What Do I Do After I Lead Someone to Jesus?

In every area of life, we must be taught if we are to live life well. Why is it, then, that Christ-followers are so quick to neglect teaching new believers (and mature ones, too!) what it means to follow Jesus?

Evangelism without discipleship results in Gospel inoculation rather than Kingdom participation.

In other words, telling people about Jesus isn't where things end. We have to guide and teach new and less-mature believers to become more like Jesus. If we don't, then all we do is make them think they've got it all together, thus inoculating them to the Good News of Jesus and possibly leading them to a place of "been there, done that, didn't work." Instead, we want to lead them to a place where they are active in the Kingdom of God here on earth, in the Church, in ministry, in worship, in sharing their faith, and in teaching others!

Text to read: Acts 11:24-26 NLT

Barnabas understood the importance of not just converting people, but also teaching them!

You may think that new believers will just figure out what they need to know, but historian Daniel Boorstin thought otherwise: "Education is learning what you didn’t even know you didn’t know."

“Education is learning what you didn’t even know you didn’t know.”

— Daniel Boorstin

Jesus commands his followers to make disciples and teach them. He doesn't tell us to make converts and move along.

If you're wondering where to start, know that:

Your example is your best tool for teaching.

For instance: if you tell them that church is important, but they only see you going when it's convenient for you and your schedule, they'll quickly learn that church is not actually important. Your example matters, so be sure to live as Christ has called you to live, and invite them to live life alongside you!

Your church is here to help you.

You're not in this alone. If things get overwhelming, or you need help answering questions or knowing what to teach next, we're here for you.

Barnabas knew when he needed help, and he went off and got Saul to come and teach with him.

Sometimes you need to know when to find help.

Commit not just to share your faith but also to make disciples.

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Do I have to share my faith in Jesus?

Lately, a prosperity-gospel tele-evangelist named Jesse Duplantis has been in the news because he wants to raise money to buy a fourth luxury private jet for $54 million. In fact, he says Jesus told him to buy it. Needless to say, a lot of people are skeptical. It just doesn't seem like the kind of thing Jesus would direct someone to do.

There is another issue at stake here: this is a classic example of not putting first-things first. Mr. Duplantis' main mission as a Christian and as an evangelist should be telling people the Good News of Jesus--that they can have a life-giving relationship with God because of Jesus' death and resurrection on the cross, if only they will believe in Jesus and follow him. Yet, prosperity gospel preachers like Duplantis consistently make faith in Jesus more about what cool toys a person can get than about living a life fully connected to God.

At the same time, getting our priorities mixed up is something every follower of Jesus does on a regular basis.

What are the "first-things" of Christian faith? Love and follow Jesus, and love and share Jesus with others! But when Jesus-followers fail to do these things, we live disobediently, we are paralyzed by fear, and the world is disgusted by our hypocrisy and selfishness.

Read This: Acts 11:19-24 (NLT)

In this text, there are a few points of interest.

1. Everywhere the early Christians went, they told people about Jesus--even though they were exiles running from persecution because of their beliefs!
2. The early Christians had to learn that there is no one off-limits when it comes to sharing the Good News of Jesus.
3. Antioch was a big city, and it was renowned for its lack of morality. All kinds of sin was on display, yet the Christians obediently shared their faith, and soon Antioch became an important centre of Christian missionary activity!
4. As the sinful people of Antioch came to know Jesus, they soon realized the important fact that Jesus changes everything.

For the Christ-follower, sharing your faith isn't optional.

If it wasn't optional for the early Christians when they faced great danger by doing so, it is definitely not optional for you as a Westerner!

Sharing your faith isn't optional, but it's also not something you have to do alone.

Christian faith has never been about what you can do. In fact, it centres on what you couldn't do. Humanity couldn't stay faithful to their loving Creator. Humanity couldn't repair their relationship with God. Israel couldn't keep God's Law. So what did God do? He took matters in his own hands and from the beginning had laid out a plan for his own Son, Jesus Christ, to be born, live a sinless life, to teach us, to be wrongfully convicted and killed, and to rise again. In this act of perfect self-sacrifice, God bridged the gap between us and him for us. He righted our wrongs, and all we have to do is say "Yes," to Jesus and turn and follow him!

