DON’T SHARE JESUS [MONDAY MANNA 21]

Dear friends,

Don’t share Jesus. Never ever…

What?

Am I crazy? Let me explain.

A few years after initial salvation, I began to see one of many, many things that was perplexing. On rare occasion when someone might be talking about evangelism I’d hear believers say something like, “I shared Jesus with so-and-so.”

Now, we all know what that means. They spoke some type of message to this other person orally, or maybe in a written track format.

Trouble was for me, in God’s holy Scriptures, I never saw the word “share” used when the writers communicated how people spoke to each other.

That led me on a search to seek if my uneasiness would be confirmed. The Holy Spirit was gracious as He led me to pour over His word. I especially looked for evangelistic passages, and word groups like proclaim, testify, solemn, bold, etc. This was before I had a computer Bible program! Today’s NT search alone yielded 117 verses in the NASU. Let’s take a short look for ourselves:

Matthew 9:35  Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.

Matthew 10:27  “What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops.”

Matthew 12:18  “Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen; My Beloved in whom My soul is well-pleased; I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

Luke 9:2  And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing.

Mark 7:36  And He gave them orders not to tell anyone; but the more He ordered them, the more widely they continued to proclaim it.

Luke 9:60  But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.”

John 3:11  “Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony.

John 15:26-27  “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me, and you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

Acts 4:31  And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.

Acts 10:42  “And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly TO testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead.

Acts 20:21  solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Acts 20:23-24  except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. “But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.

Ephes. 6:19-20  and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

2 Tim. 4:1  I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom:

Rev. 5:2  And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?”

Just a short sample here. Feel free to do your own search. The word “share,” as far as we can see here at Walk Worthy, is never used with oral communication. When you become aware of this, you’ll see this truth everywhere in His word.

Why does it matter? Or does it?

It’s a subtle, but huge distinction. As a matter of fact, I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything but the word “share” when used in conjunction with evangelism other than a hand full of times.

Now, it’s perfectly fine to share our goods, share our life, our money, etc. But the command to proclaim the gospel of peace is not a shy and retiring exercise like just sharing your Snickers bar with a lost pagan.

It’s not “aw, shucks, I’m just a sinner, not a saint.” It’s boldly proclaiming Jesus’ life and, if they refuse, it’s their eternal death. A bold proclamation gets you in trouble, big time.

The real gospel is offensive, and the cross is a stench to those who are perishing (2 Cor. 9:16). Breaking up the status quo and preaching the true gospel got Jesus killed. And Stephen, and Paul, and all the others too.

Have you ever been yelled at, cursed, spit upon, shoved violently, hit with fists or other objects, been thrown out, or totally rejected by certain people (maybe your own family: Matt 10:36)? In short, really made them angry at you (really at Jesus) due to how you preached to them? That’s what the gospel of grace does, beloved.  Rejoice and leap for joy (Luke 6:22-23)! Mr. Rogers from TV fame was a nice guy and God used him with the kids, but he didn’t get killed (or even rejected, I think) for his gospel message.

When King Jesus, terrible sin and repentance is preached, the receiver must either embrace the light, run from the light, and/or degrade (or even kill) the light bearer. And when we have a mindset to only “share” God’s good news vs. boldly proclaiming and testifying, there’s a big edge that seems to be missing.

People might get saved, but will they turn out to be soldiers? Soldiers get dirty, they get hurt, even killed. What do we see in worldwide wars these days? Over 1000 saints will be murdered today (and every day) around the world for His name.

A close cousin to “sharing” Jesus orally is the philosophy that “all I need to do is let my light shine.” In other words, not to say anything, just live a good life. Sounds good on the surface.

In the words of St. Francis, preach Jesus and only use words if necessary. What? Where did that come from? Jesus was flawlessly perfect, and He preached the gospel continuously. By the way, I really admire and have learned much from St. Francis’ example, especially how he sought peace with the brethren and handled money for Jesus’ sake.

How did we get here?

I believe the 3 main challenges to Christian community in the West (now being exported to all areas of the world) are: 1) the spirit of mammon, 2) the fierce independent spirit (like the Corinthians – who are you to tell me anything?), and 3) the New Age Movement (NAM). It’s number 3 that seems to impact us the most in this evangelistic area. In other words, NAM’s main tenants are everybody must get along at all costs, don’t upset anyone – no white caps on the water, we’re all the same, etc.

So, if we “little Christ’s” take our clues from NAM, we’re tame, safe, nice, even timid, rarely upsetting anybody with our gospel message. Unfortunately, this is not humility as we may think, but instead a redefinition of this fruit of the Spirit that now includes these sort of adjectives. Humility is strength under control, not quiet timidity (cowardice). And we’ve all been there. Hopefully, we won’t stay there. Jesus, deliver us.

We also live in a time of hyper-feminism, especially in the church. The vast majority of church attendance comes from women, upwards of 75%+. And most of the money contributed or influence for the cause of Christ comes from them as well. Consequently, we see female terms being used primarily, typical of the female expression Paul used to describe his first encounters with the Thessalonians: as a mother tenderly nurses her child.

But a mere few verses later, he tells them he was like a father exhorting and imploring them on to holiness! Not “sharing” a thing. Or tenderly nursing them.

I’m not going to discuss in any detail here the fact that only 2 out of 100 western, affluent Christians “share” their faith. They’re waiting for some lost pagan to come up and ask them about Jesus.

And how is that going so far? God help us.

I still find myself telling people that “I shared Jesus.” Old habits die hard. But the Spirit is helping me to be even bolder, and doing so in all humility. And to proclaim His holy name.

Look at Paul’s last words to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20. What would you say to fellow joyful soldiers who had been striving through the war with you year after painful year, knowing you’d never see them again on this side on the sod?

Acts 20:18-31 (NASB)   And when they had come to him, he said to them, “You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

“And now, behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. “But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.

“And now, behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face. “Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. “For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

“I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. “Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three ears I did not cease to admonish each one with tears…”

Let the real Word of God dictate your life that’s hidden with Christ in God. Don’t wimp out.

So, therefore beloved, don’t share Jesus…never, ever.

Proclaim Him!

Please comment on this post right below. Feel free to write and proclaim your leadings in the Spirit in an honorable fashion.

Your friend and brother in fighting the good fight,

Marc

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Saints, we’re one day closer to Home, and Him! Love Him wholeheartedly!

You may view our Archives here: MONDAY MANNA – ARCHIVES;   Complete Archives; feel free to write and proclaim your leadings in the Spirit in an honorable fashion. May our Father richly bless you with His grace, through Jesus Christ our Lord, in order to walk worthy of His name.

Please comment on this post right below. Feel free to write and proclaim your leadings in the Spirit in an honorable fashion.