Every Christian is called to live like Jesus. In John 20:21, Jesus said, "As my Father has sent me, even so send I you." How was Jesus sent? He was sent on redemptive mission by the Father. Jesus said, "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost" (Luke 19:10). Every Christian is called to be involved in winning the lost to Christ.
Sharing Jesus should be a natural expression of walking with Him. Our relationship with Christ begins when we admit to God that our way is the wrong way. Then we accept Jesus as being the only way to God. From that point, our relationship with Christ should grow deeper and deeper. Our witness should then flow out of that daily and life-changing relationship with Him. You see, each of us who knows Christ as our Savior has a story to tell. We commonly call this story our "testimony."
There was a time in my life when I did not know Christ; then, I came to know Him; and now, my life is different because of Him. These are the three basic elements found in the testimony of every Christian.
Share your testimony)
Do you have a testimony? If so, what was your life like before trusting Christ? How did you come to understand that you needed to trust Christ? How did you commit your life to Jesus? How did you make that decision? How has your life been impacted since trusting Christ?
Let me encourage you to examine yourself at this point. Do you have a testimony of having had a life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ?
"Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? - 2 Corinthians 13:5 (NIV)
If you do not have a testimony of having trusted Christ, let me urge you to do so today.
(Lead in the sinner’s prayer)
Assuming you truly do know Christ, you must understand that we have a responsibility to be good stewards of our testimony. In this series so far, we have talked about being good stewards of our time and talents. We need to understand that the reason God gives us the time and talents He does is so that we might use them to tell others about Christ. Sharing Jesus is the Christian’s primary mission in life!
In his book, Becoming A Contagious Christian, Bill Hybels says, "God custom designed you with your unique combination of personality, temperament, talents, and background, and He wants to harness and use these in His mission to reach this messed up world."
With this in mind, let’s look to see what the apostle Peter has to tell us about how we can be good stewards of our testimony.
(Read Text)
Peter says that if I am going to be a good steward of my testimony:
1 need to show Christ - vs. 13-14a
A. I need to delight to do good - v. 13
The NASB uses the word, "zealous" where the NI V uses the word "eager." The idea here is that our commitment to living the kind of life God has called us to should be such that it is a consuming passion. The word "zealous" is the word from which the title of "zealot" came. The "zealots" in Jesus’ day were Jews whose lives were filled with a passion to see Israel freed from Roman oppression. All their time, talent, and treasure was committed to this objective.
Likewise, the Christian’s commitment to living a life that counts for God and blesses others should be his consuming passion and daily delight! But delighting to do good is not enough. Because this world stands in opposition to the things of Christ...
B. I need to determine to do good - v. 14a
Sometimes, we make those around us uncomfortable when we seek to stand for what is right and good, because it is easier on them for us to "go along with the crowd."
"Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example." - Mark Twain
When that happens, we might find that "doing good" is more difficult in the short run, but Peter assures us that it will, nevertheless, be worth it in the long run. Therefore, if we are going to be good stewards of our testimony, we need to commit to doing what is right, even if it is not what is popular, and even when it is difficult. This is the kind of testimony that will be used of God to change the hearts of those who are lost.
In verses 8 through 12, Peter describes what life is like when we "do good." What characterizes the life of a Christian who is "doing good?"
A Christian who does good is...
1) harmonious (v. 8); 2) sympathetic (v. 8); 3) loving (v. 8); 4) compassionate (v. 8); 5) humble (v. 8); 6) not petty (v. 9); 7) not critical (v. 9); 8) a blessing to others (v. 9); 9) not slanderous (v. 10); 10) not dishonest (v. 10); 11) a positive influence (v. 11); 12) a pursuer of peace (v. 11)
In verse 12, Peter says that such Christians have a clear connection with God and in verse 15 he says that because of this kind of life, there will be folks who will want to know the reason why they are different.
Is anyone around you wanting to become like you?
If I am going to win others to Christ, I need to try to be this kind of Christian and I need to introduce them to others who are this kind of Christian. In doing so, I can interest them in learning how they might become this kind of person through faith in Christ. But showing Christ alone is not enough if I are going to fulfill my God-given purpose of leading others to Jesus ...
2.1 need to share Christ - vs. 14b-15
3 keys to being effective:
A. Be committed to Christ’s lordship - vs. 14b-15a
What do unbelievers fear? Well, among the many fears found in the lives of people in our world today, chief among them is the fear of being rejected by other -the fear of what other people think. That is the fear that Peter says we, as Christians, must not allow ourselves to be crippled by. Instead of concerning ourselves with what other people think, we need to care only about what our Lord thinks! I need to commit myself to living for an audience of One! Christ commands us to share our story with others! To do any less is to dishonor His lordship! Therefore, instead of being faithless and fearful, let’s commit ourselves to being faithful and fearless!"
