FIVE STEPS TO LEADING PEOPLE TO JESUS
Text: John 4:3-26
Message: You can lead people to Jesus using these five easy steps.
Teaching: Evangelism
Response: For listeners to be more comfortable with sharing their faith.
Do you want people to be saved? Non-Christians do not typically go to church. We are commanded to preach the good news to every person. If the unsaved do not come to us, we must go to them. We must go outside the four walls of the church and approach people where they are. We should evangelize the unreached, the unchristian, the unloved. Far too many Christians stay in the church, the classroom, and the pew instead of going out into the street, the neighborhoods, and the malls where the people are. The measure of a church is not in how many go to the church, but how many go out from the church.
Open up your Bibles with me to John 4. “Jesus left Judea and departed again to Galilee. But He needed to go through Samaria” (John 4:3-4). Usually, any Jews traveling from Judea to Galilee would have avoided Samaria. Even though the most direct route goes through Samaria, most Jews deliberately walked around this entire area. But Jesus “needed” to go through Samaria.
Why did Jesus need to go to Samaria? Because He knew there was a woman who needed help. If we are going to be soul winners, we have to be willing to step outside our normal patterns of living. We must go to where the lost are.
Every believer is called to be involved in soul winning. It is not just a job for the pastor of the church. It would be a strange army that only sent out generals to fight. In the early church, “…The Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47). I believe people should be added to your church daily as well. I am sure your pastor gives a great altar call on Sunday mornings and during your mid-week service. But, Sunday and Wednesday are only two days of the week. How will people get saved the other five days of the week unless every church member is actively sharing his or her faith? In today’s message, I am going to give you five simple things you can do to lead people to Jesus in your everyday life.
1. Open a Conversation.
“…Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink” (John 4:7). Jesus started a conversation with the Samaritan woman. Asking for a drink was a perfectly natural way to begin talking with her. Often, the first step to leading a stranger to Christ is simply to begin a conversation. How can you lead a stranger to Christ unless you talk to him or her? Normal everyday conversations can be doorways to ministry.
Are you introverted or extroverted? Is it easy for you to talk to a stranger or is it difficult? Regardless, God can use your personality to lead people to Jesus. I have always been introverted. If I have a choice between talking to someone or being by myself I prefer to stay in my cave alone. I have always admired people who are the “life of the party.” Some people easily make new friends and talk to total strangers without a moment’s hesitation. But, even though I am not naturally gifted when it comes to talking to random strangers, I have developed the skill. My wife Jessica amazes me. She approaches random strangers and says, “That’s a beautiful blouse you’re wearing. Where did you buy it?” Within ten seconds she has made a new friend and is discussing sales throughout the mall.
Be friendly with people. One key to leading people to Jesus is to care about them as individuals. No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care. Ask people questions about their kids, their pets, their clothes, their situation. Strike up conversations and you will be amazed how many new friends you will make. Once someone is your friend, they will be open to hearing the Gospel.
Soul winners should build a bridge of friendship and strive to find common ground with those they meet. Initiate relationships. Spend time with others. Gather around similar interests or common experiences. If you open your mouth and start a conversation then God will open a door for you to lead someone to Christ.
You may not be able to save everyone, but you can share your faith with someone. I began talking to a teenager behind the counter at a gas station. After we chatted about the weather and how many customers come into the store, I asked him a simple question, “Do you know for sure you are going to heaven?” He replied, “I think so.” I said, “You can know so.” God’s word says that you can be sure whether you are going to heaven. “He who has Jesus has life; he who does not have Jesus does not have life” (1 John 5:12). “Have you made Jesus the Lord of your life?” “No,” he said. “Would you like to?” “Yes.” “Repeat this prayer after me. Dear God in heaven, I make Jesus the Lord of my life. I pledge to serve Him all the days of my life. I believe Jesus died for my sins. I have eternal life. In the Name of Jesus, amen.” It was that easy to lead the teenager to Jesus.
Everyone has a comfort zone. Your circle may include friends and family you spend a lot of time with. Perhaps you are most comfortable with people in your same profession. Or those within your particular racial or social group. But the master soul winner moves outside his or her circle of comfort to reach out to people who are different and unfamiliar. We must be willing to leave our own kind and minister to those who are different than us.
Once when I was a teenager, my father asked me to care for my four-year-old brother David. I was reading an exciting novel, so I tried to get my brother to sit down and be quiet while I read. When my father checked up on me, he was upset. He said, “Daniel, when I ask you to baby-sit, I expect you to get down into David’s world and play with him.” Instead of trying to get my brother to enter my world of reading, I was supposed to get into his world and play with toy trucks.
Sometimes we try to do the same thing when we are soul winning. We expect others to enter our world by trying to get them to come to church. Instead, we should enter their world and minister to them where they are. Once they grow up spiritually, they can enter our world, but when we are trying to reach them, we must enter the world they live in.
