How to be an effective witness for Jesus Christ

Surely, you've heard this a hundred times before. You must tell others about God!  You shudder at the thought of doing that, don't you?

You feel like an ocean of reasons why you can't do it is pouring down on you!

• I’m not a preacher …
• I’m too shy …
• I’m only a young Christian …

 

Almost crushed by your own inability, you ride the next wave.

• I can’t speak to strangers …
• I’ve never done it before …
• I don’t know what to say …

 

Then comes the final blow! What if …!?

• What if they don’t listen …
• What if they laugh at me …
• What if they ask me something and I don’t have the answer …

 

The reasons given here certainly seem good enough to stop you from following Jesus' instructions, don't they?

 

Definitely, but only if you don't believe or know what God says about your abilities!

 

HE has something to say, are you ready to hear it?

 

YOU WERE CREATED EXACTLY HOW HE WANTED YOU TO BE

 

Psalm 139.15-16 (Amplified Bible)

My frame was not hidden from You, When I was being formed in secret, and intricately and skillfully formed [as if embroidered with many colors] in the depths of the earth. Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written the days that were appointed for me, when as yet there was not one of them [even taking shape].

 

God embroidered you with many colours. Among these are your temperament type, natural abilities, talents, skills, and spiritual gifts. 

Among the many natural talents, singing, telling stories, ministering to children, and caring for addicts are a few examples.  So are writing or serving others. 

Unsure what yours are? Ask yourself …

• What excites me?

• How do I express myself spontaneously?

• What am I most likely to think about or talk about?

 

On the inside, God has placed everything you will ever need to fulfill His dream and purpose for your life. It's all about discovering what He's put in you and what He wants for you.

 

YOU MUST DISCOVER 3 THINGS

 

1.       Your identity in Christ

2.       What He has placed within you

3.       How His assignment looks for your life

 

First, let's talk about His assignment for your life.  All God's children have a general assignment.

 

Matthew 28.19-20 (Amplified Bible)

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations [help the people to learn of Me, believe in Me, and obey My words], baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always [remaining with you perpetually—regardless of circumstance, and on every occasion], even to the end of the age.”

 

• GO
• MAKE DISCIPLES

 

No, no, no! Things just got worse! I hear you say. Not only telling people about Jesus, but making disciples as well! I QUIT!!!

 

Wait! You need to hear me out! Jesus has made a powerful promise to you.

 

Acts 1.8 (Amplified Bible)

But you will receive power and ability when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be My witnesses [to tell people about Me] both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth.”

• You WILL receive POWER and ABILITY when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.
• You WILL BE my witnesses.

 

Two powerful promises! Firstly, as soon as a person receives the Holy Spirit, God provides both the power and the ability. Secondly, if you flow in that power and ability, you will automatically become His witness.

 

What is a witness? Is it a preacher? An evangelist? A teacher perhaps? An apostle or pastor?

 

NO! Witnesses are simply people who personally see, hear, or know something and then bear witness; they testify or provide evidence.

 

Witnesses are only expected to describe what they have seen, heard, or experienced. Is that really that hard? When Jesus touches your life, you are a witness to His touch. Having been healed by Him, you are a witness to His healing power. Having been filled with His Holy Spirit, you are a witness of His power.

 

All that is required of you is to share your experience with others.

 

NOT TO …

• Preach to them …
• Try and convince them …
• Teach them the Bible …

 

Only talk about what you've personally experienced!

 

In my opinion, the problem is that we sometimes try to be so "super" in people's eyes.  It's not going to impress them. There is no magic in your Bible knowledge or your fluency of speech. As long as you are sincere in sharing with others what Jesus has done in your life, HE will do the rest.

 

You are not able to convince people, the Holy Spirit is. Therefore, there is no need to argue, fight, try to convince or persuade anyone. It's just a matter of telling.

 

ARE YOU READY TO GIVE IT A GO?

 

The Lord called you to share your faith and bring light to the darkness.  There is an effective way to do it.

 

Philemon 1:6 (NKJV)

… that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgement of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.”

 

To share your faith more effectively, Paul tells Philemon to "acknowledge every good thing which is in you".

 

There are many good things IN you, but you must acknowledge them. What makes that so important?

 

Your focus determines the direction of your life.   Most of the time, we focus on the bad and wrong things in our lives, along with our weaknesses. Negative things grow stronger in your life when you give them so much attention, and it makes one feel miserable, useless, or ineffective.

 

Paul encourages Philemon to focus on every good thing in himself instead of the bad and ugly. 

Would you like to become more effective? You can do that by recognizing every good thing in you and start focusing on that.

 

You already have everything you need! It's right inside of you. Your spirit is stocked with these good things, which you can access at a moment's notice.

 

What good things do you have within?

 

ALL SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS WERE GIVEN TO YOU

 

Ephesians 1.3 (NKJV)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.

 

2 Peter 1.3-4 (Amplified Bible)

For His divine power has bestowed on us [absolutely] everything necessary for [a dynamic spiritual] life and godliness, through true and personal knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has bestowed on us His precious and magnificent promises [of inexpressible value], so that by them you may escape from the immoral freedom that is in the world because of disreputable desire, and become sharers of the divine nature.

 

Let’s take a closer look at these “good things in you”:

 

·         Your inner man is embroidered with gifts and talents (Psalm 139).

·        As a child of God, you were saved by grace through the faith of Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 2:8; Romans 8:16)

·         You are in right-standing with God (2 Corinthians 5:21)

·         Jesus has given you authority to make disciples (Matthew 28.20).

·         You have the power of God within you to witness (Acts 1:8)

·         You have been sealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13)

·         The fruit of the Spirit has been given to you (Galatians 5:22)

 

Start focusing on the “good things” in you!  As soon as you start doing that, good things will start happening for you.

• You will gain more confidence.
• You will begin to see signs and wonders. (Mark 16:17)
• You will be able to share your faith more effectively.

You see, there is no need for you to be a preacher, or fear because you've never done it before, or even worry about all the "what if" questions that bother you.

You can fall back in the arms of your loving Father, knowing ...

• that He promised to never leave you or forsake you
• that you've got what it takes to do what He has created you to do
• that He has provided you with every good thing to touch hearts and change lives.

Go now!

Quite simply, because you can!

By HENNIE ESPAG