Good day
In Part 10, the subject of the message was, "What value do we place on relationships?" Some of the points mentioned in that message was the following: "One of the signs of the end times is that the love of many will grow cold" (Matthew 24) ... "What have we allowed to come between us and others? What offences, grudges, personality clashes, saying that we don't see eye to eye, saying that we just don't get along, saying that we don't have the same interests, etc. have hindered us from developing relationships with others?"
"A lack of love will affect our ability to develop relationships, and again, if the purpose behind doing what we do is all about people, then how can we develop in our efforts to preach the gospel/fulfill the great commission and make disciples if our love, care and concern towards others becomes stagnant or grows cold?"
We also looked briefly at the value God places on having a relationship with us and the lengths that He's prepared to go to to make that happen, and to remind ourselves of God's love towards us and how He consistently loves and values us, and then to trust Him to help us treat others the same way.
Then in Part 11, we took a look at taking an interest in others. Some of the points mentioned there was the following, "Always remember that the purpose behind doing what we do is all about people, so if my assignment is centred around people, then learning to love them, accept them, connect with them and taking an interest in them becomes the key focus/agenda/motive and mindset with which I now choose to interact and relate with those around me."
I also mentioned that as we go about our day to day activities, let us be aware of those around us and take an interest in them, and to trust God to help us in this area because it's through these interactions that we build friendships, which creates an opportunity for God to work through us to encourage them, pray with them, invite them to church and introduce them to Christ.
For today's message I'd like to build on the above by saying that once we've built up friendships with others, it then becomes easier to share certain things about our lives with them. We may share our experiences, our feelings or opinions on certain matters, what we enjoy or dislike, what our favourite things are, what our goals are, etc. … and chances are, they'll do the same from their side.
Why this is important is because these friendships provide us with a platform through which we can share our experiences. In Acts 1:8 Jesus says that we shall be witnesses unto Him. Now a witness is someone who shares what they've seen or heard. If you can think of a movie where a court case was held, you may recall that there was a witness who was asked to take the stand where the lawyer could ask them questions and the witness would share their experience based on what they saw or heard. This is what "witnessing" is, it's telling others about the things we've seen God do in our lives, or the things we've heard God do in the lives of others.
John 9:25. He answered and said, “Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.”
Acts 4:20. For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.
In the above verse we see that the early disciples were so excited by the things they were seeing and hearing that they continually spoke about them. In other words, they were "witnessing". They were sharing their experiences with others.
The great thing about this is that even though people may want to debate about doctrine, they cannot argue or debate with your personal experience.
We are encouraged to be His witnesses, sharing with others all the things we've experienced with God, all the times He's come through for us, answered our prayers, helped us, been there for us, rescued us, delivered us, cared for us ... All of these bear witness to a Father who loves us, cares about us, and who time and time again, continues to show us how merciful and patient He is with us, continues to show us His faithfulness and how good He is to us! ...
When we witness, we show others that they can turn to God and place their trust in Him as well.
So let us be encouraged today - to be His witnesses!
Amen