To View the Video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/6llfQe1yJ3k
SHOW NOTES
Welcome to a new week of the Hope Rescue Podcast. If this is your first time here, welcome! We are so glad you’re joining us. Every Monday, we share a new podcast episode discussing practical tips for living a Christ-centered life. This week we are discussing the most effective way to share the gospel. Keep reading to find out what it is.
We must love people with a greater love than our personal offenses. For example, Ted Bundy says in his final interview with evangelical Christian author and psychologist Dr. James Dobson that he gave his life to Christ. Whether this was true in his heart is between him and the Lord, but if it was true, he came to this conclusion by someone sharing about the love of Christ with him, despite the evil and terrible crimes he had committed. Someone was able to set aside their differences with Ted Bundy and share the gospel with him. Our personal offenses should never prevent us from loving those who offend us.
How do we stick to the mission when we are evangelizing? Tim discusses a concept called “mission creep” which was a concept originally applied to military operations. Mission creep is defined as the gradual or incremental expansion of an intervention, project or mission, beyond its original scope. This concept can also be applied to evangelism because as ambassadors for Christ, it can be easy to forget our original mission which is to lovingly spread the gospel. We become so wrapped up in politics and numbers that we forget our most important calling as Christians.
Tim recommends determining your personal mission statement as an ambassador for Christ. What is our mission as believers? Our mission is to present the gospel to people in a fashion they can understand. Let your mission be your compass and guide your decisions.
To stay focused on our mission, we must understand that we are not responsible for the outcomes. As we spread the gospel, we plant seeds, but God provides the increase. First Corinthians 3:7 says, "So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth."
The most effective method for spreading the gospel is to uniquely witness to each person. In 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, Paul explains how to do this. He says, “For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.” His mission was to uniquely become a servant to all so the gospel message could be spread. Are you willing to restrict your freedoms for the sake of spreading the gospel? Are you willing to share the good news with those who don’t align politically with you? Is it more important for people to know your political stance or your stance on your faith in Jesus? We must learn to set aside our differences and deny ourselves for the sake of the gospel.
QUOTES
“Our personal offenses should never prevent us from loving those who offend us.” -Tim
REFERENCED SCRIPTURE
1 Corinthians 3:7 says, "So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth."
1 Corinthians 9:19-23 “For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.”
