Be a Walking Witness
14How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!“ (Romans 10:14-15)
This material was originally presented in PowerPoint format to a high school student ministry. If you have any questions or would like the original PowerPoint, drop me an email at Robert.fox@alltel.com.
[Be a Walking Witness]
Slide graphic: students on a beach witnessing
Slide text:
I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one. (Ezekiel 22:30)
A story is told about a time just after Christ returned from earth to heaven. The angel Gabriel rushed up to Christ and asked if Christ had suffered terribly. “Yes,” answered Christ – “I did.” “So now everyone on earth knows how much you love them and what you did for them?” asked Gabriel. “Oh, no. Only a handful.” “But Lord, how will the rest of the world find out – why didn’t you tell them?” “It’s OK, I asked Peter, James, John and the others to tell the others. And when they know, they will tell others. Soon the whole world will know.”
“But what if they don’t tell the others? What if they get to busy? What will you do then? Have you made any other plans?”
“I made no other plans,” answered Christ. “I’m counting on them”.
(From Wayne Rice – “Hot Illustrations for Youth Groups”)
Let’s say that you are out at the lake one day and you spot a drowning person. What would you do? Would you ignore their desperate condition and turn the other way? Or would you throw them a life preserver? If you are the decent person I imagine that you are, I am confident that you would try to do something to save that poor soul.
Similarly, each day you probably come in contact with dozens of people who are drowning without Christ in their life. For them, it’s only a matter of time before they will go down for the last time, unless someone like you, who has a life-preserver, can throw it their way and save their life.
One misconception you might have is that it is the job of the church staff to tell people about Christ and win the lost. This is just not so. The church staff are literally shepherds. Their prime focus, biblically, is to tend to the flock. Even if they, like Greg, have a real heart for evangelism, they can’t win the entire community by themselves, and aren’t charged to. They are to train up the body of the church (you) and equip you to go out and win the lost. This way instead of Greg going out by himself, God is using him to multiply the army of God marching out into the world.
Most people who become Christians do so before the age of 21 – your age. Most of them are not going to just happen to show up at a church event on their own and hear someone like Greg preach the gospel. You are the only vision of Christ that some of the people you meet may ever see.
“The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest". Matthew 9:37-38.
“I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!" John 4:35
[Spell My Feet]
Slide text: this is hard to explain. I found a website (google search for “anagram generator”) that allowed me to type in the names of some of my students and generate anagrams – words and phrases made up by re-arranging the letters in their names. For example, an anagram of “Robert Fox” (me) might be “Fort Boxer”. Some of them were hilarious. “Micah Farrish” – “armchair fish”. “Clay Trimble” = “Clam Liberty”. I built the powerpoint so that the anagram would show, then, after they guess, a mouse click would reveal the name. Everyone, not just students, likes to see their name up on the screen. Big fun.
I need five volunteers willing to take off their shoes and socks. No one in a dress, please.
Does anyone know what an anagram is? It is when you take a word or a phrase and mix up the letters to make another word or phrase. For example, the letters in the name “Micah Farish” also spell “armchair fish”. You guys see if you can guess these these names of students or adults in our ministry while I prepare my volunteers.
(With a sharpie – write the letters “abeeinsstw”, one letter per foot, on the bottom of the feet of the volunteers.
Have them spell some of the following phrases:
wine beasts, swine beast, absent wise, I swab teens, be in sweats, A wisest Ben, Ben sits awe, be sea twins, a best swine, a newest sib, be a newt sis. End up with the phrase “BE A WITNESS”)
Thank you. Put your shoes and socks back on and sit down.
God wants us to be a walking witness. People who see your everyday life should be able to see a glimpse of the character of God. Have you ever seen someone act or react in an unexpected way, and you think, “That’s the way we should all act”? In Genesis 17:1 God told Abraham “I am the almighty God” (El Shaddai – the first time that phrase was used in scripture) “walk before me and be perfect.” Perfect meaning “complete” or “whole”, not “sinless”. Being a walking witness doesn’t mean you are without sin – it just means you are fulfilling God’s purpose for you.
14How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!“ (Romans 10:14-15)
[Looking for a Real Relationship]
Slide graphic: Sting (the musician)
Slide Text:
An anthem for this generation:
• Lost faith in science
• Lost faith in so-called progress
• Lost faith in Church
• Lost sense of direction
• Wants faith in a relationship
Reaching this generation:
• Genuine love for people (John 3:16)
• Be a part of the culture (Phil 2:3-11)
• Be Honest (Romans 7:14-25)
• Be a friend (Romans 12:9-16)
Slide music: “If ever I lose my faith in you” - Sting
People with no religion now account for 14% of the population, up from 8% in 1990. Why isn’t the church growing?
