Chapter 6 - Delivers the Gospel

My family had the wonderful opportunity to foster, then adopt, a beautiful Golden Retriever. We started the fostering process solely to help our kids not be afraid of dogs. Anytime they would be in the presence of a canine, large or small, they would run for cover. My wife had the brilliant idea that, in her words, a “*Christian dog” like a Golden Retriever could help cure them of their pet infirmity.

 When Kim brought home this furry golden puppy, we saw her through a lens of supreme cuteness. The kids though, saw her through a different lens. A lens of terror. The very first moment they were introduced to the princess pup, it was constant screaming. Even several days later, still screaming. It bothered me so much that they couldn’t get over it, I just locked them in a room with the dog to help them beat their fear. Ok, I didn’t do that. Finally, through constant encouragement, both of our kids came around to the idea that the dog was not going anywhere, so they should adapt. And to their credit, they adapted so well they have even cried leaving her when we go on trips.These days, they've love and hug on her so much that now she's the one looking at them through a lens of terror.

 I know it’s not just my kids, we all have some things that cause fear. Whether that’s spiders or snakes or the IRS, we all have triggers.

I have found most of us share a common fear. In my 20+ years of ministry, I have observed a common spiritual terror that most folks have. A lot of us are genuinely scared to share the good news of Jesus Christ with another human being. Maybe you are comfortable sharing the Gospel with people close to you but not to strangers. Maybe you are the opposite and you are less nervous in a spiritual conversation with someone you just met and more scared to share with family.

Some people can talk generally about God all day long but when it comes to getting the “J” word out in a conversation, a death grip clinches their vocal chords. Why is this a fear we share? Why are we so scared to tell people about the love of our Savior? 

I’m sure there are times, if you have put your faith in Jesus as the boss of your life, that you sensed the Holy Spirit prompting you to share your faith with another person. However, when you start to think about it, you clam up and sweat begins to form, so you talk yourself out of engaging in a conversation. 

When a situation like that happens, often we immediately go through about 1000 excuses why we shouldn’t tell someone about Jesus. There are 3 that usually rise to the top. We think Excuse #1 I’m not good enough. As I look at Scripture, the people I see talking about God are the people with a past. Paul, who was named Saul, wrote most of the New Testament and he was a murderer of Christians. Ummm, most of you at this point are now without an excuse. Jesus didn’t disqualify Saul, but appeared to him via a bright light Acts 9:4, He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?” 5 “Who are you, lord?” Saul asked. And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! 6 Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

The result of that encounter is found in vs 20. And immediately he began preaching about Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is indeed the Son of God!” Jesus still used Paul despite his past to deliver the Gospel.

We might say I can’t share my faith because Excuse #2 I’m not smart enough. This plays like a broken record in your mind, “they might ask a tough question I don’t know how to answer.” When you read the Gospels, you quickly realize these guys weren’t the brightest bulb in the box. These young guys had other trades than religion. They didn’t pass the religious test and were seen as ordinary common men. Acts 4:13 The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus.

Did you catch the end? Even though they weren’t specially trained, they could tell something was different, that they had an encounter with the risen Savior. We need to count on our relationship with Jesus as the magnetism to the Gospel not our own intelligence.

Or we think I just can’t do this because Excuse #3 I don’t talk well enough. Moses tried to avoid talking about God at first. But he had an undeniable encounter with God through a burning bush. His curiosity led him to a life altering moment as he met with the living God. Even so, Moses tried to get out of leading the Israelites, Exodus 4:10 But Moses pleaded with the Lord, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.” 11 Then the Lord asked Moses, “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.”

Moses persisted and God gave him a vocal partner in Aaron, but I loved the encouragement and challenge God gave. He reminded Moses that ultimately He is in control and Moses needed to obedient. He also added that He would be with him as he spoke. Anytime we open our mouth in a conversation centered on our Great God, we are entering a spiritual zone. God loves to invade this space with us. 

For each of these heroes of the faith, they had to overcome a perceived inadequacy. What helped them all overcome their fear, or their inadequacy, was a genuine encounter with God and an intense desire to be obedient to Him by sharing their encounters with others. If you have met Jesus anywhere along the path of your life, it should now shape you to be a person who delivers the Gospel. This happened to the first believers in Jesus.

