February 27, 2017
Acts 1:7, 8
(All scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated.)
We are commissioned in Acts 1:7and 8 to be witnesses for Jesus!
It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in
His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit
has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem,
and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. (See also
Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15, 16; Luke 24:47-49: II Timothy 4:2).
We are salesmen and saleswomen, offering our ‘Product’, the Lord Jesus Christ, to a world that desperately needs Him! I have been involved over the years in sales other than witnessing for the Lord. I have owned and operated three different sales businesses. And I have learned a lot about offering Jesus to others from my sales experience. My most successful venture was presenting fund-raising products to organizations for them to sell and raise money. I represented TV Time Foods, Inc., manufacturers of popcorn products. Their fund-raising division was called Funds-A-Poppin’. Five points lent to my success: 1) TV Time Foods, Inc. was a first-rate company with a great product. 2) Good training was available from the company at their expense. 3) They furnished liberal samples to their sales force. 4) Product shipping was immediate, and customer support was great. 5) Selling for me was made easier because I believed in the company and what they offered in product, sales support, and customer relations.
In the last two blogs we have looked at the first three points, and how they transfer to our task of witnessing. Let’s consider the last two:
• They furnished liberal samples to their sales force. I gave out a lot of free samples of popcorn products for potential customers to try. And I loved the fact that I was not trying to get them to spend their money! The worst experience they could have from my visit was a free box of Funds-A-Poppin’ popcorn! If they were sold on the product to raise money for their organization, I would put in their order, they would sell the product, and then they would pay what was owed – keeping their profit! So if I needed twenty cases (twelve to a case) of popcorn samples, the company would send them right out – no questions asked!
✞ Does Jesus give out samples? In a sense, yes! You and I are the samples! Paul is writing in Titus 2:9 and 10 (Literal Translation of the Holy Bible) concerning bond-servants (slaves) – and there were a lot of servants and slaves in the early church!
Let slaves be subject to their own masters, well-pleasing in all things,
not speaking against them, not stealing, but showing all good faith,
that they may adorn the doctrine of our Savior God in all things.
They were to adorn the doctrine of our Savior God ! They were to add beauty and attractiveness to the facts of the gospel by the lives they lived!
I had been praying for Tom, the proprietor of a hardware store in the town where I pastored. I liked Tom and often stopped in to talk with him. One day I determined to share Jesus more directly with him. Before I could, Tom said to me, “Chip, I want what you have! I want to have Jesus Christ in my life!” We went into the stockroom, away from the customers, and Tom prayed, asking Jesus into his heart and life to be His Savior! That was about the easiest task of witnessing I ever had! Why was it so easy? I had given Tom a sample of the Lord simply by showing forth in my life the beauty of Jesus!
✞ Unfortunately, some ‘samples’ given out by Christians are not very good! I visited Ken one day to find out why he would not attend church. He hemmed and hawed a bit, but then said,
Pastor, you really want to know why I don’t come to church? So-and-
so, he’s a deacon isn’t he? And so-and-so, she serves on the Board of
Trustees. If that is what a Christian is supposed to be, I don’t want any
part of it!
Be careful what kind of sample you are handing out to people! Didn’t Jesus tell us in John 13:34 and 35:
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have
loved you, that you also love one another. By this shall all will know that
you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.
Love like Jesus, live like Jesus! By this shall all will know that you are His disciples!
• I believed in the company and what they offered in product, sales support, and customer relations – and that made selling their product much easier!
✞ I have been a Christian for almost 52 years. Although I have often disappointed my Lord, He has never disappointed me! He has always lived up to His promises He readily gives me in His Word, the Bible!
✞ I can trust that the ‘Product’ I offer to others – Jesus Himself – will be everything He says it (He) will be.
✞ There are so many promises in His Word that tell me – His representative – the support He offers me! (For just a few, see John 10:10; 27, 28; 14:12; 19; I Corinthians 15:57; Galatians 5:22, 23; Philippians 4:19; Hebrews 13:5).
✞ I know that ‘customer service’ with God is just one call away! What is His number? Try Jeremiah 33:3 – “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” (See also Matthew 11:28-30; Hebrews 4:14-16).
So get out and ‘sell’ Jesus Christ to others!