PRINCIPALS OF GROWTH (witnessing) FOUR
Greetings in the name of Jesus:
To all who are borne of the blood and the Spirit of Christ it may seem like a fundamental thing to speak of our relationship with Christ, but I can tell you that because of a lack of spiritual growth most people within the church become petrified to ever say anything to anyone who is not of Christ about what Jesus has done for them or to ever bear any kind of open witness to their personal salvation.
We are dealing with the FOURTH PRINCIPAL OF CHRISTIAN GROWTH. What we are really dealing with is the testimony of what people have both seen and heard concerning Christ in their own lives, and from the looks of it most people within the church have never or have rarely had any personal experience with Jesus Christ on a first hand basis.
Having times within the church for someone other than the pastor to speak words of wisdom to the church is rare because we are always so afraid that someone will try to take over the service or say something that is not of the approved doctrine in the church. We should be very pleased to have the chance to hear some of the testimonies of fellow Christians so that the body of Christ can be edified by other Christians they may rarely get to hear from. It also gives us within the church a chance to give witness publicly in a format that is safe for us to grow in. Instead of being humiliated and scorned by the world around us for perhaps trying and failing to be the best we have an opportunity to fail perhaps, but to be loved and supported instead in a way that will help us to get stronger and learn. We all learn the most by doing ourselves those things that we may fear to do, and the whole purpose for the church is to provide a safe way to grow and become better at our witness of what Christ has done for us.
One of the very interesting things that I found out about in my life was that God does so much for me on a daily basis that I could use as a testimony if I would choose to, but so much of the time those little things go without any thanks being given to God at all! What would happen if we made a choice to tell someone about what God has done for you, even in the smallest of ways? That is exactly how our witness and testimony for God starts. It is just like telling someone of the best movie you saw just the other day! Did you hear about what God did for someone will soon turn into " Just have to tell you what God did for me"! It is much easier to find ways to give witness for God than we think. In Acts 26:12-29 we read that the real witness is of a person telling someone else what he has seen and heard with his own eyes and ears; it is not hear-say evidence, but personal experience. In Romans 1:14-16 finds Paul telling of three "I AM'S" of witnessing in that we must be persuaded that God is Able to keep that which we have Committed unto Him.
We have a lot of work to do within the church to get new Christians ready to be able to witness for Christ. It is much more than simply teaching the word and hoping that people understand; it is showing them how. May you richly bless God through your life in Him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
To all who are borne of the blood and the Spirit of Christ it may seem like a fundamental thing to speak of our relationship with Christ, but I can tell you that because of a lack of spiritual growth most people within the church become petrified to ever say anything to anyone who is not of Christ about what Jesus has done for them or to ever bear any kind of open witness to their personal salvation.
We are dealing with the FOURTH PRINCIPAL OF CHRISTIAN GROWTH. What we are really dealing with is the testimony of what people have both seen and heard concerning Christ in their own lives, and from the looks of it most people within the church have never or have rarely had any personal experience with Jesus Christ on a first hand basis.
Having times within the church for someone other than the pastor to speak words of wisdom to the church is rare because we are always so afraid that someone will try to take over the service or say something that is not of the approved doctrine in the church. We should be very pleased to have the chance to hear some of the testimonies of fellow Christians so that the body of Christ can be edified by other Christians they may rarely get to hear from. It also gives us within the church a chance to give witness publicly in a format that is safe for us to grow in. Instead of being humiliated and scorned by the world around us for perhaps trying and failing to be the best we have an opportunity to fail perhaps, but to be loved and supported instead in a way that will help us to get stronger and learn. We all learn the most by doing ourselves those things that we may fear to do, and the whole purpose for the church is to provide a safe way to grow and become better at our witness of what Christ has done for us.One of the very interesting things that I found out about in my life was that God does so much for me on a daily basis that I could use as a testimony if I would choose to, but so much of the time those little things go without any thanks being given to God at all! What would happen if we made a choice to tell someone about what God has done for you, even in the smallest of ways? That is exactly how our witness and testimony for God starts. It is just like telling someone of the best movie you saw just the other day! Did you hear about what God did for someone will soon turn into " Just have to tell you what God did for me"! It is much easier to find ways to give witness for God than we think. In Acts 26:12-29 we read that the real witness is of a person telling someone else what he has seen and heard with his own eyes and ears; it is not hear-say evidence, but personal experience. In Romans 1:14-16 finds Paul telling of three "I AM'S" of witnessing in that we must be persuaded that God is Able to keep that which we have Committed unto Him.
We have a lot of work to do within the church to get new Christians ready to be able to witness for Christ. It is much more than simply teaching the word and hoping that people understand; it is showing them how. May you richly bless God through your life in Him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
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