And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.  Hebrews 10:24,25

I remember, a couple of years ago, hearing a speaker at a large church in the United States making a huge statement.  He said that the church is unlikely to be successful in reaching people beyond the walls that we have built because:

‘Christians worship together but when they are on the frontline they are isolated and unsupported – ‘nobody has their back’ so they just try to survive not make an impact’.

I believe that he hit the nail on the head and that his words are too important for us to ignore.

After I heard this statement I began to introduce some very simple ideas to the churches and Christians that I visit and meet with.  Here are just a couple that may be helpful to you.

–       When the church gathers together on Sunday or in small groups, make time regularly, for people to share the stories of how they are seeking to tell people about Jesus.  This is encouraging to others and will mean that those who are attempting to reach others can be prayed for!

–       Each Christian should identify at least one other Christian in the church and become their ‘I’ve got your back’ person.  A simple way this can be expressed was shared with me by a lady who said to me:

‘Dennis, I did what you suggested and now a lady from the church and I are helping each other. We use texting most of the time. When I know that she will be talking to somebody about Jesus I always text her and let her know I will be praying for her. Later, she always calls me and tells me how it went. She does the same for me and it has changed everything!’

 

As long as we feel isolated on the frontline most Christians will never share their faith.  It is time this changed, please be part of the change!

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.  Hebrews 10:24,25

So how can we be effective in faith sharing ‘as we go’ through our daily lives?

 Something that occurred to me not long after I became a Christian is that as followers of Jesus we tend to worship God together but are left to evangelise alone.   We are part of a community when we worship but often completely isolated when it comes to sharing our faith.  The result of this is that many of us lack the confidence and passion to share our faith with people that we meet and spend time with.  Consequently, we say nothing even though we feel that we should.

 The writer to the Hebrews says ‘let us consider how we may spur one another on..’  A key point of meeting together is that we will use the time we are together to help, encourage and empower each other to be able to grasp opportunities for service when we are not together.  A challenge to this is that the way we ‘meet’ often as a large congregation (or small) means that there is seldom any opportunity for us to talk about our struggles/feelings as we seek to share our faith.

 Here’s something for you to pray about over the coming week:  

 ‘How could I, and the church that I am a part of, meet in ways that will spur us on to be effective when we are scattered?

This week I am again staying with this passage in Matthew.

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 

Matthew 16:13-16

When Jesus asked his disciples the question’ who do people say the Son of Man is?’ they had been following him for a long time.  Jesus was discipling his followers towards a real understanding of who He is and He knew that would be a long process.

Many of the people that we meet in our daily lives have no idea who Jesus is and will never find out unless we ‘disciple them towards faith’.  Again, asking and answering questions is a key part of this process.

I still have some hair and, on a regular basis, it needs to be cut so I visit the barbers and have my hair cut by Jim.  Over a few years I have been able to help Jim to have a very different view of Jesus than he had when we first met.  As a result of more conversations than I can remember Jim no longer thinks that all Christians are religious bigots or that the church is an institution that is disconnected from the ‘real world’.  He has become increasingly interested in the difference that a personal faith makes in a life and may even be interested in attending a church if he thought that the people there would welcome him bearing in mind ‘his life’. 

He has not yet ‘become a Christian’ but when I sit down to have my hair cut his first question is not ‘where are you going for your holiday this year?’ or ‘No work today?’  it is usually a question that continues from where we left off.

Sharing Jesus is an on going conversation.  Who can you begin or continue a conversation with this week?

 Matthew records in his gospel:

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 

Matthew 16:13-16

Jesus continually asked questions and, as I wrote last week, questions are a great way to engage in a conversation with a person to establish a connection and begin to build a bridge for a conversation about Jesus.

One of my favourite places to ask questions is at the gym I go to.  I think I am about the only person there that doesn’t have a tattoo.  So, frequently, as I am working out I am surrounded by people with the most fascinating body art and in so many cases what they have had ‘inked on’ clearly represents something or someone that is very significant in their lives.  My simple ‘question’ is always something like ‘that’s a fascinating tattoo – I am fascinated to know what it means’. 

Over the past few months this has led to my having on going discussions with a number of people and I have been told about such things as ‘a deep longing for truth but not knowing where to find it’, ‘a real concern for my two daughters as they grow older and I don’t know how to keep them safe from harm in a messed up world’, ‘I love God but I am not good enough to go to church’, ‘I am an atheist but I don’t mind you praying for my wife who is suffering from cancer’. 

These are just brief excerpts from a handful of so many conversations I have had about deep things in people’s lives and, on each occasion, the person has eventually asked me about what is important in my life – all this began with a simple question.

Tattoo evangelism may not be your thing but who could you begin a conversation with this week by asking a question that expresses an interest in their life?

When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.  Mark 6:34

 We considered this bible verse at the start of last week but I feel that there is something so important here that I want to look at it again before moving on.

 The challenge that I find is that it is so much easier to look at people from my perspective rather than God’s.  When I do this I find that I can easily decide who I think I should share the gospel with rather than remembering that it is God’s harvest field and He invites me to accept His invitation to join Him in what He is doing.

 An evangelist in Johannesburg once told me how she prided herself on being an evangelist but, on one occasion, saw a group of people on a train that she didn’t approve of so, rather than sharing Jesus with them, she went to the to the other end of the carriage and prayed that God would save them! 

 This week, as you ask God to help you to see people as He sees them go a little deeper and ask Him to see them with the same compassion that Jesus had on the crowds that He saw.