Witnessing and keeping Jesus who is the main thing the main thing

You may have come across this statement before. I use it quite often when training people on how to share their testimonies in a real, relevant way. The important point is that our testimonies are about US. The truth is in fact that they are more about Jesus and what He did for us.

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,  that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.” 1 Corinthians 15: 3-7

In the scripture above Paul did what He always did. He kept the main thing, Jesus, the main thing - exactly what we should do when we get the opportunity to share our testimonies of God’s grace upon our lives. It’s all about Jesus!

Recently I convened a meeting where a couple of people shared there testimonies of salvation. The first person had an amazing story of how God had intervened in his life at a time of great desperation. He spoke for twelve minutes in total, eleven of which were all about him, his life, his upbringing, his younger years, his problems all of which were very interesting.

However he spent only one minute on the subject of when he decided to go to a church where he met with the living God who changed his life. 

Our testimonies must point people to Jesus, because without Him at the centre, it is just a story, as true and as interesting as it might be. As a result of that a big opportunity was missed.

In previous blogs I have covered a simple formula to follow which I will go through again. These are rough percentages to follow:

·        35% on your life before you were saved

·        35% on how you got saved

·        30% on what Jesus has done in your life since that time

That means that 65% of your story is around the one that died for you saving you from a lost eternity in a place that was created for Satan and his fallen angels. That is the main thing. Of course your story is intertwined with that, but the focus is on Jesus who saved you from an eternity away from God and not you for no one can save except Him.

The section of your testimony that covers the part on how you came to know Christ is very important and should be described as life changing because receiving Christ as Saviour is an event that will never leave you the same. If it is real it shows!

I have heard testimonies from people who have said they found Christ through going to church a few times and seeing that people were enjoying God, which is great. What they saw in others they wanted to have themselves. Now let me make it clear, there is no problem in that because that situation was real to them.

Part of receiving Christ revolves around repentance, asking for forgiveness of sins committed and making Jesus the Lord of your life. The old saying is so true, “Jesus Christ is Lord of all or He is not Lord at all.”

It is important that we understand what Christ did for us at Calvary. How He took our punishment, took our sin upon Himself, how He was mocked, bruised, beaten and yet did not open His mouth to complain. He died the death of a common criminal and was buried in a tomb and rose from the grave after three days defeating death and hell.

This must be referred to in some way in our story. There are many things that can be shared about the pivotal point in your life that made you want to ask Jesus to forgive you. Here are a few examples of what a person could say:

·        I realised that Jesus died for my sin

·        I understood that I was lost without Jesus

·        I realised that I had been living life my own way and needed a saviour

·        I knew I was going to a lost eternity unless I accepted  what Jesus did for me on the cross

·        My eyes were opened, I realised that I needed Jesus in my life because I realised what He did for me on the cross

Key Point: Your testimony must clearly and definitely point a person to Jesus

The final part of your story should be about what Jesus has done since you gave your life to Him. It should cover areas such as:

·        How has your life changed since receiving Him?

·        Examples of answered prayer

·        Significant events that have happened

·        How you grown as a person

·        Why you will never go back to your old life

Let’s keep the main thing the main thing. If you know Him as Lord then it means He saved you, His Spirit dwells in your heart and He is with you always. What a miracle!

Can you stop talking for a minute?

When you come into contact with people, do they know that you have been with Jesus? Is there something about you that causes people to wonder why you are different? 


This is a big challenge for us all in many ways. My point here is to ask you if there is more that you can do to be an effective witness for Christ. It is likely that we could be more compassionate, more prayerful and more loving if we follow the example Jesus gave us. In the light of the scriptures below, we could also aim to be more like Peter and John. What do you think?

When we understand the love of Christ and what He did through His atoning sacrifice at Calvary on our behalf, we undergo a life changing experience. This, in addition to spending time with God in prayer and through reading His Word, the Bible, changes us – doesn’t it?

“When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” Acts 4: 13

Do people take note that you have been with Jesus?

