Changing Your World:
By Being a Witness
Mark 6:1-13 [continued]

Our Bible lesson for this morning finds Jesus sending His twelve closest followers out into the world to call people to turn to Him for life. Jesus does this at a very interesting juncture in His ministry. I suppose some might question His motivational methods. Right after the people of His hometown of Nazareth are so disbelieving that Jesus can’t get His message through to their hearts and because of their failure to trust Him, He’s unable to bring much healing to those in need, He calls His followers together. He tells them, “Okay, guys, it’s your turn. You get to be My witnesses.”

The disciples might have been as inclined to tune Jesus out as most contemporary Christ-followers are when the preacher reminds them that we’re all called to be witnesses. But Jesus bolstered the disciples’ confidence by giving them a strategy for witnessing. It’s a good strategy for you and me as well.

So, here’s Jesus’ five-part strategy for rescuing the dying people you and I encounter every day.

First: We need to make sure we have support. Jesus sent the disciples out in groups of two. Like police officers wading into challenging situations, when you make bold to share Christ, always have a buddy. As witnesses for Christ, at the very least, we need buddies who are supporting us in prayer. I want you to know that every day, I pray for you. I ask that God will help the people of our congregation to resist temptation and sin, to have our reputations protected, and to help us all be faithful in taking the opportunities we have to share Jesus with others.

Second: We need to remember that we go with Jesus’ authority to be His witnesses. Jesus told the disciples that they had His power over the unclean spirits of the world. Elsewhere, He says that we have that same authority and that as His followers, we have the capacity to accomplish the same deeds He accomplished while He was on the earth...and more! One of the songs our kids sang for us last Sunday reminds us, “we don’t need excuses” when we are God’s hands and feet! We have Jesus’ authority to be His witnesses. And you needn’t worry if you’re not an eloquent speaker. Saint Francis of Assisi was fond of saying, “Preach often and if necessary, use words.” When Jesus is at the center of our lives, He can use our whole lives to help others know Him.

Third: We need to depend on Jesus. Jesus told the disciples not to worry about taking a lot of props with them. One person walking faithfully with God can accomplish everything that God expects of them.

Fourth: Focus on one relationship at a time. I call this the no-flit rule. Jesus told the disciples that when they came to a new town, they were to go to one house and so long as those people welcomed them, to stick around. As it applies to us in our less peripatetic lifestyles, I think that means we’re not to give up on people. We’re to befriend them and pour the love of Jesus into their lives. Every one of us needs to be genuine friends to people who don’t know Christ and so long as they will have us in their lives, we’re to stay the course. We need to love them, support them, encourage them, and be there for them. If we can share Christ with one person and they come to faith, they in turn can pass Christ onto the next person. Jesus’ kingdom grows by just such simple addition and multiplication. We’re to befriend others and then introduce them to our best friend, Jesus. For many months now, I’ve been meeting regularly for Bible study with an unchurched man. I have no idea if it’s changing his life yet. But I am committed to continuing to meet with him. I owe that to Christ and to him.

Fifth: Don’t be discouraged when people reject your witness for Christ. It will happen. The first church office I had as a layperson was chairperson of the elders at our home congregation in Columbus. Part of my job was evangelism and the other part was rounding up the members who had quit coming to church. I decided that I would start visiting people, making appointments to see the lapsed church members and going door to door in the neighborhood near our home church’s building to invite them to worship with us. I had lots of doors shut in my face. And it wasn’t just the non-churchgoing folks who did that! Try to share Christ and you will get some people who reject you. Our Bible lesson shows us that even the folks in Jesus’ hometown turned their backs on Him! But like Jesus, we need to keep on keepin’ on. When people spurn us, Jesus says, we just shake off the dust and move on. There is a dying world in need of the only One Who can give it life: our best friend, Jesus! Good fishermen don’t worry about the ones who got away; they savor the ones they catch!

Babe Ruth once gave his strategy for success as a batter in baseball: “I keep swinging until I hit one.” As successful as Ruth was, he still missed getting on base about seven times out of every ten at bats. Our call as witnesses for Christ is to keep on making friends so that at least some of the time, we can connect the love and hope that only Jesus gives to people who need Him. Even if we sometimes fail at this central mission for our lives, we need to keep swinging. We need to be Christ’s witnesses. Nothing we can do with our lives is more important or more fulfilling!