn about the Good News by osmosis!
As Christians everyday we encounter people who may need to know the Good News about God. How do we go from “ordinary” conversation to talking about God?
And how do we go and talk to complete strangers about God?
People are hungry for encounter with the real God. Within each person is a desire for forgiveness and innocence. Salvation isn’t an optional extra for life, it is a necessary essential, just as a parachute is a necessary essential for people about to jump out of a plane. As saved people we are called to tell others about the wonderful kindness and eternal rescue that we have experienced. God didn’t give the job to the angels but He gave it those who live the Gospel to tell the Gospel.
“Lost people matter to God, and so they must matter to us.” Keith Wright
We are called and empowered by the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us to GO but sometimes taking that first step can be the hardest obstacle to get over.
Here are a few simple things that we can do or know that can set us up for successful conversations about God with strangers.
Know what The Message is.
We don’t need to be Bible scholars, able to exegesis about the greater meaning of the third toe on the beasts left foot, but I think it is important to know your Bible – for personal reasons, you’re learning not just facts about God, but you are learning His promises and guidance for your own life, but also so that you have some answers to peoples questions.
1 Peter 3:15 Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have
Some people have religious backgrounds, others have studied philosophy and in this postmodern age everyone has an opinion on spirituality but the Word of God reveals to us WHO God really is and WHAT He has really done. The answers found in the Bible will challenge and convict and get all the way in because they are just not ordinary words but contain power from God.
Know WHAT the Gospel is. What did Jesus do and why? Prepare yourself to answer people’s questions.
And perhaps more importantly – believe it. Know it and believe it.
Know who YOU are, and what your style is.
Really? Yes really. In a way we’re all tailor-made with keys and strategies that help communicate the Gospel. I’m not talking about just personality and being an extravert, but about a way of connecting with people and communicating the Gospel.
For myself, if I am out talking to strangers along Eastern Beach I often start with the question “Are you interested in God?” This was a question and strategy that God gave me one morning while I was praying that I have found very effective. Most people ARE interested in spiritual things!
I asked some of my evangelistically wired friends what they do when talking to pre Christians, if they had a personal style in evangelism. One friend replied that he likes to use creation and science to open peoples eyes to the reality of God. Another likes to pray and introduce people to God through Holy Spirit encounter. Ray Comfort, international evangelist, uses the 10 commandments and tracts to communicate the need for a Saviour.
Discover your own personal style and then flow with that.
Recognize conversation TRANSITIONS
This is especially important in everyday interactions and conversations with friends, workmates etc, but can also play an important part in talking to complete strangers in an evangelism context. Learn to recognize the moments in a conversation where you can talk about God, or flow the conversation in another direction. Learn how to ask open questions about what they believe and then reply with your own testimony. It takes practice to learn how to do this, and often in hindsight you can more clearly identify something that could have springboarded into talking about God.
It’s a PROCESS
Revival is about as much of a miracle as a crop of wheat. If you don’t plow, sow, water and reap you will never see a revival. If you plant the seed God has given you and pray over the place where you live and partner with the Holy Spirit you will watch God move in your region this year. Andrew Robertson
Remember – our job is to plant seeds and water seeds others have planted – it is God who grows the plant! Every conversation you have is doing something! Each time you talk to someone God is doing something. He is doing a hidden work in their hearts to draw them to Himself.
Nike
Just do it! Just start. Fight the fear and just do it. When the opportunity arises to go to the beach with someone to invite people to church go along and join in. Go and watch someone in action. Some people are wired to love evangelism and talking to strangers, but most people aren’t. There is no out clause on the Great Commission though. It’s totally fine to feel nervous about stepping out. But don’t let that restrict you. Overcome the fear. It’s easier than you expect.
Above all else, it goes almost without saying, be in love with Jesus and know His everlasting love for you. Be always falling more in love with Him and be transformed by His power. This will be communicated, without words, to those you talk to and are with each day.
Evangelism is simply sharing what you’ve been shown. Simple. Let’s not complicate it. We are called to be witnesses and ambassadors of the Good News of salvation, found only in Jesus Christ. Let’s get out there and do it – there is a whole world ready to hear!
Would you like to come to church with me sometime?”
Few Christians would disagree with the principle of this question. We might even agree that inviting people to church is a key part of evangelism and central to the mission of any church body. And get this, people actually want to be invited to church, too: 9 out of 10 unchurched people say they would come to church if invited, according to researcher Thom Rainer.
The only problem is, we rarely ask the question.
This next stat is a tough pill to swallow: about 1 in 5 of us churchgoers invites anybody to church in the course of a year, per Rainer. We might have someone who could be totally up for it right in front of us, practically beckoning us to invite them, and instead we hesitate and hem and haw and sometimes don’t even get the words out of our mouths.