The experience of having the Holy Spirit literally coming to dwell in our hearts when we accept Jesus is nothing short of a miracle.  The fact that we, in that instant, move from death to life though making Jesus Lord of our lives, changes us forever. To realise that Jesus died on the cross to purchase our forgiveness, save us from a lost eternity and that He remains with us forever, is almost too much to take in. The life changing experience alters our feelings for those that don’t know Him as Lord -  doesn’t it?

“Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” Acts 4: 18-20

Has your experience of what Jesus has done for you make it so that you cannot stop talking about what you have seen or heard?

There are days when people can see something different in me, and days when I feel like I could shout from the mountain tops declaring the wondrous works of the cross. But the truth is there are other days when I don’t feel or act that way and when I don’t witness as I should and pass over opportunities to share the good news of the Gospel.

The scripture where Peter tells the Sanhedrin that he couldn’t help speaking about what they had seen or heard has been on my heart. Shouldn’t it be an example for us to follow? Was it just for the disciples?

Key Point: We need to be honest with ourselves and ask the question “Do people know that I have been with Jesus?”

Imagine for a moment that a law was brought into this country where being a believer in Christ meant that you would be thrown into prison, or even put to death for professing the exclusivity of Christ as the only way to heaven. The second part of this hypothetical situation would be that you are able to meet at church in secrecy every week. So in other words, no one that you know has the knowledge that you attend church at all.

If you live your life the way you do now, remembering the fact that no one knows you attend church, would there be enough evidence against you proving beyond all doubt that you are a Christian, which would lead to your conviction?

Honestly, would people know that you have been with Jesus?

Would your friends, family, neighbours, works colleagues, fellow students and many besides be able to present evidence against you such as the following? :

·        You were seen declaring your faith on a regular basis

·        Seen distributing tracts

·        Giving food to the poor in the name of Jesus

·        Reported for sharing your testimony

Reading the scripture has made me examine what I do, how I live and how I share the most important news of all. I fail and mess up on many occasions and know I could do a better job.

I thank God for His grace and forgiveness. He wants all men to hear the Gospel and desires that all men would be saved. Amazingly He chooses to reach them through you and me. He has given us command to follow that involves us sharing the gospel in word and deed.

If we are nervous, we can pray and He will give us boldness. If we don’t think we know enough, we can read His word and the Holy Spirit will bring scriptures to our remembrance. If we need examples to follow, there are plenty to be found in the Bible. We have everything we need. All we have to do is to be obedient to the commands that Jesus so clearly gave us.

I am not suggesting that we all stand on the street corner proclaiming the Gospel, or be like a good friend of mine, who goes on a karaoke machine to share the love of Jesus in bars and nightclubs. I just write this to ask you a question -

Is there more that you could do?

Do you like change?

There is a joke that I sometimes quote to make a point about how Christians often resist change. It goes like this. Question: How many church members does it take to change a light bulb? Answer: Change?

I am all for change and we need to make use of out of the box thinking in order to come up with new ideas on how to reach people with the most important message in the world. We should make use of all new mediums of communication like the internet and other technology. My concern is that in our modern seeker sensitive, politically correct world many Christians are abandoning the proven traditional methods that still work to replace them with ones that are less about one to one witnessing for Christ.

By that I mean that we should be talking directly to people, asking them questions about their deepest beliefs, discovering how these beliefs effect the way that they live their lives, leading on to presenting the truth of the Gospel of salvation. Sometimes it will be gently and on other occasions confrontationally, but it must always be done in love, out of having a heart for the lost.

There are three important scriptures that come to mind that we should never forget when it comes to evangelism and witnessing.

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Mark 16: 15

Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full’ Luke 14: 23

"If you love me, you will obey what I command” John 14: 15

These scriptures I believe tell us that we must go. Yes, we can still make use of new ideas and methods to share Jesus. But we must be careful that we don't throw the baby out with the bath water in favour of more modern approaches.

Jesus knew what He was saying when he spoke those words. He knew about the radio, TV and internet revolution that was to come. He knew that through technology we would be able to reach millions. It really in incredible when you consider what we can do today. Jesus even said himself:

“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father” John 14: 12

The point that I am making is that we still need to pray for opportunities to share the Gospel one to one, to speak to people and engage them in conversation, letting the way that we live our lives be a witness for Jesus.

