clear_comm

Recap: HP, High Potency (on-fire Christ follower) + CP, Close Proximity (authentic non-cheesy relationships w/seekers) + CC, Clear Communication (plain simple talk) = MI, Maximum Impact (a new life forever) (ppt)

So in our equation, after you've made sure you're consistently seeking Christ, after you've built relational credibility with your friend the stage is set, they are probably open to hear what you have to say. That's what we're jumping into tonight.

(ppt) "If anyone goes to Starbucks he can buy seriously killer coffee. But how can they go to Starbucks unless they believe that they really do have out-of-this-world java? And how can they know about Starbucks if they think there is only lame Folgers instant coffee at their local IGA? And how can they hear about Starbucks unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them about Starbucks unless someone tells them to? This is what the Indianapolis Monthly food reviewer meant when he said, "It is a great friend who turns his clueless neighbor on to Starbucks." Morgonians 10:13-15 nrv (not real version)

The moral of this story is that unless people who never leave their backyard are TOLD about Starbucks, they'll never find out about it. Starbucks advertising dept. isn't putting up billboards on the corner of 350 N and 875 W in Nowhere Town, Indiana. In my cheesy illustration, if "Festus", "Erlene" and "Cletus" are going to hear about Starbucks, it's got to be by word of mouth

"For 'Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' But how can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!'" Romans 10:13-15 nlt

Friends, you and I are the people with "beautiful feet" in the Scriptures. This verse says, "People aren't going to be saved because of billboards or Jesus t-shirts. They'll be saved because people like us will share God's truth in simple understandable terms." (ppt??)

The first piece of Clear Communication we're going to talk about is your story.(ppt) In a nutshell, your "story" or testimony, is (1)the events of your life before Christ was in your life, (2)your salvation experience, and (3) your experience since Christ came into your life.

The first time I had to tell my story in front of people was several years ago, before I worked here --- Jeremy called me up at work and asked if I'd share my story at the music team meeting that night. I don't think I thought about much else between the time I hung up the phone and that meeting.

I thought, "Man, how am I going to take a story that took YEARS, and was full of all kinds of twists and turns, people, details, etc. and get it all into a few minutes!!"

If you'll look in Acts chapter 26 (NT. Matt. Mark, Luke, John, ACTS), we'll see Paul telling his story, which is where we get our BC-JC-AD outline.

"As the Jewish leaders are well aware, I was given a thorough Jewish training from my earliest childhood among my own people and in Jerusalem. If they would admit it, they know that I have been a member of the Pharisees ,(ppt) the strictest sect of our religion(9) I used to believe that I ought to do everything I could to oppose the followers of Jesus of Nazareth. Authorized by the leading priests, I caused many of the believers in Jerusalem to be sent to prison(ppt). And I cast my vote against them when they were condemned to death(ppt). Many times I had them whipped in the synagogues to try to get them to curse Christ(ppt). I was so violently opposed to them that I even hounded them in distant cities of foreign lands."

"One day I was on such a mission to Damascus, (ppt) armed with the authority and commission of the leading priests. About noon, Your Majesty, a light from heaven brighter than the sun shone down on me and my companions. (ppt) We all fell down, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to fight against my will.'

And the Lord replied, 'I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting. Now stand up! (ppt) For I have appeared to you to appoint you as my servant and my witness. (ppt) You are to tell the world about this experience and about other times I will appear to you. And I will protect you from both your own people and the Gentiles(ppt). Yes, I am going to send you to the Gentiles, to open their eyes so they may turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God's people, who are set apart by faith in me.'"

'And so, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to that vision from heaven. I preached first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all Judea, and also to the Gentiles, (ppt) that all must turn from their sins and turn to God --- and prove they have changed by the good things they do. Some Jews arrested me in the Temple for preaching this, and they tried to kill me. But God protected me(ppt) so that I am still alive today to tell these facts to everyone, from the least to the greatest, I teach nothing except what the prophets and Moses said would happen---that the Messiah would suffer and be the first to rise from the dead as a light to Jews and Gentiles alike(ppt).'"

