Personal Preparation1. Be Sure That You Are a Christian
2. Have No Unconfessed Sin in Your Life
3. Be Filled With the Holy Spirit
4. Be Prepared to Communicate Your Faith in Christ
Taking the Initiative
1. Pray
2. Go
Along with personal preparation, 'taking the initiative' to share your faith can also be broken down into several 'steps' in order to make it a more tangible and practical concept. The first of these steps is prayer - An absolutely essential element when involved in evangelism! The second step on initiative involves taking the time and performing the actions to directly share your faith with others.
It's easy to make excuses regarding witnessing, such as "I'm too busy now," or "I'm waiting for the right time."
Such excuses make me cringe. You, as a Christian, are professing that God is sovereign and above all - That His son, Jesus Christ, died on the cross in order to give us redemptive relationships with our loving creator. With this said, how could one possibly rationalize postponing witnessing to someone? Christ has commanded us to go and tell all who will listen of His life, death, resurrection, and the meaning behind all of it. Why would we delay to carry out God's commandment? He's God; and we are secondary, finite beings. His will supersedes ours, and it is essential to recognize that this makes his commandments more important than the things that our nature may desire.
When 'building the initiative' to go witness directly to those around you, consider these things:
The greatest thing that has ever happened to us, as Christians, is knowing Christ.
Therefore, the most important thing that we can share with someone is (or should be) this new knowledge of Christ.
Why would we withhold it?
Are you being intentional about sharing your faith in Christ with others on a daily basis? If not, I would suggest that you challenge your priorities - I would recommend that you reflect upon your concept of salvation, and that you examine your relationship with God.
I know that it can be tough;
however, I don't believe that it should be.
Some of us may feel naturally shy; but even with shyness in mind, remember that the Holy Spirit empowers you to have the courage to speak truthfully and boldly for Him. With this to remember, we can gain the confidence and poise needed to share Christ directly with the people in our lives.
One thing that I really enjoyed reading by Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ (CRU), in regard to this topic is this...
"Sharing Christ with others should be a way of life for every Christian. When you awaken each morning, thank the Lord Jesus for living within you and ask Him to use your lips to speak of His love and forgiveness at every opportunity throughout the day."
If we truly believe that Christ is risen, and that, from this event, we have the ability to passionately love our creator back in response to His sacrificial act of love, we should take the initiative to step out and share this life with those around us. Let us not delay the work of the Kingdom, but instead remain steadfast in the ministry of Christ Jesus. My prayer is that we would all continually develop an overwhelming passion for Christ - A passion for loving God and bringing glory to His name and His alone!
Some paraphrases, citations, concepts, and wording used from the following source:
Bill Bright, Transferable Concepts: How You Can Be a Fruitful Witness (Peachtree City, GA: Campus Crusade for Christ, New Life Resources, 2009).
Awesome, AJ!
We can have all the head knowledge in the world, but if we don't obey in what we know and if we don't 'GO'...well then, what a waste of a life.
Smacks of John Piper , doesn't it?
besides that, God can and does use 'cracked pots'..imperfect vessels, willing to be used by Him, give Him the glory...and this is how it should be.
True!
Initiative is everything. We can't sit by the wayside and let life happen, but we should instead choose to obey those commands and ACT on that head knowledge that we now have. Application of knowledge is so critical! For what purpose does knowledge serve if we just learn it and let sit?
AJ
@AJ, I agree with you, but some people do view knowledge as an end in-and-of itself.
Gregory, that might be 'knowledge'...but it is NOT 'wisdom'.
Wisdom, is acting on what you know to be true...seeing life from God's perspective.
I agree. Wisdom seems to me (from what I've read in Proverbs and Corinthians) to be best understood as the right application of knowledge.
Very accurate and intuitive definition of wisdom.
Thanks!