Witnessing

[Dan Knight]

5 hours ago, kwikphilly said:

" No modern day miracles for ones personal sake" .... Such a remark could only come from someone who does not have a personal Relationship with God in CHRIST - I mean that is Christianity,it's Personal,Intimate- our Redeemer

"- I mean that is Christianity,it's Personal,Intimate- our Redeemer"

That is such a profound statement kwik. Because it is Christianity. 

I remember a young man becoming discouraged because he struggled with being able to remember specific verse designations.  He said he was shying away from others because of it. 

I said,"Do you know what deut 6:5 states"? " No", he says. 

I said, "Do you  know that you should love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and with all your might"?

" Yes, and I do"!

"Then you know what deut 6:5.states. tell me, which is more important "?

Again,  I don't discount the values of remembering scripture reference numbers, but that is not the priority. 

The young man understood that one comes by studying the word,  the other comes by living the word.

"- I mean that is Christianity,it's Personal,Intimate- our Redeemer"

 

 

 

[Starise]

I usually hear the term witness in a Christian context when it's tied to a person's life as we are seen by the 'world'.

Yesterday the sermon from our pastor, who happened to be visiting from South Africa, was about believers being salt and light and how we are supposed to go into the world and shine our light. The related texts to the sermon were-

 

After some thinking about this, I think it is inaccurate to call it "our" light as if it's something WE generate. No. Our effectiveness to the world is what comes THROUGH us. Aside from the Lord we have no effectiveness. I see our light as more reflective mirror light. We mirror the Lord. We are image bearers.

Matt. 5:13-16

13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

I guess the thread caught me slightly off guard as to using the word witness in relation to an event instead of our examples....but I 'think' I see the point?

I could probably write a book on all the times the Lord has sustained me through various troubles and trials. Instead of us saying- Oh No! What will we do now??? It should be- OK this happened, I will ask the Lord about it. I wonder how He's going to deal with this? It isn't a question of 'if' it's only a question of when and how.

For me when it comes to these things faith is more a key word than witness, but I see where maybe showing others how we were rescued IS a witness.

There are gradients of faith. For instance, most of us took for granted we would be waking up today and we assume with a lot of confidence dinner will be on the table, yet is this not also a whole bunch of small miracles we overlook every day? 

It's only when we get to those things we can't readily see an answer for we sometimes get ( and I'll use an old dutch expression) "antsy"....uneasy, not sure, even sometimes displaying a feeling of hopelessness.

Jesus didn't pull any punches- " In this world you WILL have trouble". With the troubles He has all the solutions.

 

[Dan Knight]

15 minutes ago, Starise said:

I usually hear the term witness in a Christian context when it's tied to a person's life as we are seen by the 'world'.

Yesterday the sermon from our pastor, who happened to be visiting from South Africa, was about believers being salt and light and how we are supposed to go into the world and shine our light. The related texts to the sermon were-

 

After some thinking about this, I think it is inaccurate to call it "our" light as if it's something WE generate. No. Our effectiveness to the world is what comes THROUGH us. Aside from the Lord we have no effectiveness. I see our light as more reflective mirror light. We mirror the Lord. We are image bearers.

Matt. 5:13-16

13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

I guess the thread caught me slightly off guard as to using the word witness in relation to an event instead of our examples....but I 'think' I see the point?

I could probably write a book on all the times the Lord has sustained me through various troubles and trials. Instead of us saying- Oh No! What will we do now??? It should be- OK this happened, I will ask the Lord about it. I wonder how He's going to deal with this? It isn't a question of 'if' it's only a question of when and how.

For me when it comes to these things faith is more a key word than witness, but I see where maybe showing others how we were rescued IS a witness.

There are gradients of faith. For instance, most of us took for granted we would be waking up today and we assume with a lot of confidence dinner will be on the table, yet is this not also a whole bunch of small miracles we overlook every day? 

It's only when we get to those things we can't readily see an answer for we sometimes get ( and I'll use an old dutch expression) "antsy"....uneasy, not sure, even sometimes displaying a feeling of hopelessness.

Jesus didn't pull any punches- " In this world you WILL have trouble". With the troubles He has all the solutions.

 

, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

they may see
ἴδωσιν (idōsin)
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's Greek 3708: Properly, to stare at, i.e. to discern clearly; by extension, to attend to; by Hebraism, to experience; passively, to appear.

"showing others how we were rescued IS a witness."

Yes, that was the initial point of the post. We are inundated with challenges and criticism concerning our faith in God. 

I have seen some of the household of God become discouraged for various reasons, especially the "newcomers ". 

From matt 5:15 -house.
οἰκίᾳ (oikia)
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's Greek 3614: From oikos; properly, residence, but usually an abode; by implication, a family.

by witnessing to what God has miraculously done in our lives, they can be encouraged and glorify God.  Especially if they are in a difficult situation as you mentioned,  and one who has suffered likewise and has since been delivered in a mighty way shows them that light. Kwikphillys examples are perfect real time occurrences that seem to affect many, and in some can cause a sense of disappointment and discouragement. 

our deliverance from the same situation and us giving God the credit is the witness that encourages.

It has happened to me that way. 

[missmuffet]

8 hours ago, kwikphilly said:

Blessings Dan....

I have another cute lil story- I'm thinking about what you ssai about comments some folks make ,such as" No modern day miracles for ones personal sake" .... Such a remark could only come from someone who does not have a personal Relationship with God in CHRIST - I mean that is Christianity,it's Personal,Intimate- our Redeemer Lives & He Lives IN US!

