Evangelism, Jesus Style: The Time is Now

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We need to be available via missionary start crossing the street harvest is everywhere you go Jesus is the right to harvest new beginning for speaker of the harvest coming to Angel Stadium in Anaheim, one night event in October. If you like practical the right place. Bring some of his most effective in sharing the gospel with those around this message. Evangelism Jesus.popular series called go to all the world golf. We are I don't know why God's chosen it but the fact of the matter is the Primary Way, God's chosen to reach a lot of people through the verbal communication of the gospel message for people to speak to people so that's what I want to talk about today. How to share the gospel.

There's a right and there's a wrong way to do it for sure. Here's where the rubber really meets the road. There was no better example of how to do it than Jesus Christ himself here in John four we see Jesus doing exactly that with a woman. Now we call her.

The woman at the well, we don't know her name. I'm sure she had one, but this woman really messed up her life. She made a lot of bad decisions and most of them were balding men affect this girl was married and divorced five times limits pretty radical for back that nowadays that's a radical that day. Scandalous.

That's why she came to the well 12 in the afternoon when the sun was at its heart is because no one wanted to hang out with this woman who went to the well so she encounters Jesus here and I love the way he engager.

Frankly, this woman at the well. Reminds me of my own mother except my mom beer. My mom is very divorce seven times, but she was searching just like the woman at the well. I wanted you to see how Jesus reached out to her so we can learn how to be a bridge set up a barrier to people coming to Christ. How to be a steppingstone instead of a stumbling block. Here's Jesus engaging this woman. Let's read about it John for starting the verse three, he left Judea, and departed to get to Galilee, but he needed to go through Samaria so we came to a city of Samaria, which is called sidecar near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacobs well was there a Jesus therefore being wearied from his journey set by the well was about the sixth hour that's 12 noon and a woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, give me a drink for his disciples got awake and of the city to buy food. Then the woman of Samaria said to how is it that you being that you would ask a drink for me, a Samaritan woman for Jews have no dealings with Samaritans Jesus answered and said, if you knew the gift of God, who it is that says do give me a drink, you would've asked them they would've given you living water.

This brings us to point number one evangelism Jesus style of the way Christ did it start with a burden we've already alluded to this verse four says he needed to go to Samaria little background Jews and Samaritans didn't like each other affect actually hated each other. That's why the Samaritan woman said why would you would you ask for a drink of water from me, a Samaritan, don't you know we don't deal with each other. There was a strong hatred in a cultural prejudice between these peoples. But Jesus needed to go. By the way, this was not the shortest route to his destination, he effectively went out of his way to meet this woman. Why, because in the councils of eternity. It was decided that a burned out a moral woman was going to meet Jesus on that day.

She had an appointment with God, and know that there are times when you will be out about your business and your gonna walk smack dab into the middle of God's will in your gonna come across a person that has an appointment with God and God wants to reach that person through you. Number two. If we want to evangelize Jesus style we need to use attack TA CT contact Jesus the master evangelist is something that many Christians seriously lack that is attacked other words, for tact are diplomacy, sensitivity of one person to find tact and skill and grace in dealing with others. Isaac Newton said, quote tact is the art of making a point without making an enemy like making a point without making an enemy I can state truth in a loving way, even if the truth is rather harsh at times. You can do it in a friendly way.

A lot of times will come up to a person say crazy stuff to them like hey did you know you're going to hell. Wow, what a great conversation starter went up build a wall instead of a Fred I see that that was not Jesus style that should not be ours either. I was walking down the street in Hawaii years ago we were doing a Crusade there at the aloha Stadium on the main drag, called color, Boulevard, there's a guy standing there with a sign on the side really big bold letters.

The wages of sin are death and even had flames drawn on any yelling at people you're going to hell right now, you're going to you know, so I walk up this guy is excusing now you think why you get a bump on the steps of looking up and I'm kind of thinking I may be on the back your son, you could put the rest of the verse. The wages of sin are death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord, and he can flip back and forth periodically tell people the good news any sick I was going to hell. He was didn't want to listen anybody so I killed him. Now let me explain. I wasn't happy with them.

I didn't do anything.

That's the wrong way to do it. I want you to notice how Jesus tactfully and gracefully engages this woman by asking her for a drink of water.

Verse 13 were drinks of this water will thirst again. What if you drink of the water. I give you'll never thirst again.

You see he is entering her world and is establishing contact but notice something else. He starts by saying that I would drink the water now who is Jesus again. All right God in human form. So if you want to drink of water. Could it had one all on his own water. That's a side effect of water. Regular said waterfall, no drink of water. What was he doing he was showing of vulnerability appealing to her curiosity not coming up as a know it all. This is one of our problems.

