Attitude

Food for thought:
Blunt common sense always characterized Dwight L. Moody.  Once a man rose in one of his meetings to give his experience.  "I have been for five years on the Mount of Transfiguration," he said.
   Instantly Mr. Moody interrupted him by the sharp question, "How many souls did you lead to Christ last year?'
   "Well, I don't know," answered the surprised man.
   "Have you led any?" then came from the preacher.
   "I-ah-don't know that I have," said the man.
   "Then," snapped Mr. Moody, still more sternly, "we don't want that kind of mountaintop experience.  When a man gets so high that he can't reach down and save poor sinners, there is something wrong."

    Christianity is something which is meant to be seen.  As someone has well said, "There can be no such thing as secret discipleship, for either the secrecy destroys the discipleship, or the discipleship destroys the secrecy."  A man's Christianity should be perfectly visible to all men.
    -- William Barclay

Self evaluation - How do you feel about proclaiming the truth about Jesus to others?

1.     Excellent opportunity to demonstrate my faithfulness, to advance the cause of Christ, to grow as a Christian.  Exciting to share the saving message with others.  Am so amazed at God’s love that I just want everyone to experience the joy of knowing God and being redeemed through Jesus.

2.     Enjoy when others hear the truth and receive it.

3.     Wish that more people were receptive to hearing the truth.

4.     Bothered that people misunderstand Christianity and have preconceived notions before I can share.

5.     I feel like everyone has pretty much made their choice already.

6.     It scares me to talk to other people about spiritual stuff.  I feel like they will think I’m weird.

Read the following verses and consider what mindset about evangelism you would like to develop as a disciple of Christ.

Ephesians 4:15   Speaking the truth with love, we will grow up in every way in Christ…

2 Corinthians 5:18-20  Through Christ, God made peace between us and himself, and God gave us the work of telling everyone about the peace we can have with him.  God was in Christ, making peace between the world and himself. In Christ, God did not hold the world guilty of its sins. And he gave us this message of peace.  So we have been sent to speak for Christ. It is as if God is calling to you through us. We speak for Christ when we beg you to be at peace with God.

What is your goal concerning the mindset you have towards telling other people the truth about Jesus Christ? 

On what truth(s) do you need to focus?

How will you keep track of how you are doing? 

What obstacles will you need to overcome and how will you face them?

Motivation

Food for thought:
    A great truth is illustrated by an incident in the ministry of George Sweeting, president of Moody Bible Institute. He said that a woman once came to him in deep distress.  "I have been a Christian for 20 years," she told him, "Yet I'm not aware that I've ever led anyone to the Lord, I've memorized many Scripture verses and know how to meet the objections of the unconverted.  But no one has made a decision for Christ.  Why hasn't God been using me?" 
   Wanting to help this believer, he asked her a question, "Have you ever wept for the unsaved and prayed for their conversion?  Perhaps your failure hasn't been so much from a lack of knowledge as from a lack of love! When a person has genuine compassion for the lost, he'll weep over them and yearn for salvation." 
   Sweeting said that the woman went to her room and began to pray earnestly for her sister.  Then, with a tender heart, she went to visit her. Putting her arms around her, she said with weeping, "More than anything in this world, I want you to become a Christian!"  That evening during the church service her sister publicly received the Savior and asked for His gracious forgiveness.

Self evaluation - Why do I proclaim the truth about Jesus Christ to others?

1.     Compelled to proclaim the truth to accomplish the mission for my life God called me to do and to be used by God to accomplish the mission He has for the world.

2.     I desire for others to learn the truth so they can be set free.

3.     I would like the church to grow and become stronger.

4.     I want to please God.

5.     I am obligated as a Christian to tell others.

6.     Want others to think of me as “spiritual”.

Read the following verses and consider what motivations for proclaiming the truth about Jesus you would like to form as a disciple of Christ.

1 Corinthians 9:16  Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!

John 8:32  "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus … go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

 What is your goal concerning the motives you have for telling others the truth about Jesus? 

On what truth(s) do you need to focus?

How will you keep track of how you are doing? 

What obstacles will you need to overcome and how will you face them?

