WITNESS

The Call Of EVERY Christian

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O. "Foreward
I. Chapter 1 "Manna"
II. Chapter 2 "Why?"
III. Chapter 3 "Three More W's"
IV. Chapter 4 "Spiritual Nike's"

FOREWARD

It is the first day of Geometry class, sophomore year of high school. I walk into Dick Ramsey’s classroom, after spending the summer on a family vacation to the great national parks of the western United States, and prepare to be educated and inspired. After the requisite first-day-of-class preliminaries, how does Mr. Ramsey begin to teach about the wonderful world of Geometry? Does he introduce basic principles and fundamental theorems? Do we begin by drawing circles and lines? Does he give us a diagnostic exam? No. He does none of these things. Instead, Mr. Ramsey dives into a detailed discussion of what Geometry is, and why we should study it.

As I proceeded through many more years of study and education, this scene was repeated over and over again. It all seemed very senseless to me because my why was very clear – the course was required for my program of study – I had to take the course to get my degree. However, I never complained about these wasted first-days-of-class because they were freebies, i.e. they were non-testable and so required little or no thought or attention on my part.

Later on, after I was a little more in control of directing my own efforts and reaping my own rewards in life – that is, after I finished school and got a job – a man told me something that changed my attitude about these first-days-of-class. He was an expert in his field and I wanted him to tell me how to do a certain thing. He said, “I don’t really need to tell you how to do this. It is very much more important that you understand what you are to do and why you are doing it. You see, if your why is strong enough, you will do whatever it takes to find out how.”

Isn’t that true? If something is important enough to us, will we not put incredible effort into learning all we can about it? Will we not find or make the time? Will we not spend the money it takes? Will we not get the necessary ‘stuff’ and meet the necessary people? Will we not even risk failure by trying it out that first time, though we have no experience? This is as true for skiing or quilting as it is for buying houses and cars or having children. If our why is strong enough, the how will come.
An idea that goes hand in hand with the why is the what. Often there is a great shroud of mystery that cloaks some very simple ideas. Remember that the devil is the master deceiver and the father of lies. Satan particularly targets religious activities, and is often successful at confusing the simple truths of God’s Word.

The first section of this book focuses on these two issues as they relate to the Christian witness. Why do we witness? What exactly is witnessing? These ideas are the foundation. As we discover the what and the why, the how will come naturally. The rest of the book merely provides practical tips on refining the how. It is the icing on the cake. If you don’t get anything out of the first section, DON”T GO ON! Without the cake, the icing is useless – in fact, it can even be hard to stomach. Without the what and the why, the how doesn’t mean a thing.

Now let’s begin to explore together one of the most powerful blessings that our Savior has offered to us. Let’s discover how we can all become witnesses for Christ.

Purpose

The purpose of this book is to give you the tools that you need to share Christ as a Friend with the people you interact with on a daily basis. It could more aptly be labeled Friendship Evangelism and Ministry (but someone else already used that title so I couldn’t). The focus will be to provide a very basic Gospel outline that will give framework to our sharing and to provide training in the people skills that we need for our witness to be effective. These skills can be learned and practiced in a non-threatening environment, so that they will become second nature as they are put to use. Everyone is not called to be an evangelist or a theologian or to distribute literature. All Christians, however, can share their personal relationship with Christ with their friends. Most just do not know how.

Guiding Principle

I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. Philemon 1:6 (NIV).

PART I

FOUNDATIONS

Chapter One

Manna

After God rescued the children of Israel from bondage in Egypt, he rained down bread from heaven to feed them as they wandered in the desert. On the first day that they woke up and found this food covering the ground like a frost, they had never seen anything quite like it, so they asked, “What is it?” And they named this bread from heaven manna, which means ‘what is it’.

Unfortunately, the idea of Christian witnessing has come to be like manna to many of us, and we are left to ask, “What is it?” We banter around the terms. We mix it together with other Christian ideas like ministry, evangelism, preaching, teaching, and missionary work. We are admonished regularly from the pulpit that we are to be witnesses, but the whole concept seems so complex that we are certain only pastors are truly equipped to actually do it. Well, manna wasn’t really all that confusing. It was simply daily bread supplied by God. And witnessing is not all that complicated either. It is not to be mixed up with evangelism, or preaching, or missionary work. Those are gifts of the Spirit that have been given to individuals to equip them for specific ministries to which they have been called by God. God has not called everyone to be an evangelist or a theologian or a missionary. All Christians, however, do have a special relationship with Jesus Christ. And all Christians are called to share that relationship with their friends.

The reason that we often get witnessing mixed up with ministries is because they do go naturally together. Our Christian witness adds power to the ministries that God calls each one of us to. These ministries are defined by our spiritual gifts, our circumstances and our experiences. Witnessing adds power to missionary work. Witnessing adds power to evangelism. Witnessing adds power to a medical ministry. However, witnessing is not evangelism. Nor is it missionary work or a healing ministry. We will explore the relationship between witnessing and Spiritual Gifts based ministries in a later chapter. For now, separate the two ideas so that we can see the witnessing part, itself, more clearly.

