Our communities, our cities, our nation need Jesus.
The vision of people coming to Christ and knowing Him as their Lord and Savior is the consuming fire of my passion for life.
When it comes to getting people’s attention, presentation is the valuable tool for reaching people’s hearts with the gospel.
Colossians 4:6 says, “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you should answer everyone.”
Christ is always the first and best example of effective communication of the gospel to the hearts of lost. He used natural things to illustrate supernatural truths. We see this taking place in John 4 during the encounter with the woman at the well.
How is it that Jesus used the water at the well to reveal the vision of who He is?
I like to approach it with the simple acronym C.H.R.I.S.T.
Here is what I mean:
C- Communicate Effectively
This is more than being a nice person. We are always to be gracious. This is about turning the world upside down or turning the world right side up that is in a clash of spiritual upheaval.
In John 4, when Jesus asked the woman for a drink of water, He created a connection with her. He built a bridge of communication that would allow him to minister to her.
H- Help Where You Can
No one is going to care what you know until they know that you care.
R- Respond Lovingly
God loves every person, no matter what they’ve done or what they’ve been through.
I- Inquire About Them
When presenting the gospel, make it about them. Jesus didn’t reveal His identity in order to brag. He revealed it to her because He was the solution to her needs.
S- Spirit Directed
The Holy Spirit is every Christian’s most valuable asset.
You cannot know what is inside someone’s heart and what they need to hear without the Holy Spirit.
T- Tell Your Story
Never underestimate the power of your testimony. Don’t use your story to brag; instead, use it to lift up Jesus.
When people hear what God has done in your life, it gives them faith for God to move in their own lives.
After Jesus had met the woman’s needs, she went and told the entire city her story. She told them about Jesus, and because of her testimony, the entire city came to know Christ. One story unlocked an entire region to enter the kingdom.
By using something as simple as water, Jesus was able to reveal a vision of His identity to a desperately needy woman. He presented it in a way the woman could understand.
This is our goal as Christians.
We have looked in the last three blogs at John 4 at the foundational strategy of vision, observation and conversation. Jesus wants to impart God’s vision to His disciples and give them the Holy Spirit’s strategy in place of accelerated change from their normal culture.
We must follow the example of Christ in John 4 to effectively reach people’s hearts with the gospel. In order to do this, we must present the gospel in a way that catches people’s attention.
This week I encourage you to examine the ways that you are presenting the gospel of Jesus Christ in your own life.
Next week is Thanksgiving, and the week after we will conclude on the seven stages in the chain of vision that are revealed in John chapter 4.
