Step Eight – Go into all the World

Just before Jesus ascended into Heaven he told his disciples to go into all the world and preach the gospel.  These were essentially the last words of Jesus here on this earth.  The disciples follow the command to spread the gospel and part of their teaching was the understanding that we too are obligated to share our faith with others.  Ironically, in today’s world, with the power of the Internet, we are each individually more capable of following the command to go into all the world with the gospel than the disciples were at that time.

How did You come to Know Jesus?

Who was it who told you about Jesus?  Most of those who came to know Jesus as a child were introduced to Him by a parent.  That introduction was likely reinforced by a Sunday school teacher.  Many teens were brought to church by a friend, and over time, likely with the help of a youth ministry pastor, the gospel was revealed, and a desire to know Jesus followed.  Those who came to faith in Christ as an adult likely had a more convoluted journey.  You may have had some early childhood exposure to the gospel that never truly took hold, then throughout your life subtle influences continued to nudge you toward a deeper understanding, and at some point, one or more of your friends or family guided you to a relationship with Jesus.  In all of these scenarios there was one or more believers acting as a guide.  If you are a believer, it is likely you are guiding someone right now.  You may be guiding someone without even realizing the role you are playing.

1 Peter 3:15 (NASB)

“Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you.”

How You can Go Into All the World

You don’t need to be a trained evangelist to share your faith.  You simply need to live a life dedicated to following the teachings of Jesus.  In so doing, others will see God working in your life and naturally want to know the source of the hope that is in you.  Simply answering a question about where you go to church may be all that is needed to nudge someone toward a closer look at the gospel.  You don’t have to go knocking on doors, or passing out Bible literature on a street corner, to share your faith.  You only need to live your life in a manner that displays the love of God through your actions.  When you serve others unselfishly, you are serving God and that will be noticed by those around you.

It’s important that you are diligent about studying the Bible and constantly growing in your knowledge and understanding of the scripture.  When the Word of God is in your heart it will be easy to answer questions from unbelievers that will guide them toward Jesus.  In addition, you will find yourself pointing people toward Jesus in a natural unrehearsed way.  You don’t need to memorize any special instructions; all you need to do is share what you know about Christianity and provide a good resource for anything beyond your expertise.  When God sees that you are ready He will present you with opportunities to share your faith.

We are greatly blessed with technology that can make it easy for us to go into all the world.  The Internet offers many different avenues that lead to connecting with people across the globe.  You can use your social media accounts to proclaim your faith in God by simply letting people know you attend church on Sunday, or you can post Bible verses on a regular basis.  Let your heart guide you to the appropriate level of Christian content for your online presence.  Sharing your efforts to spread God’s love by serving others may be all that’s needed to spark someone’s interest in learning more about following Jesus.

Finally, we all have friends for whom we feel have an urgent need to know Jesus; but keep in mind pushing them in that direction won’t help – you are to be a guide and teacher with the help of the Holy Spirit carefully leading the way to salvation.

Mark 16:15 (NASB)

“And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”

All scripture references are linked to Bible Gateway so that you can read each verse in context.  Bible Gateway allows you to change the verse to your favorite translation and compare it side-by-side with multiple translations.  In addition, you can select to hear an audio version of any verse by clicking on the speaker icon.  Keep the Bible Gateway App on your phone so that you can visit the Word of God at any time during your day.

Step Nine – Life is Suffering