Power of Our Witness

Attention Getter:

I love the fellowship we’re getting here don’t you?

I wonder however, when you’re going through your day to day busy lives and have conversations with non-Christians and topics or subjects come up that go against biblical principles or values how do you react, confront and respond to them?

What if I told you that you’re probably reacting to, confronting and responding to them all wrong?

Introduction

When you hear the word witness what comes to mind?

Do you think about telling people about the gospel?

Do you think about outreach and missions?

Witness is far more than just telling people about Jesus or doing outreach and missions. Our witness is in how we live our lives, how we communicate with other people, and how we react to those conversations.

So you don’t think I’m pointing fingers I’m going to tell on myself.

If I tell on myself does that make me a tattle tell?

About two weeks ago I was in a conversation with someone about various things going on in life and when he brought up how he lived according to something that went against Scripture and couldn’t figure out why he struggled so much I brought biblical principles into the conversation. He did not like the response and said “whatever, you do you and I’ll do me.”

Now if you want to make me controversial, that is the saying that will probably do it faster than any. I responded by confronting the idea of relative truth by stating there is only one truth and anything else even if there is a grain of that truth in it is a false belief. That angered him to the point that we could not continue our conversation. My actions and confrontation even though they were done out of love and meant for his good caused my witness to be destructive and any other Christian who comes along after me will have a much harder if not impossible conversation with him.

Transition

Our witness is the most powerful tool we have for Christ and that power can either bring people to Christ or push them away from Christ.

Unfortunately for a long time Christians have done a better job of turning people away from Christ that bringing them to Christ.

And a lot of that falls on the leaders of the church for at least the last 60 years.

Jeremiah 10:21 makes clear why Christianity has been declining in America.

Jeremiah 10:21 ESV

21 For the shepherds are stupid and do not inquire of the Lord; therefore they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered.

Some of you are too young to remember this, but some of you remember when your mother or grandmother would send you to get a switch? The worst part of that entire process was coming back with that switch, because at that age you cannot help swing the switch through the air. Hearing it whistle through the air and knowing the swats that were coming with it brought tears to your eyes and by the time you got back to your mother or grandmother you had tears in your eyes and begging in repentance that you wouldn’t do it again just please don’t swat me with the switch. Mothers and grandmothers knew that justice must be done despite your fear-felt repentance and issued just discipline anyway.

That is how I felt the last week knowing as a leader of the church I was part of the problem. We always seek God’s will in our teaching, preaching, counsel, and ministries, but I think far too many times we allow ourselves to believe the emotions we feel about our strong convictions of things are God’s will instead of hearing His voice. The result of my being convicted by the Spirit is what you’re going to hear today.

Objective

Proposition:

Response:

Christians can overcome the world’s negative view of them

by responding to them respectfully with:

Prayer

Wisdom

Love

Keyword: responding

Rationale

Respond with Prayer

Colossians 4:2–4 NIV

2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.

Do you ask God to open doors so that you and we in the congregation and the rest of the church body may declare the gospel? Not only declare the gospel, but make it clear and that how we speak be clear?

In your prayer do you stop and listen for God to respond? Do you patiently wait with unwary watchful eyes for God to respond or give you an opportunity? Do you praise God for that opportunity giving Him thanks?

We need to be praying that God will kick open the doors so the gospel can be proclaimed clearly all over the Bitterroot Valley, the State of Montana, the United States, and internationally all over the world.

Instead we pray for God to do this or do that and expect Him to fix all our problems and all our countries problems.

It’s almost like we think God said here you drive this bus.

Then we can’t understand why the number of Christians are declining and the world around us is going crazy.

We forget to ask God what He wants. We go to God we say, hey when you get a moment I want this or that to be or to happen.

Oh, We say God is in control, but then act like we forget God’s in control the moment it leaves our lips.

