Keys to Effective Evangelism from Jesus’ First Encounter with Peter — Part 4
“Jesus looked at him and said, You are Simon son of John. You shall be called Cephas—which translated is Peter [Stone].”—John 1:42 (AMPC)
Immediately after Jesus told Simon Peter who he was, He told him who he was going to be. He envisioned a rich destiny for Simon Peter.
We must not limit our view of people to what they are now. We must see their potential!
Jesus emphasized this when He told us not to treat children as if they do not matter. In fact, He told us there would be severe judgment on anyone who offended a child (Matthew 18:5-6). Think of it … what is a child? A child is someone who has not yet become all that they were born to be … someone who may not look like much now, but has great potential! The danger to us is that because they don’t look like much now, there may be a temptation to treat them as insignificant.
Instead of judging people based on what we see in their lives now, we must discipline ourselves to look *past *all of that to see their potential for greatness in the future!
Yesterday, I was in a book store with a friend. My friend struck up a conversation with a young mother who was there with her son. We introduced ourselves, and as my friend continued in conversation, I focused my attention to see if God would show me anything that might encourage this young mother.
Almost immediately, I saw a vision of the incredible intelligence of this young lady. Before we left the conversation, I said to this young mother, “I just got the impression that you are really smart! God didn’t give you so much intelligence and talent for no reason. I know that you pass on much of who you are to your son, and it will have a great impact on his life, but I feel like God has more for you. There’s more for you to accomplish beyond what you are doing now.”
She responded, “Thank you so much for saying that! What was your name again?”
Remember, EVERYONE is in process. Everyone is on a journey. Everyone is in a dynamic (not a static) state of being. Everyone has a purpose yet to fulfill, or they wouldn’t be here.
Some people may have seemed to slow down or stagnate in their progress, and some people may actually be going backwards, but everyone has a purpose yet to fulfill. As we give them hope and encouragement, we can help them move closer to their potential destiny. We must believe in them and in the destiny that is so much greater than who they are now.
This is the essence of discipleship: helping people move into the purposes for which they were created.
Discipleship Practice: See People as God Sees Them
Objective: To see beyond what people are like now. To see the potential destiny that God has for them.
How often? Daily for 3 weeks or until it becomes a habit.
We limit people when we see them as less than they really are. We empower them when we see them as God sees them, with rich potential and important purposes to fulfill.
• Think of your friends, family members and acquaintances. Visualize their potential, which is yet unfulfilled.
• What are their strengths?
• What are their unique characteristics?
• What do they notice that no one else notices? What problems do they see that may be overlooked by other people? This could indicate their gifts and callings.
• Even negative attitudes and character qualities may indicate mis-applications of their true gifts and callings.
• Visualize potential greatness. Pray for God’s grace to help them fulfill their destinies.
• Bless your friends, family members and acquaintances by sharing with them the positive qualities that you see in them.
“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”—Philippians 4:8 (NASB)
What if they don’t seem to be moving any closer to the Lord’s purposes for their lives?
Don’t be discouraged! Saul of Tarsus was the possibly the least likely person to follow Christ of anyone living on Earth at that time! He rejected the idea that Jesus was the Messiah and fought against this, considering it blasphemy and heresy. Everything that he heard about Jesus and His teachings seemed to make Saul resist Jesus even more.
But when Saul finally had an encounter with the living Christ, it completely turned his life around. The Apostle Paul became a dynamic, committed follower of Jesus. His life and his writings have impacted the lives of countless people through the ages, turning many, many people to Christ.
Peter is another example. Peter did not confess the Lord immediately. It was not until months after his first encounter with Jesus in John chapter 1 that Peter made his famous confession of faith in Matthew chapter 16.
Peter was typically not a slow starter. He was quick to speak, and he was quick to act. But it took him a long time to finally confess his faith in Jesus Christ. And yet Peter became one of the greatest, most influential, most dynamic Christian leaders of all time.
So what do you do if you have someone like that in your life? Someone to whom you have been ministering for months, maybe years, and yet they still have not come around and given their lives to the Lord? Continue to love them, as Jesus did with Peter. Continue to spend time with them, as Jesus did with Peter. It is a lot like raising children. It may take patience and long-suffering before you see them enter into maturity.
But is there anything else we can do? Yes! Pray on their behalf. Specifically:
• Pray that the devil would be bound, his influence would be neutralized, and obstacles and spiritual blindness would be removed so that the person will be free to make a decision to follow God’s will.
• Pray that God’s purposes would be accomplished for His name’s sake and for the advancement of the Kingdom of God.
• Use the promises of Scripture to claim God’s will for the person.
Bobby Conner’s testimony should bring encouragement to anyone who has been waiting and praying for change in the life of a loved one. He was a hopeless criminal. His life was leading him towards an early death, but his wife never gave up on him. When Bobby was at his lowest point in life, God finally broke through to save Bobby and turn his life around. Immediately after that life-changing moment, he walked into the church to find his wife, his son, his pastor, and his friends on their knees pleading with God to save Bobby and turn his life around. You can watch Bobby tell this story himself on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcAKz6hZMk4.
