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by Dr. Bill BrightTaking the Initiative
Personal preparation—being sure you are a Christian, confessing your sins, being filled with the Holy Spirit, and being prepared to communicate your faith in Christ—is the first part of how you can be a fruitful witness. The second is taking the initiative.
Four steps are involved in taking the initiative. Let’s look at each briefly.
1. Pray
According to God’s holy Word, if you ask anything in harmony with His will, He hears and answers you (1 John 5:14,15). Do you want your loved ones, friends, and neighbors to come to Christ? Begin to claim them for God.
Follow the example of our Lord, whose priestly prayer is recorded in John 17:20: “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message.” Paul and the other writers of the New Testament were frequently requesting prayer for others as well as for themselves.
I have prayed for loved ones with whom I used to weep as I pleaded with them to come to Christ. Then one day I realized that God was not willing for them to perish—He loved them more than I did—and so I began to thank God in faith that they would become Christians. Most of them have already received Christ. But more names continue to be added to that list.
Just as Jesus prayed that the Holy Spirit would do a work in the lives of His disciples, so you can pray that the Holy Spirit would convict nonbelievers and give them a strong desire for the ways of God. The Scripture promises:
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).
Sometimes, however, in His mysterious, sovereign timing, He chooses to wait for the prayers of a concerned believer to unleash the Holy Spirit in that person’s heart. As someone has said, “Prayer is not conquering God’s reluctance—but laying hold of God’s willingness.”
Although God is not willing for “anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance,” His schedule is not always the same as yours. Continue to trust and thank Him for the salvation and spiritual growth of those for whom He has impressed you to pray. From my personal experience and study of God’s Word, I can assure you that the starting point in bringing a loved one to Christ is prayer.
Make a prayer list or keep a prayer diary and pray for specific non-Christians and Christians by name and for specific events. As God answers, record the date and describe how God has answered your prayers. In a short time you will have a record of God’s faithfulness that will encourage and strengthen your faith and the faith of others.
2. Go
One of the greatest barriers in witnessing is the problem of getting going. You hear all kinds of excuses: “I’m too busy,” or “I’m waiting for the Holy Spirit to lead someone to me.” Our Lord Jesus Christ has already commanded you to go tell the good news to all who will listen. Don’t wait for them to come to you. As you follow Jesus, He will lead you to people whom He has prepared.
Remember, the greatest thing that has ever happened to you is knowing Christ, and the greatest thing that you can do for another is help him to know Christ. If this is true, you should begin to rethink your priorities. How are you spending your time? Are you taking time every day to share Christ with someone?
You may be encouraged to know that many on the staff of Campus Crusade for Christ, like myself, are by nature shy. We do not always find it easy to talk to others about Christ. But since Jesus came to seek and to save the lost and since He lives within us, we simply ask Him to give us the courage to speak powerfully for Him.
Whenever I am alone with a person for a few minutes, I assume that I am there by divine appointment to share the good news of God’s love and forgiveness.
For instance, while in Atlanta I stopped at a shopping mall to purchase a tie. The store manager offered his services, and while choosing a tie to match the suit I was wearing, I told him I was in town to meet with a number of Christian leaders to talk about ways to bring our nation back to God. Then I asked, “Are you a Christian?”
He said he was not, but that he had considered becoming one. I showed him the Four Spiritual Laws booklet. As I read through the booklet, I came to Law Four, which explains how to receive Christ and ends with this prayer:
Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be.
I asked, “Does this prayer express the desire of your heart?”
He stated that it did, so I suggested that he pray it aloud, which he did. And as soon as he finished, I prayed for him.
Then I asked him if he knew where Christ was in relation to him. He assured me that Christ was now in his life. I went on to explain how, according to God’s Word, he not only could have assurance of eternal life, but could grow as a Christian.
As is my practice, I obtained his address to send important follow-up material.
