Closer Nights: Sharing Your Faith

Basic Principles for Sharing Your Faith

Accepting Jesus is the most important moment of our lives!

Sharing our faith is our next most important moments

______________

Precedents of sharing our faith

God used Philip to lead others to Jesus with two forms of evangelism. In the early part of Acts 8,

Philip is engaged in what you might call mass evangelism. (Church Services)

Later, we see him doing personal evangelism, as he talks one-on-one with the Ethiopian. Acts 8:26

God uses both forms of evangelism in getting out the gospel.

Interestingly, surveys have shown that 85% of those who come forward at a crusade have been brought by a friend.

In a sense, it is one-on-one evangelism using an event to expose someone to Christ. {THIS IS WHY EASTER IS SO IMPORTANT}

_____________

Acts 8:26–40 lays out several important principles we should follow in witnessing to others.

Principle 1: Have a God-given burden and compassion for the lost.

We never know when we start the day whether the Lord has plans for us to share His gospel with a whole roomful of people—

a group of friends or family

just one individual.

But our witness will be empty if we have no compassion for the people we are sharing with.

four essential truths about people that you must understand:

Every life without Christ has a basic emptiness.

We often will not be reaching out to people who are unaware of their need for something.

Every individual experiences loneliness.

We are not inviting people into a set of rules…We are offering them the opportunity to walk in relationship with the God of all the earth!

Everyone has a sense of guilt.

While guilt should not be the primary reason that people come to Jesus…it is a great starting point of motivation.

There is a universal fear of death.

One thing that almost everyone you meet who is alive has in common..is that we have not experienced death

THE UNKNOWN NATURE CARRIES WITH IT A SENSE OF APPREHENSION AND ANXIETY

Everyone will spend eternity somewhere

Heaven or hell are the only choices.

If we believe in the reality of eternity…our lifestyles should look different.

_______________

Some people may appear to have it all together,

no matter how much money,

possessions,

sex,

or power they have,

they still have a basic emptiness. Everyone longs for inner security and peace—and nothing outside of Christ can fill that need.

As you recognize the fullness that a life in Christ offers, and you understand these basic facts about people in general, you will have a greater desire to share the hope that is within you.

Principle 2: No One is Off Limits

Philip, forced to leave the city he knew as home, preached the message of Christ wherever he went—

even if it meant preaching to a group of people he had previously been taught to hate. In this case, he went to Samaria (Acts 8:4–5).

As a Jew, he would have been raised with a natural prejudice against the Samaritans.

Yet, Philip was simply following the lead of his Lord, Jesus, who had planted the first seed in Samaria through His conversation with the woman at the well.

(OFTEN WE SHARE OUR FAITH TO DISCOVER A SEED HAS ALREADY BEEN PLANTED.)

Evangelism is a great manifestation of teamwork

1 Corinthians 3:6–8 (NKJV)

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.

So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.

Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

This passage illustrates that God often uses a number of Christians to reach someone for Christ.

Principle 3: Be open and available to the leading of God’s Holy Spirit.

Philip was told where to go. He heard the leading of the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:26).

This can make all the difference in sharing one’s faith.

Paul’s words to Timothy, “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2).

We need to be listening to the Lord. As Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27).

It may come in the form of an impression, or a sense of burden for an individual. But you must take it as a possible leading from the Lord Himself.

Principle 4: Be obedient to God’s leading.

We read that Philip “arose and went” (Acts 8:27).

He was obedient to the Lord’s calling.

God told another individual to get up and go—and he got up and went the opposite direction! His name was Jonah,

Philip could have easily questioned the logic of such a decision. After all, he was in the midst of a full-scale revival in Samaria, with many coming to faith, miracles happening, and people being delivered from demons.

He could have argued with the angel, “What? Leave this mighty work in Samaria to go to the desert?

80 miles from where you want me to go.

apostles and other believers are at least 30 miles closer.

Why don’t you just use one of them?”

But Philip did not argue. He obeyed—

What if we stopped arguing with God by telling him all the reasons we can’t be the one who wins THAT PERSON.

God has uniquely prepared you and positioned you

But if you do not seize the moment, He will find another to take your place. In the story of Queen Esther, Esther’s cousin Mordecai understood this aspect of God’s work on earth, and he told Esther,

“If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. What’s more, who can say but that you have been elevated to the palace for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14).

When God tells you to go and do something, He sees the big picture,

while we are limited to the small one.

God does not usually give us a detailed blueprint, but instead leads us one step at a time. If you are unwilling to take the first step, don’t expect Him to give you the second!

