What is the main purpose that God has for leaving us here on earth after we are saved? If you think about it, you will realise that we can know God better in heaven than here on earth. The praise and worship is better in heaven, the presence of God is stronger, and the blessings are greater. So why has God left us on earth? The reason is this: to bring others to a saving knowledge of God.
Acts 2:14-40
14Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
18Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 19I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 21And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ 22Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 25David said about him:
“ ‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
26Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, 27because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. 28You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.’
29Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ,[f] that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. 32God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. 33Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand 35until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” 36Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
37When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
40With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
Our Mission as Christians
The time has come in our series of studies to consider the main purpose that God has for leaving us here on earth after we are saved. If you think about it, you will realise that we can know God better in heaven than here on earth. The praise and worship is better in heaven, the presence of God is stronger, and the blessings are greater.
So why has God left us on earth? The reason is this: to bring others to a saving knowledge of God.
“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”
2 Corinthians 5:20
In fact our citizenship is now in heaven (Philippians 3:20). We are in the world, but not of the world. We are now born from above, from God. But God has us here as his representatives, his ambassadors. As ambassadors, we are not doing our own business, but the business of heaven.
As ambassadors for Christ, we should be speaking for God, not for ourselves. We should be speaking accurately in Christ’s name (Luke 24:47; Colossians 3:17; 1 Peter 4:11; Isaiah 59:21). Our mission is to work with God to bring rebels to the place where they will obey the gospel. All men are rebels by nature and need a radical change if they are going to have any eternal future with God. The old must go, the new must come (2 Corinthians 5:17
We are called to inherit God’s blessings (1 Peter 3:9). To receive salvation from the Lord, one must repent (Luke 13:3), and believe the gospel (John 3:16). It is necessary to OBEY the gospel. (2 Thessalonians 1:8,9). God wants as many as possible to receive salvation. He has left us here to help others to receive this salvation and to stay true to Christ until the very end. Our whole lives should be orientated towards this purpose.
“Love is the true spirit of evangelism. We should warn people about the danger of hell as if they were our own children walking on the brink of a volcano.”
Reinhard Bonnke
WHY?
Everyone needs salvation
The Bible declares:
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23
“The soul who sins is the one who will die” Ezekiel 18:4
“The wages of sin is death.” Romans 6:23.
Because all have sinned, every single person needs to be saved. The Apostle Paul understood this and wrote:
“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” 2 Corinthians 5:14,15.
Paul realised that if Christ died for all, then all died. All were dead in sin and needed salvation. (Ephesians 2:1-3). All died spiritually. They needed someone to pay the price for them. Every single individual needs the blood of Christ to wash away their sins, or that person will perish eternally.
Paul knew that Christ’s purpose in dying was also to redeem us from sin and selfishness. We belong to God now. We are not our own (1 Corinthians 6:19). We were bought back. To obey the gospel means to no longer live for you, but to live for Jesus, the One who gave His life for you. To live for Jesus means to let Jesus live through you - to become part of His body and be a person through whom Jesus touches the world with His love and His message of salvation.
“But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulphur. This is the second death.” Revelation 21:8
According to this verse, anybody who fits into these categories is on their way to hell. There needs to be a very definite repentance. Every single person who is alive needs to be saved and give their life to Jesus. That is why Jesus commands us to do something about it.
JESUS COMMANDS US TO GO - in the Power of the Spirit!
Disciples make Disciples
For the real Christian, the question is not whether to evangelise or make disciples, but HOW.
As Lord of our lives, Jesus Christ’s purpose is twofold: to bless us and to make us a blessing.
He has commanded all of us to be witnesses to Him, to communicate the gospel and make disciples everywhere. Though we are not yet perfect, Jesus expects us to be His witnesses, to know the gospel and to share it with others intelligently and in the power of the Holy Spirit.
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8
As a disciple of Jesus, The Great Commission is for you! A disciple is someone who learns from a master. If we believe in Jesus with saving faith we will go on to learn from Him in submission and obedience, and that makes us disciples of Jesus.
Every true Christian is a disciple. “The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.” (Acts 11:26)
Jesus never used the word “Christian” He spoke about being a disciple, or following Him, or believing in Him. The word Christian is possibly the most abused word in any language, because all kinds of people claim the title for themselves without having any personal relationship to Christ.
