Thread: ALL BELIEVERS ARE CALLED TO BE A WITNESS FOR JESUS CHRIST!!!
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ALL BELIEVERS ARE CALLED TO BE A WITNESS FOR JESUS CHRIST!!!
Posted : 13 Dec, 2011 09:17 AM
Called to Witness till Jesus Christ Returns by David Jeremiah , Turning Point (A Calvinist Preacher)
We have been instructed by Jesus to "occupy till I come" (Luke 19:13). But how are we to be occupied? The answer is clear in Jesus' last instructions to His disciples in Acts 1:8, "You shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." We have been left on this earth to lead others to Christ. Witnessing makes the wait worthwhile.
What then keeps so many of us from witnessing about Jesus Christ on a regular basis?
Roadblocks to Sharing Your Faith - Proxies. Someone who is authorized to represent you is called a proxy. In the church, we've developed a convenient system: "If you cannot go to spread the Gospel, you can send someone in your place." It is important to support our missionaries. But institutional missions was never intended to replace individual missions. God wants everyone to go somewhere.
Professionalism. You might ask you pastor, "What do you mean you want us to witness? Isn't that what we pay you for?" According to the Bible, it is the pastor's job to equip the people of God so they can do the work of evangelism. Witnessing is not only the job of the pastor; it's your job.
Pessimism. Many hold a pessimistic view of witnessing because they don't want to be viewed as being too aggressive or narrow-minded. We live in an age when people believe that all roads lead to God, as long as you sincerely believe. How many of you know you can be sincerely wrong? Jesus didn't say, "I am one of the ways." He said, "I am the Way" (John 14:6).
Panic. Just the thought of witnessing creates panic in many people. Many of us fear witnessing because we don't feel ready to share our faith. Preparing to witness is kind of like taking a CPR class. People learn CPR in order to resuscitate someone physically if necessary. You don't have to be a medical doctor with years of training to perform CPR. You just have to learn a few basic principles. In the same way, we ought to know some basic principles of witnessing so we can spiritually resuscitate someone.
The following steps will show you how to perform "spiritual CPR" and share your faith.
Sharing the Road to Salvation (1) Be Enthusiastic. Are you enthusiastic about your faith in Jesus Christ? A contagious Christian is doing something that's got them excited, something that gets them out of bed in the morning.
(2) Be Authentic. People don't only read the Christian literature we give them; they read our lives. It's nearly impossible to ignore someone who authentically lives out his or her convictions. But it's easy to discount someone who says one thing and does another.
(3) Be Looking for Opportunities. In the past month, how many of you have had dinner with an unsaved couple or individual? Witnessing presents a real challenge if we are always around believers.
(4) Be Prepared. Prepare yourself for evangelism by praying and studying the Bible. Begin on your knees by asking God to touch your unsaved friends through the power of the Holy Spirit. Even if you don't see your friends come to Christ right away, keep praying!
(5) Be Christ-Centered. Acts 8:5 tells us that Philip the evangelist went down to Samaria and preached Christ. He went right to the core of the Gospel message. We must be committed to preaching Christ's death and resurrection.
Finding Worth in the Wait - As you wait for Christ's return, is witnessing a priority in your life? Nothing can compare to being God's instrument to lead one person out of the kingdom of Satan into the glorious life of heaven. If you have never had that experience, or you would like to be more effective in your witness, God can use you starting today.
This article was taken from Turning Points, Dr. David Jeremiah's bi-monthly Devotional Magazine. Call Turning Point at 1-800-947-1993 for your complimentary copy of Turning Points.
If you enjoyed this article, we'd like to recommend Dr. Jeremiah's series entitled Escape the Coming Night, a chapter-by-chapter study of the Book of Revelation.
ALL BELIEVERS ARE CALLED TO BE A WITNESS FOR JESUS CHRIST!!!
