John Fuller: Today on Focus on the Family with Jim Daly, Greg Stier shares his heart for others and why he feels compelled to tell the good news.
Greg Stier: Life is hard with Jesus. It’s impossible without Him. How do people make it in this world without Christ?
John: Thanks for joining us. I’m John Fuller.
Jim Daly: You know, John, that’s a great question. How do people make it in this world without Christ? Uh, Greg is, uh, today’s speaker. He is the founder of Dare 2 Share Ministries right up the road here in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Today, Greg is going to equip us to share the Gospel with someone in our sphere of influence using what he calls relational evangelism. I like that.
Jim: Mm-hmm.
John: And I think you’re going to want to try it. As you’re going to hear, Greg brings a lot of energy and passion to the stage, so buckle up and let’s listen to this outstanding message.
John: Yeah, here’s Greg Stier speaking to our staff on Focus on the Family with Jim Daly.
Greg: So today, I’m going to give you a crash course. We’re going to use an analogy of a airplane, how to pilot a Gospel conversation from takeoff to touchdown. So, let’s begin.
How do you fuel up with the right motivation? In other words, why should we share the Gospel? There’s a lot of reasons. I’m going to give you three. Three different types of fuel to motivate you to share the Gospel.
The first is obedience to the Lord. Matthew 28:19, Jesus said to his disciples, “Go and make disciples of all nations.” And that’s not just to the 11 disciples that were there, that’s to all the disciples of all time. It’s like you’re on that mountain with Jesus and He looks in your eyes and says, “Go and make disciples of all nations.” This is the primary mandate of Jesus. And if I told my kids when they were little, “Hey, I’m going to go to the store. I’ll be back in an hour. While I’m gone, make your bed.” I come back in an hour, “Jeremy, Kailey, did you make your bed?” “Well, dad, Kailey wrote a song about making our bed.” “But did you make your bed?” “Dad, I drew a picture of what a made bed looks like.” “But did you make your bed?” Fuel number one, obedience to the Lord.
Fuel number two, compassion for the lost. Matthew 9:36, “When Jesus saw the crowds, He had compassion on them because they’re harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd.”
So, when Jesus saw people, He looked behind the smiling facades, and He saw the scratches and bites and the hurt and the pain underneath. Do you, do you feel that for your neighbors, for that barista, for the person that cut you off? Life is hard with Jesus. It’s impossible without Him.
How do people make it in this world without Christ? Obedience to Jesus, compassion for the lost, urgency of the mission, that’s a third fuel, urgency of the mission. And I’m gonna talk to you about something that a lot of preachers don’t talk about today, but I gotta talk about it because Jesus talked about it more than anybody in the New Testament.
Of the 12 times the word hell is used in the New Testament, 11 are mentioned by Jesus. Jude 23 tells us this, “Snatch others from the fire and save them.” There’s an urgency to the mission that many of us have forgotten, and I want you to choose your fuel.
Some of you may be more motivated by just sheer obedience to the King. Yes, Sir. Some of you may be motivated more by compassion for the lost because your heart aches for those who don’t know Christ. Some of you are more motivated by the urgency of the mission. You don’t wanna see anybody go to an eternity in hell. Choose your fuel and let it motivate you. Fuel up with the right motivation.
And we need to pass that fuel on to the next generation. From the time my kids were little, we trained them how to share the Gospel. We inspired them. We gave them passion fuel and sometimes it backfired on us.
I’ll never forget, I was in the grocery store with my son, Jeremy, who was five years old at the time. And it was a Sunday afternoon after church, and the Broncos were gonna play at 2:25 and I wanted to get home so I was rushing. We were going through the bottled water and juice isle and a lady says, “Sir, can you help me read the prices on the bottled water?” And I said, “Sure.” So, I read her real quick and I’m trying to get out of there. She wants to talk. She said, “Yeah, I, I’m, I lost my glasses. I’m a mess because I lost my dog. My dog died.” Now I gotta stop. So, I said, “What happened?” She said, “I had a one-year-old Great Dane puppy and ran out in the middle of the street, got hit by a car.” And then she started doing something that us guys often cringe at the thought. She began to tear up. I’m like, “Oh no, please don’t cry in the grocery store. Stop drop and roll, please. Don’t.” (laughs) I didn’t know what to say to her.
