We are continuing our discussion on the response God asks of us when allowing us to be citizens of his Kingdom. If we simply sit and soak in the wonder of being a new creation, we miss much of the fulfillment God offers as we await our time in heaven. It is for our benefit God challenges us to actively respond to our position as redeemed citizens of God’s Kingdom.
As a part of this journey, Jesus challenges us to be actively involved in leading others to the joy of Kingdom citizenship. We will only be motivated to do this by seeking to grow in our adoration for Jesus, since we talk about what is most important to us. We then must grow in our care for those who don’t yet know the wonder of God’s forgiveness of sin. As this care grows, we can’t help by spend time praying for God to soften their heart to the truth of the Gospel.
This is where we need to be especially open to the power and leadership of God’s Holy Spirit. We often pray that God will “open the door” for an opportunity to share the truth with a person for whom we are praying. We know from the Word that God doesn’t want anyone to be lost, so he is going to answer this prayer. We just need to be willing to walk through the doors he is opening.
That open door may be simply placing that person with us in the same place at the same time. If we are waiting for them to ask us to share the Good News of Jesus with them, this probably is not going to happen. This means being ready to take any opportunity God offers to be the initiator of a spiritual conversation.
Following are some practical ways to make this happen. They are gleaned from practical experience. The acronym to help us remember them is from Jim Halstead of “Go Tell Ministries” and is used with his permission. We can start meaningful conversations about our faith if we remember F.I.R.E.
As about Family. Most people love to talk about their children or grandchildren. Simply get them started about accomplishments. You can ask questions that may open the door for them to discuss some hopes and dreams they have. You may also discover some disappointments and fears. This is not only a safe place to start, but you may also learn some history that will help guide the rest of your conversation.
You may then move to Interests. What do they like to do with their free time? Maybe they enjoy their work so much this occupies their thoughts. In this process, you can discover some common ground that will stimulate further discussion.
As God leads, you can move to asking questions about their Religious background. This is not as intrusive or scary as you may think. Most people have an opinion on this topic. Be careful not to debate or argue if that opinion is not correct. Allow them to unload if they need to. This will help prepare you to answer the objections later as you get into Scripture.
From this discussion you can Explore some faith-based questions. “Do you consider yourself a good person.” “If you were to discover there is an eternity, what would you say to God to convince him to let you into heaven”. We will explore where to go with these conversations next week.
Remember, this is a time for listening intently. Don’t plan your response while they are talking, there will be time for that. Also, this FIRE processes my not all happen in a single conversation. It may take several encounters to get to this point.