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| WHAT IS A "WITNESS?" (FEBRUARY 7, 2010) |
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| Written by Ron Woodrum | |
| Monday, 08 February 2010 | |
SCRIPTURES: Acts 1:8; John 13:35 A young man stood up in the middle of a popular T.V. Talk show, discussing the issues of life, as the host held the microphone to get his comment, and said, "Jesus is the Answer!". Immediately he drew blank stares; frowns all over the audience; followed by hostile responses; worst of all he was dismissed as irrelevant by the host, and quickly passed over. Why? Perhaps he was seen as a "religious fanatic". Modern society despises such oddities with full disdain! More accurate assessment is that they likely did not even recognize the fact that there was a legitimate question, let alone that Jesus is the only legitimate answer! That is the real problem facing the Christian of this new milleniium, and the Church in this contemporary world. We are spiritual "Rip Van Winkles". We have sleep-walked our way through the last few decades, unaware how quickly the world has passed us by. The result is that the alarms, like 9-11 have awakened us to a world that we do not recognize anymore, let alone understand, or even find ourselves even close to knowing how to bear a revelant witness to them. Our "Christian jargon" and memorized "pat answers" do not work anymore, but we keep parroting them to ears long-deaf to such sounds. Has the "salt" lost its "saltiness"? How can we impact our world any longer today? How can we get them to listen? Do we change our methods? We must! Is the answer to become better trained "debaters"? Remember Jesus called us to be "witnesses", not "lawyers". No one is ever argued into the kingdom of God. So what do we do? Any word for us today? Yes indeed. What worked at the start will work just as well today. George Hunter III, dean of Asbury Seminary's School of Missions and Evangelism, maintains that we have returned to days that parallel the culture that the New Testament Church had to penetrate. In what ways? (1) They faced a population with no understanding or knowledge of the Gospel, early Christians had to inform the people of Christ's claims and His offers. They had to educate them before they could witness to them. (2) They faced a hostile populace and persecution from the state, they had to influence people to develop a positive attitude toward the Christian movement. (They were seen as "athiests" who did not believe in their "pantheon of gods"; They were seen as "cannibals", who at their suppers "ate Jesus flesh, and drank his blood!"). (3) They confronted an empire with its own entrenched religions, they had to convince people of the truth of Christianity, or at least listen to the plausability. (4) Since entry into this faith involves an act of the will, Christians have to invite people to make a clear choice and adopt this faith, join a communtiy of believers, and follow Jesus as Lord,(See George G. Hunter III, "Can the West Be Won?" Christianity Today, 16 December 1991, 43-46). Jesus said, in Acts 1:8, that the Church "shall be my witnesses, after the power of the Holy Spirit came upon them, in concentric expanding circles, first in Jerusalem, then Judea, then Samaria, then the unlimited expanse of the entire world." How? The Lord's presence will go with us "all the days". Good days-bad days. Dark days-bright days. Days of ignorance-days of enlightenment. He is still present-still drawing all men to himself. Add to that the Love of Jesus. He said, in John 13:35 "by this shall all the world know that ye are my disciples, that ye have LOVE". Christian love is the magnet that draws others to Christ, through us. It opens eyes. It opens ears. It impacts lives in inexplicable ways! Jackie DeShannon said it so well in the '60's "What the world needs now is love-" Jesus is LOVE! LOVE INCARNATE! IN US! They need him. Trying sharing. THAT'S GENUINE WITNESSING. You don't need a 'DEBATER'S LISCENSE!" Just a PRESENCE. HIS! Try Him. He still speaks. He still draws. He still wins. But remember: WITHOUT HIM, WE CANNOT; WITHOUT US, HE WILL NOT |
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