Telling

How many of you are intimidated by the thought of telling someone about Jesus Christ? Praying for an unbeliever isn’t intimidating. You can do that without them even knowing about it! Demonstrating acts of kindness to the unbeliever isn’t all that intimidating. You don’t need anyone’s permission to show love in practical ways! Who is going to be upset that we are collecting and distributing food? Or that we are lending a helping hand? You won’t be intimidated loving an unbeliever. You will be full of joy.

Now, inviting an unbeliever into your circle of friends could be intimidating. It just depends on how different they are from you and how much sacrifice is involved. We are quick to reach out to attractive people, wealthy people, and people of status. As they say, getting out of our comfort zones can be intimidating. But probably nothing is more intimidating than telling people about Jesus Christ. It was intimidating for the very first Christians, who knew Christ personally. They knew they were risking everything by telling others about Jesus Christ. They celebrated one another’s boldness and courageous testimony.

But that is their example. We, on the other hand, are afraid. We hide out in the church and in our closed circles of believers. Our fear is becoming tongue tied when talking about Christ. Our fear is being labeled a Christ-follower, or having any religious social stigma attached to us.

If you won’t admit that you're intimidated talking about Christ, I will. I have been intimidated by talking about Jesus Christ since I was a little child. My parents used to drag me around town, from step to step, telling people about the new church we were starting in our town and asking people if they had any questions about Jesus Christ. Every time we walked up on someone’s porch to ring the doorbell, I trembled. In my mind I would keep thinking, "Come on, mom and dad. People don’t care. They think we're weird. They don’t want to talk! I think my friends live here. They may laugh." Of course I never dared to share my thoughts verbally. Whether or not ringing doorbells was the smartest or most effective way to do it, deep down I knew people needed an opportunity to hear about Jesus Christ. My parents would have told me in so many words had I dared complain.

So yes, I confess that I have been intimidated talking about Jesus Christ since my childhood. It was true on those doorsteps. It was true when my friends asked why I had to go to youth group. It was true when I was asked to teach first-graders in my home church. It was true the first time I ever gave a devotion at church camp. It was true when I went to Bible college and it was true after I graduated from Bible college. It was true when I preached my first sermon, preached my first funeral, preached my first wedding, started seminary, and graduated from seminary. It's true after all this time.

Let’s just confess that talking about Jesus Christ will always be intimidating for us. It is intimidating for me to stand up here every week and talk to you about Jesus Christ. But you know what? I still do it. And every time I have to ask God for boldness. But it is not because I have doubts about Christ’s identity, or about my own faith, or that you have any doubts either. Our faith is very reasonable and certain. Telling people about Jesus Christ is socially awkward. It just is! No question about it!

Talking about Jesus can be socially awkward.

A few weeks ago I told you that a guy at Best Buy struck up a spiritual conversation with me. I spent over an hour listening to all his ideas and philosophies about life and religion. But God opened a door for me to tell him about Jesus Christ. He didn’t want to hear about Jesus Christ. He was more interested in being heard. So I listened for a time. Not wanting to leave him alone in his search, I offered to bring him a book called Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. So the next week I dutifully brought him a book. I first had to stop at the front door and get permission from the security guy to bring the book into the store. "What kind of book is it? What is it about?", he asked in a loud voice. When I told him that it was a Christian book, the security guy acted annoyed as if I were crossing some social boundary that I should not be crossing.

As I carried the book across the store, I found the guy I had talked to a week earlier. He was surprised to see me, and even more surprised that I had the book. It was so awkward handing him the book that he wouldn’t make eye contact or say anything to me. I knew in that moment that he may not want to ever talk with me again. But I felt God leading me to give him that book. There is just too much at stake for him to not have the good news of Jesus Christ at least placed into his hands. It was a risk.

Let’s just confess the emotion of it all. Telling people about Christ is intimidating. You are going to be nervous. You are going to have butterflies. You are going to have doubts about yourself. You are going to have social phobias and inhibitions. You are going to strain even the best of relationships. You may even lose a relationship.

When I was in high school I was the top magazine salesperson in our entire school. They had a contest for who could sell the most magazine subscriptions door to door. I made hundreds of dollars, even over a thousand. I started with first with my family. They didn’t want any magazines. Then I covered my paper route, going door to door, talking to people I had developed a relationship with. I did pretty good, better than I thought I could!

Then I covered the people in my brother’s paper route. Then I started going door to door through our entire town. I recruited others to help me in my sales. I was so courageous and bold. I had no inhibitions talking about our school’s program and telling people about the deal of a lifetime. Twenty to forty percent off magazine subscriptions! Yet what do people need more? Forty percent off "Sports Illustrated" or a life with Jesus Christ?

Influencing- Pray + Love + Invite + Tell.

In this series of messages I have contended that if you want to be an influence for Christ, you should start by praying for the unbeliever. Invite God’s Holy Spirit to go before you and loosen up the soil. Invite God’s Spirit to convict the unbeliever of sin. Second, demonstrate kindness and love to the unbeliever. Begin showing her Christ’s love before you start telling her about Christ’s love. Third, invite her into your circle of friends. Build a relationship, show hospitality, include her, accept her, welcome her, invite her, be with her, and initiate a relationship that will span for eternity. If you do these things first, telling her about Jesus Christ will be easier. It won’t be easy, mind you, but it will be easier. Telling will always require faith in God.

God is already on people's minds.

Something that should encourage you as you consider telling people about Jesus Christ is that long before you show up, God is already on most people’s minds. Take Psalm 19:1-4 (NIV) as a case in point. This passage says, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day, they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world."

