God Saved Me

All believers in Jesus Christ are called to witness. The crux of this issue today is how we respond to the call.

Excerpts from God Saved Me

Introduction:
In talking with others, believers and non-believers, it quickly becomes all too clear that for some, the idea of simply sharing one’s faith is an uncomfortable undertaking at best. It is far too easy to side-step the God issue and allow the topic of the moment to monopolize our speech and even our thoughts. God’s commandments have been compromised by situational ethics. It’s not that we don’t care, because we do. We are just not comfortable in sharing our faith.

Chapter One ~ Evangelism and the Local Church:
Where are the Christians? The noise is loud but the silence is deafening. Everything moves at light speed and we stand around watching and wanting more. More of what? No one seems to know what it is they want, and if they think they do, they don’t know why. Everywhere you look you can see the results of what our communities have taken unto themselves.

Statement of Concern. Permissiveness is everywhere. Observing debauchery is part of our daily lives. Television, movies, books, everything has become debauched. Our schools no longer teach right and wrong and our government condones immorality at every turn. A country founded on the principles of Christian faith, now denies Christ.

Chapter Two ~ Prayer the Strength of Witness:
Primary Principle. Evangelism travels on its knees or it does not travel at all. Without a prayer base, anyone attempting to participate in an outreach ministry, or as an individual witness, is ill-prepared at best. Prayer is the primary principle of evangelism. Prayer is our link to the “home office.” No one should go or be sent anywhere as a representative without confirmation. Prayer puts our mind in touch with our heart and allows us to focus on the purpose. The workplace is a prime example.

Chapter Three ~ The Word is a Witness:
Don't Leave Home Without It. After our salvation experience, our walk with the Lord is progressional. As the Word of God exposes us to more and more of what God is doing in our life, we begin to take larger steps. Our confidence in the Word grows and we become more aware of the choices made in the process.

Given to Us by God. God knew we would be coming along and need to know what He thought about certain things. His Word was written not just for the Jew at the time of the writing, but for future generations: All of us folks out here who need to hear from God.

Chapter Four ~ Fear and Guilt: Satan’s Convenient Ploy:
Where Did That Leave Us ? God could have called for a “mulligan” or a “do over” and simply reset the universe. He chose to not do that. He was with the first man and woman on the earth and He knew going in what was ahead for them. So the teaching continued and the learning began.

Where Does God Say "We" Save Anyone ? Learning how to tell and being able to tell is our responsibility. God has arranged for believers to be the only conduit for a lost and dying world to hear the truth and see God’s people in action getting the word out. Outreach is His business. We are simply privileged to be part of it. He is in charge of the “saving.” We do the “telling.”

Chapter Five ~ Show Yourself Approved:
Salvation is innately personal, and, as great as some of our moments are, they pale when compared to that moment when you took God at His word and traded all that you were for all that Christ is and has done for you, and accepted Him as your personal Lord and Savior.

Is faith real or abstract ? We know that God is real. We know that our faith in Jesus is real. And, because of our faith, we have eternal security. But there are those who have no understanding or comprehension of faith. They do not know what it means to place their faith in someone (something) they cannot see.

Chapter Six ~ Make Christ the Topic:
It is a rare, if not a non-existent occasion, when someone in your path introduces a “Christ inquiry.” Most normally you will have to steer the conversation toward spiritual things in order to make Christ the topic. Whatever the situation, it remains a believer’s responsibility to make good use of an opportunity to witness. God is completely aware of the situation. You need to trust Him while you are moving around in the areas of opportunity.

Be Yourself. Don't try to respond or act the way you think someone else might. You are you. If what you say means anything to whomever it is, then your follow-up will have to be part of you as well. If you are out of character in your witnessing, you will not be taken seriously. Especially by someone you already know.

Get comfortable with Christ. We should be so comfortable in our relationship with Christ that talking with someone about Him and relating to them about what He has done in our life, is as natural as putting on our comfortable shoes. Those with whom you talk about Christ will observe your comfort level and be more at ease with you and any witnessing topic that comes up.

Chapter Seven ~ Wrap it up. Give it away:
Those of us who have this truth in our lives have the ability to share it with others. One way to do this is to “package” our own understanding of this priceless gift so that others may see what we have and ask us to let them know what they might do to have a similar experience in their lives. When they do, having a personal testimony of God’s work in our life is a good way to package the message so we can give it away, repeatedly.

Real questions that demand real answers are part of the witnessing experience. We do not and cannot hope to know all the answers. But, we can commit ourselves to faithfully following the path that God has chosen for us by first accepting Him then allowing His will to be part of our coming in and going out.