God doesn’t just assure us He’s in control. He wants to make it clear He’s in control:

Ephesians 1:11 ESV

11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,

Ephesians 3:11 ESV

11 This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord,

Our lack of praying that He would bring people to us for His kingdom and for us to have the wisdom to make the gospel clear. Is the biggest problem we face.

Now, how effective is your prayer?

When you sit down and pray to God do you actually believe God will do what you have asked?

I’m not talking about your prayer that God would give you that 1 ton diesel dually you’ve been driving by everyday for the past six months. Or the million dollars you’ve been asking for the past 20 years.

And I’m not asking if you believe God can do what you asked. I’m pretty sure if I asked every one of you if God could do what we ask in prayers it would be a resounding 100% yes.

But how many of you when you pray actually believe God will do what you are praying for?

We like to play it off as God’s will was different than our prayers. Now, don’t get me wrong God is not going to and will not grant every prayer. But we have to believe in our hearts when we pray that we have sought God’s will and what we are praying for is in God’s will so He will do what we are asking of Him.

Are you praying God will bring people into your lives, the lives of others in the church so they can hear and respond to the gospel?

If not it’s probably a good time to start. If so then do you truly believe God has and will bring those people to you and to others in the church?

If you do not have that faith then what good is your prayer?

Jesus talked about the faith of a mustard seed and if our faith is so diminished that we cannot even believe God will bring people for us to witness to then we are in serious trouble.

When God does bring that person to you, are you prepared? Because our responsibility doesn’t stop there does it?

1 Peter 3:15 tells us:

1 Peter 3:15 ESV

15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,

We need to be prepared and respond with wisdom.

Respond with Wisdom

Colossians 4:5–6 NIV

5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

Paul tells us to be wise as we interact with our non-Christian friends and neighbors (outsiders). Now more than ever they are watching our every move, deed, word, social media post, and reaction to things around us.

No more walking out on the front porch in just your robe to get the news paper.

A wise person is watchful and careful about what they say and do in all aspects of their lives and especially in their interactions with non-believers.

This my brothers and sisters is our true witness to the world. No matter what we may tell people about the gospel and how it changes lives if they do not see the change and difference in our lives, which is our witness, they will never believe the gospel.

The wisdom Paul talks about here isn’t just a wisdom that gives us the answers to questions about our hope.

Ephesians 1:17 NIV

17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.

The wisdom is about our own response to the gospel message and how we are changed through the complete and full understanding of how much God loves us and loves the world. Yes, he even loves non-Christians.

That kind of understanding if we truly believe changes how we respond to non-Christians.

Paul understood that with the Spirit of wisdom comes transformation, the process of our sanctification, and that wisdom comes through knowing and loving God.

This is a recurring theme with Paul I’m not going to take you to all the passages but just listen to a couple of them.

Ephesians 1:9 NKJV

9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,

and earlier in this book:

Colossians 1:10 ESV

10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

It seems strange doesn’t it? We tend to think of wisdom as an aged person who has gathered much knowledge of the world.

And even relate it to an owl of all things.

Who came up with the idea to relate wisdom with an owl?

Wisdom here is also about knowledge, but it is a knowledge about God, about Christ, about the Holy Spirit. It is about the kind of knowledge we have with our loved ones.

I know my wife loves a 32 ounce English Breakfast Iced tea from Florence coffee, extra strong, bags squeezed out, left in the cup. I know that if I am going by there and want to please her I can get one or two of those teas and bring it to her. I know she likes to crotchet and can spend hours in a yarn shop. I know she doesn’t like BBQ sauce on anything I BBQ for her. I know she prefers Mayo over miracle whip. We truly get to know our spouses because we spend a lot of time with them and because we love them and they give us love in return we want to know all about them.

Do you know God that well? See the wisdom here isn’t an earthly wisdom that just doesn’t offend people. Wisdom is the love relationship we have with God that makes us want to get to know Him and do what pleases Him. We know God loves all people and if we are truly changed by the gospel we too will love all people.

If we love people we will respond with love.

