In JOHN 19:34 it tells us that, as Jesus hung on the cross, a guard pierced His side.
In JOHN 19:35, it says that the one who loved him saw it personally and knows it is true. It says he testifies "SO THAT YOU ALSO MAY BELIEVE."
Going over to ISAIAH 43:10, it tells us -
‘You are my witnesses, declares the Lord …’
And then, in 2 TIMOTHY 1:8 it says:
‘So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord …’
Why am I telling you this? Because each and every one of us has a personal testimony of what the Lord has done for us. And it is urgent that we start sharing that testimony with others, SO THAT OTHERS ALSO MIGHT BELIEVE.
We hear about how we live in the "Bible Belt", but have you ever thought about what that really means? To most Christians, it simply means there are a lot of churches around here and they go to one of them.
It should mean that we have been raised in the way of the Lord and that our churches are continuing to teach the true Word of God, and that you live your life as a church-going Christian to the fullest extent in Jesus Christ.
But we don’t think of the Bible Belt in those terms, do we? Why? Because our churches have long ago given up teaching the nuts and bolts of Christianity and have been given over to teaching how to put up with life’s anxieties, instead.
One of the areas not being taught anymore is the area of giving witness, or sharing your testimony.
We are going to have a time of personal testimony this morning. But before we do, I want to “set the stage”, insofar as explaining why it is necessary for us to witness in the first place.
Did you know that the average church member has heard over 4,000 sermons, sung over 20,000 songs, and has brought less than 5 people to church with them in their entire lifetime? And the most staggering thought of all; did you know that the average American churchgoer has helped to convert zero people to Christ?
That is because churches today have bred at least one full generation to do nothing but go to church, go home, and then repeat the cycle again next week, while calling themselves “Christian.” Most churches teach very little today, and what little they do teach is often world-related and not biblical in nature.
The American Christian has a false sense of what Christianity really is. Millions believe that as long as you believe in God, you are a Christian. Many more believe that if you go to church and live a good life, you are a Christian. Still others don’t know exactly what to believe. There are even some who openly deny that Jesus even existed; yet they still call themselves Christians because they go to a church that tells them they are Christians.
The word “Christian” means, “like Christ.” It doesn’t mean anything else. And the only people who are really Christians are those who really do try to wrap their whole lives around Jesus.
One of the hindrances to our ability to learn is our language. The English language lacks much in dealing with description. For instance, there are many kinds of love, so which kind are we talking about when we say we love our new home? And in addition to that, we misuse words. An example of that is when we say something like, “I hate my new boss.”
Are you saying that you want to destroy your new boss? The true meaning of "hate" is to want the object of your hate to disappear forever, or to be dead. In truth, we might dislike our new boss, but I doubt very seriously if we really “hate” our new boss.
To be a Christian, we must have faith in Jesus. "Faith" is another word that our language does not do justice to. When we say “faith”, most of us just think it means to believe Jesus exists. That is not what it means.
A deeper meaning of the word “faith” is found in the Greek work, “pestuo.” “Pestuo” means to trust with all your might; to rely upon with all your heart; to depend upon with your very life; and to receive fully everything that is offered. Is that what you think of when you think of having faith in Christ? And if we do not fully understand the words used to describe Christianity, how can we understand what a Christian’s walk should be like?
Millions sit in churches today numb to the feeling of the Holy Spirit. They have rejected the Holy Spirit’s call many times because they do not want to feel awkward in front of others, or have others look at them. So, little by little, their hearts grow cold to the touch of our Lord, and ends up with our just going through the motions, thinking we are being good Christians but missing out on everything that Christianity offers.
Calling yourself a Christian while having no relationship with the Holy Spirit does as much for our salvation as showing up on your job but refusing to do any work.
I spoke last week of letting your heart be flooded with the presence of the Holy Spirit. That must be done on purpose, because it will never happen without your knowledge or approval. I spoke of allowing ourselves to feel the emotions involved in true worship. In other words, we must let our guard down and just receive what is offered to us.
Why am I telling you this? Because I don’t want this congregation to just go through the motions and think that is good enough. We must know what to do, and how to do it. Then, we must purpose to do it. But we can only do that through the power of the Holy Spirit, and we can never have that power unless we are willing to receive it.
I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but the number one reason the Holy Spirit hasn’t touched more Christians is that most Christians have chosen to remain in their comfort zones. Use this analogy if you would.
Scripture tells us that Jesus knocks at the door and if we will but answer it, He will come in and dine with us and us with Him. But we don’t answer the door because we are sitting in our comfortable recliners and don’t want to get up and see who’s knocking. That is what I mean when I talk about our “comfort zones.” And that desire to stay has even caused us to stop telling others what Jesus can do for them. As Brother Rome Ingle said last week, "Two-thirds of God is go."
In the last few years, computers and cell phones have added to this problem. We spend countless hours in chat rooms, talking to people we don’t know about everything but our shoe size, but we don’t reach out and talk to others face to face anymore. We spend most of our waking hours on cell phones, talking about every unimportant thing in the universe, but won’t hang up so we can talk to the person in line with us at the grocery about anything, much less Jesus.
I have talked over and over again about the Great Commission found in MATTHEW 28:19, 20. But before Jesus gave that command, He spent time teaching His disciples to be effective witnesses. But that in, itself, did not give them what they needed in order effectively witness.
ACTS 2:1-4 tells us how they got what they needed.
“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”
Let’s analyze this passage. First of all, they were together. They depended on each other far more than church members today depend on one another.