The fact is that witnessing makes both the Christian and the non-Christian nervous! What we need to do is settle the lordship issue and decide that we will overcome our fears by placing our faith in the One who calls us to share our testimony with others.
Dr. Bill Thorn tells a story about a preacher who went to a church to preach a revival meeting in the days of the old west. He was nervous when all the men of the congregation showed up with wearing pistols. He went ahead with his sermon as best he could, despite his nervousness.
When he finished, he really began to panic when the men began to make their way toward the front with their guns drawn. He turned to the chairman of Deacons who was seated beside him and who sought to calm him down. "Don’t worry," said the Deacon, "they’re not coming after you. They’re looking for the fellow who invited you to preach." Sometimes, fear about how we might be received keeps us from sharing our story!
Let’s talk about overcoming our fears in witnessing.
Three steps to overcome fear in witnessing (Acts 4:18-31):
1) Trust in the sovereignty of God - vs. 24-28
a) Reflect on God’s Word - v. 24-26
b) Reflect on God’s ways - vs. 27-28
2) Trust in the strength of God - vs. 29-30
a) To confound the work of those who oppose Him - v. 29
b) To confirm the word of those who obey Him - v. 30
3) Trust in the Spirit of God - v. 31 (1 Timothy l:7-8a; Acts 1:8)
I know that there are some that are always studying the meaning of the fourth toe of the right foot of some beast in prophecy, and they’ve never used either foot yet to tell people about Jesus. I do not know who the "666" is in Revelation, but I do know this world is "sick, sick, sick" and the best way to speed the Lord’s return is to win more souls for Him." - Vance Havner
"Successful witnessing is sharing the Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results to God."
The reason why many of us do not experience much of the power & provision of the Holy Spirit in our lives is because we never allow ourselves to get in a position where we need the Holy Spirit to work on our behalf. It is only as we get "out there" on the cutting edge of what God has in mind for us to be doing that we will experience all there is to experience of the power and provision of God (Philemon 6). To overcome the fear factor, I simply need to settle the lordship issue and determine to be more concerned with what the Lord thinks about me than with what others think about me.
B. Be prepared to share your story - v. 15b
1) Know that you have a story to tell -
2) Know the story that you have to tell - learn to
share your faith!
C. Be looking for every opportunity - v. 15c
How to make the most of every opportunity you receive:
1) Be clear - "give the reason for the hope that you have"
What Americans Think It Means To Be a Christian (Barna Research)
22% Don’t know
21% To live differently than other people
19% To have a personal relationship with Jesus
14% To love others, to help other people
14% To believe in God
11 % To go to church, to be religious
10% To be a good person
2) Be caring - "do this with gentleness and respect"
In 1858 a man laid a trembling hand on the shoulder of a young shoe clerk and said, I’m concerned about you." That afternoon, that young man knelt in the basement of a shoe store and asked Jesus into his life. He was touched by this man’s concern. The young clerk was D.L. Moody. Later he wrote, "How strange it was that a men who had only known me for two weeks would be concerned about me."
Moody became an evangelist, and in 1879 was invited to England. His host was the learned pastor, F.B. Meyer. Meyer no sooner heard Moody preach that he regretted having invited him, because Moody was uncouth, and unlearned. As soon as Moody left, F.B. Meyer set about to repair the damage that he supposed D.L. Moody had done in his upper class church. The first person that Meyer called on was a Sunday School teacher of young girls. As soon as he entered her home, she said, "Oh Dr. Meyer, I’ve been under conviction ever since I heard brother Moody speak. So I began to visit the girls in my Sunday School class and I’ve led every one of them to Jesus.
Meyer went home and fell on his knees. Soon he began to preach evangelistic sermons and his church began to grow. As his success became known, he was invited to preach in America. Among his engagements was a series of meetings on college campuses. At one college meeting, a student, J. Wilber Chapman, heard the preaching and accepted Christ.
Chapman went into Y.M.C.A. work. He needed a helper, so he hired a young convert named Billy Sunday. Sunday soon began to do the work of an evangelist, and on one occasion, he preached a meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina. A group of local businessmen heard Sunday preach about the power of prayer. They began to meet regularly for prayer.
Some months later, Mordecai Ham accepted their invitation to come to Charlotte to preach a series of meetings. During one of those evening tent meetings a young man felt that the evangelist was pointing his sermons directly at him. The next night, he joined the choir so that he might be seated behind the evangelist. That night, the evangelist turned around and preached to the choir. During the invitation, the young man prayed to receive Christ. His name? Billy Graham. And the story goes on... But where did it all begin? With a man who cared enough to share the story of Jesus by sharing his story, so that a young man might have his life turned into a brand new story!
