This Weekend At Harvest

This Sunday at Harvest, I want to to talk about how to share your faith with others. This is part of a four-message series that will lead right up to our 21st Southern California Harvest, August 6-8, at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

We will be talking about how to crossover into our culture with the essential gospel message. But as we do that, we want to be sure we bring the cross over. In other words, we need to tell people about the death and resurrection of Jesus and His power to save them from their sins.

In my first message from this series, I spoke about the who, where, why, and when of sharing the gospel.

Who is called to go into all the world and preach the gospel?

Answer: We are.

Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).

BTW, in the original language, these words are given to everyone. Not just to pastors, evangelists, and missionaries, but to everyone.

Also, in the original language, they are a command. You are commanded by the Lord Himself to do this. There are no exceptions.

Where are we to preach the gospel?

Answer: Everywhere!

In Mark’s Gospel, we have a variation on this Great Commission: “And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature'” (Mark 16:15).

Think of it this way. Jesus is essentially saying, “Go into all of your world and preach the gospel. Into your family, your workplace, your campus, your neighborhood, your sphere of influence.”

Why do we need to preach the gospel?

Answer: Because God’s primary way of reaching people is through people!

The apostle Paul reminds us of this when he writes: “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe” (1 Corinthians 1:21).

The primary way God reaches people is through people. And the main way we do that is through verbal communication.

But there is another reason we tell others about Jesus.

Because we care. We don’t want to see them spend eternity in hell, separated from God.

How are we to do this?

Now, this is where the rubber meets the road. And this is where it falls apart for many people: making that connection with the non-believer and having a conversation.

There is no better example of how to do evangelism than Jesus Christ Himself. He was the Master Communicator. And one story that shows this beautifully is Jesus and the woman at the well.

More to come on this topic at Harvest this Sunday.

You can join us in person or watch the webcast live at Harvest.org.