DISCOVERING MY LIFE MISSION

PART 1: JESUS’ MISSION IS MY MISSION

As followers of Jesus, His mission is our mission.  We do what He did.

John 19:10  For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.

Luke 4:43  . . . “I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other towns, too, because that is why I was sent.”

The Great Commission:

Matthew 28:18-20  “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. ²⁰ Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Paul said:

Acts 20:24  But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus – the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.

People are dying daily without Jesus and they can’t believe in someone they don’t know about.

Romans 10:13-15

Romans 10:17  Yet faith comes from listening to this message of good news—the Good News about Christ.

God wants to save everyone:

1 Timothy 2:3-4  This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.

2 Peter 3:9  The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think.  No, he is being patient for your sake.  He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.

Survey

1.  On a scale of 1-10, how much fun is it for YOU to share Jesus with others? __________

2.  Do you think it’s your RESPONSIBILITY to PURPOSEFULLY share Jesus with others? Yes    No

Why or why not? _______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

3.  How many times have you PURPOSEFULLY shared Jesus with someone?

Never    Once or Twice    A Few Times    Occasionally    Regularly

4.  If you don’t share Jesus with others often, why don’t you? ____________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

5.  How long has it been since you PURPOSEFULLY shared Jesus with someone? _____________

6.  How often would you LIKE to share Jesus with someone? __________________________

7.  How prepared/equipped do you feel you are to share Jesus with others? ________________

______________________________________________________________________________

8.  On a scale of 1-10, how observant are you about what’s going on in the world and IN THE WORLD AROUND YOU?   (Be honest.  Most people aren’t very observant of either.)

In the world - _________       In the world around you - ________

PART 2: HOW TO GET STARTED WITH YOUR MISSION

1.  BECOME AWARE

We have to know what’s going on around us to make a difference for Jesus. 

• Identify the unbelievers in your life and list them by name. 

• Determine their level of spiritual interest.  What is their FAITH SYSTEM?  Everybody has one. 

• Recognize your common interests and build upon them. 

2.  PRAY

• Use your list and pray for the unbelievers in your life daily.

• Pray that God will give/show you an opportunity to share your faith story.

• Pray that God will give you wisdom for what to say.

3.  CARE

Be a friend.  Be a good listener.  Don’t discard someone because they reject Jesus or because they reject your attempt to share Jesus.

4.  BE INTENTIONAL

Generally, sharing the Gospel is an INTENTIONAL activity.  If we do it, we do it ON PURPOSE. 

5.  FOCUS ON RELATIONSHIPS

1 Thessalonians 2:8 We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too.

Christianity is RELATIONAL - concerning the way in which two or more people or things are connected.  Our lives impact the EFFECTIVENESS of our message.

SALVATION STATS are very revealing:

• Only 15% of Christians came to know Jesus because of an EVENT.  What’s an event?  A YOUTH RETREAT, Sunday worship, and friendship Sundays are all events. 

• However, 85% of Christians came to know Jesus after hearing the Gospel an average of 7.6 times.  Usually, they heard the Gospel through a continual relationship with a Christian(s). 

6.  HAVE THE RIGHT MOTIVE

Sharing our faith is offering JESUS to someone, not ourselves.  A WITNESS doesn’t make an offer to be accepted or rejected, he simply TELLS WHAT HE’S SEEN AND HEARD.

7.  LEARN

We can only talk INTELLIGENTLY about things we’re knowledgeable about.  If I love Jesus, I’ll have the desire to LEARN ALL ABOUT HIM – no matter the cost.

1 John 1:1-5

8.  GROW

If we love Jesus, we’ll learn more about Him - just like kids do their heroes.  Learning more about Him will result in SPIRITUAL GROWTH. 

What are some basic Christian disciplines in your life RIGHT NOW? ______________________

9.  HAVE INTEGRITY

Integrity means honesty.

2 Timothy 2:15-16

Integrity doesn’t mean PERFECTION. 

10.  BE COURAGEOUS

Sharing the Gospel can be scary.

