Paul's Practical Tips on Evangelism

Paul's Practical Tips on Evangelism

Introduction:
I grew up in a church that taught that we should seek to share our faith with others. I remember my initial feeble attempts to share while I was in high school. Most strongly, though, I remember two defining moments during my time at uni that have shaped me from then on.

The first was in my first year of uni. I developed a friendship with John, another 1st year economics student. John was brilliant, at the top of the class academically. He was combining a law degree with his economics. He was Greek and he was also a staunch Labor Party supporter. On several occasions I remember trying to share my faith with him, but each time the conversation ended up in a debate over politics.

The second experience was with a guy, Adam, that I worked with at my part-time job. Adam also studied at Sydney Uni, but he studied science. As I sought to share with Adam, we ended up arguing about creation vs. evolution. I gave him booklets to read and we talked round and round about it all.

In both these experiences the overwhelming feeling I have, even now, is of frustration. I am frustrated because I felt like I wasn’t effective. I felt like I never actually communicated what I believed. I felt like I was diverted from the real issue into side issues. Since then I have learnt some skills in sharing my faith that have improved my effectiveness. Today, we are going to be looking at a passage where the Apostle Paul instructs a church he has never met in effective evangelism.

Read: Colossians 4:2-6

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

State It: Prayer opens the way for sharing

Read It: v.2-3
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.

Explain It:
The Apostle Paul encouraged the Colossian church to pray, and to pray specifically for him. He knew the necessity of prayer. The proclamation of the gospel is a spiritual exercise that requires God’s direct intervention. As a worker engaged full-time in evangelism, Paul needed the prayer support of everyone he could get. He knew also that the church needed to be praying for their own ministry of evangelism. If we, that is, those of us in full-time ministry and those who earn our keep in other ways, try to share our faith in our own strength we find ourselves frustrated at lack of opportunity and lack of openness.

Illustrate It:
As a student I would team up with a Student Life staff worker to try to share the gospel with other students on campus. It became a running joke between us that often we would initially forget to pray. Then, after approaching several people and getting knocked back, we would remember to pray and offered God a quick prayer. Inevitably, the next person or the one after would be willing to talk and listen.

Apply It:
As I was preparing this message I was reminded of something I used to do years ago, which I had long since forgotten about. I used to include in my quiet times prayer asking God to provide me with opportunities to share my faith that day. Often I would mentally review the things I had planned for the day and would ask God to create openness in the people I was meeting with.

Is that something you could consider doing? Who are you meeting tomorrow during the day? Who would you like to share the gospel with? Will you take the opportunity tomorrow morning to pray for openness in that person? Will you then watch for an answer to that prayer? Will you then be thankful for the way God provides you with opportunities?

State It: Sharing the gospel requires clear communication

Read It: v.4
Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.

Explain It:
The mighty apostle Paul understood the importance of clear communication. He operated in an environment where gospel concepts were not readily understood. The Jews had the Old Testament to help them understand sacrifice, holiness and sin. That's where the Apostle Peter based his ministry. But Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles was made more difficult because there wasn’t this common understanding. Paul knew he needed God’s help to be able to bridge the cultural divide.

The gospel is not shared unless the hearer understands it. Communication theory teaches that there is a sender and a receiver. The message intended by the sender is not always what they actually say. The message received by the receiver is not always what was said!

Illustrate It:
DELL computer ad [show sample of recent ad] uses lots of computer jargon that is unintelligible to your average person. [This story gets fleshed out when told live...]

Apply It:
If we have been Christians for more than a year, then we need to check ourselves whenever we talk about spiritual issues with “outsiders”. The jargon that we use or think in every day is not understandable by them. Or even worse, they misunderstand it! You cannot use terms like, “sin”, “Son of God”, “Christian” without defining them. And you can’t do it in a way that puts people down.

We can’t assume that your average Australian understands basic gospel concepts. Only 3% of Australian children now attend church. Where are they supposed to learn gospel concepts? They don’t.

We need to learn how to present the gospel in very simple non-religious language. Sin = imperfection. Holy = perfect. Being a Christian = have a personal, life-impacting relationship with the living God who created the universe. I use the Knowing God Personally booklet to help me do that. But any tool that will help you learn how to communicate the gospel simply and clearly is invaluable. And after you have mastered one tool, I would recommend learning a second and a third so that you develop flexibility when you present. That will allow you to adapt to where the person you are sharing with is at.

State It: Your actions provide you with opportunities to share

Read It: v.5
Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.

Explain It:
Your wise actions should lead to opportunities to share the gospel. What is a wise action? Obviously it begins by behaving in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. But I think it means much more than that. Paul was exhorting them to use wisdom to make the most of the opportunities around them.

