You will be My Witnesses!

Do you remember the first time you heard, "You will be my witnessess?" Or maybe the first time you actually understood what it meant? To be a witness you must share what you see and hear. 

When we have perceived something deep or profound, no one needs to tell us we should go share it. First, they will observe it and if they are close enough they will hear about it. 

On the day of Jesus' ascension, we can discover many things about what makes a good witness or evangelist. An evangelist is someone who tells good news. A good Bible story teller is both.

As I reflect on Acts 1:1-14, I discover so many things. I wonder if you see other things. Share them if you do. 

I noticed that Luke presents to us simply about what Jesus did and taught. He tells us about the work of the Holy Spirit in Jesus' life.

Luke tells us about Jesus' appearances after His Resurrection/time of suffering. Jesus visited people for 40 days and spoke to those He met with about the kingdom of God.

He reminds the hearer or reader that Jesus promised the Holy Spirit would come and that He would baptize them with the Holy Spirit. We must remember and share that the Holy Spirit comes with power and authority. But, only God, the Father knows the seasons and times of things to be. 

One of the key things we must understand about being a witness is that it is not just about us and only our immediate group. If we are true witnesses it will go beyond us. Luke points out to us that Jesus tells the disciples that they will be His witness in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the outermost parts of the world. 

Jerusalem is your hometown.

Judea is your region.

Samaria is the people you don't like or want to share good news with so get rid of your prejudices.

And to the end of the earth. 

A true witness is in community communicating beyond their comfort zone in places beyond their expectations or perceptions.

This was so profound they found themselves gathering to meet in one accord with a spirit of unity to pray with both men and women. I love how Luke is pretty faithful in pointing out the women leaders. 

So while we gather, pray, and wait on the Holy Spirit to move, we must know that Jesus will return.Until then, we must prove ourselves faithful to share what we have seen and heard about Jesus. 

It is important to be in the Word, be with Jesus, so we can be transformed.

Shalom y'all!

Jesus Sent the Disciples to Tell His Story (Witness)

While on a trip in Brazil a long time ago, my interpreter said, "Here, Tara, here!" When I asked him later why he chose those three women for me to share the story of Jesus he said to me, "They were people of peace."

This was the first time in my life I heard about seeking the people of peace. I had read the passage numerous times, but in this moment I caught the truth found in Matthew 10:13.

It's been a couple of days since I had time to do an evangelism Story so, today, I wanted us to turn to Jesus and see what He expected of the disciples. Remember, we want to examine the action words that we are able to do today. 

As I read Matthew 10:5-13, I circled the action words that Jesus commaned the disciples to do when they went to go share the good knows about Jesus.

Please keep in mind in verse 1 it says that Jesus gave them all authority to go and do the miraculous.

1. Go in Jesus' authority not your own.

2. Go.

3. Proclaim the kingdom of heaven. 

What is the kingdom of heaven? 

It is God 's dwelling place. 

You are invited to join Him through Jesus. 

Believe in Jesus and you are a part of the kingdom of heaven.

 

This means you will repent of yours sins and move from darkness to light.

4. Heal the sick. This is God's work. Our role is pray for it in faith. 

5. Raise people up from spiritual death.

6. Cleanse those that are ostracized and bring them back into community. 

7. Give freely the truths you have been given.

8. Find worthy people. These are tge people of peace that are willing to let you share about Jesus.

9. Stay with the worthy people and disciple them.

10. Greet with a spirit of welcome.

11. Give your peace to those that are ready to receive.

12. Hold your peace and move on if a person is not open to receiving the truth about Jesus.

In all of this know that you will have those that want to stop you as you go.

Witnessing while Suffering

Evangelism Story #5: Witnessing while Suffering based on Acts 16:16-40.

Sometimes when we are doing the right thing and even going to the right places there will be things that will annoy us, harm us, challenge us, and quite honestly hurt us. Honestly, this is the part of sharing the truth that is down right hard. Not everyone wants to hear the truth. Sometimes, someone can know the truth and even speak it, but they cause more harm than good. Their voice becomes a clanging gong that hinders the gospel. 

