A.M. Heath

Sharing the gospel

 

Sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ is something that I'm very passionate about. It's something that as a believer, each and every one of us should feel passionate about. Jesus did! But I can easily remember a time in my life when this wasn't true for me. This was an area that I prayed over often. It's God's will that we share His gospel to those we meet in our daily lives. Since it's so important to Him, we can count on Him to answer our prayers in this area. I want to share with you my own testimony concerning this area in my life, as well as some inspiring quotes in hopes that you will also take the Lord's command seriously and begin sharing your faith wherever your day takes you.

 

Testimony:

 

Our church has a visitation program. One night each week we get together and pair off in groups to go out into the community and share the truth of Christ. The Lord has given me a passion for the lost, so I make visitation a regular habit, and have for years. There is a very powerful testimony that I own about one particular night. It's this story that I want to share with you now.

 

At different seasons, the church offered a class to teach you how to share the gospel. It was during one of these seasons that I had been learning a new gospel presentation. I studied it at home for weeks. The first visitation night rolled around and I knew that I wasn't prepared to go out and share what I had learned. In fact, I had hopes of teaming up with someone that was more confident and experienced than me so I could watch them present it with intentions of picking up some tips. Surely in one more week I would be more prepared, except my plan was not God's plan.

 

We were put into groups that night and I was paired with a gentleman and his wife. Having paired us up,  our visitation leader announced that I would want to lead the visit and share the gospel that night. Lol Suddenly, the one that rarely argues or puts up a fuss was ready to speak up!  I tried to get out of it, but they would hear none of it. I was trapped. And I was terrified. How was I supposed to share something that I didn't feel was memorized? And what was even worse, suddenly everything I had known fled my mind! What was I to do now? 

 

I did what any person would have done. I pulled out my cheat sheet and poured over it. In the church, in the parking lot, in the car. But the strangest thing happened. It didn't matter how much I read, I couldn't understand any of it. Has that ever happened to you? Have you ever tried to read something only to have it appear as if it were a foreign language? Maybe it was due to fear, or maybe God had caused my mind to cloud over. I was left with only one option. Prayer.

 

For all that I had suddenly forgotten,  I could remember only one thing. I remembered a message preached one Wednesday night. I remembered how he taught that when Jesus gave the great commission, He also gave some promises attached to it. Jesus promised to be with them, to encourage them, to remind them of everything He had taught them, to make them not afraid. The only thing I knew was that Jesus promised to be everything I needed. I put away my cheat sheet and focused my mind on prayer instead. And the most amazing thing happened. I shared the gospel twice that night. The very gospel presentation that I had forgotten, I remembered as I opened up to the people in front of me. I couldn't recall much beforehand, but only as needed was I given the words to say. 

 

Now I should go on and tell you that it wasn't the most flawless presentation. I stuttered a time or two. I'm convinced that if someone else would have knocked on their door and presented the gospel that night to the same people I did, they would have gotten the golden star and I would have appeared the amateur that I was. But you know, no one else knocked on their door that night except me. The truth is, if I didn't knock on their door, no one else would.  Even with my missteps, nerves, shaking hands, and stuttering lips, the Word of God was shared. What they needed to hear was given that night.

 

Fear:

 

Fear is the most common tool that Satan uses against God's people, especially when it comes to sharing our faith. Yet the Bible clearly teaches that fear is a sin. In the Bible we learn to fear God and not man.

 

That night when I got home I sent an email to our visitation leader and let him know how my night went. Lol I figured since he was instrumental in setting me on God's path, he should know how things turned out. I shared openly with him about my fear and my only prayer, my only hope and as it turns out, my only need.  I never got over the message he sent back.  He said that he understood fully.  He admitted to feeling the exact same way every time he preaches. This shocked me because I've heard him preach several times. He is gifted and always looks so calm. But he told me that underneath he is terrified. He's afraid that he has forgotten everything he studied. He's afraid that he'll mess up.  It was then that I began to realize that all this time I looked up to those "Super Christians". You know who I'm talking about. They're the ones that always look so at home when sharing their faith. They're the ones we normally leave gospel witnessing to, wrongfully believing that God only gave them the ability to witness. I realized then that every time I saw a "super Christian" witnessing, they were also shaking inside. Their hands were sweaty. Their minds raced. Their tongues felt tied. All this time, I thought I was the only one that felt this way.  It's not true.  My bout with fear would continue for some time.  Now, it leads me to yet another testimony.

