Foundations: Witnessing (Week #8) Mark 5:19

A message preached on Sunday, October 24, 2010 at Hebron Baptist Church, Denham Springs, Louisiana by Pastor Joe Alain.

Sermon Series: Foundations: Lessons on Christian Living
Sermon: “Witnessing”
Date Preached: October 24, 2010

As someone who has experienced God’s saving love, you have much to share. What if you could tell your story of what God has done for you? You can! And that’s what I want to talk about today.

What Is a Witness?
Jesus said, “you will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8). But what is a witness? A witness is “One who has firsthand knowledge about an event.” The truth is, Every Christian has a personal testimony. Your account of your experience of new life (2 Cor. 5:17) in Christ. Regardless if you were saved when you were 5 years old or 55 years old, all of us share a “common salvation” experience.
See Isaiah 43:10; Acts 5:20.

Our focal verse helps us understand our calling as witnesses.
Focal Verse: “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” Mark 5:19
First, notice that there is . . .
1. The Command to Witness – “Go . . . tell”
This is one of the great salvation/deliverance stories in the Bible. This man that Jesus encountered was given up as a lost cause, a hopeless case, yet with Jesus there are no hopeless cases. After Jesus set the man free from his demon-possession, it was natural for the man to want to be with Jesus. However, Jesus told the man to go to his family and tell them what had happened. Just as Jesus told this man to go, so He tells us to go too! It is not a suggestion but a divine imperative.

In the Old Testament God told his watchmen that they were never to be silent and never to rest. To be silent meant withholding a word of either warning or good news. To rest on the job could be disastrous for the welfare of the city. You and I are God’s watchmen, witnessing a word of good news but also a word of warning to those who will not receive the good news. We must not be silent! We must not rest on our watch? Lives are at stake. We must not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord (1 Tim. 1:8).

First, there is the command to witness. Second, there is . . .
2. The Context of Our Witnessing – “home to your family”
Where do you begin? At home, in your Jerusalem (see Acts 1:8). It’s good that we support and do missions globally, but we need to remember that we’re in a mission field. The latest growth statistics for our church field are staggering. Livingston Parish led a five parish growth region known as the I-12, I-10 Corridor with a 47% growth rate. Almost 68% of our residents are now under 44 years of age. The last time we distributed literature in our area there were 19 subdivisions, all of which could be considered relatively recent housing developments. We have a tremendous mission field right here at home.

This reveals the command to witness, the context of our witnessing, and third, . . .
3. The Content of Our Witnessing – “how much the Lord has done for you”
What do we tell people? We tell them what God has done for us. What has He done? Has He saved you from wrath? Has He reconciled you to God? Has He forgiven your sins? Has He given you a new purpose for life? Has He helped you as a father or mother? Has He encouraged you and given you His peace? Tell them what God has done! Tell them about the great deed God did on the cross! See Isaiah 63:7; 1 Pe. 3:15.


The Fruit of Our Witnessing – “make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:19)
What is the end result of our faithful witnessing? Fruit (John 15:5) – Disciples are made! God is at work in our world and those who are working with Him are seeing the fruit of their witness – disciples. See John 4:35-36. For the principle of sowing and reaping, see 2 Cor. 9:6; Gal. 6:9.

The Power of Your Story
1. Has authority – You were there.
2. Communicates on a level that people can relate to. It is life-oriented. It doesn’t come off like you are preaching.
3. Natural and simple. Doesn’t require learning and memorization.
4. Can be shared anywhere at any time. You can share your story at the mailbox, the break room, the store, or the school. Because it is your personal testimony, your story is portable. Wherever you go, your story goes!

The Elements of Your Story
What do you tell? The best models for ministry are biblical and we have an excellent biblical model for sharing our testimony in the Apostle Paul. Paul often shared his personal testimony which usually consisted of three aspects:
1. My Life Before Receiving Jesus (Acts 22:3-5)
Paul tells some of his Jewish background and the fact that he was zealous for God, even persecuting Christians who he thought were wrong.

2. How I Received Jesus (Acts 22:6-13)
Paul tells of his Damascus Road experience and how he was confronted by the living Jesus. God also used a faithful believer named Ananias in Paul’s conversion.

3. How Jesus Makes My Life Meaningful (Acts 22:14-15)
Paul tells how he was chosen by God to be His witness. Paul’s life took on a new purpose, a purpose designed by God.

Sharing the Basics of the Gospel
Sharing our story is important, but there is a need to go beyond our story to His story. Every Christian needs to know the basics of the Gospel. Here is one plan of salvation that is easy to remember that communicates the basics of the Gospel.
Promise: God loves you (Jn. 3:16)
Reality: We all struggle with sin (Rom 3:23)
Answer: For sin is Jesus (Rom. 5:8)
You: God requires you to confess and believe (Rom. 10:9-10, 13)

Getting Started Let me encourage to . . .
1. Write out your personal testimony.
2. Become familiar with the basics of the Gospel.
3. Be intentional. Have a plan. Write down names of people that you could witness to. Pray for them and ask God to give you opportunities to witness. Don’t underestimate the power of the written word.
(1) Use a Gospel booklet
(2) Write a letter
(3) Utilize whativaluemost.com

All of us want to see people saved. For that to happen, we must witness and sow God’s word. Fields that are sown yield a harvest. How are we going to reach the people of our community? By every Christian witnessing.

The Main Thing Is to Share God’s Word! Rom. 10:17
“He who goes out weeping , carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him” (Ps. 126:6).

For His Glory!
Pastor Joe