This song by Sting is an anthem for your generation.
You could say I lost my faith in science and progress
You could say I lost my belief in the holy church
You could say I lost my sense of direction
You could say all of this and worse but
If I ever lose my faith in you
There’d be nothing left for me to do
People have lost faith in the church. The church is supposed to genuinely love others (john 3:16)
The church is supposed to Incarnate into the Culture
3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:3-11)
The church is supposed to relate confessionally
18I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out(Romans 7:14-25)
The church is supposed to be a Real Friend
9Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. (Romans 12:9-16)
24There are "friends" who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother. (Proverbs 18:24)
17A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need. (Proverbs 17:17)
[The Woman at the Well]
Slide graphic: the woman at the well, of course
Slide Text:
4Now he had to go through Samaria. 5So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
7When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?" (John 4:4-7)
When I am with those who are oppressed, I share their oppression so that I might bring them to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone so that I might bring them to Christ. (1 Corinthians 9:22 (NLT))
So – you are to be a witness. How do you do that?
There are many different ways to share your faith. There are those who would not feel uncomfortable standing up on the lunch table and preaching to the cafeteria - evangelists. There are people who are determined to take the word of God to distance places - missionaries. Not everyone is used like this. God doesn’t call everyone to be a foreign missionary. We are, however, all of us called to share our faith. This is the great commission. The natural place to start is with the people you naturally meet every day.
Being a witness doesn’t just mean telling people about Christ. It means they should be able to witness Christ in you. People can deny the Bible, deny the teachings of the Church, and even deny the existence of God – but they can’t deny the fact that your life is different. When a natural disaster happens and TV crews rush out to get footage of a witness, they don’t want to talk to people who heard about it or read about it. They want to talk to people who experienced it personally. That’s a witness.
Witnessing has gotten a bad reputation. It calls to mind people knocking on the doors of strangers just to tell them they are going to hell. I don’t think Jesus would approve of this approach. Why? Because that’s not he way he witnessed. Look at the passage where he meets the woman at the well.
First, although Jesus no doubt knew he would meet this woman, he did not go somewhere special to do it. She was just a woman he met during the regular course of the day – a natural, unforced meeting. Jesus witnessed to the people he met while going about. He didn’t force himself into their homes and accost them there.
Second, Jesus did not jump right in to spiritual discussion. He started out in the natural world – asking for a drink of water. He got to know her first. Then, when there was an opportunity, he took the conversation to the next level. I was wearing a witness T-Shirt at Cedar Point amusement park, standing in line for the Top Thrill Dragster. There were people in line all around me. A man behind me made a nervous comment about all the kids with Christian shirts on, saying he hoped he would be riding on the same cars as us, because God would be watching out for the church group. I talked with him briefly about the mission trip, and how we had seen God at work, but could not think of a natural way to take the conversation to the next level. I talked with Greg about it later, and he said I could have said something about the ride, to the effect that “at least if I die, I know where I’m going.” Then I could ask him if he could say the same. That’s how Jesus witnessed to the woman at the well. He met her normally, got to know her a little bit, then used the circumstances to naturally take the conversation around to the spiritual.
[Love your neighbor as yourself]
Slide graphic: hand reaching out
Slide text:
“Jesus…wants us to see that the neighbor next door or the people sitting next to us on a plan or in a classroom are not interruptions to our schedule. They are there by divine appointment. Jesus wants us to see to their needs, their loneliness, their longings, and he wants to give us the courage to reach out to them.”
Rebecca Pippert
We’ve talked before about who your neighbor is. Today let’s talk about some specific things you can do to reach out to them, and to share your faith naturally without coming off like some kind of whacko.
1) Pray consistently for your friends and others.
2) Befriend those that you want to lead to Christ. It is hard to lead someone to Christ who you don’t have a relationship with. Go out of your way to build friendships with those who have few or no friends - you will often find these people to be loyal and ready to hear about Christ.
3) Write out your testimony and memorize it so that you can give it at any time - you must be prepared when someone asks you about God.
4) Don’t live a hypocritical life - have integrity so that others will respect you and notice a difference in you.
5) Study your Bible so that you know answers to the tough questions that you will be asked. If you don’t know an answer be honest about that and then get your youth pastor to help you find an answer.
6) Make other Christian friends at school for support and encouragement. It doesn’t matter if they are from another denomination.
[Prayer Groups]
Slide graphic: Soles of someone’s feet
Slide text:
14How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!“ (Romans 10:14-15)
Father, make our feet beautiful. Give us the courage to live for you always, so that the world will “witness” you transforming our lives. Don’t let us be hypocrites. Let our walk precede out talk. Open our eyes and our ears to the world around us. Give us the courage and desire to look for opportunities to share what you are doing in us.
