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
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/ .