We come up as a know it all persons explaining their view what you think about is what I think that's all stupid pleasant.

Let me tell you in and we begin you. You know, go on and we just lost the person they don't even care what were saying they want to terminate the conversation and get away from you. Listen, you're not better than anybody else. A norm on I'm just one beggar telling another beggar where to find food dye may be better off than people. But I'm not better than them, so you come in humility and you bring the message to them as Steve Wilburn know you all know will often start a conversation with a stranger with these words. Did you know there's a God in heaven who loves you. I watched him do this many times. Sometimes in some awkward situations like you lying at a coffee place with 12 people behind ago did you know there's a God in heaven who loves you to the barista and I'm thick and Steve, let's move this thing here. You know, and it's amazing though, they'll be like, I didn't know that was ever said that.

Thank you there be like God, I forgot that. Thanks for sharing that sometimes is that whatever yeah but most of the time they're pretty responsive I've seen Steve lead people to the Lord. I went out one afternoon we were out riding Harleys a few pastors night and so we went to this Mexican restaurant, so we order and Steve says of the waiter. Has anyone ever told you working here in this Mexican restaurant taking an order at there's a God in heaven who loves you. The guys like no one's ever told me that so wrong to watch.

Okay, so we order our food and then the server comes back in and the pastors are having a theological not a debate but were talking about all kinds of new shirt. You know keeps talking of the sky you guys didn't even notice the pastors were unaware of what was happening was Stephen the server. So by the time we finished our meal and the pastors are still talking. Steve is literally praying with this guy that come to Christ right there on the spot and and I hired a run to the conversations that guys did you see what just happened there. Are you just love that guy.

The Lord, all you really care about our conversation, we can say to me now.

This is a picture of the church were so busy having our in-house debates and discussions were missing.

There are people out there waiting for someone to show them the way sometimes rose why I wanted do something great for government across the sea and be a missionary. They wanted to start by crossing the street. Newsflash the harvest is everywhere you don't have across the ocean. It's everywhere. Jesus is lift up your eyes and look the field a right to harvest. Sometimes when we share the gospel.

People will get us off the main point intentionally or unintentionally, they sidetrack us change the subject. What we do then will Pastor Greg has the answer in just a moment. We love stories of how lives have been changed to the teaching of God's word like this one dear Pastor Greg back in the summer of 1986 and after graduating from college and I was certain that it made a wrong choice for a major and a career though I was a believer, I felt as if God and abandoning my first job out of school included in our long commute and a difficult work environment. It was so disappointing that I cried in my first day home by driving each morning. I was drawn to biblical teaching on the radio or something fresh and new to me in the way you share the Scriptures your broadcast gave me biblical truth and hope to get through each challenging day ahead I was grateful then and I'm grateful for your broadcast today. Thank you Pastor Greg.

We appreciate hearing how Pastor Greg's teachings are reaching people and if you story to tell of how these studies have touched your life.

I hope you'll contact us today.

Send an email to craig@harvest.org that's great@harvest.org Pastor Greg continues now with this message. Evangelism Jesus style. Very practical principles on sharing our faith most effectively evangelism Jesus style means we stay focused.

Stay focused on this woman tried to get Jesus off of the subject. She says in John 420 our fathers worshiped on this mountain and you Jews say in Jerusalem is the place of worship or one auto that's interesting because there's almost a little bit of inflammatory rhetoric. Samaritan seen in you Jews, Jesus because of what what would you say what you talking about Willis and I will even go there with. She's getting into some debate debate that's been going on for years worked for Gabi worship in Samaria and their temple are in Jerusalem and the temple got Astellas will, to the point.

The correct answer was Jerusalem. Jesus could have debated that with her to Jesse know he sidesteps the issue and he says to her lesson God is a spirit of those that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth, you don't interesting topic. I want to get into that and he gets back to the core issue I bring this up because sometimes your sharing your faith in a person will interrupted thick yellow in the second God of love, send somebody else what we wait, what about the person is never heard the gospel will God send them they don't wait wait there so many contradictions in the Bible. Okay, what you do to the best of your ability, answer the question when I like to say to a person who says of contradictions in the Bible is available Bible for Bob in the Bible right here to show me one.

They don't know what contradiction in the Bible. Those are just defense mechanisms. They learn to make you go away, but maybe the bring up something answer it. If you can.

