3 Effective Keys to Shine the Light (Witness)
Acts 9:19-25
fellowship community 15 Dec 2002
Introduction:
I want to remind us again our theme. Our theme for this Christmas comes from the gospel of John, where the Message Translation states¡K
John 1:4
What came into existence was Life,
and the Life was Light to live by.
1A. WHEN WE ARE AROUND OTHERS, SHARE WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT CHRIST (19-20)
The first thing I observe about how Saul shared Christ is he surrounded himself with fellowship of other believers.
I for one have been deeply moved and convicted in the last few months just how crucial this aspect of fellowship really is. I used to think that in order to build a healthy church, all one needed to do was to teach sound doctrine and have a good worship service. While all this is true, fellowship and the sharing of our lives is just as important.
That is why last week we had an open time for sharing how God is sanctifying each of us ¡V to encourage each other and to learn from one another. Saul understood the need for friends and so did the early church. Now, we must learn this as well. But how?
It is going to require all of us to understand how to become vulnerable. To become open about our lives so that whenever something is shared we remain accepted and loved; that no matter who walks through these doors, they immediately sense the awesome power of God¡¦s love and acceptance, while not compromising sound doctrine.
While fellowship is important, we must be sure that this fellowship motivates us to ministry. Notice how the fellowship of believers at Damascus did so with Saul¡K¡§Immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, ¡¥He is the Son of God.¡¦¡¨
Paul didn¡¦t wait for a witnessing class or a class on how share Christ with your friends. He immediately went out and shared what he knew about Christ ¡V and at this time, the limited knowledge Saul had about Jesus was He is the Son of God.
Often times, we don¡¦t witness to others, because we think, ¡§I don¡¦t enough,¡¨ or ¡§I feel inadequate about the Bible,¡¨ or I am not sure I know what the gospel really is in order to share it, clearly.
Well, let¡¦s stop right here and make sure we clarify what is the gospel. Turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 15. The gospel is simply this:
1 Cor. 15:1-5
Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, 2by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
3For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
1. Christ died for our sins. How do I know that? Because it is according to the Scriptures.
2. He was buried and that he was raised on the third day. Again, how do I know that ¡V it is according to the Scriptures.
The gospel is simply a message of bad and good news. The bad news is Christ had to die for us because we are sinners by nature and by choice. The Bible says there is none righteous; no not one. In all truth, every human who has ever lived has offended a eternally perfect and holy God. How? All men have not kept the standard of God¡¦s supreme moral law, which is perfection. In other words, our sin has separated us from God.
The good news is there is one man and only one man who has kept that standard by living a perfect life. His name is Jesus Christ. His death on the cross provided a bridge for God to offer His wonderful gift of salvation to us, where we can receive forgiveness of our sin. So, what does one have to do in order to be forgiven? The Bible says we must first repent of our sins (turning from our sin) and second believe (turning to) Jesus ¡V that He is the perfect Son of God and that through Him and only Him receive forgiveness of our sins through Jesus Christ. Then, and only then, will we receive a restored relationship with God. That¡¦s the gospel. Question: have you believed in the gospel? Give an opportunity!
Now back to our text. The other thing I observe is Saul goes to a familiar place ¡V the synagogue. For Saul, he was comfortable with that. He grew up in synagogues. He learned his ritualistic ways of Judaism there. And it was there he chose to begin sharing the light of Jesus Christ.
Where is that familiar place for you? What location is God placing in your heart and mind at this moment? It may be that cafeteria with your friends at school. It could be that weekly coffee you have with a friend down the street. It may be a neighbor who is a shut in or is living by themselves. The point is ¡V we all have familiar places where God wants to use us, proclaiming his light through us.
For me, it¡¦s my work. I¡¦m a hospice chaplain. I have a very comfortable and familiar place where not a week goes by without the opportunity to share the light and love of Jesus Christ with someone.
But let me be quick to say this. Not all of us are equipped to use our voices to share Christ. Francis of Assissi once stated. ¡§Share the gospel at all times, use words, if necessary.¡¨ When you are around others, sometimes the best way we can share the light and love of Christ is through our lives ¡V how we respond to stressful circumstances; how we submit with joy to managers or bosses who are ruthless; how we respond when someone mistreats us or says things falsely against us. The world is hungry for spiritual truth and I believe, more specifically, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and they are waiting for someone to share the light of Jesus Christ with them.
Let¡¦s paint the scene here in Damascus. A few months or maybe as short as a few weeks ago, word came through the city of Damascus of a man named Saul was on his way to Damascus with papers from the High Priest, warranting him to arrest those who are now part of this movement called ¡§The Way.¡¨ This all indicated to the believers in Damascus their lives were in danger, and what it communicated to the ritualistic Jews was they were going to be receiving someone to rid their community of this new movement.
But God had other plans. In fact, the opposite came true. Acts 9:21
All those hearing him continued to be amazed, and were saying, "Is this not he who in Jerusalem destroyed those who called on this name, and who had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?"
This sudden change of message not only caught them off guard, but it also prevented them from of the faculty of raising objections. Which leads us to our next question: ¡§What if others raise objections about our testimony, which we cannot answer?¡¨ Great question. And the Bible tells us how to respond¡K
2A. WHEN WE ARE QUESTIONED BY OTHERS, GROW IN OUR KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST (22-23a)
After some time, the Jews around Damascus probably spread the word about Saul and his new message, which as we saw the old Saul do, brought out the debaters who were bent on silencing Saul. But notice how Saul responded. The way he responded to their questions, should be the way we respond as well¡K
„Ï He first ¡§kept increasing in strength¡K¡¨ This refers not to Paul¡¦s physical strength, but his strength in proving from the Scriptures that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Jewish Bible. What the Jews held so dearly to became a sharp sword in their hearts thorugh the powerful preaching of this man named Saul, and every time someone would begin debating Saul, more of the Scirptures would be opened to Saul and confound the Jews all the more.