Our parents and our family put a lot of emphasis on intelligence. It seemed to me that life was about being smart enough to get ahead. (ppt) I typically saw Christians as "narrow-minded" people who checked their mind at the door as soon as they embraced Christianity. (ppt)

I would tell you that I grew up being very self-reliant (ppt)very responsible at a fairly young age. I grew up believing in myself and living a very self-directed strong-willed life.

But as a sophomore at KHS I met my best friendwho turned out to be a Christ follower. Ray was a quasi-normal (as normal as I was!), intelligent guy who appreciated the creative arts too and whose sense of humor was as demented and twisted as mine was. (ppt)

His parents were Christians, very bright and his mom had even been a professional actress back in the day. Throughout high school, he would challenge me with Christianity several times we would engage in many spirited conversations in my last 3 years of high school.

The summer after high school I lived with his family for a while in San Diego CA. And living with them, seeing God as a very real undeniable part of their lives, made me seriously consider accepting Christ. (ppt)

One day after dinner(elaborate briefly) when Ray was out, his mom & step dad led me through a salvation prayer. I prayed for forgiveness of my sins through Jesus's death on the cross and ask Him to lead my life. (ppt)

On this side of it, simply I have found more peace(ppt). Life is not near as much about self-reliance or self-anything. (ppt) Our marriage has grown stronger over the years specifically due to having God in our lives. (ppt) Our kids are growing up with God being an integral part of their lives. (ppt) My relationships within the church have been life-changing and used by God to make me into a man I like more than the one I used to see in the mirror(ppt). Life is not always easy, but it's always better than the road I was on, and no matter what, I know God is with me(ppt). /////

I have heard people's stories that went on for way more than 5 minutes and after they were done I thought things like, "So WHEN did they accept Christ" or "Did they accept Christ." So make sure there's NO ambiguity as tell someone how you accepted Christ.

If you've never had to tell your story before, that was probably very difficult to do. And you're probably thinking, "Hey, Morgan chill out---2 ½ minutes is a bit extreme, don't you think?"

Here's the deal--- if you can tell your story in 2 ½ minutes, you can always ADD detail to it as its appropriate or LATER in a followup conversation 2 ½ minutes is good because it's safer to clearly communicate spiritual conversations in DOSES. (ppt) If you and "Bob" next door are in a spiritual conversation you don't want him to feel like he's trying to get a drink from a fire hydrant ;-)

Here's another tip: Don't give a SPEECH (ppt) Tell your story as it played out for YOU. Don't tell your story and tell how it applies to HIM (or her). The power of our story comes from the connection and identification they get from itNOT from us teaching or preaching through it. Our friends want us to talk WITH them, not AT them. ///

In the HP + CP + CC = MI equation, your story has the potential to do more to convince them to seriously contemplate a relationship with Christ than anything else That's why it's SO important that you tell it simply and clearly.

You may think, "Man, my story is no big dealit's really pretty boring." Don't think that way, remember your story is part of a package deal---at the point you tell your story to a seeker, you guys are friendsyou have built credibility over time. The power & punch isn't in a "whiz-bang" story, it's that a normal person like you lives life in a relationship with Christ.

Think about it --- you tell your story, you're honest about what your life used to be like you tell them about your conversionand then you tell what life is like, now. Since you've been doing Close Proximity with them, the "AD" part should seem almost redundant to them---as you're telling them about your life now, in their head their mind should saying things like, "Yeah that's truehe does seem like he has a real sense of peace about him"

And you need to have a certain sense of peace about telling your story, because it's NOT like they're going to refute it-----Here's a response I've NEVER heard after a Christ follower told his or her story: "Huh uh!" Think about it ----the biggest fear we have when we get into a spiritual conversation is that someone's going to ask us a Biblical or theological question that we can't answer

Trust me, your story will do more for their case for Christ than the fact that you can't give good answers to their questions about "dinosaurs." (Job 40,41 Behemoth & Leviathon?)

(hands) Anyone ever heard these comments? Here's some good news--- if you're talking to someone who says these kinds of things, you're probably not talking to someone who knows very much about religions in general

Because if you study religions, you'll find some similarities, but on the whole you'll see how varied and different they are. Anyone who tosses out the "all religions are basically the same" line is making an assumptionthey haven't researched it.