When the Holy Spirit came, it came as a sound to hear, a sight to see, and a miracle to experience. The sound was the power of the Holy Spirit as He came from Heaven to earth. The sight was when tongues “as of” fire touched each disciple, baptizing them in the Holy Spirit. The Bible does not say there were tongues “of fire”. It says there appeared to be tongues “as of” fire. That was the visual image of the power of God’s Holy Spirit.
The experience was the power that was received from the Holy Spirit. That was “pestuo” in action. They fully received that which was given. And with that power, they were enabled to go forth and spread the Gospel of Jesus, or the Good News of Jesus. And thousands of people became believers in one day alone! With this power, the first Christians were bold in their testimony and the church in Jerusalem, which was pastored by Jesus’ brother James was so big it numbered in the thousands.
Yet we hear people today saying they don’t want a church that has over 50 people because they won’t know everyone. It isn’t necessary for you to know everyone in your church. It is only necessary that everyone in your church know Jesus.
One of today’s greatest needs is to have Christians get serious about their faith and to boldly take the miracle of Jesus to others they encounter. Several years ago, I tried a little experiment to see how much boldness the average Christian has today. I picked out 20 people who professed to be good strong Christians. I first asked them to go with me to a mall and talk to people about Jesus. All but one of them started back-peddling and finding excuse after excuse why they could not go. The one person was honest. He said he was so scared of doing that he just would not put himself in that position.
As each person declined my invitation, I told them I didn’t think they were really serious about Christianity. Each one of them got very bold and told me I was wrong. Do you see what happened? None of them had the boldness to take the word of God to anyone, but they all found the boldness to scold me for saying they weren’t serious.
[At this point, let those who wish, come forward and give their personal testimonies.]
I would like to read some passages in the New Testament that deal with how Christians are called to get very serious about their walk with Jesus. As I read these, try to compare how serious we take Christianity to how seriously we are told to take it.
ROMANS 13:11-12 – Paul says:
“The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.”
Too many of today’s Christians believe it is okay to have one foot in the world while they try to have one foot in God’s kingdom. The reality is if they have one foot in the world, their other foot is in the spiritual grave.
In 1 TIMOTHY 6:11, Paul is telling us to pursue God, not the world.
“But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.”
JOHN 2:15 tells us the same thing.
“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
How much of Christ do we give others on a daily basis? Do we give them the same message the Bible is giving us? Or, do we show others nothing of Christ? We are called to be a reflection of Jesus, but all too often, we try to become a silent partner in Christianity.
One of the best ways I have ever seen to get people to start thinking about Jesus is to simply tell them what He did for you. Tell them what you used to be like, and then tell them what happened to bring your focus to rest on Jesus.
Then briefly tell them how you have changed since receiving Him as Savior. The number one mistake people make is stretching their witness out to a long story that ends up boring the person to tears very fast. See, people will only give you their full attention for but a moment or two. And you must use that short time to get their attention, not tell them your detailed life in Christ.
I have heard said that the first time you tell someone your personal testimony you should only talk about 3 to 4 minutes. That isn’t long, but it is long enough to tell them Jesus loves you and He loves them, and He is waiting to help them just like he helped you.
With each ensuing encounter with that person, you can elaborate more and more, because they will be able to digest and understand the meaning of your story more as time goes by. The best advice I can give you on this is to not be your own worst enemy. Be loving and realize that you are talking to someone who does not understand and you are going to be leading them one step at a time into an experience with Jesus.
Bill Bright once said of evangelizing: “I am a subdued individual by nature and it is difficult for me to start talking to a stranger about anything, including Jesus. But anytime I am alone with an individual for more than a few moments, I must realize that God Himself gave me that time to tell them about Jesus. And what will I tell God if I don’t do that?” And what will you tell God if you do not do likewise?
I think that if I had to categorize Christians, I would say there are true Christians who truly seek the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit in their lives, and there are those who think they are true Christians because they go to church and go through all the motions.
I am not trying to sound all critical about today’s Christians. I am, however, telling you that very few of us live up to the standard of what a Christian is called to live to. And almost none of us really try to take the message to others. I believe that if you cannot take the word of God to others, you need to bring them to the word of God, and that is found in churches more than any other place they go.
How many of your family or friends have you given your personal testimony to? Would you like to be able to testify as did the first century Christians? Boldly and convincingly? The only way you can do that is in the power of the Spirit. And that leads me to ask you a very hard question.
Have you really opened your heart to the calling of the Holy Spirit? Just acknowledging Him is not the same as receiving Him. I think one of the biggest ways you can tell if you have fully received what the Holy Spirit offers is found in the boldness you now feel about giving your personal testimony, and the emotions you feel when you worship our Lord.
Will the Praise Team please come forward?
When was the last time you fell on your knees with tears in your eyes as you worshiped the Lord? You will never see an example in the Bible of anyone seeking Jesus in their life while being aloof and concerned with what others might think. Every single time someone approaches Jesus, they are shown to be filled with a yearning Spirit - one that desires to be helped by Him. Is that how we approach Jesus, or are we properly aloof so as to keep our dignity in front of others? When you are focused on what others might say or think, you cannot be focused on what Jesus might think. And you certainly cannot be focused on receiving what the Holy Spirit has for you.
Would you like to receive the Holy Spirit this morning; perhaps for the very first time? You don’t have to hold back any more. Please come forward at this time for invitation to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
INVITATION
