7 Witnessing tips - repost from GoForSouls.com

http://www.goforsouls.com/archives/9097 Tips on Becoming a Great Evangelist

November 27, 2010 by admin  
Filed under 5) BLOG, Tips Series

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Thank you to everyone who emailed in questions. I have a very long list, some are commonly asked questions, others are quite specific. Please feel free to keep emailing your questions in to james@goforsouls.com and I’ll try to answer as many as I can in the coming weeks.
Today’s Question: How do I become a great evangelist?
Recognising this is not a complete list, and that some over lap, here are 7 Tips on Becoming a Great Evangelist:

1. Make sure you are saved. If you want to be a great evangelist, you must be saved and know you are saved. How can you tell someone how good God is, and how He wants to have a relationship with people unless you know it for yourself? (If you have doubts, or are unsure whether you are saved or not then go to www.get-saved.org)
2. Get baptised in the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised that when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will receive power to be His witnesses to the world. (Acts 1:8) It doesn’t matter what you want to call it, but a great evangelist will be filled with the Spirit and will live in the Spirit. This is not simply a “I know I’m saved” infilling, rather it is a filling of power and love to live a holy life and to minister supernaturally.
3. Pray and read the Bible. The book of Acts clearly shows us that prayer preceded evangelism. We know that extraordinary prayer has marked every revival. Great evangelists pray, they communicate with God, they petition, plead and listen. By reading the Bible we arm ourslef with the sword of the Spirit, the promises of God. The evangelist knows the word well, and knows how to use it!
4. Evangelise often. I have found that the more I evangelise the better I become. I begin to sense Gods leading clearer, I feel more comfortable, my faith and expectation increases and I learn what people’s objections and excuses are.
5. Listen. Great evangelists listen to God. They sense/hear/know what God is wanting to say. Great evangelists also listen to people. They listen to what they are saying, and what they are not saying. By listening the evangelist can proclaim the grace and truth of the gospel in the most effective and meaningful way.
6. Stay Humble. Great evangelists realise that salvation belongs to God. The evangelist is a tool that God can use to lead people to Himself. Therefore, great evangelists are humble.
7. Love People. The Great evangelists of the world are those who love people. If you love people you will want them to be saved. If you love people you will do anything to get them saved. If you love people you will pray with boldness and with faith for them. If you love people you will sense the urgency of their need for salvation and will plead with people to be saved. And if you love people you wont give up! (Note: This love comes from the baptism in the Holy Spirit)

Think I missed somehting out? Leave a comment so that others can read what you have to say too
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Live holy, preach Jesus!

Better Together #3

Our Alaska Division theme for this program year is "Better Together" focussing on unity, supporting one another, and operating the body of the church God desires. Here are some devotional thoughts for your own consideration or use as a call to worship in your Corps this Holy season. Just my thoughts from my scripture meditation. Please use, change, alter as you see fit and meditate on the Word today.

For November 28, 2010

As we enter the holy season of Advent we remember that the word advent means “coming”. During this special time of year we focus on the coming of Christ and ultimately we remember His promise that He is coming again.

The Alaska Division program theme this year is “Better Together” and as we begin to focus on the advent “coming” of Jesus in the flesh as our Savior, we recall the words from Philippians chapter 2 verses 1-5.

Paul writes to the church and tells them, and us, that if we find encouragement from being united with Christ our Savior, and if we are sharing of the Holy Spirit, that the way to bring him joy would be by being like minded with a Christ-like love being one in mind and spirit. Today we remember that this letter was written to the church of Philippi and by God’s Spirit it is for us as the church today. We, in the same mindset of Christ, must look beyond ourselves with the goal of coming together to reach a world in need in the same way that Christ in perfect humility came to live among us, as our Immanuel.

Philippians 2 1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

As we remember the advent of Christ coming to live among us and show us the love of the Father, we know that it is God’s will for us a united church to be like Jesus that the world would see Jesus as the Savior of the world.

To show God’s love to the world we are “better together”.

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Live holy, preach Jesus!

Gratitude in the princess aisle - Angel tree in Alaska article

This is a repost from adn.com http://community.adn.com/adn/node/154483

Gratitude in the princess aisle

Posted by parentpoints

Posted: November 24, 2010 - 1:29 pm

by Gina Romero

Shopping for the Salvation Army Angel Tree Program: Salvation Army Angel Trees are at Kaladi Brothers Coffee cafes in Anchorage. Grab a paper angel and follow instructions on how to help for the holidays.

We arrived at the toy store on Dimond.
Cars filled the parking lot.
The big box was stocked with extra holiday merchandise.

A huge display of Toy Story 3 products met us at the door.
We navigated past talking Dora dolls.
Stuff. We walked by aisle after aisle of stuff.

