Share Hope with a Hurting World

We all love hero stories.  Here’s one for you:

In 2013, William Ayotte (show pic), then 69, battled a polar bear that was savagely mauling a woman in Manitoba, Canada.  He awoke at 5 am to hear someone screaming, “help it’s a bear!”  He opened the front door and a polar bear was sitting on its haunches with a woman in its mouth, waving her around like a rag doll.  He didn’t have a weapon, but he had his snow shovel sitting by the door.  He picked up the shovel, ran towards the bear, and poked it in the eye with the shovel.  The bear dropped the woman, but then turned its attention to Ayotte.  It got hold of him, bit off his right ear, and began to maul him.  The bear finally dropped him and ran off.

He spent seven days in the hospital. They worked on him for four hours one day to staple his wounds, and then for four hours the next day, putting his ear back on. 

This is what he said about the attack, “I never saw myself as a hero and still don’t. You’re dealt a situation, and you either respond or you don’t do anything. People say, “Would you have done anything differently?” I haven’t the faintest idea. The only thing I could think was, If I don’t do anything, she’s not going to make it.”

How often are we presented with an opportunity to launch into action to save someone’s life?  

Ayotte said, “If I don’t do anything, she’s not going to make it.”  The other option was to stand by and let the bear finish the job.  Probably no one would have faulted him for not jumping into the fray or maybe running back inside, thinking, “This is a job for the professionals. I’ll call 911.”  Instead, he ran towards the need even though it nearly cost him his life.

How often do we get the chance to step up and be the hero? 

At the risk of being overly dramatic, I want to suggest that you are regularly presented with opportunities to step in and save someone’s life.  You and I are frequently confronted with moments when we have a choice to either enter the fray or run back inside, hoping for the best, leaving it to the professionals.

Paul says this to the believers in Rome:

Rom 1:16 (CSB)—For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.

Paul said I am not ashamed of the gospel.  Remember, the word gospel means “good news.”

The gospel is the good news.  What is that good news?  Paul says it a little further into Romans:

Rom 8:1-2 (CSB)—Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.

This good news is the power of God for salvation; to literally save us. The good news is that when we come to Jesus, we find life and freedom, not condemnation!

There is a world full of people who have not heard the good news that they can have life and find freedom.  How do we respond to that? What will we do?  These are the people all around us; the people we work with, and go to school with; they are our neighbors and even our family.

Again, at the risk of being dramatic (but I think it is a good analogy), the enemy is sitting back on his haunches, has them in his mouth, and is waving them around like rag dolls.  How will we respond?  What will we do?

Now, my goal is not to heap the guilt on this morning, so you all go out and find someone to talk to about Jesus.  I think guilt is a horrible motivator. What I really want to do is simply remind us of the opportunity we have been given to Share Hope with a Hurting World.

That is the title of my sermon today.  The enemy is wreaking havoc in the lives of so many people that we know, and we have the opportunity to share real hope with them.  We have the opportunity to be brave, step into the fray, and help a hurting world.

I’ve heard lots of reasons why people don’t talk about the good news with the people who need to hear it.  “It feels awkward, I don’t know what to say, I worry I’d just mess it up, What if they reject the message, etc…

If you are a part of the New Hope family, I do not want you to be able to say, “I’m not equipped to share the good news.”  I do not want you to be able say, “I don’t know what to say.”

So, I want to follow up on Jim’s message from last week and talk about how to share your faith.

The Apostle Peter says this to people in what is today modern Turkey, as they experienced intense persecution.  He said:

1 Peter 3:15-16 (CSB)—Who then will harm you if you are devoted to what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness, you are blessed. Do not fear them, or be intimidated, but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.

So, instead of thinking of this as learning the formula to sharing the gospel, listen to Peter and think of how you would talk about the reason for the hope that is in you.  How would you share your hope?

This is not rocket science or brain surgery.  It’s not even as hard as learning to use Apple Pay on your phone.  The gospel is intentionally simple.  The Apostle Peter reminds us that God does not want anyone to perish but that all would come to repentance.  He doesn’t make it hard. The gospel is simple enough for a child to understand and share.

As always, we want to look to Jesus as our example. First, let’s look at how Jesus shared the good news with people.  What did he do that we can learn from?

First thing we see when Jesus shared the good news is:

1. Jesus Started with Relationship

There are lots of examples of this, but the best is the one that Jim shared last week:

John 4 — Woman at the well

Jn 4:4-8 (CSB)—He had to travel through Samaria; so he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar near the property that Jacob had given his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, worn out from his journey, sat down at the well. It was about noon.  A woman of Samaria came to draw water. “Give me a drink,” Jesus said to her, because his disciples had gone into town to buy food. 

