SHARING YOUR FAITH... A HELPS GUIDE

When witnessing about the Gospel (Good News) of Jesus Christ (Yeshua HaMashiach)
here are some things to remember:

1. It’s the Holy Spirit’s (Ruach HaKodesh’s) work to bring a person to faith in the Messiah, not ours.
2. God doesn’t call us to be successful witnesses, only faithful ones.
3. Prayer is essential when sharing your faith. Pray for God to give you wisdom in the words you speak. Also pray that the Holy Spirit would touch the heart of the person you’re witnessing to.
4. Pray for divine opportunities to share your faith with people.
5. Don’t be afraid to share your faith. That’s satan’s desire. Walk in faith not in fear. God will help you. Ask Him for help. Trust that He will give it.
6. Don’t get discouraged. Remember that Jesus, Yeshua was despised and rejected by men. Sometimes when we’re witnessing people reject us, and what we have to say. This puts us in good company with the Lord. Find peace in that.
7. Always listen and speak to people from a pure heart of love and compassion. Pray for God to help you in this area.
8. If the person you’re sharing with is Jewish it’s good to know that the name Jesus may bring fear into a Jewish person’s mind. In those instances it’s good to use His Hebrew name Yeshua, which means ‘God is salvation.’  Also use the title Messiah, instead of Christ.  Both mean the same thing – Messiah is the English translation of the Hebrew word Mashiach, and Christ is from the Greek – Kristos.  Both mean the Anointed One.
9. Also when sharing with Jewish people know that many dislike the word convert. That word makes them think that if they believe in Jesus they are no longer Jewish. This is not the truth. Try to avoid that word. It might be better to use the word completion instead of conversion.
10. Don’t assume the person you’re witnessing to knows Scripture. Most people, including Jewish people do not know what it says in the Holy Scriptures.
11. Know your Scriptures. Study the Bible and know what it says about Messiah. There are over 300 Messianic prophesies in the Old Testament alone that prove the Word of God is true and Yeshua/Jesus is the Messiah.
12. Don’t be afraid to say ‘I don’t know’ if you’re asked a question you don’t know the answer to. Offer to research the answer and get back to the person. Your humility will be a greater witness than spiritual pride would.
13. Many people do not understand the concept of sin, salvation or our need Savior. They don’t think they’re sinners. They see sinners as convicted criminals. It’s good to know the 10 Commandments and use them in your witness as a test to help people see for themselves whether they have broken God’s basic law and are therefore a sinner. Once they see that they have broken God’s law you can then tell them about God’s plan of salvation and the Savior, Yeshua HaMashiach. (Jesus the Messiah.)
14. Know how to pray with someone to lead them into a ‘born again’ experience. Jesus/Yeshua tells us that unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (John 3:5)
15. Words that are simple to us, i.e.: faith, grace, repentance, works, righteousness, prophecy, etc…are not understood by unbelievers. Try not to use ‘Christianese’ when you’re sharing. Be simple. Explain the concepts that you talk about.
16. People need to know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not about religion. It is about relationship with God. In order to be in good relationship with God He requires us to repent. Repentance requires taking in a whole new point of view; looking at things God’s way. God simply asks us to turn. This is the way we accept His gift of salvation.
17. People do not believe that God has an adversary (satan) or that there’s an eternal place of torment (hell.) It’s good to know Old Testament Scriptures that talk about satan and hell: Job 1; Isaiah 14; Ezekiel 28; Deut. 32:22; Psalm 9:17; Eccl. 9:10; Dan. 12:2.
18. People (Jews & Gentiles) need to be informed that there’s more to life than they think. It’s good to explain the fact that we’re born as triune beings with a body, soul (mind, will & emotions) and a spirit. Our spirits are dead because of the sinful nature of man. There is, however, a spiritual realm that is very real. This is the current realm of the Kingdom of God. Our faith in Yeshua as Messiah brings life to our spirits and allows us to perceive this spiritual realm.
19. Most Jews and many Gentiles have never heard the story of Jesus Christ. They do not know that He was Jewish and that most of the 1st century believers were Jewish. Tell the story. Show how Christ’s death was foreshadowed in the Old Testament in the Passover story. Help them understand that each of the Jewish feasts foreshadow an aspect of Messiah, and that is a beautiful sign given to us by God to help point us toward the truth. Help them understand that His blood put into effect the New Covenant that the prophet Jeremiah spoke about.  (Jer. 31:31-33)
20. In today’s society secular humanism (a humanist philosophy that upholds reason, ethics and justice, and denies supernaturalism) is the predominant worldview. It’s important for people to understand the truth about the Kingdom of God and God’s right to rule and reign over us. This is essentially what Yeshua came here to teach. It’s important for us to keep sharing that message.
21. Use your own testimony to show how God has worked in your life when sharing the Gospel with people.
22. When talking to people in order to witness to them maintain control of the conversation. Always steer them back to Jesus and talking about Him, and their need for salvation.
23. Jewish people specifically, do not believe in Jesus because they believe He was a man claiming to be God. Help them try to see that He was in fact God, who came to earth in the form of a man. Challenge them to think about the fact that God can do anything He wants to do, and that He had come to earth before. (Genesis 11:5; Genesis 32:30)
24. Jewish people also say they will not believe in Jesus because God commands them to believe only in 1 God and not 3 separate Gods. Be able to assure them that you believe in only one God too. God Himself though has revealed Himself to us as having different aspects of Himself. Jesus (Yeshua) being one of those aspects. Remind the Jewish person that the most used Hebrew name for God is Elohim and in the Hebrew language ‘im’ at the end of a word denotes a plurality. God even said in Genesis “Let us make man in our image.” (Gen. 1:26) God is a multi-faceted being, and yes there is only one God!
25. Help Jewish people understand that God wants all people to be part of His family and that is why He allowed the Jews to reject Jesus – So that salvation would go to the Gentiles as well. In the last days the Jew’s eyes will be opened to the truth about Messiah. This is beginning to happen now. There are currently more Jewish believers in Jesus than ever before in history.
26. Yeshua/Jesus is the world’s role model of how God wants us all to live our lives. Following Him by being obedient to His teachings leads us to live lives of righteousness and holiness in the power of God, and assures that we have salvation from eternal damnation and judgment. Having Messiah Yeshua as the foundation of all our work assures that we will accomplish things that will have eternal value in God’s sight.
27. Don’t be afraid to just ask people the simple question: “Have you ever received Yeshua/Jesus as your personal Savior?” If they say “No.” simply ask them if you could lead them in a prayer to do that right now.