My son knew what to say, my five-year-old son. He goes, “That’s okay, lady. Your dog’s in doggy heaven and you can go to heaven too. Daddy, tell her the Gospel.” I’m like, “Uh, uh.” And then I remembered, I train him how to share the Gospel in a five-year-old way. I go, “You tell her.” He held up his hand; he wiggled his thumb. “God loves me.” Then wiggled the next finger, “I have sinned. Christ died for me. If I believe, I will go to heaven.” He goes, “See lady, if you believe in Jesus, you’ll go to heaven with your dog.” And she’s looking at him like he’s a little freak and so am I. (laughs).
And then she burst in tears. “I’m so mad at God.” She goes, “I lost my son to cancer, and I bought a dog to comfort me in my grief and now my dog is dead. I’m so mad at God, but now I’m in. Now I get it.” I’m like, “Ma’am, God lost His son too and I’m preaching the Gospel.” Meanwhile, my son Jeremy won’t shut up. He’s like, “That’s okay. God loves me.” I asked him to go, “Back it off, boy. This is what daddy gets paid to do, right?” And we’re in this conversation. Everybody’s looking at the meltdown in aisle nine. She collapses in my arms. It was like a scene in a movie.
Put her faith in Christ right there. We get our groceries, we walk out and I’m convicted. I look down at Jeremy. I said, “I was gonna miss that opportunity. But you remembered what was most important. You saw her soul. I’m proud of you.” We need to have the eyes of a child that sees the urgency. You wanna fuel up with the right motivation.
Secondly, you wanna get passengers on board. In other words, how do you begin to engage people? How do you begin this process of evangelism? And I’m gonna sum it up in three words. Prayer, care, share. Listen, you start praying for people that you know who don’t know Jesus. And if you don’t know anybody who doesn’t know Jesus, get out a little bit. Engage the culture. Get to know your neighbors. Get to know that barista. Start praying for them, caring for them.
One of the best ways you can care for people in this culture is by listening to them. We’re gonna talk about that in a little bit, but pray for them, care for them and then at the right time, share the Gospel with them. And do not buy the lie, “Well, I just share the Gospel with my life.” Yes, you share the Gospel with your life and your lips.
To use a plane analogy, I don’t want to fly anywhere on a one wing plane. There’s two wings on the plane and that is: we live it and we give it. Right now, I want you to think of the name of one person you know who does not yet know Jesus that you’re gonna start praying for and caring for and at the right time, share the Gospel with. So, you start by fueling up with the right motivation.
You start getting passengers on board, you write those names down in what I call that cause circle to pray for, care for, and share the Gospel with. Now, to use the plane analogy, how do you take off? How do you, how do you begin? If somebody goes, “It’s hot in here.” Do you say, “It’s hot in hell too. Let me tell you about it.” No, do not do that. I’ve done it. It does not work.
I’m gonna give you a simple three step process for beginning a Gospel conversation. Three words. Ask, admire, admit.
So, I’m gonna go over this with you and then you’re gonna practice. I want you to ask great questions. You know who asked great questions? Jesus. He asked them 300 questions in the Gospels. I think one of the best ways that we can show the love of Christ to people around us is by learning to ask questions and deeply listening. Because we live in a culture that their faces are buried in their phones and when you start asking questions and give people eye contact and genuinely listen, it is an act of love that people are not used to.
Do you know how to ask great questions and listen? What does asking do? It breaks down barriers. What did Jesus do with the woman at the well? “Would you give me a drink of water?” That was it. And then He shifted to the living water.
Start asking questions, get to know people. Ask the Holy Spirit for that opportunity to turn it spiritual. It can be a question as simple as this, “What do your tattoos mean?” Or “Where are you from, tell me about your family?” So, you ask questions, regular questions, and you turn it toward the spiritual. And some of you are like, “Well, that’s awkward.” Well, guess what? Suck it up, buttercup. It’s okay.
We have a saying at Dare 2 Share: awkward is awesome. Jesus was the Prince of Peace and the King of awkward. Told the woman at the well, “Go get your husband.” “I don’t have a husband.” “Yeah. You’ve had five husbands and the dude you’re shacking up with now is not your husband.” Awkward. (laughs) “Rich young ruler, go sell everything you have, give it, give it to the poor and fall” … Awkward.
