2010_Session 401_For God so loved the world

For God so loved the world...

There is something that God expects every believer to do, but most are either too worried or too frightened to do it. Sharing faith with others is part of the great commission Jesus told His disciples to do, and if we are truly His disciples, He expects us to do it too!

Do you know how to make the good news relevant?

Do you know how to tell people the truth of the Gospel?

How do you talk about Jesus Christ to... n

Faith Service Worship Vision There may be times when you find it difficult to reconcile God’s truth to your own opinion or worldview, God’s truth is eternal, it does not change, our understanding of the truth does change as we allow God to work in our hearts and minds.

the “Christian” who mocks your defence of biblical teachings with, “But this is the twenty-first century!”?

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the man who runs the corner shop?

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that office worker who’s been replaced with someone offshore?

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the teenager who only lives for the moment?

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the person who seems to have everything they could ever want?

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the struggling housewife?

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the victim of divorce or abuse who can’t trust anyone?

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the person you report to in the office?

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those nearest to you: your family, your friends, your next-door neighbours?

These sessions are not about opinion, they are about learning truth, the truth contained in the Bible, together we are going to focus on how we apply God’s truth, black & white in a grey world. To set godly priorities, grow in Christian character and live according to God’s standards so that we are a living witness to others.

It’s easy to quote “God so loved the world...,” but what do the words mean?

Words of Truth & Life:

Years ago, children grew up playing cowboys and indians or cops and robbers, played with paper dolls and read books. Today children watch TV, use PlayStations, have computers, mobile phones, the Internet & Facebook.

Session 1

What can you say that will make sense to these people in their everyday lives?

Keeping it real The Bible teaches us that God remains the same yesterday, today and forever.

But the world we live in is changing every day, it is often said that things are changing faster today than ever before and the changes in the world significantly shape the attitudes and ideas of the people God commands us to share our faith with.

Today adults have their own modern toys with new ones appearing daily, half of the business world rely on BlackBerries to communicate and everyone wants an iPhone.

The internet has allowed most of the world to be connected into a single “global village”. News flows quickly and freely across the world in seconds rather than hours, days or weeks. People are exposed to cultures, ideas and opinions, and choose what they want to believe.

Bible Study

But with all the advancements in the world, Sin still exists, and believing in Jesus Christ as Saviour remains the only way to get to Heaven.

7 September 2010

In order to make the good news relevant, we need to understand the people we are communicating with, we need to understand where the seeds of the Gospel are sown. We need to ne more like Jesus in our approach.

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What’s the soil like? n

are hard-working.

BIBLE STUDY John 6:25-40

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are struggling for financial security.

Jesus the Bread of Life

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can be generous and helpful to neighbours.

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make pleasure and leisure priorities.

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hate to be patronised.

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can easily detect a hidden agenda in relationships.

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will resist high pressure from any group.

Today’s adults

When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”

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Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.

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Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”

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Religiously, these adults n

see science as more reliable than religion.

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consider Christianity’s claim to uniqueness to be bigoted in the extreme.

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find their moral certainty has either shifted downward or vanished entirely.

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believe psychology probably has as many answers as religion.

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view God as a stern judge or a benign, distant grandfather.

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believe God is probably irrelevant to their existence.

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rarely see the Bible as a source of help.

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vaguely wonder if there isn’t some truth to the new cults.

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Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”

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Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

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So they asked him, “What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do?

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Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.

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”Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread.”

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Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.

see Christians as judgmental killjoys.

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These same adults fear that they will loose their jobs.

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worry about the risks of marital commitments.

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doubt that their family relationships will ever be stable and satisfying.

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are tempted to abandon traditional values.

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face relentless competition for success.

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wonder if they will lose their looks and be rejected.

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worry that old age will find them alone.

For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

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will quickly point to the hypocrisy of so-called people of God on TV who ask for money.

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Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

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This picture, although not comprehensive, is not pretty.

It describes, the kind of soil in which we sow the truth of Jesus Christ.

These trends and pressures affect Christians as well as those who have not yet trusted Jesus Christ.

Christians are a not free from any flaws, we can be caught up by the same pressures and cultural drifts.

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But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.

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All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.

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For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.

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And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.

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For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

DISCUSSION Realistic Christianity What everyday symbol runs throughout Jesus’ words in this passage?

