Posts Tagged ‘witness’

Prepare to let out a gasp—–I don’t always care about the lost. Phew, OK—got that out.

So, what does that mean and why does it matter?

If you know anything about On Fire For Jesus, you have probably heard about my “heart for the lost”. And if you’re new to On Fire For Jesus, you will quickly understand what I’m talking about. The concept of concern, or heart, or caring for ‘lost’ people is pervasive throughout my blog. It is expressed as a primary (if not THE primary) motivator for evangelism.

But sometimes I not only don’t care about the lost, I have disdain and contempt because of their general attitude toward believers. I don’t mind being honest and admitting that. Christians are consistently the only people group who anyone can safely ridicule without fear of retaliation. Try commenting negatively about any non-Christian special interest group, religion, “campus” club, ideology, nationality, etc. –then see what happens. Try the same with Christians and it’s not only OK—it’s most often encouraged. So naturally, it’s easy to project ill-will toward those who propagate the negative stereotypes of Christians and, more seriously, mock God. The warrior in me loses patience knowing that they speak in ignorance about that which they do not know.

None of this should come as a surprise though—Christ did tell us this would happen (If anything—all the ire toward us believers serves to strengthen my faith; not undermine it in any way). However, that doesn’t make it any easier to know you literally have a corner on Truth and yet so many vehemently reject it!

Of course, our job is not to get angry or frustrated, but to share the gospel in love. OK—but we’re in the flesh, remember…human still and far from perfect. So what could possibly serve as a motivator to evangelize when our attitudes toward unbelievers are at their lowest?

The answer is at once simple and yet so complex:

“For the LORD your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe.

“He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing.  (Deut. 10:17, 18 NASB)

God assures us that He will be exalted among the nations and in all the earth (Psalm 46:10). The power that enables us to reach out to a lost and suffering world is the same power that can motivate us to do so. When we lose patience with unbelievers because of their attitudes toward God and His followers, our motivation should be God and His glory. After all, the work we do is for His Kingdom, not our kingdom.

What we seek to exalt is the Glory of God and the awesome wonder of the Creator of the universe. Ultimately, it’s about more than preventing our friends and acquaintances from going to Hell, it’s about lifting up Jesus and what He has done. When I can focus on that instead of my frustration, I find my motivation to share the good news not only returns, but is made stronger and more authentic.

It is possible to be icy toward the lost and on fire for the Lord.

Remember-it’s all about Him, not us.

Being a witness of Jesus Christ is a mindset. If you haven’t already done so, go to Gethsemane, drop to your knees, sweat great drops of blood at the thought of sharing your faith, and then say, “Not my will but Yours be done.” That will give you the mindset to deny yourself and daily pick up the cross. You only have to bear the reproach of the cross for a short time. The day will come when you will exchange it for a crown. So if you have dealt with your fears in the garden, every time fear knocks at the door, you can send faith to answer it. When your cowardly cringing heart says, “You can’t do this,” you simply ignore its whispering and say, “I dealt with you in the garden. Now I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

When a telemarketer calls your home, you will be tempted to get rid of him by saying, “I’m busy at the moment, so give me your home phone number and I will call you back later tonight.” But you resist temptation and think of God’s will, not yours. No doubt these poor folks get abused and hung up on, on a regular basis. So, let your little light shine through the phone. When he says, “My name is Greg. I have a real deal for you. It won’t cost you a thing. All I need is your name and address.” Say, “Hi Greg. It’s good to hear from you. Have you been having a good day?” Listen to his reaction. Your genuine warmth will probably shock him. Then say, “May I ask you a few questions (he’s been trained to be congenial and will no doubt react positively)? Do you consider yourself to be a good person?” If you mess up, say, “Gotta go. Thanks for calling,” then hang up.

Don’t stay in the tomb of dead silence. Ask God to send His angels to roll the stone of fear away. Then come out of the tomb. Please. You are needed. It’s not as hard as you may think. Let me share with you a typical witnessing encounter.

A friend and I were recently in an appliance store. The assistant was very helpful. While he was serving us, I gave him a few tracts, for which he was genuinely grateful. One was “101 of the World’s Funniest One-liners.” He laughed as he read the cover. He also loved my business card. It is a tract that looks like a business card but it says, “Department of Annoyance…Director.” The back is in reverse, so that you have to go to a mirror to read it. When he looked at the back and turned it upside down to try and read it, I said, “Annoying huh?” He laughed again.

As we walked across the store, I thought, “If I care about this man, I will witness to him.” In came the excuses: “You can’t to this. You don’t have time. You shouldn’t do this in the store. He will be offended…blah, blah, blah, etc., ad infinitum.” I ignored the whisperings and said, “Those things I gave you were Gospel tracts.” He said, “Huh?” So I said, “They were Christian tracts. Have you had a Christian background?” He said, “Catholic.”

So I asked, “Do you consider yourself to be a good person?”

“Yes.”

“Can I ask you a few questions to see if that’s true?”

“Sure.”

“Have you ever told a lie?”

“Yeah.”

“What does that make you?”

“A liar.”

“Have you ever stolen something?”

“Yes.”

“What does that make you?”

“A thief.”

“Jesus said, ‘Whoever looks at a woman to lust after her, has committed adultery with her already in his heart.’ Have you ever done that?”

“Yes.”

“Will you be innocent or guilty on the Day of Judgment?”

“Guilty.”

“Will you go to Heaven or Hell?”

“Somewhere in-between.”

“There’s no such place.”

“Hell then.”

His eyes were wide and his face was sober, so I said, “Do you know what God did so that you wouldn’t have to go to Hell?” He said that he didn’t, so I took him through the Gospel. When he heard about God’s forgiveness, and His gift of everlasting life, his facial expression changed, and he said, “Wow!” There was no offense. None of my fears were realized.

I asked him if he had a Bible, and then left him with some more literature. All this happened in about two minutes.

Join me at my next class of way of the master @ Warehouse 727 Church and you can learn how to do this and see how easy it is to do!