If you’re not willing to suffer a little bit of red face and embarrassment for the sake of the Gospel, honestly, what kind of Christian are you?
Turn toward the spiritual. And what, when you find out what they believe, admire what you can. Admire what you can about what they believe. We need to seek to engage, not enrage.
“Oh, you’re a Muslim? Interesting. You know what? One of the things I appreciate is you pray five times a day. That’s commitment.”
And I’m not saying that you agree with everything or most things, but you find that one sliver you agree with or you can admire and that becomes a bridge.
Too many times, we start trying to fight and argue and break out the Scarface apologetics gun. “Say hello to my little friend,” and we start to try to blow away them with all of our apologetics facts. And I believe in apologetics and I believe there’s a place for them, but I don’t believe it’s upfront.
John: You’re listening to a very energetic Greg Stier on Focus on the Family with Jim Daly. Such passion there. And you can learn more about his approach to relational evangelism in his book called Dare 2 Share: A Field Guide to Sharing Your Faith.
We’ll send that to you for a donation of any amount today, either a monthly pledge or a one-time gift, and we’ll include a free audio download of Greg’s entire presentation with extra content.
Donate today and request those at focusonthefamily.com/broadcast or call for details, 800, the letter A, and the word FAMILY. 800-232-6459. Let’s return now to more from Greg Stier, speaking to the Focus on the Family staff.
Greg: Ask, admire, admit. Admit that you need Jesus more than anyone. This is when you share your story. Can you share your testimony in less than 60 seconds? What was life like before? What happened? How did you hear the Gospel? What’s it been like since?
I know what some of you are thinking. Some of you are thinking, “My testimony is lame. I came to Christ as a five-year-old in Sunday school.” That is not a lame testimony, by the way.
I saw a social media post. I loved it. It says, “On the day you got saved, God turned a criminal proceeding into an adoption ceremony.” Every one of you has a powerful testimony because it’s really ultimately not about you, but what Jesus did on the Cross and that you received that into your life. This is when you share your story. Ask, admire, admit.
Now, you need to have a good flight plan. In other words, you need to be able to share the Gospel message, and you may be thinking, “Well, how do I do that?” I want to teach you a way to share the Gospel without a piece of paper and a pen. If you don’t have your Bible with you, okay, that’s fine. G-O-S-P-E-L. God created us to be with Him, Genesis 1 and 2. Think about that.
With all of creation, God said, “Let there be, let there be, let there be light, let there be …” He said, “Let there be. ” He spoke it into existence, but with humanity, He didn’t say, “Let there be.” He got in the mud, and He formed a mud man. And He breathed into Adam’s nostrils, the breath of life and the first thing Adam saw when he opened his eyes was the muddy, smiling face of his Creator. And then later on, He put Adam into a deep, deep sleep and reached into his side and got a rib and formed the woman. He got muddy to make Adam. He got bloody to make Eve. It sounds like a country Western song, “Got in the mud and the blood and the crud.” (laughs) And then He walked with them in the cool of the day. There was intimacy.
There was no sin. There was no shame.
God created us to be with Him. Before you start talking about sin, talk about the God who loves them. Then we shift to sin. Our sins separate us from God. That’s the O. Our sins separate us from God. We see that in Genesis 3, when Adam and Eve sin. It ruins it for all the humanity. Just think of a bottle of water and you just take one drop of poison and put it in that bottle of water and shake it. It ruins a whole bottle of water. One sin, the sin of Adam ruined it for all of humanity.
We’re separated from God just like Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden, the personal presence of God. Humanity has been kicked out of God’s presence because He’s a Holy God. And humanity is on a highway to hell where they’ll suffer God’s wrath forever.
- In the Gospel acrostic, sins cannot be removed by good deeds. Genesis 4 through Malachi 4. The blood, the sweat, and the tears. The blood of all the Old Testament sacrifices, the sweat of seeking to obey the 613 Old Testament commands, the tears of contrition when they failed to do so, none of that could remove their sin. Our good deeds are like putting white frosting on a burnt cake.
