Why are most Christians reluctant to share the Word with others? One common reason is that we don’t feel that we “have the right stuff”. We don’t know what to say or how to say it.

One thing that we forget is that it is not our responsibility. The elequence of our words does not bring the person to Christ. God draws them near by “knocking” and hopefully they open the door for Him. Often we are just planting a seed. Sometimes there may be several seeds planted before anything comes to fruition. Recall the parable of the seed and the sower where the crows ate the seed, the sun scorched it, or the weeds choked it?

“Parable of the Seed and the Sower” Luke 8:5-18 (ESV)

“Luk 8:5 A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it.
Luk 8:6 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture.
Luk 8:7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it.
Luk 8:8 And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Luk 8:9 And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant,
Luk 8:10 he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’
Luk 8:11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
Luk 8:12 The ones along the path are those who have heard. Then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.
Luk 8:13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away.
Luk 8:14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.
Luk 8:15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.
Luk 8:16 “No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light.
Luk 8:17 For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light.
Luk 8:18 Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”

A wonderfully comforting statistic was shared by the late Bill Bright, who was the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ – who has www.evangelism.com, which has plenty of tools for sharing our faith.

I am convinced of one thing: at least 50% of all non-believers would receive Christ if properly approached by a trained, Spirit-filled believer who can communicate God’s love and forgiveness revealed through our Lord Jesus. – Bill Bright

If there is anyone qualified to pull a number out of the air, it would be this guy. Evangelism and sharing Jesus Christ was Mr. Bright’s mission.

So there we have it everyone.

• We have at least a 50% chance of them accepting Christ. Professional baseball players make millions for only succeeding 33% of the time with a base hit.
• We don’t have to beat ourselves up if they don’t. We may just be planting a seed or watering one that was already planted.

Now, you may be saying to yourself, “but I’m not trained”. Neither am I, but we can get at least a primer here over the next few posts. I encourage everyone after (or during) this blog series to get in contact with your local church to get more information, and check out some online resources like www.evangelism.com and www.gocampus.org (about students, but it still applies)

Next: The 4 Keys to Sharing Your Faith

Our next post will start tackling these keys. I’m excited – how about you?

See you tomorrow, and have a blessed day!

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