So what is so noteworthy about what Jesus did in this exchange with the woman at the well? 

He didn’t allow barriers to stand in the way.

Not only were men not supposed to talk to women in public, but he was a Jew, and she was a Samaritan.  Jim said it last week, there was a lot of animosity between the Jews and the Samaritans.  This is a bit of a rabbit trail, but do you know why the Jews and Samaritans hated each other?

We actually just studied this to some degree in the Book of Daniel.  Remember, the Babylonians took Jerusalem and carried off many Jews into captivity?  Before the Babylonians took Jerusalem, the Assyrians captured the northern tribes, namely the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. These Jews who were captured began to intermarry with the Assyrians, which was against Jewish law.  These Jews married and built families with non-Jews.  So they were, to the Jews, half-breeds who had broken the Jewish law.  These Assyrian/Jewish descendants were called Samaritans.

But Jesus didn’t let those barriers keep him from building relationships with Samaritans.

Jesus asked questions.  He didn’t launch right into, repent, or spend eternity in Hell.  He built a bridge by asking questions.  Can I have a drink?  Where’s your husband?  Questions are a great way to get to know people.  He didn’t just ask questions; He listened and built trust. People are more open to the gospel when they feel seen and known. 

People aren’t projects; they are individuals that Christ died for.

2. Jesus Clearly Spoke the Truth About Himself

One of my favorite things about Jesus is that He rarely sugarcoated the truth.  He wasn’t politically correct, and He didn’t mince words.  He was kind and gentle, but honest.

In Jn 3, a religious leader named Nicodemus comes to Jesus because he is curious and wants to know the truth about who Jesus really is.

Jesus tells Nicodemus:

Jn 3:5 (CSB)—Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Jesus isn’t talking about physical rebirth, but spiritual rebirth.  And then Jesus speaks very clearly to Nicodemus and lays out the truth.

Jn 3:16-18 (CSB)—For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.

Jesus didn’t sugarcoat the truth, and he wasn’t vague.  He talked often about repentance from sin. He always offered forgiveness, but He called for people to place their faith in Him.  He invited a response.

Relationship opens the door, but clarity delivers the gospel.

Sharing the gospel means, at some point, we must clearly say:

• Who Jesus is
• What He did
• Why it matters

3. Jesus Used Stories and Questions

Luke 14, 15, and 16 are an amazing example of this.  In all three chapters, Jesus tells stories, or parables, to try to illustrate what the Kingdom of God is like.  He tells three stories in Luke 15: the Parable of the Lost Sheep, the Parable of the Lost Coin, and the Parable of the Lost Son.  All three of these stories illustrate how God views the “sinners” that the Pharisees were complaining that Jesus was welcoming and eating with.

Jesus used stories to show the truth, to expose people’s hearts, and to invite self-reflection.

Your story, even if it isn’t full of twists and turns, is a powerful way to do what Jesus did when He shared stories.  You don’t have to have some dramatic story to talk about how God has saved you and given you hope.  Talk about how God has worked in your life to give you new life and hope.

Sharing your story is a great way to share the gospel.

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Build relationships with people.  

Think about the people in your sphere of influence, who might be God leading you to share the gospel with.

Have a clear way to share the gospel.

It could be memorizing the Romans Road, six verses from Romans that describe the gospel, that you can use to lead someone to Jesus.  These verses are a pretty clear roadmap to responding to the gospel. 

It could be as simple as this formula:

• God
• Us
• Jesus
• Response

The point of all these tools is that you are able to clearly articulate the reason for the hope that is within you.

Use your story to talk about Jesus.

Think through how you would share what Jesus means to you and the difference He has made in your life.  It is important to understand the mechanics of the gospel, but it also has the power to change lives and bring hope.  All of God’s word is the story of God bringing his family together and your story is a part of that story.  One of the greatest evidences for the gospel is the story of a changed life.

My life is full of hope and purpose.  I can’t imagine what my life would be like or where I would be right now if God had not saved me.  Instead, I have a savior who loves me and promises that He will never leave me.  That’s a part of my story.

• Pray that Jesus would give you his eyes to see people and his heart to love people.
• Ask God to bring to mind someone in your sphere who needs to hear about Jesus.
• Commit to learning a method to lead someone to Jesus.