How to Witness B

You can't preach the good news until you tell the management. You can't preach gracelessly understand law and they'll never understand mercy unless they understand judgment. So you have to talk about the law then you talk about the grace of God, not you affirm then having talk about that. The need that they should repent of their sin. Jesus came and his message was repent for the kingdom. How do you make the most of those opportunities for evangelism.

If you ever worry about your witness. If you're not sure how to share the gospel. You don't want to miss today's broadcast. It's a unique addition of grace to you that's going to answer some of the most common questions people have about evangelism questions that may come up when you talk about your faith. It's part of John MacArthur's current study called spiritual boot camp now to field the first question from his audience hears John another question in what's obvious or false the witness, but what of the of the elements that make an witness effective but important question Paul because at some of us have tried to witness and we walked back from that occasion. We sat there must've been a better way right. I mean them.

Then another approach is turned off and I was only on step one. What we really need to understand about witnessing our let me give you a broad picture.

First of basically the corporate testimony of the church is foundational for example you you attend a church right and the reputation of that church in the community really sets the foundation for whether anybody's going to listen to what you have to say for example let's say you attend a church where they are having it fight.

The churches split. The pastor ran off of the secretary. It's chaotic, it's the newspaper. Everybody knows and you go down and you're from that church and the people at your school, your worker in your neighborhood and you say I just want to tell you the Lord is wonderful and we all live for the Lord.

I want you to know Jesus Christ and he says that you you can let your center weighted the pastor just invest a lot of money.

As you know, in the testimony right. I mean, it's the corporate community that sets the foundation to make individual witness, meaningful and believable. Remember, one of the attorneys in our church came to me one Sunday and he said I just had a terrible experience.

I so wasn't he. So I was in court this week and I was working with this other attorney and I invited him to church.

He said we will church you go to and he said I told him I said that I go to Grace Community Church and John MacArthur's a pastor said you were the church, he says yeah I said I'd like you compasses are you kidding I'd never come to that church.

He says the most crooked attorney in the study goes that your well this Laura came in. He said that just broke my heart. So I got up in the service that morning. I told that story and I said I don't know which of you attorneys that goes here is that crooked attorney, but I wish you get your life cleaned up. As you making a very hard for the others to witness and understand the point. I mean, you know you're out there and you have to defend the Christianity. You belong to, it's tough sometimes and it newspapers like to play up on the bad things that happen to Christian people and the media loves that kind of thing and so we have to live that life have to be that salt and that light that consistent think so call and answer your question some of your effectiveness in witnessing is dependent on other people is and and the foundation of believability that they have laid ever gone into witness to somebody share Jesus Christ or somebody. And they've already met so many dear good solid Christians that you just the slightest greased and you just go sailing on through, and that's very important that corporate testimony and again Rebecca John 13 were Jesus said by this shall all men know that you are my disciples and you have love for one another and when you see the purity of the church that Peter exhorts have your behavior honest among the pagans right when you, you come into the Pauline letters to Timothy and he still how the church to be organized and then to Titus and he says more. When you start picking leaders pick leaders whose lives are blameless in the world because they can shoot down your leaders. They'll wipe out your own movement you lose your testimony so in a very real sense, were dependent on each other and what you do in your life may affect my testimony in all your meet someone you try to share Christ. I met a Christian and they were such and such and such and such and I'm not interested so that's a very important element element talk a little bit about another thing you go from the corporate testimony to the individual testimony and this is essential to that your life be right. The place you can have the most impact in your witnessing is the environment you live in all time.

I mean, that's where you sink or swim right, we say all it's so hard to win my family to Christ. That's right, because unless they see day in day out the virtue of Jesus Christ, and through you.

It's gonna make it tough and were talking from the human viewpoint. We know that God is at work but nonetheless from our side.

There's a pure life that lays a foundation first Peter 215 says by doing right use silence. Remember that verse the ignorance of foolish men, you know, people want to slander Christianity they want to put it down and want to knock it but it's your right living your virtuous life that shuts the malls of the critics I mean we all long for Christianity that's blameless, knowing they wouldn't. We love to be demonstrating to the world the blamelessness of the Christian's life, not perfection, but just that honest, upright, integrity says sure I fail but I go to the Lord and he helps me with this.

