Go, Stand, and Speak, pt. 3

Acts 5:17-20

Go=the consistency of our witness

Go to work looking to witness/school/dr.’s office/gas station/golfing!

Stand=the courage of our witness

Overcoming fear/heart pounding out of chest!

        How to be bold and courageous, and have courage born of compulsion/consecration/compassion!

Today:  Speak=the communication of our witness

        Ever heard of lifestyle evangelism?  It’s a good thing!  Our life must first be an example of what it means to be saved/others see Jesus in us, then they’ll listen to what we have to say…problem is, most of us don’t have anything to say at that point!

        Just living a Godly life before the lost is not enough…sooner or later we have to speak/communicate the gospel/the actual words of the gospel!

Psalm 81:10

    I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.

Ezekiel 3:27

    I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; He that heareth, let him hear…

Eph. 6:19

    [Pray] for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,

Acts 2:14

    But Peter, standing up with the eleven, [lived a good life in front of them, and 3,000 got saved?] lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:

Acts 4:1

    And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them,

[5k got saved that time!]

Acts 5:20

    Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.

So, we have to speak!

5 Principles for Talking to People about Jesus:

1.     Take the Initiative

[cop out]  “O Lord, I feel like I should witness to Bubba at work, if it’s really your will, I pray you’d have HIM bring it up!”

        It’s your responsibility!

Ill—as a teen I worked in a medical office, waited a year to witness to a nurse who helped me get that job…once I finally said it, she smiled and said, I’ve been waiting for you to say that, wondering if you ever would!

        And many of us are straddling that same fence:  in no man’s land.  They know enough about us to know we go to church/claim to be a Christian, but they don’t know if it’s real…and so they wait to see if we ever say anything, for if it’s the real thing, if it’s really as good as we claim, it’s something to be shared…that is, if we care about them…and so, they wait!

It’s the only thing worse than being a secret Christian [not taking our stand].  It would be better to hide that you’re a believer than to make it known and never show that it’s real by sharing how awesome it is!

        The world today is looking for the real thing, so let’s go all or nothing, no straddling the fence, hot or cold, how long halt ye between 2 opinions? 

        If you’re not willing to go all the way and share the truth/blessing/privilege of salvation w/ them, then do God and His church a favor and just remain a secret Christian so they don’t get the wrong idea about what being a Christian is.

Do they see your car missing on Sunday mornings?  Make sure they see it missing that night, that wed., and know you got the real thing, and know what a Christian truly is!

But there’s many in your life who already know, and they’re waiting…you need to follow thru, finish the process, risk rejection, give success a chance!/take the initiative!

A simple question will get you on the subject:

Do you go to church?  Here’s where I go [hand card].  What do you believe about salvation?  Here’s what we believe [turn it over].  And God will lead you from there!

Or, Are you a good person?  [Way of Master]

2.     Build a Bridge

We can attempt #1 with anyone, even if we’ve just met in passing.

        But, we have the best success when we have a bridge of some kind.  We need something to help us connect with them/befriend them/get to know them/win their trust/let our light shine!

We have some bridges!  If we are willing to cross them, that is.  Don’t get attitude of looking down on the lost…you were lost!  Jesus was the friend of sinners!

Ill—I hate my work environment, all sinners talking about their worldly habits/lifestyle, I just stay away from them!

        What did God leave us here for?  Why did He plant you there?

Ill.—imagine a light bulb, if it could talk, saying:  put me anywhere you want, just not in a dark room, oh no!

But they’re such heathens!  “Good!!”  Don’t be like them, befriend them!

But their language…!     “That’s ok”, don’t talk like them, talk w/ them, let your light shine!

        The darker the place, the brighter your light can shine if you will cross the bridges God has already built for you.

Not talking about going to their parties or partaking in their sins, but establishing rapport/relationships, building bridges!

Why?

Because they don’t care what you know until they know you care!

        And again, they’re waiting to see if you’ll bring it up!

Take the initiative, build a bridge, cross that bridge!

3.     Use the Home Field Advantage

Invite them onto your turf, the Bible says a lot about hospitality.  Have them over.  Open the doors of your house to them, you’ll be amazed at how it will open the doors of their heart!

        Or invite them along to some outing along w/ a church friend, introduce them, build some more bridges!  Sure, it might be the easiest, simplest, most comfortable to just remain w/ those you know best…sure, it may affect the climate of your evening, but listen:  it COULD affect the temperature of their eternity!

4.     Help When They Hurt

That’s what Jesus did.  When they get news of that illness, lose that loved one, have that setback, you should make sure and be the neighbor, coworker, friend, that goes to the hospital, funeral home, or take those cookies over, or send that card!

        God uses hurts often to soften people to the gospel!  Marital problems are rampant, and God can use you to help them with that and w/ salvation!

5.     Use the Church’s Tools

joke—not literally, for many tools from our work room seem to walk off!

But realize your church has many tools that can help your witness.

• Online sermon ministry

For example, you can give them a link to the website for the following topics to name a few:

Child-rearing, God providing finances, Getting thru to God in Prayer, Grandparenting, God’s help in grieving, Failing Forward, Help for your work, How to have a strong family, Why be baptized, New year’s resolutions, Why not quit, Biblical view of money, Emptiness, Bitterness, Taming your Temper, Understanding the Bible, How to have wisdom, Resisting the Devil’s attacks, Gratefulness, Trusting God, What the Bible says about Alcohol, Gambling, Divorce, Homosexuality, Abortion, Knowing God’s Will, Evolution, Speaking in Tongues, Miracles, Healing, How to Know the Proof that the Bible is the Word of God!

    And if you’ve been here long you know what they all have in common:  a clear gospel presentation of salvation, and where it all begins for them!

• Special Events

Take the initiative, Build Bridges, Home Field, Help when they Hurt, Use Your Tools…what do all these require?  Speaking!

    As you are going, take your stand, and don’t straddle the fence, finish the job, close the deal, open your mouth and speak!