We need to:
- PRAY YOU’D HAVE GOD’S HEART FOR THE LOST
- PRAY FOR COURAGE
- PRAY FOR SPECIFIC PEOPLE
- REMEMBER YOUR OWN CALLING
- REMEMBER THE GOSPEL
- TRUST IN THE POWER OF THE GOSPEL TO SAVE
- KNOW THAT SHARING THE HOPE OF ETERNITY IS LOVING
- KNOW THAT IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU
Then we need to JUST DO IT.
Let’s get our brave on and do it afraid and see the awesome things that God will do through us as we step out.
How many of you went to church or youth group the first time because someone invited you?
On Thursday night our guest speaker at church, Georgian Banov shared about how he became a Christian – he kept on being invited round to peoples houses for meals and they would talk to him about Jesus and after about 2 months he said yes to going along to church with them.
My own story is that I was invited to church by a friend in class who had never talked to me about God or youth group or anything before, she just turned to me and said do you wanna come to youth group. I said yes. Because God had been at work in my life way before then to draw me to him.
But sometimes we forget this. We forget the power of invitation. We forget about how God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. We forget that God uses us to share the gospel and to invite people to church.
We get busy with life and family and work and doing, and we forget that Jesus Himself said that He came to seek and save the lost. His priority mission was one of rescue.
It’s great to come to church and get blessed and encouraged and to connect and to be inspired…. But one of the most important functions and designs of the church is to reach out to those who are lost, hurting, broken. This is OUR mission.
As the children of God we are His representatives here on earth. We are called to seek and save the lost – just as Jesus did.
Now sometimes we can put this into the too hard basket, or we think it’s something that only the evangelists can do, or the pastors, or we don’t quite know what to say or how to do it.
The great thing is that God gives us all the tools to step out – because He has given us the Holy Spirit which empowers us to be His witness. All we need to do is say YES to be used by God and to then step out and do it!
This week, think about who you can invite to church. Think about who you can reach out to…. then just do it!
The other week I had a dream I knew was from God. Last night I shared about it with my youth at HKC as they were main characters in it.
In my dream a whole bunch of us were in a massive hotel. It had many floors and elevators and stairs. We were in a room with huge glass windows and glass French doors that showed us the rest of the hotel. It had a library and big tv and comfy sofas. While we were hanging out the hotel hallways started to fill with people. Some were faces I knew and some were strangers. Then there was a noise. We looked out the windows to the outside and into the hallways and the hotel was been taken over by daleks.
The Daleks were going round saying EXTERMINATE EXTERMINATE and zapping people. We moved the couches and shelves over the doors and barricaded ourselves in the big safe room. But we realized that the people in the halls were in danger and at opportune moments we would pull the couches back and then rush into the halls warning people and getting them to come into the big safe room with us. In the big room they could read and rest or watch a movie. More and more people joined us and then more and more people were going into the hallways and up the stairs and rescuing people.
RESCUED PEOPLE RESCUE PEOPLE
For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” 21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin,[e] so that we could be made right with God through Christ. 2 Cor 5:19-21
Being a rescuer starts from the inside out. It starts with making rescuing a priority. It starts with aligning our heart and goals and identity with His heart, His goals and His identity.
It starts with knowing that our mission is to know God and make Him known, that “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost” Luke 19:10. Like really knowing.
Earlier this month our Kids church pastor and I did a first aid course. After doing the course we feel empowered and ready to save lives and leap buildings in a single bound. We did the CPR training – 30 to 2 no matter who, to the beat of staying alive, which sounds much better than to the beat of another one bites the dust. We bandaged head wounds, knife wounds and a range of broken bones and amputations. I only killed Jen once in our practice scenarios. Of course the key to first aid is blankets – do you know how many times we had to use a blanket to complete our assessments and save our patients. Many times. But seriously, the key to first aid is knowing what to do in an emergency situation and having some pre-prepared responses that kick in when needed.
After having a conversation with someone the other day I realized that there are parallels between first aid and evangelism. The key to feeling empowered to step into an emergency first aid situation is as I said, that knowledge of what to do and some pre-prepared responses that guide you through a situation. I feel confident that if I came across an incident, that because of the first aid training that I would feel competent to step in. I even dreamed about it the other night! I did however think it was odd that kylo ren was the ambulance driver…. Welcome to my world….
The key to feeling empowered to step into an evangelistic situation also involves knowing what to do and how to use those skills. Our confidence comes from being trained and equipped to step in when the opportunity presents itself.
God has called each one of us to be ambassadors and witnesses – to shine His light into the world so that people will see God in the darkness. It is God who saves and draws people to Himself but He demonstrates His love and grace and lives out salvation in us.
One Passion One Devotion 