Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. 5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,[a] drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give. 9 “Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts— 10 no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep. 11 Whatever town or village you enter, search there for some worthy person and stay at their house until you leave. 12 As you enter the home, give it your greeting. 13 If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. 14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. 15 Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.
1 Peter 3:15 “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,”
Our denomination used to set aside the first week of each New Year as prayer week. We emphasized prayer each day in different homes and had different themes each night. It is good to spend some time in a church to remind ourselves of the complete dependency we have on the Lord and the desire to seek His face and honor Him. But there is more.
There was an old chorus that we sang when I was a child. “Lord, lay some soul upon my heart and love that soul through me. And may I humbly do my part to win that soul for thee.” That chorus allowed me to pray for people who were without Jesus and bring them before the Lord in prayer. There are people I am still praying for years later. Others are in the kingdom!
There were a couple of people in my church who God used to pray with people to accept Christ. One lady was too nervous to speak in public, but she would visit ladies one on one. She befriended them and earned the right to be heard. She loved them first and told them of her greatest love- Jesus.
A few years ago, we highlighted Lighthouse Ministry with an emphasis that reminded us of three things: Prayer, Care and Share. It begins with praying for someone. If we can’t talk to them about Christ, we can talk to Christ about them. We can pray that God will move in their hearts and pray for an opportunity to let them know of Jesus’ love.
Second, this light shining within us is also our way of caring for that person. Pray for an opportunity to show kindness or do a favor or invite them for a meal or go on an activity. Show that you care.
When you have earned the right to be heard, invite them to church, or share your testimony, or give them a book or video that meant a lot to you (about Christ) and visit about HIM. Share Jesus. Sharing isn’t as hard as we make it out to be.
Noman Geiser said, “I didn’t have the gift of evangelism, but when I started doing the work of an evangelist, God started using me to bring others to Himself. When I started sharing my faith with others, I discovered that people were not embarrassed to talk about Jesus. I was the embarrassed one.”
Application: Let your light shine.
Prayer: Lord, I know that without You, I can do nothing. Yet, I also know that I can do all things through Christ who lives in me. Teach me to be an evangelist for You.
