Step 1: Identify People

• Pray that God would reveal a few people that you can be intentional with.
• Think of the people you regularly come into contact with (gym, coffee shop, work, social club, etc.)
• Start with 3 people that you connect with and feel God is leading you to.
• Write those names down and begin to pray for them.

Step 2: Cultivate Relationships

• Pray that God would give you favor with these specific people and that you would be able to serve them well.
• Get to know them (Where do they live, work, and play?)
• Listen to their story (What drives them? What do they value? What do they do for fun? Where are they hurting?)
• Write down the info that you gather and start praying for them regularly.

Step 3: Transition to Spiritual Conversations

• Pray that God would open doors for spiritual conversation that would lead to the gospel.
• Ask simple, but pointed questions. (What role has God played in their life? What do they think of when they hear the word, “church”? What do they think of when they hear the name, “Jesus”?)

Step 4: Equip and Encourage

• Pray that God would speak through you as you equip and encourage them with Scripture and the gospel.
• Take opportunities to talk about Jesus and his work on the cross.
• Don’t feel like you have to know the whole Bible before you can talk about it. Share pieces that you do you know.
• Share your story of faith.
• Ask what is keeping them from believing in Jesus.

As believers, we want to be intentional about extending that same grace and mercy to others. We want to be intentional about connecting others to Jesus because we know first-hand the difference it can make.

This is not always easy, but when we trust that Jesus has gone before us, it is always worth it. It is worth it to share our lives and our stories with others for their good and God’s glory. It is worth it to see others connect to Jesus and start a new story in Him.

As we seek to live this out,  there are 3 things we must know…

1. You don’t need to have all the answers.
2. You don’t need to come up with tricks or “bait and switch” methods.
3. You do need to be connecting to Jesus yourself.

God has uniquely wired and placed you to connect others to Jesus. He has gone before you and is inviting you to participate.

Luke 10:25-28
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” 27 He answered: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” 28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

Matthew 9:12
12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.

Matthew 28:19-20
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Acts 1:8
8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Jonah 4:11
11 But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?”

Jeremiah 29:7
7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”

Acts 17:26
26 From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.

Acts 18:9-10
9 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. 10 For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.”

Luke 19:10
10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

John 20:21
21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”

Mark 6:12
12 So the followers went out and preached that people should change their hearts and lives.

Isaiah 6:8
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

John 13:14-15
14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.

Matthew 5:16
16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Philippians 2:3-4
3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Romans 1:16
16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.

Colossians 4:5-6
5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

Romans 10:13-15
13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

Books

The Bible. Specifically the life of Jesus in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John

The Master Plan of Evangelism, Robert E. Coleman

The Tangible Kingdom Primer, Hugh Halter and Matt Smay

Sent: Living the Missional Nature of the Church, Ed Stetzer

Just Walk Across the Room, Bill Hybels

The Reason for God, Timothy Keller

The Friendship Factor, Alan McGinnis

Radical, David Platt

The Jesus Storybook Bible, Sally Lloyd-Jones

Culture Making, Andy Crouch

Websites

www.simpleloveproject.com

www.simplymissional.com

www.roxburghmissionalnet.com

www.jeffvanderstelt.wordpress.com

www.shauninthecity.com

www.vergenetwork.org

1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

The Apostle Paul is writing this letter to the Romans and in the preceding 11 chapters Paul is outlining the gospel. So when he says “Therefore I urge you by the mercies of God” in the first part of verse 1, he is pointing us back to the mercy we experience in the gospel - Mercy that enables sinful humanity to get right standing with God, not based on our goodness, but based solely on the goodness of God. So Paul is saying, because of this incredible mercy, our response should be to present our bodies as living and holy sacrifices. Basically, to be transformed to walk in holiness.

You see the mercy of God is what should motivate us to walk in holiness. And it’s not just mercy in that you are alive today, although it is that. It’s not just mercy in that you have a family, or health, or financial stability, although it is all of those things, but it is so much more than that. It’s a mercy that allows you in the midst of sin, through the cross of Christ, to be rescued and restored into a right relationship with God. That we would be so amazed by the MERCY OF GOD that we would yearn to see the HOLINESS OF GOD work itself out in our lives. Mercy is our motivation. It’s not guilt. It’s not performance. It’s not approval. It’s mercy. And this is so important because in order to experience transformation we have to have the right motivation.