„Ï He second, ¡§confounded the Jews¡K¡¨ again, by using the Scriptures, Saul would demonstrate the fulfillment of Scriptures is Jesus Christ ¡V the Son of God and the Jews couldn¡¦t hold a candle to him.
You might be thinking, well Saul was a student of Gamaliel. He was a professional at this. He had all the training ¡V of course he could out wit these guys. Of course he could debate and win over the futile arguments of the Jews. But this didn¡¦t happen overnight. How do I know that? Look at the first phrase of verse 24¡K
¡§When many days had elapsed¡K¡¨ now use your sanctified imagination with me for a moment. It is at this time, we must understand the timeline of Paul¡¦s life. Please turn with me to Galatians 1:13ff
Paul¡¦s conversion was probably in the year A.D. 37. He spent time in Damascus preaching, then went to Arabia (Gal. 1:15¡V18), returning to Damascus ¡§after many days¡¨ (Acts 9:23). This covered a period of probably three years, during which time Paul was being taught the truths of God¡¦s ¡§mystery of the church.¡¨ What I am trying to say to us today, beloved, is this. Saul went into the Desert Seminary to be taught by God; actually to relearn the Scriptures not from a Judaic ¡V centered viewpoint, but from a Christ ¡V centered viewpoint. When these three years were over, he returned to Damascus and continued his witnessing.
Practically speaking, what do we do, when we are questioned by others? We follow the pattern of Saul. We go and become equipped about those questions, so that we can 1. go back and respond to those who first questioned us, and 2. we are now prepared for the next time that question comes up in another witnessing opportunity.
For some of us, we see questions we cannot answer as threats. We receive it that way, and nonbelievers perceive it that way. But beloved, let me just say this. Accept those questions and say, I don¡¦t know the answer right now, but let me do some studying and I¡¦ll get back to you?
We will gain credibility when we tell them this and we will grow incredibly when we discover the answer from Scripture.
So, when we are questioned about our faith, how will we respond? By growing in our knowledge about Christ.
Notice how Saul grew in his knowledge as we look again at verse 22. The text says, ¡§he was confounding the Jews¡K by proving that this Jesus is the Christ.¡¨
What Saul did was like what a good lawyer does. He collected many pieces of evidence from the Scriptures, tied them all together, showing how Jesus Christ fulfills the prophecies of the Jewish Bible.
Now, while no one is expecting you to go home and memorize all the OT prophecies of Christ, wouldn¡¦t it be good to know a handful, say 4 or five? You can write them on one of the blank sheets of your Bible so they are readily available.
If you have a good memory, then go ahead and memorize them. But in order to help all of us, including myself, here¡¦s what we did. We have on the back table a sheet with many OT prophecies regarding Christ. I also put a book called The Case for Christ. Take some time and review them. Select the ones, after prayer, the ones you can easily recall with little to no help. Again, if needed, write them in your blank pages.
Then, when those questions arise, you can refer to them, proving to that person that this Jesus is the Christ.
But this leaves us with one more question: ¡§What happens when someone begins to attack us? How should we respond?
3A. WHEN WE ARE ATTACKED BY OTHERS, MOVE ON IN THE NAME OF CHRIST (23b-25)
Back in Damascus, Saul was attacked by the Jews and had to leave through a window at night (2 Cor. 11:32¡V33; Acts 9:23¡V26.)
The text says, they plotted together to do away with him (Saul). This was no small plot. In fact, according to 2 Corinthians 11:32-33, Paul recalls this event in his life and states, 2 Cor. 11:32-33
In Damascus the ethnarch under Aretas the king was guarding the city of the Damascenes in order to seize me, 33and I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and so escaped his hands.
This was no small manhunt. They had an APB out on Saul and wanted to put an end to this man. But the text says, the plot became know to Saul and it is here we learn how to respond to such actions. (Read vs. 24b-25).
Conclusion: how can we be a light for Jesus this week. By recalling these three simple keys to witnessing, we will see a dramatic change not only in our ability to witness, but our boldness to witness.
Illustration: While I have never been the object of a manhunt for my faith, this week a Jehovah Witness I have as a client wanted to do nothing but attack me this week. I just excused myself. He was bent on starting an argument, rather than being opened to the Scriptures. So, moved on in the name of Christ.
There is one item I need to remind all of us. Salvation occurs, not based upon us, but upon the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. We have never saved anyone nor will we ever save anyone. Being born again comes strictly and solely through the Holy Spirit of God as a sinner hears the Word of God and their hearts are broken before a holy and righteous God. As they confess their need for forgiveness through Jesus Christ, God extends to them mercy and grace, adopting them into his family. In other words, if someone rejects the light we share, we haven¡¦t failed. In fact, we have succeeded, because God calls us to be faithful, and by being faithful, we will become fruitful!
Concluding then¡KWhen we are around others, share what we know about Christ - use words if necessary. Second, if we are questioned by others, grow in our knowledge of Christ, and third, if we are attacked, move on in the name of Christ. All of this leads us back to our theme for Christmas 2002 ¡VJohn 1:4
What came into existence was Life,
and the Life was Light to live by.
His life is our light to live by in these dark days. Never before has there been a greater interest in spiritual things. If there was ever a time to proclaim the light of Christ, tis the season.
Let¡¦s pray!
