When Jesus Rules in Our Lives, then the Right Witness will Follow

“[Don't] be afraid and don't worry. Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if you are asked about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. But you must do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak evil against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ”

(1 Peter 3:14-16, NLT)

Many Christians worry about the matter of witnessing. As fulltime worker in student ministry I always heard questions (or rather self-talks) such as “Am I really able to give an answer to those who ask me about Christ?” “I don’t know if I can defend the hope I have in Jesus” “How can I fully explain my faith in Jesus when my non-Christian friends ask me?” Well, as much as knowledge and correct doctrines are important, the place to begin your preparation is not the head but the heart. My pastor like to emphasis: “Set Jesus Christ apart as Lord and Saviour in your heart!” When Jesus rules in our lives, then the right witness will follow. As FES Malaysia 2014-2017 Prophetic Calls #3 beautifully summaries: “To live under the Lordship of Christ”. That’s it! First, Jesus in our heart, then witnessing will come naturally from us. “Whatever is in your heart,” Jesus says, “determines what you say” (Matthew 12:34).

Peter as quoted above was dealing with false accusations against the Christians. In his day, the Romans believed all sorts of strange things about believers, lies that the enemy had invented. Peter was like saying “Don’t be afraid of their accusations or their questions, if Christ is Lord of your hearts, and if your conscience is clean, you have nothing to fear.”  

Don’t be afraid and worry. A prepared heart is the secret of a powerful witnessing. The Book of Wisdom said this, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life” (Proverbs 4:23). Enemies hate this, God love it – a consecrated heart and a clean conscience. A prepared heart will lead to an authentic witness, a witness that will never leave you ashamed. I told this to my student-friends, it is not by thinking up arguments or clever wordings that we should witness to the lost, but first, by living a life with Christ as Lord. People nowadays are easily distracted, very confuse and information overload. God’s Word is powerful but their ears are deaf until “they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.” Then, after they see your changed lives, only then they will open their hearts to hear the Good News from you.

Prepare your heart before you witness to others

Let Jesus be the centre of your life and you must live under his Lordship

Then, when it is a time for you to witness, “it is not you who will be speaking -

it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (Matthew 10:20)

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.