The master soul winner tries to meet people where they are. She gets into their world. Jesus talked to the Samaritan woman on her own level. He got into her world. She was coming to the well to get water, so He asked her for a drink. Nothing could be simpler. It was strange for a Jewish man to speak to a Samaritan woman but Jesus was willing to do so in order to reach this woman. We all have a “comfort zone” where we feel comfortable talking to people who are similar to us. But, if we are truly going to reach the world, we must be willing to step outside of our “comfort zone” and talk to those who are different.
2. Turn the conversation towards God.
“Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, “Give Me a drink,” you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” (John 4:10) Jesus very quickly turned His conversation towards eternal truth. Instead of gossiping about the weather, or a sports game, or the political situation, He brought up a spiritual topic.
As a soul winner, I try to keep my eyes open for opportunities to witness to people. Recently, I was sitting on a plane and a man asked me, “Sir, is this seat saved?” I replied, “No, but I can tell you how you can be saved.” I took the opportunity to turn the conversation towards God. Another man asked me, “Man, do you have a light?” I replied, “Yes! I have a Light, let me tell you about Him.” All the man wanted was a cigarette, but what he needed was Jesus. If someone tells you, “I’m lost, can you give me directions?” why don’t you say, “If you are lost, I can give you directions to heaven.” If you are at the grocery story, and the clerk asks, “Do you want paper or plastic?” you can reply, “Do you want to go to heaven or Hell?” Whatever is in you will come out of you. When a balloon pops, air comes out. When a water pipe leaks, water comes out. If you are full of God’s word, when you begin speaking to someone who has needs, God’s word will pour out of you. After you have initiated a conversation, turn the conversation towards the things of God.
3. Listen to the Holy Spirit.
“The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.” Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have well said, “I have no husband,” for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.” The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet…” (John 4:15-19)
Jesus discerned her spiritual condition and used His prophetic gift to speak into her life. The Bible talks about a variety of spiritual gifts. Some are called to be prophets, others pastors or teachers or evangelists or apostles. Some have a gift of discernment, gifts of healing, a gift of prophecy, or a gift of encouragement. Jesus operated in all the spiritual gifts and in this story we see Him using the gift of the “word of knowledge.”
Jesus already knew she had problems because she came to the well alone. Normally, all the women would go to the well together, just like women today all head to the bathroom in flocks. During the cool of the evening the village women would walk to the well chatting together about the day’s events. But this woman came alone during the hottest part of the day.
The Samaritan woman had five husbands and the man she was living with was not her husband. She had probably stolen husbands from the other women in the village and because of this she was rejected by society. She was known as a hussy. We could call her, “The whore in John chapter four.”
When I am witnessing, I keep one ear tuned to the voice of God. One word from God can completely turn a conversation around and open up hearts and minds. Someone can be totally antagonistic to the Gospel, but one divine insight into what they are facing can soften their hearts. Every person on earth has a need and if God reveals that need to me, it gives me an enormous advantage in the conversation. So while I am in the middle of a conversation, I listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying.
Recently, I was witnessing to a man and felt an impression to ask him, “How is your wife?” The man immediately broke down and tears came to his eyes. He told me his marriage was falling apart and his wife was about to divorce him. Because he was hurting he became very open for me to pray with him. How did I know to ask him about his wife? I did not hear the audible voice of God telling me he was having marriage problems, but I did feel an impression that was the Holy Spirit inside of me giving a clue about how to minister to him.
Often when I am speaking to someone, God gives me a word of knowledge about what condition they are facing. I ask, “Are you suffering from back pain? Headaches? Do you need a financial miracle? Have you been questioning if God is real?”
When you are witnessing to a sinner, begin listening to the voice of God. Perhaps God will tell you, “Ask how her marriage is going.” Or you might feel an impression to pray for financial blessing for the person you are witnessing to. God may give you a word of knowledge and tell you to pray for healing for the person’s knees. You have a spiritual gifting, and if you will be sensitive to the Spirit of God, you will be able to tap into your spiritual gift and use it as a tool to lead people to Jesus.
4. Avoid Arguments
“…Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:20-24)
The Samaritan woman tried to start an argument with Jesus. She pointed out, “We worship at this mountain, but Jews say you must worship at the temple.” This was a long-standing controversy between the Jews and the Samaritans.The Samaritans were descendants of Jacob from the ten tribes that had rebelled during the time of Rehoboam. But they had mixed with other races during the Babylonian captivity (2 Kings 17:24). Because of their mixed ancestry, there was great animosity between the Jews and the Samaritans.
Any of the rabbis could have given the Samaritan woman a hundred reasons why she was wrong, but Jesus basically ignored her spiritual notions. He listened, but He did not get offended. He did not argue with her. Instead, He continued to focus on the truth.