So they’re, we’re all headed to hell. There’s nothing we can do about it. So, God did something about it, which brings us to the P in the Gospel acrostic. Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. Can I get an amen?
Congregation: Amen.
Jim: We see this in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. God sent his Son, fully God, fully human, lived the perfect life we could never live. Then died in our place on the Cross for our sin. He took the bullet for us. He took the hit for us. He said, “It is finished,” and He meant it.
It was buried. He rose from the dead. Victorious over sin. And now E. Everyone who trust in Him alone has eternal life. We see that in the Book of John. 98 times it means it says the word “believe.” In Greek, it’s “pistis.” It means to trust in or rely upon. It’s not just mental ascent. It’s putting your faith in Christ just like you’re trusting in those chairs to hold you up. You’re transferring your, your faith from yourself to Christ and Him Crucified.
And you believe that He died for you, and you trust in Him to save you, which brings us to the L. Life with Jesus starts now and lasts forever. It’s not just eternal life; it’s a quality of life. Not just a quantity of life. It’s a quality of life. We experience eternal life now and it lasts forever. Let me tell you, one of the reasons this means so much to me is I never, I never met my biological father.
My biological father left my mom before I was even born. I’ve never seen his face. I’ve never heard his voice. But don’t you dare feel sorry for me because I have another Father and He’ll never leave me or forsake me and if you’re a believer in Jesus, He will never leave you or forsake you.
Two calls to action.
One, if you’ve never put your faith in Jesus, if this is the first time it made sense, trust in Jesus right now. Transfer your trust to Jesus Christ. Believe He died for you. Receive that gift of eternal life right now through faith. “Lord, I believe.” If you have placed your faith in Christ, memorize that Gospel acrostic.
But be able to share the Gospel anytime, anywhere, with anyone. Okay. Fuel up with the right motivation. Get passengers on the board. Take off. Ask, admire, admit. Have a good flight plan.
By the way, here’s a little extra that’s not in your outline. How do you deal with turbulence? What if somebody asks you a question you don’t have the answer to? Let me give you just a quick hack. Say these words. “I don’t know, but I’ll find out.” And then go to gotquestions.org.
And I guarantee it’ll have the answer. “I don’t know, but I’ll find out.” And learn as you go. So many Christians don’t evangelize because they’re afraid of not having the answers. It’s okay not to have the answers. You know the One who does. Go ask Him. Go read His book.
Okay, now how do you touch down safely? So, you’ve shared the Gospel. Now what? I’m gonna give you two closing questions. Question number one is this, “Does that make sense?” If they say, “No,” explain it again. If they say, “Yes,” I love this question. You ask them this question. “Is there anything holding you back from trusting in Jesus right now?”
You’re not manipulating them. You’re asking them. If there is, deal with that. Ask the Holy Spirit for strength as you do. He will give you wisdom. If there’s not, then invite them to place their faith in Christ right there on the spot and the angels in heaven go wild because that sinner repented.
“I can’t do this.” You know what? You’re right. You know who can? The Holy Spirit who dwells inside of you. Apart from Jesus, we can do nothing, but through Him we can do all things. I’m gonna close with this. I’m gonna give you a challenge.
It’s gonna be a hard one. Will you take the 48-hour challenge? Will you begin that Gospel conversation with one person in the next 48 hours? Why 48 hours? Because studies show if you don’t do what you’ve learned within 48 hours, you’ll never do it. Why 48 hours? Because I’m sick and stinking tired of Christians just talking about this stuff. We’re called to be doers of the word, not hearers only.
48 hours. Some of you think, “I can’t do this.” You know what? When I think of that phrase, “I can’t do this,” I think of Doug. Doug is a young man, had a lot of problems, inner city, broken family. He had epilepsy, could have a grand mal seizure anytime of the day or night. Doug was slow, but Doug was no wimp. He fought back with his fists. He started getting expelled from school, started getting in trouble with the law.
One day he vandalized the apartment next door. The cops caught him. They sent him to six months in a mental institute in the 70s. This is back in the straight jacket days, in the electroshock therapy days. But while there, he took his Bible and he read it day and night. And in that psychiatric institute, he had an encounter with Jesus that changed everything. He came out on fire.