Wherever I go, across America and in other countries, on planes, in restaurants, on elevators, in lecture halls, on the college campus, or among laymen, I meet people who are eager to receive Christ.
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.
3. Talk About Jesus
Paul said, “Everywhere we go we talk about Christ to all who will listen” (Colossians 1:28, TLB). Don’t just talk about peripheral matters, such as the weather, sports, government, and business. Pray and expect God to enable you to introduce His Son into the conversation.
A quiet, loving widow in her early thirties has led dozens of her relatives, friends, and neighbors to the Lord Jesus. Nearly every Sunday she brings someone new to church with her. Many of these she has introduced to Christ during the previous week.
Once she was asked, “How do you manage to share your faith with so many people?”
She answered, “I ask myself, ‘If I don’t tell them about the Lord Jesus, who will?’ And I don’t have a good answer for that.”
Today, an ever-increasing number of Christians are constantly being used by God to introduce others to our Savior because they have been trained to talk about Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. They do not get sidetracked to discuss nonessential matters. That’s the reason the Four Spiritual Laws booklet is so effective—it keeps the conversation centered on the person of Christ, away from distracting issues that direct attention away from our Lord. And it makes your presentation of the gospel simple and understandable.
Many people express antagonism toward God and want nothing to do with religion. But when you tell them about Jesus, they respond.
I recall a taxi driver in Australia who said to me, “I gave up all religion in World War II. I want nothing to do with a God who allows people to kill each other.”
“Wait a minute,” I said. “You are accusing God of something for which man is responsible. It is the evil in man, his sin, that causes him to hate and steal and kill.”
I explained the difference between religion, which is man’s search for God, and Christianity, which is God’s revelation of Himself in Christ to man. As I talked to him about the person of Christ, this man’s entire attitude changed. Soon he said that he would like to pray with me and receive Christ.
Many people today are also antagonistic toward the organized church in general, and if you are going to reach them for the Savior, you must talk first about the Savior, not about the church. After they receive Christ, most of them will want to become active in the church.
Others are antagonistic toward the Bible as the Word of God. You do not have to prove the Bible—just use it. Use it even with people who say they do not believe it. God has promised that His Word will accomplish His purposes (Isaiah 55:11).
If you expect God to use you, talk about the Savior—and always encourage those with whom you share to invite Him into their lives. You really haven’t “evangelized” until you have given people a chance to respond to the gospel by inviting Christ to be their Savior and Lord.
As you talk to people about the Savior, you will discover that many are ready to receive Him the very first time you talk to them. Some may need to “ripen” a bit.
As a young boy I used to visit my uncle’s peach orchard. We would always pick the ripe peaches, but leave the green ones. Two days later, we would return to the same tree and pick more ripe peaches. Every two days we would pick yet more ripe ones. So it is in our witness for Christ. Be prayerfully sensitive to people and their readiness for the gospel. Ripe for harvest, some will readily receive Christ; others, like green fruit, will not be ready.
Do not argue with those who are not ready. Do not insult them; do not browbeat them or try to pressure them into “making a decision for Christ.” Give them something appropriate to read (like the Four Spiritual Laws or A Man Without Equal), leave them with a prayer, talk to them later—as the Lord gives opportunity—but continue to look for those who are ripe for harvest. They are all around you. Thousands, even millions, of people whose hearts have already been prepared by the Holy Spirit are waiting to receive Christ.
On one plane trip, for example, I talked to two people who were “spiritually ripe.” One was an eighty-year-old woman who received Christ as her Savior. The other, the president of a large corporation, had always believed that Jesus Christ was the Son of God and had died for his sins, but had been too busy with other things to make a commitment to Christ personally.
On the same trip, at Cornell University where I addressed students and faculty, the president of a sizable business approached me. He was visiting his son who was a new Christian of six months.
“I want to thank you for helping my son spiritually,” he said.