As Christians we cannot live with our heads in a bucket and ignore the truth. We must be convinced beyond all doubt that the Christian faith has a message for all the people in this world, that its truth has transformed our lives and that it is of supreme value for everyone.

How did Jesus use the miracle of the preceding day to point the people to their greater spiritual need?

The Christian faith is not so spiritual that it denies this world’s reality or the existence of matter. The Christian faith affirms material things; and sees beyond them to spiritual things, the ultimate reality.

The first response from the people was “What must we do to do the works God requires?” How do people today try to earn God’s approval through performance?

Jesus Christ dealt with the reality question when He fed the five thousand with five loaves and two fish. Jesus saw the crowd’s need and fed them. The people were stunned by this miraculous feat and wanted Him as their leader, but Jesus withdrew from them, as He always did when people were following Him for the wrong reasons.

When the people found Him the next day, He told them they were following Him only because they had eaten their fill. Then He spoke to the issue of the material versus the spiritual: “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you” (John 6:27).

How does a “works” mentality differ from what Jesus called the work of God? The second response from the people was to change the subject from what God requires to what they required of Jesus. They demanded the evidence of a miraculous sign so they could believe. What excuses have you heard people give for not believing in Jesus? (Think along the lines of “I could believe if....”)

Jesus was teaching that material food is real. Hunger is real.

The world of cities and streets, rocks and trees and people does exist. But He was emphasising that spiritual realities are of preeminent value; they transcend and outlast the material. Indeed, they give true meaning to the material world.

Jesus knew that the people were hungry and He used real food to feed them. He didn’t just pray for them and then send them home hungry. He saw them as whole people, not as mere “souls,” somehow separated from the rest of themselves.

How did Jesus maintain their interest while steering the conversation away from physical food to spiritual?

He also knew that their physical and emotional needs were tightly bound up with their spiritual hungers. After they had listened to his message, Jesus then demonstrated that He cared about their material needs as well. In many cases, He dealt with the physical needs first!

How did Jesus promise to fulfil the spiritual yearning of those who come to Him? How has Jesus fulfilled your spiritual yearning?

This should cause us to think about the sensitivity Jesus had for the needs of all people He met, in large groups or in individual encounters.

Of the people you have regular contact with, who could you share the Gospel with this week?

How do we follow Jesus example?

Do you have particuar fears about witnessing to that person?

We must be aware of the condition of those around us—if they are hungry, tired, bored, lonely, mistreated or rejected. We must try to understand what and how they think, how they feel, what they aspire to be and do.

How can you lead a conversation beyond everyday things towards an awareness that God can help?

Many of the people we encounter on life’s journey carry pain or hurt or rejection in their hearts. Their response to us and the gospel message we share depends a lot on whether they think we really understand and care.

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There is an old Red Indian which says, “One man should say nothing to another until he has walked in his moccasins.”

As someone said, “Listen with your heart, not your mind.”

When you listen to the specifics of what people are thinking or how they spend their time, you hear how they see the world, about their lives, hopes, dreams and fears.

In conversation, comments often contain a surprising number of their fears. This is the real world and as we listen and learn, we earn the right to tell our own story.

To really engage with someone, we need to sit and walk where they walk. When we can repeat back to them their thoughts and feelings in our own words, they will begin to trust us. From there they will be willing to think seriously about the things we care about.

Be Informed

The people God has used throughout the centuries have not just known their Bibles well; they have known other people well, too. And loving both, they have made the Word relevant to others. Christians have the privilege of knowing the answer to our world’s needs, to individual needs. The world today provides us with an exciting time to witness. You probably agree, that it is a great time to witness, a great time for breakthrough. We are seeing such wonderful evidence of the working of God in the lives of people in our church and other churches around the world.

Along with listening, another step for realistic followers of Jesus’ example is to keep informed about the world around us. This will help those of us who must admit that we would have nothing to say if we were locked up for an hour with a non-Christian. Reading a newspaper, listening to the news or having a hobby gives common ground to build from. As we expand our knowledge, we see life different from our own and understand how to relate the gospel to real everyday situations; to “scratch where people itch.”

You probably agree that it is a great time to witness, but think it is a task for someone else to accomplish. All of us are called to witness, we all must witness. But when the time comes, we ask the big questions:

Do you understand your colleague at work? Can you relate to the single parent down the street who needs a friend? If your neighbour confides in you about his pregnant teenage daughter, can you offer information and insight along with a promise of prayer support?