Key Point: Leaflets, notices, internet campaigns are all good, but at some point witnessing will involve conversation and sharing the Gospel if you have a desire to win souls

For me to see the truth I needed someone to actually talk to me about Jesus. They pointed out that there was only one way to heaven which is through the Son. At first when I heard the “Good News” I thought it was rubbish, nonsense and baloney. But over a period of time I was won to Christ through them  building a relationship one on one. The people who shared Jesus with me let their lights shine,  as well as through being salt and by demonstrating the love of Jesus through kindness and compassion as well showing their belief in Christ in both word and deed. Through all of this, and much more my eyes were eventually opened to the truth that Jesus died for me.

I want to challenge you as a Christian to obey the commands of Jesus by being a ready and active witness for Him. It may be difficult at times, but when you consider what He did for us at Calvary there is no comparison.

If you know that you are not witnessing enough personally for Christ, make a plan to do the following:

Pray: 

• Pray daily for opportunities to witness
• Ask God so send people to you who are ready for the message
• Pray specifically for people you are trying to reach personally

Read:

• Get into the word of God
• Set aside time to read scriptures that relate to witnessing
• Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth of His word to your heart

Prepare

• Prepare your testimony so that it lasts from a couple of minutes and another for 5 or ten minutes.
• Try to keep to this formula, cover 30% before being saved, 40% how you were saved, 30% on what has happened since being saved 
• Learn answers to common questions that the unsaved have
• Listen to evangelistic messages 
• Learn how to lead someone to Christ

Mix:

• Spend time with people who are effective witnesses
• Ask questions and find out what they do
• Mirror these people and opportunities will come

If being a witness was easy, everyone would be doing it. The truth is that it will mean operating in faith and believing that the Holy Spirit will back you up.

The Good News is that when you do, He will.

How about treasure hunting evangelism?

People have come up with new ways to reach those people who don’t know Christ for many years. Some of these methods are seeker sensitive, which I believe is fine as long as you don’t change the message so that God becomes more acceptable, while others are much more direct in their approach. 

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” Hebrews 11: 6

There is one method that is being spoken of quite a lot at the moment. It involves what is known as “Treasure hunting evangelism”. I have met people who are who speak highly of the endeavour as well as those who are very much against it.


I believe that it started at Bill Johnson's church in the USA a few years ago and that it has proved to be very successful. If you have never come across this before, here is a simple explanation of what is actually involved.



It is quite different, but simply put 'Treasure Hunts' are a form of prophetic evangelism. A group of Christians will get together and take time to pray and listen for revelation from the Holy Spirit about individuals that God wants the group to find.



It is in essence a form of personal evangelism which some would say is a game of searching for 'God's Treasures', which are of course people who are away from God. The group typically receives revelation, or "clues", consisting of places, clothing, hairstyle, or situations which will help them to identify the "treasure".



After receiving revelations from the Holy Spirit, the group will go out to ‘hunt’ for the people identified. Often as a result they are able to share the love of God as well as being able to explain the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the people that they come into contact with. This can also provide opportunities for the treasure hunters to pray for the sick.


With this type of evangelism and witnessing the idea is to let people know that they really are valuable in Gods eyes and that He has guided the 'Hunter" to search for them as His treasure.

The approach that people use would be something like, “Hello, I’m searching for treasure, and I believe that it’s you”. This very often opens the door for a ‘hunter’ to witness of Gods grace and also it often provides an opportunity to pray for the person they are in conversation with. 


There are many testimonies of people coming to Christ, receiving healing, asking for personal prayer, engaging in deep spiritual conversations and accepting invitations to come to church or Alpha / look and see courses.


This will be a controversial method of evangelism for some. Because, there is no doubt that on occasion some over enthusiastic people have gone off believing that they have heard from the Lord, when in fact what they did hear was just a notion that popped into their head. All I would say is that before carrying out this method of witnessing it would require much prayer. Groups should also be led by a team leader who is experienced in hearing the voice of the Spirit of God. This  leader would then be able to listen to the revelations that the groups have received. They would the be able to offer help and encouragement to team members who are starting out in this form of witness.


