Lesson 18: WITNESSING
Witnessing is simply telling other people what Jesus Christ has done for you. It is God using you to help someone else find Christ. Someone told you, so now you can tell others!
Whatever we love the most, and are most interested in, we will talk about the most! So if we really love the Lord Jesus, and if He means a lot to us, we will want to tell others about Him. We would encourage you to pray for opportunities to witness, and when they come, just simply share what Jesus Christ means to you, and how you came to know Him as your Lord and Saviour. Share with the person what your life was like before you became a Christian, how you became a Christian, and how your life has changed since. See Paul's testimony in Acts chapters 22 and 26.
If you would like some booklets to give to your friends, to help you witness, we suggest you ask at a Christian bookshop, or at your church, or some evangelistic Christian organisation which uses booklets or leaflets for witnessing.
One of the important things about witnessing is this. If you are regularly sharing your faith with others, then prayer, Bible study, church attendance and obedience will tend to be no problem to you – you will want to pray for your friends and for God to help you witness; you will want to read the Bible so that you know more about the Christian life; you will want to meet with other Christians so that they can help and encourage you; and you will want to be obedient to God so that God does not convict you of sin when you show others how they need to confess and repent of their sin!
Prepare to witness, by prayer. Ask God to give you the opportunities, the openings, the words to say, and the love, wisdom and boldness to say them. Pray that God will prepare those people who you will speak to.
Remember that your life is just as important as your words, especially to those who know you well (family and close friends). No-one takes too much notice of what hypocrites say! This is especially important if your husband or wife, father or mother, brother or sister is not a Christian – a changed life will add great weight to your testimony, but a changed life is not sufficient by itself – they need to know what happened and how! With people you meet often, you can spend much more time witnessing to them, and over a longer period of time, so be patient, pray for them and wait for the right opportunities to speak.
Some good verses to learn
Some good verses to learn off by heart, to use when witnessing are:
• Romans 3:23 “All have sinned ...”
• Romans 6:23 “The penalty for sin is death ...”
• Romans 5:8 “God shows His love for us ...”
• Acts 2:38 “Repent (turn from sin) and be baptized ...”
• 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins God will forgive us ...”
• John 1:12 “All who receive Him and believe in His name ...”
• Romans 10:9-10 “If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord ...”
Be filled with the Spirit
“Be filled with the Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). To be effective when we witness we need to be Spirit-filled Christians (see Luke 24:45-49). Jesus promised: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be witnesses to Me” (Acts 1:8). Confess all known sin to God and ask His forgiveness. Pray that He will fill you with His Holy Spirit and give you the power, the boldness and the authority you need to be an effective witness. Believe that He will! See Matthew 3:11; Luke 11:13; Luke 24:49; Hebrews 11:6.
Notice in Matthew 3:8-12 that baptism with water is for washing from sin (repentance); baptism with the Holy Spirit is for power to witness (Acts 1:8); and baptism with fire is for sanctification.
Often a person receives the fulness of the Spirit when another Spirit-filled Christian lays hands on them and prays. See Acts 8:14-17; 9:17. The gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4-11) often accompany, or follow, the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Power to witness (Acts 1:8) and the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) will also follow in a greatly increased way.
Witnessing should be the spontaneous (natural) overflow of a Spirit-filled life.
QUESTIONS
1. What should we do if we feel too afraid to witness? (See 2 Timothy 1:7; Ephesians 6:18-19).
2. Why is it not sufficient just to witness by our life? (See Romans 10:13-17).
3. What verses of the Bible have you memorised, so that you can use them when witnessing and sharing the Gospel?
4. Briefly explain how you became a Christian.
5. Why is it important to be filled with the Holy Spirit? (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8)
6. What verses in the Bible give us the assurance that God forgives us if we repent and confess our sin?