Paul and Silas find themselves hounded by a demon possessed girl that follows them every where and this time their sharing of the story of Jesus gets them beaten and thrown into jail. What do they do? They sing and worship. Let's see what we can observe about this particular encounter.

1. Be faithful to go to the place of prayer.

2. Know that you could encounter people that are possessed or mentally ill.

3. Know that you will get annoyed. Things will not always be easy or pleasant.

4. If you encounter evils spirits command them to leave in the name of Jesus. 

5. Understand that attack is inevitable. 

6. Understand that attack will come in many forms: mentally, emotionally, socially, physically, and spiritually.

7. Understand that attack can be painful and extreme.

8. Keep praying, singing, and worshipping God because others are watching.

9. Pay attention and always seek to protect souls even those that imprison you.

10. Watch and be amazed as whole households will be changed.

11. Recognize that your suffering can be used as the open door for another to believe so be aware, be faithful, be consistent in Jesus. 

12. Stand firm in your rights legally.

13. Fight for justice.

Today's story removes any romantic thoughts toward sharing our faith. This is a serious encounter that has eternal consequences. This is why attack happens. The enemy of God wants us to stop, be afraid, walk away,  and give up. But the LORD will honor those that keep moving forward in due time. We may not see our reward today, but we must keep moving forward. Who knows whose family needs you to share with them so the whole household can know Jesus?

How to share a testimony

Witnessing with a seeker

Witnessing in the face of opposition
Witnessing in a place of prayer

Witnessing in a Place of Prayer based on Acts 16:11-15).

Evangelism Story #4 based on Acts 16:11-15.

Sometimes, one of the last places we would anticipate witnessing will be in house of prayer or a known place of worship. But, sometimes these can be the places we might encounter some of the toughest resistance and attack.

This was true for Paul & Silas. First, I want you to notice that he has a new leader on his journey with him. Don't ya know this is because he sought to invest deeply in Silas. Oh boy! Was Silas about to learn some seriously hard lessons. Like, going to the house of prayer does not mean all things will be lovely and easy. Quite the contrary! 

Witnessing in a house of prayer based on Acts 16:11-15.

1. Go to places of prayer as you travel about.

2. Enjoy conversations with those present. In this case, it was only women that were present. They were not ignored because of their gender or told to go home. They were engaged in conversation because they were there to worship.

3. Trust God to open the hearts that need Him. So do not assume that because someone is in a house of prayer to worship that they have believed in Jesus as their Savior (for the forgiveness of sins). 

4. Once someone believes, support them to follow through of baptism to show that a decision to follow Jesus has occurred. Remember, baptism is an outward expression of an inward change.

5. Watch for faithfulness. You will be able to see that a heart change has occurred by the actions that are taken after as well as the impact on others around them.

Did you notice that we cannot assume belief based on a person's presence in a religious setting? We must remain faithful in sharing the goodness. God will reveal what needs to happen to the heart that is open for true worship.

How to share a testimony

Witnessing in the face of opposition based on Acts 13:3-12

Day 3 of Evangelism Stories:

So yesterday in church as Dr. Eckman taught, he mentioned a story I hadn't considered using, but it was so profound that I added it to my story set.

Today's story is based on Acts 13:3-12. It is quite short, but so profound. I am ashamed to say that in all the years that I have read through the Bible I have never noticed Sergius Paulus until yesterday. But, Oh how I love him now! 

This story models for us how to travel to far places to share the good news and what to do when confronted with opposition that hurts the faith of those seeking truth.

1. Fast and pray with your believing community.

2. Trust your community to lay hands on you and send you. (This represents support, authority, and provision).

3. Make sure you are sent by the Holy Spirit.

4. Proclaim the Word of God upon arrival in the synagogue (the place where the religious go).

5. Travel in pairs like Paul and Barnabas and welcome others join you (Mark).

6. Travel sharing all over.

7. When requested, go to share with the one requesting you to share.

8. When confronted with evil opposition or false teaching that hinders the faith of others rebuke them in the Holy Spirit's leading. Confront it head on.

