I John 1:1-3
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
We’ve been looking at God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3. God promised not only to bless Abraham with many children that would become a great nation; but that through this people, the entire world would be blessed. We’ve also seen that this is God’s plan – to bless the entire world! And amazingly, God desires to bless the entire world through us, God’s people.
But how do we do that….in a specific sense? We’ve used the acrostic BLESS, and looked at 5 natural ways that we can bless people around us and reach out to them with the good news of Jesus:
- Begin with Prayer
- Listen with Care
- Eat together
- Serve with love
- Share your story (the story of Jesus in your life)
Today we’re looking at this last step – to actually share our own story about what God has done for us; what Jesus means to us. In some ways this last step in the BLESS process (how we can be a blessing to those around us who still don’t know Jesus) …. may feel like the most difficult.
What words do we use? What stories do we share? Of course, we want to talk about what Jesus means to us. What God has done for us. The story of salvation. God’s love for us.
1. Sharing Your Story will come naturally – when it’s part of BLESSing others.
Sometimes we’re afraid of sharing our story because we feel pushy, boring, fanatical, and we don’t want to bother people. But sharing will follow naturally from praying, listening, eating, and serving, earlier steps that we’ve been talking about. To put it differently, those first steps have allowwed us to “earn their ear.”
Usually the problem comes in preaching at people too directly, without context. When I was in college we were challenged to share our faith with total strangers using the well-known booklet, the “Four Spiritual Laws”. While there is nothing wrong with this….and it’s been a tract that has been used with great results – it often falls into the trap of “talking AT people” without really knowing them…or understanding what their felt needs might be.
2. When Sharing Your Story – you don’t need to know everything…. But you need to know Jesus.
Another fear we have is that we won’t know everything. We feel that we don’t understand scripture adequately ourselves. What if they ask questions I can’t answer? This is natural but again, it’s also natural to say “I don’t know that one. But I DO know what Jesus has done for me.”
I John 1:1-3 – our text for today states it clearly. “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard.”
God has NOT asked us to explain Christianity, although that may be a good thing at times. God has NOT asked us to compare Christianity with other religions, although that might also be an excellent exercise. I love doing that and have often had chances to do so with Japanese friends. But those conversations, while interesting, almost always go nowhere in terms of helping people meet Jesus.
If my task as a missionary had been to convince people to change religions – I would have been so discouraged in Japan. Fortunately, God has asked me to do something else – to simply talk about my experience of Jesus.
So maybe getting ready to BLESS others by sharing our story means doing some soul searching about whether or not we’ve really set aside Christ as Lord in our heart, in the very core of who we are? Have I really seen Jesus recently? Have I heard from him recently?
I need to make sure that I have seen and heard from Jesus recently. I need to first have this relationship and then speak simply about it. That is my task!
In John 15:5 we have Jesus sharing these words with his disciples: “I am the Vine, your are the branches. If you stay connected to me, you (sharing your story) will bear much fruit. If you’re not connected to me, you can do nothing (sharing your story will lack power).
We don’t need to know everything. But we want to know Jesus!
3. Sharing Your Story is not really a TASK, it’s a RESULT.
In Acts 3 we have the story of Peter and John healing a lame man in front of the temple. Although this should be reason for great rejoicing, the religious leaders are upset….and Peter and John are then called in and asked to account for the authority by which they did this. “In the name of Jesus” was their reply. Later, both the man who was healed, as well as his parents are called before the authorities to answer questions. Finally, Peter and John are again called before the religious leaders and firmly told “stop speaking about this Jesus.” But here was their famous reply:
“As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” Acts 4:20
There’s a sense in which their experience with Jesus, as well as the post-pentecost indwelling of the Holy Spirit, has created within them an almost irresistible need to share. Even if they tried, they couldn’t keep quiet!
Some of us may feel that we have little to share. I’ve often felt that way. My life isn’t very dramatic. I don’t have the spiritual power that Peter and John had. I’ve never miraculously healed anyone. No one is marveling at my faith. No one is saying “Wow, it’s so clear Tim that you’ve been with Jesus.” But we need to be careful. Peter and John’s strong witness had nothing to do with them either. Neither of them were powerful on their own. It was because of Jesus in their lives, because of the Holy Spirit working through them that they had such an impact.
Although “sharing your story” is often difficult and may even require courage at times… we look forward to the time when talking about Jesus is not so much a TASK that we crank up our courage for…. but instead that it becomes the natural RESULT of knowing Jesus.
I’m reminded of the old hymn my parents taught me and my siblings.
I LOVE TO TELL THE STORY
IT WILL BE MY THEME IN GLORY
TO TELL THAT OLD (AND CURRENT) STORY
OF JESUS, AND HIS LOVE
CONCLUSION
- Sharing our story is natural, when part of a larger Blessing
- When sharing our story, we don’t need to know everything, but we need to know Jesus
- Sharing our story is not a TASK, but a RESULT
This challenges us to go deeper in our own relationship with Jesus. And this will result in maximum blessings for ourselves…. And for others!
Japanese Congregational Church 