The way Jesus shared the Gospel is an inspiration to me.
I am inspired because if Jesus can do it in this simple and natural manner, so can I!
It's amazing that Jesus shared the Gospel in the midst of His daily activities. It actually happened during one of His travels.
It was so natural that if I were at the well, maybe I would have missed such an opportunity but not the Lord. He used the chance encounter to share with the Samaritan woman. We can learn some principles from the manner the Gospel was shared by Jesus::
1. Share one to one
2. Share even when inconvenient
3. Share boldly & in faith
4. Share without partiality
5. Share to sow
5. Share to sow
1. Share one to one.
Jesus had entered Samaria with His disciples. He sat beside a well hoping to get someone to draw water for Him. Why did He sat at the well? He was thirsty (something very natural) yet it turned out to be an occasion for Him to share the Gospel with the first person who came to the well.
Whether it is a big crowd or one to one, Jesus did not fail to take the opportunity to share the Gospel. Even if God were to send us to only one person, let us be willing and obedient to share the Gospel to that one person!
Jesus had entered Samaria with His disciples. He sat beside a well hoping to get someone to draw water for Him. Why did He sat at the well? He was thirsty (something very natural) yet it turned out to be an occasion for Him to share the Gospel with the first person who came to the well.
Whether it is a big crowd or one to one, Jesus did not fail to take the opportunity to share the Gospel. Even if God were to send us to only one person, let us be willing and obedient to share the Gospel to that one person!
At our recent trip to Kemaman, this story came alive us. Like Jesus we entered a town Kemaman. Like Jesus we came to a place with a well (although the well was covered and dry signifying the spiritual condition of the owner of the house). We entered Aunty Eng's house with the intention of sharing with her about the living water (Jesus) who is able to give her the water unto everlasting life!
2. Share even when inconvenient.
In this story Jesus sat down at the well. Was it a convenient time to share the Gospel? It was not a suitable time as He was hungry and thirsty. Not only did He opened His mouth to ask the woman for a drink of water, the disciples also had gone to town to buy food for Him to eat.
Sometimes its totally inconvenient for us to share the Gospel. Sometimes we think let us do this another day but really there may not be another day as Jesus may not see this woman again since He was just passing through the place.
That’s why it’s always good to go and visit people in groups of 2s or 3s. If you happen to be hungry or thirsty or just plain tired, your friends will be able to help out in the sharing.
With Aunty Eng, I felt rather handicapped as I could not speak Hainanese or Mandarin. After lunch I was dozing off even as the sisters were sharing with her the Gospel.
Thank God for York Ling and Jesse. Between York Ling’s Hainanese and Jessie’s Mandarin, Aunty Eng prayed the sinner’s prayer with great clarity and conviction.
On Sunday, when she attended church for the first time after her conversion, she stood up to testify and to everyone’s amazement, she started to speak in fluent BM!
3. Share boldly
Jesus dared to tell the woman who He really is. This is something we should do as well. Tell others who He really is. He is the way, the truth and the life. He is the only mediator between God and men. No man can come to the Father except through Him.
There is no need to water down the Gospel to save souls. Jesus just told her that He will give her water to drink and she will never thirst again. His claim may sound fantastic but it's true and that is how Jesus evangelized. He did not sugar-coat the truth to please the hearers.
4. Share without discrimination
In this story Jesus sat down at the well. Was it a convenient time to share the Gospel? It was not a suitable time as He was hungry and thirsty. Not only did He opened His mouth to ask the woman for a drink of water, the disciples also had gone to town to buy food for Him to eat.
Sometimes its totally inconvenient for us to share the Gospel. Sometimes we think let us do this another day but really there may not be another day as Jesus may not see this woman again since He was just passing through the place.
That’s why it’s always good to go and visit people in groups of 2s or 3s. If you happen to be hungry or thirsty or just plain tired, your friends will be able to help out in the sharing.
With Aunty Eng, I felt rather handicapped as I could not speak Hainanese or Mandarin. After lunch I was dozing off even as the sisters were sharing with her the Gospel.
Thank God for York Ling and Jesse. Between York Ling’s Hainanese and Jessie’s Mandarin, Aunty Eng prayed the sinner’s prayer with great clarity and conviction.
On Sunday, when she attended church for the first time after her conversion, she stood up to testify and to everyone’s amazement, she started to speak in fluent BM!
