The J Word 4: Nothing But Jesus

Will anyone see my life today and know that I am a follower of Jesus? And, if they ask me about my Jesus, how will I respond?

In our summer look at Personal Evangelism, we have covered two very important initial steps: (1) Be Social – we have to be out and among people, building relationships in order to share the gospel; and (2) Look For Common Ground – as we meet people we must recognize the common ground we share with them through venues like work, or ballparks or grocery stores. Common ground can also be through shared demographic, through life history, through common venue, anywhere. But, we must be looking for ground on which to build relationship and begin faith discussions.

And, as socialization and common ground yield to conversations, when and how should we turn the conversation to faith? Or, should we? How do we get conversations off hometowns and hobbies, and toward the gospel. Romans 5:8, Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, Romans 10:9-10, Romans 10:13.

First, let me remind you that as a believer, the Holy Spirit resides within me and you. He is real, He is alive, and He never sleeps. He is God within us. (Acts 5:3-4).

Second, the Holy Spirit is part of the trinity with God and Jesus. God in Three Persons. And, the Holy Spirit is burdened for the masses of the unsaved. Creation is groaning and weeping all around us as God is burdened for the restoration of His creation. Look at Luke 19:41 – Jesus is approaching Jerusalem surrounded by His followers who love Him. And, yet He comes to see the city and begins to cry. He is crying because He knows the people – the Jewish leaders – have refused God’s offer of salvation. And, those leaders are leading people to that sad end. They would rather live in pain, live in the world, than know the peace of following Jesus. As Jesus weeps for those who reject Him; the Holy Spirit within each of us weeps for the unsaved, too.

As the Holy Spirit, within each believer, grieves for the unsaved, that sadness will be very real to us. Tears may or may not come to us, but the pain, the longing, the burden will afflict us, too. 

Have you ever said, "The Lord has burdened me for so and so" or "I am burdened for him or her"? Well, the reality is that you are feeling the pain of the Holy Spirit crying out for you to be His vessel, His mouthpiece, His witness. The times I have been in that place, I have gone sleepless, I have been to tears, and I have been restless. What joy to know that God is alive in me when I feel that way about people and especially about the unsaved!

Do you feel the Holy Spirit calling you to others, and especially to the unsaved? I hope so, and here’s why: If the Bible is true, and the gospel is true, all of us will fall into one of three groupings:

1. Those who say, “I feel the Holy Spirit crying out within me for others, and I am responding.”
2. Those who say, “I feel the Holy Spirit crying out within me, but I am not equipped to respond or I lack the courage to respond.” (This is a good response, and one of the reasons it is so valuable to be among other believers in Sunday School or a faith community. It's important to be on a discipleship journey, but the journey must bear fruit. The excuse of not responding won’t hold up for long.)
3. Those who say, “I never feel any of this; I don’t know what you talking about.” Sadly, these are unsaved people. It is impossible, I believe, to have Almighty God living within you and yet never feel a burden for the unsaved. If you are reading this, I pray you hear the calling of Jesus on your life and confess Him as Savior before men.

But, let's look at numbers 1 and 2, above. Listen to Paul’s writing in Romans 9:1-3, “In the presence of Christ, I speak with utter faithfulness – I do not lie – and my conscience and the Holy Spirit confirm that what I am saying is true. My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief for my people . . . I would be willing to be forever cursed – cut off from Christ! – if that would save them.”

Oh, if I could take my faith that seriously – that I would be willing to give up my own salvation to introduce those I love to Jesus!

Brookwood Baptist Church is the church of my childhood – a little country church on Brookwood Road, where every mailbox for two miles once had the same surname (Vaughan), and every row of the cemetery across the street carries the name  Vaughan.

My Granny used to tell stories of all-day worship, families coming together at the church for morning services, then staying to eat and share picnic lunches, and then congregating again for all-afternoon singings until dusk. And, the theme of the day was not marriage enrichment, or parenting classes, or praying for businesses to survive, or how to manage money – NO! – the theme of the day – every Sunday – was simply Jesus. Those who knew Him worshipped Him, and cried out prayers for those who did not. And, deacons – one to each family – would publicly confront those who may or may not know Jesus as Savior. Children were not excused from it.

There was an urgency to talking about faith; there was an urgency to talk about sinfulness and salvation from it; and, there was a spirit alive to help one another from day-to-day.

We have lost that urgency to talk about Jesus, worried about whose feelings we will hurt. We have lost that urgency to hear the inner-weeping of the Holy Spirit for those we love, and we have lost the courage to talk to them – from our own dark places – about sinfulness and salvation from it. We would rather "go along to get along" than confront those we love. We would rather talk around sin than confront it directly, facing our own shortcomings and helping others find Jesus despite it. Quite frankly, I am willing to risk any Earthly relationship if it will help me introduce someone to Jesus. I believe it is perfectly healthy for a family's Jesus conversations to move that family into Christian-based counseling.

So, how do we insert Jesus conversations into the common ground of our relationships?

First, through our actions.
1. We can arouse spiritual interest by our example. Is there anything in my life – any word or deed – that may cause others to question their faith? Forget all the excuses. We each need to look in the hard mirror and say, “I have a testimony; is it a testimony that honors my Jesus?”
2. We can arouse spiritual interest by showing kindness and compassion to all – everyone without exception. I can harbor absolutely no racial or social prejudices that prevent the Holy Spirit from working through me. Be reminded of the story of Jesus and the Samaritan Woman at The Well in John 4. There were all kinds of social prejudices that might have prevented Jesus from having a faith conversation with the woman. But, those prejudices did not hold up.
3. By our own faith and hope. A worry wart, a depressed person, an angry person, a lonely person, a woe-is-me person will never be able to build relationship, and talk about Jesus because that person can’t get beyond themselves. You and I are not important; we are dead to what this world calls important. Only the living, breathing Holy Spirit within me is important, and my only purpose is to live positively, kindly and encouragingly so others will want to know how I am able to do it. Then, I can talk about my Jesus.  1 Peter 3:1-2, 15. “Your Godly lives will speak to them better any words. They will be won over by watching your pure, godly behavior . . . And, if asked about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it.”

Second, it’s through our words
1. Lean on the Holy Spirit to guide you.
2. Talk about the mess of the world and use that to talk about the Hope for it.
3. As people talk about their pain, tell them about the story of Jesus walking on the water – in the storm – and calling Peter to Him. The storm was calmed when Peter focused on Jesus. Matthew 14:29.
4. Invite people to church, but know that the church has failed many people. Focus less on the church and more on the people that you know. Encourage them to meet you and be their guide through the day. Read Paul's testimony: Acts 13:16-22.