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20
Jesus has all the authority from God the Father to tell us what to do. This passage is God speaking to us. We need no further call. We can see:
The things the apostles learned from Jesus - the moral teachings, the commandments, the principles of the Kingdom like dependence on God, and the ministry of healing the sick and casting out demons - all these things. Jesus instructed to be taught to every generation of disciples. After the 11 taught all these things to the disciples they made, these disciples, in their turn, come under the same instruction - to obey this Great Commission also. They must bring the gospel in the power of God to the next generation also, and train disciples to accurately represent the heart of Jesus in all things and carry on this mission of Jesus.
Teaching disciples to obey the Great Commission is part of the Great Commission. This same commission now comes to YOU. That means that you must learn or be taught to do all things Jesus commanded in the gospel. Remember that Jesus did not teach only verbally, but also by His example, ministry and life. We teach by our example, not just our words.
Jesus said it more than once!
He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Luke 24:46- 49
Jesus is telling us that we should preach the gospel - Jesus’ death and resurrection, and the proper response to this when fully understood - repentance, with the result, certain forgiveness of sins. But He makes it clear that we must be clothed with power from on high to do this work properly. The Promise of the Father is the Baptism in the Holy Spirit (see Acts 1:4,5).
Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” John 20:21
Jesus sends his disciples in the same way He himself was sent. We are sent in such a way as to depend on God as we endeavour to preach the Kingdom and demonstrate it as Jesus did - in His mastery over sin, sickness, disease and death.
He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach
the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and
is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will
pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” Mark 16:15- 18
This is one of the commandments we must be taught to obey. Preach the gospel! (2 Timothy 4:2). Not just to one or two, or to the races of people we prefer. We must do this out of love for God and love for our neighbour. The eternal destiny of those who hear is decided by whether or not they believe.
God has promised to cause signs to follow those who believe. If we don’t believe signs will follow, we need to repent of unbelief. Jesus said they would follow if we believe.
We must tell the gospel to others. A dead faith in the gospel will not impress anyone, least of all God.
How to be ready
God is sovereign, and can do things in ways we don’t anticipate. So to be ready we need to:
1. Be full of the Spirit. Every day seek God, love God, abide in Jesus and listen to His voice. Keep your life right with God.
2. Be bold. “The wicked flees when no one pursues, but the righteous is bold as a lion.” (Proverbs 28:1). In your sharing of the gospel, the Spirit of God wants you to start boldly declaring that Jesus saves, heals and delivers today (Hebrews 13:8). Say it to people like you expect it to happen. Don’t be afraid to call people to repent, to believe, to receive Jesus as Lord, Saviour and Healer. Expect a response.
3. Wait, watch and listen. Wait in the presence of God with a worshipful spirit. As you do this, watch to see what God is doing in the lives of people. Jesus did only what He saw the Father doing (John 5:19). See how the Holy Spirit is touching people. Move with the Holy Spirit. Also, listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit. Many times he wants to tell you what conditions he will heal next, what spirits need to be bound and cast out, what actions you must take. Wait, watch, listen and obey. Lay hands on those he shows you to lay hands on and pray for them. (Mark 16:18)
4. Never let discouragement overcome you. Do all you can to build your faith. Like the disciples, you may come to Jesus and say, “Why could we not cast him [the demon] out?” (Matthew 17:19) The answer that follows tells us that it is a matter getting rid of unbelief, not of God’s mysterious sovereign will. And we see in the same passage that we will have to give ourselves at times to prayer and fasting if we want to see the greater miracles of Jesus take place through our ministry in Jesus’ name.
Need more incentive?
Because of Calvary. A love so great, a punishment so great, a suffering so great. Look upon the wounds of Jesus. He bled for you, but not for you only, but for the whole world. When you see His suffering, you will count your own suffering a small thing. Your own problems will pale into insignificance if you grasp the intense misery, pain, heartache and physical agony that Christ endured for you. When you see his love expressed there on the cross, how can you not want to tell others?
God’s love has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). We ought to care enough to act. To do something. Don’t just ask God to save them. Before anyone else cared, God gave his only begotten Son to be led away to die for your most horrible sins.
The Gospel is Good News. We like to bring good news. God has done something for the needs of the world. This is good news. Can you dare to believe that God would do something good for those you know, bound by satanic chains of sin, disease and death? Then boldly proclaim this news and set the prisoners free!
