Currently we’re in a message series called “Just Walk Across The Room.” We’re talking about how easy it can be to share your faith with others. If you’re a believer this morning, someone, somewhere, somehow, shared their faith with you. God wants each of us to get better at sharing the greatest gift we have been given in life, the gift of Jesus with others.
Last week I talked about three steps to reaching out to those who don’t yet know God. The first step was simply to develop a friendship. Then you discover the stories of your friend as you get to know them. Finally, you meet a need of your friend, as you rely on the Holy Spirit to guide you. And then what, what comes next?
I had an interesting call from a member here at Life Church this week, Pat. He has a friend at work who is not a believer and doesn’t go to any church Over the past year, Pat has developed a friendship with Mike and gotten to know him. Well, this week, Mike walked into Pat’s office and wanted to talk. Pat said “Sure, what do you need?” Mike said, “I’d like to know what it means to be a born-again Christian?”
What would you say if someone came up to you at work and asked “What does it mean to be a born-again Christian?” Could you give a simple, yet accurate answer? Pat gave a good answer and the dialogue is continuing with his friend.
Today, I’m going to talk about “Learning To Tell Two Stories.” These two stories are stories that every believer knows or you wouldn’t be a believer. However, knowing these stories and being able to tell them effectively to another person are two different things. God wants you to be prepared to tell these two stories to people who are seeking to know him. As you put into practice the principles that we’ve been talking about in this series, you will have opportunities to answer questions, just like Pat. NIV 1 Peter 3:15 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. Are you prepared to give an answer to people who ask you about your hope in Christ?
Some people have answers, but they haven’t learned to give them with gentleness and respect and so the opportunity is lost You and I need both an answer and the ability to give the answer in a winsome way, in a way that draws the other person closer to God and doesn’t drive them further away. Some people think it’s enough to just live their lives in a godly way. That’s certainly important, but people need to know why you live like you do. Only your words can answer their questions about why you live a righteous life.
To hear more about this topic, listen to my January 21, 2007 message entitled Learning To Tell Two Stories