5 Truths That Will Give You Confidence As You Share Your Hope
by Pastor Rick Warren
The Bible tells us that God wants us to be witnesses, but far too often we believers are what I call “Arctic River Christians”—we’re frozen at the mouth. We don’t say anything at all. We choose to hold back.
There are many fears and insecurities that can hold us back from sharing our hope with those around us. Today, I want to give you five things to remember that are going to give you confidence to share with your friends and neighbors this week.
1. Everybody I meet has the same longings I do.
You didn’t stop becoming a human being when you were born again into the family of God. You still have the same basic human drives and desires and longings that everybody else does. Why? Because God created us all. God put those longings in us.
We all have the same deep longings in life. It doesn’t matter what religious background you have. We all long for security. We all long for a sense of self-worth. We all long for significance. We want our lives to matter. We all have a longing for belonging, to feel that we’re connected to a family. We all have a yearning to feel like we’re growing and developing. We all have a hunger for meaning, for purpose, for direction in life. Only our Creator can provide these things.
In the Bible, Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, “God has planted eternity in the human heart” (NLT). What does that mean? It means that we all feel that there’s more to life than what we’re experiencing.
Instinctively, every human being knows that something is missing. We try to fill that hole in our heart with many different things, but it’s a God-shaped vacuum that only God can fill. You can’t fill it with sex, salary, status, money, passion, possessions, or position.
Today, many people have built their lives on trying to achieve what is called “the good life.” In other words, looking good, feeling good, having the goods. The only problem with the good life is, it’s not good enough. It leaves us unsatisfied. It doesn’t quench our hunger for meaning and significance. That hunger can only be satisfied with what the Bible calls “the better life.”
2 Corinthians 5:15 in The Message paraphrase says this, “Jesus included everyone in his death, so everyone could also be included in his life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people ever lived on their own.”
Jesus says it again in John 10:10. In The Message paraphrase, he says, “I’ve come so that you can have real life and eternal life.” A better life than you ever dreamed of.
2. Everybody has the same questions.
Everybody that you meet, whether they’re a believer or non-believer, has the exact same questions that you do.
In Ecclesiastes 3:11, the Bible says this, “…None of us can ever fully understand all God has done, but he puts questions in our minds – about the past and the future” (CEV).
All those questions you have in your mind, they’re from God. We all have questions like who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going? Does my life have any purpose? What happens after I die? What is my significance? What is the meaning of everything that happens to me?
These are not small questions, but they’re the questions everybody asks. When you talk to people, know that the answers to the fundamental questions of life are found in Jesus Christ and in his Word.
3. Most people don’t really know what they believe.
People are often quick to label themselves. They’ll say, “I’m a Muslim, I’m Buddhist, or I’m an atheist,” like that will shut down the conversation.
Don’t be turned off by titles and labels that people use as defenses. Do you know what I’ve discovered, having talked to thousands of people? When you scratch beneath the surface, you often find that people who adopt a certain label don’t even know what that system believes.
Recently on a trip, I started a conversation with my taxi driver. He said, “I’m a Muslim.” But, as I engaged him, I discovered he knew almost nothing about Islam. I probably knew more than he did. At one point, he even said, “You know, I think we all believe the same thing.” I guarantee you, we don’t all believe the same thing. If you think we do, it means you don’t even know what you believe.
When you share your hope in Christ, it helps bring clarity to people’s lives.
1 Corinthians 14:33 says this, “God is not a god of confusion. But is a god of peace” (NCV). And in John 8:32, Jesus said, “When you know the truth, the truth will set you free!” (NLT).
Here’s a little secret you need to understand about human behavior. People make almost all of their decisions and choices in life based on emotions. Then they go look for intellectual reasons to back up their emotional decisions. We often only use logic to back up an emotional decision that we want to make.
I meet so many Christians who are afraid of being a witness because they think they’re going to have to argue intellectual ideas. The truth is that most intellectuals are making their decisions based on emotions. Anyone can deal with feelings.
It’s not your job to prove God exists. It’s your job to share your hope.
