Dare To Be Bold. Donald Stevens Jr

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СКАЧАТЬ There is power in enduring all things, and this love will never fail. There is power in love, and with love which God. As we continue, we will talk more about the power of love in the demonstration. Take about 5 minutes to go over this chart and do a self-assessment. Let's see how well we love and find out if we need to continue to pursue love.

       Take an honest 5-10 minutes and see if any of these characteristic matches yours. We can't pursue what we don't know. Allow the Lord to deal with you on the NOT side if any comes up.

       What Love Is

      Is Patient Not envious

      Is Kind, Not boastful

      Rejoices with the truth Not proud

      Always protects

       What Love's NOT

      Not rude Always trusts

      Not self-seeking Always hopes

      Not easily angered Always perseveres

      Keeps no record of wrong Does NOT delight in evil

      What Do you See?

      Have you ever seen the weight loss commercials with some kind of miracle pill, that guarantees a slimmer waist in just a couple of weeks? I'll be honest with you; I never believe that stuff. It's going to take more than just a pill to reach the beach body that you always desired. Coming from a former college athlete, I know what it takes to get and maintain the body that will perform at an elite level. Now some of these commercials will have people that give some kind of testimonial of how they lost 10 pounds in fourteen weeks by taking this miracle pill and now have the body they always dreamed of. These are what we call gimmicks and scams. However, there are real people who through a workout program, and eating right have achieved goals in their body, and mind by being consistent. These programs usually have the most success because the testimony and result are real.

      We, as believers, have a story to share, that will cause a non-believer to want to know more. We are not selling the gospel we are sharing the gospel through our experience. Too many times, bible thumpers are released out on the street with megaphones, teaching and preaching the word, but there is no relation to the listener. Jesus was relatable to the community and spoke with love and truth. Now as we look back over our lives, and see where God has delivered us from, it will probably take a week of just telling our story, but we don't have a week, we may only have about 90 seconds to tell our story.

      There are two testimonies in the bible that I would like to highlight. First, the woman at the well and second the blind man from birth. In these two cases, we see the structure of how a testimony should be formed and delivered. Let us take a look at the Samaritan woman at the well. I will not go over the hold story in detail, I would hope that you will read John 4:1-45. But for now, I will highlight a few verses that will create a daily life application. Before the Samaritan woman's encounter with Jesus, she had several meetings with other men, simply put she was in sin.

      Jesus came to earth to destroy the works of the devil so that we may not fall into his evil ways. So the first thing you want to think about is what God has saved you from. Now yes, there are many things God has saved of us from ourselves, his wrath, other people and so on. But in this case, we are speaking specifically about sin, and in her case, adultery. In John 4 verses 9 and12 the woman didn't feel worthy of being in the presence of someone in higher status than she was, according to law, especially because she was living a sinful life. Some of us may have felt this way at one point, that we didn't feel worthy of Gods love and grace because of what we were doing in the present, or what we have done in the past, but God's love is unfailing, and his grace is sufficient, but it also doesn't give us license to sin. In verses 13-15, Jesus offers the woman a gift that she will never forget, and she was open to receive it. But something interesting happened, Jesus revealed some secret sins about her, which caused her to believe and perceive him to be a prophet. He began to reveal the truth that would set her free, and now fully understood that he was the Messiah. Now here is the key to this whole chapter when it comes to true evangelism. After Jesus told her all she has done, she went back to the city and said these words in verse 29, Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? You see, we love our church so much that we only want people to come to experience our church program. We want people to see how great our music is, or what a great preacher or pastor is. The invitation shouldn't first be to come to church, it should be to come to see a man. Your story must be so compelling that they would want to know more and possibly want to connect with you. The church doesn't save or deliver people, Jesus does. Our job is not to get members in the church, but rather to compel many to Christ so he can change them from the inside out. The church building is a place where believers come together with one accord, and create and loving and teachable atmosphere so that those who are letting go over there other associations can now be associated with believers.

      Sometimes your story can be so unbelievable that people may mock or just reject your testimony because they don't believe. In John chapter 9 there was a man that was born since birth, but when Jesus healed him, people around didn't even recognize him, and many doubted that what they saw wasn't true at all. Make some time today to read John chapter 9 in its entirety. In verses 13-34, the Pharisees began to investigate this event happened with the man that was blind. Something essential in your testimony is not just what you say, it's how you look and how you say it. After the man received his sight, the people in the community didn't even recognize him, and some thought he was another person. Ask yourself this, do people still see the old you? Or do they see someone else? The key to your testimony is the way you carry yourself outside of Sunday service, people are watching. This man's testimony was short and simple, "I was blind, and now I see." Again your testimony doesn't have to be an autobiography, short and simple will plant the seed. If people don't want to listen or believe your story, it's ok to move on to the next, someone will listen, and benefit from your story. The end result is to encourage and invite them to come to see a man named Jesus. For this next exercise, I want you to put together a 90-second testimony using this guideline below. If you are a group, find a partner, and share your testimony with that person. It will be awkward at first, but it's important to know your story.

       After you have exchanged names, and chatted a bit, your goal is to get to your story. You can start off by saying something like:

       "You know I don't believe in coincidence, but I do believe we are speaking for a reason, do you mind if I share a quick story with you?"

       "I'm actually just going around and encouraging people as I walk, and wanted to share this quick story with you, do you mind?"

       "I'm actually hanging out with a group of friends sharing God's love, I don't know what you believe, but do you mind if I share a quick story?"

       Be sure to watch your positioning and space between you, the other person. Smile and keep your focus on the person you are talking to. Do not get distracted with anything else around you, he or she is God's center of attention. I challenge you to speak to 3 people every day and share your story.

       Build your Testimony

       "You know Growing up I...."

       Didn't grow up with a father, mother or both

       Had both parents and they raised me well, but I decided to…..

       Was in foster care, group home

       Felt СКАЧАТЬ