 

 

Overcoming fear:

 

If you've read much on my page, you would have by now read two different testimonies. Both of these I gave in front of the church on separate occasions. Before you dare to put me in the "super Christian" category, let me remind you that not only do my hands shake but my entire body also. My voice quivers. My heart pounds and my stomach wants to empty itself every time I share my faith. Yet I do it anyway, most of the time in a semi-private setting. Sometimes it's over the internet like today. On rare occasions, it's in front of a couple hundred people. Believe me, neither is any easier than the other. Speaking to one person, writing one letter, or speaking to a group is as terrifying each and every time. Why? Because we've been taught that no one wants to hear it. We've been taught that we'll receive curses, tomatoes thrown at us, that we'll be whipped and beaten, or we'll lose valuable relationships. We've been taught that only "Super Christians" are good at sharing and that we should leave it to them only. Who taught us these things? These lies? Satan. 

 

Have we forgotten that he is our enemy? What does God benefit by you always remaining quiet? (The Bible does teach that there are times when it's best to stay quiet, but let's be honest, most of us don't suffer from sharing too often or in the wrong ways, but rather from never sharing at all!) Satan will do all in his power to keep you quiet. Why should the good news that you've embraced be spread any further? Do you want to know the best way to overcome fear? Do you want to learn how to be bold? Are you sure? You're not going to like the answer.

 

Do it in spite of your fears. It's that simple. I warned you. I told you, you wouldn't like the answer. The simple way out is often the hardest, the one we least want to follow through on. Don't make the mistake of waiting till you are no longer afraid, but rather be obedient to God in spite of the trembling. I'm going to share my testimony on fear with you now, and then I dare you to put it to the test.  If you can be bold enough, come back and tell me about it. I'd love to rejoice with you!

 

I already shared with you my testimony of conversion. At this particular point in my life, I had shared this testimony with a handful of people on a one on one basis, but I knew the time was coming to share openly with the church. One Sunday morning while the Word was being preached, I felt the Spirit moving and leading me to share my testimony at the end of the service. Now, I've already told you that public speaking is not my comfort zone. So naturally, the shakes, trembles, and queasiness set in. I knew full well what I should do. I've felt the Spirit moving in my heart enough times to know what it feels like.  I was scared to follow through and I'm ashamed to tell you that I didn't. I refused to move. I refused to obey and I felt the shame and guilt immediately after.  My story doesn't end there.

 

Another Sunday came many months later and once again, I was being urged to step forward and share what I knew.  The war within picked up immediately. What would I do this time? Could I move forward in obedience or would I back out like I did the last time? I didn't like the feeling I had when I was disobedient before, but was it enough to move me to obey this time? As my mind weighed the options, I remembered my testimony and the power behind it. I realized that God gave me a testimony, not for me to enjoy alone, but for me to share with others. but sadly even this bit of knowledge seemed weak to one determined not to speak in front of a crowd. 

 

I remembered my disobedience the last time I was called on to speak up. I remembered the shame and guilt that followed. I naturally thought that I might put it off a little longer until I could be more comfortable.  Then the Spirit spoke to my heart asking, "If not now, when? Will you really feel more capable next time? Fear breeds fear. The only way to be rid of it, is to toss it aside." If not now, when? If I couldn't overcome my fear today, would I ever? Lord knows that I wanted to, but bad enough to step up? My heart was pounding to the point of beating it's way out of my chest. I was about to break out into a sweat.  I couldn't take this anymore and neither could I continue to live in disobedience. I aimed to live a life of obedience, but I had allowed my fear to dictate when I would and when I wouldn't be obedient.  I was tired of it. This fear had to lose its grip on me and the only way to ensure it was to act against it. I stepped forward that day and with a trembling voice and shaking legs, I shared my testimony with my church family. I still have moments of fear, but it loses its power over me when I choose not to obey it. 