You are the body of Christ. Jesus has no hands on the earth except your hands and mine, no mouth on earth except yours and mine. Being His body, we must express Jesus through all that we are. And His heart is beating for lost souls.
For the glory, honour and praise of God. It should cause pain in your heart that the one to whom angels bow down and worship is blasphemed on earth There is a policy in the world of suppressing the knowledge of the true God. How many people give thanks to God for all the good things he has given? Satan, the prince of darkness, blinds their minds.
Jesus Christ is in you. You are to abide in Him, and He in you. You must walk as He walked. Jesus came to seek and save that which was lost. (Luke 19:10). He did not call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
If Jesus Christ is the greatest lover of your soul, the light of your life, your Lord and master, your leader, your friend and the substance of your new life, how is it that you could keep Him out of your conversation? You’ll want to introduce your friend Jesus to the people you know.
Making Disciples, communicating the Gospel
To communicate the gospel effectively we must:
Know the gospel.
Obey the gospel, and have a testimony of God’s working in our life.
Prepare ourselves mentally, spiritually and physically.
Make relationships of trust with people around us.
Actually take the opportunities we constantly have to turn the conversation to spiritual things and then look for openings to share with people.
Open our mouth and speak the Word of God to people, beginning with God, then the law, and then the gospel.
Know how to challenge people to respond and lead them to Christ in a simple prayer.
Have Christian literature, books, CD’s or other things ready to give to interested people.
Constantly pray and work to get people to come to fellowship and church meetings and other events so they can be integrated into the life of the church.
Communicating the Gospel and leading people to Christ is aiming to produce addition in the church and in the Kingdom of God. But God’s strategy goes beyond this. He wants us to be involved in multiplication.
“You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.”
2 Timothy 2:1,2
God calls us to get strong in Him - in His grace, His Spirit, His Word, His Character - so that we have something worth imparting into the lives of others and are able to inspire them. Then, he calls us to share what we have from God and what we have learned – to teach and impart it to others.
If anyone could by God’s grace fully disciple one person every year who would do exactly the same thing the number of disciples produced would double every year and in 34 years the whole world would be disciples of Jesus Christ.
The fact that this has not been done proves the general unfaithfulness of both the church and humanity to the plan and purpose of God. We have allowed ourselves to be too easily distracted. Too often we have not built for the future, but are only thinking for the short term. Even Christian ministers fall into the trap of going for short term things that look good at the time but only produce a superficial effect. Now is the time for all this to change. God is raising up a new generation of dedicated, power-packed disciples who will not allow persecution or worldly seduction to take them away from their humble purpose in Christ.
From small acorns...
The body of Christ, the church, is also the bride of Jesus. It was for the church that Jesus died and gave His life. Our work in evangelism and discipleship is all for the purpose of giving pleasure and glory back to God, from whom comes every good thing. We must do all we can to build up the church. We must not refuse any grace from God that would build up the church. God wants multitudes to be part of his Church, which is ultimately to be composed of many united local churches in every locality. Churches full of the love, power, wisdom and glory of God. Churches that are holy unto the Lord. It is for this bride that the Lord Jesus is coming back.
All that we do in evangelism and discipleship must serve God. We must capture the vision of God in our lives. We must be dedicated to the kind of witness and evangelism that helps new converts through to a real ongoing and eternal relationship with Christ. Anything short of this is incomplete at best and irresponsible at worst.
There has been a lot of shallow evangelism in the last few decades with thousands and millions of “converts” who today are nowhere to be found. Merely scattering the seed of the Word and seeing apparent responses and healing miracles is NOT reaping the harvest. The harvest has occurred when the grain is safely in the barn. Why? Because if the people never get into a real God centred life, they just haven’t begun to do the will of God for their lives! (Hebrews 10:25). In vain they say they have received Jesus, but they do not let His Word rule their lives. They haven’t been convinced deeply enough. He has not been received as Lord in truth. May God help us to see the necessity of true repentance and faith in the work of God.
WHAT?
The Power of Testimony
“They overcame by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death” Revelation 12:11
Your testimony is about what you have experienced - what you have seen and heard. A real Christian can talk about their experiences with God through Jesus Christ. We as Christians are called to a relationship of real communication with the Son of God. God comes to live inside us. Things change.
God deals with every person in a different way.