Then I asked if he had ever received Christ. He replied that he had not, but that he wanted to. We bowed in prayer and, to his son’s great joy, he committed his life to our Savior.
Take the initiative by praying, by going to others, by talking about Jesus, and finally, by expecting God to use you.
4. Expect God to Use You
When you talk about Jesus, expect men and women to respond—not on the basis of positive thinking, but because of God’s faithfulness, His love, His sovereignty, His power, and His promise that He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
The Lord Jesus promised His supernatural resources to all who join with Him in helping to fulfill the Great Commission. He told His disciples:
“I have been given all authority in heaven and earth. Therefore go and make disciples in all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and then teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you; and be sure of this—that I am with you always, even to the end of the world” (Matthew 28:18–20, TLB).
You are assured of that same resurrection power and presence today. Our Lord is committed to honor the faithful witness of all who place their trust in Him.
It is interesting to note that while the disciples met with strong and often bitter opposition, the Christian movement experienced phenomenal growth. The gospel has the power to change people’s lives, as was expressed in Paul’s letters to the churches in Thessalonica and Colosse:
When we brought you the Good News, it was not just meaningless chatter to you; no, you listened with great interest. What we told you produced a powerful effect upon you, for the Holy Spirit gave you great and full assurance that what we said was true. And you know how our very lives were further proof to you of the truth of our message. So you became our followers and the Lord’s; for you received our message with joy from the Holy Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 1:5,6, TLB).
The same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world and changing lives everywhere, just as it changed yours that very first day you heard it and understood about God’s great kindness to sinners” (Colossians 1:6, TLB).
One of the greatest lies of the centuries is the attitude among Christians that people do not want to know God personally. Because of this, many Christians approach others with a negative attitude as if to say, “You don’t want to become a Christian, do you?” By their negative attitude, they inhibit others from expressing their need for Christ. Let me encourage you to expect that God has already prepared the hearts of those who are eager to receive Christ, and you will find that He really has.
After more than forty-five years of sharing Christ with millions of students and laymen, individually and in small and large groups, I can tell you that the Holy Spirit has created a hunger for God in the hearts of multitudes around the world. Millions are waiting for someone to tell them about our wonderful Savior, ready to receive Him as their very own.
For example, at one of our pastors’ conferences in Haiti, more than 1,000 people received Christ as 550 pastors and lay preachers prayed with them, one and two at a time, during four hours of witnessing.
At Daytona Beach, during an Easter vacation, approximately 1,500 Campus Crusade staff members and university students introduced more than 3,500 students to Christ through their witness.
In Southern California, a similar number of trainees introduced approximately 2,000 university students to Christ in one day of witnessing at the beach.
Most of our staff, lay, and student volunteers report that ten to seventy-five percent of the people to whom they make a clear presentation of the gospel receive Christ. The percentage of response often depends on the country and culture. Yet, we find that the Spirit of God has prepared the hearts of multitudes of men and women to respond to Christ. As Jesus said, “Open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest” (John 4:35). Not everyone with whom you share Christ will receive Him, but God will use you to both sow and harvest in His kingdom as you trust Him.
Success in Witnessing
Expect results when you witness for Christ. But remember, however God chooses to use your faithfulness in witnessing, your responsibility is to present Christ. It is His responsibility to draw people to Himself. As I have said earlier, success in witnessing is simply taking the initiative to share Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results to God.
In these pages I have presented a biblical plan that will enable you to be successful in reaching others for Christ. First you must begin by preparing yourself:
1. Be sure you are a Christian.
2. Be sure there is no unconfessed sin in your life.
3. Be filled with the Spirit.
4. Be prepared to communicate your faith in Christ.
Then, you must take the initiative by:
1. Praying.
2. Going to others.
3. Talking about the Lord Jesus.
4. Expecting God to use you.
Following this plan consistently will enable you to be fruitful for God as a way of life. No other experience in this world can compare to that of witnessing for Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. Will you join me in this adventure?
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