 

I'm still a weak, fallen woman, and sadly there are moments when I do give in to fear. Now those moments are fewer and farther apart. Every time I choose obedience in spite of fear, I grow stronger and my fear grows weaker. Now, I dare you to put this to the test.  If you don't believe me, I'll share yet another testimony with you. Don't stop reading now. You won't want to miss this one!

 

The Gospel's worth:

 

We had a guest preacher one night and I'll never forget the true story he shared. To quickly summarize, he tells of how he went to preach in a church. He showed up and as the time drew near, he found himself sitting inside the church alone. Completely alone. What do you do when you've prepared yourself to preach God's word and no one shows up to hear it? Believe it or not, he stood up behind the pulpit and thundered the Word to an empty church. Well he did have an audience of one, of sorts. A woman spotted him from outside through the window. Can you image the scene she wandered on to find this man preaching hard and heavy but finding no one sitting in front of him? When he left the church, she questioned him about this and he said, "The gospel deserves to be preached whether people want to hear it or not." This was a line that gripped my heart the moment he spoke it. I immediately put it to memory, posted it on facebook later that night, but it wouldn't be till months later that I would find it's truth in my life.  The impact it left still lights my path to this day.

 

One cold day in December, I pulled out a Christmas card, as I do every year and prepared to mail it to a dear friend of mine. As usual, I hovered over the card and prayed for the words to say. (When you send as many cards as we do, you eventually run out of witty things to say and this time was no different.) Well, I eventually got my answer and it sent my hands to shaking and sweating. I knew without a doubt that God wanted me to send her a gospel centered message and to say that I was scared is an understatement. 

 

You see, we've been friends for most of our lives. We've been very close friends for over fifteen years at this point and I had never really, never purposely, witnessed to her. I know you can easily relate to this, because we all have that person that we long to see come to Christ, but we've been terrified to witness to. Satan's lies bombarded me then, "She'll hate you if you do. She'll never speak to you again. You better not. Don't you want to keep this friendship? Do you really want it to change? You bring God into this and it'll change, and not for the good either. It's best to keep quiet." I knew what I needed to do, but sometimes obedience really is hard. I asked a friend to pray for me, and thankfully she did. I filled out the card as God wanted and mailed it the next day. I was terrified. I was so nervous that it made me sick to my stomach. I had no idea how things would go from here and all I could do was wait. Waiting would be the death of me. 

 

Literally, waiting was either killing me or growing me!  Since I'm still here with you today, we all know that it was growing me.  Growth hurts sometimes. Just ask Eustace from C.S. Lewis's The Voyage of the Dawn Treader! God had so designed it that the wait would be longer and I would suffer for the sake of sanctification. You see, as my card was making it two states over, she was in the car driving two states away. She would take an extended vacation, leaving her card in the box and me in my misery. Off and on during that time, I would be given over to great agitation. That nervousness was eating me alive. As time wore on, even my nervousness was beginning to lose it's grip on me, although it would come in powerful waves, I was finding myself a great deal less nervous as the time wore on than I had been the moment I placed the card in the mail box.  Finally, she returned home and opened her mail box. When her facebook messages mentioned her return, my illness was pushed in overdrive. How would she respond? Would I still have a friend? I acted in obedience, but would I come to regret it?

 

No message came. In fact, things were so eerily silent that it scared me.  It was during this time that the Spirit spoke wisdom to my heart once more, with the question, "If I were to tell you that sending the card would have, without a shadow of doubt, separate the two of you forever, would you have sent it? If you were to know that sharing the gospel with her would cause her to never again speak to you, would you have done it anyway?" 