How can we witness?

How can we explain clearly that Jesus Christ is the only right and relevant solution today?

Informed Christians show care about the individual, the community and the world. The wonderful result will be finding ourselves shoulder to shoulder with the world that Jesus Christ came to redeem.

How do we approach those who touch our lives and expect to be heard—and believed?

Start Next Door

What do we have to offer?

We can only witness by contact with someone else, maybe the best place to start is with the person next door, but as someone once said, “To love the world to me’s no chore, my trouble is the man next door.”

Some time ago I spoke with a person who had attended church for a brief period, went to most of the activities, but then suddenly dropped out entirely. During our conversation, as we discussed belonging to Jesus Christ and living for him, the person became very thoughtful and said, “You talk about a relationship with Jesus Christ that is supernatural. In your church, there are some people who have it and some people who don’t.” I saw church through the eyes of a visitor trying to search out this intangible “it.”

The difference was obvious.

When we get involved personally with others then our witnessing can begin. We need to stop theorising and reach out and knock on the neighbour’s door. Lifestyle evangelism begins with talking to people who in some way touch our lives. It is not a superficial, quick relationship or an overnight coup. It involves time and sacrifice, and most of all it involves giving ourselves.

Seekers are often carefully examining our Christian groups and us as individual Christians to find that eternal dimension we talk about. A superficial profession won’t convince them. They’re looking for the real thing— genuine, living faith. They don’t always see it in us individually or collectively, and not because they’re spiritually blind, sometimes it just isn’t there.

Listen An easy first step is to listen to those around you.

Listen not talk! Stop talking long enough to hear.

You might find this takes a lot of effort, many find it easier to give advice and their own experiences than to think about the other person.

Is There a Difference?

If you are naturally shy, focus your thoughts on the feelings and concerns of the people you’re trying to reach. Are they feeling uncomfortable? Do they find it difficult to converse? What are their concerns? Don’t dwell on your own emotions. Show warmth and concern for the other person.

Does our claim that we know Jesus Christ make a difference in our everyday lives?

Is there anything in your life that can be explained only because of God himself?

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Does our claim that we know Jesus Christ make a difference in our use of time, money and strength, and in our system of values?

In any group of Christians we see people with varying degrees of commitment. There are three categories that people fall into.

What happens Monday through Saturday - does the faith we claim make a difference in our relationships with others?

1. Indoctrination faith These are people who without making a personal commitment to Christ, go through all the motions, sing all the right hymns, have all the right answers about the gospel. They have been educated from early childhood in Sunday-school classes and kids’ clubs and never missed a church service. Indoctrination faith could describe the kids who won all the Bible quizzes and can quote John 3:16 in five languages. They have absorbed every answer they’ve ever heard, can teach classes and give sermons. They’ve got all the information, but that’s all they’ve got. This is indoctrination faith.

Do non-Christians see in us an attitude of honesty and sincerity that they would like to have?

Or are they more apt to say to themselves (as many justifiably have), “I’ve got enough problems of my own; don’t bother me with yours!”?

Does knowing Jesus Christ influence our life choices—choosing a spouse, a job?

2. Conformity faith

The Too-Busy Christian

These people go to Bible classes and worship services and hear the Bible expounded. During the week they attend other church meetings and contribute with the best of them. They may do all the right things and none of the wrong things—but only because of the external pressure of family and church. Some mysterious sort of osmosis is supposed to make these people “spiritual” but, in fact, there is no genuine desire from within.

The “ivory tower” label can unwittingly become the lifestyle of the Christian. Isolated by the multitude of church activities, sometimes five nights a week. Kids’ clubs, prayer meetings, music ministry, planning meetings, deacons—all very worthy activities.

The Christian may literally have no time for the unbelieving world. When they think about reaching their world, busyness can prevent them from taking any action. We have all had the experience of wanting to witness but knowing down deep that no one was listening. The world will listen to our message when they see we have an ear that’s tuned in.

When people with conformity faith get into situations where they are on their own and free to decide what they’re going to do, they can shed their faith like a raincoat and their whole lifestyle changes. Their second-hand faith slowly disintegrates because they have never known a personal, relationship with Jesus Christ.

No Phony Christians

When non-Christians look at people with conformity faith they see a reflection of their environment (which they do not share) but nothing more. And it doesn’t impress them.

