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This month we are learning about prayer from the Apostle Paul. Paul wrote many letters to the churches he helped form to teach them about Jesus and how to live a Christ-like life. There is one letter, however, that wasn’t written to a church to talk about general ideas of faith but to a specific person to address a single issue. It is the letter written to a man named Philemon. It is only 25 verses long and is often overlooked in the New Testament but it has a very powerful message for us on prayer. To understand the letter, however, we need to know its backstory.
Philemon was a wealthy and successful leader who had a church that met in his home. Philemon also had a slave named Onesimus who had run away and made the long journey from Colossae (which is in Turkey) to Rome. In Rome, Onesimus met the Apostle Paul who led him to believe in Jesus as his savior. Onesimus was so transformed by his new relationship with Christ that he felt the need to go back to Philemon and make things right. Paul sent Onesimus back with this letter telling Philemon that Jesus had so changed Onesimus' life that he should not welcome him back as a slave but as a brother in Christ.
The first part of Paul’s letter, however, says this about prayer;
I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. Philemon 4-6
We see the same formula that Paul used last week to teach about prayer, I pray _____ so that ______. Paul prays that Philemon will be active in sharing his faith so that he may understand all the good things he has in Christ in Jesus. But why would Paul pray specifically for Philemon to be active in sharing his faith? It could be because what he heard from Onesimus was that Philemon, while he was a good and faithful man who loved the people in his church, had not shared his faith in Jesus Christ with him.
Onesimus had been a slave in Philemon’s house but it was Paul who said that he had become his spiritual father. It was Paul who shared his faith with Onesimus and helped him believe in Jesus, not Philemon. Onesimus wasn’t transformed in Philemon’s house or under his care but by Paul in Rome, so when Onesimus returns to Philemon, Paul reminds him to share the gospel of Jesus with all those around him and all those in his household.
What we know about Philemon was that he loved the Lord and he loved the saints, or those already following Jesus, but Paul reminds him, and us, that that isn’t enough. Loving God and God’s people isn’t all there is in faith. As followers of Jesus, we are also called to be the light of the world and to make disciples of all people. We are called to share our faith in Jesus with others so that they may come to know for themselves the love and grace of God. Paul prays that Philemon will be active in sharing his faith.
My guess is most of us could use that same prayer. We know we should share our faith more, but we don’t. The question is, why don’t we? One reason we might not share our faith more is because we don’t want to look weird. In our culture today, many people find it uncomfortable to talk about their faith, especially faith in Jesus. The world often defines followers of Jesus as judgmental and hypocritical and since we don't want to be seen that way, we remain quiet about our faith and don’t share as much as we should.
Another reason people give for not sharing their faith is that they don’t think they know enough. If I start sharing my faith and they ask me a question, I might not know the answer. I’m going to look uninformed or unfaithful, so I’m just not going to say anything. We think, if I understand more, I will share more, but what Paul says is if we will share more, we will understand more.
I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.
So to learn more about our faith and to understand all we have in Jesus, we need to pray for opportunities to share our faith. As we look through the New Testament, we can find at least 4 different ways people shared their faith that can help us think about ways we might be able to comfortably share our faith.
The first way is to be loving but direct.
In Acts, Peter stands up and preaches his first sermon and lays out the gospel in a very direct way, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off Acts 2:38-39
When the people asked what they needed to do to trust in Jesus, Paul was very direct, repent and be baptized, every one of you. This might not be the method of sharing your faith that you want to use the first time you meet someone, that would be weird. It might not be what you want to share in casual conversation at work, but at the right time and in the right place, when people ask what they have to do to start following Jesus, this is something we could say. Repent and turn to Jesus. We need to acknowledge that we are sinners and ask God to forgive us.
A better way to share our faith is simply share your story.
In the gospel of John, we find a story about a man who was born blind but then healed by Jesus. Jesus spit on the ground, made some mud out of the dirt, applied it to the man’s eyes and then told him to go wash in the Pool of Siloam. When he did, his eyes were open and he could see. The man was then questioned by all the religious leaders about what exactly happened. The blind man didn’t know how it all happened. He didn’t really know who Jesus was so he simply told his story.
The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.” John 9:11
When the people kept asking him about Jesus, the man didn’t have any answers. When pressed about Jesus, the man finally said, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” He simply shared his story and that is all we have to do.
Has walking with Jesus given you peace - tell that story. Has knowing that you are forgiven helped you forgive yourself and not be filled with guilt and shame - tell that story. If you have experienced a sense of God’s touch healing you or giving you strength to get through a difficult time or helping you make a difficult decision - tell that story. You don’t have to have all the answers - just tell your story.
A third way of sharing our faith is to invite people to join you.
We can invite people to join us for worship, or to serve with us in or through the church, or to a fellowship event, but a simple invitation can open the door for someone to experience Jesus. In the very beginning of John’s gospel, Andrew spent a day with Jesus listening to him talk and share. Andrew was so taken by what Jesus said and how he lived that he went and found his brother Simon (who would become Peter) and he invited Simon to go with him and meet Jesus. Simon did and that invitation changed his life.
Later on in John’s gospel, Jesus told an outcast Samaritan woman that he was the Messiah. She believed him and then went and invited her family and friends to come meet Jesus for themselves.
Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Jesus because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.”
So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers.
They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.” John 4:39-42
The woman shared her story and then invited people to come with her to meet Jesus. Sharing our stories and inviting people to come and experience Christ in the ways and places we have can change people’s lives. This past week we celebrated the life of Carl Burpo. Many people who knew Carl maybe 10 or 12 years ago might not think that he would ever go to church. He was skeptical of churches and church people, but his wife Grace had been invited to church by her friend Michael and Grace’s experience in the church was so positive that she started to talk about it with Carl.