I’ll never forget, he would tell everybody about Jesus, literally everybody. And he wasn’t smooth, but he had a smile that came through that just drew people in. He saved up his money, he bought a bicycle, took that bicycle all over the city streets of Denver, telling hitchhikers and people walking their dog. Pulled up to a stoplight once, saw a car full of guys that needed Jesus. He knocks on the window. They roll down the window at the red light. He begins to share the Gospel. Halfway through they said, “We gotta go. ” He said, “Well, I’m not done yet.” He holds onto the handle. The car takes off 10, 20, 30, 45 miles an hour. Doug’s balancing himself. He says, “I hope you believe.” And he peels off to safety. Later on, he tells me the story. I go, “Doug, you could’ve got sucked under the tires, run over, and killed.” He said, “It’d be worth it. It’d be worth it because those guys need Jesus.”
For 30 years, Doug was a custodian at a public school. People said, “What do you do? ” He says, “I am a stripper for Jesus. I strip and wax floors for the glory of God.” (laughs) And he would strip and wax those floors, and he would share the Gospel with the students, with the teachers, and with the administrators at a public school. And about 10 years ago, he had to retire early because he got dementia. Started forgetting stuff. But one thing he did not forget is the Gospel. He’d call me up once a week, tell me the latest story about somebody he told about Jesus.
Just about four months ago, I got a call from Doug’s son, my nephew. He said, “Uncle Greg, my dad had one last seizure and he’s with Jesus now. I imagine a reception when my big brother walked into the presence of heaven to thousands who stood and applauded this one epileptic, socially awkward, learning-disabled custodian who had every reason to keep his mouth shut but wouldn’t.
My sister-in-law, Mikki, at the funeral, says, “I have a gift for you. It’s our 40-year anniversary watch.” It’s this one I’m wearing. I only wear it when I preach. And when I put it on, I think of my big brother. And I say it’s time to preach the Gospel. Believers, it’s time to preach the Gospel. Stop making excuses. Start making disciples.
John: What a great reminder that any of us can share the Gospel if we put our mind to it on today’s episode of Focus on the Family with Jim Daly.
Jim: I love Greg’s passion. You know, it reminds me kind of what the disciples must have been like. I mean, they were sold out, right? And they were willing to die for what they believed. Uh, Greg’s been teaching evangelism for 30 years and he hasn’t lost his heart for people who need Jesus. Uh, what an inspiration. And I hope you’ll take Greg up on his challenge to start a Gospel conversation with someone in the next 48 hours. I like that little deadline. Maybe it’ll be a neighbor or coworker. Uh, just ask God to show you someone with an open heart and mind and I think this puts a big smile on God’s face, right?
But first, visit our website to get the handout that Greg gave to our staff at chapel. It’s a good recap of his message. Uh, we’ll make that, uh, free download for you.
And if you wanna go deeper, let me recommend Greg’s outstanding book, Dare 2 Share: A Field Guide to Sharing Your Faith. It’s written for teens so it would be a great book for your whole family to take a look at.
John: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Greg includes more faith sharing tips than we could cover in today’s presentation, including conversation starters to help you open up an honest spiritual dialogue with someone. Uh, get your copy of that book from us here at Focus on the Family and we’ll include a free audio download of Greg’s entire presentation with additional content.
Jim: Yes, and please get Greg’s book from us, where the proceeds go right back into ministry. When you donate to Focus on the Family, you’re helping us reach millions of listeners around the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And our research shows that over the last, uh, year, we’ve helped about 800 people a day commit or recommit their lives to Christ. That’s a tangible impact that you can invest in and help those folks come back to the Lord or meet the Lord for the first time. What a thing to do with us.
Uh, join us today and we’ll send you Greg’s Dare 2 Share Field Guide for a donation of any amount. Be a part of spreading the Gospel far and wide.
John: There really is nothing more important than that, so be part of the mission by donating today at focusonthefamily.com/broadcast. Or call us 800, the letter A, and the word FAMILY. 800-232-6459.
When you’re online with us, look for the free PDF document that Jim mentioned, uh, which Greg handed out to our staff.
Thanks for listening to Focus on the Family with Jim Daly. I’m John Fuller inviting you back as we once again help you and your family thrive in Christ.
