The gameshow ‘Catchphrase’ used to have the slogan ‘Say what you see!’ as you had to guess which saying was represented in pictorial form. Tonight’s sermon on the ‘A-Z of Christian Faith‘ looked at witness, which ultimately is all about saying what you have seen and testifying to what God has done for you (see Ps 107:1-2, Ps 66:16).
Witnessing is a topic which often intimidates us or makes us feel inadequate. We feel we don’t know enough or can’t answer every question; we may find it difficult to talk to strangers or feel that it’s pointless because we have not seen others come to faith through our witness. However, when we realise that witnessing is simply testifying to what God has done (only He can save and we are not responsible for people’s response to our testimony), we see that this is a crucial part of our faith. In the words of the Ishmael song,
‘I’m gonna say my prayers,
Read my Bible every morning,
Gonna get some fellowship,
Witness every day.’ (‘Glorie Song’)
The siege story in 2 Kings 7 reminds us that good news needs to be shared. In this story, four lepers facing certain death because of the famine caused by war discover God has gone ahead of them, scattered the enemy and left them the recipients of more food, gold, silver and clothing than they could have possibly imagined. At first, they are simply glad to be in this enviable position, but soon they realise ‘What we’re doing is not right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves.’ )2 Kings 7:9) At first, we might simply be overwhelmed by God’s grace and mercy to us, but salvation is about more than our own personal safety and security. As we begin to grasp the height and depth and length and width of God’s love, we see that this love is for the whole world (Jn 3:16, 2 Pet 3:19) and we, like the lepers, are called to share this good news with others.
Witness is simply testifying to what God has done, sharing our personal stories with a world that needs to hear the message of good news. God has given us the Holy Spirit to enable us to be effective witnesses (Acts 1:8) and we need to pass the good news on!