 

Yes.  After seriously weighing all things valuable, I knew that I would, and I would do it again.  If she never spoke to me, then I would miss her, but I would not take it back or regret it. As I imagined keeping her friendship, while purposely withholding what I knew to be true, it would one day cost her, her life. If by sharing the gospel with her, I severed a cherished relationship, then I would rest in peace knowing that by doing so it was the only way I could have had the chance to offer her life.  Eternal life, I found, is much more valuable than anything this earth has.  All on earth is fleeting, but eternity will stand forever. 

 

It was only then, that I fully understood what he meant by the worth of the gospel. The gospel's worth isn't determined by the reaction of the audience, but rather by Who it represents and what it offers. The gospel is worthy of being preached whether people want to hear it or not.

 

It shouldn't matter to you now how things turned out between us, because the point is that the cost is worth it. However, I will tell you that we would eventually talk. The uncomfortable silence would go away. We would continue being as close as ever, and I would continue sending her gospel messages as the Spirit leads. 

 

More Inspiration:

 

Here are a collection of quotes that have encouraged me to share my faith, regardless of the fear and doubts that surrounded me.

 

Ezekiel 33:2-6

"When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning and the sword comes and takes their life, their blood will be on their own head.  Since they heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, their blood will be on their own head. If they had heeded the warning, they would have saved themselves. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood."

 

The Bible clearly teaches that we are accountable for what we do, and what we don't do. We've been given truth, and we are expected to share it.

 

Matthew 9:36-38

"When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.' ” 

 

People need the Lord. And if we don't share what we know, who will? 

 

"The gospel deserves to be preached whether people want to hear it or not." - Barry King 

 

This does not give us permission to be rude or forceful, but it does free us of the response. We're not held responsible for what happens, only our obedience in delivering it.

 

Proverbs 29:25

"Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe."

 

"To have a heart like his is to look into the faces of the lost and pray. For unless they turn they are one grave away from torment." -Max Lucado

 

"If sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. And if they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees, imploring them to stay. If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions and let not one go there unwarned or unprayed for." - Charles Haddon Spurgeon

 

I had once heard a story that drastically changed how I viewed the lost. It would be the start of a great awakening inside me.

The speaker tells the story of his friend who had been at the airport reading his Bible. A stranger approached him and asked the question, "Do you believe what the Bible says about Hell?" The man with the open Bible said that he did. To his surprise, the stranger said, "Well, I don't." The man with the Bible was rightly taken back by such blunt denial. The stranger went on to say, "But if I believed even a tenth of what the Bible says about Hell, I would gladly crawl on my hands and knees on broken glass for miles just to see one soul saved from the Hell that you say you believe in." - Wow. Even in his unbelief he understood how serious such a claim really was. Why then, do we believers, take the realities of Hell so lightly? It was this story that brought me to my knees and helped bring the passion for witnessing in my life. May it do the same for you.

 

Matthew 28:18-20

"Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.' "

 

How to share the gospel:

 

Now that you've been given ample testimony and even some encouragement to take with you, what do you say when you witness to someone?

 

First of all, I want to let you know that it's easier than you think. Oh, it's serious, and you should purposely work on memorizing scripture. But don't make the mistake of thinking that you have to "arrive" or become a "super Christian" before you can begin sharing. Share what you know. Share your testimony. 

 

How?

 

Your testimony is simply telling your story. Answer these questions:

What was my life like before Christ?

What truth had I came to understand? (Your sinfulness, Christ's holiness, His death and resurrection) Quote scripture if you're able. If not, find some and begin learning them! Its not mandatory, but you shouldn't be afraid of a little work, especially when it's done for Christ. Remember, the rewards are beyond worth it!!!

What is your life like now that you're saved? (You should be able to share how you are living a repented life, not a perfect life, but a changed one. If this isn't a part of your story, then you need to reexamine your salvation because most likely you're lost.)