Prepare
"And He [Jesus] was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows—how, he himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” - Mark 4: 26-29
"But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God." - Acts 20:24
Listen to Paul's train of thought here:
1. His life is not important, if it is for his own sake- it only has value if it is for Christ.
2. Jesus is the one who commissioned him. This is so important because if we are not in love with, obedient to, and abiding in the Commissioner, we will never be able to fulfill, or love, the commission.
3. What commission? To tell others about the wealth of grace God bestows through the belief in His Son!
One of the most needed things to help prepare the soil of another is to make sure our own soil is tilled in such a way that we long to see that His Kingdom (not ours) comes above all else. * Listen to this sermon, you may have to repent and then discuss what you gleaned from it with a mentor.
Become a friend to sinners because this is what defines all of us until we are saved. The goal is that everyone who is drawn by God changes their identity from "Sinner" to "Child of God."
Jesus was known for hanging out with sinners. However, He always did so wisely and with purpose.
God ultimately prepares the heart (soil) of a person. But in order to reach those who are being prepared, we become co-labourers with God by building relationships and laying platforms to share Christ.
We are not to be in love with the world. But we are called to love it.
The more we love Christ, the more we will love both His church and the lost. We are called to push back the gates of hell while plucking people out of its grip. To do this we must be intentional about building relationships with those who have been deceived by the Evil One.
Practical things to do and know when building relationships:
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* Make a list of names of people who you know don't know Jesus. Commit to praying for them for a week, ask God to draw them and beg Him to save them. While you do that, set up a time to hang out with them.
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Go to public places and events and meet people.
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Go online and find people with similar interests and join them in participating in these events. Sometimes you may even have to try a new hobby for the sake of the Kingdom...Oh no! Lol.
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At first you're just trying to make friends. As a Christian you must get used to always being the bigger person, do not assume non-believers will be as good a friend as you will be, in fact, they better not be! The reality is you will always be the one giving in these new relationships more than you will receive. That's why we are told to do it with His strength! He is enough! He fills us and causes us to overflow with His love toward others. This is why the principle of "abiding in Christ" that we learned about in, "Grow" is so important!
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The ultimate goal is salvation through the preaching of the gospel, but that shouldn't be every conversation's goal. We have to accept people where they are at so don't bombard them with preaching. Love them, ask about their lives, get excited about things they get excited about, show great patience and love. People who talk about themselves is the norm of the day. Be the mature one. Be secure in who God says you are. Let them talk about themselves. Eventually they will run out of "great" things to say about themselves. Be patient. Eventually they will ask about you (especially if you just go quiet for a bit). Enter Jesus. Again, this is not a sermon, just be straight up about the fact that you're a Christian when asked.
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"But in your hearts honour Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defence to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect" (1 Peter 1:15). Notice the command is to have an answer ready. Notice, however, that it is talking about our answer. It's the reason you have hope. The point is, your reason doesn't need to be good enough for another to believe, but we must make sure it is good enough for the person in the mirror.
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* Organize your life- put aside time, set dates, & make allowances for when you will intentionally engage the community (the community hot-tub, for example, will involve some cost).
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And finally, remember: The Holy Spirit is the one who convinces someone, not you. Do what you can to let your audience know that you don't NEED to convince them, but because you are motivated by love, you WANT to. Someone who is actually confident in what they believe, doesn't NEED to convince others of it. But if the belief is founded on God and His love, then this will inspire others to WANT to believe as well.
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Resources
Books:
Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions - Gregory Koukl
Online:
How to Lead someone to the Lord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YoS80XBG2o