Living an Intentional Life: Witness
INTRODUCTION:
President Clinton was down in the swamps where he slipped away from the Secret Service and was out jogging long the scenic paths that crisscross the country. As he was jogging, he accidentally tripped and fell off a narrow bridge into the black, gator-infested water below...
Three 10 year old boys, Willie, Joey, and Rufus were playing along the creek and saw him fall. They all jumped in and dragged him to shore. He was so thankful that he told each of them, "Boys, you just saved the President of the United States and each of you deserves a reward."
The first boy, Willie says, "I wants to go to Disneyland!"
"I’ll take you there myself!!!" exclaims The President.
The second boy Joey says, "I wants a brand new pair of autographed Nike Air Jordan’s."
"I’ll buy them for you myself," says the President.
"And I wants a motorized wheelchair with a stereo built into it with custom speakers," Rufus says.
The president looks at Rufus and says, "But son you don’t look like you are handicapped to me."
"I ain’t but I will be as soon as my Pa finds out that I saved you!"
The Bible tells us that a merry heart does good like a medicine. It means that laughing and having a good time actually make you feel better. I like jokes and I love to laugh. In fact, God has used humor in my life to do some great things.
Humor can be powerful tool, especially when it contains a seed of truth that helps us put things into proper perspective. It is for this reason that I draw your attention to a cartoon drawn by one of my all-time favorite cartoonists Gary Larson of THE FAR SIDE fame.
Poor Roger…he never had a chance to get it right. By worrying and trying too hard he set himself up for failure and the baggage that goes with it. I believe we can learn a lesson from Roger this morning. I want to take that lesson and apply it to a specific area of life.
We have been in a series of messages titled Living An Intentional Life. Today, I want to continue that series and address the witness of Christians.
Matthew chapter 28 records these words of Jesus “Go to the people of all the nations and make them my disciples….” This is a process we often refer to as witnessing or evangelism. It means telling people about Jesus--something most Christians believe they should do, but rarely ever accomplish.
Why? If witnessing is such an important task (and it is), why do we have such a hard time with it? Notice I use the word we. Pastors aren’t some kind of Christian super hero. This is an area that is also difficult for me a lot of times. Our difficulty stems from a number of reasons, including but not limited to: fear of what others will think, fear of screwing up (like Roger), uncertainty about what to say or do, etc.
This morning, I want to help you understand your role as a witness for Jesus. Hopefully, in the process, you’ll be able to let go of the pressure and anxiety that often accompany us like they did Roger.
SCRIPTURE—Colossians 4:2-6
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
PRAYER
Remembering that intentional living means having PURPOSE, DISCIPLINE and VISION, let’ look at being an intentional witness.
I. The purpose of witness
A. What is a witness?
1. A witness is one who gives testimony concerning something they have seen or experienced first hand.
2. This means that the only people who can give testimony about Jesus are those who have actually had a personal experience with Him.
B. What is the purpose of witness?
1. Witness is intended to shed personal light on the work of Jesus in the world. We cannot operate on a purely theoretical basis—we must give flesh and blood to the message of Jesus.
2. It’s one thing for a person to hear that Jesus can change lives, it’s something totally different for family, friends and coworkers to see the fruit of a life Jesus has changed.
C. What are the benefits of being a witness?
1. If you were to witness a crime and then testify in court concerning your experience, you would be described as performing your civic duty. Christian witness could technically be described in much the same way. By testifying, you would be performing your spiritual duty.
2. However, if we look at this issue only in terms of duty, we will miss the essence of what God is trying to do. God is more concerned about the process of our lives than he is with the product. This means that he is not primarily interested in what we do for him but in what we become in him.
3. Relating this to the idea of witness, we find that it is not a duty to be performed, but a privilege to be enjoyed.
a. Just think, the Bible says nothing is impossible for God. That means he could make this whole idea of witness disappear with a snap of his fingers. He could MAKE everyone serve him if he wanted to.
b. But, since he is more concerned with the process, he allows us the opportunity to have a part in his work in the world.
c. Therefore the major benefit in being a witness is found in the fact that God chooses to use us…even though we are like Roger more often than we would like to admit.