Well, that is the reservations that I have over, so let’s look at some of the positives.


It is an excellent conversation opener:  In my experience there is nothing more likely to bring a very quick end to a conversation than asking someone a question like, “Hi there, I am from the local church, tell me, have you heard about Jesus?”

The actual idea of a “treasure hunt” is a way to break the ice with strangers, allowing a conversation to naturally move on to important spiritual matters.

Key Point: This type of witnessing will build up your reliance of the Holy Spirit

It builds a reliance on the Holy Spirit’s guidance: Praying to God to divinely lead you to those people who the Holy Spirit may already have been working on builds trust in God to direct and guide. It also develops faith in Him to give you the right words to say in order to be an effective witness. I have said before, that if you earnestly pray to God for opportunities to share the good news, He will bring the right people to you. This is just another way of doing the same thing.


It requires a believer to put faith into action:  As we have read, scripture says that we cannot please God without faith.  When we do something in faith to share Jesus, the Holy Spirit backs you up. He guides, He leads, He helps, He empowers. He is just amazing!!


That is why prayer is so important. It is a must, that you believe that you have heard from God before going onto someone. God will speak to you in both words to your heart as well as by giving you pictures that will be very clear.


I know that God moves in this way through my own experiences over the years. Once I was praying for God to reveal to me people who needed prayer for healing while on an outreach on a tent mission. Whilst in prayer I was given a clear picture of young lady with a significant back problem that caused her to limp and lean out sideways. Within a couple of minutes she was standing right in front of me. God is good.


Does this method excite you or put you off? Let me know.

Introducing people to Jesus

When you go somewhere for and event, a party, dinner or something else like that you probably do something without even realising it. You introduce people. Saying things like: “Can I introduce you to ….” Or, “This is …” or even, “Meet ….” The point I am making is that it is a perfectly natural thing to do. Isn’t that how we should be when it comes to letting people know about the Saviour of the world?

I was at a recent outreach with the School of World Evangelism. During a break for lunch an African lady that was living in Kent passionately shared about how we as Christians should introduce people to Jesus. The point being that God could use the person that we introduce mightily, just as He did with the Apostle Peter who led 3000 to Christ with his first sermon.

“Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ).  And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter)” John 1: 40-42

Peter was introduced to Jesus by his brother Andrew who is mentioned only a few times in the New Testament. The point to note is that on the occasions we do find him, he is actually doing what Jesus commanded us to do. That is introducing other people to the Lord Jesus Christ.

First of all he introduced his brother Peter to the Lord in the scripture above; then he introduced the boy who had the five loaves and two fishes:

“Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” John 6: 8-9

Then finally, along with Phillip he introduced the Greeks to the Jesus. I believe that there is no more important work in the world than introducing other people to Jesus.

“Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus” John 12: 20-22

Key Point: We may just be ordinary people; like Andrew however Jesus wants us to introduce people to Him

We may well be very ordinary people, just like Andrew, but the Lord desires to use us to bring others to meet Him. We know that Andrew is not really viewed in the same way as Paul or his own brother Peter and there are no records in scripture that he ever preached a sermon. But wow! He introduced Peter to Christ.  As a result of that introduction Peter preached many sermons.  Some could argue that there would have been no sermons from him had it not been for the faithful, personal soul-winning heart of Andrew. 

Looking at the scripture we can see that Andrew is a very good illustration of how we should be as Christian witnesses for Christ because we read that “The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother…”

There are three points that stand out here:

The word “first”: There is probably no doubt that Andrew won many others to the Lord after he himself came to Christ, the first thought he had was of his own brother.

It is interesting to note that immediately he found Christ he became concerned that others should find Him. When we are born again the impulse to win someone else is born within us. We should nurture this and recognise that witnessing is a matter of very great importance. 