Respond with Love

If we have spent time praying that God would give us and our brothers and sisters in Christ the Spirit of wisdom and we have gained that wisdom through our time in prayerful study of God’s word.

Then when it comes time to have those conversations about the hope we have it is much easier to present the truth with grace and love in a way that is “seasoned with salt.”

Paul’s phrase here “seasoned with salt” brings the connotation of being attractive and alluring to those we are speaking to.

I’m not talking about a social gospel where we change our message so they will be interested. Our conversation should always keep the truth without compromise, but we are to speak that truth kindly and lovingly so that it entices instead of offends.

I know how difficult it can be there are far too many times I would rather just punch someone in the face!

What???

They deserved it right? They were the ones being a jerk not me.

Then there are those that I would go out of my way just to say offensive things to. You know anyone like that?

The only way we can manage that kind of love is through grace.

Colossians 4:6 NIV

6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

Paul makes the meaning of the Greek word for grace “Charis” ambiguous here. It could mean either the grace God has shown us or it could mean human graciousness that we extend to others. I think the ambiguity is somewhat intentional as to say be humanly gracious with non-Christians and with the grace of God present the gospel message to them.

As a Christian living with Spiritual wisdom we should be showing them the grace God shows us. Now that doesn’t mean that we agree with their sin or excuse them to continue to live in sin. But it does mean that we have to be prepared for them to dismiss the gospel and allow them the freedom of their choice and we have to accept their choice (not their sin, but their choice).

Not by yelling at them as they or we walk away that they are going to hell and have a nice trip. Better bring a lot of ice water.

Unfortunately, and I say unfortunately because there are a few I would like to say that to, we never stop loving them, that grace continues to be extended as long as they have opportunity to respond to the gospel.

And guess what??? You just might be the person God sends back to them in their time.

I have a relationship with a person that comes to me and seeks what it is that I have that makes me be grateful even in the times I have struggles. Some of you know about some of the struggles that have come to Tami and I over the last 6 or seven years and many of you do not. I don’t have time to go into all of those struggles but suffice it to say they have been many and they have been some of the toughest things a person can face outside of complete persecution.

This person has seen how Tami and I have kept strong in the face of these and how we have been grateful to God for the many blessings we have in and through these struggles. He will ask how we can make it through and listen to how I give it all to Jesus and will seek the understanding for a while and then he will just disappear for months or even a year only to return when he faces turmoil and seek answers again. This relationship has gone on for several years and as he comes and goes he learns more and even starts to show signs of growth in knowing Christ. I pray that someday he will find his place in Christ and become a disciple.

Conclusion

Review Objective and Rationale

Christians can overcome the world’s negative view of them

by responding to them respectfully with:

Prayer

Wisdom

Love

We should first remember that every action we do and word we say is part of our witness to a lost and broken world.

Unfortunately we have started to act more like Israel than Jesus. We tend to present ourselves to the world as more sinless and confront their sin with condemnation. They get the impression we think we are better than them because we do not give them the love and grace they deserve as bearers of the image of God.

Responding with prayer comes in the form of asking for God’s preordained intervention be passed by and through us. We pray for God to bring people to us or place them in our path that we may share the gospel with them. We should pray for this everyday not only for ourselves, but that God would do that for every true believers in the world.

Understand that could take days, weeks, months, or even years of building a relationship and witnessing through our daily lives how the gospel changes and transforms us before we have the opportunity to share the gospel.

When God provides the opportunity for us to share the gospel do so with the wisdom that comes from fully knowing and understanding the mystery that is in Christ Jesus. We must know God so well that we understand His love for us and for those who are lost so we speak in a way that does not compromise the truth, but also does not push them away from Jesus.

We must speak kindly with the grace Jesus showed us when He died on the cross and seasoned with salt.

We must show them the love of Christ that is imparted to us through the Holy Spirit we have living in us. That means continually showing them grace and mercy every time they reject our message even if they become hostile towards us.