3. Share boldly
Jesus dared to tell the woman who He really is. This is something we should do as well. Tell others who He really is. He is the way, the truth and the life. He is the only mediator between God and men. No man can come to the Father except through Him.
There is no need to water down the Gospel to save souls. Jesus just told her that He will give her water to drink and she will never thirst again. His claim may sound fantastic but it's true and that is how Jesus evangelized. He did not sugar-coat the truth to please the hearers.
4. Share without discrimination
No matter what age group or educational background. No matter their past or their future, just share with them the Gospel.
Everyone needs to hear the Good News. Did Jesus know her past? Yes, I am sure He did yet Jesus did not hesitate or shy away from sharing with and adulterer. The more sinful they are, the more they need the Gospel of eternal life!
In fact Jesus shared to this lady who was an absolute stranger having met her only for the first time. He didn't even know her name. So it's ok to share the Gospel with strangers!
5. Share to sow seeds
At the end of the story, the woman
went into town to tell everyone about her encounter with the Lord at the well.
She actually became an evangelist after meeting the Lord! But did she herself believed the Lord Jesus and acknowledged Him as savior?
She went around sharing with others how she was touched by the Lord and how He knew her past and her future but she questioned His claim by asking others "Is this the Messiah?"
Evangelism is all about sowing the seed and the salvation message. A person's response to the message is beyond our control. No need for us to be stressed about this. Our mission is just to share the Good News and let the Holy Spirit bring about conviction of sin.
This is what I aimed to do every month in 2017 - sharing to sow the seed of eternal life once a month to someone.
In fact later in the same chapter when the disciples came back with the food for Him to eat, Jesus answered them and said that the fields are white unto harvest. He asked them to pray for laborers to go to the harvest field. To me that speaks about the importance of sowing the seed of the Gospel more than anything else. The Lord did not even ask them to pray for the harvest, He asked to pray for the laborers! It seems to me that the laborers are more important as the harvest as the harvest is right in our midst.
Let us look for opportunities to sow the seeds of eternal life no matter what the response may be.
This morning at the mamak, I put all the above to practice. A 70 year old Indian lady sat in front of me and started talking to me. Although she did not understand English, I managed to speak to her in BM. Using the 4-spiritual laws, I showed her the picture of Jesus being the bridge between God and man.
I realized that I was sharing with her using the above principles:
1. One to one
2. Sharing boldly the truth
3. Sharing when inconvenient (I usually drink my tea and read my newspaper so I rather like to be alone at the mamak stall)
3. Sharing without discrimination (she cannot speak or read English and she is elderly)
5. Share to sow seeds (she said she will have to ask her son)
Let us continue to share one to one, share even when inconvenienced, share boldly, share without discriminating and share to sow with faith!
She actually became an evangelist after meeting the Lord! But did she herself believed the Lord Jesus and acknowledged Him as savior?
She went around sharing with others how she was touched by the Lord and how He knew her past and her future but she questioned His claim by asking others "Is this the Messiah?"
Evangelism is all about sowing the seed and the salvation message. A person's response to the message is beyond our control. No need for us to be stressed about this. Our mission is just to share the Good News and let the Holy Spirit bring about conviction of sin.
This is what I aimed to do every month in 2017 - sharing to sow the seed of eternal life once a month to someone.
In fact later in the same chapter when the disciples came back with the food for Him to eat, Jesus answered them and said that the fields are white unto harvest. He asked them to pray for laborers to go to the harvest field. To me that speaks about the importance of sowing the seed of the Gospel more than anything else. The Lord did not even ask them to pray for the harvest, He asked to pray for the laborers! It seems to me that the laborers are more important as the harvest as the harvest is right in our midst.
Let us look for opportunities to sow the seeds of eternal life no matter what the response may be.
This morning at the mamak, I put all the above to practice. A 70 year old Indian lady sat in front of me and started talking to me. Although she did not understand English, I managed to speak to her in BM. Using the 4-spiritual laws, I showed her the picture of Jesus being the bridge between God and man.
I realized that I was sharing with her using the above principles:
1. One to one
2. Sharing boldly the truth
3. Sharing when inconvenient (I usually drink my tea and read my newspaper so I rather like to be alone at the mamak stall)
3. Sharing without discrimination (she cannot speak or read English and she is elderly)
5. Share to sow seeds (she said she will have to ask her son)
Let us continue to share one to one, share even when inconvenienced, share boldly, share without discriminating and share to sow with faith!
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