People Sharing Jesus

 I recently re-read the book People Sharing Jesus, written by Dr. Darrell Robinson, founder of Total Church Life ministry. They have a seminar based on the book that we use to train pastors and church members to effectively and powerfully share Jesus person-to-person in a loving and caring way. It is an excellent book, as is the seminar.

Here are some of the quotes or statements that made an impact on me:

* only 3-5% of Christians are obeying the Lord's command to be "fishers of men", actively sharing Jesus with others in their community.

* Many churches today do not have the same passion and priority that the Lord has: "God wants all men to be saved."  (I Timothy 2:4)

* When we join God in His work and mission to seek and save the lost, and faithfully share the Gospel with others, we are joining God's unbeatable team of 3:

      

1. God's Word (there is great power in God's Word and the Gospel)

2. The action of the Holy Spirit (the Holy Spirit empowers us to share Jesus, and also convicts of sin, convinces the lost person they need Jesus, and reveals spiritual truth)

3. The faithful witness

* God has empowered all of His children to share the Gospel, through the Holy Spirit

* To be successful in sharing Christ, the other person does not have to accept Christ. If you do the following 3 things when sharing Christ, you will be successful in God's eyes:

1. You need to faithfully and prayerfully share the Gospel ... the only way you will fail is if you fail to share.

2. You need to share in the power of the Holy Spirit.

3. Leave the results in God's hands. (this takes the pressure off of us)

* You may live a consistent life, minister to people, and invite them to church. You have not really witnessed until you have shared Jesus. Unbelievers will not experience the forgiveness of Christ until someone shares the life-changing Gospel with them.

* There is nothing that energizes and gladdens the heart of a Christian more than leading a person to Christ.

* God's plan for His church is for every believer to actively share Jesus with others.

* We need to have a person-centered, loving & caring approach to reaching out to lost people.

* We need to learn to listen to others and then share Jesus in a way that meets their particular needs.

* There are numerous methods to sharing Jesus with others. The method is not the most important thing; sharing in the power of the Holy Spirit and then leaving the results in God's hands is.

* We need to have Jesus' love (John 3:16) and compassion (Matt. 9:35) for others in order to effectively share the Gospel.

* We need to be focused and sensitive to the lost people around us. Sharing opportunities and lost people are all around us in our daily lives. Many times we are not focused and sensitive to the "divine opportunities" that God gives us.

* God is always at work and He has already prepared a harvest (Matt. 9:37-38) ... we need to be faithful and join God in His work, sowing and sharing the Gospel, and reaping the harvest.