Tell Someone

You Can Share the Good News

Greg Laurie

• Publisher: B&H Books
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9781433690143
• eBook ISBN: 9781433690129
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Ministry

Understand, this book is not written to make you feel bad or condemn you if you have not engaged others with the gospel message. This book is written to encourage and inspire you. Even though pastor and author Greg Laurie is a "gospel-presenting professional, " in this book he tells stories of his own failure and success. The most important things you will find here are biblical principles that you can apply yourself. Taken from the life and witness of Jesus, and tested over Greg's forty years of ministry, in both one-on-one experiences and large-scale evangelistic arena and stadium events, these ideas are intended to mobilize every person in the church to "Tell Someone" about Jesus Christ.

Chapter 1

Something Christians and Non-Christians Have in Common

Jesus said, “All authority has been given to Me in Heaven and on earth. 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” (Matt. 28:18–20). In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus said, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone” (Mark 16:15 nlt).

This is the command from Jesus Himself, often referred to as the Great Commission. Yet, whenever you bring up the topic of evangelism, people often cringe.

It’s been said, “There is one thing that believers and nonbelievers have in common: they are both uptight about evangelism,” and that is true. When it comes to sharing the gospel, it seems we plan for failure far more often than success.

Maybe that’s why statistics indicate that 95 percent of all Christians have never led another person to Christ. For many followers of Jesus, the Great Commission has instead become the Great Omission, and that is more than a pity; it’s a travesty.

A Sin Not to Share

Let me state something that may shock you, but I believe it is true with all of my heart. To not share your faith, to not tell others about Jesus Christ, can be an actual sin.

When we think of sin, we envision breaking commandments and doing wrong things—and indeed that is sinful. But the Bible speaks of both sins of commission and sins of omission. A sin of commission is doing what you should not do. In contrast, a sin of omission is not doing what you should do. The Bible says, “To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:17).

Let’s say you were walking down the street and you heard people screaming. You looked in their direction and saw a house in flames. Someone then cried out, “There is a person in that building!” Let me ask you, if you were to keep walking without a passing thought to those in serious danger, would that be wrong? I would hope you would at the very least call 9-1-1. Even more, you might go into that building and try to rescue that person inside. To do nothing would be outright criminal.

Yet, every day we walk by people that we know and don’t know, who are without Christ, and we don’t do a thing to help them. We don’t try to initiate a conversation about our faith; we just keep walking. And to be blunt, a fate even worse than a house fire awaits those who reject the offer of forgiveness through Jesus Christ. It is eternal fire.*

And the last thing that God wants is to send any man or woman—deeply loved by Him and made in His very image—to this place called Hell. That is why He sent Jesus to live a perfect life, to die a perfect death on the cross for our sins, and then to rise from the dead.

That is where you come in. God wants to use you to bring other people to Himself.

That is where you come in. God wants to use you to bring other people to Himself.

You might protest, “God could never use someone like me!” Actually He can and He will if you will let Him. It could even happen before the day is over. He will not force you to share your faith, but He will prompt you. And when you take that step of faith, He will empower and use you.

I want you to discover the adventure of being used by God, especially in the area of telling others about Jesus.

God says He is looking for people that He can “show Himself strong on behalf of” (2 Chron. 16:9). He is searching for someone who will simply say, “Use me, Lord!” Would you be that person? If so, a wonderful adventure awaits you.

I want to let you in on what may be a surprise: sharing your faith can be both exciting and, believe it or not, fun! As Psalm 126:6 reminds us, “Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them” (niv).

Next to personally knowing Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord, the greatest joy I know of is leading others to Christ and watching them grow spiritually. And you can do that too. It should be a joyful, happy thing to tell others about your relationship with God and explain how they can have one too.

Jesus told us there is joy in Heaven over every sinner who comes to repentance (see Luke 15:7). As C. S. Lewis pointed out, “Joy is the serious business of Heaven!”1 So, if there is joy in Heaven upon hearing the news of a conversion, there certainly should be joy in having a role in it.

Next to personally knowing Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord, the greatest joy I know of is leading others to Christ and watching them grow spiritually. And you can do that too. It should be a joyful, happy thing to tell others about your relationship with God and explain how they can have one too.

I have found that the happiest Christians are the evangelistic ones. And I have also found that the unhappiest Christians are the nitpicky kind. They are so busy arguing theological minutia that they miss out on opportunities. As the old country preacher Vance Havner used to say, “If we are too busy using our sickles on each other, we will miss the harvest!”

Yes, there is a happiness that we are missing out on if we are not sharing our faith. John wrote that his personal joy was made complete by sharing with others the message of Christ (see 1 John 1:4). And after all, does not Scripture tell us, in Acts 20:35, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (nlt)? Another translation of that would be, “It is more happy to give than to receive.”

The believers I know who make a habit of sharing the gospel are happy people.

What’s Your Excuse?

Clearly God could reach people without us, but instead He has chosen to work through us. In fact, He seems to go out of His way to find the most unlikely candidates to accomplish His divine purposes.

Think of Moses, who, when called by God to speak out for Him, essentially said, “I can’t. I have a speech impediment!” (see Exod. 4:10). When called by God to speak, Jeremiah felt he was too young (see Jer. 1:6). Think of those that God used who had challenges and failures in life: Noah got drunk, Abraham was old, Jacob was a liar, and David had an affair. Peter denied Christ, the disciples fell asleep while praying, Timothy had an ulcer, and Lazarus was dead!

Again I ask, what’s your excuse?

You might say, “I’m not qualified. I’m not gifted or talented.” Do you want to know a little secret? You are just the person God is looking for. He likes to use people that are not necessarily self-confident. Why? Because when God does something amazing through them, He is the one who gets the glory, as He should. Paul wrote, “We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves” (2 Cor. 4:7 nlt).

No, you may not feel qualified, but God is not looking for ability as much as He is looking for availability. God does not call the qualified; He qualifies the called.

No, you may not feel qualified, but God is not looking for ability as much as He is looking for availability. God does not call the qualified; He qualifies the called.

There have been so many times that I have felt drained and exhausted, both physically and mentally. I have even felt like my spiritual gas tank was close to empty. But then, when I started to share the gospel with someone, or stopped thinking about myself and focused on another’s needs and shared some truth from God’s Word, I was replenished in every way. I started on empty and ended on full. Proverbs 11:25 tells us that “those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed” (nlt).

God has not blessed you with all the messages you have heard in church or have read in books over the years so that you can hoard it all to yourself. Have you seen the TV programs that show the lifesty...

Table of contents

• Introduction
• 1. Something Christians and Non-Christians Have in Common
• 2. Effective Sharing Starts with Caring
• 3. Why Share Your Faith?
• 4. Where to Preach the Gospel?
• 5. When Should We Share the Gospel?
• 6. The How-To (Jesus-Style Evangelism)
• 7. The How-To (The Big One That Got Away)
• 8. The Power of Your Personal Story
• 9. What Is the Gospel?
• 10. Closing the Deal
• Epilogue: My First “Sermon”