Share about the story about my blind and deaf dog: Who has dogs? Who has a bling a deaf dog? I do. You would probably expect that he would bump into things left and right as he navigates my house.. Well, you’d be correct, somewhat. Very regularly he steps on my foot. You also probably thought that it is nearly impossible to teach a blind a deaf dog tricks, like shake, sit, and come. Well, you’d be wrong. Even though he has his obstacles, he has been able to learn a few tricks along the way. With most tricks, there is a command that is paired with the action. With motivation from food, my boy Keller has learned how to “come” or move forward with a little brush under his chin, he has learned how to sit with a boop on the nose, and he has learned how to shake with a pat on the chest. Of course treats are what ultimately motivated him. Keller, even with his challenges, is still an intelligent creature that adapts to his environment and my wife and I love him equally to our other animals. Similarly, God loves you equally as much as the non-believer. In a similar way, non-believers are still intelligent, but do not see the truth of the gospel, and we should respect them as much as we would a believer, especially when sharing our faith. Similar to my boy Keller, non-believers seem to be on a complete opposite spectrum than believers. It is almost like they speak a completely different language than Christ-followers. Do you ever feel that sharing Jesus to others is like teaching a blind and deaf dog tricks? You’d be right. Both are not easy but both are possible. You just have to be patient and have a clear plan.
Talk about the plan: What I plan to teach you all today are these things: What is evangelism, scripture that explains what to do when sharing your faith, and an easy way to evangelize or share your faith. By the raise of hands, who’s down?
Ask about Evangelism: What is Evangelism?…Successful Evangelism is going forth and sharing the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit, and trusting God with the results.
Ask about what evangelism isn’t: What is evangelism not?…Evangelism is not angrily arguing about Christianity. Evangelism is not manipulation either. It is safe to say that straight up telling a non-believer that they are going to hell if they do not follow Christ is not going to bring others to follow Christ.
Ask about scripture connected with sharing your faith: Where does it say about sharing your faith in the Bible?
Talk down Write down these verses: 1 Peter 3:15-16
Read 1 Peter 3:15…As a Christ follower, God strongly encourages us to follow Jesus’s example and share the gospel to others. He is pleased when we share our faith. “Give the reason for the hope that you have”. It is not our responsibility to save others, just to share the hope of Christ. God will take care of the rest.
Ask about the difficulty of sharing: How difficult/easy is it to share the gospel to others? Pretty intimidating and difficult, right?
Read 1 Corinthians 3:6-9
Talk about planting the seed: Just plant the seed and God will do the rest. When you think of it this way, it is not as scary and intimidating as you probably made it to be.
Talk about how to begin with sharing: You may be thinking, “Where do I start?” Let me help you with that one!
Ask about places to start: But first, where do you think would be a good place to start when sharing others about the gospel?
Talk about the basics: You need to start with the Bible basics:
- Read John 3:16
- The 4 laws-
- God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life
- We are separated from God because of sin
- God sent his son Jesus as the perfect sacrifice to pay for our sin and reconcile us to God
- We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know and experience God’s love and plan for our lives
Talk about the fundamentals: Now that you know the fundamentals of Christianity, you are almost on your way to share the gospel
Talk about what they need to consider: There still are a few things to consider before sharing your faith though:
- Be sure that you are a Christian
- Be sure there is no unconfessed sin in your life/Repent
- Be prepared to communicate your faith in Christ
Talk about a key component: A key component of sharing is understanding your own faith. If you don’t understand it, then how can you communicate it? You may understand what faith is, according to scripture, and you may know how you received your faith, but can you explain why you have faith in God? In my opinion, one of the most important aspects of sharing the gospel and your faith is sharing part of your testimony. People want to hear about your story of why you chose to receive faith in Christ.
Talk about asking about faith: If I were to come up to you and ask, “Why do you (insert name here) have faith in God, an invisible, apparently all-knowing and all-powerful entity, would you be able to state a clear reason? You should know your reasons well enough to explain them to others when asked about them. If you don’t know why you have faith, then how do you keep faith? You won’t, promise me. I would recommend having a list of 3 personal reasons for why you have faith.
Conclusion: I get it. It is going to feel uncomfortable and it is going to be difficult, but it might not always be difficult. Eventually, Keller, my blind and deaf dog learned his tricks and now he understands the commands pretty well. He basically expects that I want him to do the trick if the specific command is given. Similar to Keller, your friends, family, and even strangers will eventually get used to you being a Christian and what goes along with being a Christian, one of them being that you share your faith.
Talk about sharing with others: I want you to pull out your phone or a piece of paper and pen if you have one. I want you to write down 1-2 names of people in your life, maybe friends or family members that are non-believers, that you may consider sharing your faith to. I’ll give you a minute to do so.
Final comment: Go forth and share your faith to others! I believe in you all! Any questions?