That's really what we want is a foundation very very important. Now just another thought along this line is you witness now on that individual pure life.

We talked about the corporate foundation, the pure life as you move into witnessing with those is the basis I think it's essential that you articulate your testimony. In other words, that people be hearing about how Christ is change your life because most people that come to the gospel that come to Christ come from the standpoint of feeling a need they feel incomplete. They feel lonely they feel depressed they feel unfulfilled. That's basically where men are there looking for pleasure and are not finding it there, looking for love, and they're not finding it there looking for freedom from guilt leave me guilt is very difficult to deal with wonder why the mental institutions are packed with people. I think primarily it's due to guilt they can't throw off anxiety built upon them by by guilt. Then there's this whole thing of purposelessness in the St. Vincent Millet, you know, says life must go on. I just don't know why and Arthur Miller says life is generated to the miles we get on our Volkswagen amino there's nothing there no purpose and and then there are those people who are literally victims of their own passion, and they can't rise above it. They just can't rise above and here's this meaninglessness of life. So when you witness to somebody and you come at them and say hey peace in life purpose in life.

This is in Jesus Christ right and that's the initial but can't stop there. I mean that's not enough. I think the rich young ruler came to Jesus because he had felt neat. He comes to Jesus and he runs.

I mean, and if the guys running he's got some problems. He's hurting any slides and on his knees looks up and says no panic. What do I have to do to obtain eternal life. That was a felt need wasn't with the Lord and say a sign on the dotted line guide herein they believe the Lord hitting was some that was absolutely unbelievable. He said keep all commitments keep all commitments which commitments got to manage memory listed some of them there in Matthew was a Lord doing the Lord is taking them to the next step in evangelism. It's gotta be beyond a felt need to have to realize that their living in sin and rebellion against God, and sometimes that is the hardest thing to tell someone you can find a person searching for purpose and you didn't get all upset about that all men, meaning, purpose and value of life and fulfillment potential and insipid weight see the real issue with you is the reason you don't know those things is because you are living in rebellion to the God who gives this and you'll never know them until you come to grips with that rebellion your living in violation of God's law. Your sinner, you have broken God's commandments and then you can name those commandments, and you need to bring them to the point where they admit it now Jesus gave all his commandments to the rich young ruler would he say all the things I kept my lacking possible to bring that data conversion because he didn't admit that he was what a sinner.

I mean, he wouldn't admit that he was out of sync with God. Therefore, all he was looking for was a placebo only was looking for was a panacea for temporary relief from the symptoms and he wouldn't admit that there was a deeper problem and so you have to take people to the point where they really affirm the fact that they are sinful and sometimes hard to do anything one step further.

I think that as you take them to the point where they will acknowledge that they need to submit their life to the control of God member.

The rich young ruler then Jesus said to them want to do some something have given all the poor come follow me and the Bible says he split he was going to be the Lord of his life sure he wanted eternal life. You want a PC want freedom from anxiety wanted all of that stuff, but he wasn't willing to do it on the terms and he had to admit he was a sinner because he desperately needed to preserve his own sense of self-esteem and secondly there was no way he was going to subject his life to the Lordship of somebody else. And those are conditions we have to bring people to and that means you confront people with the word of God and the word of God says you have to deal with sin and the Lordship of Jesus Christ. That is another thing you need to do to him in the elements of effective witnessing and that is this need to recognize that you're dependent on the power of the spirit of God you say wise is important because it keeps you from manipulating people. It's very easy sometimes to get somebody who's emotionally agitated and really in desperate need to sort of manipulate them into doing something and so you want to be sure you're not doing that. And so you you depend upon the spirit of God hate nobody ever got saved by your cleverness or mine or anybody else's.

You don't calm people into being Christians, that's a miracle is not and that miracles or supernatural miracle. And so we are dependent on the spirit of God. You know I love that story.

