Acts 1:8
Eight Ways To Be An Effective Witness
Woodlawn Baptist Church
September 12, 2004
Introduction
Tonight I want to share with you a message that I have preached before on the subject of witnessing. I preached it about two and a half years ago, after hearing Pastor Charlie Ellison preach it at one of our local association meetings. This is one of those messages that I believe you will hear from time to time, not because I think you do not know them, but to remind you of your responsibilities to be the very best witness for Christ that you can be.
In Acts 1:8, Jesus was standing on Mount Olivet outside of Jerusalem and was about to ascend into heaven when He gave His first church some important information. He told them that they were about to receive power: the Holy Spirit would come upon them to empower and equip them for an important work. And then He said,
"After all of this, you shall be witnesses unto me…"
I believe that we would all agree that one of the chief responsibilities and privileges we have as God’s children and as members of this church is to be witnesses for Christ. I know that you about this often – share your faith, be a witness – but how? I am of the opinion that there is no one set way to share your faith. The Roman’s Road is good, but it is not appropriate in every situation. There are other fine plans of evangelism that you could learn, but the fact is that Jesus took advantage of every opportunity that came to Him to reach out and minister the gospel to those in need. You and I should do the same, and it should be easier knowing that when the Holy Spirit came upon the church at Jerusalem to empower and equip them, He never left. Our church today still has the same Holy Spirit, who is still doing to same job. He has given us all the tools we need to carry out Jesus’ commands, and it is in His power that we carry out God’s will.
These are not 8 isolated ways to be an effective witness from which you should pick and choose. These 8 ways to witness should all be a consistent part of your life. As you hear them, I hope that you will write them down and make a real effort to continue in those you are doing; repent of those you neglect, and improve upon all you can. Do you know any lost people? Some of you have them living in your homes. Some of you work with them. Remember this: they will go to hell if they never receive Christ. Their salvation may be dependent on you. They need what you have, and here are 8 ways to share it.
Live a consistent Christian life.
I think that there is no greater way to be an effective witness to those around you than to live a consistent Christian life. What do I mean by consistent? It means to be consistent with the Word of God. The world expects us to live better than those who are not in church, and they should expect it! Not only should they expect it, we ought to delight in it! It should not be a chore to follow the teachings of the Bible – it is a great privilege we have, and it is to be a great source of joy and happiness in our lives. Jesus said, “If you know these things, happy are you if you do them.” He didn’t say we would be happy by knowing them, but by living them out.
Living a consistent Christian life also means to be consistent in terms of your moods and emotions. Some believers are up and down with every whim that comes along. These are Christians who are not growing like they ought to be. We ought to be ashamed at the way we fly off the handle and pout and bellyache about life. We serve the greatest God there is – and so often we convey by our actions, by our inconsistency that we do not trust God! So live a consistent Christian life for those around you to see. We can all talk the talk – but will you walk the walk?
Witness by word of mouth.
Remember what Paul said in Romans 10:13 and following?
"whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher…so then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God."
Living a consistent Christian life is vitally important, but people also need to hear the gospel message. It is not called the good news for nothing – it is the greatest news on earth! If Jesus were offering fried catfish lunches every Sunday after church – all of Texas would know, but we hesitate to share the plan of salvation with those in need. We ought to be excited about our message. In Acts 4, Peter and John were arrested and brought before the Jewish council for witnessing by word of mouth. They were told to stop – to quit telling people about Jesus – but they said, "we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard!" It’s too good not to tell! We’re excited about what we know!
Did you know its OK for us to get excited? It might please God if He found us more excited about what He’s done for us.
You ought to be excited about Jesus. Tell somebody what He’s done for you; how He’s working in your life. Tell them how He helped you through your problems, how He inspired you in that difficulty, how He forgave you of your sin, how He loves you when others don’t. Be excited about your relationship with Jesus!
You ought to be excited about your church. Tell somebody about what’s happening at your church. Churches grow the most when the members of them are excited about what’s happening. The other day I saw a man down in Kilgore who I haven’t seen since we moved up here. Within the space of just two or three minutes he wasn’t telling me about his work or health, but about his church! I love to hear that. Talk about the growth, talk about your teachers, talk about the fellowships, talk about worship, talk about the spirit of love that’s here and whatever else comes to mind. When you get excited about your church it shows, and because there are so many people out there who are not excited about their churches, people will take notice.
I think it’s OK to be excited about your pastor. I’ve heard some of you say to others, "I’ve got a pastor I love and that loves me and He’s a good preacher. Why don’t you come hear him." There’s nothing wrong with that: you know and I know that God sent me here to teach and preach, and if it will help to bring people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, then by all means share it. I won’t retell you the story, but I began attending my first ABA church and eventually joined simply because my supervisor at work was excited about the pastor he had. I know as well as you that what we do is not about me – and I’m not trying to make it about me, but you know as well as I do that when you tell people where you go to church, one of the first questions that gets asked is, “Who is the pastor there?”
Since I’m talking about witnessing by word of mouth, remember that the most important thing you can share with a person is the gospel of Jesus Christ: His substitutionary death, His burial and resurrection three days later. It doesn’t matter how excited you might get about anything if we leave off the most important part, which is sharing Christ with those who do not know Him.