We stopped at the princess row.
It was with lined with sparkly dresses and magic wands.
I was overwhelmed by the excess.

My brow furled.
I felt my shoulders get tense.
I despised the hurried shoppers.

In that moment, an angel caught my eye.
She had blue eyes and blonde hair.
The red shield with white letters rested below her.

The shield of salvation placed at the feet of an angel.
It is a shield often seen and heard during the holidays.
The ringing sounds remind us to slow down and to give.

We were shopping for a four-year-old girl.
I wondered what she was doing right now.
Was our gift the only one she would receive for Christmas?

Frustration turned to gratitude.
I watched my vibrant daughter shop for a stranger.
My shoulders relaxed and I smiled down at her.

I am thankful for my children.
I am thankful for my husband, family and friends.
I am thankful to give.

Read more: http://community.adn.com/adn/node/154483#ixzz16R8cNrod

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Great article. Let's do practical things to show the love of Jesus, of course, let's also love people enough to share the true meaning of Christmas - that God sent His one and only Son, Jesus, to be our Savior.

Live holy, preach Jesus!

Your sin will kill you.

This posting is from an email I get from MarkCahill.org. Mark Cahill has great resources and things for download. Enjoy the email!

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Your Sin Will Kill You

He died of cancer.

The entire family died in a car accident.

He couldn’t fight the leukemia any longer.

He was in a fatal hit and run accident.

She died of a heart attack.

Emphysema beat him in the end.

He just stopped breathing.

They were killed by the hurricane.

They were caught in a fire and never got out.

She had an aneurysm.

The virus was just too strong for his immune system.

There are many different ways to describe how an individual died, and I find it fascinating to see how different people or news reports choose to describe it. But it hit me as I was thinking about this one day: No matter how they say it, they are leaving out the real cause of how someone dies.

Romans 6:23 says,

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Romans 5:12 states,

“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”

When someone dies, why don’t we say: “Sin finally got him”? “She was such a sinner, and now it has come home to roost”? And, because we don’t phrase it that way, I think there is a problem.

When someone has cancer, what do they do? They search long and hard to find a cure for that disease. They seek out different doctor’s opinions. I recently read about how some cancer patients were going to Mexico, because there was a special clinic that supposedly had the answer to help them out. Some people have completely changed their diets to organic fruits and vegetables to get rid of their cancer. Others have tried chemotherapy and radiation to get rid of it. Some folks have spent every last nickel to make sure they don’t die from it. Why?

Because they know what the problem is. Once they found out the problem they were facing was cancer, they began seeking the cure for that problem. If you really think about it, we are all like that in some way. When someone finds out they have a problem, they can either give up or start fighting back. It almost seems like it is ingrained in our systems to fight back and want to live.

So what if we instead let people know they were going to die because of their sin. What if we let them know that their sin was so bad that it was going to kill them. No, ifs, ands, or buts about it. What do you think might happen? I firmly believe it would drive some people to find the solution to their problem. Why? Because people want to live. They really, really do.

So if we talked about sin correctly with people, the solution would make so much more sense to them.

1 John 2:2 says,

“And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”

Once people know that Jesus died for their sins and He is the solution to their wrongs against God, I do believe they will want to know more about Him.

1 Corinthians 1:23 states,

“But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;”

Why preach Christ crucified? Because He is the cure to the sin problem that each of us has.

1 Corinthians 2:2 says,

“For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.”

John 1:29 states,

“The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”

He is the only hope that any of us have. Only Jesus can take away the sins of the world. We need to tell more people what they are really going to die from, and that will lead us to tell more people about what He has done!

I just met two different people at the airport going or coming from a funeral. People forget that at funerals, the person died because of their sins. And many also then forget the next thing: The person is still alive! They are either ‘alive and well’ or ‘alive in hell’. It is that simple.

We must get people ready to meet their Maker. We must challenge people to be ready for Judgment Day. It is not safe to die without Jesus. But oh what an eternity when you are born again!!

I don’t think Paul could have put it any better than in Philippians 1:21 when he said,

“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

Until the nets are full,
 

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Live holy, preach Jesus!

Better Together #2

Our Alaska Division theme for this program year is "Better Together" focussing on unity, supporting one another, and operating the body of the church God desires. Here are some devotional thoughts for your own consideration or use as a call to worship in your Corps this Holy season. Just my thoughts from my scripture meditation. Please use, change, alter as you see fit and meditate on the Word today.

For November 21, 2010

In Acts 2 we read of the Holy Spirit coming on the disciples as they were gathered together in prayer at Pentecost. Peter addressed the crowd of people gathered from near and far to proclaim the good news of Jesus and His Resurrection from the dead for our salvation. Peter told the crowd to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. We know that about 3,000 were added to their number that day.

