Was there a time in your junior or senior infant class
when you had 'Show and Tell'?
You brought in something interesting to let others see and for you to talk about.
I heard of a child whose mother had had a gall stone operation.
He thought the glass jar with her gall stones preserved in them was interesting
so guess what he brought into 'how and Tell
and guess what his mother told him when she found out!
To show and tell is an escapable part of being a Christian
People welcomed in to church membership
are challenged to 'talk the talk AND walk the walk'
In the Church of Ireland baptismal service the rector declares
'do not to be ashamed to confess Christ crucified
and to be his faithful soldier and servant to your life's end'
When we admit new communicant members they are asked:
'Depending on the grace of God
do you promise to confess Christ before others, to serve him 'in your daily life
and to walk in his ways all the days of your life?"
in other words Talk the talk and walk the walk.
Why?
For one thing God tells us to go and tell:
'go' appears 1514 times in Bible 54 times in Matthew
go and tell the lost sheep go and tell John Go and invite all you meet go and make disciples
For another thing as the song says 'People need the Lord'
and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?' (Romans 10)
Those who are assured that they are delivered from God's condemnation
have a spiritual dynamic in them to want to share that good news with others.
And for another thing genuine good news travels fast:
we want to share, birth of a child, engagement, a new job
it just bubbles over.
Dangers of
INSENSITIVITY, expressing the message too bluntly
Nicky Gumbel said to his future wife 'You look awful - you need Jesus!'
or FEAR, not saying anything at all the silent witness is no witness
TRYING TO BE WHAT WE ARE NOT
not every Christian is gifted as an evangelist,
but every Christian is to be a witness
sharing our faith arises out of a relationship, co-operation with Spirit of God.
to affirm by how we live and by what we say that God is real in our lives
We need the Holy Spirit
Mark 13.11 2 Timothy 1.7-8 p 1195
Mark 13.11 the promise of Jesus
not to worry what to say when arrested and charged with being a Christian
for the Holy Spirit will teach us what to say
2 Timothy 1.7-8
'God did not give us a spirit of timidity
but a spirit of power, love and self discipline
so do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord
or ashamed of me his prisoner.
But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God
who has saved us and called us to a holy life.'
Peter also calls us to a spirit led, unashamed witness and consistent lifestyle.
Peter is saying to hardpressed Christians in the early church
not that they must run evangelistic campaigns or wear Jesus saves badges
but that their everyday walk and talk should demonstrate
that they are a chosen people a royal priesthood, a people belonging to God
that they are people whose home is in heaven
who march to the beat of a different drum
Peter shows us 3 essential things for Christian witness
1 WE HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY
2 WHAT WE DO SUPPORTS WHAT WE SAY
3 WE HAVE A GENTLE ANSWER, A REASONABLE RESPONSE
1 Have we SOMETHING TO SAY a Christ to confess,
however incoherent or untheological you think you are at least you can say
I have been brought out of darkness into the light of God
I was lost, I was far from God, and now I'm found l'm near to him
I have a clear identity as his child and as citizen of his kingdom
when you ask me who I am, my best answer is not:
I'm a Pres or a Ch of Ireland or a Catholic or Irish or British
or a very good person or a very bad person
I belong to Jesus Christ, because of him God forgives my sin
and one day through Jesus I'll be with God for ever
Perhaps we all need to take time to go over that story, that testimony
that account of who we are and how we relate to God.
Take a piece of paper and write down your story
Write out what you really believe and even if it's a blank sheet;
Talk to me about it or to some believer.
This should be what you believe today and why you believe it
more than the story of how you came to believe.
Let me share with you some of my convictions
What I believe and why.
I have told you before the how
Coming to faith when reading the Bible as a teenager
And coming to see that Jesus made sense of life
And I needed him at the centre and in charge.
But all our how stories will be in some way different
because we are all different people
but God is the same
Here are three things I believe about God which everyone needs to hear
What I believe and Why.
