Session 7 T Is for Turn
Question: If you were going down the road and someone asked you to turn, what would he or she be asking you to do? (Change direction)
Turn means repent.
T Is for Turn
Turn away from sin and self.
“Unless you repent, you will all perish as well!” Luke 13:3
Turn to Jesus alone as your Savior and Lord.
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”John 14:6
Here is the greatest news of all.
“If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. With the heart one believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses, resulting in salvation.”
Romans 10:9-10
The Scriptural Picture of Turning
Our choice is a simple one: we can keep trusting ourselves and living the way we are living, or we can give our lives to Christ and begin to follow Him.
Turning to God has been, is, and will always be the only hope anyone has.
Changing Direction
Question: If you were going down the road and someone asked you to turn, what would he or she be asking you to do? (Change direction)
Turn means repent.
You are trying to help them understand the need to change direction in their lives or to get on the right path.
To turn means to repent or to admit that one is a sinner.
We are to turn—repent—change the direction of our lives.
Turn from sin and self.
Turn away from sin and self.
“Unless you repent, you will all perish as well!”
Luke 13:3
2. A question about the destiny of those who never hear about Jesus
Although God wants everyone to be saved, His justice, righteousness, and holiness demand that He judge the sin of those who do not accept His offer of salvation.
People will be held accountable for the revelation they have received.
God’s judgment of each person will be fair and balanced.
2. Turn to Jesus alone.
Turn to Jesus alone as your Savior and Lord.
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”John 14:6
As much as a person may want or try, he or she will not find multiple roads leading to heaven.
There is only one way, and that way is Jesus.
He is the way—
by His doctrine;
by His example;
by His sacrifice;
by His Spirit.
He is the truth—
in opposition to all false religions;
in contrast to the Mosaic law;
in respect to all the promises of God.
He is the life—
that saves from death;
that destroys death’s power;
as the One who gives life.
The Greatest News of All
Here is the greatest news of all.
“If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. With the heart one believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses, resulting in salvation.”
Romans 10:9-10
Confess with your mouth.
Confession involves the confession of sin and the confession of faith.
We are to change our allegiance from trusting self and choosing sin, and we are to confess our new allegiance of trusting and following Christ.
2. Believe in your heart.
To believe in someone
is more than believing facts about them; it is a commitment of one person to another.
When someone believes in Jesus, that person is confessing allegiance to Him.
This relationship is one of love that is built on trust and dependence.
Faith is the acceptance of Christ’s lordship or absolute authority over our lives.
Those who confess and believe will be saved.
Being saved or salvation is the saving of a life from eternal death.
What happens if a person is willing to repent of their sins and confess Christ?
Celebrating the Turn
When the lost are found, celebration occurs in heaven.
Thank God for allowing you to have a role in accomplishing His Great Commission.
Opportunities for Continued Dialogue
Misconceptions about Jesus
Someone who trusts Jesus is expressing belief that He is who He says He is—the Son of God and the only One who is able to save.
Getting Personal
Because Christians are not immune to temptation, turning away from sin is a continual necessity for a believer.
Being a witness is a 24-7 thing.
God has a purpose for intersecting our lives with others.
We have to turn our backs on the temptations that come our way and continually turn to Christ in faith and dependence.
Session 8 H Is for Heaven
What happens if a person is willing to repent of their sins and confess Christ?
H Is for Heaven
Heaven is a place where we will live with God forever.
“If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come back and receive you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also.”John 14:3
Eternal life begins now with Jesus.
“I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance.”John 10:10
H can also stand for how.
How can a person have God’s forgiveness, eternal life, and heaven?
By trusting Jesus as your Savior and Lord.
Looking Forward
God, who resides in heaven, invites the redeemed to live forever in His presence.
Heaven is the epitome of beauty, glory, and joy.
It is best understood as the place where God’s holy presence dwells.
H Is for Heaven Heaven is a place where we will live with God forever.
“If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come back
and receive you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also.”John 14:3
Jesus’ use of the term paradise conveys the idea of enjoying the company of our Creator.
Heaven is—
a literal place;
God’s dwelling place;
where Jesus lives in bodily form;
eternal.
Heavenly life is an eternal time of joy, celebration,
and fellowship with God.
Heaven is the place of God’s throne and eternal presence.
Heaven is the future home of believers.
All who have died in the Lord are there.
Heaven is without the presence of sin.
Multitudes of angels are in heaven praising God and attending Him.
No darkness is in heaven.
Pain, suffering, and sorrow are not known in heaven.
Heaven is the place where a believer’s inheritance is kept with care until the revelation of the Messiah.
The Reality of Hell
Hell is a literal place.
It is described as a place of constant fire and torment.
This is where those who reject God’s gift of salvation will spend eternity—away from God’s presence, fellowship, and care.
The reality of heaven and hell
The reality of judgment demands that there be a place available for those who have a guilty sentence passed on them.
The Bible indicates that creation has purpose and is headed somewhere.
Enjoying a Bit of Heaven Now
You were created to live in complete fellowship with God and to enjoy being His most prized creation.