In acts 16.Lydia: Lydia the liberated lady him that the Bible says that Paul came and preach the gospel and I love this. And the Lord opened her heart.

When the good, the Lord open heart you know what some I said to me one time years ago you get distressed when people don't respond to the gospel when they don't come to receive Jesus Christ and I say well there's a sense in which my heart is sad but God never called me to save people. He only called me to preach the gospel to the saving is his business and so I don't have a lot of anxiety about that.

If I've been faithful to clearly discharge the presentation of the gospel. That's all I can do. That's all I can do on the can of manipulate them to do something that they're doing emotionally that is a genuine and I'm not gonna assume that I'm the guy who gets people saved who is at the convicts of sin, righteousness, and judgment, John 16, 711 it's the spirit.

Jesus is when I send the spirit he will convict the world of sin and righteousness and judgment. So from the start you're dependent on the spirit of God come through your life depended on the spirit of God to come to the word spread dependent on the spirit of God to convict so that is the spirit is second the second chapter, first Corinthians really brings this home.

Let me just mention it to you. First Corinthians chapter 2, and draw your attention to what is a very familiar passage, but it says to us in verse nine as it is written, I have not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for them. 11 they know that saying men on their own terms can't understand what God has for them. So the unsaved person can't understand salvation in all its blessing and benefit. It can't, it says I hasn't seen it in here hasn't heard it. That means it's not available objectively. You know it's not empirically available. It is not there. We can grab it and then it says neither has it entered into the heart is not available subjectively or rationally, so you can't know it outside himself. He can't know inside himself has given not, but God verse 10 has revealed them unto us by his Spirit. So when you witnessing to someone you really have to watch the spirit of God do his work and that is such a wonderful conference is not. It's also wonderful thing to be part of that to know that the spirit of God will use us as we are involved and that brings us to our responsibility.

Were talking about the responsibility of the Holy Spirit, what is our responsibility.

Now let's get right into talking about the actual method. How do we go about it.

Let me see if I can sorta crystallize some of the things we've set. First of all I like to suggest you start with your personal testimony. How did Christ come into your life so they don't see it as some very bizarre kind of far out thing you know you went into some very clandestine corner of the Cathedral and God did something to you mysterious, you know, so that they know your people give their testimony all time is a well in the daily driving on the freeway and I was say you know or I was sitting in my living room and the Lord convict narrows by my bed are stalking offenders in a restaurant or have to be in a church service in its diverse is I met all of you probably different places different circumstance so people are looking for some very mystical thing. Sure testimony. So when you witness to somebody start with what Christ is not in your own life and and I think that's a good starting point and you.

You might even bring into it if if you were old enough to know that your former dissatisfaction and how Christ is transformed under fellow five euro kid praying a prayer one time in prayer… Oh God save me from being a miserable sinner. You know how miserable can you be five but basically you can start there that because that puts it into life with real people. And then as you explain your conversion make a transition to the Scripture and let the Scripture speak. Hey, the word of God is alive and what powerful and living in power so you want to use the word of God.

Get the verses and in the right order. You need to do to show people that their sinful for all of sin and come short of the glory of God and as many as received him, John 112, to them gave he the right of the authority to become his children do with the word of God use the Scripture. You might even want to take him to John three and just take to the goals of the account of Nicodemus for you maybe want to go to Matthew 19 and talk about the rich young ruler why he didn't come to Christ why he didn't become a believer. Use the Scripture and then emphasize the law emphasize the law of God, the broken law of God, so that people see themselves as sinners in need of salvation, having violated infinitely holy God. You know you can't preach the good news until you tell the bad news right. You can't preach gracelessly understand law and they'll never understand mercy unless they understand judgment. So you have to talk about the law got when Romans begins in Romans is the gospel is that the book of Romans. You got chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3, and it's nothing but an indictment of the human race. And then when you're sufficiently indicted so that it says in Romans three every mouth is what stopped or shut. I mean nobody got anything to say you can't defend yourself against your violation. The law of God into that comes the gospel of Jesus Christ. So you have to talk about the law then you talk about the grace of God. Now, you affirm, then having talk about that. The need that they should repent of their sin.