Posted : 13 Dec, 2011 09:25 AM
Soul Winning - By David J. Stewart
Soul Winning is God's Plan to Bring Lost Sinners to Christ for Salvation
The term �soul-winning� simply refers to the practice of trying to lead lost sinners to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. Surely, I nor you can save anybody�Only Jesus Christ can save!!! However, God Almighty has entrusted the job of soul-winning to ALL HIS DISCIPLES. If you are a saved, born-again Believer, then you are COMMANDED to be a soul-winner. Listen to the clear teaching of Jesus Christ Himself in Matthew 28:19 and 20, �Go ye therefore, and TEACH ALL NATIONS, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: TEACHING THEM to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.�
It is our duty as Children of God to �teach them.� Teach who? We are to teach the Gospel of Christ to lost sinners. We are to teach those whom we lead to Christ how to win others to Christ. We are we supposed to teach them. What do we teach them? �...to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.� It was the responsibility of the disciples in Jesus� day to teach the Gospel to all nations (all people). If someone became a Believer, accepting Jesus Christ as Almighty God and Savior, then the disciples were to help that new convert grow in the Lord and become a soul-winner also. This is God�s divine plan to win the lost to Christ�We are responsible!!!
I am sickened when I hear some dead-beat, backslidden Believer criticize soul-winning. The Bible praises the soul-winning Christian, �The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and HE THAT WINNETH SOULS IS WISE� (Proverb 11:30). It is wise to win souls to Jesus! It is wise to go soul-winning! It is wise to witness to friends, family and strangers concerning the crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ!
Don�t let the pessimism of fools rob you of your reward in heaven�soul-winning is wise!!! By the way, the opposite is also true�it is foolish NOT to be a soul-winner�It is foolish to criticize soul-winning�it is foolish NOT to warn your loved ones of the coming day of judgment when they will stand before God. We read the following words in Mark 16:15, �And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and PREACH THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE.�
ALL BELIEVERS ARE CALLED TO BE A WITNESS FOR JESUS CHRIST!!!
Posted : 13 Dec, 2011 09:39 AM
TITLE: WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO WITNESS FOR CHRIST?
Subtitle: "Ye Shall Be Witnesses Unto Me" (Acts 1:8)
"No one is able to come to Me unless the Father Who sent Me attracts and draws him and gives him the desire to come to Me, and [then] I will raise him up [from the dead] at the last day" John 6:44 (Parallel Bible, KJV/Amplified).
Please note the Lord's Words of Acts 1:8 in our subtitle above: "Ye shall be witnesses unto Me." This is a statement of certainty and in no way dependent upon man's devices. The Holy Spirit literally resides within every genuine child of grace and He is the witness for Jesus Christ--we just provide the vehicle. That is precisely the reason why all believers are exhorted to be filled with the Spirit (Eph.5:18). Because when a life is filled and controlled by Him, it is empty of self and exhibits supernatural power (dunamis in the Greek--from which the English word "dynamite" is derived!). And all who come in contact with that tremendous power will be affected to the degree God intends. Even if no words are spoken, each and every individual will be attracted to the power or be repelled by it!
"Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus" Acts 4:13 (KJV, emphasis mine).
Witnessing for Jesus Christ involves a 24-7-365 (366 in the case of a leap year) life of obedience to Him and is not defined by filling one's pockets with Gospel tracts, carrying a big Bible and pestering people. High pressure sales techniques produce results, but seldom truly satisfied customers--because those who succumb to the pressure usually have a nagging sense that they have been conned by the salesman. Numbers of people continue to be "converted" by the application of psychological pressure via confrontational evangelism and while it is true some turn out to be genuine, the spiritual fallout caused by the false majority is contributing greatly to the downward spiral of Christendom.
To catch a fish without resorting to a net requires the right bait. Bass are highly unlikely to bite a hook baited with a dough ball while Redhorse suckers will not intentionally bite an artificial lure designed for bass. And this analogy applies where believers are concerned: we are supposed to live in such a manner as to be good "fish bait." To the degree we yield our lives to the Holy Spirit is the degree to which He exerts His supernatural influence upon others through us. To witness for Jesus Christ involves talking to others about Him, but be careful not to get the cart before the horse. Telling fish about fish bait is absurd, because they must see it before they will eat it.
"Let your light so shine before men that they may see your moral excellence and your praiseworthy, noble, and good deeds and recognize and honor and praise and glorify your Father Who is in heaven" Matthew 5:16 (Parallel Bible, KJV/Amplified).
"No one is able to come to Me unless the Father Who sent Me attracts and draws him and gives him the desire to come to Me, and [then] I will raise him up [from the dead] at the last day" John 6:44 (Parallel Bible, KJV/Amplified).
