We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:3, NIV)
Do you get excited when you learn something new that really helps your golf game? …. that makes it easier to perform a certain shot …. that boosts your confidence on the golf course? Are you excited about sharing this new discovery with your golf buddies?
Most of us love to share good news. And there is no better news than the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As a matter of fact, the word gospel means “good news” or “good message” or “glad tidings”. In Greek the word is evangel, from which we get the words evangelism and evangelist – the messenger of good news.
Jesus instructs his disciples in the final two verses of Matthew’s gospel to go and make disciples and to teach them to walk in obedience to Christ. As followers of Jesus, we are walking testimonies of his work in our lives. We can demonstrate through our personalities and lives what the grace of the Lord can accomplish. Witnessing is sharing the good news. It is not merely an activity; it is a way of life. Christians do not do witnessing; they are witnesses – good or bad.
We don’t need to have all the answers before we can be effective at witnessing. That thought is from the pit of hell and smells like smoke. 1 John 1:3 explains that everyone who has Christ as Savior has had a personal experience with him that can be shared. No one can argue with our own personal experience. The blind man whom Jesus healed in John 9 had little or no theological training, but he was able to relate simply and effectively the facts of his experience; “I was blind, and now I see.”
In Mark 5:1-20 we read the account of Jesus healing a man possessed by a demon. As Jesus was getting into the boat to leave, the man begged the Lord to go with him, but Jesus sent him home to his family instructing him to “tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how he has had mercy on you”. The man obeyed and a region of ten cities learned of the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ from his first-hand account.
According to a 2021 survey, only 22 percent of Americans attend church or synagogue every week, compared to 31 percent who never attend. COVID has had a large impact on this statistic as only two in three of those who attended regularly pre-COVID have returned to church following the lifting of restrictions. As Christ-followers our lights will burn brightly in a dark world.
God has no Plan B. Salvation is found in no one else but the Lord Jesus, for there is no other name by which we must be saved. Be ready to speak of him in any situation. Know the essentials of the good news; Jesus lived, he died, he rose again. Plan and practice how to share, then pray and take advantage of the opportunities God gives you.
PRAYER – Father, please make me a messenger of your good news. Give me courage and boldness so that I cannot help speaking about what I have seen and heard.