by Rev. Steve Bass
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS
- I bumped into Mandy Helms the other day at the hospital
- She looked every inch the medical professional she soon will be
- She was wearing a lab coat
- Had a patient’s chart in her hand
- And a stethoscope draped around her neck
- Sometimes I think the stethoscope around the neck thing must be the first thing they teach you at medical school
- This month, Mandy will begin her final year at the Bowman-Gray
- Sometime next spring she’ll graduate and become a fully licensed medical P.A. with a specialty in surgery
- Already she’s doing a rotation at Northeast Medical Center in Concord working 60-70 hour weeks
- As a resident PA, Mandy’s responsible for making critical decisions concerning her patients’ care.
- She told me how odd it felt to have the nurses and technicians asking HER what to do
- She said: It’s scary. I know I have to get it right every time.
- How would YOU like to live with that kind of pressure?
- Get it right- or a person may die
- ...I’m not sure I could handle it!
TRANSITIONAL REMARKS
- A lot of Christians feel the same kind of pressure when it comes to sharing their faith with another person
- Get it right- or a person may die and go to hell?
- I’m not sure I can handle that kind of pressure!
- I call it the fear factor in witnessing
- You’re so afraid you might make a mistake- or say the wrong thing
- That you wind up saying- or doing- nothing at all
- But here’s the thing:
- If you choose to say- or do- nothing at all
- Your friend- or family member- or co-worker- or schoolmate- or neighbor may die and enter eternity lost
- That’s why I want to help you overcome the fear factor
- Just like Mandy is in-training to equip herself to be a medical professional
- This morning I’m going to help you be ready for the next time someone asks: "Can you tell me how to become a Christian?"
- By the way- If you know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord YOU CAN DO THIS!
- Sharing the Good News of God’s grace is not hard!
- You don’t have to know a lot about theology
- You don’t have to have a degree in Biblical studies
- And you don’t need a Certificate of Ordination on your wall
- If you have a personal relationship with Jesus- the Holy Spirit can use YOU to lead another person to Christ
- So take out your Bibles- and a pen or pencil
- And let’s get started
PREPARE YOUR TESTIMONY
- How many of you know what a personal testimony?
- Watch for hands- ask if someone can explain
- A personal testimony is the story of what the Lord has done for you!
- Folks- NEVER underestimate the power of a personal testimony:
- People...
- Can argue religion
- They can debate Christian theology
- They can even discuss the merits of the Bible
- But the one thing they can’t argue with is the story of your personal experience with Jesus!
- Now preparing your testimony is not nearly as difficult as it might sound
- Essentially it involves three elements...
- What your life was like BEFORE you became a Christian
- HOW you came to accept Jesus as your Savior
- What your life has been like SINCE Jesus came into your life
- If you’re ready to tell someone these three things- you’re ready to share your testimony
- With that in mind- let me make a couple of points about a testimony
- First- it should be honest
- Your testimony doesn’t need to include every single, sordid detail of your life
- But you do need to honestly and openly say: This is who I was- this is what I was like- before I became a Christian
- Second- Don’t be overly dramatic
- Just state the facts
- Trust me: You don’t need to embellish the POWER and WONDER of God’s grace and love
- Third- Keep the focus on Jesus
- Remember- while a testimony is your story
- The point of your story is tell JESUS' story
- And fourth- Don’t stop with your testimony
- Think of your testimony as an appetizer- it’s supposed to get someone ready for the main course
- And HERE’S the main course (Hold up the Bible)
- If someone wants to be saved- they have to be confronted with the truth of the Word of God
- Listen to what the Bible says about itself: (Read 2 Timothy 3:14-17)
- Folks- the Bible contains God’s plan of salvation
- Given that that is true- you’ve got to know how to use your Bible to lead another person to Christ
- So during the rest of this sermon I’m going to teach you how to use your Bibles to tell others about Jesus
MARK YOUR BIBLE
- (Explain the methodology of marking your Bible)
- The first passage I want you to mark is John 3:16
- So turn to John 3:16 and at the top of the page write "3:16"
- Read the verse
- Folks- John 3:16 is the story of the Gospel summarized in 26 words! I mean look at what it does
- First of all- it establishes the source of the Gospel
- It says the source of the Good News of Jesus Christ is God and His perfect love:
- "For GOD so loved..."