Acts 2:47 all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. The addition of people to your church and the Kingdom of God means it is necessary for you to deliver the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is not up to your Pastor only. It is up to you! We are going to have to overcome any fear and be fueled by a desire to see people cross over from death to life! Notice though, it was the Lord who added. Our job is to deliver, it is God’s job for them to receive. We have to trust Him with the results.

Jeremiah was a reluctant hero, driven to share God’s truth. He was a prophet during very tough times. When God first called Him to be a deliverer of His message Jeremiah had an excuse, his age, but God wasn’t having it.

Jer1:4-10. 4 The Lord gave me this message: 5 “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” 6 “O Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!” 7 The Lord replied, “Don’t say, ‘I’m too young,’ for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. 8 And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you. I, the Lord, have spoken!” 9 Then the Lord reached out and touched my mouth and said, “Look, I have put my words in your mouth! 10 Today I appoint you to stand up against nations and kingdoms. Some you must uproot and tear down, destroy and overthrow. Others you must build up and plant.”

When Jeremiah was young, God told him that before he was formed in the womb, He had a plan for him to speak His name. God assured him he would not be alone on this journey, but that God would give him the exact words to say. Jeremiah was still afraid. God affirmed him and repeatedly tells him to not be afraid but to be strong. God even gives him a visual and declares that He is making Jeremiah like an iron pillar and a fortified city. This is important because God knew Jeremiah was headed for a hard time.

God gave a message to Jeremiah that was not going to be received. In fact, he was going to be beaten over this message. He would face physical harm, emotional peril, and mental anguish, while he would be constantly mocked and ridiculed. In the 52 chapters of Jeremiah, only 2 people responded positively to his message. Any person who considers himself or herself to be an influencer would quit immediately if it was known that would be the outcome.

What was so repelling about his message? God wanted to speak through Jeremiah to tell the Israelites, God’s people, they were going to be taken captive because they no longer served God only. Jeremiah stepped into his moments and repeatedly told an unwilling audience that extreme times were in the future and they needed to repent of their rampant wickedness. No one wanted to listen to that message. So Jeremiah was arrested, he was beaten, and essentially, he was the laughing stock of the city.

It got to the point where Jeremiah felt hurt, of course physically, but also emotionally and mentally. Jeremiah’s nickname is the Weeping Prophet because of all that he went through.

In Chapter 20 we get a glimpse of his ministry and misery. Jer 20:1 Now Pashhur son of Immer, the priest in charge of the Temple of the Lord, heard what Jeremiah was prophesying. 2 So he arrested Jeremiah the prophet and had him whipped and put in stocks at the Benjamin Gate of the Lord’s Temple. 3 The next day, when Pashhur finally released him, Jeremiah said, “Pashhur, the Lord has changed your name. From now on you are to be called ‘The Man Who Lives in Terror.’ 4 For this is what the Lord says: ‘I will send terror upon you and all your friends, and you will watch as they are slaughtered by the swords of the enemy. I will hand the people of Judah over to the king of Babylon. He will take them captive to Babylon or run them through with the sword. 5 And I will let your enemies plunder Jerusalem. All the famed treasures of the city—the precious jewels and gold and silver of your kings—will be carried off to Babylon. 6 As for you, Pashhur, you and all your household will go as captives to Babylon. There you will die and be buried, you and all your friends to whom you prophesied that everything would be all right.’

Jeremiah had just been beaten and imprisoned for speaking what God wanted Him to say. It would have been easy for him to believe he was getting the raw end of the deal. But God gives him a message for the jailer. It’s a very harsh message to the one who caused him pain. This divine declaration probably gave Jeremiah a little more joy to speak this word to this man. Then the next few verses Jeremiah laments to God about his situation.

Jeremiah 20:7 O Lord, you misled me, and I allowed myself to be misled. You are stronger than I am, and you overpowered me. Now I am mocked every day; everyone laughs at me. 8 When I speak, the words burst out. “Violence and destruction!” I shout. He feels as if these messages from the Lord have made him a household joke.

He cries out that God’s word and His message has caused him pain and frustration, but then he gets to vs 9. 9 But if I say I’ll never mention the Lord or speak in his name, His word burns in my heart like a fire. It’s like a fire in my bones! I am worn out trying to hold it in! I can’t do it!