The more Christians that come forward and talk about how God has intervened in their life, the more people will realise that God is for real, miracles do happen, and prayer works. This will inspire others to seek God and turn from their sins so that they too can know the peace and satisfaction that comes to a person who truly gives their life over to God.
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8
To be a witness to Jesus is to speak and communicate the things that you have seen and heard in your life that happened because of Jesus. It’s the Holy Spirit who makes Jesus real to us, and makes Jesus real through us.
God’s plan is for people to hear the good news that Jesus Christ paid for their sins, and conquered death for us through rising from the dead. After believing, people should go on to receive the power of the Holy Spirit, and then testify to others what God has done for them.
One of the greatest testimonies in the Bible was from a power pagan emperor who came to know that the God of Israel was indeed God over all.
King Nebuchadnezzar actually said in an announcement that went across the whole known world: “It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me.” Daniel 4:2 Like Nebuchadnezzar, we should seek to glorify God all over the world. You can share your story with the people of your world with a similar purpose. You can reach people that no one else can reach.
“Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done.”
1 Chronicles 16:8.
If you have been rescued by God from your sin and the consequences of it, one of the ways you can express thanks to God is by telling others what happened. If you have never shared your testimony before, start by writing your story down. This will help equip you to share it verbally with others.
Sharing your Testimony
If you have really drawn near to God, you will be like Peter, who said, “For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20) even when he was persecuted and threatened on account of his testimony, and the power of the name of Jesus that he was operating in. The most important thing to testify of, though, is not physical miracles, as wonderful as they are, but the way God has redeemed your soul - bought you out of the hand of the devil for himself. The Bible says in Psalm 107:2, “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy”. Its a wonderful thing when we can honestly testify that we now know God has forgiven our sins. If God has redeemed you, then you should say so - publicly.
Wot no Testimony?
Your testimony does not have to be super dramatic or unusual to be effective. Not everyone can relate personally to a sensational testimony. If on the other hand your testimony is weak because you can’t point to a change in your life, could it be that you have not really consecrated your life to God properly? Are you trying to living with one foot in God’s Kingdom, and the other in Satan’s?
The Bible says, “For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient.” Ephesians 5:5-6
Is your heart still in love with something of the world more than with God? Decide to live for God and get serious about it, because none of us are guaranteed a tomorrow.
Embracing the wonderful truths concerning the Holy Spirit and overcoming Satan that can be found in God’s Word.
God wants your testimony to be strong, so you can live powerfully before God and men, and give honour and glory to God. He wants your life to show forth His power - what He can do. And God has done absolutely amazing things for people in all kinds of trouble, who were messed up and without natural hope.
If God has worked powerfully in your life, please share it so others can benefit. It will remind you of how God has worked and it will encourage others to believe in God. It may be the means by which another precious person comes to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus. So do it.
Organise your Testimony
If you read Acts 26:1-29 and Acts 22:1-21 you will see two examples of how the apostle Paul gave his testimony in the midst of great pressure, where his destiny hung in the balance. Paul talked about his early life, before meeting Christ - both the good and the bad points. Then he talked about how Christ revealed Himself to him and his response. In Acts 26 (where he was not interrupted) he is able to spend more time talking about his life since his conversion.
Its good to devote about 40% to “Before Christ”, about 20% to the conversion experience, and about 40% to “After Christ”. People want to know what kind of a difference Christ made in your life. Be honest and authentic. Don’t try to make it look better than it is, or to make your past sound worse than it really was. God will bless a testimony that is truthful. People are usually pretty good and spotting phony things.
Don’t be like the President George Bush who reputedly told voters how important religion was to him, and how his favourite verse was John 16:3 when he probably meant to have said John 3:16. John 16:3 says “They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me”.
Aim to point out the effect that meeting the Lord had on your soul, after you surrendered to Him. Share how you felt. Don’t use religious words and biblical phrases that people untrained in the Bible are not familiar with. Even a lot of church people don’t understand a lot of the biblical phrases, or the meaning of words. Try to make your testimony clear for someone who has no knowledge of God or the Bible, put yourself in his or her shoes.
WHEN?
Too busy to witness?
It’s not hard to find plenty of things to do. Even as Christians, we find ourselves under constant pressure to do so many things. Bills to pay, work to do and family commitments all take time. The worries of life crowd our minds.
