The Art of Selling

John 4:1-26

Message No. 0584 | Twitter @GodandUs | www.wisdom-speaks.ca

If selling were science, most people would make millions from sales commissions, because all that would be required would be to learn the formula and the millions would start rolling in. Unfortunately, the formula for selling is not so vivid, and though you learn selling from school, you need to discover a lot when you arrive in the real world.

When the devil wanted to sell evil to Eve, he did not come out straight to say I want to train you how to disobey God. If he did, Eve would have screamed for Adam to come and support or protect her from the serpent. He started by asking in a way that would draw the interest of his target. ‘Hey lady, I’ve been watching you for some time and, it seems that God has done it again, by telling you that you could not eat any of the fruits of the garden. Did he tell you that?’ Now, the devil knew the answer that he was going to get; of course, he knew what God told Adam, but he asked the question that would allow him to hit his target.

Unfortunately, many of us are not so diplomatic or skillful in drawing attention and leading discussions to the conclusions that we need. We are often too straight and too direct in our approach and we receive early rejections by so doing. My first instinct when someone holds an item in hand and says I want to sell you this product, is to say no. We all need to learn this skill, however, because we have a primary assignment from Jesus to sell. Popularly known as The Great Commission, in Matthew 28:18-20, the Bible says:

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen

To make converts for Christ, we need to deploy the art of selling. This was exactly what Jesus did when He spoke to the Woman at the Well. In John chapter 4, the Bible says that Jesus had to pass through Samaria on His way to Galilee. Well, He had to go through Samaria because He chose to do so. He had identified His sales area and He did not want His disciples to disturb Him, so He sent them to go and find food. If you observe how Jesus approached the woman at the well, you will see a lot of skills. He started by asking an irrelevant question: give me water to drink. This was very subtle and a good way to start a conversation. From there, He gradually led the discussion to where He wanted, avoiding direct answers to the woman’s questions in most cases. By the time He was done, the woman not only surrendered her life, she immediately became a disciple.

We all need the Holy Spirit to help us in our assignment to evangelize the world, but we also need to learn some skills to help us achieve results. If you meet someone and say I want to preach Jesus to you, it will be extremely hard to gain attention from the person. There are ways that the world strike conversations, like introducing yourself and asking about the welfare of the person, etc. and later something like what do you do for a living, what do you do at your leisure time, and so on. When the atmosphere has been prepared enough, we could gradually get into our real aim. The approach is not science and it’s not the same all the time. I had asked direct questions from people before, like which church do you attend, when in fact I had zero idea if the person was a Christian, but a response would help to talk about Christ.

Our commission may not be so apparent when we make sales into the Kingdom of God, but it accrues in heaven and we start to receive the benefits right here on earth. The more we sell, the more we make God happy and the more we are promoted. Practice, people say, makes perfect. We won’t know how to make disciples until we start telling people about Christ. When last did you talk to someone about Him? We need to pray daily for God to help us identify the right people to talk to at the right time and the right way to start the conversation. The assignment is important, and the market is wide open. I pray that we will all make this a priority in our lives, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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 Lord I know that I am a sinner and I am unable to save myself. I am sorry for my sins and I pray that you please forgive me. I am aware that Your Son Jesus died for my sins and I accept Him as my Lord and savior. I surrender my life unto you from this moment. Please take control of my entire being and help me to be obedient to your Word, going forward. Thank you, Lord, for hearing me. I have prayed in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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