There is ONE THING that sets Christianity apart from EVERY religion on the planet. Be aware there are small similarities among Christianity and other religions, but this ONE MAJOR DIFFERENCE kicks any similarities in the keester.

In every religion OTHER than Christianity, you have to DO things to get any eternal reward. You have to behave a certain way, you have to Do enough of the right kinds of things to please God.

Let me throw this out there too: If eternity is about me doing enough stuff, earning or behaving my way in---then why do I need a God? If I'm paying my own way, it sounds more like a country club than a Holy hereafter in the presence of a loving God.

Christianity is spelled D-O-N-E. The price for an eternal relationship with Jesus Christ was paid for us by His death on the cross. We pay nothing to receive the gift of eternal life. This is the GRACE plan. There is NO other (listen-repeat) grace-based religion.

Yet Christianity, the only one that GIVES eternal salvation freely, says "EVERYONE who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Rom. 10:13 People may give you the impression that Christianity is exclusivelike a private club, because it's the only way---but the TRUTH is it's totally INCLUSIVE because the GIFT of salvation is available to EVERYONE.

Are all religions the same? N-O!! Religion is spelled "D-O" Christianity is spelled D-O-N-E. So keep this "DO vs. DONE" as a tool you can use to clearly communicate with your friends. It's an issue that WILL come up. ///

In the thousands of years that we've been digging stuff out of the earthin all the documented scientific archaeological findsstop right there /// Imagine how many millions of archaeological pieces we've found over hundreds of years--on land and in oceans---imagine ALL of the historical museums in all the countries of the world

Not ONE of those artifacts has ever disproved the Bible. (ppt) Artifacts have only verified the Bible. Some of sciences oldest and most comprehensive finds of ancient civilizations were in the city of Ur & the surrounding area ----you'll find Ur and those other cities in the Old testament.

Now, "no" clearly everything in the Bible is not verified. But you must admit, over thousands of years, having a spotless record of ZERO evidence to refute the Bible is pretty excellent!

We cannot prepare ourselves with our story and arm ourselves with facts to overcome objections, and then barrage our friends in a mighty "storm the beaches at Normandy" kind of a way

We must seek and be sensitive to the Holy Spirit; discerning when to boldly push and when to chill out. We've probably all seen a seeker who was turn AWAY from God because a Christ follower was more juiced about the message, than they were juiced about listening to the small quiet voice inside them.

The best prelude to Clear Communication is passionate prayers. Pray for understanding for your friend and Pray that God would guide you and give you a clear sense of how and when to bring Clearly Communicated truth to your friend.