Creation speaks to God's existence.

There is a deafening silence to the created order that is very hard to ignore. Creation speaks. It gives us knowledge about God’s existence and his divine nature. One person has said that God’s fingerprints are everywhere. There is evidence of intelligent design in all of creation. There is evidence of God in the harmony of the created order, the infinite beauty and creativity of life, the natural laws that govern the universe, and in the benevolence of creation. They say that it is only in cities where people are completely surrounded by concrete and buildings, man-made things, that people begin to question God’s existence. As you contemplate telling someone about Jesus Christ, know that they're already thinking about God. Night or day, they cannot help but do so. They are more ready to hear than you know.

Consider Acts 14:15-17 (NIV). Paul is talking to some satisfied unbelievers about the living God. He describes God as the one, "...who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. In the past, he let all nations go their own way. Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy."

Every Sunday morning I used to cross the Illinois River at Havana on my way to preach in a small country church. Along the river was this indescribable mountain of golden grain that was to be loaded onto barges and floated down the river. The abundance that golden mountain represented was a regular testimony to me of God’s goodness. I was reminded that God causes all things to grow. He provides the seed, the sower, the rain, the nutrients, the sunlight, and even the change of seasons. It is true that abundance can distract a person from thinking about God. But it can just as well wake a person up to the fact that God is good and that he continually provides. Long before we come along,he may already be thinking of God’s goodness and grace.

The origin of life gives testimony to God.

In Acts 17:24-28 (NIV) Paul is again talking to unbelievers. This time, however, he invites them to consider the origins, the starting point of their lives and all of civilization. "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.' "

In Genesis every species reproduces according to its own kind. Dogs give birth to dogs. Monkeys give birth to monkeys. Humans give birth to humans. Even though evolutionists try to persuade us otherwise, monkeys do not give birth to human life. The average person is not satisfied with the theory of evolution. They have questions. Where did human life come from? From whom did all nations on earth originate? Paul says, "In God we live and move and have our being. We are his offspring." Creation and common sense point back to a first cause, a designer, a creator, and a sustainer. The unbeliever is thinking about these things. He is asking these questions. He is wanting reasonable answers. We already have a point of connection.

Humans are intrinsically moral beings.

Romans 2:15 parenthetically gives us another point of contact to consider. Romans 2:15 (NIV) says of all men, "...the requirements of the (God's)law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them."

The unbeliever doesn’t know what to make of the fact that all human beings are intrinsically moral beings. Despite the remarkable diversity that exists among the people of our world, there is a common moral thread woven throughout the collective consciences of every tribe, tongue, nation, culture and people group. Mankind values life over death, love over hate, freedom over slavery, property ownership over theft, fidelity over infidelity, respect over disrespect, truth over lying, mercy over unforgiveness, and justice over law breaking. The Ten Commandments are reflected among the laws of even the most ungodly nations. By design, the holiness and character of God resonates with people. The unbeliever has a frame of reference for thinking about his need for Christ’s righteousness. The truth is that we have many points of contact for us to utilize in telling the unbeliever about Jesus Christ. There is the intelligent design of creation, the abundance of creation, the origins of human life, and all matters of conscience and morality. All of these things have the potential of leading people to a deeper understanding of God’s nature and identity.

Without us telling, people will never fully know God.

But there is a problem. In 1 Corinthians 1:21 (NIV) Paul says that, "...the world through its wisdom did not know him (God)." Without our intervention, without us telling, people will never fully know God. The fact is that the most brilliant among us, from a worldly point of view, fail to see God in creation. The best secular science can do is to hypothesize that everything began with a big bang or that life evolved through chance processes into its present state. On their own, people will never have anything more than a general picture of God. That is why there are so many religions and philosophies out there. What people really need is someone like you and like me to tell them specifically about Christ!

Since the beginning of creation, God has not left our knowing him up to chance or subjective speculation. God wants us to know him, personally. God sent his son, Jesus Christ, to forever settle in our minds the matter of his nature and identity. Hebrews 1:1-3 (NIV) says, "In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven."

John 1:1-5 (NIV) says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it."

John 1:14 (NIV) says, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."

Jesus is God's revelation of himself to mankind.

Jesus Christ is God’s special word, God’s specific revelation of himself to mankind. Again, no more speculation. No more guessing. No more scientific theories. No more hypothesizing. No more foolishness. In John 14:9 (NIV), Jesus tells Philip, "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father." In 1 Corinthians 1:24 (NIV) we're told that Christ is, "the power of God and the wisdom of God." To know God’s Son, Jesus Christ, is to know the living God personally and fully.

But here is the crux of the matter. The Bible teaches that the only people who will be saved are those who in this life come to know the living God personally and fully. The difference between eternal life and eternal condemnation is in knowing Jesus Christ. 1 John 5:11-12 (NIV) says, "And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life." Again, knowing Jesus Christ is the difference between eternal life and condemnation. You either have Christ or you don’t. You either have life or you don’t.

There are a lot of people around us, even among us, who do not have Christ. What can we do to make sure they have Christ? That they come to know God personally? That like us, they inherit eternal life? Over the last few weeks we have been laying out a simple strategy. Praying + Loving + Inviting and now, Telling.

Romans 10:13-15 (NIV) says, "...Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

What it really comes down to is which scares us the most. The thought of feeling a little intimidated telling others about Jesus Christ or the thought of people spending a Christ-less eternity being condemned for their sins and our silence? I guess I'd rather have beautiful feet.