OUT – Sharing Faith, Sunday 13th February 2022.
2 Timothy 1:1-14; Matthew 12:38-41
By Peter Gillies.
UP – IN – OUT
In our reading from Timothy this morning we see Paul referring to Timothy’s “sincere faith” instilled in him by his mother and grandmother Lois. Like many of us, he got a good start, but it would have been better if Dad had been around… but if we read between the lines – well, if we read the lines, we might get the feeling that Timothy was not using all that he had been given.
Paul reminds Timothy that God gives us the power of self-discipline and love and NOT timidity. Can you imagine Timothy being “timid”?? Well, Paul was in prison and was asking Timothy to “join him in suffering” – this suffering was not the ‘suffering’ we might imagine today in the West.
Paul continues: We are called to lead a “holy life” and Timothy should “not be ashamed” of Paul, or Paul’s circumstance, or his Gospel. Indeed, we can have total confidence in ALL of scripture – this is why we had the Gospel reading about Jonah; our Lord gives full credibility to a story that many people want to explain away or avoid, but this is completely unnecessary.
So, who could be ashamed of the Gospel of Christ?
Last summer, we had three ASA apologetics workshops. The first one was called Gardening for Christ. Its starting points were: We are encouraged to give an answer (1 Peter 3:15–16), to know how to answer (Colossians 4:5–6), to defend the gospel (Philippians 1:16), to contend for the faith (Jude 3), be merciful to doubters (Jude 22), encourage others (Titus 1:9), able to teach (2 Timothy 2:24–26), be able to argue persuasively (Acts 19:8–10), not to be taken captive by goofy philosophy (Colossians 2:8)…
But we limited ourselves to – we limited our scope and said that our goal should not be to convert others to Christianity. Oh, it’s nice if it happens – what a joy!, but setting that as your goal sets the bar too high and when our goals are too high – or too low – we can get discouraged and lose focus.
The solution was to just “do a bit of gardening” – put a stone in someone’s shoe. To this end we did a number of cases:
1. Dinner Party – 2. Bible Study question – 3. Friend sees your Bible – 4. Stranger makes a statement
Good practice! So, we tried a technique.
This technique does not being with the Gospel, it begins with them! First understand and after you understand, then try to be understood.
Q1: What do you mean by that?
Q2:How did you come to that conclusion?
Response: THAT’S RIGHT!
It is only at the moment you hear “That’s right!”, “She gets it”, “He understands my position”… that their brain is open to hearing you.
I find this difficult, but I had to practice what I was going to preach about. So, I did it with my friend – we can call him Alex – I engaged with my friend Alex. This is the same friend who tried to give me a compliment a few years ago by saying: “Peter, you are a strong believer, but I like it that you don’t bother anyone with it!”
So, here was the scene:
He had said to me that he had been raised Catholic. During a lull in the conversation, I decided to put my money where my mouth was and ask him an open question.
“You have mentioned your Catholic faith before – what does it mean to you?”
Social, cultural, St. George is the family saint.
“How does St. George change your life?”
Feels like it brings him luck – goes on to say he was careful to baptize his kids.
“What was the purpose of baptizing the children?”
Being part of the Church so that you could accept or reject later.
“What difference does it make to you?”
God, Mary, St. George, Angels, Jesus, being good – all bunched up together give me focus on how to be a good person.
It was a this point that I felt his interest in the subject flag: “it seems to me you have many of the right components here. If you would like to put them together in a coherent, Christian way, I’d look forward to that discussion. For example, Jesus was a Man, but was also God.”
“That’s a discussion above my pay grade!” – Discussion over.
If you are like me or like Timothy and have been timid int eh past or need a technique that help you to bridge the gap, please take these two things with you:
- All you need to do is put a stone in someone’s shoe. It is the Holy Spirit that convicts (though God does want to use us)
- Ask two open questions – start with them, show respect even in disagreement: “try first to understand and then to be understood.”
But this is not a purely individual sport…
Ending Story: Billy Graham spoke in London, many years ago. One of those who came to hear him, who became a follower of Christ at the end of those meetings, was a well-known medical doctor who had become an uncontrolled alcoholic. As he was destroying his life, he found no hope for himself. He begged people for help. But he could not find it. One evening, at that Billy Graham Crusade, he surrendered his life to Christ. A few weeks later his buddies looked at him and they said, “You know what? We don’t recognize you anymore. You’re a different man! What has happened to you?” He then shared with them what happened.
One fellow took him aside, shut the door and said, “I want to ask you a question. I promise you I will not repeat this conversation outside this room. The door is locked; nobody else is here but you and me. Tell me something. You are alone and the door is shut and you have had a miserable day and knowing of your battle with your past habits … so there’s nobody present, and you remember that behind your medical journals you had hidden one of the finest bottles of scotch available. Are you telling me with the door locked and alone, and nobody’s going to find out, you’re not going to reach out for that and empty some of it into your glass?”
The doctor looked at him and said, “Everything you said could happen except one, and that, therefore, changes the decision.”
He said, “What is that?”
“Since I have come to know Christ,” the doctor responded, “I have found that I am never, ever alone.”
Let us pray: “Father, we are not alone – we know this and still, like Timothy, sometimes we find it strange, or difficult, or intimidating to share the Good News with those we have interactions with.
Father, please bless us as we attempt to ‘run the race’ in a way that brings glory to You. Strengthen and guide us through Your Word and Your Spirit.
Let us have You and the furtherance of Your Will at the front of our minds and let us ask a question – not stand on a soap box on the Damrak – but just ask a question about someone’s faith so that we can put a stone in their shoe – nothing more – just put a Christ-shaped stone in someone’s shoe so that they may also come to know the peace that passes understanding through knowing your Christ.
And it is in Christ Jesus’ holy name we pray these things, Amen.