- Second- John 3:16 establishes the scope of the Gospel
- It says the scope of the Gospel includes EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE
- "For God so loved the WORLD"
- Third- it establishes the sacrifice God made for us
- It says God willingly sent His Son- Jesus the Christ- to save us from our sin
- "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,"
- Fourth- John 3:16 establishes how a person can be saved
- A person can be saved by believing in the name of Jesus
- "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever BELIEVES in Him"
- And finally- John 3:16 defines what it MEANS to be saved
- Salvation means that if a person has a faith relationship with Jesus they will receive God’s gift of eternal life!
- "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever BELIEVES in Him shall not perish but have eternal life..."
- Illustration: "Lonely For Your Child"
- When Stephanie went away to college Pam and I thought we were ready for it
- We were sure Stephanie would love it- and she has
- And we were genuinely excited for her
- But let me tell you- all the excitement in the world couldn’t mask the loneliness we felt after she was gone.
- Our hearts were broken- we missed our daughter
- Granted-
- At the time Matthew was finishing up his senior year at UNCC and still living at home
- But you know- in parental math 2 minus 1 doesn’t equal plenty
- Folks, that’s the way it is with God
- Yes- He’s got MANY children
- But there’s still an empty spot in His heart for the one who’s missing
- THAT’S what you get to share with some-one who’s lost
- "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever BELIEVES in Him shall not perish but have eternal life..."
- Oh by the way: If you only had time to share John 3:16
- You could stand before God KNOWING that you’d fulfilled your responsibility as a witness
- Because you would’ve shared EVERYTHING a lost person needs to know in order to be saved
- But we’re not gonna stop there
- The next verses you’ll want to share are Romans 3:11-12 & 23
- So on the top of the page write: Romans 3:11-12 & 23
- Read the verses
- Folks- the fundamental lie Satan tells lost people is that there’s no such thing as sin- and that they’re not a sinner
- One of your challenges in sharing Jesus with another person is to correct this misunderstanding
- And the best way to do that is...
- Not by berating and browbeating them into submission
- All you have to do is show them what the Bible says
- And here’s what Romans 3 is saying:
- Even if it were theoretically possible to get to heaven by living a "good life"
- No one ever has- and no one ever will- succeed: "...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"
- A good illustration of this point is to talk about Billy Graham
- Billy Graham is consistently listed as one of the most admired men in the world
- His honesty, integrity and humility is universally recognized
- Even non-Christians will agree that Billy Graham is a good man
- So you can ask: Do you think this passage of Scripture applies to Billy Graham? Is he a sinner?
- Most people will say something like this: Billy Graham- no way. He’s a good man- a real Christian!
- That’s when YOU say: "Well- the Bible says that even Billy Graham is a sinner..."
- Folks- whenever you share the Gospel you HAVE to deal with the reality of sin. BUT-
- Don’t assume a smug, self-righteous, judgmental attitude. That approach NEVER works!
- Instead-
- Share the truth of the Bible with gentleness and tact
- And be sure to demonstrate the love of Christ at all times!
- Now at the top of the page write "6:23"
- This means that the next verse you’re going to share is Romans 6:23
- Read the verse
- Folks- I can’t overemphasize the importance of Romans 6:23 in sharing God’s plan of salvation
- You might call it the pivot on which the whole thing turns
- That’s why it’s so important to be able to explain what this verse is saying
- And to do that- you have to be able to explain the meaning of three words
- And one phrase
- The first of these words is wages. Romans 6:23 says "the WAGES of sin is death"
- Now a wage is an amount of money you earn for working a particular length of time
- In other words: It’s what you get for what you do
- If you’re making $10.00 an hour and you work for 40 hours
- Before taxes- you’re gonna make $400
- Nothing more
- And nothing less
- The second word is death. "For the wages of sin is DEATH"
- Now it’s important to understand that the Bible is not talking about physical death in Romans 6:23
- Instead it’s talking about SPIRITUAL death- which is complete and total separation from God in a place called hell
- Now to be honest most people don’t believe this is true
- Instead they generally believe one of two things:
- They either believe that God would never send someone to hell
- Or they believe that hell doesn’t exist- so they don’t have to worry about it
- Folks- you don’t need to argue with somebody who believes these things
- Instead- show them what God says in His Word!
