2/14/09
Follow Me
Recap
Let your story
be a simple timeline that includes “my life before I met Jesus . . . how I met
Jesus . . . my life after meeting Jesus.”
The whole
point of my story is to tell His-story in the history of my story.
Allow people to
ask questions, and pay attention to body language.
If you are
real about what God has done for you, the truth
becomes real to your friend.
Becoming a Friend
Taking time to
listen . . .
Building trust
in simple things . . .
Showing caring
and sympathy . . .
Being a friend
. . .
Meeting needs
. . .
Then…Follow Me
Sometimes the person is ready to hear
your story right away
Sometimes there is a process prior to
being ready to Follow
But either way, the time will come
when you will invite the person to follow you in following Jesus
Follow Me
It is always
best to present Jesus in the context of what they are experiencing. For instance, if the person says that she is
upset because her husband is being laid off from work, you might be able to
relate to that in your experience. You
might be able to say, “That actually happened to me once, and it was
devastating, but I found that if I continued to trust God, He gave me peace
through that time, and He led me not only to another job but to a lasting
relationship with Him.
If you can’t
relate to what they are going through, you can tell a story of a person who
went through something similar: “I once knew a man who . . .” Whether it’s your personal account or the
story of someone else, it’s just a powerful and
real to the
person you’re talking to. People relate
to other people—not to dogmas and doctrines.
They enter the
Sharing our
faith is easier when we enter in to the personal story of the person. Everybody has a story. It comes out in bits and pieces usually. If we listen, we will learn a lot about a
person over time. They will tell us
about their family, about their dreams and hopes, about their despair and their
pain. They will even tell us about their
losses and their crises, when they happen.
All of these
pieces are entry points for the gospel of Christ. At any point we can inject our personal story
of how the Lord brought us safely through something similar. At any point we can share “my life before I
met Jesus . . . how I met Jesus . . . my life after meeting Jesus.”
As the Spirit
leads, we share. We share our story of
how the Lord has changed our lives, or how He has blessed us. People long for the peace, the understanding,
the assurance, the wholesomeness that you now have. Just sharing it is a very attractive thing to
others. The Holy Spirit will use
whatever you share to awaken desire and awaken a need in that person. You may be surprised at the results of a
simple sharing of your story.
It may be
right away, or it may be later on. But
at some point, the person will begin to ask questions about what you shared,
about salvation, about different spiritual issues they have wondered about for
years.
When people
start asking questions, it means that they trust us enough to be open with us,
and to risk being though of as weird because they have those questions. So they feel comfortable with us, and we have
somehow by our actions been a friend to them.
It’s important
that we do our best to answer their questions truthfully. If it’s something that we really need to sit
down with them with their Bible open to answer adequately, then we need to say
something like…”You know, that’s a great question and an important question,
and I want to answer it completely and do justice to it. Can we get together later and sit down and
look closely at this?”
Usually a
person who is truly interested in what they are asking will not have a problem
getting together with you at their house, at a restaurant, at a park, or even
in your car. It shows them that you
really do care about their question, and that you take them seriously.
Now, if it’s
something that you think you can answer right on the spot, go for it. Say a quick silent prayer and ask God for
help and wisdom.
One subject
that is more important than any other subject, which we need to know how to
present quickly and concisely, is the topic of salvation. The plan of salvation is the foundation of
all other teachings. In fact, we can’t
really begin to understand spiritual truth until we have an understanding of
salvation, and we have met Jesus.
Your friend,
with whom you have been talking for a while, might out of the blue ask you
about salvation. So you need to be ready
on the spot.
It is very
important that we can present, in a nutshell, the basics of the plan of
salvation. There are many people we
meet—walking, on airplanes, on busses, standing in line, etc., whom we will
probably never see again in this life.
We should always be ready to present our brief testimony—preferably
relating it to what they are saying.
And we should
always be ready to present a brief study on salvation, if it is apparent that
the Lord is calling us to do that. How
do you know if the Lord is calling you to tell the person how to come to the
Lord? They will ask you.
The Most
Basic Bible Study
1. The world
is full of evil-disaster, despair and death—because of the sin problem, our
self-centered, self-destructive instincts.
See Romans 3:23, 5:12, 6:23, 7:21-23, 1 John 1:8-10, Isaiah 53:6, 1
Peter 2:24. (Steps to Christ, page
18).
2. God has
acted to overcome the problem of evil through a free gift of eternal life out
of love. See Ephesians 2:8-9, John 3:16,
Titus 3:5, Romans 3:27, 4:4, 9:30-33, Philippians 3:8-9. (Steps to Christ, page 61).