If you don't tell them you get back to him but then get it back to the main subject again and that's what Jesus does. He brings it back to the main subject, so she will not get off track. Now sometimes you're going to have people that your sharing with and it's going to look as though ready to believe and they don't believe and then there's going to be times when your sharing with the person and you don't even think they're going to believe and they will believe and that's when you want to close the deal and I want to talk about that in my next message will let me just conclude by saying this on this woman didn't believe this day, this woman had her life transformed by Jesus Christ because he entered her world.

He built a bridge to her. He lovingly and clearly gave her the answers she had been searching for. I mentioned a few moments ago that she reminded me a lot of my own mother.

My mom Charlene was married and divorced seven times as I pointed out now.

She was raised in a Christian home by my grandparents are Charles and Stella McDaniel and they went to church three times a week, so my mom can had a drug problem. Her parents and drug her to church Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night and then they would invite people from the church over for Sunday dinner. So my mom is around this whole time and she was a beautiful young girl and she wanted to get out of that house. She was a rebel in her heart and so she couldn't wait 10. One day she found some young man he was willing to marry her and my aunt Willie. Her sister help her pack her suitcase and my mom ran up with this young guy and eloped in. She never looked back, and that marriage quickly ended and she moved on to her next marriage and your next one and so she was already on the trajectory. She was a major alcoholic, but because of her major beauty.

She was never at a shortage for men was somewhere in her escapade. She had a fling with some sailor in Long Beach and Greg Laurie was conceived and I wasn't planned. I'm so glad she didn't go down to Planned Parenthood listen to them. That's another subject for another day. But she brought me the term. Obviously, I was born but she didn't really want to raise me. She was too busy living or crazy life that so I live right time with my grandparents.

I went to military school. I would live with an aunt over here in the back with my mom for a while. So now fast-forward in her story is reaching a predictable and all that drinking is taking its toll. One night she got in her 65 Mustang Was Cruising Down Jamboree Blvd. in Newport Beach and jumped over the divider and had a head on collision with another car.

It almost killed her. Her beautiful face was now somewhat disfigured. Are you would've thought that would've been the wake-up call and she would stop drinking though she continued to drink and carry on. Now fast-forward to my mom is 70 years old and she looks like she's 90 she's having kidney failure.

She's having to get dialysis three times a week and she was miserable. So the Lord spoke to my heart one day and to go share with her. No, trust me, had shared with my mom so many times whenever we would talk about the gospel.

Here's what she would say I want to talk about. I don't want to talk. She just terminate the conversation. I want to talk about so one day the Lord place it on my heart to go have the conversation with her again. I told my wife Kathy have got to go see my mom now. She agreed. Ray went over. I sat down. The table is that mama want to talk to you know about your soul. She says I don't want to talk about it. I said today were going to talk about it we can finish this conversation.

I just laid it out and again told her what it meant to follow Christ in an much to my shock, she responded, and ultimately made a recommitment to Jesus Christ.

That's a good news for thankful for that.

I was I didn't know the woman flavors she would die. I had such hope, but the only moments finally come to the Lord. It's going to be so great having her in the church and watching her grow spiritually know the Lord spoke to my heart that she was right at the edge of eternity. Sometimes God will speak to you go that conversation. I don't want to add some awkward sort, especially the family members of my right the hardest to reach, but you need to do well now fast-forward a number of years of my mom's been in heaven. Her last husband. She was married to his name. Bill and so someone called me up and said bills very sexy. He may die, you may die in the next day. Could you go see him and I was on my way to trip.

I was going get the plane fly and speak somewhere and I was actually letting go and I sent you. Maybe I'll come by tomorrow and see in.I will come tomorrow for sure. And then I'm driving and all the sudden cuts put my card. You go there now went over there. I walked in the room there's Bill laying there.

I mean, he was at death's door.

My goodness and I just said Bill I want to just once again share with you what it means to believe in Jesus and I share the gospel with them one more time, which it always been resistant to any prayed with me, and committed his life to Jesus, I'm so glad I went. I got on the plane I arrived at my destination. Where was preaching. I got a text to my phone bill just died.

So what I'm saying you don't know when you're going to die if you know when the person that God is leading you to speak to is going to die. So these are things that need to be done and we need to listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit. So let's make sure that were same father. I'm available and I'm listening all go where you want me to go and I'll say what you want me to say who you want me to say it to lead me I pray in Jesus name. Let's pray father we've heard your word now and we all know somebody we need to go to. I'm certain that at this moment is word praying this prayer. That person is jumping into our mind because your Holy Spirit is placing them there may be, it is our mom or our dad or our son or daughter or brother or a sister, a cousin and uncle and aunt Niebuhr that coworker, the person we just met for the first time that person were going to meet before the day is over and within a sense that nudging from the spirit force us to go but you're going to lead us to go and were praying that we will be responsive so Lord.