Interestingly, God decided to move Philip out of a great revival to reach one single man. This shows that God is keenly interested in individuals. As in the parable of the lost sheep, He is willing to leave the 99 in search of that one lost lamb (Luke 15:4–7).

Principle 5: Be tactful and clear.

When Philip approached the Ethiopian eunuch, he asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” (Acts 8:30).

He does not start out with a statement like, “Are you saved?” or “Do you know that you are going to Hell?” Instead, Philip carries on a dialogue with the man. He speaks, and then he listens. - HE RELATES WITH THE MAN WHERE HE IS!

One of the best ways to share your faith with someone is to listen to that person for awhile.

Ask him about

his opinions,

his situation,

his thoughts.

Then build from there. That is certainly the model Jesus gave us in His one-on-one encounters with individuals (e.g., the woman at the well in John 4:7–30).

Responding to Philip’s tactful statement, this empty man from Ethiopia found Jesus Christ. He asked Philip to guide him, or show him the way.

God wants to use you to show the way to others.

“How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14).

“For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe” (1 Corinthians 1:21).

This last verse does not say that it pleased God through foolish preaching to save, or it pleased God through Christian entertainment to save those who believe. It says “through the foolishness of the message preached.” In other words, God saves people through the simple message of the gospel. In the words of the blind man healed by Jesus, “One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see!” (John 9:25).

An opportunity seized.

In November of 1996, the news media covered the story of a hijacked jet with 163 passengers and 12 crew members that crashed near the Comoros Islands because it ran out of fuel. What we did not read or hear was a dramatic story of what God did in the final moments of that ill-fated flight. There was a man on board named Andrew Meekens, an elder in the International Evangelical Church of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He was on his way to a Bible conference. He was described as a reserved man, yet deeply committed in his faith. According to survivors of the crash, after the pilot announced that he would be attempting an emergency landing, Meekens, seizing the moment, stood up and quickly shared the gospel message with all on board, and invited people to respond. A surviving flight attendant said that about 20 people accepted Christ, including a fellow flight attendant who did not survive the crash.

While the opportunities God gives you to share your faith may not be as dramatic, they are just as significant to the Lord. If you follow these biblical principles for personal evangelism, like Philip from the early church, you will surely see God use you in amazing ways.

Principle #6: We must adapt to the situation

God led Philip to a visiting dignitary from Ethiopia who had actually come to Jerusalem searching for God and was now reading from the Book of Isaiah. You could call it a divine set-up.

Philip assessed the situation by asking the man about his reading material (Acts 8:30). When he found out that the man was reading from Isaiah chapter 53 (a chapter that speaks prophetically of Jesus), he adapted his message accordingly: “Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him” (Acts 8:35).

Philip found some common ground upon which to build his message.

The apostle Paul spoke of this in 1 Corinthians:

(1 Corinthians 9:19-23

1 Corinthians 9:19–23 NKJV

For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.

Fishers of men

Jesus said: “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19).

A more literal translation of that verse is, “I will make you catch men alive.”

This Greek verb is used in only one other place in the Bible.

In speaking of the unbeliever, Paul says: ” . . . that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive (caught alive) to do his will” (2 Timothy 2:26).

In other words, according to these two passages of Scripture, either we can catch men alive, or the devil will catch men alive.

Principle #7: We must find the right bait

Just as experienced fishermen use specific baits and lures to catch certain fish, we need to use different bait as we go fishing to catch men alive in the sea of life.

Jesus gives us the perfect example in this regard. Throughout the gospels, He never deals with any two people in exactly the same way.

To a woman who had spent a lifetime trying to fill a void in her life with failed relationships with men, Jesus spoke of the deepest spiritual thirst John 4:5–29).

To a man of tremendous intellect who was an expert in theology, Jesus spoke in almost childlike terms about the need to be “born again” John 3:1–21

To a lonely, friendless outcast perched on a tree to simply catch a glimpse of Jesus in the crowd, Jesus offered friendship, calling him down to have a meal together (see Luke 19:1–10

To a woman actually caught in the act of adultery, Jesus spoke of mercy (see John 8:3–11).

Like Jesus, we need to recognize the specific needs of individuals as we present the gospel. God is looking for responsible sharpshooters, not haphazard machine gunners.

Billy Graham has said: “Time and time again in my ministry, I have quoted a Bible verse in a sermon—sometimes without planning to do so in advance—and had someone tell me afterward that it was that verse which the Holy Spirit used to bring conviction of faith to him. ‘Is not my word like a fire . . . and like a hammer that shatters a rock?'”