They’re not looking for an environment; they’re looking for living faith.

Phony solutions never satisfy. Most non-Christians are fed up with phony people, and they aren’t fooled by the pious person whose religion goes only skin-deep.

No force-feeding of superficial formulas will reach them.

Nor are they attracted by naive wishful thinkers who aren’t ready to face up to life’s harsh realities of wickedness, weakness, temptation or greed.

3. Commitment faith To be a Christian is more than giving mental assent to the facts about the Lord Jesus Christ. Demons do that much, as James 2:19 tells us They believe in one God and tremble.

Merely believing the facts is not in itself saving faith.

People who have commitment faith are genuine followers of Jesus Christ and are committed to Him.

They are looking for something genuine enough to have meaning in the real world.

How do you demonstrate evidence in your own life that Jesus Christ has rescued you?

Unreal Reality!

Do others see that Jesus is a living, daily reality for you —Do they see a realistic Christianity?

It is important to avoid a drift into environmental faith.

We need to beware of the often-unconscious belief that people can “ooze” into Christianity.

Three Categories Of Faith As we considered what we have to offer our world, you may have found yourself cold and tentative about your own faith, without any strong motivation to witness. Let me suggest one startling possibility—that is, your faith could be strictly environmental, an outgrowth of your surroundings.

How often have you sang a song unaware of its full meaning?

Many of us do regularly, we sing truths that are not our own. It has been observed, that hymns and choruses make liars of us all.

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We sing of glorious Christian experiences as though they were our very own, and yet they are not. Hymns of commitment are probably the ones most often sung without putting the words into action.

The apostle John adds a helpful thought. He says that if we keep Jesus’ commandments, “we know that we have come to know him” (1 John 2:3).

The whole letter of James amplifies this point.

When we sing truths without thought or meaning, it leads us to accept an unreal experience as the norm. Without realizing it, we’re actually living a lie. It is lamentable that our rich heritage of Christian music may lead us to substitute a fiction for the real thing.

Does Faith Need Action?

Faith demands action. Faith is action. Belief can be tested by action. If a man ran into your room and said the building would be blown up in five minutes. If you were still there five minutes later, we would know that you really didn’t believe him. If you did believe him, you’d get out as fast as you could. We could tell by your actions what you honestly believed.

More Than Facts Knowing the facts about Jesus can cause us unwittingly to accept intellectual belief as faith. We can miss the experience of being dynamically related to the Person who embodies these facts. There is no point knowing everything about Christ if it is without true faith.

I believe that Jesus Christ is the one and only Saviour, that life’s full meaning can only be known through Him and that apart from Him all people are under the eternal condemnation of God. But if I go my own way, ignore His words and His will and live a life of complete selfindulgence, I am not honestly believing or entering the kingdom in the biblical sense.

The heart of Christianity, of being a real Christian, involves receiving, living with and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. To accept list of propositions about Jesus Christ is not the same as knowing him personally.

Can you think of some of the many men and women in the Bible whose faith in God was obvious from their day-by-day actions and decisions?

Essential Ingredients What are the essential things we need to know Jesus Christ personally?

Rahab is listed in Hebrews as having faith when she welcomed the Israelite spies into her house. She allied herself with God’s people.

Commitment Commitment, a time when we make a conscious decision, “Yes, I do want to belong to you, Lord Jesus Christ.”

Commitment is a continual, lifetime involvement with the living Lord. By definition, a relationship is continual, involving our entire person—quite different from assent to facts but having no contact with Jesus Christ personally.

Joseph literally gave the empty sleeve to Potiphar’s wife to avoid immorality.

The beginning is the big commitment, personally inviting Jesus into our lives to be our living Lord and Saviour.

Elijah boldly challenged the prophets of Baal to a sacrificial contest saying, “The God who answers by fire, let him be God.” Then with apparent brashness he proceeded to dump barrels of water on his sacrifices. He knew his living, powerful God would reply, and he did.

Moses abandoned the pleasures and privileges of a son of Pharaoh to identify himself with the afflicted people of God.

Love and Obedience Love and obedience to our living Lord and Saviour. He is the spectacular Lord from heaven; He is the Lord of all the earth. When we let this fact get fully into our minds we develop a willing obedience to Him and realise the incredible privilege that is ours.

