We Give It Away
The fifth foundational principle of Influencers is that we give it away. Jesus said, It is better to give than to receive. Philippians 1:27 says, “Only let your conversation, (your manner of living, your witness, your citizenship as citizens of heaven,) be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel…”
Paul said to Timothy his son in the faith in 2 Timothy 2:2, “That which thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou unto faithful men who shall be able to teach others also.” There are four generations in this one short verse. How do we share the gospel of Christ? In order to give it away, first we need to receive it into our hearts.
The Romans Way is one method to share the gospel of salvation. According to Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Hebrews 9:27 says, “it is appointed for all men once to die, and then comes the judgement.” The question is, “when you die, where will you go?” Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh unto the father except by me.” Jesus Christ is the exclusive way. Salvation is and eternal life is on God’s terms, not ours.
According to 1 John 5:11-13, “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written to you that believe on the son of God, and that ye may know that you have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the son of God.”
God called some according to his election. Jesus said, whosoever will may come. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. God in his foreknowledge knew those who would accept his invitation for salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
What about the people who have never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ? Jesus said in his Sermon on the Mount, Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled. God is a God of justice, grace, and mercy. Without God’s grace, his divine favor, there is no salvation. According to Ephesians 2:8-9, For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works lest any man should boast.
Most men will not attend a training session on evangelism. They don’t make it their priority to be able to share the gospel of Christ. However, we are all called to be witnesses. The witness is in the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said in Acts 1:8, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
Jesus had trained his followers for several years. After his death and resurrection, he was seen by multitudes of people. The last thing he shared with his disciples was in Matthew 28:18-20: “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19. Go ye therefore, and teach (make disciples of) all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
Jesus said in John 14 that he would need to leave, but that he would send them the comforter to come alongside them to help them. The comforter is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is what communicates the revelation of God’s word. According to 1 Corinthians, the natural man (of body and soul without the spirit of God) understandeth not the things of the spirit of God, neither can he know them for they are spiritually discerned.
Witnessing is simply what John the Baptist’s followers reported after they had seen Jesus: We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. Like Peter’s brother Andrew said to him, “come and see the one I’ve met.”
Jesus had a unique message. According to Matthew 4:19, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” To follow Jesus is to pursue him as a disciplined follower of a new and different way of life. As followers of Christ we are nodes in God’s fishing network. To follow means to accept Jesus’ authority as lord of our lives.
To follow Christ, we must come with a heart of meekness and humility. We must follow him on his terms, not ours. Jesus said, he who loses his life for my sake shall find it. Christianity is a rescue effort for desperate men. In order to repent, to turn from ourselves unto the Lord Jesus Christ, we must “come to ourselves” like the prodigal son. As the Apostle Paul said, “in my flesh dwelleth no good thing.” Mother Theresa said, “God works best with nothing.” In order for God to fill us, we need to get to the point that our hearts and hands are emptied of ourselves.
Suzan had broken up four times with Pete while they were in college at Auburn. Even though they wore each other’s fraternity and sorority pins pledging to become engaged, she took off Pete’s pin when she and her family took an extended summer trip to Mexico. There she had met a new beau named Armando. He swept her off her feet wooing her with kindness, affection, and charm. He even serenaded her with beautiful Spanish songs. She came to Rocky Mount, NC where Pete was playing minor league baseball. Pete knew that there was tension between them. Suzan said, “I’ve met a new beau in Mexico. His name is Armando and I’m going back to Mexico to visit him during the Olympics in Mexico City. I still want to move here so we can date, but then when he comes to visit me in North Carolina, I’ll be with him instead.”
Suzan expected Pete to respond in a jealous rage. That would have been the “old Pete’s” reaction. However, She was taken aback by his gracious response. He simply said, “I’ll pray for you.” She asked him, “what changed your outlook and your attitude?” Pete had recently committed his life to Christ. After reading The Bobby Richardson story about an All-star baseball player who gave his life to Christ, Pete had prayed, “Lord, I know I’m not the man you meant me to be. Please Lord, make me that man.” Suzan found herself falling in love with the new man Pete had become.
There is good news and bad news about the gospel of Christ. If you come to understand that the heart of man is desperately wicked, then the good news of Christ is the gospel of deliverance from the bondage of sin and death. If you want to learn to become just like Jesus, this is a prayer that God is blessed to answer. Jesus said in his sermon on the mount, “those who hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled.”
A disciple is a disciplined follower of his Lord. Some children ore coachable and some are not. Those who are meek and teachable are the ones who become disciplined followers.
In Pete’s senior year at Auburn, the baseball players on his team were all coachable. Their coach taught them the fundamentals of the game and they were all eager to master the basics. The winning team is the one who makes the fewest mistakes. Even though their team consisted of ordinary players and one all star, they had an 18 game winning streak and finished the year as number two in the nation. They won their conference and made it to third place of the college World Series.
If we live our lives allowing God to work in us to will and to do of His good pleasure, we will learn the meaning of Phil 1:27: Only let your conversation, your behavior, your manner of living, your citizenship as citizens of heaven be as it becometh the gospel of Christ.
What is God’s plan? We are the plan. He has given us the ministry to reconcile God’s people back to him. He has committed unto us the word of reconciliation. God has empowered us with his Holy Spirit and enabled us to speak his word, the message of deliverance….the message of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
We are called as His ambassadors from our homeland in heaven to deliver a peace treaty from our Sovreign Lord. This is our charge, our mission, and our commission… Go give ‘em heaven!
In spreading the good news of the gospel of salvation,
May we ever live to the praise of the glory of His grace!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael
