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The Bridge - Pastor Nieting |
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The Bridge February 12, 2006
Tools for Sharing Christ, part 2 Pastor Mark Nieting
How
many jokes like this have you heard? A pastor dies and is buried in his
full clerical regalia. He gets to the pearly gates and is waiting in
line. Ahead of him is a guy dressed in sunglasses, a Hawaiian shirt and
jeans. Saint Peter addresses the guy, ?¨Who are you, so I can know
whether to let you in to heaven or not??Æ
The guy replies, ?¨I??m
Joe Green, a New York taxi driver.?Æ St. Peter checks his list, smiles,
hands the taxi driver a silk robe and golden staff and says ?¨Welcome to
heaven!?Æ So in he goes. The pastor is next in line. Without even
waiting to be asked, he says, ?¨I??m Pastor Nieting, from Emmanuel
Lutheran Church!?Æ St. Peter checks his list and says, ?¨Here??s a cotton
robe and wooden stick, but you have to wait a while to get in.?Æ The
pastor says, ?¨Just a minute. That taxi driver got a silk robe and a
golden staff and he got right in. How can this be??Æ
?¨Well, up here we go by results,?Æ said Peter. ?¨While you preached, people slept. While he drove, people prayed.?Æ
We??ve
been talking about evangelism?ñ..and since 95% of Christians have never
been involved in leading anyone to Christ, we??re hoping and praying
that we can learn how to ?¨do it better.?Æ One of the problems that we
Christians have is in dealing with all the myths that people have about
just how to get into heaven?ñ.. like the joke I told before?ñ..most of
them misconceptions based on the idea that WE have to ?¨DO?Æ the right
things to get there. It is crucial that when we share the Good News of
Jesus with people, and that we do it in love and with truth.
Evangelism
is like fishing. When you fish you can use different baits, different
lures, different kinds of rods and different techniques, all with the
goal of catching a fish. Sometimes you??re after trout?ñsometimes you??re
after bass?ñ.and that affects how you are going to fish. In fact, some
people put a lifetime of work into learning just how to catch a few
silly little fish!
Jesus has asked us to be ?¨fishers of men.?Æ
It??s no less spiritual for us to learn and practice methods for THIS
kind of fishing than it is for the choir to practice their music before
they sing in church. It is important to be open and sensitive to the
Holy Spirit. He may have you saying things you haven??t planned to
say?ñ.but that doesn??t mean you go ?¨fishing?Æ unprepared, like the 5
foolish virgins who missed out on the oil. Scripture says ?¨be ready,?Æ
so when God says ?¨GO,?Æ you will!
Last week we studied The Roman
Road, a series of Bible verses from Romans that can be used to share
both the dilemma of sin and the gift of Jesus with people. Before we
get to today??s topic, let??s review the verses we used, and if you
didn??t get one of these handouts, there are some on the table outside.
(or on the website)
First, John 3: 16?ñ. The overall ?¨Gospel in a
Nutshell.?Æ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting
life.?Æ
Next, Romans 3: 23?ñ. All have sinned and fallen short of the
glory of God. The emphasis here is that NO one is better than anyone
else?ñ all of us are sinners and all of us will be separated from God
unless?ñ.
Then, Romans 6: 23?ñ For the wages of sin is death, but the
gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. God, who
must punish sin, gives us the gift of Christ Jesus, our Savior FROM sin.
Followed
by, Romans 5: 8?ñ.God demonstrated His love for us, in that while we
were still sinners, Christ died for us. Jesus took on the result of our
sin, and paid the price to win us forgiveness before God!
And to
?¨close the deal,?Æ we have Romans 10: 9-10?ñIf you confess with your
mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from
the dead, you will be saved! That??s the good news!
