Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Matthew 17:5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.

We have been saved to have fellowship with The Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ. How glorious that is. The very fact that we can have fellowship with God is the most amazing thing this side of heaven. This relationship is likened to a marriage in the book of Ephesians. From the overflow of this relationship with God, we are called to be salt, light, and His witnesses towards the lost in this fallen world. We are on a rescue mission for Jesus and with Jesus.

The Proverbs tell us, “he that wins souls is wise.” Our daily prayer should be that The Spirit of God will use us to testify to others the gospel of Jesus Christ and His promised return to the earth. In an effort to educate the body of Christ in winning souls, there are put before the church countless programs or methods that tell us how witnessing should be done properly and effectively. While these witnessing tools may provide helpful insights in our reaching out to the lost, the sad fact is that in many cases, the methodology of men replaces spontaneous, Spirit-led inspiration of The Master.

Jesus meeting that woman at the well was a divine appointment. So too was each and every other encounter that we read about in the gospels. I beg you to try to put the perfect witnessing example of Jesus (Whom we are called to follow) into a set “how to” and then “say this” formula. This Spirit-led Jesus style of evangelism is followed by His church in the book of Acts as well. God even used a season of intense persecution to get these saints to spread the gospel to strangers outside of their hometowns.

“Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.” These living epistles were witnessing machines everywhere that they went. What made them effective witnesses was their intimacy with The Lord and spontaneous obedience to The Lord’s leading.  “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and [be] ready always to [give] an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.” They were not ashamed to talk about Jesus, nor were they ashamed to stand for Him. They loved The Lord, fellowshipped with The Lord, and if The Spirit opened a door to testify in a market place to a perfect stranger or to a nearby neighbor or relative, they were obedient.

How does anybody enter into the kingdom of God? By repenting and believing the gospel. Testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the gospel that needs to be shared with perfect strangers or your very own family. God pulled Phillip out of a revival to witness to a complete stranger in Acts 8. Biblical methods and mechanics, like speaking the truth in love may indeed be helpful, but other than that, the key to being an effective witness is by living in fellowship with God, and being open and led by His Spirit whenever and wherever He opens the door to share. Follow The Master’s way of evangelism and use any methods with “a seat belt” because God’s divine appointments for who He wants you to share with is not always convenient, nor does not always fit in with our timing or neatly packaged methods.