Meanwhile, the emphasis of the church is normally upon attending more meetings. Church services, growth groups, prayer meetings, conventions, worship practice, youth nights, and social events - the list goes on and on. Somehow into our hectic schedule we may squeeze time for personal devotions and a brief read of the Scriptures.
If we manage to do these things, and somehow hold it all together, we breathe a sigh of relief.
BUT, we may do all these things, and yet miss the main purpose of our Christian life, the most vital area of service and life, the purpose that Jesus has called us to - soul winning.
God’s love has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). We ought to care enough to act. Don’t just ask God to save them, do something.
The Gospel is Good News. We like to bring good news. God has done something for the needs of the world. This is good news. Can you dare to believe that God would do something good for those you know, bound by satanic chains of sin, disease and death? Then boldly proclaim this news and set the prisoners free!
Jesus Christ is in you. You are to abide in Him, and He in you. You must walk as He walked. Jesus came to seek and save that which was lost. (Luke 19:10). He did not call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
If Jesus Christ is the greatest lover of your soul, the light of your life, your Lord and master, your leader, your friend and the substance of your new life, how is it that you could keep Him out of your conversation? Now is the time to introduce your friend Jesus to the people you know.
Ask yourself - how can I remain silent when so many of my friends and acquaintances are heading for hell?
What are your excuses?
That’s not my ministry. All Christians are given the great commission. Winning people to Christ is part of the Christian life. Not that other ministries are to be neglected. (Acts 1:8)
I CAN’T. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13 Jesus would never ask you to do something you cannot do. He promises you the power (Acts 1:8). Be filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18)
I’ve no right to tell others they need to be saved. You are Christ’s ambassador. (2 Corinthians 5:17-21). He has all authority (Matt. 28:18). You are his hands and feet on this earth (Eph. 5:30)
I’m too busy. In reality you still meet many people that you could talk to about Christ or invite to church. This is a poor excuse. It shows your priorities are wrong. You have made YOUR priorities more important to you than Christ’s. Everything you do should be done for Him, His way, in His name, and according to His revealed priorities. (1 Corinthians 10:31). If you do things in a way that grieves the Holy Spirit you will lose the fire for evangelism. If you deliberately choose to busy with other things you are walking in disobedience to Christ.
Witnessing is a great responsibility where we are at the cutting edge of God’s kingdom and can expect to see the miraculous occurring. Because God is so interested in winning people over he will give you, his soldier, great resources to use. There is no greater joy than really leading a person into the Kingdom of God. Satan hates all this.
What are your fears?
One of Satan’s main weapons is fear and he wants to prevent Christians from even setting out on this great commission.
Here are some keys to overcoming fear.
“Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord will be kept safe.” Proverbs 29:25.
Remember that we belong to Jesus now. He is with us by His Spirit. (Matthew 28:20; 1 Cor. 6:19) Trusting God and his resources will destroy fear.
“So we say with confidence, The Lord is my helper;
I will not be afraid. What can men do to me?”
Hebrews 13:6
We must be conscious of the fact that God is in us by His Spirit. Be filled with the Spirit. Pray for boldness. (Acts 4:29-31; Proverbs. 28:1)
Believe what God says about you and His purpose for you. (John 15:8,16; 2 Tim. 1:6-8) We ought to realise that God has given us all we need to succeed. (2 Peter 1:3). We must receive by faith what we need from God. Study who you are in Christ. We are who God says we are! We can do what God says we can do! We can possess all that God has given us! (Read 2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 3:26; Eph 2:4-10; 1 Peter 4:10; Eph 1:3 Eph 6:10-18; Mark 16:17-18). Meditate on these and other Scriptures. Confess them aloud.
“Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:8-9.
Remember It is the will of God for you to succeed, and bear much fruit.
Fear is just one of Satan’s weapons to prevent the spread of the good news of Christ’s salvation plan. Others include pride, deception, unbelief, laziness and rebellion. To understand why this is so, you must understand that Satan has a kingdom. Satan wants the glory, and his kingdom is threatened by the message of Jesus. God has given us weapons such as praise, prayer, the confession of God’s Word, the blood of Jesus, the name of Jesus and the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit for us to use in order to overcome these obstacles and successfully
“You can memorize the mechanics [of personal evangelism]. But the dynamics must be born in you.
It must be a revelation - a miracle.”
T.L. Osborne
HOW?
