How To Preach The Gospel Without Being Studied

When I first started preaching the gospel, I had nothing on paper.

No degree, no theology classes.

What I had was a GED, a street background , and the testimony of what God pulled me out of.

I got saved and spent about a year still trying to figure life out on my own before God finally got ahold of me.

The first time I opened my mouth to tell somebody what Jesus did for me, I wasn't coming from a classroom.

I was coming from the gutter.

God used it anyway.

I've been to seminary since then and done the academic work.

None of that is what I actually stand on, though.

What holds me up came way before any classroom, the first time I told somebody my story and watched their heart change.

Most people think they need to know more before they're allowed to open their mouth.

They keep waiting to feel ready, like there's some bar to clear first.

While they wait, the people around them are dying without ever hearing the good news.

Preaching the gospel takes a testimony and a mouth willing to open.

Look at the man in Mark 5.

He was demon-possessed, living out in the tombs and cutting himself with stones.

They tried to chain him down and the chains wouldn't hold.

Nobody could do a thing with him.

Jesus set him free.

After he was free, the man wanted to follow Jesus.

You'd think Jesus would say yes.

"Come with me. I'll train you up."

Jesus didn't say that.

He told him, "Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee."

Go home, tell your people what God did.

Not "go get some special training", just go home and tell them.

The most powerful sermon you'll ever preach is not one you studied. It's one you lived.

Why?

Because nobody can argue with your story.

They can poke holes in your theology all day, but they can't argue with what actually happened to you.

That's why Revelation 12:11 tells us to overcome by Jesus' blood and the word of OUR testimony.

When I stood  in a front of the homeless and drug addicted and tell those men I was them, that I sat right where they're sitting, before God met me on the other side, nobody argues with that.

They just listen.

Your story carries the same weight.

What were you before Christ? What changed when He got ahold of you?

Answer that honest, and you've already preached.

Most people get one thing wrong here.

They shove instead of share. Different S's.

The difference usually comes down to whether you're willing to listen.

If you open your mouth before you open your ears, you're just preaching at people.

Listen first and you earn the right to speak into somebody's life.

This is what I call "heart gaining".

I mentor people all the time.

I noticed that when I actually listen, they hand me everything I need to know about what's really eating at them.

When I finally do say something, it lands, because they got heard first.

Jesus did this every time.

He asked questions before He gave answers.

"What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?"

He already knew what the blind man needed, and He asked him anyway.

He didn't crowd Zacchaeus either.

He just said, "Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house."

No lecture about everything the man had done wrong.

He invited himself to dinner and let the rest happen at the table.

That's connection before correction. Different C's.

Sometimes you don't need to say anything at all.

Sometimes the way you carry yourself is a sermon in itself, how you hold steady under pressure, how you keep your peace when everything around you should be breaking you.

People notice that more than fancy words strung together about God.

Eventually somebody asks what's different about you, and that question is the opening you've been praying for.

"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear."

1 Peter 3:15 (KJV)

They have to be the ones asking.

They saw something real in your life and came looking for where it comes from.

Your job is just to live in a way that makes people ask.

Answer with humility when they do.

You didn't save yourself, so you've got nothing to stand over anybody about.

I'm just the sower. God is the Savior. Different S's.

I plant the seed, God makes it grow.

The most I can do is open my mouth and trust Him with the rest as I rest.

You were never responsible for converting anybody.

Being faithful with the story God gave you is the whole job, and the rest is His.

Your story is enough on its own.

The same God who showed up for you is the one who can meet whoever's listening to it.

Sharing the gospel really just takes gratitude. When you're grateful enough, your mouth opens before you've even decided to talk.

Here's how you start sharing your story today.

1. Keep it simple!

What were you before Christ, and what changed when He got ahold of you? Say it out loud a few times in your own words, until it sounds like you and not a script. Also remember to add main points instead of too many details.

2. Listen longer than you think you need to.

Next time somebody opens up about something they're carrying, don't jump straight to the gospel. Hear them all the way out first, so by the time you do speak, they already know you actually care. Ask them questions like "Can I share what helped me in a similar situation to yours?"

3. Let gratitude be the reason you open your mouth.

If sharing ever feels like an obligation, check your heart before you check your words. Nobody leans in when they're being pressured, but when you talk about Jesus the way you'd talk about the best thing that ever happened to you, people want what you have.

PRAYER

Lord, I spent too long thinking I had to be qualified before I could open my mouth for You.

You never asked me to be qualified, only willing.

I don't have every answer, but I've got a story, and the story is just what You did for me.

I'm done waiting until I feel ready.

Use my mouth, and use the mess You already cleaned up in me to reach somebody who thinks they're too far gone.

If You could save somebody like me, that's all the proof anybody needs.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.