Power toWitness
by D. Stuart Briscoe
I T HAS BEEN A REAL JOY to study the subject of personal evangelism with you. The important thing now is to put into practice these vital points for your life and spiritual maturity. Per haps there are some who have already come to know the Lord because you have been willing to be used for His testimony. In I Peter 3:15 we read, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a rea son for the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.” This one verse outlines in a “nutshell” the prepara tion for personal evangelism. What does it mean to “sanctify the Lord God in your hearts”? First of all you must accept Christ as your personal Saviour. Second, you must ac knowledge Christ as your Lord and Master. Third, you must appropriate Christ as your life. Many of the Lord’s people never really understand what happens when they receive Christ. Yet the practicality is so simple. The Saviour said, “Behold I stand at the door and knock, if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in.” John 1:12 assures us quite clearly that “as many as received Him” have eternal life. We actually receive a Person, not some inanimate “thing.” Too often we are so inter ested in all the blessings we receive that we forget that our basic gift is Christ himself. He resides as a living reality in my heart. He comes in the person of His Holy Spirit. In all the power of His resurrection He dwells within me. Too often, too, we are pre pared to accept Christ as our Saviour but not to acknowledge Him as our Lord. In Luke 6:46 we read His pene trating words, “Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” The whole essence of the Lord
ship of Christ is obedience to His commands. In the area of witnessing He has told us to do something spe cific. We are to tell others what we know for ourselves. If we are living ARE YOU WILLING Are you willing today to find victory and peace amid the chaos of the conditions which exist around us? Are you willing to close the book of complaints and open the book of praise? Are you willing to believe that other men are quite as sincere as you are and to treat them with re spect? Are you willing to ignore what life owes you and think of what you owe it? Are you willing to stop looking for friendship and start being friend ly? Are you willing to be content with what you have and to stop wish ing for things you have not? Are you willing to enjoy the simplest things of life and cease striving for the artificial pleasure of the day? Are you willing to forget what you've accomplished and meditate on what others have done for you? Are you willing to cease looking for someone to help you and to de vote yourself to helping others? Are you willing, my friend, to accept Jesus Christ as personal Saviour and to let your life be an outlet for His joy, love and peace? "For what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" in disobedience we have no right to call Him Lord. With too many Christians, nothing has really happened since they were saved. Do you know why this is? Sim- 8
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