The Difference Between Witnessing and Soulwinning Part 3

“WHERE DO I BEGIN, TO TELL THE STORY OF . . . .”

“Danny, will you help me with these invitations?” “How?”, I replied. “Just pass them out to those you care about and would like to see come to my big, open party.” “Open party?” “Yes, I’m inviting anyone who wants to come all they have to do is receive one of these invitations and they can come. It’s going to be a wonderful big, Big party bash. So please, don’t forget to give them out, ok?” “OK.”

What if I took that charge given to me to invite others to the biggest party ever and I gave it little importance; or set it aside through neglect, slothfulness or disinterest. Those who could have an opportunity to enjoy the event would be cheated out of it because of my negligence. Perhaps I didn’t mean to forget or to simply not do it but those who could have benefited from it lose that opportunity nonetheless. What a shame, the party will go on anyway, with them or without them. Right?

If you are a Christian disciple of Jesus Christ, he has commissioned you to take His invitation to a greater event than just a Big Party Bash. He told us to “Go” and take His Good News invitation to a lost world. Those who would receive His invitation could participate in His Salvation. When the Great Day comes, do we, as his witnesses, want to be found still with the invitations in hand through neglect, fear, slothfulness or disinterest? Will we stand ashamed before Jesus one day when he asks us what we did with His invitations meant for others? Or will we be able to say with joy, I gave out your invitations, Lord, to those I came in contact with as your Spirit led me. We have been entrusted with the invitations to the greatest event in history -- Christ’s salvation and adoption into the greatest family in the universe, God’s family. How many, who can benefit from that opportunity, will you and I reach and give Christ’s invitation (witness) to eternal salvation?

DO YOU CARE?

Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” His last important commandment, or commission, to his disciples was to go into all the world and share the good news with all creation. He was saying in essence, “if you love Me, go and share My good news with all the world.” But how can I, one person, reach the whole world? I can’t! So how does the Great Commission apply to you and me? Jesus’ command sends us somewhere, for he said, “Go”. But if you cannot reach the entire world, what world can you reach? There is only ONE world any man can reach . . . his own PRIVATE world.

I believe anyone who declares his love for the Lord will at least be concerned for the eternal welfare of those in his private world.

YOUR PRIVATE WORLD

You and I, and everyone, have a private world. It consists of our daily and weekly routine. Our home is the hub from where we move out into this private world. For the average believer, it consists of his job, shopping, church, and recreation. In the course of that routine, we rub shoulders with people we can influence for Christ better than anyone else. Why? Because we have a relationship with them (whether deep or casual is inconsequential). Think about these souls who circulate around your private world. Perhaps you’ve never stopped to consider the extent of your private world that you can affect for Christ. When you leave your home into your private world you visit stores, schools, doctor’s offices, banks, post offices, restaurants, beauty shops, cleaners, car washes, gas stations, libraries, markets, recreation events, etc. Are you getting the gist of this?

Your private world is your weekly routine that takes you into contact with people, whom Jesus cares deeply about. In your private world there are people you contact more than anyone else. There are those who mean more to you than anyone else. There are some whom you influence more than anyone else. In some cases you may be the only concerned Christian in touch with them who can influence their eternal destiny. You have a relationship with them.

When Christians read the Great Commission of Jesus, they assume that it doesn’t apply to them because they are unable to travel. But the Great Commission isn’t an order to travel to some other part of the world. Jesus had in mind that we would reach the lost within our private worlds. After all, these are the only people ANYONE can reach. If you WERE to travel, say to India, as a “missionary”, whom would you reach? You’d have to reach those whom you would come into contact with wherever you happened to live in in India – your private world!The next time you are at a mall, post office, or restaurant take a look around and notice all the people there (especially if these are the same places you visit regularly). These intersections are people-paths within your private world where you can be an effective witness for Christ. If you’ll do this every time you are out and about in your private world, you will find innumerable opportunities to share the good news. But you have to be looking for them and constantly keeping in mind that your Lord has given you invitations for others because He loves them and cares for them.

Consider this: If a person leaves Christ out of all the activities of his daily and weekly routine – the sum of one’s life on earth – what place does Jesus have in this person’s life after all? If a Christian is not interested in reaching his private world for Christ, because he excludes Him from the bulk of his life, can he truly say that he has made Jesus, Lord of his life?

That might sound harsh, but if Christ is excluded from the routine of our lives, what is left for Him? A few hours in church to sing, “Oh how I love Jesus” or recite verses like, “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me”? If we haven’t made the Great Commission of sharing the Good News a priority in our lives and in our private world, it is obvious that we care nothing about lost souls. And even worse, we care nothing about obeying our Master who purchased us with his own blood from the eternal consequences of our sin.

Every Christian is saved to serve Jesus.

“He [Jesus] died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for
themselves, but for Him died and rose again on their behalf.” 2 Cor. 5:15

Now consider the believer who does love Jesus and accepts the commission to reach his private world. He no longer goes to the store just to buy things. He doesn’t even just go out to eat at a restaurant. He is aware that he has a commission; that he belongs to Jesus. He is master of every moment of his life.When the truth of your private world burns into your heart, that is the way you will feel about Jesus’ ownership of your life.

Once it strikes you that you have been wasting most of your life by settling down in the world rather than reaching it for Christ, you will be humbled by the realization. You see most Christians have been substituting church going for personal obedience to the Great Commission. Having read this article will be a Damascus Road experience for you. Just as that experience turned Paul, the apostle’s life around, it can have the same experience on you.

“But isn’t the pastor the one who’s supposed to preach?” This is a lie that we have accepted from the devil. We certainly didn’t get it from God’s word. Let’s suppose that you COULD hire a pastor to be at your side 24 hours a day in your private world and do all the witnessing and sharing of Christ to everyone you come into contact with. Who actually would be obeying the Lord? Who would finally get the reward for obedience? When the Lord asks you, on judgment day, for the record of your personal obedience to the Great Commission, your substitute will not appear with you, you will be on your own. Each of us [personally] will give an account of himself to God (Rom. 14:12).

YOUR OWN MISSION FIELD

Your private world is your own mission field. You have been commissioned by Jesus. You need no credentials from man to obey the Great Commission. Your private world becomes a scary place the moment you start thinking about it as your own mission field. As long as you are going about in it minding your own business (not Jesus’), there is nothing to fear. You can go to stores, restaurants, and malls quite comfortably and at ease as long as you do not attempt to serve Christ in your private world. However, the moment you decide that you will take Jesus, your commission, and your mission field seriously, your private world becomes an unfriendly, and at times, a hostile place. With the exception of your home and your church, it is enemy territory – the devil’s domain (2 Cor. 4:4, 1 John 5:19). Those who witness of Christ, or are outspoken for Christ are not welcomed. They are not popular. The world doesn’t like them. But remember, they do not like Jesus either, and He made the world! Can we expect to be treated any better if we identify with Him?

EVERYTHING IS IN PLACE

The Blood’s been shed, the Holy Spirit has been poured out, the invitations have been passed out, and the Lord is enthroned above all and ready to confirm His word with supernatural signs that follow those who declared it.

Now comes the response time. How will you respond?

”Lord, grant me, your servant, that I may speak your word with boldness; too many souls are at stake and the price has already been paid for their entrance into your kingdom. I will not stay with your invitations for the lost in hand. Teach me and lead me Holy Spirit in this exciting journey of sharing my faith with those invited to share the riches of Christ’s grace.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

Joy in the journey,

Danny