Jesus came and his message was repent for the kingdom is at hand. Turn the prophet's attorney attorney and so we want to talk about that and submission to obedience to Jesus Christ. What you're saying is I received Jesus Christ.

Romans 10, nine, 10, if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as what is lower leave and I hardly got a three submit to believe the right stuff just after confess his Lordship now. I don't believe that you may understand all that you know when a person comes to Christ. I don't think they understand the full implications of his Lordship. I don't think they understand the full of occasions. What it means to turn from sin, but I think there is a willingness there and I really want to tell you.

I believe that that's worked by God.

I don't think that that a normal person by himself to turn from sin. I think that's part of the saving work and I don't think a person apart from Christ is going with firm price Lordship. I think that's part of the saving work also and that's why Jesus said with men. It's impossible but with God. What things are possible to me are going to turn in men are going to affirm the Lordship of Christ.

But God can work the heart around to do that and that's necessary.

Well, we have time for one more question and and maybe you have another one yes can then allow the privilege of leading someone to the Lord our responsibilities to have that person's life was really important and I talk about follow-up what you do. Afterwards we we've all had that opportunity maybe to lead someone to Christ and they disappeared we can find him. We know where they are. We thought they were so genuine well that reminds us that we can't always tell the wheat from the tares can wait but how do you follow-up me just give you some just some basic simple things okay some basic elements and I think there found in one passage it might be good to look at that its first Corinthians chapter 4 and it just kinda flows out of of of Paul's relationship to the Corinthians.

Now he says in first Corinthians 4 verse 15 this he says in Christ Jesus, I have begotten you through the gospel right okay since I led you to Christ you are my spiritual children so he's led them to Christ.

Now, what's his responsibility he's writing them back is the one who led them to Christ and what is he do watch.

First of all verse 14. I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons. I warn you there is the first thing I think you need to love somebody I think you need to demonstrate a genuine concern for that person. And that's the key to follow-up. They need to know you love what is mean to love somebody feel emotional about its virtual goosebumps know God so loved the world that he what he gave, and if you love your brother. First John three says if you say you love your brother and close up your compassion. You don't love them at all.

And Jesus said in John 13 that he wanted his disciples to love as he had loved and he had just loved by washing the dirty feet meeting their needs giving service sacrificial service. That's love and I believe the best way to follow somebody up is just to demonstrate that you really do love that you really love the buyer by giving up some of your own time your own priorities your own enterprises to invest in their life. That's what start hey Paul continually said to the churches where he evangelized. I long to see right I long to come back and perfect that which is lacking in your faith, and he says though I love you more and you love me less for it. I'll keep loving so he gave himself to those people. He offered himself to them and love is. It is the key to follow. I think what I'm saying is don't anime eight books and follow-up and not given your life in your heart is a couple of other things we need to talk about and it's in this passage to verse 14.

I warn you I think that's part of the two don't you you can't raise a child with just affirming love.

You also have to warn them not keep doing that you have a problem. That's what the Bible calls admonishing that's warning with a view toward judgment. Another word you keep going on that tracking again.

The problem, so if you really want to follow somebody happy. I warn them about the way they're going warning is a key element to another. Some other elements in this passage we need to talk about. Let me show you this what we need to be an example, he says in verse 17, I'm gonna send Timothy to you who's my beloved son faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which are in Christ, send a guy do you who's just like me. You can follow him. Now Paul said many times and in case of the Corinthians he said it to them in the 11th chapter, the followers of me as I am of Christ. I think it's critical to be an example.

So what is example you get your life alongside theirs right and you just keep walking. The Christian walk of them see how it's done and that is the most powerful follow-up.

There is your literally one-on-one teaching them biblical living teaching them a sanctified lifestyle and that's how you follow-up there some other things teaching.