Associate with God’s people.
One of the worst things a Christian can do to his testimony is to quit hanging out with other Christians when he is able to do so. So many believers who are able to go to church don’t go – and lost people see it. If you are going to be an effective witness, hang out with God’s people. Make your activities not only Christ centered, but church centered. When something is going on at church – be a part of it. Let others see that there is something good going on. Let them see God at work in your life through your church life. You teachers ought to be pastoring your classes and encouraging your students to be a part of the body life of the church. Church leaders need to show a little enthusiasm about church life, about Sunday School, about worship, about Sunday evenings, Wednesday evenings, about Sing Songs, about fellowships and so forth. Not only will it have a powerful impact on others, but you will be strengthened along the way.
Associate with lost people.
The Lord never told us to go out and recruit saved people – to proselyte. Certainly we want people to come and be a part of what God is doing here – but we are to evangelize the world and to reach those who have never accepted Christ. If you are going to reach the lost, you will have to be around them. Associate with lost people at work, at play, in the stores. We must be better at enlarging our circles of influence. Some of us become a part of a circle of friends that never expands. We all need to take advantage of captive audiences. Believe me, I know how difficult it can be to begin a conversation with someone you don’t know, but I also know that my apprehension is no excuse. What we must learn to do is overcome that apprehension through the power and presence of Christ.
When we go to the doctor’s office or stand in line at the restaurant, talk to people. All they can do is tell us to leave them alone. I don’t mean that we have to be obnoxious. Be friendly and just talk. People can tell if you are giving them a canned speech – just be yourself, be willing to initiate the conversation, then prayerfully respond to the conversation looking for an opportunity to share Christ or your church with them. We often think to ourselves, "Well, they don’t want to be bothered." Listen, they need to be bothered. If they are saved, they shouldn’t mind. If you win them to the Lord, they’ll thank you. If they reject you – you’ve done your part. You see, God will not ask how many people you led to Christ, but rather whether you tried.
Use tracts.
Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 11:1,
"cast thy bread upon the waters: for you shall find it after many days…In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for you don’t know which will prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall turn out for good."
You don’t know whose life you might touch by using tracts. What are some ways to use tracts? Remember when I told you to place them with your bills when you mail a check? How many of you began doing that, but then eventually quit? I did. Leave them in restrooms. Leave them with tips, but be sure to leave a fair tip! Leave them in public places – waiting areas. Keep them on you and hand them out to checkers or other people you come across and don’t have time or courage to speak. Be creative in your use of Bible tracts. I have found them in some of the oddest places.
Can you think of some other good places to leave tracts? What are some ways we could use them to get the gospel message out? You never know whose life you might touch; so cast your bread upon the waters.
Write letters.
Often times speaking directly to a person is not an option or it is not the best idea at the time. Use the written word, on paper or by e-mail to witness to someone. This works when people won’t talk. It will give you the opportunity to say what you need to say and it gives them the chance to read and reason with what you’ve written. To whom could you write? You could write people you will never speak to – such as folk in jails and such. You could write to political leaders or city officials. The people you can influence by letter writing is only limited by your imagination and determination.
Use some unusual methods.
So often we get tunnel vision concerning how we do things. We confine our methods in evangelism or church work by thinking in a box. Our thinking is limited to what we’ve always done. If we will use our imaginations a little we can find new and effective ways to witness to those in need. The last time I shared this message with you I mentioned some different methods such as…
· radio stations
· television stations
· instant return e-mail
· tract racks in service stations or truck stops
· you could volunteer to pass out tracts at the mall
· billboards
· yard signs
· t-shirts
Remember, so long as we do not violate Scripture and do not do anything irreverent or reproachful, we are only limited by our imagination. Remember me telling you about the friend of mine who decided to take advantage of the phone calls he was receiving from telemarketers. When telemarketers call, ask them if you can speak to them about Christ – you’ll have an endless list of prospects! Explore the possibilities!
Use some silent methods.
Our homes should be a testimony. People should be able to see God’s love expressed in your home by the way you treat and speak to one another. A home that is characterized by chaos and screaming is a poor and damaging witness. Give thanks at meals. People see this and respond to it. Your own changed life is a powerful silent testimony. Going the extra mile in all you do should give witness to Christ in your life. Your work should be done better than everyone else’s work. You ought to strive for excellence in all you do. Daniel was known for an excellent spirit. Joseph was known for his excellent spirit. These things are not done to show that you are better than anyone, but rather that because you are a Christian, you have high standards for yourself and you are going to strive in your life to live a life of excellence.
Conclusion
Jesus said, "you shall be witnesses." There is no question about whether we will be witnesses or not, but rather what kind of witnesses we will be. I have only touched on this subject tonight, and hope that the Spirit of God has touched your heart in some way to compel you to be a more effective witness for Him. Have you been neglecting the Lord in this area of your life? How will you respond to today’s message? Perhaps today you have heard the message and realize that you have never placed your faith in Christ – you can do that today.
If someone reading this has an idea they would like to share that worked for them please feel free to share it with us.