Practice

Food for thought:
One of the saddest statistics of our day is that 95% of all church members have never led anyone to Christ.
    -- Dr. D. James Kennedy

    We often speak of intercessory work as being of vital importance. I want to prove this in actual fact by giving my first and best energies to it, as God may lead.  I feel like a businessman -- who sees an inexhaustible supply and an almost unlimited demand.  The demand is the lost state of these tens of thousands -- their ignorance, their superstition, their sinfulness, the need for their bodies, their minds, their souls.
   The supply is the grace of God to meet this need which will be brought down to them by the persevering prayers of a considerable company of God's people.  All I want to do is to bring the supply and demand together.
    --J. O. Fraser

 "Too many Christians are no longer fishers of men but keepers of the aquarium."
    -- Paul Harvey

Self evaluation - How do I proclaim the truth about Jesus Christ to others?

 1.     I live a life that glorifies Christ and draws attention to Him. I know the gospel message centered on Jesus’ Death, Burial and Resurrection and can and do share it with others in a concise and understandable manner.  I have intentionally learned to describe my “story” or “testimony” of how Jesus has changed my life and regularly communicate it to others.

2.     I share Biblical truth with others and encourage them to seek a relationship with Jesus Christ for themselves.

3.     I express my personal belief in Jesus to others.

4.     I invite others to come to church.

5.     I will chime in some times when another Christian is telling others about Christ.

6.     I don’t say anything to anyone.

Read the following verses and consider what method(s) and information you would like to use in telling others the truth about Jesus Christ.

 1 Corinthians 15:1-6    I want to remind you of the Good News. You received this Good News and continue strong in it.  And you are being saved by it if you continue believing what I told you. If you do not, then you believed for nothing.  I passed on to you what I received, of which this was most important: that Christ died for our sins, as the Scriptures say;  that he was buried and was raised to life on the third day as the Scriptures say;  and that he was seen by Peter and then by the twelve apostles.  After that, Jesus was seen by more than five hundred of the believers at the same time.

What is your goal concerning your practice of telling others the truth about Jesus? 

What skills do I need to develop? How will I effectively present information to people?  How do I need to live my life so that my credibility is effective?

How will you keep track of how you are doing? 

What obstacles will you need to overcome and how will you face them?

Consistency

Food for thought:
    A group of prospectors set out from Bannock, Montana (then capital of the state), in search of gold. They went through many hardships and several of their little company died en route. Finally they were overtaken by the Indians who took their good horses, leaving them with only a few limping old ponies. Then they threatened them, telling them to get back to Bannock and stay there, for if they overtook them again, they would murder the lot of them. Defeated, discouraged, and downhearted, the prospectors sought to make their way back to the capital city. On one occasion as they tethered out the limping ponies on a creekside, one of the men casually picked up a little stone from the creek bed. He called to his buddy for a hammer and upon cracking the rock, he said, "It looks as though there may be gold here." The two of them panned gold the rest of the afternoon and managed to realize twelve dollars' worth. The entire little company panned gold the next day in the same creek and realized fifty dollars, a great sum in those days. They said to one another: "We have struck it!" They made their way back to Bannock and vowed not to breathe a word concerning this gold strike. They secretively set about re-equipping themselves with supplies for another prospecting trip. But when they got ready to go back, three hundred men followed them. Who had told on them? No one! Their beaming faces betrayed the secret!
   If we have been enamored with Him, whom having not seen we love, we should be unable to conceal the treasure: Our beaming faces should betray the secret!
   L. E. Maxwell

Self evaluation - How often do you proclaim the truth about Jesus Christ?

 1.     It is a natural part of my life. I share my testimony with others and daily examine my credibility.  All of my close friends and family are aware of my faith and as I get to know new people, I share with them my faith in a gentle and respectful way. I invite others to church on a weekly basis.

2.     I invite people to church regularly.

3.     I occasionally invite friends, co-workers, neighbors and family to church especially for Christmas, Easter and Open House.

4.     I attend church openly so people can observe my faith in Christ.

5.     If someone asks or if the subject is brought up, I will tell others that I am a Christian, especially if I know that they are a Christian too.

6.     I try not to bring it up or talk about it.

Read the following verses and consider how frequently you should proclaim the truth as a disciple of Christ.

 1 Peter 3:15  Quietly trust yourself to Christ your Lord, and if anybody asks why you believe as you do, be ready to tell him, and do it in a gentle and respectful way.

Luke 9:59-60  Jesus said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."  Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God."

What is your goal concerning how consistently you proclaim the truth of Jesus Christ to others? 

When and where and will you do this?

How will you keep track of how you are doing? 

What obstacles will you need to overcome and how will you face them?