NOW, WHAT ABOUT THE DISCIPLINE REQUIRED TO BE A WITNESS?
II. The discipline of witness
A. Discipline has to do with the what and how of an issue. Specifically, what should I do and how should it be done?
1. There are a lot of good books on how to be a witness, if you’re interested I could recommend some to you…
2. However, this morning, I would like to give you a very simple approach to being a witness. It is found in the passage of Scripture we already read from Colossians chapter 4. Let’s read it again.
Colossians 4:2-6
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
B. I believe this passage gives us two insights into the life of an intentional witness.
1. There is a close relationship between witness and our spiritual lives.
a. Some of you may be thinking, “No shock Sherlock!” but hear me out.
b. Remember, I said a witness is one who gives testimony about something seen or experienced first hand. However, there is this funny little thing that affects what we experience—it is called time. The more time that passes after an event, the fuzzier the details become. I heard a man this week perfectly illustrate this point when he said, “Some of my fondest memories never happened.”
c. Since the passage of time affects and even softens experience for us, it is imperative that our experience with God be up-to-date, current and fresh.
d. Paul addresses this idea by telling us to be devoted to prayer.
(1) In that devotion, he says we should be watchful and thankful. The Greek word translated watchful literally means keeping awake. Now, Paul is not primarily addressing the issue of sleepiness in prayer, he is saying “keep it alive, keep it fresh, not boring and mechanical”. Keep your experience with God alive and up-to-date.
(2) By asking the Colossians to pray for him, Paul is showing us the value of praying for others. Prayer is not a selfish exercise. In fact, most of the benefit of prayer comes in the fact that we are focusing on something or someone else. When you are praying, pray for others that they too may be an effective, intentional witness.
2. The second thing Paul tells us is to use wisdom in being a witness
a. He specifically addresses two areas—how we treat people and how we communicate with them.
b. “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders.” I don’t want to sound rude or judgmental here, but I can only think of one effective way to say this; don’t you just want to crawl under a rock at times when people claiming to be Christians act like total idiots in public—especially those who gain media attention? Sometimes I just want to yell for everyone to hear “I’M NOT LIKE THAT!!!!!” Sometimes people have a lot of zeal, but little or no wisdom.
c. In being wise, Paul tells us to make the most of every opportunity.
(1) When I think of opportunities, I think of open doors Paul mentioned in verse 3. Most of us are wise (or should I say smart?) enough to recognize when a door is open [OPEN DOOR BY PLATFORM]
(2) Paul says, when a door is open, take the opportunity to be a witness. However, there are two sides to that coin. The inverse would also be true: if the door is closed pray and wait for it to open. Don’t force the issue.
(3) There are some Christians who approach every door with a battering ram—even the ones that are open. While they may get in, it’s also true that they could do a lot of damage and ensure that the door is never opened again.
(4) Paul says to use wisdom. If you have prayed for an open door, God will make sure you can tell it’s open.
d. Paul finishes up by telling us to use wisdom in the way we communicate with others. He mentions three characteristics of wise communication: graciousness, appropriateness and relevance.
(1) Communicate with grace. That means to be kind, courteous, tactful, merciful, compassionate, etc. The tone you use can determine whether or not the door stays open.
(2) Communicate in an appropriate manner. Paul says that our conversation should be seasoned with salt.
i. When I use salt on my food, I am careful to use an appropriate amount. That means I will not empty the entire shaker onto my plate. That would ruin the meal.