9. Speak a miracle into happening. I confess that this one is harder for me. It may be my lack of faith or upbringing. I know God can do the miraculous, but I might not pray something like strike him with blindness. I am more likely to pray LORD, give us a miracle like you did for Paul with the evil magician. Move in such a way that he is silenced and those watching are amazed. Move in such a way that they cannot help but believe. So, I will pray for bold belief to speak what I must so that the enemy is silenced and faith increases.

10. Watch as others believe and are amazed at the teaching of God's Word.

I am so glad I caught this little story. It really is profound as a model for us as we go and share the good news of Jesus.

It is fun to be in the Word, to be with Jesus so we can be transformed. 

Shalom y’all!

Witnessing with a Seeker based on the Story of Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch

Day 2 of how to do Evangelism Stories:

Just as each of us are created uniquely, our spiritual journey will be just as varied and unique. The reason, the approach, and timing will be specialized based on our need.

In today's story, we will discover that sometimes the Spirit of God will tell us to go do something that requires us to take a journey in order for someone to hear the story of Jesus.It was a 47 mile journey from Jerusalem to Gaza. It would have taken at least a day to get to him by foot if he was stopped, but remember the Ethiopian Eunuch was traveling so Philip was also trying to listen and see who the Spirit of God was wanting him to share with on the road. When someone is truly seeking, God will send someone to go and share the truth in a way they can understand.

As we go through these stories we should observe the outcomes for both the disciplemaker and the one being discipled.

I have titled this story, how to witness to a seeker.

1.  Listen to what the Spirit of the LORD speaks to you.

2.  Rise up and do it!

3. Pay attention to what is happening in the surroundings and in what the people are doing.

4.  Ask questions for clarification.

5.  Help the person to understand the Scriptures.

6. Listen to the person's questions.

7.  Answer the questions and share the good news of Jesus.

8. Take your time with them.

9.  Be spontaneous when necessary.

10.  Help the person follow through with baptism.

11.  Know the person who understands will leave rejoicing.

12.  Go to where the Spirit takes you.

13.  Continue preaching the good news of Jesus where ever you go.

There are certain elements that will always be the same like telling the person about Jesus. While the way, the how, and the why will be varied from person to person.

Witnessing when there is opposition

How to share a testimony based on Paul's Testimony before King Agrippa in Acts 26

I was recently asked by a leader in an oral context how to tell a personal testimony in an oral culture. I didn't want to just give the typical here are the three things you must do. It is important to me that I am using Scripture as the authority to teach the process.

Who better to start with than Paul as he stood before King Agrippa? 

So, I am looking up various stories in the Bible that model sharing a testimony. 

Here is what I discovered from Paul's encounter in Acts 26. Go check it out and see if I missed anything.

1. Get permission to speak. 

2. Find a way to bring honor to the one you speak to. This is not for manipulation, but for connection!

3. Share about the one thing in your past that has changed the most. Do not give ugly details. Simply the gist of it.

4. Share the hope you now have in Jesus.

5. Explain why you are now sharing with the one you seek to honor with your testimony.

6. Share why it is important to know Jesus and what one must do as a next step. 

   A. Open your eyes. 

   B. Move from darkness to light.             C. Receive forgiveness. 

   D. Repent and turn to God.             

   E. Produce the deeds in keeping with repentance.

7. Give praise to God for His help.

8. Speak boldly even when accused and rejected as you are called out of your mind.

9. Point out that you are speaking truth rationally. Make sure you do so!

10. Point out how you and the one you are sharing agree. 

11. Be persuasive so that a nerve is struck.

12. Express that you long for them to be like you in what you know and believe. 

Please know there is no set order and there may not be all of these elements, but it is a good pattern to follow because it is provided as an example in Scripture.

Witnessing with a Seeker