It’s Who You Know

Take a moment and create a mental picture of Bill Clinton in your mind. Can you visualize what he looks like? Take a long close look at that image. Notice the color of his hair; his facial features; the lines of his mouth when he smiles. Take note of his general build; his height; his stature. Could you describe some of his mannerisms if you were asked to?
Now think about what else you could say about Bill Clinton. What is his job? Where is he from? Where does he live now? Is he married? What is wife’s name? Does he have any children? What are their names? What about pets? Their names? What kinds of things has he done in his job? Is he good at what he does? Do you agree with his actions? Do you like him? Would you trust him?

Let’s tally up the results. Could you answer most of those questions? Probably. You probably even had answers to the opinion questions. Could you have answered these same questions about your neighbors or the people you work with? Maybe.

Okay, if you know so much about Bill Clinton, then why didn’t they call you to be a witness in the Whitewater Hearings? Why? Because you don’t KNOW Bill Clinton, you just KNOW ABOUT Bill Clinton. There is a very significant difference in the two.

Likewise, a Christian witness must KNOW Jesus Christ personally, not just KNOW ABOUT Him. It is not good enough for you to know what your pastor has said about Him. It is not good enough for you to know how He has impacted the lives of your friends in church. Actually, it is not enough just to know what the Bible has to say about Him. You must have interacted with Jesus. You must have spent quality personal time with Him. He must have had a significant impact on your life. You can’t give someone else’s testimony. If you are to be a witness, you must have met Jesus for yourself. You will also come to discover that your perspective must be fresh to be effective. Your relationship with Jesus must be an ongoing experience. It is not important that you once KNEW Jesus, but that you still KNOW Him.

To be an effective Christian witness, it is absolutely essential that you have a continual active daily devotional life of spending time with Jesus in Bible study and prayer.

Peter and John were two of Jesus’ closest disciples and friends. Notice what their idea of witnessing included.

2 Peter 1:16-18
For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, "This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased"-- and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. (NAS)

John 1:1-3
What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and our hands handled, concerning the Word of Life -- and the life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us -- what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, that you also may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. (NAS)

That is pretty clear to me, how about you? See with your own eyes, hear with your own ears, hold in your own hands the majesty of our Lord Jesus Christ – and then go tell somebody else. It doesn’t get much simpler than that.

The Hidden Power in Advertising

If you have personal experience, you have instant credibility. The American legal system provides a good context to help us define witnessing. For you to have credibility as a witness in a court trial, you have to have first hand knowledge of a person or event. When a witness is called to testify, the first things that everybody wants to know are, “Who are you?” and “Why should we listen to what you have to say?” If the answers are, “I know this man” or “I was there and saw the whole thing,” then you have instant credibility. It doesn’t matter if you are the lowliest bum in the gutter, if you have first hand personal knowledge then the court will sit up and listen. This will also be true for the Christian witness. When you tell someone that Jesus loves them, their unspoken question may very well be, “How do you know?” After you describe to them how the love of Jesus has impacted your life, your claims are much more real to them. They can rationalize your experience, or trivialize it, but they cannot deny it. It is not your opinion, it is your experience, and there is a great deal of legitimacy in that fact.

Testimony Manna

Okay, a Christian witness is someone who has first hand personal knowledge of Jesus Christ. What is a testimony?
That, too, is very simple. As a witness, your testimony is the story you tell. It is the account of your personal experience. There is one characteristic of a testimony that is important not to overlook. An illustration may make it more clear.
Do you remember in 1995 when OJ Simpson was brought to trial for murder? Because of the all out media blitz, it was rightly dubbed the trial of the century. A great many legal issues were established and scrutinized during the trial. Detective Mark Furman was on the witness stand for one of the longest amounts of time in trial history. The attorneys from both sides assaulted him with an endless string of questions. They asked him about the night of the murder. They asked him to describe the search of the house. They asked him about the leather glove that he found. They asked him if he had any prejudices against black people. But never once, during the entire course of the trial, did anyone ever ask Detective Furman what his favorite football team was. Why not? Was Mark Furman a qualified witness? Yes. Would he have had a favorite football team? Probably. Could he have answered the question honestly? Sure, he could. Did OJ Simpson ever play professional football? Yes, he did. So why wasn’t that question asked? Because that fact, however true, was not pertinent to the murder trial.
Likewise, your Christian testimony cannot be simply about your job, your family, or even your church. It must be about Jesus. It must focus on how Jesus has impacted the way you do your job, the way you interact with your family and friends, or the way you serve in your church.

Every Christian has a testimony about how they came to know Jesus and how He has changed their life. This testimony is infinitely more powerful in leading someone to Christ than any Bible doctrine or church teaching will ever be. Learn your personal testimony. Write it down. Share it with others. Watch it grow and change each day as you come to know and rely on Jesus more and more. If you are not certain about how Jesus has led in your life, ask Him in prayer to reveal it to you.