At our house, we watch the Cosby show a lot. We stream it through Netflix, its awesome, but also a little addictive because you can watch episode after episode and season after season without commercials. But, one of the reasons I love the Cosby show is when their kids get in trouble, they don’t just punish them, but they always have like a family meeting where they get to the root of the problem… The why of the situation. Bill Cosby was a genius. Because why we do what we do is so important. It affects whether we experience a temporary modification in behavior or a lasting, gospel transformation.

As we walk in wisdom toward people who don’t know Jesus, there are conversations that will pop up. Look at that phrase “seasoned with salt” in verse 6. Paul is talking about our speech being salty as we have conversations with other people. Now, salt as we all know does primarily two things: it preserves and adds flavor. So as we look at this how can our words act as a preservative when we are connecting others to Jesus? Well, our words need to be lasting. They need to be sustaining. And the only way our words will last is if we speak truth from Scripture. You don’t have to be a theologian or get a degree, but you need to know what you believe and to some extent be able to articulate that to others.

Not in an arrogant way. Like you’re in a conversation with someone who doesn’t know Christ, you are walking in wisdom, you’re being intentional, and so you’re asking them questions about their background, about their life, and their story. You’re getting to know them. And when they decide to share something that is difficult, like maybe they hate their job. Well, you don’t want to pull out some verse and be like, “oh you hate your job, well don’t you know that the Bible teaches that we should work as unto the Lord. And so it doesn’t really matter if you like your job, you should probably suck it up and just work harder.” You don’t want to be that guy.

But, you do want to listen to their heart and be able to speak truth into their lives as the Holy Spirit leads you. And you want to be gracious. Paul says in this verse “let your speech always be grace.” So when you’re talking to that person who hates their job, you speak truth to them in grace. In that moment you can let them know that you know sometimes I don’t like my job either, but what encourages me is that Scripture teaches our value is so much greater than our job. And that even if your job is sometimes difficult, that God wants to walk through that with you. He wants to take your cares and your burdens about your job and that he wants to carry them for you. He wants to give you an intrinsic peace and joy in knowing that you are loved by a God who is greater than your job, who is greater than your current situation.

We can have moments like this where we speak truth in grace that gets to the heart. We don’t change truth, we don’t budge on it, we don’t alter it to fit our preferences. The gospel is the gospel. Jesus Christ lived, died, and resurrected on our behalf. Scripture is Scripture. All 66 books are God’s revelation about His character and His nature. But, we speak that truth with grace and we share our story in the midst of it. You see that is where the flavor part of speaking with saltiness comes in. Because this truth, the truth of the gospel, the truth of Scripture has impacted us all in different ways. When we connect others to Jesus, we all have our own story to tell. We all have different kinds of salt. Some people have a little bit of sea salt in their story, others have a little Cajun salt, and others may have a little garlic salt. God has given us all unique stories, inspired by His transforming truth that we can share with others as we connect them to Jesus.

The apostle Paul is writing to the church in the city of Colossae and in this last chapter he is giving a final charge. And in this final charge he begins to challenge people to look beyond themselves and to point others to Jesus. Notice that first phrase in verse 5: He says “conduct yourselves” and quite literally that phrase means to “walk”. Which goes right to the right to the heart of the Christian life. The Christian life was never meant to be something that we merely go and do on a Sunday. Where we dress up nice, put on a happy face, sing some songs, listen to somebody talk for 30 minutes and then go home. It’s not something we just go and do, it’s who we are. It is a continuous walk that affects every day of the week.

But, we don’t just walk aimlessly right? Paul says to walk with wisdom toward outsiders. Outsiders, not like the greasers gang from the movie, but quite simply, those who are outside the faith. That we would walk in wisdom toward those who do not have a relationship with Jesus. I have been reading through the book of Proverbs lately and it is amazing to see how much it talks about wisdom being associated with someone who listens and seeks knowledge.

