Are you ready to share Christ? Let’s make it hard to go to hell from Huntsville, Alabama. I am praying for an outpouring from heaven that covers the Tennessee Valley and raises the spiritual water level of every Christ-honoring, Bible-believing church. I’ve seen God move amazingly outside the United States, but I want to see U.S. altars filled with lives being changed for Christ’s glory.
God wants to move, but we have a part to play. God has open doors, open opportunities for us to share His message.
“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” (Colossians 4:2 NIV)
Have you prayed today? Have you asked God to use you to share Christ today? To be an effective messenger, spend time with Jesus Christ. Let your words be an overflow of a heart passionate about Christ. Maintain daily, intimate relationship with the King of the universe. Pray! Ask the Lord for lives to be changed. Prepare your heart and intercede for the lost. Talk to the Lord about your pre-Christian friend – then talk to your pre-Christian friend about the Lord.
After you have prayed and asked the Lord to use you – be alert! Be watchful during the roughly 160 hours a week you are awake and encountering other people. I have found that praying in the Spirit helps my sensitivity. You need the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit – NOT YOU – will inspire a person to change. It’s His job, not yours. Be sensitive to the unction of the Holy Spirit and thankful for where the Holy Spirit has placed you.
Gratitude and joy are attractive. Be thankful! A wrong attitude will rob you of sensitivity. Don’t grumble about where you are. God can use you in the daily routine of your life.
“And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.” (Colossians 4:3 NIV)
Are you looking for open doors? Don’t open the door yourself. Let God open the door. Wait on Him but wait alertly! Pray and be alert to know when a door opens. Attentive to the many opportunities God has prepared.
The Holy Spirit can tell you NOT to share. Do you realize that at times Paul was forbidden to preach the Word (Acts 16:6)? Sensitivity is required. The Lord said “no” to Asia, “no” to home, “no” to Bithynia, but “yes” to Macedonia. Paul has a vision in the night (Acts 16:9-10). He must have been awake to see a vision, instead of a dream. Could he have been spending a sleepless night seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit?
Paul and his companions obeyed and walked through the door open by the Lord. Later, Paul proclaimed, “When I arrived in Troas to proclaim the Message of the Messiah, I found the place wide open: God had opened the door; all I had to do was walk through it” (2 Corinthians 2:12 MSG).
“Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.” (Colossians 4:4 NIV)
Is your message clear? Avoid religious terminology that is not a part of your natural vocabulary. Share the story of how Jesus Christ changed your life.
Remember to listen – I mean, REALLY listen. Your message will hit home when you listen. Don’t get so caught up mentally in the plan you have memorized that you are preparing your next sentence while the person is sharing.
“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” (Colossians 4:5-6 NIV)
WISE REMINDERS:
#1 God has not called you to present a plan of salvation to every person you see today. But that is not excuse for neglecting the one to whom you ARE to share Christ.
#2 Don’t beat a person over the head for habits that offend you. You needed forgiveness, too.
#3 Avoid getting pulled into an argument. Make the issue Jesus Christ. Don’t win an argument and lose the person. Please, don’t muddy the water for the next person who tries to fish in that pond. Your goal is to win people, not arguments.
#4 You don’t have to study other religions in order to share Christ. The issue is Jesus Christ because He ONLY is the way, the truth, and the life. Share what you know!
#5 You are not called to bring every person to a decision. Sometimes you plant; sometimes you water; sometimes you reap.
“Pray diligently. Stay alert, with your eyes wide open in gratitude. Don’t forget to pray for us, that God will open doors for telling the mystery of Christ, even while I’m locked up in this jail. Pray that every time I open my mouth I’ll be able to make Christ plain as day to them.” (Colossians 4:2-4 MSG)
