Protocol For Sharing Jesus with Someone
And while staying with them, he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” (ESV, Acts 1:4-5).
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (ESV, Acts 1:8).
The greatest responsibility that Jesus has given to every disciple is to witness him to people. The scope of our witness includes nations. None of us can grow into witnessing without following what Jesus said as prerequisites for witnessing. To become an effective witness, Jesus revealed some keys here.
Waiting in the Presence of God
We need to regularly wait upon the Lord in prayer, reading the Bible, and worshiping him. It is a place where we intimately relate with God. Without spending solid time, none of us can receive the power that we require to witness Jesus. We need to consciously find more time in waiting upon God.
Clothing Yourself in Power
As we wait upon God, he will pour out His Holy Spirit upon us. It is his promise to us. The Holy Spirit brings God’s power to us. As we wait more upon him, the presence and power of the Holy Spirit increase in us. He called us to witness him in the power of the Holy Spirit. If we try to do it with our soulish strength, we may not be effective, and we may not be able to resist the enemy’s counterattack. The key is to spend time with God or wait upon God and receive his power through the Holy Spirit. Witnessing in Acts primarily is a power evangelism.
Witnessing
Acts 1:8 says “my witness.” We are witnesses of Jesus. A witness is a person who tells what they experienced, saw, and heard. The word witness in Greek means martyr. We are called to speak about Jesus to everyone, even if we need to martyr our lives. This is the intensity of the level of witnessing.
The scope of our witness is nations. We are called to disciple nations. This is a great task. It is a progressive mission of going and witnessing from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. Many of us have not grown into this level of anointing to influence nations or to grow into the intensity of witnessing. Or even we are yet to grow in witnessing in our own Jerusalem or our own city.
Again, we need to grow in our anointing and call. The key is spending time with God, waiting upon God continuously, and receiving his power and guidance. Witnessing precedes an upper room experience of encountering God and being filled with his presence and power through the Holy Spirit.
Further Readings:
Books on purpose:
The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For?
The Purpose Driven Church: Every Church Is Big in God's Eyes