Share Your Story
You will be my Witnesses • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Share Your Story
John 4
Series Slide
Good morning again and welcome to this final sermon in our series “…And You Will Be My Witnesses…” where we have taken this season of Lent to consider how we can better share our faith with those around us.
Next week will be our Resurrection Egg Hunt, our church wide potluck, and the celebration of Jesus’ triumphant entry as we begin the celebration of Holy Week!
But before we get there, we need to wrap up our conversations of being a witness for Jesus.
A part of this journey has been to begin hiding God’s Word in our heart that we may not sin against Him… that we will allow God’s word to be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path by memorizing scripture.
Last week we introduced our new memory verse for the month, 1 Chronicles 4:10
“Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.”
Not that we want to get more stuff… not that we are blessed for our sake… but that we will be blessed with more influence to impact the World for Christ… that we will be blessed to be a blessing!
Today, we will wrap up our journey to be God’s witnesses.
Series Slide
We started this journey memorizing Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit Comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and the ends of the Earth.” If you remember, Jerusalem is your home town, where you live… maybe Corsicana, or Navarro County, and Judea is your home region, it’s your people, maybe Texas, or the US… and Samaria is those that may be next door, across the nation, or around the world – but they are different – a different race or culture… maybe different politically or socially… they aren’t exactly like you – but you are still to be a witness for Jesus to them because they are just as much a beloved child of God as you are… and then we know what the ends of the earth are like… Terry and Tina are there right now… Bishop Gregory has been traveling there as she travels to Mexico and Bulgaria… I have been there on trips to Costa Rica and Kenya…. 10 years ago, you- we went to Belize to serve the people and be a witness for Jesus.
Breathe Deep
To become a witness for Christ, sometimes we need to stop, breathe deep, look at the facts, and correct our course. We considered the facts around us… that the number of religiously affiliated people have been in a steep decline over the past 20 years. Today, the younger generations are more likely to be religiously unaffiliated than at any time in the past. Across all demographics, we have seen a 16% decline in people seeking to follow Jesus since 2007.
If you are over 74, 80% of you will claim to be Christian, 58% will pray daily, and 49% will attend worship regularly.
But, if you are 18-24, only 46% will identify as a Christian, only 27% will claim to pray daily, and only 25% will attend worship on a regular basis. What we have been doing is not working… we need to do something different as we share the reality of the abundant life offered in Jesus Christ.
I know it sounds bleak for the future, but there is hope. Yes, there is hope in the Lord, of course, but also, there is hope as we look at the trends. The trend of decline has stabilized and 86% of the population believes that we have a soul, 83% believe in God or a universal spirit, and 70% believe in an afterlife… the reality is that we are living in a spiritual but not religious culture. We are living in a perfect time to correct our course!
Stop Sharing Sheep
But, to do that, we have to stop sharing sheep and calling it church growth! As I’ve said, it is great to have Christians that have been discipled in other denominations and churches to come and gather with us as we worship in spirit and truth… but that isn’t Kingdom Growth… Kingdom Growth is what we are looking for – Growing God’s Kingdom as we reach those who are far from God, as we reach those who do not know the love and grace of Jesus Christ… And just so we remember, in week 1 we looked at the fact that there are about 26,000 people in Navarro County that do not have an active faith following Jesus Christ.
We need to stop focusing on sharing sheep from other pastures and find the lost sheep and bring them into the fold.
Let God.
The good news is, we aren’t doing it alone! We need to do our work and let God do God’s work. I was raised to believe that Evangelism was all my job… I was supposed to introduce the idea of Jesus to someone, convince them of the truth of Jesus and convict them of their sins… and have them accept Jesus as their savior all in one conversation! It was all about my work and what I did… we would learn tricks and techniques to convince and convict… trying to take all the credit for ourselves. The truth is, we need to know that God is already at work in the lives of those we meet. Our job isn’t to do all the work. If you remember, our job is to plant the seeds of faith in those we meet… water the seeds that may have already been planted and then… every now and again… we participate in God’s harvest, but make no mistake, the harvest belongs to the Lord.
Evangelism is Participatory
It is the Lord’s work that brings people to faith, but you and I participate in that work. We do have to do something. We have to be about the planting and watering. Maybe it’s as simple as asking your waiter or waitress if you can pray for them. Maybe it’s inviting a coworker to a Christian event. Maybe it’s asking someone to come to church with you… and sitting with them as you worship together. Simply put, evangelism is an action… it is something you do, not just talk about.