Anyway,10 yrs ago I was pretty sick & just getting out of the hospital ( no longer had an income and had to wait for disability to kick in)- I came home to a mortgage & all those living expenses, I had no money,no food in the cupboards and not even any clothes that fit anymore but yet I never did without,not one day - people from my church have me clothes,food all kinds of Blessings

Anyway,I had to take myself to chemo everyday & I'm on my way home from the cancer center & poof,the dreaded white smoke( yep,head gasket blown!) So I barely made it home & called my mechanic,just to confirm & see if somehow I could get it fixed.My mechanic said ,it's done for & xxx amount to repair (which was more than the car was worth,lol)plus I had no money,lol

I prayed"Well Lord,you Know what I need & you Make a Way out of no way at all so I believe I need this car to run and I know you can do it"So I was outside praying with my hands on the hood & I finished my prayer by saying" In Jesus Mighty Name if it's what I need then You let me know"and I went inside...never thought about it til morning

The next day I went to go to chemo,got in the car & it started right up- I got to chemo,got home.My radiator was full of oil- I drove that car that way for over a year!!!!Never failed until I sold it" as is"

So many people used to say," How is that thing still running,it's not even possible"-funny,it would get hot,lose fluid& I'd add anti freeze to the oily muck in the radiator,add oil to the engine & just drive about ....No one can tell me that car was not running for any other reason but God's Power!And I was sure to tell everyone it runs in Jesus Name!

Sweet Jesus Has Never let me down,ever- no matter how big or small,no matter how ridiculous or impossible- Just a teeny bit of Faith & mountains move- Jesus Said So & it's True

With love in Christ,Kwik

That is a great story Kwik 

[kwikphilly]

12 hours ago, Dan Knight said:

, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

they may see
ἴδωσιν (idōsin)
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's Greek 3708: Properly, to stare at, i.e. to discern clearly; by extension, to attend to; by Hebraism, to experience; passively, to appear.

"showing others how we were rescued IS a witness."

Yes, that was the initial point of the post. We are inundated with challenges and criticism concerning our faith in God. 

I have seen some of the household of God become discouraged for various reasons, especially the "newcomers ". 

From matt 5:15 -house.
οἰκίᾳ (oikia)
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's Greek 3614: From oikos; properly, residence, but usually an abode; by implication, a family.

by witnessing to what God has miraculously done in our lives, they can be encouraged and glorify God.  Especially if they are in a difficult situation as you mentioned,  and one who has suffered likewise and has since been delivered in a mighty way shows them that light. Kwikphillys examples are perfect real time occurrences that seem to affect many, and in some can cause a sense of disappointment and discouragement. 

our deliverance from the same situation and us giving God the credit is the witness that encourages.

It has happened to me that way. 

You mention some get a sense of disappointment & even duscouragement- this is true Brother.Ive heard responses from very depressed people such as " Why doesn't that ever happen for me" or " yes ,BUT..." They usually go on to say how THEIR situation is not something that God Can just " poof" & it all gets better!

Oh yes,some are so bound by a spirit of pride that is followed by a spirit of depression, that all consuming " me" cycle that just steals ones Peace,kills ones Joy and can ultimately destroy ones Faith- lies straight from hell that blinds even the eyes of a Believer- the Believer Who Does not cultivate & nurture his Relationship- Our Redeemer Lives,He is not merely the Word,the Word is ALIVE in us,near us,around us,for us and always with us.

We,as witnesses MUST share the Glorious,Marvelous things God Has Done,is Doing & Will Always Do in our everyday lives,not just our Eternal Life..... Just the fact( as you brought up) that I woke up to see a new day is the first Miracle of my day- so many,countless others did not wake up this day....I can't wait to see what the rest of the day will be like!

Now I could sit around & think" Oh no,another day of pain I'm sure,how will I get through it,whaaa whaaa..." Or I can say " thank You Jesus!Let's see what you have for me- is this the day I'm pain free & Healed"? My Hope is in Christ

Why all the optimism? Because of all the times I must never forget what He Has Done- from the smallest to the biggest,He never ceases to Amaze me- you bet I'm gonna " tell it!

I remember something awful happened one time when my boy was only 7- he was actually arrested & taken to juvenile detention- it was a Friday..... My Mom was in a complete panic but I dropped to my Knees and Committed my son,His son into His Hands.... So what happened? What happened was I had Peace beyond anyone's understanding .

The Lord Reminded me of someone I knew on the City Commission - I called him and he said the judge who was the one assigned to this case was away for the weekend & the only way to get that kid out was to get a judges signature....Praise Jesus,I knew a judge,he signed an order & we were on our way to get my son

When I picked him up,he said" Jesus was with him and everything was fine- all the police got a big kick out of this calm little boy that knew his mom would get him home so he was sitting on a guards desk when I arrived....

And who says God Doesn't work Miracles today?My Mom said" I couldn't understand your Faith,your Peace,your trust in the Lord( she was catholic).... I said" it's all Jesus Mom,not me" .... She witnessed the Power of Holy Spirit and Jesus in me.....she told the story many times even before she herself was Born Again( her witness was watering her own Seed)

Thanks for listening- thanks for the opportunity to Praise the Lord here ❤️

 

Edited October 4, 2022 by kwikphilly