Remember this!
As valuable as this session may be you cannot learn how to win souls just by reading books or manuals, remember that above all your witnessing is the expression of Christ in you to a lost and dying world.
So let Jesus live through you.
“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:4-5.
Without Him you can do nothing. But, you should always be ready, willing and able to share one on one with an unbeliever
So is there a process?
Generally speaking, witnessing and evangelism tend to progress through the following stages:
Preparation ? Get Attention ? Create Interest ? Bring Understanding ? Holy Spirit Convicts ? Conversion ? Addition.
With different people we may spend more or less time in each area, depending on their openness to God.
Do not try to skip stages - it will lead to frustrated witness for you. For example, if you try to bring understanding of the message before the person is even listening to you, your words will fall on deaf ears. The person may hear the sounds you make but in many cases Satan will steal the word quickly because their heart is hardened to the Word at that time.
Again, if you try to bring a person to Christ when they are not really convinced of sin you are likely to find that they have misunderstood God’s message. Perhaps they are willing to “try Jesus” to see what he will do for them. Not feeling the great guilt of their sin, they are unlikely to resist Satan’s next temptation. They may in fact come to wonder, “What on earth did I do praying that prayer? How embarrassing.” On the other hand, a true convert will normally feel grateful to God, joyful and relieved of his burden of sin.
The new convert may be fearful of falling into sin, but will have a newborn desire to please God and a trust in their newfound Saviour.
It’s always good to try to bring the people you witness to, to Church. If they come to church it does not mean they are automatically saved. Only a born-again Christian is part of the true church, which is the body of Christ. If they come into a church where the gospel is faithfully preached and they hear the Word of God, they are more likely to come to an understanding and a personal knowledge of God for salvation.
Preparation, preparation, preparation
Mental Preparation
1. Set your mind on the things that the Spirit desires (Romans 8:15). Think about the destiny of those who don’t know Christ and God’s love for them.
2. Determine to do something about it - determine to share the gospel with someone. Genuinely make yourself available to God. Be definite!
Physical Preparation
1. Make sure you have washed and cleaned your teeth recently (1 Cor. 9:12b). Don’t hinder the gospel.
2. Don’t worry or become inhibited because of your clothes, but try to avoid extremes in dress. We want to be able to draw attention only to Christ. You are Christ’s ambassador (2 Cor. 5:20).
Spiritual Preparation
1. Prayer is vital to successful evangelism because it puts you in a place to receive God’s resources for your work. Bathe your witnessing in prayer. Learn to operate out of relationship to God.
Also ask God for boldness (Acts 4:29), direction and wisdom. Prov. 11:30. God is very willing to give a supernatural wisdom to us and put His Word in our mouths! (James 1:5, Isaiah 59:21).
2. Be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18). Seek God for this from your base or home first if necessary. Do not underestimate the difference this will truly make in operating the gifts of the Spirit and in making the truth of God’s message penetrate the hearts of the unbelieving and doubters.
3. Bind demonic power over the people you are about to talk to. Ask God to specifically reveal what to bind. This will work for you if you are a praying, Spirit filled, Spirit led, obedient Christian. You have authority over the devil’s works. Through your positive words of faith and your statements of divine authority over the world of spirits, you will get better results. It’s like dropping a bomb on the enemy before engaging in hand-to-hand combat.
Getting started
Have the right attitude
1. You must demonstrate love in the way you witness. (See Gal. 5:22 for a full description).
2. Be positive and friendly. Then the person you talk with is going to be more positive to you (Luke 6:35).
3. Be very plain. Speak the truth. Let them see their spiritual condition before God. The Holy Spirit will work with you to convict of sin, righteousness and judgement, which is a necessary work before true conversion.
4. Be gentle and respectful (1 Pet. 3:15). If you have the right attitude, you will never turn anyone off. You will draw them to God, not drive them away.
Deciding Who to Talk To
Jesus commanded us to preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). We could talk with anyone, anytime, anywhere. But be wise. It’s usually far easier in personal witness to talk to a single individual of the same sex who is not too much older than you. Aim, however, to be all things to all men, to win more. (1 Corinthians 9:22).
Also, it can be very difficult to lead someone to Christ when they are with a group of friends, because of peer group pressure. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t explain the gospel to small groups at a time, you may be able to lead them all to Christ at the same time!