That’s really hard right? I don’t know about you but that instantly makes me bristle. The ire rises up and I want to say some not so Christian things in response.

I’m sure you’re not like that. You always have everything under control calm, cool, collected, and loving. Right???

OK back to reality.

When they attack our values and we just respond with a love full of grace and allow them to make their God given right to choose. One day they may be the one God sends you back to so they may receive the gospel and believe instead of reject.

Jesus said love God and love your neighbor fulfill all the Law and the Prophets and Paul when discussing the fruits of the Spirit recognizes this when he says “against such things there is no law.”

Even if they are not ever going to receive the gospel as truth our actions of love full of grace disarms their ability to attack our faith in Christ.

Application

A couple years ago my sister passed away from cancer. We had borrowed some tables and chairs from the church for a celebration of life ceremony and my nephew was bringing the tables back in his pickup. I will mention that he is not a believer yet and when he arrived we spent a long time in conversation. He was thankful that our church allowed us to borrow the tables but he couldn’t understand the Christian faith.

He said they think they are so great and just try to push their religion onto everyone and force them to accept their religion. They claim it to be so great and loving but they have done so many unloving things to people.

I told him I couldn’t answer for those who have done bad things to him and that true belief in Christ isn’t about a religion. It is about a relationship with a Holy and just God who wants to have a relationship with us.

It is because God loves us so much and has given me a grace I don’t deserve that I want to tell everyone that wants to hear about it. I would not and do not push it upon anyone because it has to be their own personal choice to believe or not.

He said, but most of the people who are Christians that have talked to me tell me one thing and then do another. They say how it changes a life but they cheat people in business and overcharge where they don’t need to and that bothers me.

I said that bothers me to and if I know a Christian that is doing that kind of stuff I will confront them about their behavior and hold them accountable for it. We are called to love everyone and to treat them with a love that is above our own.

I told him that if we are truly doing and being the Christians Jesus wants us to be we will live a life that shows the love of Christ. But we are still humans and we still sin and still treat people badly from time to time and we need forgiveness in those times. We are not perfect, but we try to reconcile relationships we may have damaged and have forgiveness in our hearts.

He goes that sounds a lot different than what has been presented to me.

I said look here’s the thing we as Christians are changed by the Holy Spirit and you know the changes that have happened in me personally. We grow to love people in ways we could not do without Christ in our lives. We want people to know and believe in Christ so we tell them about it when they ask. All we can do is tell them about Christ it is up to them to believe it or not. If you don’t believe then our relationship doesn’t change and I am still going to love you anyway and that would be true even if you weren’t my nephew.

He said now that is a church I could go to. I tried to engage him a bit further on what the gospel truly was, but he said maybe another time. We have not had a chance to get back together to revisit that conversation, but I am praying for the opportunity for that to happen.

I hope and pray that this message convicts you as much as it has me. I hope that the next time you want to respond to someone who is attacking our Christian values and morals in anger or with confrontational language that the Holy Spirit will convict you and you will step back, take a breath, and respond in truth with a love full of grace that leads them closer to Christ and not pushing them further away.

I’m here to tell you if we want to change the community, society, country, and world it will not be done through human laws and confrontational actions. It can only be done by introducing people to Jesus Christ and allowing the Holy Spirit to transform them from within. Enough Christians sanctified in Christ and transformed by the Holy Spirit changes communities, societies, countries, and the world.

Prayer

Lord, I give us the desire to pray for and seek your will in all things around us and give us the urge to spend time in prayer with you while we study your word so we may have the wisdom that only comes from knowing you and your love for all the world. Give us the patience, kindness, and peace of knowing you’re in control so we may share your message to the world with a love full of the grace you showed us when you sent your son to die on the cross for us. Remove the anger, spite, pride, and vengeance that rises up in us and replace it with you love, patience, kindness and peace that we may be the witness to the world you have called us to be in all things we say and do. In Jesus name I pray. Amen!!