Witnessing: August 16, 2013

TODAY’S WORD FOR FRIDAY AUGUST 16, 2013.

WITNESSING

DEFINITION: 

Testifying to what is known by personal presence; testimony giving evidence from personal experience.

SCRIPTURE:

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 world. Acts 1:8

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE: 

When we think of the word witnessing, we may think of someone in a court of law on the witness stand telling his or her story about something they either saw or experienced. The word witnessing, basically, to most people, refers to giving evidence about a situation. But to a person who knows Jesus, witnessing has somewhat of a different meaning. 

Witnessing as we deal with the word today basically are the words and actions that we share with others about our faith in Jesus. We are giving evidence as to how Jesus changed our lives. We are sharing with others the hope and peace we have in our hearts knowing Jesus as our Savior. In other words we are testifying to what we have personally experienced as a result of our accepting Christ as our Savior.

We have noticed over the years different types of witnessing. Some believers with good intentions literally button hole a person, force them literally into a corner, and tell them that they need to know Jesus. Others will say they do their witnessing through their actions and words. And then there are those whose style is somewhere between these two extremes.

The story is told of a woman who every morning pried the jaws of her dog open and forced some liquid vitamins down his throat. She would always think that the dog just did not know what was good for him and needed to be forced to take the vitamins. Then one day the bottle of liquid vitamins fell over and spilled all over the floor. At the same time she lost her hold on her dog. The dog sniffed at the liquid and then began lapping it up. He actually loved the vitamins but simply objected to being coerced.

There are some who force their testimony on a person and they feel coerced. They do not respond to the "in your face" type of confrontation. The result is that many times this person will be driven away from God instead of wanting to know more about God. We earnestly desire as believers to want to share the good news of the gospel by our witness but our method just might end up repelling people instead of bringing them to Jesus.

The Apostle Paul reminds us that when our Lord taught His disciples to witness (in Acts 1:8 above), he first made a promise. He promised that the Holy Spirit would come upon them and then He would give them power and then they would witness and be effective believers. When we try to witness by our own power our witness will be ineffective.
 
He expects us to share the good news of the gospel by our witness. It is not our responsibility for someone's acceptance or rejection of Christ. It is not our job to convict someone of sin. That is the responsibility of the Holy Spirit. Witnessing is about testifying about what God has done for us, not trying to show what we can do for God.

As you tell others about what Christ did for you, seek the Lord's guidance and rely on the power of the Holy Spirit. Learn to be sensitive, when to slow down, when to listen, when to answer questions and then when to wait on God's Holy Spirit and His Word do the convicting that will bring salvation to that person that you are witnessing to.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Romans 8:38-39.

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, no depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

PRAYER:

Make me a faithful witness and help me to learn to let the Holy Spirit convict the heart of the person that I am witnessing to today. Thank You for giving me new opportunities to witness to others of the good news of the gospel. Use my words and life to be a testimony of the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ to all those I witness to.