What Does Jesus Teach us About Sharing the Gospel (Part 2)

We are continuing to look at how Jesus shared the Gospel while he was here on earth and what we can learn from it. If you missed last week’s post, you can check out part 1 of “What Does Jesus Teach us About Sharing the Gospel” here.

Our Lives as Testimony

You are the salt of the earth. As Matthew 5:13-14 says, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

Our lives are a great tool to preach the gospel of Jesus. People pay attention to the way you live. When we choose to follow Jesus and believe in Him, accepting the Holy Spirit into our lives, the way we live changes and people should notice. The light we receive will be noticed in our homes, schools, businesses and communities. They way we live and the things we say and do should be of God and should point towards God so that others will see His glory.

This goes beyond simple manners of being polite, nice or living well. It means living with bold conviction, it means praying for people, laying hands on those who need healing, whether its physically, emotionally, spiritually, mentally, or financially. It means having consistent steadfast faith through mundane, every day circumstances. It means being transparent about the intimacy we have with God. It means walking with God in every circumstance, relying on him and being honest with others about the good things he has done for you and for others. This kind of lifestyle is impossible to ignore.

Trust That God Will Give You The Words to Say

When we do live this way, it can be expected that people will ask questions. Peter teaches us to have an answer at the ready (1 Peter 3:15), but Jesus also teaches us that we are empowered to speak the truth:

“When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of Your Father Speaking through you.” Matthew 10:19

Prayer is a strong tool and it works. As we go throughout our days, one of the best things we can do to be prepared is ask the Holy Spirit to give us the right words. When we yield our voices to Him, He always comes through. And even when we aren’t sure if what we’re saying is helping, we can trust in the Lord that He is at work.

The Same Spirit That Anointed Jesus is in You

We are shown this in Acts and when Jesus tells his disciples of our helper, the Holy Spirit. Because of this help, we are destined to do even greater things than Jesus did as a man here on earth. If we are to do these greater things, then where do we start? During Jesus’ ministry, He taught in the synagogue the words of Isaiah, words that Jesus fulfilled.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me
because he has anointed me
to proclaim the good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” Luke 4:18

By our works carried out in faith in obedience to the ways of Jesus because of our love for Him – praying with the laying on of hands, people being healed, people seeing, being cleaned, walking away from hurt, pain and addiction – people believe and they see the Kingdom of God in action.

Jesus teaches us how to declare and expand the Kingdom of God not only by preaching and sharing the good news, but also by living it out and performing the same works of Christ – not for our gain, not for the purpose of winning our salvation or the favor of God, but to show the world the goodness and power and authority and grace of God.

Our purpose as believers is to love the Lord God with all our heart, mind and soul and to love our neighbours as our selves, to do the will of the Father and to share the good news. “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” Luke 4:42

A Fear of God

The word fear is not read in the common sense of being afraid of God. Instead it refers to the acknowledgment of the grand wonder, majesty and Lordship of our Heavenly Father over our lives and all of creation. As we carry out The Great Commission and head out into the world carrying the calling of the Lord to share the gospel and show the kingdom of God with all creation, we are to live with this fear of the Lord. Understand that evangelism carries eternal consequences and the fear of man doesn’t hold up well in comparison.

When we share our faith, we should expect that people will disagree. Think about the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and the fiery furnace. They refused to bow down to Nebuchadnezzar’s idol and were punished for it. (Read the story in Daniel to find out the outcome and how God honored their faith!)

And so, Jesus teaches in the Gospel of Luke 12:4, “Do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell.”

Think of this in cooperation of what Jesus teaches in Matthew 10:32. “Everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my father who is in heaven.”

Evangelism isn’t just something that makes us good Christians. Sharing our faith isn’t a casual cause. Jesus made the preaching of the gospel and the declaration of the Father’s love an integral part of his ministry. As believers we are continuing this ministry of the Kingdom of God. Following Jesus’ teachings gives us the perfect foundation to carry out this calling with excellence.

Next week we will look at how we can actually become fisher of men in the 21st century.