	< back Clear Communication X-15 Service 1.29.03 Morgan Young Recap: HP, High Potency (on-fire Christ follower) + CP, Close Proximity (authentic non-cheesy relationships w/seekers) + CC, Clear Communication (plain simple talk) = MI, Maximum Impact (a new life forever) (ppt) So in our equation, after you've made sure you're consistently seeking Christ, after you've built relational credibility with your friend the stage is set, they are probably open to hear what you have to say. That's what we're jumping into tonight. Setup: Imagine if this verse I' going to show you was written to a bunch of people from Plevna, Chili who have NEVER been out of their small town (ppt) "If anyone goes to Starbucks he can buy seriously killer coffee. But how can they go to Starbucks unless they believe that they really do have out-of-this-world java? And how can they know about Starbucks if they think there is only lame Folgers instant coffee at their local IGA? And how can they hear about Starbucks unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them about Starbucks unless someone tells them to? This is what the Indianapolis Monthly food reviewer meant when he said, "It is a great friend who turns his clueless neighbor on to Starbucks." Morgonians 10:13-15 nrv (not real version) The moral of this story is that unless people who never leave their backyard are TOLD about Starbucks, they'll never find out about it. Starbucks advertising dept. isn't putting up billboards on the corner of 350 N and 875 W in Nowhere Town, Indiana. In my cheesy illustration, if "Festus", "Erlene" and "Cletus" are going to hear about Starbucks, it's got to be by word of mouth And if Festus, Erlene or Cletus are going to reach Maximum Impacta relationship with Christ, it will also be by word of mouth. Check out this verse from Romans 10:13-15: (ppt) "For 'Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' But how can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!'" Romans 10:13-15 nlt Friends, you and I are the people with "beautiful feet" in the Scriptures. This verse says, "People aren't going to be saved because of billboards or Jesus t-shirts. They'll be saved because people like us will share God's truth in simple understandable terms." (ppt??) The first piece of Clear Communication we're going to talk about is your story.(ppt) In a nutshell, your "story" or testimony, is (1)the events of your life before Christ was in your life, (2)your salvation experience, and (3) your experience since Christ came into your life. The first time I had to tell my story in front of people was several years ago, before I worked here --- Jeremy called me up at work and asked if I'd share my story at the music team meeting that night. I don't think I thought about much else between the time I hung up the phone and that meeting. I thought, "Man, how am I going to take a story that took YEARS, and was full of all kinds of twists and turns, people, details, etc. and get it all into a few minutes!!" In simplest form, your story is (take notes): BC -> J.C. -> AD. (ppt) If you'll look in Acts chapter 26 (NT. Matt. Mark, Luke, John, ACTS), we'll see Paul telling his story, which is where we get our BC-JC-AD outline. Acts 26:4-11 is his life BEFORE (ppt) "As the Jewish leaders are well aware, I was given a thorough Jewish training from my earliest childhood among my own people and in Jerusalem. If they would admit it, they know that I have been a member of the Pharisees ,(ppt) the strictest sect of our religion(9) I used to believe that I ought to do everything I could to oppose the followers of Jesus of Nazareth. Authorized by the leading priests, I caused many of the believers in Jerusalem to be sent to prison(ppt). And I cast my vote against them when they were condemned to death(ppt). Many times I had them whipped in the synagogues to try to get them to curse Christ(ppt). I was so violently opposed to them that I even hounded them in distant cities of foreign lands." Without a lot of detail, we get a pretty clear sense of what Paul was about. And we can see these key words about his BC life. Acts 26:12-18 is his CONVERSION (salvation, saved, came to Christ) (ppt) "One day I was on such a mission to Damascus, (ppt) armed with the authority and commission of the leading priests. About noon, Your Majesty, a light from heaven brighter than the sun shone down on me and my companions. (ppt) We all fell down, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to fight against my will.' 'Who are you, sir?' I asked. And the Lord replied, 'I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting. Now stand up! (ppt) For I have appeared to you to appoint you as my servant and my witness. (ppt) You are to tell the world about this experience and about other times I will appear to you. And I will protect you from both your own people and the Gentiles(ppt). Yes, I am going to send you to the Gentiles, to open their eyes so they may turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God's people, who are set apart by faith in me.'" Pretty "intense" conversion, eh?NOT your typical salvation story!!! Lastly, here's Paul after Christ came into his life: (ppt) 'And so, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to that vision from heaven. I preached first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all Judea, and also to the Gentiles, (ppt) that all must turn from their sins and turn to God --- and prove they have changed by the good things they do. Some Jews arrested me in the Temple for preaching this, and they tried to kill me. But God protected me(ppt) so that I am still alive today to tell these facts