Why?
Because Evangelism is Incarnational. God came to us… in the flesh… Jesus the 2nd person of the Trinity became flesh and dwelt among us. 100% a living and breathing human… yet 100% God. Now, as followers of Jesus on earth today – you are his hands and feet. You are his eyes and ears. You are his voice… And, through the power of the Holy Spirit Living in you and through you… you are to be his witnesses here, there, and everywhere.
Now, with all that in mind, it’s time to share your story.
Share your Story
That’s what the woman at the well did. Jesus and his disciples are traveling back to Galilee and they come upon Jacob’s Well in Samaria. The Disciples travel on to town to get some supplies while Jesus waits at the well. About noon, a woman comes to the well to draw water. I’m sure many of you have heard discussion about how the normal time for women to come to the well was in the morning and the evening… meaning this woman wasn’t comfortable or she wasn’t welcome to draw water with the other women.
Personally, I think Jesus knew she would be there. That 100% divine part had a divine appointment with this woman. Jesus is always going before us… preparing the heart of those we will encounter.
This time, it was Jesus himself that prepared her heart… sometimes it might be you or me that are planting the seeds and preparing the heart for others to come and water or harvest with the prompting of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus is sitting at the well here waiting. It all started with a simple question. “Can I have some water?” She responded, “Why are you talking to me? You’re a Jew and I’m a Samaritan. You don’t like me.” Jesus was literally in Samaria… a region known for the inhabitants being only part Jew… corrupted and not ceremonially acceptable. They might be considered Spiritual but not Religious… or maybe they were religious, but of a faith that doesn’t match our definition of acceptable. But Jesus doesn’t let that stop him. He sees a beloved child of God who is hurting… someone who is missing out on the abundant life Jesus was able to offer. So, he continues in conversation with her. He talks about who she is, what she knows, and what she’s been through… in other words, he meets her where she is and invites her to receive the living water he has to offer. He doesn’t hold back in talking about her sins, but he also doesn’t judge, he simply reminds her of God’s best for her and lets the Holy Spirit work in her.
About that time, the Disciples come back and start questioning Jesus, “Why are you talking to a Samaritan… and a woman! That’s scandalous.” But the woman doesn’t see it that way, she went and told everyone about Jesus… he and his disciples were invited in to Sychar, her home town, where they stayed for a couple of days and many people believed.
Do you know who the best witness for Christ is? The one who has been touched by Jesus most recently… The one who has had a recent encounter with Jesus… That’s what happened with this woman. She encountered Jesus and had to tell the world about it.
You too can be that person… in a few minutes you will have the opportunity to encounter Jesus here at this altar rail… When you come and stand or kneel here, and receive the Body and Blood of Jesus, you encounter the risen Lord… and from here you are to go and share your faith with others.
Now… as we wrap up, I want to do something a little different… I am intentionally making you feel uncomfortable… we are going to take a few minutes to tell our story to each other. Your homework over the past couple of weeks has been to write your story… to prepare your elevator speech. Now, you are going to practice it.
Scripture says we should be ready in season and out of season to profess the faith we believe, so, here’s your chance.
The prompt that you are responding to will be, “Why do you believe in Jesus?”
So, I want you to turn to someone around you… other than your spouse or child… and you will each take about 3-5 minutes to respond to each other.
Remember, the prompt is, “Why do you believe in Jesus?”
And, Go…
Thank you, I know that wasn’t comfortable, but it is better to practice here than on a stranger at the Grocery store.
Series Slide
Now, your homework this week is to have a conversation about faith with 2 people in the community…. It doesn’t have to mean you have to save a soul… remember Jesus is going before you… Jesus is preparing the hearts for those you will speak to… maybe it is planting a seek… asking a simple questions, “Can I pray for you?”. Maybe it’s watering someone else’s seed and asking about their understanding of the faith because of something you heard. Maybe it’s telling your story and leading someone in a prayer to say yes to Jesus.
It is time we stopped talking about witnessing and go do it.
But first, let us encounter the risen Lord.
Ushers, I invite you to prepare the altar for Communion.
