“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that is in you.” (1 Peter 3:15 ESV)

 The Rev. Billy Graham tells of a time early in his career when he arrived in a small town to preach a sermon. Wanting to mail a letter, he asked a young boy where the post office was. When the boy had told him, Dr. Graham thanked him, and said, “If you’ll come to the Baptist Church this evening, you can hear me telling everyone how to get to heaven.”

“I don’t think I’ll be there,” the boy said, “You don’t even know your way to the post office.”

 The above story is funny, but it does make a serious point about showing someone the way to know God; why would anyone ever ask you for directions to find Him if you don’t seem to know the way yourself? 

If you were asked, could you?

If someone handed you a Bible and asked you you to show them what it says about how to become born-again, could you? If not, you’re not alone, most Christians can’t. That’s too bad, because if they could and if they freely shared the way to find Jesus, the world would be a different place. 

 The great commission is a command to all believers 

“He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” (Mark 16:15)

We are to be prepared to share 

The following are a few questions you can ask others along with some Bible verses to bring them into a relationship with Jesus. 

 Questions to ask others

• Would you like a new life with a new purpose?

• Would you like to know how to have a victorious, happy life, here and now?

• Have you ever thought about eternal life?

• Would you like forgiveness for the past and hope for the future?

If their answer is “yes” to any of the above questions. Share the following with them.

1. Realize that you have “fallen short” and are departed from God because of your sin. 

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

2. God’s free gift to you is eternal life. It was paid for you by Jesus Christ, when he died on the cross for you. 

 “For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

3. Christ died for you, taking your sin penalty upon himself, to bring you to God.

 “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.” (1 Peter 3:18)

4. You need to repent (change your attitude toward sin). Tell God that you are sorry for your sin and turn away from it. 

“No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:3)

5. Thank Jesus for dying on the cross for you and ask him to forgive you of your sins. 

“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the power to become children of God.” (John 1:12)

“In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:14)

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raided him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

6. Pray to receive Christ 

Pray like this:  

“Dear God, I believe by faith that Jesus, your Son, died on the cross to be my Savior. I believe he arose from the grave to live as my Lord. I turn away from my sin. I ask You, Lord Jesus, to forgive my sin. I trust you as my Savior and receive you as my Lord. Thank you, Jesus for saving me. I pray this in the Name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and savior, Amen.” 

7. Assurance - God’s Word assures you that you now have eternal life in His Son, Jesus Christ.

“And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.” (1 John 5:11-13)

Quote:

“The purpose of the Bible is simply to proclaim God’s plan to save His children. It asserts that man is lost and needs to be saved. And it communicates the message that Jesus is the God in the flesh sent to save His children.” - Max Lucado

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“When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, ‘We want to hear you again on this subject.’ At that, Paul left the Council. Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed.” (Acts 17:32-34)

Idols were everywhere!

The Apostle Paul was troubled by all the idols he saw around Athens when he visiting that city, so he spoke to them about who the real God is. He told them about Jesus, and when he got to the part about God raising Him from the dead, there were three distinct reactions.

1. Some sneered.

2. Others said, “we want to hear you again on this subject.”

3. Some of them became followers.

This is typical when you share your faith with others. Some will sneer, some will be positive, but put it off, and some will believe. And, it’s worth it! God can and will change lives and it’s wonderful to be used by Him to reach others with the good news!

 Here’s what the Bible says about sharing your faith

“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.” (1 Peter 3:15)

“And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.’” (Mark 16:15)

Therefore…

“Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage–with great patience and careful instruction.” (2 Tim. 4:2)

“Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.” (Psalms 96:3)

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“Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.” (2 Tim. 4.2 ESV)

The above passage is a command, not a suggestion! 

You must preach the Word, and do so “in season and out of season”. That means you must be ready (prepared) to do it any time, whether it’s convenient or not. 

But what if you cannot preach?

You may say that this command doesn’t apply to you because you cannot “preach”. But, preaching comes in many different forms, methods, styles and formats. The dictionary defines preach this way: “to make a speech about religion in a church or other public place; to deliver a sermon; to write or speak about (something) in an approving way; to say that (something) is good or necessary.” Preaching can be verbal, written, acted out, illustrated, taught, explained with visual art or music. It can be personally demonstrated and explained in many different ways. St Francis of Assisi, the Italian Catholic friar, church deacon and preacher, said, “Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words.” The obvious point he was making is that you don’t have to actually speak out the message verbally to share the gospel. You can simply go about living your life in the best way possible so as to shine your light before others so they will see Christ. Jesus said it this way, “let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matt. 5:16 NIV)

Effective ways to “preach the Word”

Over the next few days I’m going to share a number of effective ways you can “preach the Word”, Beginning with how to share your testimony.