“I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith,
so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing in Christ.” – Philemon 6
Kedo Peseyie
All of us have embarrassing moments, or moments of glory, which we always remember. And though we would like to forget some of them, they always linger in the corner of our minds: some haunting us, and some surging us on to greater victory. One such memory that has lingered in my mind goes back 12 years when I entered my first hostel. That was the beginning of BA 1 when I was personally convinced that God had called me for full time ministry. And I had just joined a hostel where over 50% were non-Christians. My knowledge of the Bible, salvation etc was meagre. But one afternoon the burden to witness for Christ turned out to be greater as I entered the room of a non-Christian armed with a Gideon’s New Testament and told him, “Friend you must believe in Jesus, you must be born again”.
He looked confused as he pulled out a packet of cigarettes from under his pillow and said, “But what about this?”
“That is not the issue”, I said, “See John 3:16…”
I remember my trembling voice as I spoke. It was a disaster for me. He did not accept Christ in the next 2 years we were together. But I realise that that was all I could do. During that three-year hostel life, although only two friends accepted Christ, none of our hostel mates left without hearing the Gospel of Jesus. God can continue to use our witness to bring them to Christ. But if we had remained silent, that would be useless because God does not use silence. At least we were not guilty of the sin of silence.
What is witnessing?
Before you read further I want you to understand one thing. Leading worship, sharing in the service or preaching Sunday morning is not “witnessing”. Witnessing is not bringing someone to Christ, or being a soul-winner. Witnessing is simply sharing your faith clearly with conviction and without compromise. If we are always trying to bring someone to Christ, then we become easily disappointed in witnessing. Our work is just to share the whole gospel without compromise and God’s work is to transform and change the person’s heart. Someone said, “Success is living the Christian life day by day, sharing the Gospel, and trusting God for the results. Success is not bringing someone to Christ.” If we can develop this approach to witnessing, we need not fear about results because we will never fail. Research has shown that a person usually hears the Gospel for around 7.6 times before accepting Christ. Your witness could be the first touch, or seventh or even thirteenth or twentieth for some people. The important thing is - don’t miss your opportunity.
You can’t give what you don’t have
One day a young student walked into my room and said he needed some time with me. He was assigned to share his testimony at the college service. So this faithful baptised member of a church eagerly sat down to prepare his sharing. As he began thinking about his life he realised he didn’t have anything to give because in the first place he was not sure whether he really had a relationship with God. “I can’t do it”, he said, “I can’t give something I don’t have”.
Quite true. If we are going to introduce life’s greatest relationship to this confused world, we better be sure that this relationship is most important and “the greatest relationship” for us first. You can’t give something you don’t have. And you cannot not give it if you really have it.
Against a brick wall
Some people go through life with an excuse for everything. Christians are no better when it comes to witnessing. But many times we find that this is so because we have fears within which are real and strong. Every time you open your mouth you come up against these brick walls: Fear of being rejected. Fear of not knowing enough. Fear of offending a friend or relative. Fear of being ridiculed or persecuted. Prayer alone will not drive them away. Let me suggest five P’s found in William Fay’s book:
(1) Passion
Once while returning from Waziho we stopped at Meluri for a tea break and came across a non-local chanawalla by the street. My friend ordered rupees 20 worth and grabbed the opportunity to talk about Jesus Christ and how he can also experience the joy of salvation through Him. The journey was tiring but my friend passion’s for the lost was untiring.
(2) Prayer
Pray for passion from God. Pray that God will lead you to those in whom he is working. One day in the midst of a busy schedule two people came to me and would not leave me alone to do my work. Although I wanted to talk to them, I was hard pressed for time. Then our conversation turned to salvation, heaven and hell and I discovered that they were not sure of anything. Just then I realised that I had prayed that morning asking God to give me someone to whom I can share the Gospel that day. When you pray for souls, remember God answers. Are you prepared to handle his answer?
(3) Partnership
Nothing can break strong and faithful partnership. If ministry is to make an eternal impact, it must be done in partnership with Christ. If we will do our part, he never fails to do his part.
(4) Power
Acts 1:8 “…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses…” Notice it is power not to acquire religious experiences, but power to Witness. And finally,
(5) Preparation
Before we share we should make sure that we know what we are going to talk about. Memorise verses. Always be prepared with you testimony.
Presenting a simple plan of salvation:
ABCs of salvation
1. Admit you need. You are separated from God because of your sin. You need to repent of your sin and turn to God. (Romans 3:23, 6:23)
2. Believe in Jesus Christ. He is God’s only provision for restoring the relationship with God that our sin has broken. (John 14:6; Acts 4:12, Romans 5:8)
3. Confess and receive Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour. (Romans 10:9-10, John 1:12)
Someone commented that the church could survive well without all its activities. But if witnessing is taken away, there is no point surviving as a church.
“People may hate you today if you tell them about Jesus. But on the final day they will hate you more if you fail to tell them about Jesus today”.
