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Some Advice for Witnessing

No Christian should be timid or hesitant about witnessing because God will stand by him.
He has nothing to fear, for Jesus assured us that All power is given unto me in heaven in earth
(Matthew 28:18) and He promised, Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost
has come upon you
. . . (Acts 1:8)

Every Christian must witness, and can be assured that God will go with him, and if he knows
some basic rules in witnessing, he will become an effective witness.

Leading a soul to Christ may be broken down into four steps.
They are: the approach, instructions, appeal, and the follow-up.

The witness should not stick to any one method.
Every witness must remain alert and open to the direction of the Holy Spirit.
And every witness can be more effective if he follows some fundamental rules
which have been proven to be effective.
The Holy Spirit can more effectively use a witness who is prepared than one who is not.

The Rules of Approach

1. Understand the nature of witnessing.
A witness is one who tells what he has seen and experienced.
He does not argue.
When he begins arguing, he ceases to be a witness and becomes an attorney.

Let him tell the story of Jesus and his power to save.
Let him tell others how Jesus saved him and what Jesus has meant to him
since his conversion.
Let him point out the difference in his present life and his former way of living
and show how God has worked a miracle in his life.
If he does this, no matter how inexperienced he may be, he will be used by the Holy Spirit
to create a desire on the part of lost person for a similar experience with God.
At this point the witness may repeat in simple words how Jesus
came into his own heart.

2. Secure knowledge of the prospect.
The witness must have adequate knowledge about the person before he is contacted.
Get the information from a census card, his family, friends,
and contacts made by previous visitors.

The best approach is no approach at all until the witness has knowledge enough
to make a vital contact.
If a witness contacts a person of whom he has no knowledge in a public place
or even in the home, let him draw him out in conversation until he does know some facts.
Listen carefully to the prospect.
Let him talk.
Take it from there.

The souls of men are so precious that we must be careful not to blunder in our approach.
We must be patient in our approach and give the power and the truth of God's Word time to settle
into the person's mind and heart.
Some may grasp it immediately while others may not.
All people are not alike.
The background of the person often determines the speed with which he may grasp
the saving truth of God.
This knowledge will save the witness from many grievous mistakes.

3. Have a correct attitude.
The witness must be humble.
Humility and sincerity go together.
The witness must be humble and sincere.
The lost person will resent the crude, holier-than-thou attitude.
God admonished witnesses, “Gird yourselves with humility to serve one another.”
(1 Peter 5:5)
If one cannot talk about revealed truth in humility, it is evident that the truth is not in him.
John, the Baptist, was humble when he said he was not worthy to unlatch the shoes of Jesus,
but he was bold enough to call unrepentant churchmen “a generation of vipers.”
Courage and genuine humility are compatible.

4. Do not condemn.
A witness once asked a lost man, “Are you a Christian?”
The man replied, “No, I have never been converted.”
How old are you?” asked the witness.
The prospect replied. “I am 40 years old.”
You mean to tell me you are 40 years old and have never joined the church?
Man, where have you been all the time?
You are a heathen here in a land of Christianity etc
.”

This spirit of condemnation is foreign to the Spirit of Christ.
This spirit of condemnation is sure to fail in personal evangelism.

When they brought the poor derelict taken in adultery to Jesus and threw her down
at His feet, He did not accuse her.
Accusation is the work of Satan, not the work of Christ.
The witness is doing the work of Satan when he accuses.
Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn thee: Go thy way and sin no more.”
(John 8:11)

The effective witness is motivated by love.
The love of Christ constrains him.
He is possessed with a shepherd's heart.
He does not go out to drive men into the folds of the Lord,
but he goes out in a spirit to woo them and lead them like a shepherd.

5. Begin at the point of interest.
Almost every person has one great central interest.
Find out what it is and begin there.
This was the method of Jesus, when He approached the woman at the well,
He began with a point of interest.
He began with the thing with which she was momentarily concerned.
He began by asking her for a drink of water (John 4:7).

When He asked her for a drink of water, it obligated Him to her.
This is wonderful wisdom.
She knew about water.
It was one her problems.
She had to walk a long distance outside the city to bring it.
She was looked down on by the other women and was forced to come to draw water at noon
rather than the late afternoon, in order to shun the critical glances of the women.
Jesus used water to point up the greatest need of her soul.
As witnesses we must study the account of how Jesus won the woman
in the fourth chapter of John.

If a prospect's chief sport is fishing, it would be good to talk about fishing.
If it is sports, then talk about sports.
Most people are deeply interested in their children.
They care so much for their children that they will make great sacrifices
to give them every possible advantage.
Many lost people has been won to Christ by a wise witness who began by talking
about their children.
We should make it extremely important to know all about their children.
When the person sees that the witness in truly interested in his or her family,
that person will appreciate the witness, and will be more inclined to listen to his testimony.
The witness may point out how important it is for the parent to be a Christian.

6. Use tact.
Tact means the tender touch.
Tact is saying the right thing in the correct spirit.
We learn how to be tactful by studying the approach of others and by our own experience.
Experience is the best teacher.

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