Please take
out today??s bulletin insert?ñand we??ll look at another ?¨strategy?Æ for
sharing God??s plan of salvation. While you are getting it out, let me
share a few brief thoughts on ?¨bridging the gap?Æ with people. It??s
easier to share YOUR faith with people you know. Asking them if they
are a Christian or if they are saved can put people off?ñ.but simply
asking if you can share your story?ñyour faith with them, that usually
results in an ?¨ok.?Æ
THE BRIDGE illustration has three steps to
it. Step 1: Notice the first graphic, a deep chasm that separates
people on one side of it and God on the other. Next to it, in the blank
space, draw your own version of my graphic. I want you to do this so
that you have the confidence to ?¨doodle?Æ someone towards the gift of
salvation through Christ on the back of a napkin, if God so leads you!
You??ve
drawn the chasm?ñnow here??s how to explain it. God created us in His
image to be His friend, like Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden.
But sin, like the deep gap you??ve drawn on the paper, separates us from
God. It??s a gap that people try to get across through all kinds of
ways: positive thinking, doing lots of good works, giving money to
charity?ñ.none of which can work.
There are a few Bible verses that can be memorized here to illustrate the point:
Romans 3: 23 All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
Isaiah 59:3 Your sins have separated you from God.
Proverbs 14:12 There is a way that seems right to man, but in the end it leads to death.
On
our own, we cannot bridge the gap between us and God. Through the ages,
people have tried everything?ñ.but the gap of sin is impenetrable to us.
Step
2 is God??s remedy?ñ.the Cross of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the ONLY
answer to this problem. He died on the cross and rose from the grave,
paying the penalty for our sins and bridging the gap between God and
people. Look at the second graphic, with the arms of the cross bridging
the gap. Now add the cross to the diagram that you started before.
Notice how simple it is? You??ve only drawn about 4 lines, but you have
almost told the entire story of salvation.
We have Bible verses to ?¨back this up,?Æ one of them from the Roman Road.
Romans 5: 8 While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
1 Peter 3:18 Christ died for sins once for all?ñ.to bring you to God.
It??s
important to illustrate that in all of this, God is doing the work. God
sent Jesus, and Jesus died. The final step, Step 3, is our response to
what God has done. Our natural?ñsinful?ñ inclination is to stay on ?¨our
side of the gap.?Æ Here??s where people can throw up ?¨smoke-screen?Æ
objections to God??s message. Listen for comments that are aimed at
deflecting God??s grace: If God is so loving, why do so many babies die?
Why are there so many wars? Why are there so many different
denominations and religions? We??ll get around to answering some of
these later (see also ?¨Questions that Skeptics Ask?Æ by Josh McDowell).
Just acknowledge their concerns, discuss them briefly if you feel you
can, and turn the conversation back to THEIR relationship with God.
Step
3 is about believing and trusting in Jesus and what He did. It is where
the Holy Spirit can work an acknowledgement of sin and a trusting in
Christ??s forgiveness. It??s God taking them by the hand and LEADING them
across to the bridge and into an eternal and personal relationship with
Him, forever.
Verses like these are wonderful.
John 3: 16?ñ we??ve already reviewed this one.
John 5: 24 Whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has
eternal life and will not be condemned. He has crossed over from death
to life.
And that, my friends, is what we want our friends to
know! If God allows you to have this conversation and to use this art,
simply add a ?¨double arrow?Æ to show God reaching across the gap and
pulling the person over towards Himself. Maybe you might lead the
person you are working with in a simple prayer that goes like this:
Dear Lord Jesus. I know I am a sinner and I need your forgiveness. I
believe that you died on the cross for me. Take away my sins and create
a new heart and a new faith in me so that I can trust you always as my
Savior. Amen.
AND TO THAT, THE PEOPLE OF GOD SAY AMEN!
THE BRIDGE?ñA tool for sharing Christ
?¨In the beginning?Æ all was well.
____US___and____GOD!
Then came sin.
Step 1: Our Problem: Separation from God.
Draw the picture... a gap between us and God.
Step 2: God??s Remedy: The cross.
Draw this picture....add a cross in the gap...as the BRIDGE!
Step 3: Our Response: Faith in Jesus.
Now we need arrows...God coming across to us and bring us back to Him..
the emphasis is JESUS does the saving work and the Holy Spirit calls us
to faith!
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