WITNESSING
Introduction � Definition & TCR 813:
Referring to my old friend, Webster�s Dictionary, I find that a Witness is one who "testifies to religious beliefs or faith." To Testify means to "profess or proclaim publicly."
In Matthew 10:32 Jesus says,
"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven."This is repeated and confirmed in Luke 12:8, "I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men I will acknowledge him before the angels of God."
Romans 10:9 tells us, "That if you confess with your mouth, �Jesus is Lord,� and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
I John 4:15 says, "If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and him in God."
Our scripture teaches us that when the people were praising and proclaiming the arrival of King Jesus that the leaders of the Jews protested and Jesus said that even if they remain silent the rocks would cry out. Cry out what? That Jesus is Lord, the King is come. The Old Testament tells us in Habakkuk 2:11 that
"The stones of the wall will cry out, and the beams of the woodwork will echo it.Nature even recognizes the Kingship of Jesus and would have shouted the truth if man had failed when Jesus came as King, Lord of Lords.
God tells us in Ezekial to WARN THE WICKED or WE ARE IN DANGER:
Ezekial 3:17-21 reads: Son of Man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to a wicked man, �You will surely die,� and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil way in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself. Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before him, he will die. Since you did not warn him, he will die for his sin. The righteous things he did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the righteous man not to sin and he does not sin, he will surely live because he took warning, and you will have saved yourself.
I:
God says �Warn the Wicked�1) He, The sinner, will die in his iniquity
2) His blood is on your hands.
1) and he dies in his iniquity
2) Your responsibility has been fulfilled.
II:
God says warn the Righteous man who has sinned:1) He, The righteous man who has become a sinner, will die in his iniquity
2) His blood is on your hands.
1) and he dies in his iniquity
2) Your responsibility has been fulfilled.
III: Even if there is one who will not acknowledge the kingship of Jesus today, he or she WILL acknowledge Him in the last day as Phillipians 2:9-11
tells us"God exalted Him (meaning Jesus) to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father."
It is very clear that we believers have no choice in the matter of witnessing.
IV: I John 4:15 tells us "If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God."
We can easily see that the witnessing we do is a natural expression of the inner change that is supposed to have taken place when we were saved.
We have spent some time expressing the fact that we have no choice about witnessing to the power of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So, where do we start????
- In the Temple (or church) Acts 5:20-21 tells us that the Lord appeared to the Apostles during the night when they were imprisoned and said, "Go, stand in the temple courts�and tell people the full message of this new life."
- In the Highways Matthew 22 tells us a parable Jesus taught concerning an invitation of God to persons who should come to His Grand Banquet. Verses 8-110 say, "Then he said to his servants, the wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find. So the servants went out and into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall filled with guests." The servants are us. If we don�t go and compel those in the highways and byways to come to God�s Salvation, God will write us off and find someone else to do the job.
- Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth. Acts 1:8 reads,
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.
What keeps us from witnessing????
FEAR, Basically. Fear of what others might say, fear of what they might do, fear of loss of friendship, fear of what this stranger might do to me, etc.
This shows an incredible lack of fear of God. God is the only person in the universe that can not only take our lives but our very souls as well.
I John 4:18 speaks to us and tells us how to eliminate fear from our lives. "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The man who fears is not made perfect in love.
God speaks to Paul over and over again in the book of Acts telling him not to fear. God is with him and that he had to give his witness in Rome as well as everyplace else he was supposed to witness.
Finally, how do we prepare?
- Have to be Saved
- Prayed up, in tune with God, surrendered to the Spirit of God, empowered.
- GO!!! Do It!!! The first step is the hardest, just say YES!!! You must be so filled with the Spirit of God and in love with the Lord more than your fear of what might happen if you stand up for Jesus.