Beaten and imprisoned, Paul and Silas sang hymns of praise to their God at midnight. These were not simply pious expressions but confessions and acts of faith from their everyday lives.

Some of our Lord’s most solemn words are recorded in Matthew 7:21 when he warns his disciples, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Jesus talks about our relationship to him as entering the kingdom. In other places it is called the new birth. We enter this relationship not by using the correct vocabulary or just going through empty motions. It involves a clear resolve to do His will.

How Do You Treat God? Our actions will be based on the answer to a simple question: How do you treat God?

Do we consider God to be a living person or just a thing on a shelf?

Have we that heart-hunger and thirst that compels us day by day to get away—alone with him—to study his Word and take time to talk to him in prayer?

God does not accept us and love us because of our obedience to him. But obedience is the evidence of a true commitment to him as our Lord.

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Are we honest with ourselves? Was it yesterday or was it a week ago, a month ago or a year ago that we last met with the Lord?

Do you ever live as if you know better than God?

Non-Christians need to detect the supernatural quality of our Christian experiences. Then they will listen to our words about Jesus Christ and ask what it means to know him personally.

God Does not want us to be miserable!

Sometimes you will need to choose between doing God’s will and your own preference.

Our heavenly Father loves us; Jesus Christ died for us; the indwelling Holy Spirit is his promise to us. The Indian pastor Sundar Singh said, “The capital of heaven is the heart in which Jesus Christ sits enthroned as King.”

Then they will ask questions like, How can I have the kind of life you’ve been talking about? Is there any hope for me?” It’s the greatest privilege to sit down and explain how forgiveness, cleansing and God’s power can be theirs by committing themselves to Jesus Christ.

When we grasp the truth that the deepest joy that can be known in our life comes from total commitment to Jesus Christ and His will for us, we will find that telling others about him is an incomparable experience.

Don’t Lie To Yourself

In your personal prayers ask the Lord Jesus (for the hundredth time, or the first time) to live in you as Lord and Saviour and to fill your life. Then ask him to give inner boldness and vigour to give away your faith to others.

Each one of us has been reading through this study with different attitudes, different reactions, different conclusions.

The joy and rewards of witnessing are superb. It’s the greatest thing to commit yourself to Jesus Christ. And it’s the greatest thing to tell others about him.

Some of us are convinced that our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is genuine, but we want it to deepen and grow as our awareness of him increases.

But, remember: to witness effectively you must be realistic—genuine in your knowledge of people in today’s world and genuine in your total commitment to Jesus.

Others are remembering that their faith used to be much more vibrant than it is now.

Or perhaps there is a cold realisation that faith has never been anything more than a mental assent to the facts about Jesus Christ. All the years we’ve been concerned about the pieces of information, but not about Jesus himself.

For Personal Reflection

Whatever our individual situations, let’s at least be honest with ourselves and not put up a front to impress someone else. In the presence of God we can each seek a genuine faith, faith that’s actually meaningful every day.

1. It’s easy to assume we know people even when we don’t, In what situations this week could you get some non-Christians to share their views?

If we can answer yes with assurance, we ought to thank God again for his goodness and grace and ask him to deepen and extend our faith in each experience of life.

Those of us who aren’t sure that our answer is yes, or who know that we must say no, can take a simple step.

2. Non-Christians value the opinions of people who are informed about and involved in society. How informed and involved are you?

3. If you think you need to improve in this area, what first step could you make this week?

Come to Jesus and speak to him directly. Tell him that you want to know him and to have faith in him. And tell him that you are prepared to put yourself completely into his supremely capable hands.

4. Even though we know we’re imperfect, on-Christians expect us to demonstrate what being a Christian can be. How can you demonstrate a faith worth watching?

No Almost Christian There is no halfway faith in Jesus Christ. Total and irrevocable commitment to Jesus Christ every day is the prerequisite for a vital relationship with Him. When we begin to hold out on him in some area or to rebel against his will (even in some “minor” detail), our spiritual vitality suffers. A spiritual short circuit causes a snag in communications. We say we’re willing to witness for the Lord to our friends or to our coworkers. But we start with conditions, “Please, Lord, don’t ask me to befriend John; anyone but him, Lord.”

5. How can you offer encouragement to someone this week? Can you help with their everyday needs?

6. How can you lead a conversation beyond everyday things towards an awareness that God can help?

5. What will you do this week to deepen your relationship with Jesus Christ?

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