GO with Conversation
Notes
Transcript
So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with those who worshiped God, as well as in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.
INTRO—
INTRO—
Conversation...
[bring someone up on stage for a conversation…]
“What were you guys doing up there?”…just talking.
Question: Where do you like to go to just ‘hang out’ with someone? (Dunkin’, Panera, the park, at home…)
I think we could take that familiarity and comfort level and...
Seeing our witness(-ing/Evangelism) as conversation rather than a presentation.
All of us are talkers—some are just more talkative than others!
Like Paul! (Not me…I could never be like him):
1 Corinthians 2.1-4 “When I came to you, brothers and sisters, announcing the mystery of God to you, I did not come with brilliance of speech or wisdom. I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,”
Conversational: Relate
Conversational: Relate
Acts 17.17 “So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with those who worshiped God, as well as in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.”
PRINCIPLE 3 — Shifting from giving an evangelistic presentation to having an evangelistic conversation takes pressure off the witness and relates the Gospel more clearly to an unbeliever.
Presentation v. Conversation...
[P] Starts in our Christian perspective // [C] Starts in a common-to-life situation
[P] Assumes someone has some knowledge of the Gospel // [C] Assumes someone has no knowledge of the Gospel
[P] Focuses exclusively on the lost person as a sinner // [C] Focuses on the imago Dei in the lost person
[P] Focuses on immediate decision // [C] Focuses on a context for inviting a decision
Paul…in Athens, in the synagogue & the marketplace.
Philip…& the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8.26-39)
Conversational: Respect
Conversational: Respect
Colossians 4.5-6 “Act wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person.”
Preparation (Forethought) shows intentionality and shows a significant consideration for the other person involved.
Graciousness is the respect due to EVERYONE. (people are people and not projects [like the shark in Finding Dory—fish are friends not food.)
“Seasoned with salt”…we should be our normal charming selves.
“How you should answer each person”…we should think primarily of connection rather than refutation.
Three important reminders about our conversations...
People can tell if you care about them.
People can tell if you believe what you are talking about.
People can see (even if they can’t explain) the hand of God on your life.
Conversational: Ready
Conversational: Ready
1 Peter 3.15-16 “but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. Yet do this with gentleness and reverence, keeping a clear conscience, so that when you are accused, those who disparage your good conduct in Christ will be put to shame.”
Always remembering…verse sixteen.
Always READY (willing…& ABLE)!
PRINCIPLE 4 — Effective evangelistic conversations connect the unchanging Gospel with the specific issues people face.
Donald Whitney suggests that a really helpful way to connect to our lost friends’ circumstances, challenges…is to ask them how we can pray for them. (could be a shock, most often appreciated, opens the door for a follow-up conversation a few days later, etc.)
With someone with whom we’ve established a relationship and might be reticent to have a Gospel conversation…we share with them that we are really wanting to learn to share about how Jesus changed our lives and ask them if they’d be willing to hear us share our story and then let us know if it makes sense to them. (worry less about being hip, cool, or ‘super hero status.’)
[These are just a couple of opportunities which will help us open the door to a Gospel conversation. (Be here Wednesday night as we consider other opportunities.)]
CONCL—
CONCL—
The reason I found it important to follow the habit of prayer with the habit of evangelism…is the importance of prayer for strengthening us for our witness. Here are five ways we can pray for our lost friends and family:
Asking God to open their spiritual eyes (2 Corinthians 4.4 “In their case, the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” )
Asking God to give them ears to hear (Matthew 13.15 “For this people’s heart has grown callous; their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; otherwise they might see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn back— and I would heal them.” ), faith to believe (Acts 20.21 “I testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus.” ), and a will to respond (Romans 10.9 “If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” )
Asking God to send additional people into that person’s life to witness to them (Matthew 9.38 “Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.”” )
Asking God for ways to build, or further build, caring relationships (1 Corinthians 9.22 “To the weak I became weak, in order to win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I may by every possible means save some.” )
Asking God for an opportunity to invite them to an event where the Gospel is shared (Luke 14.23 ““Then the master told the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges and make them come in, so that my house may be filled.” )
Speaking of prayer…let’s pray like this as we close today.
Act wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person.