"And ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth" (Acts 1:8).
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we are to be His witnesses.
Ananias gave the new believer, Saul of Tarsus, the following charge:
"For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard" (Acts 22:15).
However young or old we are in the faith, we are to be witnesses of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Therefore, we must plan and prepare ourselves to be able to share what the Lord Jesus Christ has done to save souls! Let us befit ourselves as good soldiers of Jesus Christ. Let us have open communication with our Captain, pleading for the hearts of the lost and relying on the Spirit to convince men of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8). Pray for boldness to speak as we ought to speak (Ephesians 6:18-20).
1. Witness for Christ by giving your testimony—sharing personally how you were saved from the punishment of your sins. In the New Testament, we find Paul repeatedly telling the amazing account of how he came to know the Lord (Acts 22, 24, 26, etc.).
2. Take something with you to give them to read! The prophet Jeremiah asked, "What thing shall I take to witness for thee?" (Lamentations 2:13). Give gospel tracts to people you meet (a clerk, a waiter, a passenger on a plane, a child in your neighborhood, etc) and leave them where they can be found by those you may never meet (a gas station, a public restroom, a book in the library, in a grocery store isle, etc). Be creative. Spend time praying for those who get the tracts and for those you shared with, that God will work in their hearts and that they will have repentance toward God and faith toward Jesus Christ!
What is the most valuable, powerful weapon to wield in the "warfare" of witnessing?
It is the word of God! The Sword of the LORD!
3. Get to know your Bible and use it in witnessing. It is the Bible that makes one "...wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus" (II Timothy 3:15). God's word is quick and powerful (Hebrews 4:12). It can pierce the heart and bring conviction where human reasoning and argument will only bounce off the calloused surface. God proclaims that His word is not bound (II Timothy 2:9), will not return void (Jeremiah 55:11), won't fall to the ground (II Kings 10:10), and cannot be destroyed (I Peter 1:25).
Consider just 3 of many witnesses that God gives us in the Bible, who used the Scriptures to preach Jesus:
Philip—"And Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto Him Jesus" (Acts 8:35).
Paul—"And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ" (Acts 17:2-3).
Apollos—"For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ" (Acts 18:28).
Jesus also used the Scriptures to proclaim Himself. "...O fools and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them all the Scriptures concerning himself...These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem" (Luke 24:25-27).
Wouldn't you have loved to hear Jesus preaching Jesus?
After declaring Himself through Scripture He then told His disciples, "And ye are witnesses of these things" (Luke 24:48). Today, if you are saved, you are to follow as a disciple and witness.
You may think, "But I can't be a witness!" for many reasons—fear, your past, your inability to speak well, no burning desire. And you are right—you cannot do it alone. Jesus said, "...For without me ye can do nothing" (John 15:5).
Consider Saul of Tarsus, who became the apostle Paul—probably the greatest evangelist, church planter, and missionary in history; not even he could witness on his own. In speaking of his own conversion, Paul declared to Agrippa that the Lord Jesus Christ told him, "But rise and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness..." (Acts 26:16). God would have to make him a witness.
When Jesus called the fishermen Peter and Andrew to be His disciples, He also told them, "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men" (Matthew 4:19). Jesus calls us and then through His power alone, He enables us! "Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it" (I Thessalonians 5:24).
Ask the Lord to lead you in this war for souls, and to teach you as you obey. Then step into the fray, sword in hand.
Consider Saul of Tarsus, who became the apostle Paul—probably the greatest evangelist, church planter, and missionary in history; not even he could witness on his own. In speaking of his own conversion, Paul declared to Agrippa that the Lord Jesus Christ told him, "But rise and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness..." (Acts 26:16). God would have to make him a witness.
When Jesus called the fishermen Peter and Andrew to be His disciples, He also told them, "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men" (Matthew 4:19). Jesus calls us and then through His power alone, He enables us! "Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it" (I Thessalonians 5:24).
Ask the Lord to lead you in this war for souls, and to teach you as you obey. Then step into the fray, sword in hand.
