Lifestyle Witnessing • Lesson Three • Create Opportunities 1. See all opportunities 2. Show kindness with purpose
Prayer I hear the Savior calling! The gospel comes to me. My eyes once closed in blindness Are opened now to see That I myself was helpless To live eternally, But, dying, Christ did save me, And now he calls for me! I hear the Savior calling! His call has urgency! Each moment souls are dying; Soon comes eternity. And so, my precious Savior, This is my humble plea: Prepare me for my mission For you are calling me! (CW 560:1,5)
Witnessing Activity Report Spend a few minutes talking about witnessing joys and frustrations, triumphs and failures.
Introduction The congregation thought it would soon die. The members were aging. The neighborhood had changed. The elementary school next door was bad news. What could they do? One day the pastor discovered that one elderly member was quite a piano player, even at her age. He had learned during home visits that several others loved to bake. One day, just as school let out, some church members opened the double doors in the basement of the church and nudged the old upright piano out onto the sidewalk. As the elderly woman played, the kids walking home from school stopped. Some made requests. Some started singing. Other women handed out cookies and lemonade. The pastor introduced some “Jesus” songs, and the members all agreed to do it again the next week. In a short time, kids were crowding the church grounds to sing songs, visit with the grandmas and grandpas, and eat cookies after school. And a whole bunch of gray-haired saints were smiling again. The opportunities are right in front of us. We only need eyes to see them!
Studying God’s Word See all opportunities Luke 8:26–39 They sailed down to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across from Galilee. 27 When Jesus stepped ashore, a man from the town met him. He was possessed by demons and for a long time had not worn any clothes. He did not live in a house but in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before him, and said with a loud voice, “What do I have to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torment me!” 29 For Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. In fact, the unclean spirit had seized him many times. He was kept under guard, and although he was bound with chains and shackles, he would break the restraints and was driven by the demon into deserted places. 30
Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”
He said, “Legion,” because many demons had gone into him. 31 They were begging Jesus that he would not order them to go into the abyss. 32 A herd of many pigs was feeding there on the
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mountain. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission. 33 The demons went out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned. 34
When those who were feeding the pigs saw what happened, they ran away and reported it in the town and in the countryside. 35 People went out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet. He was clothed and in his right mind, and the people were afraid. 36 Those who saw it told them how the demon-possessed man was saved. 37 The whole crowd of people from the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were gripped with great fear. As Jesus got into the boat and started back, 38 the man from whom the demons had gone out begged to be with him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your home and tell how much God has done for you.” Then he went through the whole town proclaiming what Jesus had done for him.
1. Some opportunities to share our faith are more threatening than others. What factors made this a dangerous situation for Jesus?
2. What does verse 37 teach us about evangelism?
3. The healed man wanted to join Jesus and his disciples. Jesus told him no. He gave the man a onesentence-evangelism-training course: “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” What opportunities do you think this man would find among his own people?
His Word in My Life Someone wrote, “It’s not necessary and it’s often unwise to choose the scene of your own martyrdom.” Can you think of a time when the threat or possibility of danger should keep us from telling people what God has done for us? Even though the people of that town asked Jesus to leave, he sent the healed man back to them as a witness. Might this have been a time to give up and stop sharing the gospel with these people? Jesus commanded the man to go back home to witness. Do you find it more difficult to witness to family members or strangers? Why? We may have our hearts set on one witnessing situation: a stranger, a family member, a coworker. That’s fine, but let’s not close our eyes to other opportunities that may surface.
Show kindness with purpose 1 John 3:16–18 This is how we have come to know love: Jesus laid down his life for us. And we also should lay down our lives for our brothers. 17 Whoever has worldly wealth and sees his brother in need but closes his heart against him—how can God’s love remain in him? 18 Dear children, let us love not only with word or with our tongue, but also in action and truth.
1. Evaluate: Verse 16 just isn’t very realistic these days.
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2. The love of God in verse 17 could refer to God’s love for us, or it could refer to a believer’s love for God. Which do you think?
3. How would you define a “brother in need”?
4. Why do we need the encouragement of verse 18?
5. How might loving with actions and truth solicit opportunities to witness about Jesus?
His Word in My Life Meeting someone’s need can provide a great opportunity to share the gospel. Think of some examples of Jesus meeting a need so he could share the gospel. Agree or disagree: Sometimes the best witness is kindness. Why? Some things make it difficult to “love with actions.” What can help you overcome each of these difficulties? a. I am different from the other person. b. The other person is living an unchristian lifestyle. c. I might be rejected. Doing sincere acts of kindness for others may open doors for witnessing opportunities.
Summary We train ourselves to notice certain things. A detective looks for clues, a journalist for a story, a photographer for a picture, a nurse or doctor for changing vital signs. These people weren’t born looking for those things. They learned how to find them. How can we train ourselves to spot witnessing opportunities?
Life with God • Day 1: Ask the Lord to help you see witnessing opportunities. • Day 2: Read John chapter 1. • Day 3: Read John chapter 2. • Day 4: Read John chapter 3. • Day 5: Read John chapter 4. • Day 6: Plan your witnessing activity report for the group.