He talks about the end of verse 17. His teaching everywhere in every church I think follow-up involves input in involves telling them the truth of God. They need to hear that in verses 18 and 19. He goes on to talk about the fact that if they don't shape up when he gets her. He's gonna come with a rod and that means discipline that means discipline. There are times when we have to discipline folks and that how you discipline somebody your following up on the verbally confronted say hey you can stop doing. I want to help you to change that pattern in your life. There has to be a willingness to confront somebody so I don't say anything about that. Those people just know whom I to say I got problems of my life. Okay you get the beam out your own ion and work on the one in there. I which you can't leave him alone. You can help with the don't say what I resent. Well I hope those things come to give you a basic start. We talked about who can witness and we said basically that anybody is a Christian can witness and must witness and does witness because you have had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

We said witnessing is simply giving testimony to the watching world of Jesus Christ being who he is. Who can do what he says he can do.

We talked about the fact that witnessing is essential and there's a price to pay. Right there is a sacrificial price to pay. We said it's necessary because were commanded to do it and were quick to do it. After all, we know the Lord Jesus Christ and we talked about some of the features that make it effective and that we talked about methods, how to put our testimony in doing work to the word we talked about follow-up account gets into one little package agenda if we can work on these things and internalize these things and maybe a little of the time put them into practice. As we communicate Christ. I believe God will be honored in the way we witness this is grace to you with John MacArthur. Thanks for being with us. Today's practical Q&A was part of John's classic study called spiritual boot camp along with teaching on this radio station. John also serves as Chancellor of the Masters University and seminary John in this series on spiritual boot camp you've singled out for areas that are vital to our Christian health. Studying the Bible. Our prayer life are functioning in the church and now evangelism does any of these stand out as being particularly undervalued. One of those that we don't pay enough attention to in the church. I have to say that prayer is the one that goes begging the most because it's hard work and there is no immediate response, even studying the Bible yields an immediate response as you as you read the Bible you study the Bible. Your heart is the enlightened your mind is enlightened and there's a certain joy in reading what you read, and discovering spiritual truth. Prayers is hard work and sort of reaching out into the dark and not knowing exactly what God wants you to pray for and and not seeing an immediate response. So I think the challenge for us is to live an attitude of constant prayer, so that it's not that years standing somewhere with your eyes closed door sitting somewhere with your eyes closed, praying all the time. It's that your heart is so open to God all the time that prayer rises just constantly. There's a constant conversation with you and God you to get harder to do that today with all the distractions I get thrown at us, the Internet and advertisements television looking for if you're sitting somewhere in your your your iPhone is zoned the table. How long can you pray before you pick up your iPhone. There's so many seductive things that pull you that it's more difficult today probably and was in past generations to lay off the things that are distractions to her. This is why were doing the spiritual boot camp series bring it to a close.

Now on we been talking about the four basic boot camp disciplines that are part of every Christian's life studying Scripture prayer living life in the church and evangelizing the lost. You can download all four lessons free of charge on MP3 on grace to use website. GT Y.org and let me mention a new book we've been telling you about the first in the reissuing of our study guide series spiritual boot camp. That's our first book based on the radio study you've just heard about 100 pages. Perfect for individual and group study and for the spiritual boot camp study guide or the audio lessons on MP3 or CD. Contact us today. Yes friend. You will want to review this material. Again, it lays out a clear strategy for becoming more like Christ in serving the church that he is building to get the spiritual boot camp study guide or audio series. Contact us today. Again, you can download all four messages from spiritual boot camp free of charge in MP3 or transcript format@gty.org or if you prefer the four CD album. We also have that available, and if you'd like a copy of the spiritual boot camp study guide. It's the first of our relaunch study guide series go to GT Y.org or call us at 855 grace is our toll-free line 855 grace and while you're at the website GT Y.org. I would encourage you to download the grace to you app it gives you access on your phone or tablet to all 3500 of John's sermons including messages from popular studies like the Masters men, or if God's will is so important I can't. I find it or the battle for the beginning and many more again to download the free grace to you app or our free study Bible app go to GT Y.org now for John MacArthur on Phil Johnson.

Make sure you catch the latest episode of grace to you television this Sunday also be here tomorrow when John begins a compelling look at biblical prophecy from the book of Daniel titled the rise and fall of the ruling powers. It's another half hour of unleashing God's truth one verse at a time on grace to you