Us With Jesus: Ministry

UWJ|SYF: Witnessing Saves Lives!

Witnessing Saves Lives! It Saved Mine!

During my teen years I began to question the love of God. I had grown up in a wonderful home, where both my mother and father daily witnessed to me of Christ’s love, but eventually I abandoned Christianity, even proclaiming myself an atheist. That path led me to a very “far country,” and I became depressed to the point of considering suicide.

At last I decided to make a “final call” to my mother, for I knew she loved me.

“I’m glad you called!” my mother exclaimed. “I’ve been praying for you. Are you all right?”

“Not really,” I mumbled.

My mother said, “I don’t want you to hang up the phone until you promise to come home. Promise me,” she begged with tears, “that you will come home!”

I was taken aback by her request and asked why she was so insistent. She explained, again with tears, how she’d been especially concerned for my safety and that she felt my life was in danger. “Promise me that you will come home,” she urged again.

Though I couldn’t believe my own words, I agreed, “I promise that I will come home.” And I did!

The consistent lifelong witness of my praying mother had paid off. In crisis I reached out to her, only to find 2 that she had been reaching out to God on my behalf.

Witnessing, as traditionally described, is largely concerned with sharing the eternal truths of God’s Word. One of those truths is that we can be connected to God through prayer, and this connection is vitally important as we witness for Christ. My mother knew just what to say and how to say it in that late-night exchange with me. We also need to know what to say as we witness to others.

Key to Powerful Witnessing

The Bible overflows with stories of redemptive words and timely witnessing. Think of Nicodemus, who came to Christ in the middle of the night, or the Samaritan woman at the well, who came to Christ in the middle of the day. Each time Christ knew exactly what to say and how to say it. How did He know? And how can we know?

Just as my mother had prayed for me, Jesus spent long hours in prayer before beginning each day of ministry (Mark 1:35). Ellen White writes, “Daily He received a fresh baptism of the Holy Spirit. In the early hours of the new day the Lord awakened Him from His slumbers, and His soul and His lips were anointed with grace, that He might impart to others” (Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 139). All who follow Jesus’ example can receive the very words we need to speak.

Isaiah 50:4, 5 is a prophetic passage pointing forward to the life of Jesus, and to all believers who would follow in His footsteps. These verses hold the key to powerful witnessing: “The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by 3 morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned. The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back” (KJV).

Let’s take a closer look:

a. Who is giving me something in this text?

“The Lord GOD,” or literally, “the promise-keeping God.” He gives me dependability. I can count on Him to guide me.

b. What has He promised to give?

“The tongue of the learned.” He provides me with the credibility I need.

“That I should know how to speak a word.” He also gives me the ability I need. He promises to make me skillful in speaking a word for Him.

“That I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary.” He will help me know what to say and when. That’s reliability!

What freedom these promises bring! As I connect with God in daily prayer, He will personally lead me. Delightful!

c. When will He do this for me?

“He wakeneth morning by morning.” When I first read this promise, I tested God and began not setting my alarm clock. I wanted to see if He would wake me up. And guess what? He did, and still does.

d. And how can I receive the full blessing of this promise?

“I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.” We 4 forfeit the blessing if we roll over in the morning and don’t get up to spend time seeking God. Without a daily connection, you are really “walking in the sparks of your own kindling” (Isa. 50:11, paraphrased), and you will not know what to do, when to speak, or what to say. Make time to tune your heart to His will before doing anything else each day. God will prepare you to listen and witness all day long.

Ellen White writes this about Isaiah 50:4 and the importance of seeking God morning by morning: “When this experience is obtained by those learning in the school of Christ, they will have gained that wisdom that is to be valued above gold and silver” (Manuscript Releases, vol. 13, p. 101).

As I open God’s Word, meditate on His promises, or walk in His nature, I hear His voice. Thus, “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17).

It’s amazing how often I’ve seen the incredible leading of God as I live this God-dependent and God-directed devotional life. I have been given literal words to speak and actions to take as a result of His leading. God is faithful!

Tell Your Story

What has God done for you? How has His life-changing gospel impacted your life? What has happened as a result? What are you grateful for? Could others benefit from hearing what God has accomplished in your life?

By answering these questions, you develop one of your most powerful witnessing tools: your personal testimony. 5 Review your testimony often; update it daily as God works miracles in the world around you.

“There is greater encouragement for us in the least blessing we ourselves receive from God than in all the accounts we can read of the faith and experience of others” (The Ministry of Healing, p. 100).

“Our confession [our testimony] of His faithfulness is Heaven’s chosen agency for revealing Christ to the world. We are to acknowledge His grace as made known through the holy men of old; but that which will be most effectual is the testimony of our own experience. These precious acknowledgments to the praise of the glory of His grace, when supported by a Christlike life, have an irresistible power that works for the salvation of souls” (Ibid., p. 100, emphasis supplied).

Consider the Apostle Paul, whose life was headed in the wrong direction when Christ Himself sent him a “word in season” on the road to Damascus. Paul left behind his life as a “blasphemer” and “persecutor” (1 Tim. 1:12-15) to become one of the greatest soul winners in history. While we remember him as a gifted preacher, the book of Acts records that he often chose to simply tell his own story—his testimony of a life redeemed.

Why not join Paul in sharing salvation with a hopeless world? Tell the mighty acts of God in your life!