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“Come and R. I. D. E.”

R = REALLY LOVE GOD

I = INTENTIONALLY RELATE

D = DEVELOP GOD GIVEN GIFTS

E = ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO COME AND RIDE

Rewind: Last session we learned the motivation for joining God at work is all about being God’s ambassadors and doing what brings glory to God. It is good for us to be burdened for sinners and desire to reveal God’s heart and train followers.

Synopsis: How to share the message with others to encourage them to “Come and Ride,” involves two separate and unique parts; my testimony and the Good News or Gospel of Christ.

A personal _______________ is the most persuasive form of communication. Ads on TV exploit this powerful form to convince us to purchase what they are selling.

The Bible confirms this form of communication as well:

David – “Come and listen, and I will tell you what God has done for me.”

Samaritan Woman – “Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Jesus because of the woman’s testimony.”

Blind man – “I don’t know whether he is good or bad, but I know this; I was blind and now I can see!”

Peter & John – “We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

Paul – The Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”

Jesus – “I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.”

Psalm 105:1 Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done.

Psalm 96:1-3 Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise His name; proclaim His salvation day after day. Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous deeds among all peoples.

The __________ of your testimony.

1. It is unique! There are no others just like it.
2. It is personal and easy to understand.
3. You are the authority on it, which makes it difficult to argue with.
4. People love to hear personal stories and they remember them.
5. People can relate to your story and it builds relational bridges.
6. It the postmodern world it may be the most effective witness.

If you became a Christian as an __________ then these are the four ___________ a personal testimony can include.

WHAT MY LIFE WAS LIKE BEFORE I MET CHRIST.

What common circumstances would an unbeliever identify with?

What were your attitudes that an unbeliever would identify with?

What was most important to you?

What substitute for God did you use to find meaning in your life?

(Sports/fitness, success at work, marriage, sex, making money, drugs/alcohol, having fun, entertainment, popularity, hobbies)

HOW I REALIZED I NEEDED CHRIST.

What significant steps led up to your conversion?

What needs, hurts, or problems made you dissatisfied with the way you were living without God?

How did God get your attention? What motivated you?

HOW I COMMITTED MY LIFE TO CHRIST.

What specifically did you do? Where did it happen?

What did you say in your prayer? Be specific.

THE DIFFERENCE IT HAS MADE IN MY LIFE.

What benefits have you experienced or felt?

What problems have been resolved?

How has Jesus helped you change for the better?

How has it helped your relationships?

Give a current example.

If you became a Christian as a __________ but fell away or never _____________ until a deeper ________________ as an adult. then:

Use the same four steps, but start with the time just prior to your recommitment. Give some examples of how you were trying to meet your own needs without Christ and how that failed, then describe what caused you to realize you needed Christ directing your life and how you made a FULL commitment to him. Then explain how Jesus is currently meeting your deepest needs in life.

If you became a Christian at an _________ age and never ______________, then:

Use the same four steps with this modification: Point out some deep need or common problem that you see other people trying to resolve. Point out how unsuccessful their attempts are to meet their own need. Then explain why you never experienced that problem by trusting in God early in lie. Don’t mention the exact age, and then continue with steps three and four.

SUGGESTIONS FOR PREPARING YOUR TESTIMONY

• Pray and ask God to give you the right words.
• Write your testimony out, God honors preparation.
• Keep it short and to the point. Don’t lose sight of your goal.
• Avoid excessive, unnecessary details.
• Attempt to keep your testimony less than three minutes.
• Refer to experiences most people have in common.
• Be honest about your continuing struggles, life is never perfect!
• Don’t imply that your problems stopped at conversion.
• Spend most of your time on step four.
• Emphasize WHY you received Christ, the benefits of doing it.
• Don’t exaggerate or brag about previous sins.
• Keep away from negative remarks about religions or other people.
• Use very little scripture, but use one that made a difference.
• Don’t answer questions that haven’t asked.
• Give concrete examples of the changes in your life.
• Dates, names and ages don’t matter, avoid them.
• Be prepared and practice until it feels and sounds natural.
• Read it aloud and edit it to make it conversational and humorous.
• Let someone you know critic it and make suggestions on how to improve it.
• Don’t sound preachy, dramatic, and mystical or talk down to people.
• Use humor as it reduces tension and relaxes people. And please smile!

SOME COMMON GROUND CIRCUMSTANCES TO THINK ABOUT

Could you give a testimony about how Jesus helped you with any of the following experiences?

Positive: Adoption, breaking a bad habit, financial gain, raising children, marriage healed or strengthened, new baby, new business, new friends, success, new job, renewed love, or restored relationships.

Major Crisis: Abuse, addiction, accident, abortion, bankruptcy, broken dream, eating disorder, death, depression, disease, discrimination, divorce, empty nest, financial problems, infertility, incest, jail, or surgery.

REALIZE THAT YOU HAVE MORE THAN ONE TESTIMONY!

Phrases to avoid: “I just praise the Lord for…” “I am so blessed…” “Hallelujah!” “It was glorious” “I was convicted” “The Lord laid it on my heart” “Amen”

HOW TO LEAD INTO A TESTIMONY

The most important ingredient is: ________ for opportunities to share Jesus.

2 Corinthians 5:20 “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us…”

Listen for _____________ or ________ that Jesus has helped you with.

1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man, And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”

“You know that used to be a big issue in my life too, in fact I felt pretty (hopeless, frustrated, etc.) until I discovered something that made a difference in my life…”

Refer to something in the news that deals with a common _______or __________.

“Did you read or hear about… I can sure identify with those people. It wasn’t long ago that I struggled with the same issue, but then something happened that changed everything for me…”

____________ to people you’ve known for a while but never ______________ to.

“Bill, I need to apologize to you. We’ve known each other for a long time, and I consider you to be a good friend, but friends don’t keep secrets – and I’ve never told you about the best thing that ever happened to me. I guess I was afraid that you might have thought I was some kind of a nut. Anyway…”

SHARING THE GOOD NEWS

The universal part of your Life Message, is the Gospel of Christ, the Good News of how we can be saved, forgiven, and experience a personal relationship with Christ Jesus. The moment you are called into that relationship, you become a messenger of the Good News to others who have not heard or responded to it. And in fact, you prolong Christ’s return if you do not share.

OWN THESE BASIC TRUTHS OF THE GOOD NEWS!

God became man so that I ___________________________________.

Matthew 1:23 “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means God with us.”

Hebrews 4:14-15 We have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet was without sin.

Jesus died for my sins so that I _______________________________.

Hebrews 2:9-14-15 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone… Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death He might destroy him who holds the power – that is, the devil – and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

Jesus destroyed death so that I _______________________________.

2 Timothy 1:8-10 So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life – not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

Salvation is a free gift so that I ______________________________.

Romans 3:23-24 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

It is based on faith so that all I do ________________________________.

Mark 1:15 Jesus said, “Repent and believe the Good News!”

Romans 1:17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”