A Testimony with Power

I was serving as a US Army Signal Officer in Okinawa, Japan, during the 50th Anniversary of the Battle of Okinawa in WW II. I had the honor and privilege of being the official escort for Desmond Doss. Corporal Doss was an Army medic during the Battle of Okinawa. He was also the first non-combatant to ever earn the Congressional Medal of Honor. During the battle, Doss’ unit had been pinned against the top of a cliff by enemy forces. As the rest of his unit retreated down the cliff face, Desmond stayed behind. Under constant enemy fire, he single-handedly carried seventy-five wounded American soldiers to the edge of the cliff, and lowered them, one-by-one, down the cliff face using a rope sling. He is, to this day, considered a hero by Americans and by the Okinawan people, because he earned his Medal of Honor for saving lives rather than taking them.

There were a multitude of very prominent historians who had come to Okinawa for this 50th Anniversary Commemoration. Many of them had studied the campaigns in excruciating detail. They knew who the key leaders were and why they had made key decisions. They knew the invasion strategies. They could trace the movements of each of the units across the tiny island and give descriptions of each of the engagements. They had the advantage of an historical perspective and could view the battles through both friendly and enemy eyes. They backed their accounts and analyses with years of scholarly research. There were many general officers, current and retired, in attendance. Even Walter Mondale, the US Ambassador to Japan, came to Okinawa to commemorate the occasion. These VIP’s were surrounded and attended to by the 40,000 American military members currently stationed on Okinawa.

Desmond, on the other hand, was a somewhat frail man of seventy-seven by the time of the 50th Anniversary of the battle during which he earned his medal. His voice was soft. He could hear only with the aid of a microphone and an electronic receiver implanted in his brain. During the battle, he was just a corporal. He didn’t know the invasion strategies. He didn’t even know all of the units involved. All he knew was that his unit was going to fight the Japanese and his fellow soldiers were relying on him to bandage them up when they were hurt. And yet this whole crowd of historians, generals, statesmen, and swarms of uniformed soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen would all grow silent whenever he would begin to speak because he had been there during the war. He knew what the battle was like because he had been there. And that simple fact held more credibility than the fifty years of historical research that had occurred in the years between.

There is something else significant about what Desmond Doss had to say to these people who stopped to hear. He took part in many of the commemoration events. He spoke at hospitals. He was interviewed by American and Okinawan newspaper, radio, and television reporters. The Okinawans respected him as much as the Americans did because his acts of courage were also acts of healing. In every case, as he told the tale of the battle and of his own heroic deeds, he gave all the glory to Christ. To this man, who holds America’s highest honor, Jesus was a personal friend. To him, it was Jesus who deflected the bullets from around him. It was Jesus who filled his heart with courage. It was Jesus who reached out to the wounded soldiers and carried them to safety. It was Jesus who preserved his life so that he could return home to tell his story. And not a single person disputed his claims. Not a single person challenged his faith. In a country where far less than one half of one percent of the population is Christian, this would very likely be the one and only time in the lives of these millions of people that they would even hear of this Jesus. And Desmond Doss’ story carried with it the full weight and conviction of personal testimony, because he had been there and he knew Jesus personally. Desmond Doss isn’t just an American hero, he is a living witness for Christ.

Hitting Home

Your experience with Jesus may not have been as spectacular as Desmond’s was, but it is no less remarkable. You may never have the opportunity to share your testimony with millions of people who have never known Christ, but you can share your story with a friend. God worked a miracle in your life when He converted your sinful heart. The road that He led you on is unique to you. Your relationship with Him is a little different than everyone else’s. But your situation is similar to someone else’s. There is someone out there who needs to hear your story.

When I was conducting a witnessing seminar in Japan, I asked the members of the group if any of them had experienced a Saul of Tarsus Damascus Road conversion. Out of the whole group, only one person’s conversion was what we would call spectacular and immediate. The rest of the group members had been converted over a period of years or even decades by the slow patient promptings of the Holy Spirit. Do you think that is true of the population in general?

The vast majority of people cannot relate to these incredible stories, and yet they are the ones we hear most often. I am thankful that people have had these kinds of experiences. There are thousands of drug addicts, alcoholics, murderers, and rapists out there who need to know that God loves them and can save them from the worst of their sins. But for each one of those people, there are millions more who live average, ordinary lives, and are blind to their spiritual condition. These people need to hear your story. They need to know that Jesus loves ordinary people. They need to know that average, ordinary people are still sinners headed for destruction if they don’t have the a personal relationship with their Savior. They need to know that God knows each one of them individually, and that He has a special place in his Heart just for them. They need to begin to recognize the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and to have the confidence to follow Him. Your testimony can give them that starting point. Your story can give them that confidence. Average, ordinary people need to hear average, ordinary testimonies to know that their conversion experience is real, even though it is not extravagant.

Let me ask you just one final question. If you spent your whole life telling your testimony to everyone you knew, and if it eventually was just one piece of a series of events that led a single person to accept Jesus as their savior, would your effort have been worth it? How do we measure the value of one life saved for all eternity? I would suggest that such a life is priceless beyond compare.

Fundamental Principle #1

You are a Christian witness if you have a continuing, first hand, personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Your testimony is the story of how that relationship has impacted your life.

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