Illustrate It:
At the bottom of my street we have a little corner grocery store. They sell things that people tend to need in an emergency - tomato sauce, eggs, milk, but charge a fairly high price. I cringe every time I have to buy something there. I much prefer – even in an emergency – to drive a little further to the Woolworth’s and buy the same things at a substantially cheaper price. It makes sense to go for the bargain. In fact, if we are doing a big shop I know my wife, Liz, finds Aldi or Castle Hill Bi-Lo cheaper still. We see the opportunity to save money and we act on it.

Imagine if Liz entrusted me with the responsibility of doing the "big shop". I know some husbands do that, but I've always found Liz is better at that I am quite happy to let her. But let's just say that she asked me to do it, just this once. She gave me the big list of things to buy - everything from vegemite to frozen peas.

Of course, I live a pretty busy life. Just like you. And imagine it just happened to slip my mind. I couldn't see how I could fit it into my week. I thought, the main thing is to just get the stuff. So one day, on my way home from work, I just pulled into the local shop at the bottom of my street. I walk in. I pull out the list. I start checking the shelves. As I walk the four aisles in the shop, I realise that some of the things on the list are stocked in the store. Their jars of vegemite are pretty small. Their lettuce is pretty limp. But I do the best I can and take it up to the counter.

Joe, the checkout guy is pretty excited. He hasn't seen anyone buy this much stuff for months, if not years. Although I couldn't find everything on the list, and there aren't as many shopping bags as I would have expected, the bill really surprises me. It's a bit high. Oh well, that's what I can manage.

What do you think Liz's reaction will be when I get home? Do you think she will think I've done a great job? Have I done what she expected me to do? Have I achieved the purpose?

If she wanted to get stuck into me, she would have every right. I could get all self-righteous and claim I'd done the shopping, even when I was busy, it was the best I could do. But you and I know that I would just be trying to defend the indefensible. I had the opportunity to get all the food we needed and to do it within budget, and I blew it.

Apply It:
In the same way you have opportunities all around you to share the gospel. I believe God is at work in the lives of people all over this city. He is looking for us to join with Him in that work. But our actions need to grab those opportunities. Be a little friendlier to the guy at the service station. Have a chat to the person dumping junk mail in your letterbox. Get to know the neighbours who walk their dogs past your place. Talk to the person sitting next to you on the train. Invite a work friend to your place for dinner. Put yourself in a place where you can engage with those who need Jesus.

This church sends out lots of missionaries all over the world. Even so, it’s main workforce, you, sits within these walls each Sunday. And it’s main responsibility is to those Australians you connect with during your week.

State It: Your words are to be gracious and engaging

Read It: v.6
Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

Explain It:
Paul wanted to Colossians to treat people with the value that God places on them. To be gracious here means “treat them better than you think they deserve”. Jesus died for these people, how precious are they to him?

The reference to “salt” here is a reference to the skill of the Greek orators. Their witty, engaging speaking was considered “salty”. Paul is actually encouraging the Colossians not to bore people to death as they ear-bash them about the gospel. Again Jesus is a great model. He teased people into listening to him, and never told them more than they were ready to hear.

Illustrate It:
Billy Graham recounted the story of a visit to the White House. “I remember one night I was invited to the White House, and I was to sit next to Mrs. Gorbachev and a film star who had just won an Oscar. I went to the Soviet ambassador, Mr. Dobrynin, and asked him what I should talk to Mrs. Gorbachev about - what she would be interested in – and he said, “You know what she is really interested in? Religion.” He said, “Like me, she claims to be an atheist. But we’re all interested in the supernatural.” During the conversation that evening, I found out he was exactly right. She asked me questions about what I believed and what the church taught. Finally, she said, “You know, I’ve always believed that there’s something up there bigger than us. Bigger than me.”

On campus we seek to engage people in conversation using questionnaires. We’ve found this year that about one student in three who agree to do a questionnaire are interested in meeting again to talk more. Why? We talk with them in a gracious and engaging manner.

Apply It:
I think this is the easiest thing to put into practice. Being gracious and engaging simply means showing you like the person you are sharing with. It means listening carefully when they speak. Responding to what they say. Watching to see if they are confused by anything you say and being willing to put aside your own agenda to respond to their need.

Conclusion:
If you have been I like I was, knowing you should share your faith but feeling ineffective in your efforts. Or if you are just paralysed by guilt or fear so you don’t even get to feel inadequate, then it is my prayer that Paul’s words will encourage and stimulate you to share.

Pray for the missionaries this church send out, yourself and those you will be meeting – in your Quiet Time tomorrow. Plan to speak clearly – learn a simple tool. Review your lifestyle to see if you can change an action that will create another opportunity to share. Like and value people, then your conversation will be gracious and engaging.