Author Kevin Harney tells the following story in his book Seismic Shifts:
It was a battle. A wrestling match. A test of wills. Every day, at exactly the same time, Margaret would go to the bathroom cabinet, open it, and take out a huge bottle of castor oil. Then she would head to the kitchen to get a tablespoon. At the sound of the drawer opening and the silverware rattling, Patches, her Yorkshire terrier, would run and hide—sometimes under the bed, at other times in the bathtub or behind Margaret’s recliner. Patches knew what was coming.
Someone had convinced Margaret that her beloved dog would have strong teeth, a beautiful coat, and a long life if she gave him a spoonful of castor oil every day. So, as an act of love every 24 hours, she cornered Patches, pinned him down, pried open his mouth, and—as he whimpered, squirmed, and fought her with all his strength—poured a tablespoon of castor oil down his little doggie throat. Neither Patches nor Margaret enjoyed their daily wrestling match.
Then one day, in the middle of their battle royal, with one sideways kick, Patches sent the dreaded bottle of castor oil flying across the kitchen floor. It was a momentary victory for the canine, as Margaret let him go so she could run to the pantry and grab a towel to clean up the mess.
When Margaret got back, she was utterly shocked. There was Patches licking up the spilled castor oil with a look of satisfaction only a dog can make. Margaret began to laugh uncontrollably. In one moment, it all made sense. Patches liked castor oil. He just hated being pinned down and having it poured down his throat.
Welcome to the world of faith sharing. This is the third and final sermon in the Share the Gift series. A series designed to help Christ followers discover that sharing the gift might be easier than they ever thought. Hear now the word of the Lord from the theme passage of Acts 1.6-8.
[S] “So when they met together, they asked him, ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He said to them, “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1.6-8, NIV). [S]
The word of God, for the people of God. Thanks be to God.
I’ve approached this series with the assumption that disciples want to be obedient to Jesus when it comes to telling another what God has done for them. But, there are some high hurdles that prevent us from doing so. And so what I’ve attempted to do is identify some of those high hurdles and lower them to a height that each one of us can manage.
Up to this point we’ve lowered two hurdles. And have just two more to go.
The third hurdle to lower is revealed in the statement, “But I don’t know what to say?” That’s an issue the church has had since the beginning and why [S] I think Peter wrote, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reasons for the hope that you have.” (1 Peter 3.15, NIV) I want you to know that knowing what to say to someone is not as difficult as you might think thanks to a simple model that Pastor Bill Hybels shared.
The model has three components that make it easy to remember. Imagine a cross. And written across the left beam are the letters [S] BC which stands for life before Christ. And written across the top of the right beam are the letters AD which stands for “after death to self” and represents life after making Jesus Lord. And right in the middle of both of those is the cross.
[S] When it comes to being prepared to tell your story begin with what your life was like before Christ. And here are a couple of questions to help you do that. “What was your life like before meeting Jesus? What was going on in your life that caused you to begin considering Christ as a solution to your needs?
[S] The next area is the cross and conversion. What crossed your path that finally motivated you to make Jesus your Lord? And how did you receive Christ?
[S] And then AD, “how has your life changed since making Jesus Lord?
Let me illustrate this by telling my story. Before Christ I didn’t feel accepted or cherished, or loved outside of my family. It seemed I was always looking for ways to be affirmed, and accepted. I made some bad decisions along the way that led me to the conclusion that I was a failure and worthless. I had let God down, my parents down, my siblings down, and myself down. And I didn’t know where to turn. I just knew I needed something to change in my life.
And then several key people crossed my path. People like Larry Mealy the Dean of Student Development at Greenville College who instead of sending me home kept giving me chances to stay. Professor Jack Chisum who kept me after class one day and said, “Bryan, I and other professors know what you’re doing. I want to ask you something, is it possible that the high you’re seeking through these manmade means can only be satisfied through a relationship with Jesus the Christ?” And then there was a friend who said, “Bryan, don’t you know that God loves you as you are? Just give yourself to him and let him take care of the rest.” That was all such good news to me. So I thought why not? One night I acknowledged God, asked for forgiveness for my sins, and told him I wanted Jesus to be the leader of my life from now on.
And ever since then my life has never been the same. There was instant relief in my soul. A burden was lifted. Joy flooded my soul. I had a new attitude towards life. A sense of peace and contentment and I thought differently about myself.
Can you relate to any of this? Do you have any questions? Feel free to contact me at any time if you do.
And there you have it. It’s that simple and it’s that short. So, prepare yourself to tell your story. Rehearse it over and over until it feels natural. And keep it short. Not any longer than what mine was.
[S] Now that you know how to tell your story, the next hurdle to lower is how do you determine who to share it with? Maybe you don’t. Maybe, you just concentrate on being able to tell your story and let God do the matchmaking.
Remember what Peter said? “Give an answer to everyone who asks you about this gift you have.” That means there will be times when you don’t have to worry about “targeting” anyone, because God has targeted you for them.
I remember praying for the salvation of my neighbor in Booneville. He didn’t necessarily believe in God, but he didn’t disbelieve either. As far as he was concerned we were dropped off here by aliens years ago. So, we invited him over for a cookout. And while we were sitting out in the back yard he said something like “I have some questions about God. Don’t try and convert me, let’s just visit.” And so we did.
Sometimes we don’t have to worry about going after anyone because God brings them to us. However, there are other times when God brings us to them like he did with Philip in Acts 8.26-36. [S]
“Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south to the road--the desert road--that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it." 30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked. 31 "How can I," he said, "unless someone explains it to me?" So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: "He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth."34 The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?" 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.” (NIV)
What that tells me is that we don’t have to worry about who we should be talking to. God will let us know like he did with Philip. And one of the ways God does that is through those promptings and holy nudges that feel counterintuitive at the moment. You know what I’m talking about, we’ve all had them. Those nudges or promptings are one of the ways God will let you know who to share the gift with.
There is a story about a man we’ll call Hazim. He was an African American and Muslim. He told the story of how in his business profession he would often attend social cocktail parties to mingle with potential clients. He didn’t really care for those, but he went because he needed to. He said he had grown accustomed to going alone and remaining alone at the parties. He would stay just long enough until he could gracefully bow out and leave. One night he was at a party leaning against the wall by himself when he saw the darndest thing. He saw a man across the room look at him, excuse himself from an ongoing conversation, walk across the room to him and stuck out his hand and said, “Hi, I’m Philipp? And you are?” They exchanged pleasantries and discovered they shared a common occupation, talked about families and sports.
During their conversation Hazim mentioned he was Muslim. Philipp said, “Well, I’m a Christ follower, and I know almost nothing about Islam. I’d be open to learning more about it sometime. Any chance we could get together and you could tell me more? The man said sure. And so they met over breakfast for several weeks learning about Islam. At the end of that time Hazim said he appreciated Philipp listening to him and so he asked Philipp to teach him about Christianity.
Many months later Hazim determined that Christianity made more sense and asked Jesus to be the leader of his life. Hazim is now involved in the leadership of his local church. And all because one Christian acted upon the Spirit’s nudge, walked across the room, and said hello.
When it comes to determining who you should share your gift with, don’t worry about it, just be prepared to share it and leave the rest up to God. [S]
Each of you should have found some cards on your seats as you came in to worship. These are tools to help you share your gift this Christmas. Pass them out to friends and acquaintances, leave them in rest rooms or place them with your check at the restaurants you eat at. Follow guides nudge when it comes to giving the gifts away. And ready yourself to tell your story. Because, it wouldn’t surprise me if someone broaches the subject with you this Christmas because they think you’ll be more open to talking about it during the Christmas window.