How do we overcome these fears?  We should ask God for courage and then SHARE OUR FAITH!  We get better at things by DOING THEM.

It also helps to look at things realistically.  WHAT’S THE WORST THING THAT CAN HAPPEN IF YOU SHARE THE GOSPEL WITH SOMEONE? _________________________­­­_________________

WHAT’S THE WORST THING THAT CAN HAPPEN IF YOU DON’T SHARE THE GOSPEL WITH SOMEONE? ____________________________________________________________________

PART 3: EASY WAYS TO SHARE THE GOSPEL

A. Your Personal Testimony

GUIDELINES TO MAKE YOUR TESTIMONY EFFECTIVE

1.  KNOW IT and OWN IT.  WRITE IT OUT and PRACTICE TELLING IT.

2.  KEEP IT TO 3 MINUTES MAX.  Stay focused on the goal – sharing JESUS, not your story.  Shorter is better.  If someone cares to know more, they’ll ask.

3.  Don’t glorify in your pre-Christian sins.  Remember, you’re talking to a non-Christian who is currently enjoying some of those same things.  Don’t make those things the focus/hero.

4.  Use SIMPLE WORDS, not “Christian lingo.” 

5.  Be real about your continued struggles.

FOUR PARTS OF YOUR TESTIMONY

1.  WHAT MY LIFE WAS LIKE BEFORE I MET JESUS  (30 SECONDS)

2.  HOW I REALIZED MY NEED FOR JESUS  (45 SECONDS)

3.  HOW I COMMITTED MY LIFE TO JESUS  (45 SECONDS)

4.  THE DIFFERENCE IN MY LIFE SINCE I MET JESUS  (1 MINUTE)

B.  The Five Key Questions 

This is a way to BEGIN talking to ANYBODY about the Gospel.  It’s non-confrontational and low-pressure because you’re not presenting facts that need to be judged: you’re just asking for an opinion.  Most people have opinions on EVERYTHING, even things they know nothing about. 

You can ask any or all of the questions, in any order:

1.  Do you have any kind of spiritual belief?

2.  To you, who is Jesus?

3.  Do you believe there is a heaven and a hell?

4.  If you die right now, where would you go?  If heaven, why?

5.  If what you believe were not true, would you want to know it?

C.  The Roman Road to Salvation

I’ve added a few extra verses for clarity.

John 3:3  Jesus replied, "I assure you, unless you are born again, you can never see the Kingdom of God."

John 14:6 Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

Romans 3:23  For all have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious standard.

We have all done things that are displeasing to God.  Nobody is innocent.

Romans 3:10-18  As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous – not even one.  11 No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God.  12 All have turned away; all have become useless.  No one does good, not a single one.  13 Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave.  Their tongues are filled with lies.  Snake venom drips from their lips.  14 Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.  15 They rush to commit murder.  16 Destruction and misery always follow them.  17 They don’t know where to find peace.  18 They have no fear of God at all.

Romans 6:23  For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

The punishment that we have earned for our sins is death; not just physical death, but spiritual and eternal death.

Romans 5:8  But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

Jesus’ death on the cross paid the price of our sins.

Romans 10:9  For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Romans 5:1  Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.

Romans 8:1  So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:38-39  And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. ³⁹ No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Revelation 3:20 "Look! Here I stand at the door and knock. If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal as friends.

Helping A Person Choose Jesus

If you’re sharing with a person and they are obviously interested, give them a chance to surrender to Jesus. 

Here’s a version of “The Sinner’s Prayer” you can lead a person to pray:

“Dear God, I know that I’ve sinned against You and that I deserve punishment.  But on the cross, Jesus took the punishment that I deserve so that I can be forgiven.  I trust Jesus for my salvation.  I surrender my life to You, and I want to live my life for You.  Thank You for saving me.”

Part 4: Taking the Gospel to the World

From the International Mission Board, February 2017  http://grd.center/GSEC-Key-Stats

7.29 billion people in the world.

4.23 billion - population of unreached people groups where Evangelical Christians comprise less than 2% of the population.

219 million - population of unreached people groups not engaged by anyone within Evangelical Christianity.