Good fish bait appeals to fish at a fundamental level. They do not have to be taught how to recognize it or urged to partake of it because it meets a basic need. And depraved men have a similar need in that there is a vacuum in their hearts where the knowledge of God once existed. It is an itch they cannot scratch--a hunger they cannot satisfy on their own--and when God casts a yielded believer in front of them, they will always react to the bait! But unlike fish, humans can "see the hook" and the majority will back away because they do not want to be caught. As a consequence, only a relative few will overcome their built-in aversion to God and be drawn by the Holy Spirit to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
"But the gate is narrow (contracted by pressure) and the way is straitened and compressed that leads away to life, and few are those who find it" Matthew 7:14 (Parallel Bible, KJV, Amplified, emphasis mine).
People should show their true colors so all will know where they stand! And that principle definitely applies where our testimony for Christ is concerned. Very few things in this world will upset people as quickly and to a greater degree than seeing someone act in a manner totally contrary to what they profess to believe. And only God knows how many people have been, and continue to be, repelled by the hypocrisy of professed believers--especially those who are so careful to carry around "flashing neon signs" advertising their loyalty to Christ and then fail to be consistent with that profession. Under the best of circumstances Christians living under the microscope of public scrutiny will occasionally fail to live up to the high standards required of us because we are still sinful humans. And for that reason we must strenuously avoid the temptation to call attention to ourselves by "blowing our own horn":
In other words maintaining a godly Christian testimony through thick and thin is a powerful witness to a world filled with lost and dying "fish." The life of every genuine believer--without exception--is a testimony to the saving power of Jesus Christ. But unfortunately some lights do not shine as brightly as they should. Hypocrisy and indifference, like moss or millfoil in a lake choked by excessive growth of those aquatic weeds, will cover the bait and render it ineffective. To get the job done, it must be seen before it will be eaten. And it must be presented as naturally as possible, because much talk and making a big splash are not conducive to good fishing.
So do not be deceived--the devil's pond is grossly overstocked with what fishermen call "trash fish" (not game fish such as bass, walleye, muskie, trout, etc.)--and they correspond to the tares among the wheat of Matt.13:24-30. They pretend to be trophy game fish and are relatively easy to catch! Whereas by contrast, to bring home a desired species requires patience and diligent effort. Bass weighing ten pounds or more are occasionally caught by accident, but such instances are definitely the exception and not the rule.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is being cheapened by apostate religious hucksters who are marketing the message for prestige and profit--just as the Apostle Peter said would be the case:
My friends, I respectfully submit to you that when the Lord made the following statement, the meaning was far deeper than is generally perceived by most evangelicals: "And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. [19] And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men" Matthew 4:18-19 (KJV, emphasis mine).
John 6:44 defines Who is actually doing the fishing! Unless or until the Holy Spirit exerts His supernatural influence upon a specific individual and draws them to Jesus Christ, they can not believe and be saved. And no amount of casting and reeling by those with good intentions will produce the desired result.
If you have been born again and received Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, but have been very lukewarm in your spiritual walk with Him, you need to immediately ask Him for forgiveness and for renewal. He will instantly forgive you, and fill your heart with the joy of the Holy Spirit. Then, you need to begin a daily walk of prayer and personal Bible Study.
The complete article can be read at: http://www.cuttingedge.org/articles/p244.htm
ALL BELIEVERS ARE CALLED TO BE A WITNESS FOR JESUS CHRIST!!!
Posted : 13 Dec, 2011 03:25 PM
AMEN Ella. We are created in his image, we are to act as children of the King at all times. In that we daily witness to our Father in heaven, not only by word, but by deed also. God grant us to be more like himself.
ALL BELIEVERS ARE CALLED TO BE A WITNESS FOR JESUS CHRIST!!!
Posted : 13 Dec, 2011 04:31 PM
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ALL BELIEVERS ARE CALLED TO BE A WITNESS FOR JESUS CHRIST!!!
Posted : 13 Dec, 2011 04:04 PM
Hello everyone one:
Here is the Biblical mandate for 'EACH and 'EVERY BELIEVER' in Yeshua.
Mat 28:18 And having come near, Jesus spake to them, saying, `Given to me was all authority in heaven and on earth;
Mat 28:19 having gone, then, disciple all the nations, (baptizing them--to the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
I ask,how many are there is this country actually doing this.
First let it be knwn that this is not a mandate for 'WATER BAPTISM'.
Water bapatism has never ever made one person a disciple of Yeshua.
