You are That Messenger!

Evangelism is not just for pastors. John 4:37 says, “…In this matter of kingdom harvest, everyone has a job to do.” Whether you’re in line at the grocery store or waiting at an appointment, in every conversation you have, you become the physical manifestation of God. To engage in the sacrament of evangelism, you must take every opportunity to share the love of Christ —YOU are His messenger!

Host Barry Meguiar is a car guy and businessman who hosted the popular TV show, Car Crazy, on Discovery Networks for 18 years. He loves cars, but he loves Jesus even more! Learn more about Barry at IgniteAmerica.com.

 Get your copy of Barry’s book, Ignite Your Life: Defeat Fear with Effortless Faith, at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and other online booksellers.

Learn more about:

•   Why you are the evangelist
• Why leaving your comfort zone is a must
• The right time to lead someone to Christ
• What to do when you’re having a secular conversation
• How the brain remembers what we hear

Get resources to help ignite your faith and move everyone, every day closer to Jesus at  IgniteAmerica.com — including the Ignite ePrayer app (available on the App Store and Google Play), Faith Sharing Stories, One Minute Inspirations, SeekingGod.org and more. Sign up to receive emails that will deliver practical faith-sharing tips and powerful inspiration. 

Transcript

Hey everybody, welcome back to this edition of Ignite, I want to talk to you about the sacrament of evangelism. Yeah. The Sacrament of evangelism. We so underplay evangelism. I was like, it's something for somebody else. I don't want to do that. That's not for me. You know, most laypeople say, that's what the pastors do. But I hang out with pastors and I don't hardly no one that's sharing their faith they think that's what you do. So you get the point. And it's such a sacred moment. God uses us to reach the last I mean, he could do it a lot of different ways but He uses us that's his plan to use us to reach the laws that's his plan I did it all all the wrong ways when I started I would actually you know what, I finally had somebody going in it was getting stronger. Where I felt like I was making progress I I would literally say in my mind a dog that Hey, God, I gotta live what here come over and help me as stupid but you know when you're learning I mean, God has such patience for us, right? He's always there. We don't have to invite him over it's do you realize that God loves you first off just get this whether you're saved or you're not saved? Well, you know Him as your Lord the adult. God loves you. And he loves you not to use you. He loves you because He loves you. He loves you. Because he wants you to spend eternity with Him. He spent full time with you want to wake up in the morning he's there he's been with me he's ever he didn't go to sleep he doesn't sleep he's with me every moment as a matter I get walked up the hill tonight and there's a hurricane or whatever there is he's there I heard this say boy data God never says oops. For all you got Oops, no, he didn't say Oops. God's always there we can't we can't define God we can't contain God He is everywhere once he's God 7 billion people in the earth he's with every one of us every moment of the day every one of us even the even the ones that are doing a lot of really bad things when I first started sharing my faith I thought that I had him saved in one setting that really put pressure on me okay now I have you ever saved I need God's help but but I gotta respond to by giving him received getting down on their knees and pray for them I don't want to think get away when they almost always did get away I was mad at myself I was bad at God I was I was just I was upset I was a wreck that's have a total misunderstanding which share your faith is Jesus said they'll know you're by discipled by your love you just love on people. It's really easy. And you have to recognize that it's a team sport. I've never heard this said anywhere else. But I love sports and I see it as a as a team sport. You know, John for 37 Vegan talks about how one sews and another reaps right another verse in First Corinthians three says I planted a pile watered and and the Lord reads the harvest as different people and each are favored accordingly is that the says you have to ever say to one time working on a timetable I gotta get somebody saved right now it's not put you into a sales pitch and you feel it and they feel it. You don't want to get out of your comfort zone. Just be comfortable you're not uncomfortable you're talking to your friends and you're and and you don't plan ahead I gotta be with friends today and see what's so I say what's the way you just you just with friends. When you're feeling you don't know even if you don't know that you're not talking about about the Lord you're talking to him about the sports or politics or whatever it is you're not scripted. You're just talking and you're excited about it. When you're talking about the Lord you're saying it in an excited way you do in a way that's not offending. You don't want to take yourself out of your your your comfort zone and you don't want to take them out of their comfort zone and the moment you do that you're dead. Okay. So forget about face sharing on a time clock basis. You can't feel Eat force. You can't force feed Christianity. You just can't do it. Some people aren't ready. It often takes 20 times for somebody to come to the