Sharing the Gospel
Last night, my husband and I went through a day’s worth of reading of one of my Bible devotionals (called ADVANCE: Brining the Gospel Wherever You Go on the YouVersion’s Bible app). After reading the devotional and the Bible verses that correlated with it, we discussed what the Lord pointed out to us during the reading. What stood out to my husband is that good news travels faster than bad news. After reading the examples they gave in the devotional and discussing it amongst ourselves, we agreed just how true this fact is. As a Yelp! Elite member, I’ve dined at amazing restaurants or had an excellent experiences at various businesses. After having delicious food or wonderful experiences, I cannot wait to share the “good news” with my family, friends, and Yelp community for others to experience themselves. Sharing the Gospel should be the exact same way.
Sharing the Good News so that others can experience for themselves is what we are commanded to do as Christians (see the Bible verse below), however, we may struggle to do so.
Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
- Matthew 28: 18-20 (NLT)
Some may experience fear or awkwardness when it comes to sharing our faith or even the word of God with others. The most important question with this is why? Going back to the Yelp analogy, there have been some places I’ve visited that I raved about to others, only to discover (later on) that they didn’t experience they same delightful experience as I did. My feelings were not hurt by their experience, nor did I feel ashamed for sharing my amazing experience with them. Sharing the Gospel should be similar in this regard. You shouldn’t feel scared or ashamed to share your experiences with just how good God is and has been to you with others. It’s up to them to truly seek Him and experience Him for themselves.
Being Strategic When Sharing the Good News
One major way to combat feeling awkward when sharing the Gospel is having a strategy. Having a strategy does not mean having a pre-planned formula that you use with every single person that you encounter. In fact, what works for one person may not work for another. Kind of like fishing. You need different bait to catch different fish. Similarly, when sharing the Gospel, it may take different ways of sharing or explaining things to really capture the attention of those you are talking to.
During our post-devotional Bible reading discussion, I mentioned strategy when sharing the Gospel to my husband. After attending many school of the supernatural classes at my church, I’ve learned that its less awkward and so much easier when you have a natural conversation with people instead of jumping right into the task at hand. Although sometimes the Holy Spirit does lead us to approach people this way, He will other times stir our hearts when we just having conversations with people. In fact, there have been many times in the past where some of my former co-workers or even my classmates and I were having a conversation when I felt led to mention something that the Lord put on my heart. That something could be just to pray for them or share my testimony with them. With being strategic and, most importantly, following the Holy Spirit’s leading, there was never an awkward moment when sharing God’s word.
Being Led By the Holy Spirit
Another point that my husband and I both agreed on was being led by the Holy Spirit when it comes to sharing the Good News. My husband gave a couple of examples of how Jesus, was led to various people at the direction of the Holy Spirit. For example, His encounter with the tax collector Zacchaeus (see Luke 19: 1-10), the Samaritan woman at the well (see John 4: 1-42), and the demon possessed man in the region of the Gerasenes (see Mark 5: 1-20) just to name a few. With these three examples alone, majority of them were considered sinners and outcasts in society during that period of time. Yet the Lord reach out to them.
“For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”
Thank God He saved us!
Jesus could have approached every single person that crossed His path to declare that He is the Way, Truth, and Life, but the Bible doesn’t mention Him doing this. Instead, it explains how the Holy Spirit strategically led Him to various people and situations. He only said and did what His Father told Him or showed Him to do. Nearly every encounter turned out to be fruitful as a result. Likewise, we should follow the Holy Spirit’s leading when it comes to the various people that stumble across our paths.
Here is a song that I was listening to during my drive back home from clinic today. It’s a song I’ve been listening to for several months now, but it really stood out to me today. The lyrics will be posted below the video.
LYRICS:
VERSE 1
You spoke the words let there be light and it was oh
And in that same breath the stars fell in line
With one voice creation cries
You do all things well(2x)
CHORUS
Be praised
Be praised
Be praised
Forever and always
VERSE 2
Lost in the dark up under the dirt
I was buried left to die
I heard your voice calling my name
From the tomb I came alive
You do all things well
From the tomb I came alive
You do all things well
CHORUS
Be praised
Be praised
Be praised
Forever and always
BRIDGE
When I think of all He’s done and all the battles you’ve brought me over
Hallelujah
For all the storms I saw him calm in my defense, my only song is
Hallelujah
And how He never let me fall, now unto Him who is able
Hallelujah
And let there never be a day that I don’t rise to bring you praise
Hallelujah
CHORUS
Be praised
Be praised
Be praised
Forever and always
PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, I thank You for sending Your Son as a sacrifice for our sins and redeeming us back to You so that we may have life and life more abundantly through You and You alone. I thank You for Your unconditional love to do so.
Thank You Abba for boldness to share Your Word and Your Good News to others around us. I rebuke the spirit of fear that may try to hinder us from sharing Your Word to others, in Jesus’ name! Help us to remember just how good You are, Father. Help us to remember EVERYTHING that You have done for us, even the things we may not be aware of. Let us not forget what You have done for us Lord.
Thank you for continuing to fan the flame of Your fire that You have put in us Lord. Let us not grow weary of doing Your will or sharing Your word with others. So thank You Abba for removing anything and everything in us that may try to choke out or hinder Your will and plan for our lives, in Jesus’ name. Thank You Lord for even a fresh fire that You are giving us Lord.
I bless you and honor Father. In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen!