Everyone thinks some random thing about spiritual life. It is absolutely amazing to me what ridiculous beliefs people try to share with you. One man told me that UFO’s are coming to kidnap us. One woman started talking about healing crystals. Some people say that they are god. Others say nature is god. Atheists will tell you there is no god. A man told me the Mayan calendar signifies the end of the world is about to arrive. Muslims will tell you that Allah is God and Mohammed is his prophet. Hindus will tell you there are many gods. Buddhists say they meditate to become one with the universe. A woman told me her pets would help her get to heaven. Another told me that magnets could cure any disease.
When people bring up controversies about spiritual junk, do not fall into the trap of arguing how they are wrong. When we witness, our goal is not to win arguments, but to win souls. How many arguments do you have to win for someone to fall in love with you? It is a waste of time to argue. If you get them saved, God will take care of the rest of the issues they face.
If someone starts sharing his belief system with me, I politely listen. As I am listening, I silently pray for God to give me wisdom to answer them. By listening, I show that I care for them as an individual. But, no matter how outrageous their claims, I just go back to what the Bible says.
When I speak with people from different religions, I try not to get in a religious argument with them. In the past, I made the mistake of arguing with people over their religion but our conversations never went anywhere.
But now, if I talk to a Jewish person I start by thanking him. I say, “Wow, you are Jewish? I am so thankful for the Jews because without you I would not be here. Everything Gentiles know about God comes from the Jews. My Savior was a Jew. All the preachers of the early church were Jews. I love the Jews.”
I take a similar approach when speaking with Muslims. I begin by talking about how much the Koran talks about Jesus. Islam recognizes that Jesus was a prophet, born of a virgin mother, that Jesus does miracles, and that he is coming again to judge the living and the dead. Some churches have stopped preaching the virgin birth, so I actually have a lot in common with Muslims. This serves as a starting point to tell them about Jesus.
If I speak to a Hindu man, I begin by complimenting his religion, “Hindus are such deep spiritual people. I have studied your religion and it is obvious that you have a great hunger for God.” With Buddhists, I talk about what a great spiritual leader Buddha was. With atheists, I compliment them for being intellectual skeptics and for their courage to ask questions. When people share their spiritual notions with you, listen, but do not argue. Just keep going back to the truth of God’s word.
5. Reveal Jesus to people.
“The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). When He comes, He will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.” (John 4:25-26) Jesus revealed Himself to the Samaritan woman. Ultimately, the reason people get saved is because they see who Jesus really is. It is our job to reveal Jesus to the lost. Jesus said, “if I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all peoples to Myself” (John 12:32).
Jesus is the answer to the world’s problems. The more people know about Jesus, the more likely they are to become a follower of Christ. The Samaritan woman was looking for answers to her spiritual problems and Jesus revealed that He is the answer.
As soul winners, our job is to point people to Jesus. It is Jesus that draws mankind to the Father. Jesus is the stumbling block. Either you accept Him or you do not. He is the line that divides history. He is the One everyone must confront: to accept or deny. Is He just a prophet or the Messiah? Ultimately, Christianity rises and falls on the person of Christ.
In our international soul winning festivals, we do not waste time talking negatively about other religions. We never preach against Mohammad, Buddha, or Hinduism. Instead, we preach about Who Jesus is and what He accomplished on the cross. It’s all about Jesus!
When I preach to the lost, I begin by telling stories of what Jesus did in the New Testament, then I tell stories about the miracles Jesus has done in the lives of others. Finally I share about what Jesus has done in my own life. The people hear how Jesus saves, heals and delivers. By the time I am finished preaching, Jesus is irresistible.
When Jesus is revealed, people get saved. The more people learn about Jesus, the more likely they are to become a Christian. Our assignment is to reveal Jesus. It is not our responsibility to bring all people to Christ, but to bring Christ to all people.
The world is salvation hungry and salvation willing. It is not that the world is unwilling to be believers; it is that they have not heard. Most people have not rejected the Gospel; they just have not heard the Gospel. Perhaps they have been exposed to dead religion their whole lives, perhaps a hypocritical believer was mean to them, perhaps no one has ever compassionately shared the Gospel with them. I am convinced that when the right person shares the right word at the right time, Jesus is irresistible. Many people are ready and waiting to receive Jesus, all they are waiting for is you to invite them to heaven.
Jesus is the key to evangelism. The reason more people do not accept Christ is because many of them do not know who He is. So, when you are witnessing, reveal Jesus to people.
Conclusion
So, let’s review the five steps to leading people to Jesus.
1. Open a Conversation.
2. Turn the Conversation to God.
3. Listen to the Holy Spirit.
4. Avoid Arguments
5. Reveal Jesus.
Over the course of the next week, I encourage you to look for someone to witness to. If you follow these five steps, you may be able to change someone’s life forever.