Lord. It's the truth. You know, I, I think I told this story in an earlier podcast with this guy that I have been sharing my faith with for 50 years and all sudden he pops on the screen from his hospice bed and he tells his wife, I need to talk to Barry and leading the Lord 50 years 50 years are sharing with him. And without pushing him and never getting any response from him. hardly even a comment back i Oh, that's interesting. Nothing. I just I just let it lay there. So they do it. I did it. I never I'd never do anything where it's bothersome I do ever do anything that that that confronts I do I do anything i There had been some times I will say where God just provoked me to say, I think you're ready to say, except that almost never happens. Sometimes it happens. And when you get it, when you get that nudge, you better go for it. But breezy, you do want to leave your comfort zone, you just you just don't. And you just share and you just love. Ben Ben Carson, wonderful man, a guy with a great brain surgeon at all. We've been with him a number of times. At one point he's, he said that struck me so clearly. He says your brain never forgets what it hears. Never, you may not consciously recall it at the moment, but it never forgets. And we tend to make our decisions based on the sum total of all the information we get if you live in an ungodly world, you're going to do ungodly things. If you live in a world where where God is speaking and moving or whatever, now you have some where you're kind of like, you understand there's a there's different forces going on in here. So when somebody even as a is a total rejection, or is is really pushing you away, does not want to hear you just love on them, but just leave them with a little something. I got shoving you know, something that moves and closer to God, even if they don't recognize they can't get away from the guide if nothing else, that there was a Christian that loved on them, even if they speak spoke badly to that person, they got love back, if only that you moved closer to Jesus. So anyway, I say all that to say this there is a great man of God but ever Dr. Jerry root and he wrote this book, the sacrament of evangelism, you gotta get it. It's fantastic. And he explains it he explained it so well that I finally understood it so well. That he he's working with all of us. That's the point. He's working with all of us all the time. And when you come along somebody I don't care who it is you realize you never have a secular conversation. Do you know that there's nothing if we're a Christian there's nothing so we may treat it as secular but it's not every time you have a conversation with somebody you want to love them more importantly you want to have God love them through you that you want to have God's salvation them through you. Even if they're Christians. times more importantly, who are Christians aren't they need to be encouraged and loved and brought closer into the kingdom? You got me? Jay Rich says when you when you do that God's already sovereignty speaking to that person, whoever they are, I don't care what they look like. He's already sovereign. And when you come in you join that you call you become the physical manifestation of God's already saying to that person, particularly when you're allowing God to speak to them through you, not your words. His Oh, that's exciting. Sack Sacher of evangelism. That takes it takes what we're doing to an entirely new level where it takes a word, nothing's by accident. And everything has purpose, every everything you do everything everywhere you go everything you say. And every time you pick up your Bible, everytime you pray, it's all part of the same thing. God how can you use me Give me a word today that I can use for the next person I'm representing, and open doors for me and and be with who I just been with and bring more people in their lives and you and and bring revelation to me. So I know how to answer that question, the better the next time I have it. So everything has purpose outside, your whole life comes alive. There's no I talked about before. If this atrophy it just destroys it. It goes away because of the sacrament of evangelism. Isaiah 5511 says it really well I'll just read it to you. So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Wow, I'm gonna say it again. So whether you eat Your dream is everything. This is not insurance. I'm not talking about a church God. Your sanctuary is wherever you are in this supermarket, it's your sanctuary. You're standing beside some kind of sub sub bar food. There's somebody right beside me, that's probably in great travail, and a kind word to them and all said you find yourself praying for them. I mean, it happens all around everybody around us and is in turmoil. And they're, they're searching for love. They want to be loved and loved to find out who God is. And you're His messenger. And when you do that, it ignites your life. It just takes you to a whole nother level. God's word never returns void. Never returns void, without having fulfilled its purpose. Having the word fulfilled through you, to the people around you, is the most exciting that you can possibly do with your life every moment of every day move everybody. Okay? I gotta say there's our wedge so true. You can add that one person a day, everybody, move everybody every day, closer to Jesus. Wow. That's where you have intimacy with God. And you understand the sacrament of evangelism. See you next time.