(Matthew 28:16-20)
One of the hardest things for most Christians to do is to
witness. It doesn't matter how old or young you might be, male or female,
there just seems to be a difficulty in sharing our faith. Let me give you
some basic practical help in this area. First of all, never forget, your
best witness is how you live your life...not what you say. The unbelieving
world has heard for too long, Christians say one thing, then live in a
totally
opposite way. There is nothing more powerful to a non-Christian than how
you
live. Trust me, whether it is at school, at work, at play, if you have
expressed a belief in Christ, people are watching you. They are not going
to
judge you so much by what you say, but how you live. You are truly a
"living
testimony" and how you live is the most effective and powerful witness you
will ever have.
When those opportunities present themselves to orally share your faith, the
minute you get into theological debates or Biblical arguments, or trying to
make the case for the existence of God, you are going nowhere fast. People
are afraid to witness because they feel inadequate answering the tough
questions. Listen, it is nice if you can handle yourself in those types of
situations, but rarely is a correct or adequate answer to these types of
questions going to turn someone to Christ. You have a personal relationship
with Jesus. Any time you talk about Jesus with anyone, it should be in the
context of what He has done in your life. The person you are talking to
needs to know that this is not some ghost or imaginary character we have
dreamed up, but that Jesus is real and has a real impact on your life.
Your
time of sharing should be focused on that aspect, what He has done for you,
and the fact that Jesus wants to help whoever it is you are talking to.
Sharing your faith is kind of difficult for many, simply because you lack
the
conviction of what you believe. If you knew for a fact a bomb would explode
at your office building or school at noon Tuesday, October 26, what would
you
do? Of course, you would do everything in your power to tell everyone to
stay away, that something terrible was going to happen. You wouldn't hold
back that life changing information from anyone. Well, if you believe that
Jesus is Lord and those who accept Him will spend eternity in Heaven and
those who reject Him will spend eternity in Hell, what are you waiting for? One of
the
big fears is that of rejection. Listen, they are not rejecting you if
they
choose to walk away, they are rejecting Christ. But don't forget, you can't
save anyone. Only by the convicting power of the Holy Spirit does someone
make that decision to accept Jesus. Usually, many have planted seeds, many
have prayed, you are just the last link in God's chain. You did nothing but
be obedient and allow God to use you to touch someone's heart. I was an
evangelist for 3 years, preached across the country in over 500 churches of
every denomination. When I gave the alter call and people came forward to
accept Jesus, I knew it was nothing I said, but the prayers of many, the
efforts of many planting seed in those lives over the years. God was just
using me for the final step.
Witnessing is not an option, it is a commandment from our commander in
chief.
Get busy. Live right, holy and blameless before God and man, and take those
opportunities God gives you to tell others what Jesus has done for you. God
will do the rest.
