Lighthouses were strategically placed where the greatest dangers lurked. A lighthouse was a savior to a sailor in the night during a bad storm. The sailor had the lighthouses carefully marked in his mariner’s chart—he knew where to look for them—and they often meant his life!

You, too, have been strategically placed by God to give light to others in the darkness who are in treacherous and unrelenting storms of life. You must let your light shine before others, giving them clear direction, hope, and a way to safety! Your light is Jesus Christ, who lives within you. When others clearly see and hear Christ through you, they can find their way to spiritual safety. May those with whom you share Christ suddenly see their way home to God!

There are a few key things to remember when you are sharing Christ with those who do not know Him...

BE ENTHUSIASTIC!
Those touched and changed by Jesus during His three and one-half years of ministry could not keep such good news to themselves, even when Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone (read Luke 5:13-16). Throughout Jesus’ ministry those changed dramatically by the Savior could not hold their peace, but talked to everyone about what God had done for them and what He could do for others.

A close, personal relationship with God, by its nature, makes it impossible not to be an enthusiastic and consistent witness to others. There is nothing casual about being “born again” by the Spirit of the Living God. It is life trans-forming and carries with it a compelling desire to share such love with others!

BE CLOSE TO GOD
The better the measure and quality of our closeness, our bonding, our love-relationship with our Lord, the more intense and spon-taneous and continuous will be our daily witness to others. This is why the greatest desire of God for our lives is that we love the Lord our God with all our hearts, minds, souls, and strength (Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37). When we do, Jesus says we will be a witness to Him. But how are we to develop and maintain such a love-relationship?

First, it is a choice, based on His love for us, and in us!
Second, God constantly used His written Word to give a standard for the love-relationship. Time with the Scriptures is crucial.
Third, God also purposed that prayer would be a vital means to bring us into real fellowship with Himself, and this would be real and personal.
Fourth, meditation gives us the needed time with God to learn from Him (Psalm 1).
Finally, fellowship daily with God’s people will encourage, develop, and help us to experience how real and personal His presence is in the midst of His people, and therefore in our lives, also.
It would be in this relationship of love that His love would flow out of us to touch others. The more real the relationship, the more vibrant, authentic, spontaneous and compelling the witness to others who need our Savior.

Know God’s Heart

There are a number of Scriptures that help us know the heart and mind of God for His people. This is especially true concerning touching a lost world with a vital, vibrant, and compelling witness. Remember, the Father is the one pursuing the lost. “But Jesus answered them, ‘My Father has been working until now, and I have been working’” (John 5:17).

Knowing the heart of the Father to pursue the lost, Jesus said, “I must work the works of Him who sent me while it is day; the night is coming when no man can work (John 9:4).” He indicated clearly He was working with the Father where the Father was at work. “The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner” (John 5:19). Because the Father is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9), He is actively pursuing every person who is not saved. John affirmed this by saying that God sent His Son into the world and “that [He] was the true Light, which gives light to every man who comes into the world” (John 1:9).

BE READY

For a person to be “ready to witness,” or “tell others about Christ,” the following are necessary preparations. Your witness must be:

1. RECENT: for a witness to be effective and believable, it needs to be from a vital and recent encounter with God. This may affirm a relationship begun years before, but the effective witness must be from a recent encounter with God that was life-changing and vibrant!
2. REAL: for a witness to be effective and powerful, it must be real. That is, it must be believable, exciting (which is always true with an encounter with God), compelling and desirable!
3. PERSONAL: witnessing is not a story about someone else’s encounter with God—it’s yours! When your witness comes from your life, it is inviting!
4. COMPELLING: God must be changing your life and your life situations (i.e., family, work, finances, health, decisions, etc.) with which the ordinary person can readily identify. A compelling witness causes a person to immediately want to hear more, ask vital questions, and have a greater openness to the Gospel.

HOW TO SHARE
There are several things I do when sharing Christ:

1. I share the spiritual markers in my life (the moments when God touched me deeply).
2. I ask if anything like that has happened to them.
3. I share my testimony, often in writing.
4. I send tracts to people, especially Steps to Peace With God by Billy Graham.
5. I try to send notes or cards. There is no age barrier with notes. Always include Scripture.
6. I take advantage of special days or seasons to send notes, for they are times of spiritual sensitivity. I try to remember anniversaries of the death of a spouse or family member with a note and Scriptures.
7. I seek to be sensitive to when I should make a phone call, praying before I do, and asking God to give me a Scripture that I might share. Keeping in touch regularly grants the “right” to share Christ.

Questions or statements, lovingly presented, can cross all age groups. Instead of asking, “How are you?” I try to ask other questions that draw people to God, such as:

1. “I am praying for you today. Is there anything I can pray for you?”
2. “God gave me this Scripture today, and I thought of you. So, I want to share it with you.”
3. “I remember our last conversation and wondered how you are doing.”

Even a child can do this for an older adult friend or family member, or anyone God lays on their heart.
But it is a choice. There are NO age barriers to sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ!

WHEN TO SHARE

In a sensitive Christian’s life there are never any coincidences, only the activity of God, so when you see any of the following, know it is God at work drawing people to Jesus. Join Him, bearing a bold witness to Him, just as Jesus did!

1. In an unexpected phone call, a family member or friend shares what is happening in their lives. They felt led to call you. It is God at work (especially if you have been praying for them). Join Him confidently and boldly, listening, responding, and sharing.
2. At work, you notice that a co-worker is greatly burdened. God caused you to notice. Remember, Jesus said, “If anyone serves Me,
let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also” (John 12:26).
3. You are in a group, and you notice in the conversation (or someone takes you aside to ask) personal, penetrating questions about the meaning of life, events, millennium concerns, etc. Assume that God, who loves them, is drawing them to Himself by causing them to ask serious life questions and letting you be present as they do so.
4. Watch for moments when God places family, friends, neighbors, or co-workers on your heart. You sense that you should phone, write, invite them over, call someone near to them, send them an invitation to an event, or give them a special tract like Steps to Peace With God by Billy Graham (one which almost everyone receives warmly).

You are Christ’s servant first and foremost! Watch for questions, responses, hurts, painful moments, and response to death or tragedy in and around people’s lives. Watch for God pursuing those who are lost around you. See the many opportunities God creates for you to join Him in showing them the Light of the world, Jesus Christ, who will save them!

For information about sharing Christ, especially through gospel tracts, contact ATS at the address below.

Bible references: NKJV • Printed in USA • ©2003