Eternal life begins now with Jesus.
“I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance.”John 10:10
Abundant life is complete, full, and lived to its highest potential and beyond our expectations.
An abundant life is living a life directed by God.
Abundant life with Christ begins on earth now.
We have been set free and are no longer condemned.
We are made heirs of God and are thus able to share
in His glory.
The Holy Spirit bears fruit in a believer’s life.
The Holy Spirit is the pledge of a believer’s participation
in heaven.
We are made new creations and are reconciled to God.
We are made alive in Christ and are brought close to Him.
We can grow in a relationship with Christ and can know His power and fellowship.
We can have hope.
Help people understand that Christianity isn’t about simply avoiding hell but that it is about being the new creation God created us to be.
How? Making the Transition
The letter H can also stand for how—how God took the initiative to save us through the death of His Son, Jesus,
and how a person can have God’s forgiveness and eternal life in heaven.
How can a person have God’s forgiveness, eternal life, and heaven?
Understanding what we have shared, would you like to receive this forgiveness by trusting in Christ as your personal Savior and Lord?
With this question the conversation moves into the Invitation—when someone has the opportunity to receive personally the truth you have shared.
Getting Personal
The thought of a better place should be a source of motivation to serve God every day of our lives.
Session 9 The Invitation
Inquire
Understanding what we have shared, would you like to receive this forgiveness by trusting in Christ as your personal Savior and Lord?
Invite
Insure
We will learn how to introduce the idea of a response to the good news and how to use a leaflet to help you invite a response.
A Life-Changing Decision
Salvation is a life-changing decision.
The decision is even more than deciding to believe certain things about Jesus and God; it is about placing trust in Jesus and living a life that is worthy of His commendation.
Leading to a Response
H can also stand for how.
How can a person have God’s forgiveness, eternal life, and heaven?
By trusting Jesus as your Savior and Lord.
You may want to add a follow-up question.
“Is that something you would like to do?”
“Have you ever thought about making this kind of commitment?”
Let the person respond.
Ask God to help you know what to do next.
Talk about the issue(s) that appear to create difficulty.
Allow time for him or her to think and talk about what you have shared.
Do not rush them or appear pushy.
At times it may be necessary to continue the conversation on another day.
Only God knows what tomorrow holds and how forceful you should be when leading a person to make
a decision for Christ.
Continue to depend on the Holy Spirit, listening to Him every step of the way as you share.
A Tool to Help SomeoneTake a Step of Faith
Front panel:
The picture helps people express personal thoughts
and feelings about Jesus.
Call attention to—
Jesus on the cross;
the different people and the contemporary clothing;
the wide range of emotions;
the mallets and spikes.
“Whom do you think the people in this picture represent?”
“Of the people in this picture, which one best represents you?”
It is about the individual gaining an image of the meaning of Christ’s death and the love He expressed in that death.
Panels 2–4:
Review the FAITH outline.
Clarify the meaning of turning to Christ and so changing the total direction of one’s life.
Panel 4:
Reviewing panel 4 and the meanings of heaven, including that H also stands for how, may give you the joy and opportunity of leading someone to make a personal commitment to Christ.
Your main goal is to ask the inquiry question.
Inquire
Understanding what we have shared, would you like
to receive this forgiveness by trusting in Christ as your personal Savior and Lord?
Leading Someone to Ask God for Forgiveness
By inviting someone to accept Christ, you have the opportunity both to share the good news and to lead
a person to pray to receive Christ.
Leading someone to pray
a prayer of salvation becomes a meaningful expression of that person’s decision to accept God’s offer of forgiveness and salvation and to begin following Christ.
Ask, “Does this prayer reflect what you want to do?”
State, “If you want to make this commitment, tell God what you are thinking and what you want to do. Or use this printed prayer as a guide.”
If the person asks for God’s forgiveness, celebrate with him.
Encourage him and reinforce what he has just done.
Panel 6:
The Commitment Card allows you to walk the person through three types of commitments.
Lead the person to check the box and to write the date and place of his or her decision for Christ.
2. Move to the next statement about taking next steps
of faith and obedience.
3. Highlight the benefits of a caring Bible study group. Invite the person to allow you to enroll him or her in a class.
Panel 7:
Record information about the person’s decision(s).
Panel 5:
Call attention to “Next Steps in Following Jesus.”
Leave the remainder of the leaflet with the person as a memento of this life-changing decision.
In closing the visit, pray a prayer of thanksgiving with the new believer.
Leading to a DecisionWithout a Leaflet
Review the how subpoint in the letter H.
Help the person understand the necessity of realizing that
he is a sinner, of asking God for forgiveness, of repenting from his sins, and of acknowledging Jesus’ death and resurrection as the only way to be saved.
Insure
Review the Scripture passages in the FAITH outline.
Share your testimony.
Point to the Commitment Card panel in A Step of Faith.
Ask the individual to explain in his own words the commitments just made.
Pray a prayer of thanksgiving.
Encourage him to review the leaflet.
Offer to follow up in the next few days.
