I grew up going to church every Sunday. I went to a private
grade school and high school. I was involved in every way possible in serving
in the church and had mastered the outward actions of faith, but I was not
actively learning about Jesus. When I came to college a group of girls stepped
out and took the initiative with me and I now have a relationship with Jesus
and am experiencing the blessings of it daily. Towards the beginning of
freshman year one of the girls on my floor invited me to hang out with her and some
others. I had no idea I was going to spend my night with Christians, but in the
middle of dinner they began talking about churches and invited me to check out
one with them that weekend. They talked to me about what they were learning,
invited me to a bible study and church hangouts. They got to know me and built
a friendship with me. I think if you asked any of these girls today if they
knew during that time the impact they were having in my life, they would say
no. They had no idea what they were doing, but God used their tiny steps of
faith to make a big difference in my life and draw me into relationship with
Him.
So when I heard about taking the “initiative” in sharing my
faith, I always thought that was my time to tune out. I was simply here to hear
and absorb the message of Jesus.
Never in my wildest imagination did I think I was going to be someone
going and taking the initiative myself. But God used other people taking a step
of faith in my life to bring me to Him and He is daily changing my heart to
desire to do the same for others. So, my prayer is for all of you to realize
that God is ready to use you and will when you make yourself available! God, in
His grace and love, has called us to go and be a part of what He is doing.
Why Do We Share?
- · Romans 10:8-15—“ But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
- · Our hope for others to experience hope in Christ and eternal life with Him
- · God has designed the gospel to be spread through us. Paul leads us through 4 logical points that show this…
1) People will call on Jesus to save them only if they believe He can do so.
2) Belief in
Jesus only comes when people have knowledge
about Him.
3) Knowledge only
comes when someone shares the good news!
4) To share the news, we need to be sent.
à
You’ve already been sent. Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus says “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I
have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
So if we proclaim Jesus to be our Savior and love Him and as
an overflow of that love, serve Him, how is it that this command to share is
often forgotten?
Why keeps us from
sharing?
1) We aren’t qualified
- · “I won’t know what to say. I won’t know how to answer their questions. I don’t have that kind of personality. I could never be bold enough. I’m not gifted in evangelism. I still have my own questions and doubts, how can I share with someone else?”
- · This puts the focus on YOU and your abilities—but it is Christ that is working! Not us.
- · When Jesus sent us, He promised to be with us always so we do not need to fear about our strength not being enough
- · The woman at the well went and told people about Jesus immediately. She was not qualified but Jesus was so great that people were drawn to Him. (John 4:1-42)
2) We have a misunderstanding of our purpose in life
- · Think our purpose is success in school, work, family, etc… but our purpose is to glorify the Lord in all we do. The purpose is the gospel!
- · We take initiatives in other completing other goals in life, so why is it taboo to take initiative to complete our purpose to glorify Christ by sharing Him?
3) We do not understand the importance or urgency of sharing
the gospel
- · Do you believe in a heaven and a hell?
- · Do you believe that you and others are sinners and need someone who is perfect and flawless to mend our brokenness?
- · Do you believe Jesus is the perfect and flawless one who took God’s wrath that we deserved?
- · And do you believe it is by His grace and faith in Jesus that you can confidently live your life in the freedom of knowing you have eternal life with God in heaven?
- · If your answer is “yes” to the above questions, you have the GIFT of eternity to share with others—life is fragile. Don’t wait.
Once we understand our purpose and motive for sharing, how
do we reach out to others?
Tips for Sharing
1) Walk daily with the Lord
- · We can only lead others as deep as we have gone.
- · Take it one step further and talk about your faith with Christians around you too. If you can’t talk about faith with other believers, how can you talk about it with someone who does not know Jesus?
2) Reach out as a community
- · Christian community is a gift God has given us and we can use it to reach out to others
- · What if we were so invested as a community in seeing our friends come to Christ that you could walk into Cru, see someone and ask, “hey how’s your friend Sussie? Have you had any opportunities to talk to her about her faith lately?”
3) Use opportunities Cru offers
- · Go out and do soularium or perspective cards—it’s the easiest way! If all you are comfortable with is watching, then you don’t need to say a word. Come and observe
- · It will give you the opportunity to observe conversations and pick up ways to explain the gospel or ask questions
- · Share everystudent.com
4) Understand you have the responsibility to share the gospel and the
capability to do it because of the Holy Spirit living in you!
I am far from perfect. I know I have so much learning to do
for sharing my faith with people around me and I think about the opportunities
God has given me in the past to do so, it doesn’t even make sense! But I’m
praying that one day Cru would be known as that group of people that love Jesus
so much they can’t stop talking about him. We could walk in to cru and expect
to meet someone who is hearing about Jesus for the first time and being
encouraged by a group to pursue Him. Wouldn’t it be sweet if there were more
new believers in cru than people who have walked with Jesus their whole life?
I’m going to keep praying and trying my best to walk in the spirit to do my
part. I invite you to do the same and I think God will do some incredible
things if we join this effort together.
For more information check out the book, “The Finishers” by
Roger Hershy and Jason Wiemer. Also, check out this video for a neat
perspective on the urgency of the gospel.
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