EXPANDING THE KINGDOM

  • July 9th, 2010 | Johnny Bragg | 2 Comments |

    Whenever I talk about evangelism and growing the body of Christ, my gut says “Oh, NO.  I’m going to have to witness to someone. Going to have feel other people looking at me like I’m a  freak-show snake-handler. Please make evangelism go away.”

    We’ve all felt that way. The uncomfortable feeling before we speak up and talk to someone about the Lord. The perspiration building as we awkwardly tell someone the Good News. And the feeling of failure when we get rejected.

    And that’s the problem. We (I do this too!) think it’s about us. That we are trying to sell someone a product, and their reaction is personal. They are rejecting us.

    Growing the Kingdom, sharing the Gospel, and pointing others to Christ is a commandment. Jesus only told us once to “go and make disciples,” Matthew 28:19, but once was enough.

    My experience is that most Christians want to share their faith, but they feel unequipped. Let me share a few keys of evangelism I believe will help you in the days ahead.

    1. People take time. Research shows it takes on average seven times of sharing the Gospel with an individual for them to accept Christ. Seven! This is usually over a number of years with many different people. When you witness, your job may be to just plant a seed in that person’s life. But plant it well!

    2. People are open, hungry, hurting, and lost. The world desperately needs what you have. I watched a documentary recently on climbing Mount Everest. A climber in the death zone (above 24,000 feet) passed another climber laying in the snow, out of oxygen and slowly passing from this life. The first climber immediately took her own oxygen off and gave it to the dying man, and worked to get him to safety. Our lives are similar. We carry the one thing that this world needs in order to truly live. When we come in contact with those who are dying, we should instinctively give our lives to help. “Look! I tell you, raise your eyes and observe the fields and see how they are already white for harvesting.” John 4:35 NIV

    3. People are watching. I love sharing my faith without using words. Showing the love of Christ to my neighbor without having to preach to them. Preaching gets old. I’m a preacher and I annoy myself. But what doesn’t grow stale is having a heart to serve, living a life that exemplifies Christ, and gently showing those around you the love of Jesus. The old timers used to say that you may be the only Bible those around you read. True today more than ever.

    It’s not easy to share with others, but we must. I encourage you to shine the light of Jesus today. Pray and ask the Lord for open doors. And show someone the love of the Savior.


2 Responses and Counting...

  • Cameron 07.09.2010

    Some great points. I really enjoyed this sermon.

  • Johnny Bragg

    Thanks, Cam. Looking forward to part 2 this week as well.

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