One Godly Thing You Can't Do in Heaven

Katie Lewis moved to Bowling Green, KY from Cookeville, TN with her family and became a member of Living Hope in 2000. Katie has served in the children’s ministry as a summer intern, attended many youth retreats, summer camps, and volunteered on a couple of mission trips with Living Hope over the years. She is now a sophomore at WKU pursuing a major in exercise science.

Earlier this week, I met with my bible study leader on WKU’s campus, where we decided to share our faith about Christ with someone we did not know. After an hour long conversation with an international student from China, I was reminded just what it means to be intentional about sharing the Gospel with others. That night I listened to someone preach. He said something that stuck, “When you know Jesus, we have to talk about it.”

Jason’s sermon was exactly what God had been reminding me all week – be intentional about sharing the Gospel. We are to present the Gospel when God gives us the opportunity and we should look for opportunities throughout the day. We as a church body must be intentional in sharing about who Jesus is and what Jesus has done.

In Acts 3, Peter and John were on there way to the temple when they came across a crippled man. Peter had nothing to offer the man in way of silver or gold, but he was willing to give the man what he did have. Peter had Jesus. He sensed the urgency of the Gospel despite his agenda in going to the temple. Peter was in the middle of something, he was preoccupied, and was headed to the temple with John, but he stopped. He stopped to share the Gospel.

How often do we share our faith?
How often do we sense the urgency of the Gospel?
How often do we stop our schedules and agendas to share with someone about the hope that we have?

Listening to Jason preach about the Gospel, I was convicted by my own lack of urgency. This week when I was sharing about Jesus to an international student, I left the conversation feeling blessed. Even though she did not choose to accept Jesus as her personal Lord and Savior I could tell He was softening her heart to the Gospel. She was open to hearing what my bible study leader and I had to share, and she listened. Our words were not eloquent and we had nothing [like Peter and John] to offer her, but we stopped long enough to share about Jesus. He can use the least of us to make His name known. It is not about the presentation, but about being obedient to the Lord by sharing what He has done in your life.

The Gospel is what the church should be based on. Are we as a body of believers intentional about sharing the Gospel? “And he [Peter] took him [crippled man] by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.” Acts 3:7 Peter stopped on his way to the temple. He gave all that he had, and helped the crippled man to his feet. The man leaped! When we are intentional about sharing the Gospel, we give all that we have so others might come to know the Lord. It is not the end result that matters, but about following God’s command to therefore go and make disciples.

Where will you go tomorrow that you can share your faith?
Will you stop long enough to share?
Who is that person that God has placed in your life that does not have a personal relationship with Him?

Jason’s Challenge: write three paragraphs.
1. Write about your life before you became a Christian.
2. Write about how you came to know the Lord – who, what, when, where
3. Write about your life now that you know Jesus – priorities, time, treasure

Before this summer, share with three people your three paragraphs.