4 God is Creator and Heavenly Father.
Why?
a design in the universe;
it didn't just happen
·a hunger for something beyond our 5 senses
if there is no God then no ultimate reason
for justice, love, truth and everything that makes us truly human
5 Jesus is God made flesh
Why?
a. we cannot find God truly without Jesus
b. a real historical human being
who died on the cross and rose again
to bring us peace with God
6 The Holy Spirit makes us aware that God loves us
Why?
a. the Bible tells us so
b. we may sense God's love when we commit to Jesus
But being able to state what and why we believe is one thing
living it out is also essential
2 WHAT WE DO SUPPORTS WHAT WE SAY
phrase recurs in 1 Peter (2:12, 15, 20 3:11, 13, 17)
"doing good" living a life of integrity
good deeds are not the root but the fruit of the Christian life
The gospel is Done not Do, not telling people to be good
but telling the praises of him who called you out of darkness
declaring as Peter does repeatedly that Christ died for our sins
a genuine saving loving relationship with God will be expressed in "doing good"
If Christ is in your home the neighbours will know it DL Moody
in the way we treat our children, talk about others, we react under pressure,
we deal in our business transactions how we cope when we fail
it becomes clear whether our lives rooted in Christ and his forgiveness
or ourselves & our own efforts to be good and get God's favour
A consistent lifestyle especially under pressure is essential for effective witness
a lifestyle that demonstrates more and more the overflowing grace of Christ
but not a silent witness, a silent witness no witness at all
years ago saw murder mystery where the victim's dog had been there
when the murder took place, but as the detective mused,
it's a pity you cant tell us who did it
from life to lip
as witnesses as distinct from evangelists
we may not be proactive in initiating talk about God
but we will certainly be ready to react and to respond
to those who may ask us questions
A GENTLE ANSWER A REASONABLE RESPONSE
'always be prepared to give an answer
to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.
But do this with gentleness and respect'
Christian witness is about adverbs as well as verbs
A verb is a doing word, an adverb is how you do word
I believe more people are won for Christ
by the gentle Christlike demeanour of those who witness
than by the particular arguments they use
and more people are put off commitment to Christ
by abrasive, arrogant witness
however correct and well argued that witness is.
I had an argument recently with a Christian
who was promoting a Christian Broadcasting channel
Mischievously I asked him was it right for Christians to rebroadcast this station without a government licence
His response shocked me by how vehement it was.
He made some good points,
how believers in the Bible sometimes disobeyed an unjust law
for the sake of the law of God.
But I was left somehow unpersuaded
because of the anger and insecurity I sensed underneath.
But that makes me wonder about I come over to people;
If my argument is weak do I shout too much?
If there is an unresolved problem in my life do I become harsh on others?
What sort of witness will I be with right beliefs but wrong attitudes?
It's good to be passionate in what we believe - these are life and death issues
but we are not to be harsh and dismissive of our opponents
Let us simply state what we know
and does our best to answer people in straightforward honest ways
with gentleness and respect.
Are we prepared to give an answer?
Can we give a response in everyday conversation
or if God is mentioned do we rush to change the subject
It is fascinating what you overhear in restaurants
On your holidays people at table next to us just been to church
one person wanted to talk about what the rector had been saying
But somebody else closed down the conversation
"Oh, I'm just ordinary Church of Ireland, I don't get too deep..-"
Why is it that in Protestant churches
where we say we believe in "priesthood of all believers"
that everyone may relate to God without having to go through another person
we are perhaps the most uptight about talking freely about this God?
If we have something to say
and have consistent lives rooted in forgiveness of Christ,
we ought to be ready to take opportunities to speak gently and courteously.
"People need the lord" people don't know the truth of Jesus
People are fed constantly a diet of ideas that at best are half-truths
just do your best and don't do anybody any harm
religious people are all hypocrites" ,
having your health is the main thing all religions lead to God,
everybody's a Christian really
It's my life, and nobody shall tell me what to do with it
We need to develop ways, graciously and clearly
of countering the half truths and delusions
with the reality of what we know of God
3 essential things for Christian witness
1 We have something to say
2 What we do supports what we say
3 We have a gentle answer, a reasonable response
Dear God,
help us to be ready every day to participate in the activity of show and tell.
Guide us to people who need to know
and be shown the relevance of Jesus to their lives.
Motivate us to see and take the opportunities to tell and show them
what it means to know Jesus in the ways that we do.
Pray that the Holy Spirit may
give people a hunger for the reality of God
give us courage and ability to grasp opportunities
that through our lives changed others may be changed
prepare for 'Power to Change' Sept. - Oct. 2002
Be strong and of good courage
for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go
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