ii. ILLUSTRATION: I HAVE PERSONALLY EXPERIENCED RUINING A MEAL WITH SALT. WHEN I WAS JUST ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AGE, WE WENT TO MY AUNT’S HOUSE FOR A PICNIC. I HAD A HOTDOG. MY COUSINS AND I WERE PLAYING WITH THE SALT. MY MOM SAW US AND TOLD ME NOT TO PUT SALT ON MY HOTDOG. AS SOON AS SHE SAID THAT I BEGAN TO WONDER WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF I DID. I SOON FOUND OUT. I PUT SALT ON MY HOTDOG—THE TASTE WAS HORRENDOUS. I DON’T THINK LIVER EVEN TASTED THAT BAD. SINCE I HAD JUST DELIBERATELY DISOBEYED MY MOM, SHE MADE ME SIT AT THE TABLE UNTIL I ATE THE ENTIRE HOTDOG. I SAT THERE LONG AFTER MY COUSINS WENT BACK OUTSDIE. I SAT THERE LONG AFTER THE ADULTS FINISHED EATING AND CLEANING UP. I SAT THERE A LONG TIME….UNTIL I ATE THE WHOLE THING. UGH!!!! THIS MORNING I AM HAPPY TO REPORT THAT I HAVE NEVER AGAIN BEEN TEMPTED TO PUT SALT ON A HOTDOG!
iii. Now, I not only refuse salt for my hotdogs, but I also use it appropriately for my other foods. In the same way, you and I need to communicate appropriately to be effective witnesses.
(3) Communicate in a relevant manner. One of the outstanding beauties of God’s creation is that he made us all to be different. That means we will need to use a variety of means to reach a variety of people.
i. The Apostle Paul said it this way: “I have become all things to all men that I may win some!”
ii. If I were to ask, “Do you think Tal Bachman’s song She’s So High (Above me) could also address the way some people feel about God?”, most of you would be totally lost. That’s because most of you have no idea who Tal Bachman is and you have never heard the song. But if I ask some of our young people about it, they have probably heard the song even if they didn’t know whose it was.
He sings of a girl so beautiful that he can only compare her to Cleopatra, Joan of Arc and Aphrodite. Because of this, he feels that she is out of his reach and a relationship with her would be totally impossible.
iii. In the same way, if I were to ask our young people, “What goes through your mind when you think about the end of your life?” I would be totally off base because they are not thinking that their lives will end, they are thinking “I’ve got my life ahead of me”.
iv. Meet people where they are. Jesus talked about fishing to fisherman, farming to farmers, and God to religious leaders. If you can’t communicate in a relevant manner, your witness will not be heard or understood. It very possibly may not even be accepted.
C. Summary: How do you go about being a witness? It starts with an up-to-date experience with God that is expressed in the way we treat and communicate with others as we walk through open doors of opportunity.
NOW, WHAT ABOUT THE VISION FOR WITNESS?
III. The vision of witness
A. Can I really do something effectively for God? Does he really want to use me?
B. Interview with Buck Trautwein
1. How long have you been a Christian?
2. Tell us what happened on a Friday evening in August.
3. How were you able to be a witness?
4. Have you ever prayed for God to give you an “open door”?
5. How did you know this door was open?
6. What were you doing before you came to the accident scene?
7. Have you been in contact with the people you helped that night?
8. Can you tell us what has happened inside you since this event took place?
C. God wants to use you? Are you willing to be a witness for him?
IV. Some final thoughts on being an effective witness
A. Be yourself—remember, there are no Super Hero Christians, only ordinary people like me and you.
B. Be up-to-date in your experience with God. Be devoted to prayer and claim the promise written in James 1:5—“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”
C. Trust God to help you know when a door is open and how to appropriately respond.
D. Let go of the fear and anxiety that plagued Roger’s life. Being a witness is not a one-shot chance at success, but a lifelong journey of adventure that allows us to be used by God’s in ways we’ve never imagined.
CLOSING PRAYER
Devotion and living relationships with Jesus.
Open doors and clear presentations of the gospel.
Wisdom and recognition of opportunities.
Gracious, appropriate and relevant communication as we strive to be intentionally effective witnesses.
COMMUNION
What a great time to partake of communion. Since a witness must experience something firsthand, this is the perfect opportunity for us to reflect on our experience with God. Is it alive and up-to-date? Is it stale and stagnant? As we progress through this communion time, seize this opportunity to renew things with God and thank him for all he has done in your life.