3. When we
accept this gift, we enter into a saving relationship with Christ. See John 5:24, 1 John 2:3-5, 3:24, Acts 5:31,
2 Corinthians 11:2, Revelation 3:20. (Steps
to Christ, page 51).
After covering
these basic points, as your friend, “Does
this make sense to you? What does it
mean to you personally? Is there any
reason why you cannot make a decision right now to follow Christ?”
Listen
carefully. Don’t push or manipulate! If your friend is ready, lead him or her in a
simple prayer, giving his or her life to Jesus.
And pray for your friend after he or she prays.
If this is
someone that you will continue to see, you can arrange after this to have a
more in-depth Bible study with them about salvation, covering things such as
repentance, acceptance, etc. There are
excellent studies available for you to use when studying with someone. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel when it
comes to studying with people.
Not only do we
have the Discover lessons, but if you ever need me to get you a packet of
lessons from Amazing Facts or some other series, just let me know. I live just a few minutes from the ABC.
Some people
prefer to use the Bible marking system to guide their friend from Scripture to
Scripture on a particular teaching.
The point is,
we want to make sure the person has been given a chance to come to the Lord
Jesus. That’s true friendship, isn’t
it. Why keep Someone so loving, so
giving, so powerful as Jesus hidden from our friend?
And yes, we do
need to do our best to encourage a new Christian to stay in touch with God
through daily Bible reading and prayer (listening to God and talking to
God). And we need to encourage them to
meet the family. Jesus said, “My mother
and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice” (Luke
8:21, NIV). To accept Christ is to
“marry into” a “family”—the other believers around the world are your brothers
and sisters in Christ.
It’s important
that the new believer start meeting weekly with other believers, to grow in a
knowledge of the Lord, and to be assimilated into the family of God.
Prayer
meeting, women’s ministry meeting,
Truly the Lord
is calling each of us to share our faith as a way of life. The Lord has plans for each of us—Ephesians
2:10 tells us that God has prepared good things in advance for us to do. You can think of it as divine appointments
that He is guiding us keep.
The people in your life are not
there accidentally or coincidentally.
God is much more active and engaged than that.
Here are some meaningful
excerpts from the Spirit of Prophecy:
Brethren and sisters, will you put on the Christian armor?
"Your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace," you
will be prepared to walk from house to house, carrying the truth to the people.
Sometimes you will find it trying to do this kind of work: but if you go forth
in faith, the Lord will go before you, and will let His light shine upon your
pathway. Entering the homes of your neighbors to sell or to give away our
literature, and in humility to teach them the truth, you will be accompanied by
the light of heaven, which will abide in these homes.
God’s judgments are abroad in the land. Shall we allow these
things to come upon the world without telling the people the meaning of these
terrible calamities, and how every one may escape from the wrath to come? Shall
we let our neighbors remain in darkness without a preparation for the future
life? Unless we ourselves realize where we stand, the day of God will come upon
us as a thief.
Present Opportunities, 6
The salvation of sinners requires earnest, personal labor.
We are to bear to them the word of life, not to wait for them to come to us. O
that I could speak words to men and women that would arouse them to diligent
action! The moments now granted us to work are few. We are standing upon the
very borders of the eternal world. We have no time to lose. Every moment is
golden, and altogether too precious to be devoted merely to self-serving. Who
will seek God earnestly, and from Him draw strength and grace to be His
faithful workers in the missionary field?
Present Opportunities, 6
…give special study to the work that can be done by
the laity for their friends and neighbors. The work of God in this earth can
never be finished until the men and women comprising our church membership
rally to the work and unite their efforts with those of ministers and church officers.--
Testimonies, vol. 9, pp. 116, 117
By carrying
the truth into the homes of their neighbors and friends, they could do a great
work for the Master. God is no respecter of persons. He will use humble,
devoted Christians who have the love of the truth in their hearts. Let such
ones engage in service for him by doing house-to-house work. Sitting by the
fireside, such men--if humble, discreet, and godly--can do more to meet the
real needs of families than could a minister.-- Review and Herald, Aug.
26, 1902. {WM 109.3}
The man who is working according to God’s plan will pray,
"Let it be known this day in my work for suffering humanity that there is
a God in
When man places himself in this attitude, and realizes that
he is working out God’s plan, and that God is working out His plan through him,
he is in possession of divine power, which knows nothing of defeat. All the
power of counteragencies is of no more account than the chaff of the threshing
floor.--Manuscript 115, 1899. {WM 124.1}