Mission 03: My Story in Mission
Orientate
How do we actually go about telling people about Jesus and making more disciples? There are actually lots of different methods that have worked: inviting people to Christian events, doorknocking, giving out brochures, reading the Bible together, enrolling in Alpha, praying for people, introducing people to your Christian friends. We probably shouldn’t get too tied up with finding the best one because God uses them all. However, there is one simple method that we see working very effectively in the Bible time and time again. This is a method that every Christian can put into practice. Jesus summarises it in Mark 5:19 when he tells a man he had just healed, “go home and tell your family about what God has done for you.” Sharing with your family and friends and neighbours what God has done in your life is one of the best ways to begin mission. Let’s see today how the Apostle Paul does it when asked to share his story with some Roman officials who had put him in jail.
Explore: Acts 26:4-23
4 “The Jewish people all know the way I have lived ever since I was a child, from the beginning of my life in my own country, and also in Jerusalem. 5 They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that I conformed to the strictest sect of our religion, living as a Pharisee. 6 And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our ancestors that I am on trial today. 7 This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. King Agrippa, it is because of this hope that these Jews are accusing me. 8 Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?
9 “I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the Lord’s people in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. 11 Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. I was so obsessed with persecuting them that I even hunted them down in foreign cities.
12 “On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13 About noon, King Agrippa, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. 14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’
15 “Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’
“‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. 16 ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. 17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
19 “So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. 20 First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds. 21 That is why some Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me. 22 But God has helped me to this very day; so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen— 23 that the Messiah would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles.”
Journal
1. What is God saying to me? Which verse is most significant?
2. What do I want to discuss/explore further?
3. What do I need to do?
4. What do you think is the most important statement in Paul’s story?
Reflect
Recent research has shown that average Australians who don’t follow Jesus are not all that impressed with celebrity Christians or strong arguments for Christianity. But they are very impacted by seeing people live out their faith and hearing genuine stories and testimonies from people they trust and respect (Source: McCrindle Research, 2017).
Much of the New Testament, especially the Gospels about Jesus, consists of those who encountered Jesus and had their lives changed by him sharing their story - what they had actually “seen and heard” (1 John 1:3). In this passage today, Paul gives his own story in three parts:
1. What his life was like before Jesus.
2. How he met Jesus.
3. How Jesus changed (and was changing) his life. That’s not a bad way to start. Try using these categories for your own story.
It is important to remember that everyone’s story is different. Some sound very dramatic like Paul’s. Other stories may not sound very exciting but are no less important and credible. My (Dan) own story of growing up in a very Christian family has no crazy ‘turning point’ moment. But I can still see the remnants in me of a life without Christ, and can still genuinely share with those in my life how God has saved me and given me an incredible peace and security that I never had. I can say that each day walking with him brings me deep joy even when things are going badly. It is not the greatness of your story that people are interested in, it is the reality of it.
Pray
Father, thank you for forgiving me, for rescuing me from the path I was on, and for giving me a new life, hope and joy in you. Help me to continue to appreciate my faith story. Give me confidence to share my story and show me who to share my story with. Please give me the courage to try with someone who trusts me.
Respond
Write down your own story using the three headings: Before Christ. Meeting Christ. With Christ. Share it when you meet together this week.