The word “find”: We have no idea of how far Andrew needed to search for Peter, but we do know that those whom the Lord would have us “find” are “lost”, and for this reason they need to be “found”. As believers who have been transformed by Jesus, we should be doing the finding.

“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbours together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent” Luke 15: 4-7

The simple fact that cannot be ignored is that all the people around us who are without Christ are lost? There is no way to receive forgiveness and eternal life without accepting Jesus as Lord. Once this fact is in our hearts we should all feel that the most important thing is to introduce them to the only One who can actually save them from a lost eternity. If there is any doubt, it is made as clear as crystal in the following scripture.

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” Acts 4: 12

Then, Andrew first found “his brother”: It’s important to note that the scripture says “his brother” and not someone else’s!  The truth sometimes is that it can often be much easier to speak to someone else’s brother, but we must be concerned for those who need salvation in our own families that don’t know Jesus. 

Do you have loved ones who are not Christians? Are you doing anything to introduce them to the Lord Jesus?

Will you listen?

 

I was on an outreach recently with the School of World Evangelism in a town in South Wales. Part of the day involved conducting an open air service in the town square. Many of the students were fairly new to this, so before we commenced some time was spent going through how to complete questionnaires that are used on the streets. One major part of the advice given to everyone was simple and to the point: “Ask the question and then listen to the answer”.

That statement may seem quite obvious to you as you read this, but the art of being a good conversationalist is (actually) through being a good listener. It’s not just about being a good talker, but rather it’s about interaction. As a young sales person I was told that “Telling is not selling”, because it is possible for a sales person to talk themselves out of a sale by not allowing a customer to speak.

It can be the same with one to one evangelism. I have witnessed Christians on outreaches that are so desperate to win a soul for Christ that they literally talk the person to death. Then they are left wondering what on earth happened that caused them to lose the person. The art of one to one conversation is of course about talking, but it is about listening as well.

Jesus said this when He was referring to John the Baptist:

“He who has ears to hear, let him hear”! Matthew 11: 15

We can also apply the “Let him hear” part to when we witness and evangelise. It is so important that we explain the Gospel clearly and then ask questions about what we have said. Then, most importantly, we must listen to the answers we receive.

Key Point: Ask your question, wait and listen to the answer

I teach adults on a part time basis. One of the subjects that I cover is helping individuals who lack confidence. People can suffer with this for a wide range of reasons, such as stress, childhood problems, relationship breakdowns, trauma, illness, long term unemployment, situations of violent abuse and much more. In these classes a whole session is devoted to the subject of communication, particularly the art of listening. I go through techniques that can be used to improve listening skills, which in turn help to build rapport with people.

When someone realises that you are a good listener, they will warm to you very quickly. My wife Desiree is an expert at this; in no time at all complete strangers are telling her their darkest secrets! This happens because when they speak, she listens. The person can see she is listening because she nods, makes listening noises like “Hmm” and “Oh”. She also looks at them as they are speaking and then asks questions that demonstrate her interest in them.

The same goes for us as we witness for Christ. If you apply the three points below that relate to effective listening when you share Jesus, you will soon start to have better and more productive conversations.

Don’t be an interrupter: Have you ever had a conversation with a person who asks you a question but as you start to answer, they begin speaking again over what you are saying? It can be very frustrating talking to an “interrupter”. They want to be heard and perhaps are not really that interested in your answer anyway.

If you have this tendency, discipline yourself not to speak when you have asked a question. Bite your tongue or count to three if you have to. Make sure that you give the other person a chance to reply. Remember the best conversationalists are the people who REALLY listen!

Maintain good eye contact: Practice giving your listener your complete attention. If you are not looking into the eyes or face of the person who is speaking, you are much more likely to become distracted, and they will feel you are not really listening.

Don’t stare at the person like a boxer does aggressively before a fight. Just maintain relaxed eye contact.

Pay close attention to what is being said: Maintaining good eye contact helps keep focus on the conversation, preventing distraction. Perfecting this skill helps in ‘reading between the lines’, when feelings are often conveyed in a deeper way than the words which are spoken. It is a well known fact that 93% of communication is nonverbal - meaning that only 7% revolves around the actual words used.