to everyone, from the least to the greatest, I teach nothing except what the prophets and Moses said would happen---that the Messiah would suffer and be the first to rise from the dead as a light to Jews and Gentiles alike(ppt).'" Again, without a lot of detail we get a sense of his life after Christ came into his picture. And we can see his AD key words. For a little more normal example, here's the cliff notes on my story: B.C.: (ppt build) Grew up in totally unchurched home (ppt)only went to church a handful of times when a friend or girlfriend twisted my arm hard enough. Our parents and our family put a lot of emphasis on intelligence. It seemed to me that life was about being smart enough to get ahead. (ppt) I typically saw Christians as "narrow-minded" people who checked their mind at the door as soon as they embraced Christianity. (ppt) I would tell you that I grew up being very self-reliant (ppt)very responsible at a fairly young age. I grew up believing in myself and living a very self-directed strong-willed life. But as a sophomore at KHS I met my best friendwho turned out to be a Christ follower. Ray was a quasi-normal (as normal as I was!), intelligent guy who appreciated the creative arts too and whose sense of humor was as demented and twisted as mine was. (ppt) His parents were Christians, very bright and his mom had even been a professional actress back in the day. Throughout high school, he would challenge me with Christianity several times we would engage in many spirited conversations in my last 3 years of high school. The summer after high school I lived with his family for a while in San Diego CA. And living with them, seeing God as a very real undeniable part of their lives, made me seriously consider accepting Christ. (ppt) J.C.: One day after dinner(elaborate briefly) when Ray was out, his mom & step dad led me through a salvation prayer. I prayed for forgiveness of my sins through Jesus's death on the cross and ask Him to lead my life. (ppt) On this side of it, simply I have found more peace(ppt). Life is not near as much about self-reliance or self-anything. (ppt) Our marriage has grown stronger over the years specifically due to having God in our lives. (ppt) Our kids are growing up with God being an integral part of their lives. (ppt) My relationships within the church have been life-changing and used by God to make me into a man I like more than the one I used to see in the mirror(ppt). Life is not always easy, but it's always better than the road I was on, and no matter what, I know God is with me(ppt). ///// (refer to ppt slide) You can see the keywords in my story Knowing the key words or phrases in the BC JC AD parts of your story are key in keeping it simple. (ppt) And let me say a word sharing your salvation experience: THAT PART OF YOUR STORY NEEDS TO BE CRYSTAL CLEAR. It needs phrases like: (ppt) "forgiveness of sin through Jesus' death on the cross." (ppt) "that God would be the leader of my life." I have heard people's stories that went on for way more than 5 minutes and after they were done I thought things like, "So WHEN did they accept Christ" or "Did they accept Christ." So make sure there's NO ambiguity as tell someone how you accepted Christ. (setup 5 minutes, 2 ½ each to tell story to each other.) (ppt: BC-JC-AD) If you've never had to tell your story before, that was probably very difficult to do. And you're probably thinking, "Hey, Morgan chill out---2 ½ minutes is a bit extreme, don't you think?" Here's the deal--- if you can tell your story in 2 ½ minutes, you can always ADD detail to it as its appropriate or LATER in a followup conversation 2 ½ minutes is good because it's safer to clearly communicate spiritual conversations in DOSES. (ppt) If you and "Bob" next door are in a spiritual conversation you don't want him to feel like he's trying to get a drink from a fire hydrant ;-) Here's another tip: Don't give a SPEECH (ppt) Tell your story as it played out for YOU. Don't tell your story and tell how it applies to HIM (or her). The power of our story comes from the connection and identification they get from itNOT from us teaching or preaching through it. Our friends want us to talk WITH them, not AT them. /// In the HP + CP + CC = MI equation, your story has the potential to do more to convince them to seriously contemplate a relationship with Christ than anything else That's why it's SO important that you tell it simply and clearly. You may think, "Man, my story is no big dealit's really pretty boring." Don't think that way, remember your story is part of a package deal---at the point you tell your story to a seeker, you guys are friendsyou have built credibility over time. The power & punch isn't in a "whiz-bang" story, it's that a normal person like you lives life in a relationship with Christ. Think about it --- you tell your story, you're honest about what your life used to be like you tell them about your conversionand then you tell what life is like, now. Since you've been doing Close Proximity with them, the "AD" part should seem almost redundant to them---as you're telling them about your life now, in their head their mind should saying things like, "Yeah that's truehe does seem like he has a real sense of peace about him" And you need to have a certain sense of peace about telling your story, because it's NOT like they're going to refute it-----Here's a response I've NEVER heard after a Christ follower told his or her story: "Huh uh!" Think about it ----the biggest fear we have when we get into a spiritual conversation is that someone's going to ask us a Biblical or theological question that we can't answer