So in a very practical way, as we try to walk in wisdom toward other people, a lot of times it just comes down to listening to them and getting to know them. Like, do you know your neighbors? Do you listen to them? Do you get together with them over dinner or coffee or sport and ask them about their family, their job, how they grew up? We need to listen and get to know them. We need to walk in wisdom toward them.

You see, Paul assumes and knows that you and I are going to come in contact with and do life around those who do not believe in Jesus like we do. In fact, Jesus himself prays in the high-priestly prayer in John 17, “I do not ask that you take them out of the world.” So there is this reality that however you feel about connecting others to Jesus, you have been placed in an environment to do just that. And that’s why Paul says at the end of verse 5 that when we walk with wisdom toward outsiders, we make the most of the opportunity. This literally means to buy up all the opportunities. He’s saying since you and I are going to engage those who do not believe like we believe, let us buy up all the opportunity. Let us make the most of it by spending time with others and asking questions and listening. Let’s be intentional and purposeful about connecting others to Jesus.

The birth of a child is such an amazing thing… we had our first last year. All the intricate details involved in bringing a life into this world are absolutely mind-boggling. The fact that this is how we are all brought into this world is particularly amazing. My wife and I experienced this state of awe and amazement a few days after we came home from the hospital and it all started to sink in. But, in the midst of our excitement we found that for some, child-birth had become somewhat routine, somewhat normal, and even a little bit boring. We discovered that people who had a few kids of their own or had witnessed numerous births were somewhat numb to the whole deal. It really made us step back and wonder, “how could something so amazing become so routine, so watered-down?”

As we thought about this, I couldn’t help but think about the gospel. And as I thought about the gospel the same question arose, “how could something so amazing become so routine, so watered-down?” How did an opportunity to know God by believing in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ become routine, boring, or old hat???

I know for me growing up, I would tell you I believed the gospel, I would tell you I thought the Bible was true, I would go to church. But, if I am honest with myself, the gospel had become routine in my life. Whether you grew up going to church or not, I imagine that at some point, maybe even now, you have experienced this same thing. Maybe the busyness of life has caught up with you, maybe you are “all churched out”, maybe you think you have progressed passed the gospel to more heady, theological truths. Whatever the case may be, we have all experienced times when we have lost sight of how amazing the gospel really is… and therefore, lost sight of the radical transformation God intended.

In Ephesians 2:1-10, Paul reminds us that as Christ-followers we have been radically transformed - by the gospel, for the mission. Let’s take a look.

Ephesians 2:1-3

1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.

Paul emphasizes the brutal reality of who we were in order show us the beauty of who we are in Christ. Words and phrases like dead and children of wrath describe all of our conditions before we were transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. When we think about the gospel and specifically the cross, we must realize that Jesus’ death on the cross was not just for the sins of the world in general, but for your sin, for my sin… so that we may be saved from condemnation.

Ephesians 2:4-10

4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions–it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved,through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

The beauty of the gospel is that it does not stop with us. Verse 4 begins with “But God”. God enters the picture and saves us “while we were yet sinners”, not when we got our act right, not when we followed a moral checklist to a tee, but while we were dead, children of wrath. God steps in, saves us from our helpless state and as Paul goes on to say, we don’t get any credit whatsoever. It is a free gift from God, completely unmerited favor. And He doesn’t stop there. We are called the “workmanship” of God created for good works that have already been mapped out for us. This is the gospel. That God takes a condemned people, saves us from wrath and saves us to a relationship with our Creator and a mission to point all of creation to Him. We have gone from death to life, from temporary to eternal, from isolation to relationship, from self-pity to mission… all because of God’s great love, mercy, and grace shown to us through the gospel! How amazing is this?! This should radically transform us, not just at the moment we believe, but for the rest of our lives.

So how does being transformed by the gospel relate to mission? The answer – There is no way we can point others to the transformation available through the gospel of Jesus Christ if we are not being transformed by it first. So today, make a point to remember the gospel. Remember how amazing it is, remember who you were and who you are now in Christ. Remember the first time you experienced this radical transformation, and invite someone else to experience it for the first time!