Daring to Witness
Acts 1:8
September 24, 2006
Morning Service
Introduction
The story is told of a barber who wanted to witness about his faith to others. He took a class like Evangelism Explosion and was trained on questions to ask, things that needed to be said to lead people to Christ. One of the questions was: if you died right now would you be ready to meet God? So he began thinking of ways that he could get people to listen to him. Then it occurred to him that when customers were sitting in the barber chair, it was a perfect time to witness. The barber decided the next day he would try his new tactic.
A man came into the barber shop and asked for a shave and a haircut. The barber prepared to shave the man. He put lather on his face and got the razor out. Just before the barber started to shave the man he worked up the courage to start the evangelism plan. The barber turned to the man, razor in hand and asked: if you died right now, would you spend eternity with God?
The man was so scared that he jumped up from the chair and ran out of the barber shop with the lather still on his face.
You are meant to be a witness! Your life is meant to show the work of Jesus in you. You are a living, breathing testimony for Jesus. Your life is a witness to others.
A witness is one who communicates the truth
A witness is someone who by explanation and demonstration gives audible and visible evidence of what he has seen and heard without being deterred by the consequences of his action - Stuart Briscoe
Witnessing is at the core of Christianity. Being a witness means being seen and point to the Truth. It is part of being a follower of Jesus. Can your faith be a priority in your life, if no one knows about it?
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
Why most people do not witness?
1.) Lack of knowledge - Don’t know how
The biggest reason that most people do not witness or share their faith is simply that they don’t know how. The church as a whole has done a poor job in preparing people to be contagious about their faith. We have failed to show people how easy it is to share their faith with others. Often, we believe that we have to have the right words, the right plan or the right system. Let me tell you something, there is no one way to share your faith. I believe that we need to approach different people in different ways with the same message.
Your best tool in witnessing is your own personal story. Tell others what God has done for you. Being a witness means that you tell the truth. Before you can even consider yourself a witness for God, you must speak the Truth. How do we do it? Your life is filled with moments that God has helped you and each of those moments can be used to share your faith. Tell others what God has done for you and then share the message of the Gospel. The good news that Jesus died for our sin and that He lives today.
2.) Lack of courage - Don’t have the guts
The second biggest reason that people do not witness is because of fear. There are some people who are simply gutless when it comes to sharing their faith. You don’t witness because of your color. I am not talking about race but the fact that people are just plain yellow. You know what you need to say but when the time comes you back down.
In the midst of a generation screaming for answers, Christians are stuttering – Howard Hendricks
Fear can rob us of a proper perspective. We can allow fear to paralyze us. We can let fear steal away our potential for God’s Kingdom. If you back down every time that you are afraid to share, you will never do it. The only way to overcome fear is to do that which you are afraid to do.
3.) Lack of concern - Don’t realize the need
Reggie Dabbs served as the emcee for the Promise Keepers conference. One of the things he said stuck with me. When he was talking, he said that all of the men in that stadium were brothers.
The attitude of most Christians today is that of Cain after he murdered Abel. When God asked Cain where Abel was, what did he say – Am I my brother’s keeper? Often, we believe that we have no responsibility to those around us. God has placed you where you are to make an impact for Him.
We are a bunch of happy thinking Christians. we think that just because a person goes to church that makes them good spiritually. let me tell you that I have seen some of the most spiritually bankrupt people in churches. Just because someone goes to church doesn’t make them saved anymore than going to McDonald’s makes them a Happy Meal.
Statistics show that up to 40% of people who go to church either do not have a personal relationship with Jesus or that they are backslidden. We need to understand that the need is great in our community and that the need is great within the church.
4.) Lack of faith - Don’t believe that God can use them
Leighton Ford shares this story about a crusade he spoke at. I was speaking at an open-air crusade in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Billy Graham was to speak the next night and had arrived a day early. He came incognito and sat on the grass at the rear of the crowd. Because he was wearing a hat and dark glasses, no one recognized him.
Directly in front of him sat an elderly gentleman who seemed to be listening intently to my presentation. When I invited people to come forward as an open sign of commitment, Billy decided to do a little personal evangelism. He tapped the man on the shoulder and asked, "Would you like to accept Christ? I’ll be glad to walk down with you if you want to." The old man looked him up and down, thought it over for a moment, and then said,
"Naw, I think I’ll just wait till the big gun comes tomorrow night."
Billy and I have had several good chuckles over that incident. Unfortunately, it underlines how, in the minds of many people, evangelism is the task of the "Big Guns," not the "little shots."
We believe that God can and will forgive sin. We believe that we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus. We believe that there are many who desperately need salvation. Our problem lies in the fact that we do not believe that God can use us through our witness. The result is that we remain quiet while the lost remain lost.
5.) Lack of focus - Don’t direct toward Jesus
There some who talk with lost people but never get to the point. They talk about family, community, sports and everything under the sun that doesn’t really matter. Often, we never get to spiritual issues and if we do it seems watered down with generalizations.
There is a destiny to consider
God put you on this planet for a reason. You are not the result of some cosmic mistake like many scientists want is to believe. You are made in the very image of God Himself. You are on this earth for a purpose to be the absolutely best person you can be for Jesus.
You destiny lies in the fact that you have been saved. Your destiny in life is found in the fact that you have a home in heaven to be looking forward to. If you do not have a personal relationship with Jesus, neither of those things can be yours. You do not have salvation for your sins. You do not have a destiny in heaven.
There is also the destiny of those you want to reach that needs to be considered. Without Jesus a person is lost. They will be lost for all eternity without Jesus. When Eve took the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, which was forbidden, there was an understanding. God said that if they ate that fruit, they would die. The Hebrew word for die means to die and die. Without salvation people will die and then die a second time.
There is a destination to impact
Notice what Jesus said to the disciples, you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. The first destination that you are called to impact is your Jerusalem. If there were an evangelism bullseye that this church wanted to hit, Mt. Orab would be at the center.
Jesus was saying something most churches miss. The work of evangelism must begin in your own neighborhood. The church must reach it’s own community.
Elizabeth usually plants flowers each spring. A flower has to grow where it has been planted, it cannot move and choose another place. However, it can spread seeds to produce additional flowers. This is the mission of the church to spread the seeds of the gospel around us.
Conclusion
When I was a kid, I would walk up to the bridge near our house. Many times my neighbor would meet me there and we would search for crawdads, hunt snakes and skip rocks across the creek. Sometimes we would do really well at skipping those rocks and they would make it all the way across the creek. Other times, we didn’t do so well and the rock would simply hit the water and sink. One thing that was assured was that those rocks were going to make ripples in the water.
One time we got bored skipping rocks and threw a large rock into the water and tried to count the ripples it created. I was surprised by the number of ripples we were able to create. The same is true of life, we are meant to make ripples. We are meant to make the eternal ripples. How many ripples will you make when you enter into eternity?
