Being the Church
Part 5: Witnessing Done God’s Way
Scripture: Acts 8:25-40
Icebreaker: When NASA first started sending up astronauts, they quickly discovered that ballpoint pens would not work in zero gravity. To combat the problem, NASA scientists spent a decade and $12 billion to develop a pen that writes in zero gravity, upside down, underwater, on almost any surface including glass and at temperatures ranging from below freezing to 300 degrees Celsius. The Russians used a pencil.
-GCFL.net
Intro: Sometimes we make things a lot more difficult than they really are. What we’re going to talk about today is one of those things.
Statistic: "Millions of surveys which we have helped to take around the world indicate that approximately 98 percent of the Christians do not regularly introduce others to the Savior."
Bill Bright, president of Campus Crusade for Christ, quoted in Why Christians Sin, J.K. Johnston, Discovery House, 1992, p. 140.
-If we’re going to be the Church, sharing our faith is not a choice. We have to be reaching out to others with God’s love and sharing the message of Jesus and telling others what He has done in our lives. But the word has changed, hasn’t it?
-30 years ago, when the word “witnessing” was used in church, it usually meant a process called “soul-winning.” In this method of sharing our faith, a believer was trained to use something of a script, along with high-pressure “sales” tactics to get a non-Christian to say a prayer inviting Jesus into their hearts. The “soul-winner” would then invite the new “covert” to church and encourage them to keep attending. Many churches even had “soul-winning teams” that went out on a certain night of the week to knock on doors and “win people to the Lord.”
-How many of you remember the “soul-winning” method of evangelism? That method isn’t very effective anymore. So how can we witness to others in a way that will reach them in the year 2008?
-I think if we reach back in time about 1,900 years we find our answer. What we find in Acts 8 is the way Philip introduced a man to Jesus. It’s witnessing done God’s way. Last week, we talked about how important it is for each of us to have an authentic walk with God; how important it is to never “fake it.” I’d like to suggest to you this morning that if we really do have a close relationship with God, it is impossible for us not to want to share it with others.
-The statistic that 98% of believers don’t regularly introduce someone to Jesus is troubling. It would seem that we want to always put the responsibility off on someone else. But the face is that when you give your life to Jesus, He commissions you as a missionary for Him. And where you live, where you work, where you play, are all mission fields that God has placed you in.
-So this morning, I want to equip you to be a missionary. We all say we want to see people saved. We want to change lives. We want to grow our church. Well, ultimately, this is how.
When we talk about sharing your faith, always remember what people really want from you:
1. To see the “real” you.
2. To know that you are listening to them.
3. For you to meet their needs.
4. For you to talk “with” them, not “at” them.
God’s Guidelines for Effectively Sharing Your Faith
1. Be sensitive to God’s leading in your life. (Vs. 26)
Illustration: Me “zoning out” in the middle of conversations with my mom or girlfriend. (“Huh? What?”)
Questions: Wives, do you know what I’m talking about?
Statement: Out of the blue, God tells Phillip to take off for the desert. No reason is given. He just tells Him to go, and Phillip goes.
-Don’t you think it would have been tempting for Philip to just ignore that still, small voice in his mind? To just sort of brush it off?
-Life was good for Phillip at this point. The ministry in Samaria was going well. People were repenting of their sins and turning to God. But Phillip had walked with God long enough and was close enough to God’s heart to know that God has a reason for throwing us curveballs every once in a while.
-Phillip knew that if he was going to be a witness to what God was doing in the world, he had to be sensitive the Spirit’s leading in his life. This is for you, too: Be sensitive to God’s leading in your life.
-The Ethiopian was what we would call a “seeker.” He was interested in things of a spiritual nature but he didn’t understand them.
-Are you? Are you close enough to God to hear His voice? Is he prodding you to do something for Him in your life? If He is…
2. Make yourself available to be used by God. (Vs. 27-28)
Statement: There’s not much good in hearing God’s call if you’re not willing to follow it when it comes.
-But when Phillip does, look what happens. Out there in the middle of nowhere is a political leader, riding in his chariot reading the Word of God. Now, no one but God could have known how receptive this man was. Philip didn’t know that this Ethiopian was the reason for his unexpected journey south. He just made himself available to God, who had a divine purpose for their paths to cross.
Statistic: God might have divine appointment for you in one of the avenues of your life. In places where you cross paths with others every day. Jesus met unbelievers where they were. He realized what many Christians today still don’t seem to understand. Cultivators have to get out in the field. According to one count, the gospels record 132 contacts that Jesus had with people. Six were in the Temple, four in the synagogues and 122 were out with the people in the mainstream of life.
J.K. Johnston, Why Christians Sin, Discovery House, 1992, p. 142.
-In your life, you will never know how receptive some people will be to Jesus. But God already does. Do you trust Him with that? Do you trust Him enough to make yourself available to be used by Him?
3. Take the initiative to talk about spiritual matters. (Vs. 29-30)
Illustration: John Wesley traveled 250,000 miles on horseback, averaging twenty miles a day for forty years; preached 4,000 sermons; produced 400 books; knew ten languages. At eighty-three he was annoyed that he could not write more than fifteen hours a day without hurting his eyes, and at eighty-six he was ashamed he could not preach more than twice a day. He complained in his diary that there was an increasing tendency to lie in bed until 5:30 in the morning.
Source Unknown.
Questions: How would your life be different if you had that kind of initiative in reaching others for Jesus?
Statement: Take the initiative to talk about spiritual matters. Still, obedient, Philip follows the Holy Spirit’s direction.
