This morning I want to talk about
sharing our faith and then look at practical ways that can we do this.
Firstly though I think the starting
point for sharing our faith is having a faith that we believe is worth sharing.
It’s having a faith that we want
others to share because we’re convinced that it will be good for them.
And this comes from both experiencing
the love and goodness of God in our own lives - and also understanding what
Jesus has done for us on the cross.
The people who tend to be most
enthusiastic about sharing their faith are those for whom it has made the most
difference to their lives.
Often people whose lives were falling
apart – who were drug addicts or alcoholics or who were in prison –– make the
most enthusiastic evangelists.
And this is because they are so
amazed and delighted with the difference that God has made to their lives.
And they want to help others to get
to know this God who has given them hope and a future – who has turned the
darkness of their lives to light.
Now some of you might be thinking –
well I’ve never really experienced the depths of despair or hopelessness that
some of these people probably have – so my faith story isn’t as dramatic as
that.
But if God is in your life – hasn’t
He made a difference to it? Hasn’t He helped and encouraged you? On occasion
haven’t you felt His presence and His love?
Don’t you derive comfort from being
able to pray to him? And don’t you always
have hope – whatever life throws at
you – because you know God?
And wouldn’t your family and friends
and neighbours benefit from this same comfort and hope?
Often in fact, people can identify more
with our less dramatic or seemingly run of the mill faith stories - because
they too haven’t been in the depths of despair or in prison.
So on the one the one hand – as Christians
we have an experience of God to share – our faith story if you like – how we
came to faith; what God means to us and how He has helped us – and on the other
hand we have the gospel, the good news of what Jesus has done for us - to
share.
And the more we understand what Jesus
has done for us, the more we should want to share it - because it’s completely
amazing.
Do you realise that the moment you
believed in Jesus – the moment you said yes to God and invited Him into your
life – He saved you forever?
He forgave you for everything you had
ever done wrong or would ever do wrong in the future.
He saved you from judgment and being
eternally separated from Him.
He came to live in your life with the
promise that He will never leave or abandon you.
He made you his beloved child, a
member of His family and household and He promises that one day – whatever life
may throw at you - you will enjoy eternity in heaven with Him.
God himself in the body of Jesus - died
on the cross for you. He took all your sin and was punished in your place – so
you could be free from condemnation.
Now if that isn’t worth sharing with
others I don’t know what is?
Personally I feel incredibly
fortunate to be a Christian. So many people don’t know Jesus – and yet we have
the tremendous privilege of knowing God.
Don’t you want your friends and neighbours
and family to share in this amazing privilege as well - so that they too can know God and be saved?
And isn’t it therefore worth using
any opportunities that come along to try and tell those around us that there is
a God who loves them tremendously – and who wants a relationship with them so
much - that he has died on the cross for them to make this possible.
But how in practice can we do this?
Well here are a few of my thoughts.
Firstly we must make the decision
that we want to be known as Christians. How can people ask us questions about
our faith if they don’t even know we’re a Christian?
Really we should be proud of our
faith and it should be an integral part of who we are.
How can people get to know us if we
hide the most important thing in our lives from them?
If embarrassment or shyness is a real
problem for you then I would suggest praying and asking God for boldness.
Perhaps also ask Him for an opportunity to share your faith with someone who
will be friendly and kind – to build your confidence.
So how can we be known as Christians?
Well there are lots of ways we can do this. Campbell told me for instance that
when he worked in London he used to leave a couple of Christian books on his
desk – and that sometimes this would lead to a conversation.
We can put a Christian sticker or
logo on our car – although I took mine off a few years ago when Mary my wife
pointed out that my driving wasn’t always the best
Christian witness.
We can wear little badges or crosses
–if that’s our thing.
On Facebook or social media we can
state that we are a Christian and if we like something with a Christian angle
or message we can share it.
If any of you use Twitter you can
follow people like Nicky Gumbel and share any tweets you like.
All these things help to identify us as
a Christian – and can lead to opportunities to share our faith.
I shared a video on Facebook of some
young Christians in Australia praying for people to be healed on the street – and I got into a conversation with a
Facebook friend of my sister – who was dubious about Christian healing.
So we’ve identified ourselves as Christians
but how should we share our faith?
Well Peter says in his letter – “Always
be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for
the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”
So the emphasis here isn’t on trying
to thrust our faith down people’s throats at every opportunity.
Rather it’s being ready to explain
why we believe in God and what our faith means to us when people ask us about
it.
The important thing here is that we
don’t need to be theological experts. We just need to be honest and express in
simple everyday language what we think and believe.
It’s also important to remember that
if we are willing to share our faith the Holy Spirit will help us to find the
right words to say.
If people ask us a question we don’t
know the answer to – like why does God allows suffering – it’s fine to be
honest and say that we don’t know the answer to that.
Having said this, Nicky Gumbel who
does the Alpha course - has written a book called ‘Searching Issues’ where he
covers some of the big questions that people may ask – and offers a few
suggestions as to how we can respond.
And of course sharing our faith
doesn’t always mean entering into theological discussions.
We can offer to pray for people who
are unwell or facing problems. For instance if a friend or work colleague is
going through a difficult time in their marriage or with their health we can
just say - I’ll pray for you.
If we offer to pray for someone though
– we must mean it and do it.
If we’re really brave – and it seems
appropriate - we can offer to pray with people. Sometimes people like the
re-assurance of someone praying with them.
We can send people Christmas or
birthday or get well cards with bible verses that we feel are appropriate written
in them.
We can write letters to friends or
family explaining the gospel or telling them that we’re thinking of them and
praying for them – or perhaps suggesting they try a particular church or do an
Alpha course.
When my French aunt was diagnosed
with cancer I sent her a letter telling her that I was praying for her – and
quoting part of the 23rd Psalm which I hoped she’d find comforting.
We can give people Christian books or
CD’s we think they’ll like. We can send people e-mails with links to websites
or YouTube videos we think they may find
interesting or helpful.
We can buy our nephews and nieces or
grandchildren - children’s bibles when they’re little. Or we can buy them films
or animations with a Christian message as presents.
When my children were young they
loved a series of animated Christian videos called Veggie Tales which were very
funny – but had a Christian message.
And as Campbell has said on a few
occasions – one of the best things we can do is to invite someone to church –
where they can hear the gospel for themselves.
So there are all sorts of ways we can
encourage and help people to find their own faith in Jesus.
If we do identify ourselves as
Christians and seek to share our faith, we should also do our best to be loving
and patient and generous and kind.
We should be people that others can
confide in without fear of being judged or condemned.
Of course we’re not perfect – but hopefully
people should see something of the love of God in us.
If people find us unfriendly, impatient
and selfish – they are unlikely to want listen to what we might say about God
because our lives and characters don’t back up our words.
Seeking to love people is fundamental
to sharing our faith – because the God we want to help people come to know is
love – and loving actions carry more weight than words alone.
In fact our whole motivation for
wanting to share our faith should be because we love and care for those around
us – and want the best for them.
And finally of course we should be
praying for people around us to be saved and to come to know God and for
opportunities to share our faith with them.
Generally the more people pray – the
more effective they’ll be at sharing their faith with others.
Ultimately however – we need to
decide that we’re prepared to take a risk and speak about our faith when the
opportunity arises.
And the more we do it the more
comfortable we’ll feel.
If you’re a Christian it’s because others
cared enough to speak to you about God and encouraged you to seek Him.
Think about the people who helped you
on your faith journey – and try to do the same for others.
In the name of the living God. Amen.