Carl saw for himself the love of the church through Grace and then heard about our Christmas Dinner. Carl couldn’t believe that people, especially young families with children, would give up big chunks of their Christmas Day to help cook and serve dinner to people they didn’t know. When Grace invited Carl to come to worship with her, he did. And when he was invited to help at the Christmas Dinner, he did. His life changed and it all started with an invitation. In fact we can go back and see that Grace came to faith church through an invitation from a friend. A simple invitation is a powerful way to share our faith.
Maybe you are here because of an invitation from a friend. Next month we are going to have another Family and Friends Day and we hope you will invite someone to join you. We will have invitation cards available to help you make that invitation, but start praying now for the people you want to invite and pray for the courage to invite them.
The fourth way we can share our faith is by living a life of faith that will speak to others. In the early church, Paul and Silas were missionaries sharing their faith in Jesus from town to town, but the biggest impact they made in one place wasn’t from their teaching but from how they handled a difficult situation.
Paul and Silas had been put in prison in Philippi because of a conflict that arose because of their ministry. During the night, they weren’t shouting and cursing but singing hymns. As they were singing, the chains that held all the prisoners fell off and the doors of the prison burst open. This is where we pick up their story:
The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!
The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household. Acts 16:27-34
What gave Paul and Silas the opportunity to directly share their faith and tell the jailor and his family to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, was how they treated the jailor when the chains fell off and the doors burst open. Instead of fleeing into the night so that the jailor would be held accountable and probably put to death for losing the prisoners, Paul told him not to harm himself because they were all there. They hadn’t gone anywhere. They didn’t take advantage of the situation. They had integrity. This moved the jailor so deeply that he asked them about their faith.
The way we live in our lives and handle situations can open the door for people to ask us about our faith. Sometimes the best way we can share our faith is simply by how we live. If we fully follow Jesus in this world, we will look different than those around us. People will notice and people will ask us about it and people will begin to want what we have. This is part of my faith story.
When I went to college, I thought I knew what I wanted. I wanted to be a hotel manager and work at resorts around the world because I wanted to live in those fancy and wonderful places. While hotel management isn’t as glamorous as I was thinking, that wasn’t what changed my life, what changed my life was meeting a man named Dave DeGraaf.
Dave was a student a few years older than I was and he was studying linguistics so that he could help translate the Bible into other languages. As I got to know Dave through a small group Bible study, I realized that there was a sense of purpose and meaning in his life that my life lacked. Dave had a clear vision of what it meant for him to follow Jesus and there was joy he had that was contagious. The more I got to know Dave, the more I wanted the things he had - a deep sense of meaning and purpose, and life filled with joy and peace. What I realized was that all of that came from his relationship with Jesus. Because of the way he lived his life, I finally gave my life to Jesus.
How we live our life can be the most powerful way we share our faith. Being gracious to those around us when others are being critical can point people to Jesus. Forgiving others and letting go of grudges can point people to Jesus. Having a deep sense of meaning and purpose and joy can point people to Jesus. The more we live in Christ the more our lives can share Christ with others.
While we often think that sharing our faith means directly telling people about Jesus and that they need to repent and believe, that is just one way - a way that I would say we need to pray about before jumping into. But telling our story, inviting others to join us in worship or service or fellowship and living our lives fully in Jesus are ways we can authentically share our faith every day. We still need to pray that God will use us when we share, but these are just as important and powerful ways to share our faith.
If we want to fully understand all that we have in Christ Jesus, we need to share our faith. Begin today by simply asking God to show you who might need to hear your story, or get an invitation to worship with you or join us family and friends day. Ask God to help you share your story with them so they know why you believe in God and trust in Jesus. Pray for opportunities and open doors to share these things and then be ready for God to open those doors.
When we share our faith, two wonderful things happen. First, we find ourselves part of God’s divine plan in someone else’s life. We may be the one to plant the seed, or water it along the way, or we may be the one to bring in the harvest and see someone’s life change, but no matter what, we will be part of God’s divine plan. The second thing that happens when we share our faith is that we come to know and experience every good thing we have in Jesus. We will experience the love of God, the power of the Holy Spirit and all the glorious riches found in Jesus.
I pray that we would be active in sharing our faith so that we will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.
Next Steps
Prayer - Sharing Your Faith
I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith
so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. Philemon 6
Is sharing your faith an ongoing part of your life?
If not, why? What holds you back?
What would help you share your faith more?
Four biblical examples of how to share our faith.
1. The loving and direct approach: Acts 2:37-42
How would you answer the question, what must I do to
be saved?
Write out a response so you can be prepared when asked.
2. Share your story: John 9:1-9 and John 9:13-25
What can you share about your faith?
Take time to reflect and write out a story of your faith and what you might want to share with others.
Share with a friend or small group to get comfortable in sharing.
3. Invite people to Jesus: John 1:35-43 & John 4:1-30, 39-42
Who has invited you to worship, a small group or to serve with them in the church or community? Give thanks for them.
Begin to pray for someone in your life that God wants YOU to invite to join you in worship, at a fellowship event, in a small group, or a service opportunity.
Pray for someone you might want to invite to the Family and Friends Day at Faith Church on September 15.
4. Living a life of faith that speaks to others: Acts 16:25-34
Whose life has been a witness and example to you? Ask God to use your life of faith to be a light and witness to others.
