Properly Prepare To Share The Word!

Word-Of-The-Day: ‘<God said to Solomon,> “…if my people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”’ (2 Chronicles 7:14); + (16) All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, (17) so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.’ (2 Timothy 3:16-17); + ‘<Jesus told His disciples,> “(11b) …do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, (12) for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.” (Luke 12:11b-12)

We had our house painted recently, and fortunately the painter who does this for a living did all of it, which I am thankful for (though lighter in the wallet). The prep work began before any paint was applied; pressure washing, digging around the bottom of house, and of course getting the paint, along with the removal of the light fixtures on the garage and the entry light above our front door ‘foyer’. 

If a painter doesn’t do this prep work properly, the house would likely look sloppy and the wrong colors.  The lights would be painted over and would not shine; the ground around the house (like the driveway, sidewalk, and pool deck) would have paint all over it.  There has to be a plan first, then preparation, then execution of the work to be done in order for the job to be properly done, or else it will take more work to resolve the issues caused by the poor planning (like scrubbing paint off fixtures or driveways). 

We also have to prep to do the work that Jesus has laid out for us in the Great Commission.  How can you share the Word if you don’t ‘pressure wash’ (pray), ‘dig’ (read Scriptures), and ‘get the paint’ (go out to speak to people), before applying it?  What happens if you didn’t get a chance one day to prep as much as you’d like?

Prepare to share the Lord as you would any important project.  Pray, read, and tune into the Holy Spirit.  Praying is not only a petition to God, but it is also an act of humility; you are letting Jesus know through your prayers that He is leading you.  Why would you pray if you alone could take care of it?  Praying is a dialogue that opens up your personal relationship with Jesus, and that you can ask Him for anything – there are no dumb questions to ask Jesus.  Sometimes the answer may be ‘no’ or ‘not yet’, but dialogue is all about honesty and when Jesus responds with ‘no’ or ‘not yet’ He knows saying ‘yes’ could harm you or the others around you.  Accept that Jesus’ honest and righteous answer is always the right one for you, and for those you are praying for.

Reading Scriptures allows you to align your mindset and your way of thinking toward God’s way of thinking.  As stated in 2 Timothy, reading Scriptures gives you the foundation of ‘right’ versus ‘wrong’, what to do or not to do, what to expect or what to ignore or set aside.  You do not have to remember the exact book or verse (if you do, great!) but remember what the Scriptures say, to use in your everyday life and in sharing the Word with others.

Tuning into the Holy Spirit is key for the Christian, especially if you have a day or two when it is difficult to adequately pray or read as you normally would (and it should be normal to pray and read daily).  The Holy Spirit has been provided to you by Jesus for the express use drawing on the Spirit to provide you the proper words and to guide you into the proper actions to perform. 

The Spirit will provide that guidance when you go into ‘vapor lock’ and don’t have the words to say.  I have mentioned before that prior to starting some classes, I look and study the outline and I no clue what I’m going to say or how to present the lesson.  Yet when class begins, the Holy Spirit takes over, and I myself am amazed at how the lesson was presented.  Even if you are fully prepared in prayer and Scripture, the Holy Spirit can fill in those gaps that may appear.

Use all the tools in the toolbox to be a prepared Christian; know the Word, tune into the Spirit, and pray continually for the Lord’s guidance, and go share the Word with others!