A Sample Explanation and Prayer:

As the Creator, God is King of all the universe. His Kingdom is also an eternal Kingdom. He has a right to rule in our lives, but in our pride we exalt ourselves as King. This pride is one example of sin (imperfection) and sin separates us from God, who is perfect. By faith (trust, belief) God puts His Holy Spirit into our spirit and makes it come alive. Having life in our spirit is what enables us to recognize and understand the truth about God’s Kingdom, communicate with Him and turn from our sin and live righteous and holy lives. This doesn’t happen automatically though.

God came to the earth in the form of a man, Jesus Christ, Yeshua HaMashiach (in Hebrew). He came to teach us about the Kingdom of God and to die on the cross so that the sins of humanity could be forgiven. Just as medicine prescribed by a doctor will not heal a sick person unless it’s taken, we too must believe in and ask the Messiah to cover our sin. There is supernatural power in His shed blood that allows this to happen. When we confess our faith in Messiah and appropriate His blood to our lives this is called receiving Yeshua, Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Our making this choice causes us to be ‘born again’ by the spirit and our spirits come alive to God and His Kingdom.

We know that there’s real power in the sacrifice and the blood of Jesus because though He was crucified and died, He rose from the dead. Hundreds of people saw Him alive. This proved that He conquered sin and death forever. The great healings that took place while Jesus lived on the earth also showed us the great compassion of God toward us, and the power of His Kingdom.

Many people say many things about eternity and how many lives we live etc…but the Bible says we live only once and then we will be judged. If we have ever lied, stolen, coveted, or gone against any of the other 10 Commandments in God’s law, we will be condemned to eternal separation from God and will spend eternity in torment. When we accept the forgiveness of the Messiah by believing in Him, and hope in what He can do in our lives, God brings life to our spirits. We learn the truth that our eternal destination and home is with our Heavenly Father, God and that God’s Kingdom (a place of great joy and love) exists both here on earth, and in Heaven.

By proclaiming and living the truth that Yeshua, Jesus is Lord we come into right alignment with the Kingdom of God and reap all the benefits that God, the Creator of the universe has to offer us. Our lives become fulfilled and we begin to live out the unique destinies that we each were created for. It doesn’t mean that we won’t have problems or hardships, but we are assured that when we walk in God’s ways of living, as outlined in the Bible and when we apply ourselves to know God more (through prayer and Bible study) we begin to live lives of fulfillment and abundance no matter what life brings our way.

If you’ve never prayed to receive Jesus/Y’shua as your personal Lord and Savior just read this prayer and mean it in your heart. (Prayer is simply speaking and listening to God.):

Lord, God, my imperfection is called sin. You are perfect God and I understand that You came to earth in the form of the man Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus Christ, to die, as payment for my sin. I believe that You were raised from the dead and I have a hope that through my faith You can set my life on a better path. Forgive me of my sins. Come into my heart. Cleanse me. Turn my life around and guide me. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit, Your Ruach HaKodesh. Help me to walk in Your ways. Prepare me for my eternal home in heaven. Use me on this earth now for Your glory, Your honor and the furtherance of Your Kingdom on earth. Thank you for saving me. It’s in Yeshua, Jesus’ name that I pray. Amen.