After the filling of the Holy Spirit, the preaching of the gospel, and the growing of our Lord’s church, we read this is what the believers did next…

Acts 2:42-47  ⁴² They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³ Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. ⁴⁴ All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵ They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. ⁴⁶ Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

The events prior to the Holy Spirit coming in a new way at Pentecost were that the believers waited together in prayer. The response to the Holy Spirit’s infilling was that those who called on the Name of Jesus met together for study, fellowship, sharing of meals, and the sharing of resources to all in need. God’s Word says they met together in the temple courts and in each other’s homes to praise God. The result of this union of God’s Holy Spirit and a united people seeking to put Him first was the daily growth of the Kingdom of God as people came to salvation.

Even this week as we make our plans to sit around the table with others from family, to those in our church, to serving those in need, we know it is God’s plan that in union with Him and in unity as a body of believers, we will see His Kingdom grow. Let’s praise and thank the Lord this week together.

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Live holy, preach Jesus! 

Pastor on trial for witnessing to Muslims (OneNewsNow.com)

This is a repost from OneNewsNow.com

I am posting it unchanged or you can see the link.

Let's not be ashamed to witness about Jesus Christ to all creation.
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Pastor on trial for witnessing to Muslims (OneNewsNow.com)

A pastor in Wichita, Kansas, heads to court today to defend himself against charges involving his efforts to witness for Christ outside a mosque.
Pastor Mark Holick says the incident in late August occurred as members of the Islamic Society of Wichita were marking the holy month of Ramadan. Police were called when Islamists witnessed Holick and 13 others handing out packets that included the Gospel of John, the Book of Romans in English and Arabic, and a DVD with testimonies of former Muslims who have converted to Christianity.

Holick claims he was basically ignored by the arresting officer. "I asked him, 'What am I being charged with?' -- and he wouldn't answer me," the pastor tells OneNewsNow. "And I asked him a second time and I asked him a third time...and neither time would he even respond to me."

The Kansas pastor, who was ultimately charged with loitering and failure to disburse, is no stranger to controversy. In 2009 he won a $10,000 judgment after the City of Wichita admitted it had violated his civil rights when he was arrested for witnessing on a public city sidewalk during a homosexual event at a nearby park.

"It's really good for Christians to see what has really happened to our court system," he shares, "because if you haven't gone through it before, you really have no idea what it has become. But I think it's going to be good at trial, regardless of the verdict."

Holick, pastor at Spirit One Christian Center, will defend himself today before the Sedgwick County Municipal Court.
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Live holy, preach Jesus!

Witnessing to Mike

I have hoped that this blog would be a good way for me to both encourage others about their being bold and verbal in their sharing of the gospel, but also that it would be a way for me to journal my own witnessing to others.

I thought I'd share this as a possible conversation starter. On an airplane this past Tuesday I sat next to a man named Mike, we spoke about where we were going to and coming from. When I mentioned I was going to Anchorage he said he had been to Anchorage for a "convention". I asked what group the convention was with and he responded that it was with the Jehovah's Witness and then moved to another topic.

After a few minutes of small talk I used this as my conversation starter. I asked, "Mike, I've never really personally known a Jehovah's Witness, would you mind if I asked about your beliefs and how you believe one comes to salvation?" (of course I've had them at my door before, but I've never known one on a more personal level)

Needless to say we had a very intelligent conversation and we took turns asking each other, what do you believe about he person of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, salvation, and even the end times. Mike was the most well spoken JW I've ever spoken with (perhaps because he was a little older than many I've spoken with or because it wasn't done at my doorstep). Although we certainly disagreed an major points of our doctrines, at least he heard me declare the Truth about Jesus and the means to salvation.

Only God knows the seeds that were planted and I know that God is pleased that I cared enough to open my mouth to start a conversation with someone about their salvation.

If you read this, please just pray for "Mike" and others who are sincere in their faith, but are believing a lie.

The last blog I posted was about "apologetics" (make sure to see it below), if nothing else I was glad I was able to have an intelligent conversation, but as always I was left knowing that I always need to be learning, reading the Word, and in touch with God's Holy Spirit so that when a deeper conversation arises I am not ashamed and correctly handle the Word of Truth.

Be bold enough to start a conversation with a stranger this week.

I'd love to hear some of your stories of witnessing experiences or how you get the conversations started. Please leave a comment - I post them right after I preview them first.

Life holy, preach Jesus!

Go Deeper

A special thanks to Rob Reardon for posting this on his facebook. A humorous reminder that we all ought to be able to speak intelligently about the deeper things of our faith.



Live holy, preach Jesus!