4. Anyone can be saved if I listen for the key to their heart.
Anyone can be saved if I listen for the key to their heart, and that key is their unmet need or hidden hurt. In Romans 3:23, it says this, “Everyone falls short of God’s glorious ideal” (LB).
What does that mean? I don’t measure up to my own standards, much less God’s perfect standards. We all have habits, hurts, and hang-ups. We all live in a broken world.
You can discern these things by listening to what is the deepest hurt in a person’s heart. If you discern that, you’ve just discovered how to lead them to Jesus.
There’s only one way to God the Father, through Jesus. But there are many reasons that people come to Jesus.
Some people came to Jesus for a miracle. Some came to Jesus because of a question. Some came out of loneliness.
And the same is true today.
Some people come with questions. Some people come out of guilt and shame. Other people come to Christ because they’re afraid. Some people are looking for purpose. Some people have a physical need that draws them to God. Others have a relational or financial crisis.
Stress, pain, suffering all have a way of getting our attention. If you really want to reach somebody for the Lord, listen for their hidden hurt or their unmet need.
5. We have God’s Holy Spirit and the truth.
You’re not alone when you share your hope in Christ. God is with you. And the Holy Spirit is working in that other person’s heart while you’re talking. That should give you a lot of confidence.
2 Timothy 1:7–8 says, “The Holy Spirit, God’s gift to you, does not want you to be afraid of people, but to be wise and strong, and to love them and enjoy being with them. If you will stir up this inner power, you will never be afraid to tell others about our Lord” (LB).
You’ll never be afraid to tell others about the Lord if you realize the Holy Spirit’s power is in you.
Talking to His followers, Jesus says, “This will be your chance to tell others about your faith. But don’t worry about what you’ll say to defend yourselves. I will give you the wisdom to know what to say” (Luke 21:13–15 CEV).
Why do we do this? Why do we share our hope?
Let me give a few quick reasons.
1. We share our hope because everybody needs Jesus.
If I had the cure for cancer, AIDS, or dementia, and I didn’t share it with everybody, that would be criminal. They should put me in prison. We have something even better: how to have eternal life.
Matthew 11:28 –30, Jesus says in The Message paraphrase, “Are you tired? Are you worn out? Are you burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life and I’ll show you how to take a real rest.”
Who doesn’t want that? What most people reject is not true Christianity. What most people reject is a misconception of it.
2. We share our hope because Jesus commands us to do it.
In Mark 8:38, Jesus makes this very sobering statement, “If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels” (NLT).
Do you care more about what people think than about what God thinks? Are you more worried about your reputation than their salvation? Are you ashamed of Jesus? Why? If you’re ashamed of Jesus, maybe you don’t really have a friendship with him yet. You need to get to know him better.
3. We share our hope because we’re grateful to God and we love people.
People ask, “What motivates you, Rick, year after year?” I love Jesus Christ with all my heart, and I love people. That compels me.
In 2 Corinthians 5:14, the Bible says, “Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life” (NLT).We are motivated by love.
There’s a point in the gospels where Jesus is up on a hill. He looks out at the whole city of Jerusalem. In a passionate cry, he says, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me” (Matthew 23:37 NLT).
Can you hear the passion? “Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem!” I have prayed that prayer so many times, “Oh, Saddleback Valley, Saddleback Valley, how much I would have gathered you, to bring you the Good News!” Now, as we work to reach the world, I think, “Oh world, how I plead and beg for you to listen to the Good News of Jesus Christ.”
4. We share our hope because the Bible says we will be rewarded in heaven.
Proverbs 11:30 says, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who is wise saves lives” (NIV).
Do you want to be wise? Save souls. You want to bear fruit? You want to be a tree of life? You want to leave a legacy? The way you leave a legacy is by sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ.
The Bible says, “For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son” (Romans 5:10 NLT). What a great promise. You will be rewarded in eternity for the people you brought with you. Is anybody going to be in heaven because of you?
Let me encourage you to, right now, to think of one person who you love who doesn’t know Jesus yet. Ask God in prayer to give you the privilege of bringing that person into the family of God in the next year. Would you do that right now? Sharing your hope could be your greatest legacy because somebody’s going to be in heaven because of you.
Access more resources and trainings for sharing your hope at finishingthetask.com/believers.