He is a man completely down in the dumps but then, as a phoenix from the ashes, there is a major shift in his tone. There is hope, there is conviction, there is a greater purpose. Jeremiah gets to the point where he says I cannot and will not keep this message to myself. He equates this message to a fire within him that he is fearful of keeping it in. That’s quite a change. He’s saying I’m scared to share but more scared not to share. Paul said something similar when he said, I Cor 9:16 Yet preaching the Good News is not something I can boast about. I am compelled by God to do it. How terrible for me if I didn’t preach the Good News!

That’s what we need. We need to get to the place where we are no longer afraid TO share the message but afraid NOT to share the message. 

Is sharing the truth about Jesus like a fire in your heart? For Jeremiah, it didn’t start that way. But somewhere along the way, that message, despite the fact that it caused him harm, captured his life and became an unstoppable force in his life. Has the message of Jesus captured your life?

Being in spiritual shape equates to delivering the Gospel. The Gospel means a proclamation. The literal translation means to proclaim. That means it cannot be just your lifestyle. You cannot say I’m going to share the Gospel just by how I live. That’s like hugging someone and saying that’s how you get to my house. Excuse me? That hug, see you later. No, you have to speak your address for it to be understood. The Gospel is an announcement. Buying someone coffee in line behind you is great, but it doesn’t say Jesus died on the cross for your sins and by repenting of those sins and believing in Him will give you life.

I want to give you 3 words that will help you proclaim, deliver the Gospel.

Desire – Delivering the Gospel always starts with a want to. A fire shut up in our bones. If you don’t want someone to hear the Gospel, you will reach that goal every single time. The reverse is also true. If you want someone to hear the Gospel they will, because you can be the one who shares. The question is, how badly do you want it?

If you just aren’t there yet, there is hope. How do you increase your desire?

1. Understand Eternity. There is an afterlife at stake. Heaven and hell are both real. If we could grasp the eternal significance of the message we have to share, we would have enough fuel to travel the world. At minimum, our goal should be a fork in the road for people. People are headed down the path of destruction, but we can point the way to the path of life. Aren’t you thankful someone showed you the way? Wouldn’t you want to do that for someone else?

2. Accept Responsibility. Sharing the Gospel is not for a select few, it is the responsibility of all believers. God placed you where you are in this season of your life with divine intention. No one else will walk the path God designed for you. God has a purpose for you, seize it.

Awareness – After you obtain desire, you need to notice the opportunities that are all around you. If your spiritual eyes aren’t open, then you will blindly walk by divine appointment after divine appointment. How do you increase awareness?

1. Expand Circle. Every single person on planet earth has a circle of influence. There is a personal circle, and for those with access, a virtual circle via social media. If the majority of people in your circle of are believers, then you need a bigger circle. Don’t fall for a victim mentality of, “I would if my circumstances were different.” Increase the size of your bubble. Be intentional.

2. Leverage Life. There are things you already do, you just need to add a spiritual purpose. Leverage your season of life to intersect with other lives - at the park, lunch break, coffee shop, gym, school, sports team.

Boldness – Once you see the opportunity, it takes guts to enter the arena. How do we take hold of these God-given scenarios?

1. Trust Jesus. Sharing the gospel is not complicated. We don’t do it because we feel like we can’t. You have the ability! If you won a million dollars, you would never need to learn how to tell people you won a boat load of cash and how they can do the same. You have traversed this path and have become a child of God. The idea that sharing the gospel is difficult is a lie from the enemy.

2. Just Jump. I’m tempted to freeze on the relationship bridge. We get to that place where we stand on the edge of thinking, “how awkward is this going to be if I ask her if she’s ready to follow Jesus?” The gospel is not completely shared until there is a moment of decision. Jump off! Move from snippets of spiritual truth to the entire gospel, which includes both the good news and a decision to repent and follow.

I’ve seen it happen, people who started sharing with family and co-workers and strangers and it actually fueled their relationship with Christ and became a powerful force in their life. Truly I believe if you are not actively sharing your faith it hurts your spiritual life. Sharing is a powerful outlet where you are no longer hoarding the blessings of God but pouring out other people. Sharing equates to a better spiritual shape.

Many of you have had an encounter with Christ. How come it hasn’t rocked your world?  As I read the Bible, I see people who encountered Jesus and never looked the same! Let’s go deliver the Gospel.

*Kim thinks golden retrievers are so nice and sweet that they must believe in Jesus.