Use spiritual discernment, as well as thoughtful common sense in deciding who to talk with. Be like God (Eph. 5:1), who looks on the heart, not on external appearance (John 2:24-25). It is best to talk with someone whose heart is open to God, but don’t give up if you talk to someone with a closed heart. God’s word in your heart and mouth can be a fire, and a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces. Learn to obey the inner nudge of the Holy Spirit.
The best time to talk
It is important to wisely choose the time to talk with unsaved people. The best (NOT the only) time is:
1. When they’re not really doing anything important.
2. When they are not strongly excited about something else.
3. When they are sober (not drunk or high on drugs).
4. When they are in a relatively good mood.
5. When they are alone.
6. When they are aware of some need in their life, or they have a problem they can’t find an answer for.
7. AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. BE SURE TO WITNESS WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT IS URGING YOU TO.
Start a conversation!
Jesus used this method with the woman at the well, (John 4:7-26). He started by talking about water and used that as a starting point to bring the conversation round to her spiritual need.
Begin by asking the other person all about himself or herself. Most people like that subject! Then when they ask you about yourself and your activities, you can share Christ with them.
This approach is useful in chatting with people over a cup of coffee, when you visit someone’s place. There are no formulas, but here are some helpful principles.
1. Be yourself. If you change your voice or act strangely you will give the wrong idea about Jesus.
2. Arouse curiosity. Let them see that you have a different perspective that comes from knowing God. Do not immediately blurt out everything you know about something.
3. Show an interest in that person. Let them see you think they are important.
4. A key to all this is asking questions. These will not only help to direct the conversation but also help you to adapt your message to where that person is at.
Remember people love to give their opinions - they also love to hear their own name.
Living the life
We need to show the people by our whole lives that we are the body and representatives of Jesus Christ on this earth (1 Cor. 6:19; Eph. 5:30; 2 Cor. 5:20). If we love Jesus we will certainly aim to demonstrate his life to the people we know - our friends, classmates, teammates - everybody.
“... this is how we know we are in him: whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.” 1 John 2:5-6
Jesus was sinless, yet he was also called “the friend of sinners”. We mustn’t be afraid of associating with unsaved people. There are no formulas here. There will be many people with whom you will relate first on a purely natural level. As they see you grow more like Jesus they will listen to what you say about Jesus. Remember while your actions speak loudly, if they never hear the gospel, they will die in their sins. Let them see that you mean and live what you say. Here are some additional principles:
1. Give of yourself. Love your enemies. Bless them in practical ways. Show care and interest in them (Luke 6:27-36)
2. Never compromise your standards. Don’t be drawn into doubtful areas to gain approval of the group. You must hate sin more than you love man’s favour. (Romans 12:9)
3. Learn to relate to all men (1 Cor. 9:22). Avoid using religious terms. Ask yourself, how can I explain this in the simplest possible language. Work at effective communication.
4. Pray often for those you know. Never give up on anyone, even if they seem closed to the gospel. Pray continually (1 Thess. 5:16). Pray in faith (1 Tim 2:4).
Create some interest
Ask questions to find out what motivates and interests the person you are talking to. Let them know what God has done in your life recently (e.g. healings, answers to prayer etc.) You must communicate that God is real.
Talk about how God feels about something in current affairs e.g. abortion, war, unemployment, or a current moving of the Holy Spirit.
Let them know God loves them, and that Jesus came so they could experience fullness of life (John 10:10).
Use the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Be tuned in to God. You need to believe that God can speak to you and work through you. Your aim is to arouse curiosity and interest in spiritual questions so that the person will closely listen to your testimony or presentation of the gospel.
Can I just give out a tract?
Tracts have the advantage that they don’t change or compromise the Gospel, and can be read at any time by the person you give it too, at a time that suits them. Most tracts contain helpful information, but sadly, many are incomplete or give a distorted view of the gospel. Do not rely only on tracts for your witness. You MUST know and study the message of the gospel so you can communicate it naturally. We must balance the grace, love and mercy of God with the holiness, righteousness and justice of God in our presentations of the Gospel.
