SHARE YOUR FAITH
Dearly beloved, my assignment today is to draw your attention to the infallible, errorless word of God. Let us consider this scripture:
“But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you and ye shall be witnesses unto me.’’ (Acts 1:8 NKJV)
The events of today in our very unstable world confirm that Jesus is coming soon, and so as a child of God, you have a responsibility to witness your faith everywhere you go. Don’t be a secret service Christian. Let people know you are saved. Remember your salvation cost God the blood of His Son and there is nothing to be ashamed about. The Apostle Paul boldly declares this fact in Romans 1:16 (KJV). He says “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first and also to the Greeks.’’
Beloved, you cannot afford to be ashamed of the gospel, because therein lies the power of God unto salvation. You also cannot afford to keep quiet in this day and hour when people are daily streaming into a godless eternity. When you talk about Jesus and His saving grace, you are witnessing your faith. You are helping to change the lives and destinies of others around you. Don’t just say it doesn’t concern me. It should concern you. The woman at the well of Samaria did not know much of the scriptures, but after her encounter with Jesus, she went to town with the little she knew and brought souls to the Kingdom. You might not be able to preach, but you can share your personal experience – that is witnessing. The woman told the people in her neighborhood her personal encounter and because they all knew her decided to come see the man who changed her story. I am sure you also have a story or an encounter to talk about. It would encourage someone to depend solely on God and before you know it, a soul is won.
I come to challenge you to take a quality decision to always share your faith. Wherever you go, let people know you are a believer. Leave people better than the way you met them even without them seeing your Bible. Become the walking, talking Bible they may ever get to know. All the woman at the well of Samaria had to say was, “come see a man’’ (John 4:29 NKJV)That was all the message she had to talk about and today, what she said about Jesus is still being preached and taught all over the world. She was a true witness.
The bible tells us in Acts 11 that Phillip and the entire Apostles witnessed their faith even in the very face of persecution. The scriptures tell us in verse 19–20 that they were scattered all over the place preaching the word and planting churches all over different cities. And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene which when they have come to Antioch speak unto the Grecian preaching the Lord Jesus. What were these men preaching? They preached the Lord Jesus. Beloved, everything in the scriptures from Genesis to Revelation is all about Jesus. It is the unveiling of Jesus. When you preach and Jesus is not unveiled, faith will never come. I encourage you to preach Jesus everywhere you go. You don’t need a pulpit to preach. The world out there is your pulpit. Find the time to tell someone about Jesus and even when you reference the Old Testament, let Jesus come out of it so that people will be grounded and established in the Lord.
As I close, let me remind you that you are not here today by accident. You are here for a specific assignment. God has positioned you as light of the world, so let your light shine for all to see. I come to remind you that God does not want you to use your faith only to receive material blessings, but rather use your faith to snatch people out of the hands of the devil and by implication hell. Make Christ known in your neighborhood, office or market place. Be assured that as you labour in His vineyard, He will also labour in your vineyard.
As you go into this week, I commend you to God and the word of His grace that is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among them that are sanctified. I bless you in Jesus name.
Maranatha!
In His Royal Service
Dr. Mike Okonkwo
The Presiding Bishop