Better Together #1

Our Alaska Division theme for this program year is "Better Together" focussing on unity, supporting one another, and operating the body of the church God desires. Here are some devotional thoughts for your own consideration or use as a call to worship in your Corps this Holy season. Just my thoughts from my scripture meditation. Please use, change, alter as you see fit and meditate on the Word today.

For November 14, 2010

Slowly read and consider the 34th Psalm. After reading through Psalm 34 read verses 1-3 again.

Psalm 34:1-3 1 I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. 2 I will glory in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. 3 Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together.

This psalm was written as David had been fleeing for his life in the desert. At one point with seemingly nowhere else to turn he went to Gath (the hometown of Goliath who he had once killed). Once recognized, David was brought before the king and, in fear, David’s plan (God inspired, or completely self-conceived we do not know) was to fake insanity with drool dripping down his beard. The kings reply was to send him away.

Sometime after David writes a psalm of praise and thanksgiving to His Lord. In this Psalm David lists statements of the blessings available to the people of God and pours forth the truths about the nature of his Deliverer.

As we consider our theme of being “Better Together”, look at David’s psalm one more time. David begins with a personal declaration that “I will extol the Lord at all times and his praise will always be on my lips. I will glory in the Lord”. He then goes beyond his need to declare God’s praise to the people, but then invites the people to join with him in exalting God’s Name together.

John Wesley wrote the words to our songbook song # 64 where he expressed this wish, “Oh for a thousand tongues to sing My great Redeemer’s praise, The glories of my God and King, The triumphs of His grace! My gracious Master and my God, Assist me to proclaim, To spread through all the earth abroad The honors of Thy name.

John Wesley, King David, and we as a body together today can all agree that although it is right for us to each individually glorify the Lord, our God deserves more than we could ever give alone.

As we approach this time of Thanksgiving, let’s make sure to take time to glorify His Name personally and privately, but let’s also make sure to join with others for corporate worship and praise, and then as the psalm of David states, let’s invite others to do the same that we might worship Him “better together.”

Psalm 34:1-3 1 I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. 2 I will glory in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. 3 Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together.

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Live holy, preach Jesus

For all my fellow comrads involved in youth ministry

I just thought this was too cool. Why not show a young person the love of Jesus today!



Live holy, preach Jesus!

Sharing Christ on airplanes - by Larry Moyer

 Just reposting this article from Evangelism.net - http://www.evangelism.net/

Hopefully I will post one of my ariplane witnessing events in the next day or two?

Enjoy, be challenged, and love someone enough to share the gospel with them today!

Live holy, preach Jesus!
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What I’ve learned from Sharing Christ on Airplanes

Posted By Larry Moyer On November 1, 2010 @ 6:00 am
^[1]Airplanes are great opportunities to witness. I’m convinced though that one reason they are good opportunities is people tend to have a fear of flying and they know if something goes wrong they’re not in control. The nervousness they have, many times, opens them up to spiritual things.

There are times I’ve stepped on over eighty different planes in the course of a year. I’ve learned several things in the past 37 years by experience that may help.

First, as with any opportunity you have, pray that God will open the door to people to whom He’d like you to speak.  Two, assume that if the person is open to you as an individual, there’s an open door for the Gospel.  I take a step at a time and go as far as I can. I start by talking about family, job, background, and then somehow turn the subject to spiritual things such as religion, church, etc. I then attempt to get to my question – “Has anyone ever taken the Bible and shown you how you can know for sure you’re going to heaven”? Three, if they’re not open to talking I assume that’s simply not an open door at the moment, and apparently God wants to use someone else to talk to them.

However, there are times, particularly on long flights (which are better opportunities than short flights), when they aren’t open one moment, they are open an hour later. One person, for example, made it obvious he wanted to sleep and not talk. Towards the end of the flight though, he woke up and said, “Please don’t think I didn’t want to talk. I was at my buddy’s wedding and we were up all night the night before he married, and I’m wiped out”. We then had a great discussion and one that allowed me to present the Gospel and even give a tract to him.

Interesting enough, I’ve found some of my best opportunities is when they’re in the window seat, I’m in the aisle seat, and there’s an empty seat between us. That way I think they feel they can talk without being overheard and some would rather discuss spiritual things in that kind of privacy.
Finally, don’t forget that as with any situation you have to pray for boldness. You want to be certain that if you don’t speak to them about spiritual things it’s because they just were not open, not because you were afraid to.

As encouragement, one of my most priceless conversations was when I had a chance to lead a contractor to Christ and two weeks later received a note from his girlfriend. She expressed her gratitude and how much they were looking forward to a God-centered marriage. God does great things everywhere, even at 30,000 feet above sea level.

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