The 1040 Window  https://joshuaproject.net/resources/articles/10_40_window

The area extends from 10 degrees to 40 degrees North of the equator, and stretches from North Africa across to China.

About 4.9 billion people live here in 8,213 distinct people groups.  5,626 of these people groups are considered unreached - a total of 3 billion people.

What can we do to assist the global missions effort?

We can accomplish a lot more as a group than as individuals, and as a group of churches than as an individual church.  The best way most individual Christians can make an impact is by supporting the missions agencies our church supports - www.imb.org, www.namb.net, www.samaritanspurse.org, http://www.sbc.net/CP/ .

The Adoption Nazi

In 1995, the TV show Seinfeld had an episode called “The Soup Nazi.”  The owner of a soup restaurant demanded that his customers obey his strict ordering procedure, and if they failed, he yelled at them and said, “No soup for you!”

In 2011, as Kelley and I were going through the adoption process for the first time, I read a book on adoption by a nationally known Christian man.  As I read his book, he reminded me of “The Soup Nazi.”  He was very harsh toward people who asked him adoption questions that he felt were offensive.  In the years since, I’ve read a few other things, usually short articles, which essentially repeated the condescension of that book.  I read one this week, and that’s what triggered my memory of my 2011 “Soup Nazi” feelings.  So, I titled this little piece, “The Adoption Nazi.” 

Kelley and I have adopted two girls and have lived through adoption for the past seven plus years.  We’ve received ALL KINDS OF QUESTIONS about adoption, our experiences, our daughters’ stories, our reasons for adopting, etc.  But not a single time has anyone asked us a question with an attitude of disrespect or with intent to hurt us.  So, we just answer the questions as best as we can.  Our two adoptions only make us EXPERIENCED, not EXPERTS.  We’re experts on OUR story, but that’s it!  Our story isn’t like many other people’s story.

A lot has changed with adoption in my lifetime.  When I was in elementary school in the 1980’s, I knew one kid at school who was adopted.  His name was Anthony.  Everyone in our grade knew he was adopted, but we didn’t ask him any questions.  I also knew one family at our church that had adopted three boys.  One was a teenager when I knew him, and two were preschool age.  In time, that family wasn’t able to keep those two little boys.  I was too young to be told any details, so my whole adoption experience as a child was, “Don’t ask any questions.” 

The older you are, the more likely that your experience with adoption is even more different than people in my generation.  For those who are 70 or older, WOW has adoption changed!  That generation lived through times when a teenage girl they knew might “go out of town” for a few months.  In reality, that girl was pregnant and her parents shipped her off to live with a relative until she had given birth and placed the baby with an adoptive family.  A few months later, the girl returned home and went on with her life as best as she could.  And kept her pregnancy a secret – to save herself and her family from shame.

Kate is our oldest daughter.  Her birth mother was adopted, too, although their adoption stories are much different.  Kate’s birth mother was adopted out of a foreign country by an American family.  That country changed its adoption policies in the MIDDLE of the family’s adoption.  The process was long, intense, and the family wasn’t sure it was going to work until they got off a plane with their then 2-year old daughter in the USA.  Therefore, Kate’s birth mother’s father was a little uncomfortable with our OPEN adoption of Kate – his granddaughter.  It took him some time to overcome his hesitations and fears.  Even though he had adopted two children of his own, he STILL had questions for us.  Some of them weren’t easy to answer.

If you’ve experienced adoption from either side, and someone asks you a question that offends you, just show them some grace and remember that not everyone is as “adoption aware” as you are.  Then, KINDLY ANSWER THE QUESTION (to the degree that you feel is appropriate)!  You have a golden opportunity to share a part of your story and with someone!  How often do you get to tell people, sometimes STRANGERS, your most important stories?  Everyone with kids – biological, adopted, step, foster – gets asks uncomfortable questions about their kids from time to time.  Uncomfortable questions aren’t limited just to families of adoption.  So instead of acting rude, condescending, or using the opportunity to write a rant blog or even a rant book, just use it as an opportunity to do a little ADOPTION EDUCATION.