Furthermore, because of Jesus, you can tell others about him with the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus-followers are encouraged to be Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, and Spirit-empowered believers in Jesus.

Yes, we're going to mess things up at times, and not everything is going to turn out the way we hope. However, we have to remember that it is our Spirit-obedience that matters, not the results we see. As we are obedient to the Spirit's leading, we can rest easy knowing that he will do the rest.

Here at Abundant Springs, it is our hope that two years from now, when any of us sits down with the people from our community we will begin to hear them share how they know that Jesus is welcoming them, that he cares for them, and that he loves them because of what they've seen this congregation doing and because of the spiritual conversations they've had with us.

For this, we must share our faith, going forth full of God's Holy Spirit. Yes, we'll likely still experience fear, but we must allow that fear to push us to rely on the Holy Spirit.

Action Steps:

1. Repent of your disobedience.
2. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you and empower you.
3. Pray the witness' prayer each morning:

"God, give me today an opportunity to speak with someone about Jesus; the wisdom to see it; and the courage to take it." --Alvin Reid, Sharing Jesus Without Freaking Out.

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Does God play favourites with salvation?

In his autobiography, Mahatma Gandhi wrote that during his student days he read the Gospels seriously and considered converting to Christianity. He believed that in Jesus he could find the solution to the caste system that was dividing the people of India. So one Sunday he decided to attend services at a nearby church and talk to the minister about becoming a Christian. When he entered the sanctuary, however, the usher refused to give him a seat and suggested that he go worship with his own people. Gandhi left the church and never returned, “If Christians have caste differences also, “ he said, “I might as well remain a Hindu.”

While not all of us may hold the same prejudices that this usher and his church held toward Ghandi, the fact is that we make judgments on people's ability to find Jesus all the time. We even do this when we decide that we're "not good enough" for Jesus.

The fact is, none of us are worthy of Jesus' love and mercy, but he died for us anyway.

When we act in this way, it's not a great thing, because our favouritism and judgmentalism lack the love those who those who follow Jesus are commanded to have.

“Our favouritism and judgmentalism lack the love those who follow Jesus are commanded to have.”

Today's Text: Acts 10:34-11:4, 18 NLT

“I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right. ”

— Apostle Peter

God's grace is not limited to a select group of prim and proper individuals.

God adopts all who truly believe the Good News of Jesus and repent from their offences against their Creator.

Jesus brings life and his Spirit to those you expect and to those you don’t.

Action Steps:

• Repent of your unChristlike judgments of others and/or yourself.
• Consider whom you have written off as unlikely to receive Christ’s gifts and go tell them that Jesus loves them.

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Let Justice Roll: The Freedom to Care

The stats are in: there are a whole lot of people struggling in Pincher Creek--and in every community! People are struggling financially, they are struggling to balance making a living and caring for their children, and are struggling to deal with their grief at the loss of loved ones. Yet, while they are in need of our care, what are we busying ourselves with instead?

Some of us are one of those stats: we need to know Jesus cares deeply about us.

Some of us are just stressed out thinking about how to get ahead or next big thing or secure for future: Jesus offers a better way.

Others of us feel like there’s nothing we can do: but Jesus will give you what you need to make a difference.

Read: Amos 6:1-8, 12 (NLT)

Israel was looking down on the other nations’ failures and they thought they were better than them; the Israelites were pursuing lavish living, even as nation was corroding under them; the Israelites placed their trust in wealth, in size, and in fortresses. We may be tempted to look down on them for all of this, but if you really look at yourself and at our culture, you may see more of this attitude and behaviour in you than you care to admit!

When your trust is in material things, it’s all you can do to keep them. When your trust is in Jesus, you’re freed to pursue godly righteousness and justice.

Jesus’ death and resurrection did what you can never do for yourself.
Jesus’ death and resurrection brings a perfect hope greater than all your failures
Jesus’ death and resurrection begins to change your desires
Jesus’ death and resurrection provides you with the ability to pursue righteousness and justice.

Action Steps:

• Put your trust in Jesus
•  Ask the Holy Spirit to show you how your lifestyle is contributing to injustice and poverty and what you can do instead to fight for justice.

“May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships so that you may live deep within your heart.  May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.  May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy.  And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in the world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.  Amen.”

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