General Witnessing To Non-Believers

[Sue-M]

I did a search for a topic related to this over the past few months, I didn't see anything. So, I thought I would start this and put it here. Feel free to move it or direct me to move it to another thread.

I wanted to show some scriptures about witnessing to non-believers in general. I wanted to talk about what I have experienced with this and what God says about it.

I am not doing to this make anyone feel badly about themselves. Jesus said that He has come so that we would know the truth and the truth would set us free (John 8:32). So, believers are free. However, if you see God working in your own life and you see the grace that has been given to you, I think it's only a natural thing to want to tell other people.

But, this is a scarey thing. What will people think! Maybe they won't believe me. Maybe they will think that I've lost my mind. If I open my mouth, things will never be the same with these people that I tell.

What does God say?

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Acts 1:8 (King James Version)

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

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First, we don't speak from our own power. It's given to us from God. So, we have to realize that whatever comes out of our mouth is from God. We should ask God for the words to say. But, look at the last part of this sentence. "...in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and in Smaria..."

"Jerusalem" was their own home town. So, first we start with those that are closest to us. Our family. They know us the best. And we know them the best. We know all about our family members and we know what they will respond to. Tell them what God has done in your life. Give them your testimony.

But, don't expect this to go smoothy either. Jesus was rejected most in His home town. But, this rejection that we get from our family members is good for us. It teaches us to be rejected and to carry on. And our family members are the safest rejection. Well, sometimes. What I mean is we know our family members are not going to cease being our family members because of what we say to them. Well, that's not true either. LOL. Spouses are tricky. But, find the safest family member first.

Start small. Just telling a family member that you are born again is all it might take.

Most important to remember. It is not our responsibility to save anyone. We just tell people the Good News. We don't do the saving. So, sometimes, all we are called to do is just tell someone that we are saved. Then, whenever they see us, God will remind them of Jesus.

After we have told our family members, then, we spread out into the world. "Judaea" was the next town outside of Jerusalem. So, we move slowly outside of our family circle. This would be those who are not family members, but, who we are still close to. Maybe, friends. Co-workers. But, sometimes work can be a difficult place to talk about Jesus. We just have to use discretion there. Don't break any rules.

Talking to other people about Jesus takes practice. It's not something that comes to most instantly. It takes practice to learn to be rejected and to not fall apart. It takes practice to step out into the darkness.

But, I do not think it's something that we should ever beat ourselves up over. We are all given different gifts. And we are suppose to use the gifts that we are given. Some people are not gifted with speaking to other people. Some are called to pray. Some to encourage. Some to give. Etc. Use the gifts that God has given you to reach others. If you are given the gift of praying. Tell people that you will pray for them. This is a witness by itself. If you are given the gift of encouragement. Tell someone that you know God sees their situation as you are encouraging them.

Although it's important to tell non-believers about our faith, I don't believe this is something that God wants us to ever feel badly about ourselves for. After all, God gives us what we need to speak to these people. So, search yourself to find your gift and then use that. Not one of us witness in our own strength and power anyway. All the praise and glory is the Lords. And every one of us is loved by God.

[Sue-M]

One thing that I just thought of. God always leads us to the person that we should talk to. Sometimes even sets the whole thing up ahead of time for us.

Yesterday, I was talking to a girl and I was amazed when I started to talk to her, there was another girl next to her who was agreeing with me and kind of cheering me on the whole time. I know that God set it up for this girl to be there at that time.

Don't worry about what you say either. We don't know what has happened in other people's lives that will set off the alarm in their head. Sometimes something we say might not seem significant to us, but, it tears right into the person's heart because of something that happened to them in their life.

And another thing that I was thinking about also. I don't make myself look like a freak religious fanatic when I talk to other people about Jesus. The girl that I talked to yesterday. I have been working with her for over a year now. She knows me and she knows that I am level headed and a hard worker. I speak to everyone according to how I know them. And I don't act like a freak. Meaning I don't just randomly quote scriptures. Non-believers don't know the scriptures and it's like another language to them. I speak to them like I speak to anyone everyday. In a normal way. I give them the scriptures, thrown in here and there as a way to explain things. But, I don't quote the book and verse. Because, they don't understand all that stuff. But, I do tell them what God says. With this girl yesterday, I had to first get past her believeing in God. No sense telling her about God when she first told me that she doesn't believe that there is a God.

How did I do that? I asked her how did the earth that she is standing on come to be? She said evolution, the atom and molecules exploded and formed the universe. I said, okay, then who made the atoms and molecules. She did have a reply. BTW, she kept running over to me asking me questions. See, the Holy Spirit was pricking her spirit.

[Abiding in His Word]

Wow! Beautifully said, Sue-M! I especially loved your reminder that we don't save anyone. So often I hear believers feeling guilty as though their witness was not effective.

Thanks for posting this topic!