- Romans 6:23 says: the wages of sin is death
- The third word you want to explain is gift
- Most people have a pretty good idea what the word gift means
- So you’ll might say something like this:
- A gift is something that someone else gives you out of the love in their heart...
- Because it’s a gift- you can’t EARN it and you don’t DESERVE it
- Now here’s thing:
- It is absolutely necessary for you to emphasize that God’s gift of salvation can not be earned- and it isn’t deserved
- Without this vital piece of information God’s love and grace makes no sense
- And that brings us to the phrase eternal life
- In the Bible eternal life means that:
- When you physically die-
- You continue to live- FOREVER - in the presence of God!
- And the place where this happens is heaven
- Now at this point- I like to say something like this: Let me paraphrase Romans 6:23 so you’ll understand what God’s Word is saying
- What you earn for the sin in your life is spiritual death- eternal separation from God in a place called hell.
- But God is offering you something that you can’t earn- and you don’t deserve- and that is an eternal home with Him in heaven!
- Folks- THIS is the Good News that you get to share you
- God wants EVERYONE to be saved
- God wants EVERYONE to be with Him in heaven!
- Now- at the top of the page write "5:8-9"
- This means that the next passage of Scripture you want to share is Romans 5:8-9
- Read the passage
- Let me tell you why this passage of Scripture is so important
- God paid a VERY high price so He could offer the gift of salvation
- The price He paid was the life of His one and only Son who died on the Cross of Calvary
- Illustration: The Cruise
- Six years ago Pam and I were able to take our first- and so far only- Caribbean cruise
- It was a great trip and we had a fantastic time! (I even learned how to dance- but that’s another story)
- But here’s the thing about our trip: It didn’t cost us a dime!
- So how did we get such a fabulous vacation?
- Because YOU gave it to us
- Out of the love in your heart you paid the cost- so that we could enjoy that wonderful gift!
- Folks- at the Cross God paid the ultimate cost so He could offer you the gift of eternal life!
- That is the Gospel- that is good news
- And that’s the message you want to share with someone who is lost
- Now everything you’ve done up to this point leads to the last two verses of Scripture you need to share
- Write at the top of the page Romans 10:9-10
- Read the verses
- Folks- salvation comes down to a simple proposition
- If a person believes...
- That Jesus is God’s one and only Son
- That Jesus died on the Cross for their sin
- That God physically raised Jesus from the dead on the dead on the third day
- They will be saved- PERIOD
CONCLUSION
- Illustration: Jeremy- God Loves You
- A woman and a 12 year old boy became friends when they were hospitalized for cancer treatments
- Cathy’s treatments had been going very well. Her tumor had shrunk to the point of insignificance
- But Jeremy’s cancer was so aggressive it became clear he wouldn’t survive
- Early one morning a nurse rushed into Cathy’s room: I need you to come with me RIGHT NOW! Jeremy has just a few minutes to live. He wants to see you.
- The nurse quickly wheeled Cathy into Jeremy’s room
- Cathy grabbed Jeremy’s hand and said: Jeremy- listen to me. God made you. God loves you. God sent Jesus to die for you. God wants you to come home to live with Him
- In a weak voice Jeremy said: Say it again
- Cathy: God made you. God loves you. God sent Jesus to die for you. God wants you to come home to live with Him
- Jeremy: Thank you God
- And with those words Jeremy died and went to be with Jesus in heaven
- Folks-
- That’s what people who are lost need to know
- As a Christian that’s what you MUST be prepared to share
- This sermon has primarily been directed towards Christians- but if you’ve never asked Jesus to be your Savior
- You’ve heard God’s plan of salvation laid out as clearly and simply as I know how
- All you have to do is accept what Jesus has done for you- and you will be saved
- Let us pray
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