First,the mandate is to Jewish men to make disciples of the unclean ones,that is anyone that is not a Jew.
How is this to be done,by immersing the gentiles into or to the name(s) of YHWH.
The name(s) of YHWH have been fulfilled in Yeshua.
Mat 28:19 having gone, then, disciple all the nations, (baptizing them--to the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
Teaching the Gentiles the Name of YHWH,along with His compound names.
What seperated the Jews from the Gentiles,is the Jews had the name of YHWH revealed to them,along with his compound names.
Isa 42:8 I am Jehovah; that is My name; and I will not give My glory to another, nor My praise to engraved images.
What is YHWHs glory;His glory is His name.
For His name reveals who He is,and what He is like
Now then,is there anyone one this ste who is doing this on a regular basis,or maybe even attempting to be doing this.
Probably not,seeing this Scripture might not even be taught as it as been written..
Shalom and Chesed
The Gardner
George will include Mark's version so we can remind all that Jesus instruction was to believe, only those that believe the word of God will walk in the truth.
The bible does not agree with your tradition of baptizing people into the names of God, we that believe will stick with water baptism.
Notice in this passage George it is those that believe that will believe, that will speak in tongues those that will not believe will not speak in tongues.
Mk 16:14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.
Mk 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Mk 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
Mk 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
Mk 16:18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
Mk 16:19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
Mk 16:Mat 28:20 teaching them to observe all, whatever I did command you,) and lo, I am with you all the days--till the full end of the age.'
ALL BELIEVERS ARE CALLED TO BE A WITNESS FOR JESUS CHRIST!!!
Posted : 13 Dec, 2011 07:58 PM
Dr. Jeremiah says: We have been instructed by Jesus to "occupy till I come" (Luke 19:13). But how are we to be occupied? The answer is clear in Jesus' last instructions to His disciples in Acts 1:8, "You shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." We have been left on this earth to lead others to Christ. Witnessing makes the wait worthwhile.
Georeg this is the question you have need to answer: What then keeps YOU from witnessing about Jesus Christ on a regular basis?
Being a witness for Christ,This has nothing to do with water baptism so why are you getting off course, you are so faaaar out of the loop until it isn't funny... why do you insist on kicking against thepricks? You can't win against what God has spoken, and what Jesus has commanded us to do..
WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM? Could it be that you have need to be truly BORN AGAIN AND FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT OF JESUS FROM ABOVE IN YOUR HEART, AND NOT FROM JUST YOUR MOUTH???
Examine yourself to see if you have been disqualified because of disobedience, you should do the first things first... Jesus calls us as His followers to be witnesses to OTHERS about the purpose of the cross, and to share our faith in Him and our life... all you do is make excuses and I SAY TO YOU... Jeus was the superme examine of being a witness for God, and the disciples and apostles were witneses for Jesus, and we as His followers are to follow ther example.
George, GOD AIN'T IN YOUR MESS, NEITHER IS JESUS CHIRST! So Stop twisting the scripture to try and fit your LACK OF OBEDIENCE, EXCUSES AND UNBELIEFS, AND SLOTHFULNESS...
GO TELL SOMEBODY ABOUT JESUS CHIRST HOW HE HAS MADE A CHANGE IN YOUR LIFE, AND WHAT SALAVTION MEANS TO YOU, AND HOW YOUR FAITH TO BELIEVE SET YOU FREE FROM THE BONDAGE OF YOUR SINS THROUGH THE BLOOD THAT JESUS SHED ON THE CORSS FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF YOUR SIN.
Can you answer this question?...WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR JESUS LATELY???.... AS HIS SERVANT?...
DID YOU NOT KNOW?... HAVE YOU NOT HEARD?... THAT YOUR GOOD WORKS WILL ALSO BE JUDGE IN THE DAY OF THE LORD, DEEDS DONE AND DEEDS UNDONE... GOOD AND BAD... WHICH ARE YOUR RECORD OF WITNESSING.
DID YOU KNOW? HAVE YOU NOT HEARD THAT YOU WILL HAVE TO GIVE IN ACCOUNT OF TO GOD AS TO WHY YOU DID NOT WITNESS TO OTHER ABOUT THE LORD?...
THE GREATEST SERVANT WORK A BELIEVERS CAN DO FOR JESUS CHRIST TO BE A WITNESS FOR THE KINGDOM OF THE LORD TO OTHERS.
