|
| |
Use the Fruits of the Spirit
While Witnessing - Compassionate Boldness
Galatians 5:22
You have
heard it often preached that Christians need to walk in the fruits of the
spirit. Well, this is doubly
important when you are witnessing to unbelievers. Since you are going against an
anti-Christ spirit, it can be doubly hard to walk in love.
The way you witness, or the tone of voice you use, can be as important as
to what you actually say.
So when you pick up an object and start talking about how
it relates to the Gospel, be sure to be kind and respectful.
Use a loving and gentle tone of voice.
Be sensitive to how you speak your words.
It takes discipline.
Once in a
while when you are witnessing, the demons in the unbeliever will cause them to
say some pretty hateful things, so you have to learn to quickly forgive and respond
in a loving tone of voice instead of reacting in an angry way.
Just doing this will witness to them because they expect you to react and
be mean right back to them. Remember
what Jesus said on the cross: “Father,
forgive them for they know not what they do.”
Unbelievers will act like their father, the devil,
because that is what kingdom they are in at that time.
So do not take anything personal. When
the unbelievers reject you, they are not rejecting you, but the spirit of God
that resides on the inside of you. They
are rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ.
-
LOVE
It is so important to walk in love when you are witnessing to the lost
because God is love, so witnessing with the love of Gods is how you
should witness if you want to truly be His Ambassador and represent
Him well. The love of God will break down walls around
their heart. Also when you witness to the lost, they may be not very
kind, so remember:
Matt 5:44which
says to “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” They
will know we are Christians by our love.
Love is patient, love is kind, it does no envy, it does not boast,
it is not proud. It is not rude, it
is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth….Love never
fails. (1 Cor. 13:4-8).
- JOY
AMP gladness
- People are
attracted to joyful people because they want that same joy in their
dull dreary lives. You
should try to witness to others with a spirit of joy about you.
It says in Romans 14:17 that “the
Kingdom
of
God
is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.”
It says in Prov. 15:23 - A man finds joy in giving an apt reply
and how good is a timely word.
- PEACE
- Walking in peace
when other unbelievers around you know that you are going through
tough trials is a great witness. You
can tell them that: “I’m
casting my cares upon the Lord because I know He cares for me”
(1 Peter 5:7) or
“God keeps me in perfect peace because my thoughts are
focused on Him and His faithfulness.
I trust in Him to work out my troubles.”
(Isaiah 26:3). They will want that same peace that you have.
- LONGSUFFERING
patience -
Many times you have to be patient with those neighbors that you
witness to until they fully commit their lives to Christ to live for
Him. Keep praying for them
and loving them unconditionally. Remember
that many times unbelievers do not have a clue about the love of their
Heavenly Father. Many have
a lot of pain, disappointments and heartbreak from their past.
Many people sin to cover up, soothe or escape their pain and
their past. They do
not know any other way, but the truth about God’s love and His mercy
and grace will set them free.
- GENTLENESS
kindness - When
witnessing to a person who gets uptight or irritated, it says in Prov.
15:1 A gentle answer turns
away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
It says in Proverbs 25:15 that “through patience a ruler can
be persuaded and a gentle tongue can break a bone.”
Isaiah 40:11 gives picture of how the Lord Jesus is with his
sheep: “He shall gather
the lambs in His arm and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently
lead those that are with young.”
- GOODNESS
AMP (benevolence) Bringing
food to an unsaved person will speak volumes to them about God’s
love. People do not care
about what you know, until they know how much you care.
So doing good deeds for unsaved people will do much to spread
the Gospel. Matt 25:40
Jesus said: “Whatever
you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for Me."
- FAITH
faithfulness -
After you witness to someone, many times you have to have faith
that God is working in their hearts even though they may not show it
on their faces. Many
people wear masks because of pride.
They do not want you to know that the words you are saying are
cracking open their hardened hearts.
Have faith that the Lord is working in their hearts.
Stand on Isaiah 55:11 “So shall my word be that goeth forth
out of my mouth: it shall
not return unto me void, but is shall accomplish that which I please
and it shall prosper in the thing where to I sent it."
- MEEKNESS
gentleness AMP (meekness, humility)
Gal. 6:1 says: “Brethren,
if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such
a one in the spirit of meekness; considering
thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
Remember John 15:5 and “Abide in Jesus, the
Vine.” Be quick to listen
and slow to speak. Listen to Him for
the words you are to say to each person you witness to because it says,
“Without Me you can do nothing.”
