It is one thing to read about how to witness to someone; it is another to put into practice what you’ve learned. I tell my students, “If you want to witness, then go witness.” That is the best, though not the easiest, way to learn. I call it “Trust and Go.” Trust God and go witness. My very first evangelistic endeavor was just such a case. This is what happened.
My first witnessing adventure. . . This really happened.
My friend Chuck and I both had eager hearts. We had been studying cults, Mormonism, and Jehovah’s Witnesses, for a while and were ready to go out and “teach the world.” We prayed, got into my car, drove for a while, prayed, drove, prayed, drove, and prayed. Well, after a half-hour of this we figured it was time to stop driving and start talking.
The next street we passed was named Omega Street. Jesus is called the Alpha and Omega (Rev. 1:8). Since we were rather unsure of ourselves, we grabbed at this spiritual straw and Omega Street became our first witnessing attempt — it is amazing how God uses strange things and people to spread His Word.
Chuck and I prayed again. We got out of the car and approached a home. The door was ajar. We knocked. From inside we heard a woman say frantically into her phone, “Send the paramedics to . . . ” then she gave an address. Chuck and I exchanged stares.
Five minutes later the paramedics arrived. They entered a nearby house and took away an elderly man on a stretcher. Now, if you’ve ever been around when the paramedics screech into a neighborhood with sirens blaring, you know how quickly a crowd gathers. That is exactly what happened and after the paramedics took the victim (of a heart attack) away, Chuck and I suddenly found ourselves, Bibles in hand, staring into the eyes of an excited crowd. A kid on a bike noticed our Bibles and said, “What are you guys doing here?” Chuck and I aren’t geniuses, but it didn’t take us long to see the work of the Lord. We told him we were there to preach the Gospel. I was too afraid to speak so Chuck spoke to him and others about Jesus, sin, and salvation. People listened. No one dropped to their knees in sobbing repentance, but they heard the gospel. That was years ago. Since then, I have witnessed thousands of times.
The point is simple. When you are willing to be used by God and step out in faith, trust God and go, He can do amazing things.
Are you available? Trust God and go!
Are you available to God? Are you willing to pray, take a risk, trust God, and go? If you are, if you have the desire and a willingness to learn, then God will use you. He desires a willing, teachable, and available person more than the most learned mind. If you make yourself available, He will make you able. Get ready! He will use you!