This means listening for voice inflections and the speed of speech, as well as reading body language clues and facial expressions.

There may be occasions when you will need to ask questions to clarify a person’s feelings. Paraphrasing what you have heard back, for example by asking  ‘do you mean that….’ to discern a person’s true feelings demonstrates that you are listening and that you care.

You may have explained, for instance, this scripture:

 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6: 23

You could than ask, “What do you think of that”? or “Does that make sense to you”? or “How does understanding that make you feel”? Make sure you listen to their answer, then you will need to respond accordingly.

When you need to explain something in greater detail the person will listen to you more readily because they have realised you are a willing listener, by not interrupting them, in paying attention to their reply and maintaining healthy eye contact.

This works effectively when put into practice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leading someone to Christ using F.A.I.T.H.

There are a number of different frameworks or methods that churches and organisations use in order to explain the Gospel. In a previous blog I have gone through the “Roman Road” method which is extremely effective. It helps to keep a person on track and ensures that all of the important areas are covered.

Recently the Southern Baptist Church in America launched a new evangelism program that uses the acronym F.A.I.T.H. to help a person share and explain the gospel. Here are the points and the scriptures they link to them. It is very simple to follow.

F – Forgiveness:  We cannot have a relationship with God without receiving forgiveness from Him. We have all sinned and there is nothing that we can do to earn or merit our entry into heaven. As the scripture below states, it is all about the grace of God. Where would we be without it? The shedding of His blood makes a way for anyone who wants to receive Him as Lord and Saviour. Put simply - if there was no cross and no blood sacrifice, we would all be finished.

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” Ephesians 1:7

A – Available: Forgiveness is available for all who call on the Name of Jesus. It is not saying His Name like someone who says a prayer religiously, just repeating words – it’s about believing, trusting, accepting and having faith in Him and Him alone to save a person from a lost eternity. He gave up His own life to save us; we must ask for forgiveness, then believe we receive it and accept it in our hearts. When that happens a miracle takes place –we go from being dead in sin to alive in Christ.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

I – Impossible: It is impossible for God to allow sin into heaven; being the Holy God that He is makes Him unable to look upon sin. When the sin of the world (our sin) was placed upon Jesus, who was the spotless Lamb of God, He had to look away (my own words). It must have been awful for God to do that for us. It is what makes the message of the cross so incredible. God let His son pay the death of a common criminal by laying our sin upon Him. 

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

2 Corinthians 5: 21

God allowed all of that to happen to pay the price for us to have eternal life. Incredible, isn’t it? That is why we should be witnessing for Him. It really is the least we can do!

 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23

T - Turn: A person must turn away and repent from sin and follow God. This is fundamental. We must repent of our sin and wrong-doings. I know that some people like to cover this at a later date hoping to bring a person to the realisation that they need to repent later. However, the Bible says:

“I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

Luke 13:3

Key Point: Don’t gloss over repentance, it’s a fundamental

I always include repentance in a prayer when I lead someone to Christ. I read this statement the other day. “Repentance is when we agree with God about our sinfulness”. What a terrific description!

When a person repents it means they are sorry for their sin and turn away from it and then start living their life in a way that pleases God. They stop doing stuff that is wrong and try to do the right thing. Like not lying, stealing, lusting and so on. We must repent and turn away from sin!

H – Heaven: Heaven is the gift of eternal life now and then in the hereafter. That means that we can have a blessed life now and an incredible time when we finally end up in Glory with the Lord. After being in heaven for a while we will one day return with Him when He comes to rule and reign.

He made a way for us go to heaven, a place which will be more wonderful than we can ever imagine! It is all about His sacrificial death on the cross. We need to explain it in a way that is simple and easy to understand.

I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10: 10

“Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God.” John 13: 3

I like this method because it revolves entirely around scripture, which is truth. It is the word of God that convicts hearts, the gospel’s power that leads to a person’s heart being convicted of sin.

Once you have led someone through these points, you can use the acronym F.A.I.T.H.  to help someone give his or her life to Christ. 

Forsaking All I Trust in Him