Use the Gifts of the Spirit
Witnessing involves demonstrating the Kingdom of God. Witnessing like Jesus involves using spiritual gifts. All Jesus’ witnessing was prophetic, in the sense that it was a word straight from the heart of God to mankind. We are exhorted to do this as well (1 Pet 4:11; 1 Cor. 14:25)
Jesus used the word of knowledge (John 1:47-48, 4:18) and spiritual discernment (John 2:24-25) in ministering to individuals. He also demonstrated the Kingdom of God in healing the sick and casting out demons (Matt 8:15-18). This is part of the great commission (Mk 16:15-18). Let’s aim to witness with signs and wonders.
The key to moving in gifts is getting to know God. Spend much time praying in the Spirit, meditating on God’s word, and learn to recognise and obey the prompting and voice of the Holy Spirit. Be filled with the Holy Spirit continually. Fasting is a great key to moving in the power of God. Use spiritual discernment in deciding who to talk to. Learn to obey the inner nudge of the Holy Spirit. He may give you pertinent other information about the person if you are listening to Him. On the other hand, do not try to manufacture a word of knowledge, or refuse to move until you get one.
Final note: the gifts are tools, not ends in themselves. Your aim is to be fruitful, and make real disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.
APPENDIX
Helpful verses
The Word of God is the seed you must sow.
When spoken in faith, it has more power and authority than human argument, apologetics or experience (Luke 8:11; 2Tim 3:15-17; Jas 1:18).
Your authority comes from the Word of God.
A few Gospel Scriptures
1. God’s purpose for man Gen 1:27; John 10:10, 17:3; Matt 5:16
2. God’s holiness Is 6:3; Ex 15:11; Ps 99:1-5
3. Sin Rom 3:10-11,23, 14:23; Is 53:6
4. God’s law Matt 7:12, 12:29-31; Jas 2:10; Ex 20:2-17
5. Judgement Rom 6:23; Heb 4:13, 9:27; Ezek 18:20
6. Jesus the Saviour 1 TIM 1:15; John 1:29, 14:6, 3:16; 1 Pet 3:18; Rom 5:8; Is 53:4-5
7. The Resurrection Acts 2:32; John 20:1-20
8. The new birth Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5; 2 Corinthians 5:17
9. How to be saved Acts 18:30: John 1:12; Rom 10:9-10; 2 Cor 5:15; Matt 10:32-22
10. Fellowship Heb 10:24-25; Acts 2:42; 1 John 1:3
Objections and excuses
1. I’m too bad Heb 7:25; Is 1:18; Ps 103:8-14; Rom 10:13; 1 Tim 1:15-16; Ezek 33:19
2. There’s too much to give up Mk 8:36; 1 John 2:15-17; 1 Kings 18:21
3. I’m too afraid I couldn’t keep it up 1 Pet 1:5; Phil 1:6; Jude 24; Phil 2:12-13; 2 Tim 1:2; 2 Pet 1:3; Rom 4:20-21
4. I’m too afraid of what others might think John 15:18-19; Matt 10:32-33; 1 John 4:18; 2 Tim 1:7-8
5. Not now, some other time Proverbs 27:1, 29:1; Matt 24:44; Luke 12:19-20; 2 Corinthians 6:2; Josh 24:15; Is 55:6
6. I’m doing the best I can Eph 2:8-9; Is 64:6
7. I’m not so bad Jas 2:10; Is 53:6; Rom 3:10-12,23; Mk 12:28-30
8. God will not condemn anyone John 6:37; Heb 2:3, 9:27; Luke 13:3; Matt 22:13; 2 Thess 1:8-9
9. How do I know God will accept me? John 6:37; 2 Pet 3:9; 1 Tim 2:4; John 14:2-3,6
10. I can’t understand the Bible John 7:17; 1 Cor 2:12, 14; 2 Cor 5:7; John 16:13; Ps 119:18, 27, 32
11. It sounds too simple 1 Cor 1:18-20
12. How do I know that Christ is the only way? John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1 Cor 3:11; 1 Tim 2:4-6
13. Too many hypocrites in the church Mt 7:11; Rom 14:12; Heb 4:13; Luke 16:15
14. I can’t give up my friends Prov 13:20; Prov 22:24-25; 1 Cor 15:33; 2 Cor 6:14; Ex 23:20
15. I can’t repent and obey God Dt 30:11-14; Rom 10:8-10; 2 Cor 8:12
16. I tried before and it didn’t work Hos 14:4; Phil 3:13-14; John 6:67-68
Remember - be selective. Don’t swamp the person with too much Scripture.
