Bringing Your Relationships Into Focus - Day 2

We continue our devotional series this morning by looking at different ways to share our faith. This devotional comes from a sermon series at Lifechurch.tv based on the book Chazown by Craig Groeschel.

You are the light of the world. Matthew 5:14

God wants to use you to lead people to become fully devoted followers of Christ. In Matthew 28:19, Jesus asked that you share Him with others, that you evangelize. For a lot of people, when they think of an evangelist, they think of someone on TV who wears an expensive suit, has perfectly combed hair, jewelry, funny ways of preaching, and asks for money. Truthfully, evangelism boils down to relationships more than anything else. If you have a relationship with someone who does not know God, He wants you to lead them to Him. In Bill Hybels’ book, Contagious Christianity, he presents six ways to share your faith. You might not be comfortable with some forms of evangelism, but God has put you in the right place to reach the right people, in the right way. Try exploring these different ways of sharing your faith:

1. Confrontation
Similar to the Apostle Peter’s approach, one way to evangelize is to be “in your face,” boldly witnessing without hesitation. In the Bible, Jesus asked, “Who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” He didn’t think about it, beat around the bush, or ask others for advice. He blurted it out. He was direct and bold, and he confronted people with the facts. It’s no wonder God chose him as His spokesman on the day of Pentecost. God may put you in a situation with someone where the Spirit of God moves you to confront him boldly about his standing with God. If you feel God moving you in this way, open your mouth and watch as God gives you the words to share.

2. Intellect
Paul regularly used an intellectual approach with others. You can read the entire book of Romans and chapter 17 of Acts to observe how Paul expertly presents sound explanations regarding God’s nature, our sin, and Christ’s solution. He had an organized mind and was highly educated in debate. Paul asked, “Shall we go on sinning, that grace may abound? By no means! We died to sin. How can we live in it any longer?” Many people reject Christ because they can’t find anyone to answer their questions. They might have become followers of Christ, if someone would just have explained who Christ is. If God gave you an intellectual mind and the ability to easily defend the gospel, ask God for opportunities to use this intellectual approach in leading people to Christ.

3. Testimony
In John 9:25, we read about a man who was blind from birth. After Jesus put mud on his eyes, He told the man to go wash in the pool of Siloam. In response to doubters, this man said, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I do not know. One thing I do know, I was blind, but now I see!” This man refused to enter into a theological debate, and he wasn’t confrontational. He simply knew that Jesus had changed his life, and he told his story.

4. Interpersonal
Luke 5:29 says, “Then Levi (this is Matthew) held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them.” Matthew didn’t confront, intellectually challenge, or tell stories. He simply built relationships. He cared about people. God wants you to reach out to people who don’t know Him, show them His love, and watch them come to know Him personally.

5. Service
Acts 9:36 says, “In Joppa, there was a disciple named Dorcas, who was always doing good and helping the poor.” Her work was so important that when she died a premature death, God raised her back to life. (Maybe He just felt sorry that she had to live with a name like Dorcas—kidding! Just kidding.) Maybe you’ve heard, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Once you build trust, and people know you genuinely care for them, they will be more likely to listen when you talk about Christ.

6. Invitation
After Jesus prophesied to a Samaritan woman about her life and offered her living water, she realized He was the one everyone had been expecting. In John 4:29 she said to her friends, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” What did she do? She invited people to come and meet Him. Anyone can invite people to church. A church attendance study revealed that four out of fi ve non-Christians will come to church when invited by trusted friends. As you begin to share your faith, always do so prayerfully. Ask God to give you wisdom, sensitivity, and the right words to say. Let the Holy Spirit use you to lead people to become fully devoted followers of Christ.


Next Steps for Today:

• What’s your story? Here’s a challenge: Practice telling a one-minute version of the story of your relationship with Christ. Be prepared to introduce someone to the subject at any time. Ask God to give you opportunities to share this story, and, using your testimony, lead people to Christ.
• How many people who are not followers of Christ are you intentionally developing relationships with? List some practical ways you can intentionally share God’s love with them.
• Think about people you could invite to church, expose to the presence of Christ, and let God touch their lives. List three people, and prayerfully commit to ask them to church this month.

Prayer for Today:
Lord, please make us sensitive to Your Spirit in sharing Your Word with others. Give us an understanding of our gifts and of how You desire for us to interact with others. We only want to do what You have prepared in advance for us to do*. Guide us and lead us to divine moments, conversations, and relationships.
*See Ephesians 2:10.