This week's Bible Study seminar by Eagles Communications focuses on the process of witnessing and the development of a personal evangelism strategy.
The following video clip provides an example of what it means to testify Christ. Someone cared ... someone shared.
Process & Strategy
Start with prayer
Build meaningful relationships
Understand the person in witnessing
Gauge the person's level of knowledge, attitude, and behavior
Extend the person's lattitude of acceptance
Lesson & Application
One method cannot fit all. Witnessing is not about using a specific method of approach to preach to people about Christ, such as the Four Spiritual Laws. It is about caring, influencing, and connecting relationally. Do not attempt to bring an old man or lady to a Christian 'rock' concert and expect him or her to get converted. It may bursts the old person's ear drum and he or she may never be able to hear the Gospel again!
Connecting Relationally
Enhance relationship by meeting felt need
Expose and explain Chrstianity to them
Clarify misconceptions
Express spiritual concepts meaningfully
Share the Gospel sensitively
Share testimonies or experiences of God
Don't force a win or get into a win-lose situation
Why is passion important in witnessing? This week's Bible Study seminar by Eagles Communications focuses on the need for passion to sustain enthusiasm in a witnessing. Scriptural references: Acts 10:23-48 Peter's Conversion to Witnessing - A Biblical Model. Witnessing is meant to be an exciting and joyful experience for every Christian, but the task of sharing the Gospel has become rather burdensome to some nowadays. Why is this so? The primary reasons are fear and lack of passion. We are afraid to share our faith because we have no guts. We are afraid because we do not know what to say and how to start. We are afraid to offend people, face rejection, and lose face. We are afraid people will ridicule and persecute us if we witness to them. We are afraid of answering sensitive questions about Christianity. We are afraid we have no time to share Christ with our friends. We are afraid to admit we are Christians. We are afraid of being a hypocrite because we do not live out our faith. We are cowards when it comes to witnessing. There are many reasons for our fears and prejudices. Fears are real and the way to overcome fear is passion and obedience. How do we then learn to cultivate passion in witnessing?
Conviction of the Message
Compassion for People
Concern for the Situation
Commitment to the Relationship
Communicate Christ
Connection to God
Conviction Peter's transformation and boldness was the result of deep conviction of the Gospel. Compassion Peter traveled and taught, and always include his itinerary with witnessing. Passion must accompany compassion because passion without compassion can lead to misdirected action. Compassion helps us refocus away from our self-interests. Concern Peter was cognizant and he responded spontaneously to touch people at their point of need. Commitment Peter's commitment to the centurion was unprecedented. He overcame cultural, religious, and political prejudice to witness Christ. Communicate Peter communicated Jesus' earthly life to non-Jews to those who may not be familiar about Jesus, simply and unequivocally, before speaking about His death and resurrection, seizing on the situation and unashamedly share Christ spontaneously. Connection Peter bore witness with deep sensitivity to God by being willing to travel, willing to go, ready to share, and ready to baptize.
Lesson for this week's Bible Study on witnessing by Eagles Rendezvous focuses on setting the right perspective about witnessing. Scriptural reference is based on 1 Corinthians 2:1-5. According to the speaker Dr John Ng, "witnessing" in modern day's term, may be referred to as "sharing Christ winsomely, faithfully, sincerely in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the result to God." The essence of evangelism is therefore to bear witness about God, and witnessing is about God, what He has done in Christ to effect salvation. It is not human-effort alone, but is Spirit-prompted. A common misconception of witnessing is to package our message using 'superior wisdom' to present Christ to the world, such as the product box attraction shown in the video clip below.
How we see Jesus and our perspective of Christ will determine how we show Him in our lives. Being weak does not disqualify one from being a witness. It validates and manifests God's power and not ours. It is through weakness that God's power is manifested (1 Corinthians 12:10). It is not with wise and persuasive words, so that our faith may not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.
The message of the Cross which is foolishness to the wise is the saving power to those who respond in faith.