Like Isaiah, we would say, here I am, send me use me today use us today to go into all this world and preach the gospel, we commit ourselves to you again.

In Jesus name we met Greg Laurie important insight today on the privilege and responsibility sharing the hope of Christ with those around us to charge. We've all been given.

Now if you like an instant replay of today's insight here on a new beginning.

You can go online to harvest.org and look for the title of the study evangelism Jesus style. Again, that's online@harvest.org and to help you take this current teaching even further. When I check out Pastor Greg free online training course called tell someone it's a six week course that comes to you a lesson per week via email, and is designed to fully equip you to share the gospel.

At the completion of the course. Again, it's absolutely free.

Get the details on the tell someone training course@harvest.org on such a privilege to have author J. Warner Wallace with us today. Jim Wallace is a good friend of the ministry and he's just finished a book called person of interest. He makes a case for the uniqueness of Christ, much as a detective would make a case for a crime where there is no crime scene. It's a fascinating read and very convincing that Jim you were an atheist for many years. What if you had read this book. During that time would've changed your mind as you question and I cannot wonder sometimes we really hold intellectual objections are most of our objections deeper than that.

Their emotional or volitional, as I was really in a bit behind my objection, but I will tell you this in half and said I only met two kinds of Christians out I was in Southern California. To be honest I didn't have any Christian friends growing up didn't know never invited us to church never invited me to church. My parents were Christians. I just did not have a sense I didn't know anybody and and then I met some Christians at work now present the just as a police officer and a detective in the two groups of people. I met the most often were number one police officers couple at our agency, who were Christians and I would asked him questions they did not have good answers. I thought while you people who are have a high value for evidence. Yet, when I asked him questions early, evidentially based alike. So really you would never build a case against the sky was put in jail.

The way you just got that case from Christian eyes that really this is a very unexamined worldview, then the other group I met to those other Christians. The people I was taken to jail okay and those folks were telling me not yeah you know I just I be honest with you it would tell me I just got saved, like in the last year driving to jail. I'm thinking of myself really so so we have to have country groups. Here we have people who are either unwilling to look at going to know.

This is supported by the evidence and people who don't behave as though it supported by the evidence, and I wanted no part of either one would be just comforting to know that there is a way of of of living as a Christian that is very well informed. Informed about history informed about science informed from educational perspective. You have to turn off your brain to be a Christian. As a matter fact this is the I think the great gain of of all the dogs in the yard located the dogs to our young philosophy and philosophies of the world in the history of philosophy. I see this is the great Dane right that we don't need to act like Chihuahuas were costly barking because were the smallest dog in the yard. It turns out the Christian worldview is very well-informed and is supported by the evidence. You can repeat be comfortable enough to react aggressively. All you have to do though is know what the evidence is you have a sense of calm about defending the case for Christianity great statement.

You don't have to turn off your brain to become a Christian. You know the Lord says come let us reason together, says the Lord. Reason there's a place for that place for answering the objections that people have in giving the biblical evidence. This is a resource that you will consult again and again, footnoted research, well written, but at the same time, illustrated and made understandable, so anyone I think a young man or a young woman be able to understand this as well as someone who is older and more of a reader. This is something everyone can benefit from. It's a brand-new book called person of interest. Subtitled why Jesus still matters in a world that rejects the Bible, written by former cold case detective J Warner Wallace. I will send you a copy for your gift of any size. Yes, brand-new. In fact, the publisher graciously sent some advanced copies only available through a new beginning, and we want to send this resource to you to thank you for partnering with us. So these daily studies can continue reaching out with the gospel in our prayer is that this book will help you reach out with the gospel in your own circle of influence. So ask for person of interest.

As you send your generous gift today to a new beginning. Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514 or call 1-800-821-3300. We can speak with you anytime again at 1-800-821-3300 or go online to harvest.org sometimes we can always make sure your church is coming to you is coming due on your TV screen or on your tablet or your computer or even your phone. We do it every weekend and it's called harvest home.

We worship we have a message of the word of God.

If you want to find out more, just go to harvest.org enjoy this this weekend for harvest at all well next time. Pastor Greg highlights the important of our personal story and sharing the hope of Christ with others see our personal testimony is an important tool in evangelism toolbox. Join us next time.

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