Trust me, your story will do more for their case for Christ than the fact that you can't give good answers to their questions about "dinosaurs." (Job 40,41 Behemoth & Leviathon?) So homework: Work on your story!! Be ready to tell it clearly & plainly. (On my desk ;-) When you start getting into spiritual conversations with people it's probably only a matter of time before they say things like: -- Are you telling me Christianity is the ONLY way? -- Hey, _______ I like you and I appreciate our friendship, but I think it's a little narrow minded to say there's ONE right religion. -- Look, all these religions go to the same place. It's all the same God. -- All religions are basically the same. (hands) Anyone ever heard these comments? Here's some good news--- if you're talking to someone who says these kinds of things, you're probably not talking to someone who knows very much about religions in general Because if you study religions, you'll find some similarities, but on the whole you'll see how varied and different they are. Anyone who tosses out the "all religions are basically the same" line is making an assumptionthey haven't researched it. Let me give you some clear communication to respond to these kinds of statements. There is ONE THING that sets Christianity apart from EVERY religion on the planet. Be aware there are small similarities among Christianity and other religions, but this ONE MAJOR DIFFERENCE kicks any similarities in the keester. And it's that religion is spelled D-O and Christianity is spelled D-O-N-E. (ppt) In every religion OTHER than Christianity, you have to DO things to get any eternal reward. You have to behave a certain way, you have to Do enough of the right kinds of things to please God. The problem with this kind of concept is "how much is enough?" How do you know when you're "in?" Let me throw this out there too: If eternity is about me doing enough stuff, earning or behaving my way in---then why do I need a God? If I'm paying my own way, it sounds more like a country club than a Holy hereafter in the presence of a loving God. Christianity is spelled D-O-N-E. The price for an eternal relationship with Jesus Christ was paid for us by His death on the cross. We pay nothing to receive the gift of eternal life. This is the GRACE plan. There is NO other (listen-repeat) grace-based religion. And here's an interesting twist--- often people will say that just ONE religion being the only one is not fair Yet Christianity, the only one that GIVES eternal salvation freely, says "EVERYONE who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Rom. 10:13 People may give you the impression that Christianity is exclusivelike a private club, because it's the only way---but the TRUTH is it's totally INCLUSIVE because the GIFT of salvation is available to EVERYONE. Are all religions the same? N-O!! Religion is spelled "D-O" Christianity is spelled D-O-N-E. So keep this "DO vs. DONE" as a tool you can use to clearly communicate with your friends. It's an issue that WILL come up. /// I want to equip you with a piece of Clear Communication that's called "Romans Road." Romans Road is three verses from the book of __________. ;-) And they are: (ppt) 3:23 6:23 10:13 (play withmake it a memory verse.) (ppt) 3:23 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (ppt) 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (ppt) 10:13 "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." When it comes to explaining the Gospel, this is probably the simplest and shortest text there is. I love this. Because for everyone who thinks the Bible is hard to understandit blows that allegation right out of the water! (go thru "duh") Not all seekers are going to buy into the Bible, so here's 1 interesting statistic that's easy to understand and no one can rebut: In the thousands of years that we've been digging stuff out of the earthin all the documented scientific archaeological findsstop right there /// Imagine how many millions of archaeological pieces we've found over hundreds of years--on land and in oceans---imagine ALL of the historical museums in all the countries of the world Not ONE of those artifacts has ever disproved the Bible. (ppt) Artifacts have only verified the Bible. Some of sciences oldest and most comprehensive finds of ancient civilizations were in the city of Ur & the surrounding area ----you'll find Ur and those other cities in the Old testament. Now, "no" clearly everything in the Bible is not verified. But you must admit, over thousands of years, having a spotless record of ZERO evidence to refute the Bible is pretty excellent! So using this "Zero Defect" statistic with the Romans Road passages could be some good truth for your friend to chew on. (Rod Story---good example of HP+CP+CC=MI) Let me leave you with one really important thing that we need to factor in to our Clear Communication; and that is the Holy Spirit. (ppt) We cannot prepare ourselves with our story and arm ourselves with facts to overcome objections, and then barrage our friends in a mighty "storm the beaches at Normandy" kind of a way We must seek and be sensitive to the Holy Spirit; discerning when to boldly push and when to chill out. We've probably all seen a seeker who was turn AWAY from God because a Christ follower was more juiced about the message, than they were juiced about listening to the small quiet voice inside them. The best prelude to Clear Communication is passionate prayers. Pray for understanding for your friend and Pray that God would guide you and give you a clear sense of how and when to bring Clearly Communicated truth to your friend. top o' page < back