If you are anything like me, you struggle at times to be an effective witness. As pastor I witnessed every week, taught evangelism in 4 seminaries, served as State Chairman of Evangelism in North Carolina, help teach 3,000 persons in Evangelism Explosion (EE) and mentor guys to evangelize. Still I often fail to be the best witness. Ex: Too late for neighbor.
However, I have been greatly encouraged this week as I revisited John 4 and observed how Jesus, the Master Witness, demonstrated the Witness God uses:
1) God uses witnesses, above all, who are excited about Jesus (John 4:28).
2) God uses witnesses who are willing to overcome cultural, racial, and religious barriers: A woman, immoral, Samaritan (4:7-9). Ex: I won a Jewish doctor.
3) God uses witnesses who know how to open a conversation (4:7) – “Give me a drink.”
4) God uses witnesses who whet the appetite of the lost for what he offers (4:10, 13-14).
5) God uses witnesses who confront the sinner with her sin without running her off (4:16-18). Ex: How I blew it with my Jewish neighbor.
6) God uses witnesses who see the lost soul as more important than food or comfort (4:31, 34). Ex: Jesus was never too tired to witness to people. Ex: Doris and India.
7) God uses witnesses who won’t let the lost change the subject (4:19-20).
8) God uses witnesses who witness of Jesus, not his denomination, pastor, Sunday school class, etc (4:20).
9) God uses witnesses who are willing to sow as well as reap (4:37).
10) God uses witnesses who know the harvest is today, not tomorrow (4:35). Ex: Lost neighbor moved before I visited him. See also Matt. (37-38).
11) God uses witnesses who never use the same approach twice but always tailors it to each individual. Ex: Moral Nicodemus (John 3) vs. Immoral Woman (John 4).
12) God uses witnesses who keep the “door open” if he fails to win the first time, etc. Thank the individual for their time, invite him to church, tell him you’re praying, and ask him if you might return.
JESUS’ USE OF THE 5 LAWS OF PERSUASION IN JOHN 4:
1) ATTENTION: Jesus began where the woman was and got her attention – “Give me a drink” (4:7b).
2) INTEREST: “If you knew who was asking you for water, you would ask Me and I would give you living water (4:10).
3) DESIRE: “He who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water I give will never thirst” (4:13-14). Now she desired ardently what Jesus offered. “Give me this water so I will never thirst again…” (4:15).
4) CONVICTION: “Go call your husband” (4:16). Jesus put his finger on her sin in a way she could not deny.
5) THE CLOSE: The woman spoke of the Messiah to come. Jesus speaks, “I am He” (4:26). Now she confronts the living Christ. She is brought to the point of decision. She must either accept or reject Him. She accepted immediately, put down her water pots, and rushed into the city to tell all she could of the good news (4:39), which prepared the way for Jesus to win even more (4:41).
In this passage we see a beautiful piece of the witnessing of the Master Soul-Winner of all time, and Jesus commands that we follow Him and this certainly includes in our witnessing.
We should ask ourselves the following 4 questions about witnessing:
1) Did I fail to get their attention or to hold their interest? If so, why and what can I do to change this?
2) How much desire was created for knowing Christ and being a part of His Kingdom? How can this be increased?
3) Was the person convicted concerning his sins and his need for forgiveness? If not, why not?
4) Did I confront the person clearly with his need to make a decision for Christ and to commit his life to him in repentance and faith? If not, how can I do this better next time?[1]
THE URGENCY OF BEING A FAITHFUL WITNESS TODAY: 5 FRIGHTFUL FACTS FROM THE BOOK WHICH CANNOT LIE:
1) Everybody is not going to Heaven (Matt. 7:13-14).
2) More people are going to Hell than to Heaven (Matt. 7:13-14).
3) Millions expecting to go to Heaven will discover in Judgment that they are going to Hell (Matt. 7:21-24).
4) One of three events would end anyone’s chances of being saved: Death, Hardening of the heart, Second Coming of Christ (Heb. 9:27; 4:7; Matt. 24:44).
5) Now (not tomorrow) is the Day of Salvation (2 Cor. 6:2), so we must witness today.
NOTE: EVANGELISM EXPLOSION, AKA EE, is the most widely used evangelism model in the world, having been used in over 100 countries. This model is built on the 12 principles above.
Q & A:
1) If you’ve lost excitement about Jesus, how can you get it back? (Rev. 2:1-5)
2) Do you have cultural barriers you need to overcome with someone you have contact with?
3) Name some ways you contact unbelievers and establish common interest so you can share Christ.
4) How quickly should we begin to ask the lost of their spiritual condition?
5) When should we back off?
6) How do you keep the “door open” even if your prospect did not respond positively?
7) What are some ways you can sow the seeds of the gospel?
8) If you absolutely have no desire to share Jesus, where are you spiritually?
9) When is Jesus proud of us? When is He ashamed of us? (Mark 8:38)
10) When did you last win someone to Christ? When did you last try?
[1] D. James Kennedy, Evangelism Explosion, revised edition (Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, 1970), 47.