Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
Today I want to share a practical tool on how to share the Gospel. You don't need to be a pastor or some kind of theologian. You don't need a Bible college degree. You just have to love people and have a desire to share the Gospel. Let me explain how I use this tool really on a weekly basis.
A Simple Question
One of my favorite things to do is to play basketball. Usually after I'm done playing basketball, I'll come up to one of my buddies or somebody maybe that I don't know, and I'll introduce myself and I'll simply ask the question: "Hey, do you need prayer for anything?" Now, you'd be surprised at how far that question can take you, because people start to open up about their lives, about what they need prayer for. As they're sharing prayer requests, I literally write the prayer requests in my phone and I let them know, "Hey, this afternoon I have some time. I'm just going to spend time with the Lord. I'm going to pray." And I say, "Do you need prayer for anything?" And I pray in the afternoon.
The next time we play ball, I follow up and I say, "Hey, how's your mom doing? How are you doing in this area that you shared?" What that does is it shows the person that I genuinely care. What I love about our verse today is the results don't belong to me when I share the Gospel. My job is to share, but God does the converting.
The Father Draws People to Himself
Here's what I learned when I ask the question, "How can I pray for you?" People will tell me what to pray for. Then eventually, over time, as the relationship is built, I have opportunities to share the Gospel and then I just share the Gospel with them. In our text today, notice it says, "For no one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws them to Me." It's the Father that draws people to Himself. It's not us. We simply share what Jesus did for us, what we were saved from. Yes, we share our testimony, but ultimately we point people to Jesus and the Father draws them to Himself. It's not us.
I know sometimes it can get discouraging. Maybe you even have friends who are good at sharing the Gospel and you're like, man, I'm not. I'm shy. I don't have courage. I don't know how many converts I'm going to have before I'm this age. Listen, our job is to share and God does the converting. Once again, it says, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws them to Me."
At the Last Day
Then it says, "And at the last day I will raise them up." When everything is all said and done, Christians will rise from the dead, and we will be with the Lord forever, those that are in Christ. We have this short sliver of time on this earth to share the Gospel.
I want to encourage you, wherever God has placed you—in your home, in your neighborhood, at work, family members, friends—ask that question: "Hey, how can I pray for you?" Then spend some time praying for people that you love or people from work, and then ask how they're doing, and pray for God to give you an opportunity to share the Gospel. Remember, we do the sharing, but God does the converting.