-Philip didn’t wait for the man to lean out of his chariot and yell, “Excuse me, but do you happen to be an Old Testament scholar?” No, he took the initiative – but he took it with sensitivity. He didn’t swagger up to the man’s chariot, toting his big Bible under his arm. He didn’t pull out his textbook on apologetics, ready for an argument. He wasn’t out to impress or convince. He came graciously, with only one, simple question: “Do you understand what you are reading?”
-Whether you realize it or not, we are in the midst of a spiritual renaissance in our culture. More than ever, people are interested in spiritual subjects. Especially among younger generations, people are recognizing that the old guard of reason and logic can’t and does not explain everything in our lives. They are kind of like the Ethiopian who was riding along reading the ancient Scriptures, but not fully understanding what they meant or how they applied to him.
-Don’t be afraid to take the initiative to talk about spiritual things. Chances are, people are willing to listen. We have to be careful, though…
4. Share your faith in a tactful way. (Vs. 31)
Illustration: Speaking of tact, it’s July 4th weekend, and that makes me remember a story that when Harry Truman was speaking at a Grange convention in Kansas City, Mrs. Truman and a friend were in the audience. Truman in his speech said, "I grew up on a farm and one thing I know--farming means manure, manure, manure, and more manure."
At this, Mrs. Truman’s friend whispered to her, "Bess, why on earth don’t you get Harry to say fertilizer?"
"Good Lord, Helen," replied Mrs. Truman, "You have no idea how many years it has taken me to get him to say manure!"
Bits and Pieces, April, 1991.
Questions: In your life, have you learned that tact is an essential skill to develop when dealing with people?
Illustration: I had to learn this the hard way, especially when it came to sharing my faith with others. (When I was in 1st grade and told the little boy about hell…made him cry. Another time in 6th grade, I chastised the pretty neighbor girl’s cousin for his bad language…she didn’t come over to play again.)
Statement: Philip knew about tact. It’s the 4th guideline for witnessing God’s way: Share your faith in a tactful way. When it comes to sharing your faith tactfully, I want you to notice something about Philip: he didn’t charge up to the chariot wielding answers. Instead, he waited for an invitation to come and share what he knew about the Scriptures. And before he spoke, he listened to the man.
-Do you listen to the needs of those who don’t know Jesus?
-Philip’s tactfulness paid off. The man asked a question that opened the door for Philip to tell him about Jesus. When the man asked Philip a question, it naturally gave Philip the opportunity to share his faith.
-I think that sometimes we think of witnessing as sort of an unnatural thing to do. Listen, if witnessing feels unnatural to you, it’s only because you’ve made it that way in your mind.
-Too many people think they have to be able to preach a sermon on the spot to lead someone to Jesus. And so what happens is that people who are usual nice, polite people suddenly become pushy and obnoxious when it comes time to share their faith. Listening to some people talk to an unsaved friend about Jesus, you would think they were about to take up an offering and give an altar call by the time they were through.
-Let me ask you: Are you sharing your faith tactfully? Or are you trying to be someone you’re not? Don’t be rude. Don’t be condescending. Be yourself. Tell them about what Jesus is doing in your life.
-Philip understood that sharing your faith is not confrontation, it’s communication. We don’t need to shout. We don’t need to do all the talking. Sharing your faith involves give and take communication between two people.
-BTW, do you know who this is hardest to with? Your non-Christian family. Because you want to just grab them be the neck and say, “What’s wrong with you? Get your life straightened up!” In case you haven’t noticed, that doesn’t work real well.
-So, you must be tactful. At the same time you must…
5. Tell them precisely them about Jesus. (Vs. 35)
Statement: With tact, Philip lets the man ask his question without interruption. With precision, he gives the answers.
-Even when the questions people ask sound stupid or heretical or even blasphemous, we should let them be asked. We should let people say what they need to say. Like Philip, we have to meet them on whatever road they’re on and lead them to the Cross.
-Philip didn’t give the man any lofty philosophy, there’s no record of any turn-or-burn threats or scary charts about beasts and famines. There aren’t even any irresistible promises of cloud-nine peace or answers to all of life’s problems. There’s just talk about Jesus. His perfect life. His sacrificial death. Philip simply preached “Jesus.”
-This is where the church has dropped the ball. We talk a lot these days about family values, taking a stand against abortion, voting the Republican ticket, boycotting Disney, and on and on—to the extent that we haven’t clearly proclaimed the message that the church has been commissioned to proclaim: Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. (1 Timothy 1:15)
-And you know what? So should we. You know why? Because when it all comes down to it, Jesus is really all that matters. If we closed down every abortion clinic and adult book store in the country, the world would still be going to hell in a hand basket.
-And this is why we must…
6. Be decisive concerning what a relationship with Jesus is all about (Vs. 36-38)
Statement: Philip’s game plan is working. The man wants to be baptized. And what does Philip do? He puts first things first. He knows that salvation comes through faith, not through baptism, and he says decisively, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.”
-Don’t water it down. One of the greatest temptations when we share our faith the way Philip did is to make Jesus look more appealing, or to make the Christian life seem easier than it really is, in order to get the person on board. Don’t give into that temptation. Be tactful, but be upfront and honest. To follow Jesus means discipleship. It means submitting to the Lord of the Universe. It means repenting of your sins.
Conclusion/Invitation
D.L. Moody and once spoke with a woman who didn’t like his method of evangelism. "I don’t really like mine all that much either. What’s yours?" She replied that she didn’t have one. Moody said, "Then I like mine better than yours."
Timothy K. Jones.
-So in closing today, let me ask you a question, Christian: Is your method of evangelism reaching anyone for Jesus? Or are you part of the 98% who aren’t leading others to Jesus?
-I’ve printed out some business-card size reminders for you to take with you today to keep in the forefront of your mind what your friends want from you.
-People need independence from the sins. You can be used by God to make that happen. I pray that you will.