- TEMPERANCE
self-control AMP
(self-restraint) Sometimes
while witnessing, the demons in the unbelievers will try to make you
upset and angry so that you will leave them alone and not bother them
anymore. If you are called
a hypocrite or critical, accusatory words are spoken, it is so
tempting to want to retaliate. But
if you want to be a godly witness, you have to use self-control
through humbling yourself and forgiving them.
You may have to be silent and say nothing for 30 seconds while
you forgive and listen to God’s voice.
Then you can walk in love and respond in a loving peaceful way
instead of repaying evil for evil.
Remember that Romans 12:19-21 says, “Beloved, avenge not
yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath:
for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay,” saith
the Lord. Therefore if
thine enemy hunger, feed him; if
he thirst, give him drink: for
in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head (which means
“killing him with kindness”).
Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Be Sure to Witness with the LOVE
of God - Use Loving Boldness (still need to edit -
check scriptures)
When you go to the Store pages and read about the
specific descriptions about each train tract, I inserted an exhortation on each
description: Use loving kindness or loving boldness. I did
that because I know that these object evangelism icebreakers need to be
delivered or spoken with boldness and at the same time, loving
kindness. So I created this page to reiterate that point about how
important it is to witness with the love of God. The tone of voice you use will
either make you or break you. Here are some scriptures to help renew your
mind:
Romans 2:4 It is the kindness of the Lord that
leads people to repentance
I Cor. 13: 1 -2 When I speak with the tongues of men and of
angels and have not love, I am a banging gong or a clashing symbol
They
will know we are Christians by our love.
Only on rare occasions will someone need a harsh word to turn
them back to the Lord. It is so important to be led by the spirit of God.
Some Christians that are on fire for God get so excited about
witnessing using the gifts of the spirit - like the gift of healing or a
prophetic word...That is wonderful and I am so thankful for the gifts of the
spirit! Let us also remember that the most important thing when witnessing
is to walk in the fruits of the spirit and show them the love of
God.
Unbelievers really need caring Christians who will take the
time to listen to them. That is why I encourage people to "leave
margins in their schedule" If you do not have time to
really talk and witness, then planting seeds of God's word into their hearts is
the next best thing that you can d do. The Word of God is sharper than any
two edged sword (Heb. 4:12).
When Witnessing, Be Quick to Forgive!
Also, when witnessing to an unbeliever, they very well may
offend you. It is so important to be quick to forgive, especially when
they say something slanderous or falsely accuse God or your favorite preacher or
pastor. If you quickly forgive their slanderous remark, then you can still
witness to them and help them see the truth about God's love. As a
prayer partner at Oral Roberts Ministries, once in a while, a caller will be
offended at something even before I get on the phone with them. They are
already carrying a spirit of offense. So when they something kind of mean
to me, I have to quickly forgive them and then pray an anointed prayer over
them for whatever they are requesting prayer for. That is walking in
the fruits of the spirit and being an effective minister of God. So to be
an effective evangelist for the Lord, you must also learn to quickly forgive.
When you forgive, you are not letting them get off the hook. You are
actually putting them on God's hook and allowing God to deal with
them instead of you. When you forgive you take the situation OUT of your
weak hands and you put the situation IN God's strong capable hands and let Him
handle it all and right the wrongs that have been done to you.
Remember that vengeance is the Lord's and He will repay (Rom 12:19). Also
remember Matt. 6:14. You must forgive others that sin against you, false
accuse you or slander you if you want God to forgive you of your own sins.
I
know that the truth of the Gospel itself can be an offense to people because
they do not want to change or repent of their sins. So do not feel
condemned if they get mad or offended at you. If you witness with the love
of God, in a gentle tone of voice you may be able to ward off their
offense. It depends on the person. Just remember Proverbs 18:19 that
"a brother offended is harder to win than a city, so do your best to
present the Gospel in a way that will not offend people. Just do
your best. That is all that you can do. Do not be discouraged and
stop witnessing because someone got offended. That is what the devil wants
you to do - to quit witnessing! So don't quit. Keep witnessing and
keep on doing good. God will reward you.
|
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII