Praying that God will break my heart

I believe that I have several spiritual gifts.  I know I have the gifts of administration, teaching, and faith.  I know that I do not have the gift of evangelism.  I always get nervous.  My palms getting sweaty and I stumble over my words.  I know this because I’ve tried sharing my faith with others. 

It may surprise you to know that when I got out of college I spent two years on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ.  I got nervous every time I went out to share my faith one-on-one with another person.  I would rather teach to a crowd of people then talk to one other person about Christ.  So, does the fact that it isn’t my spiritual gift excuse me from it being my obligation to share? 

No.  In fact, statistics show that only about 5% of all Christians feel like they have the gift of evangelism.  What if the other 95% of us never told anyone else about Jesus? 

I would say that non-Christians are just as uptight about evangelism as Christians.  Why?  Because we don’t do it very well.  We are unnecessarily offensive, lame, and generally inept at communicating our faith to others.  So does that mean we shouldn’t share – no.  It means we should learn how to communicate our faith better and then practice. 

Not to share the gospel is sin – a sin of omission.  We need to see people the way God sees them.  People who don’t know Jesus are going to hell and will be eternally separated from God.  That should break our hearts. 

We need to share the good news about Christ in the best way we can but we also need to understand that success isn’t measured in how many people “pray the prayer” with us.  It’s not about a scorecard.  It’s not about you (or me), it’s about Jesus.  Our responsibility is to share and leave the results from that sharing up to God. 

Success is being obedient to Jesus’ words to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel.”  The moment we share with someone else about the love of God, we are obedient (and successful).

There’s a quote I heard that goes like this - “Preach the gospel at all times; if necessary, use words.”  And so it is tempting to take the easy road and believe that words are not necessary… that our lives will speak for themselves.

While it is true that we should live out our faith, our actions aren’t enough by themselves.  We need to be living out our faith because it gives credibility to our words but we need the words to explain our actions. 

1 Peter 3:15 challenges us to “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” 

Our lives show others the hope that we have but our words explain it and offer it to them.  It takes both.

If you find sharing your faith difficult, pray that God would break your heart for the lost.  As your heart becomes broken, you will start to see people the way God sees them.  Lost and in need of a Savior. 

Remember that I write about what God is teaching me.  Writing helps clear my head and often helps me more clearly understand what God is teaching me and where He is leading me.  So, know that this is my weak area and I am praying that God will break my heart.  Will you join me?

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“Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.””  Matthew 9:37-38

“He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” Mark 16:15

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes”  Romans 1:16

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”     Acts 1:8

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”  2 Timothy 1:7