Picking my favorite sermon this year was relatively easy. I am so thankful for the way God teaches me through godly men who proclaim and explain His truth. That happened to me this fall in a powerful way.
I’m a member of Broadway Christian Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana. On September 12, 2021, Ryan Cochran, our Senior Pastor, preached a message entitled “Jesus, the Faithful Witness.” Toward the end of the sermon he started commenting on the key characteristics of a faithful witness. Here’s what he said about the first characteristic:
“A faithful witness is someone who is seeking to become like Jesus. The first step in being a faithful witness is seeking to become like Jesus. The most faithful witnesses are not people who rack up the most converts or draw the biggest crowds. None of us are likely to be Billy Graham. There’s only one Billy Graham. We are grateful for him and the work God did through him. But Billy Graham is not our measure of what it means to be a faithful witness. Our measure is Jesus. Are you becoming more like Jesus? The most faithful witnesses are men and women who are like Him, who over time in their lives, by being with Him, by finding their own way with Scripture and prayer, by being a part of God’s people, are being formed into the image of Jesus and who have been conformed into His likeness. They have become His disciples and followers, and over time become more and more like Him. If we are going to be faithful witnesses to Jesus, our first priority is our relationship with Him and our seeking to become like Him by the help of the Holy Spirit. The more that we are with Him, the more we will know Him; the more that we know him, the more we will be like Him; and the more we are like Him, the better witnesses we will be to Him. The most faithful witnesses are those people who are most like Jesus.”
And then Pastor Ryan said this again:
“The more that we are with Him, the more we will know Him.
The more that we know Him, the more we will be like Him.
And the more we are like Him, the better witnesses we will be to Him.
The most faithful witnesses are those people who are most like Jesus.”
I gotta tell you, this was powerful. It resonated with my heart and mind, big time. I cannot put into words how much it meant to me for my pastor to speak these words.
Over the past few years, my desire to tell people about Jesus has increased. And I thank God for that. I don’t remember asking Him for this desire, but now that I have it, I plead with Him to continue providing it. And I want to know what I need to know and do and read and pray about, so that I can be a faithful witness.
Of all the things that Pastor Ryan could have said, he told me that the most important thing I can do to be a faithful witness is to pursue a life of Christlikeness. Wow. It was like I was the only person in the sanctuary, and he was talking with me one-on-one, as God’s representative, His mouthpiece.
And then it occurred to me that this was the second time God gave me this message of Christlikeness as the key to being a faithful witness. Just a few days before this sermon, I was reading a book by Charles Spurgeon entitled The Soul Winner. Spurgeon was a pastor in London in the late 1800’s. He has also become Christianity’s most prolific author because most of his 3,600 sermons were transcribed and continue to be published as books that are read to this day. The Soul Winner has a chapter called “Godward Qualifications for Soul Winning.” According to Spurgeon, here is qualification #1: holiness of character.
Listen to what he has to say:
“A man who is to be a soul winner must have holiness of character. In God’s school, the teachers must be masters of the art of holiness. If we teach one thing by our lips and another by our lives, those who listen to us will say, “Physician, heal yourself.” “You say, ‘Repent.’ Where is your own repentance? You say, ‘Serve God, and be obedient to His will.’ Do you serve Him? Are you obedient to His will?” God will speak through a fool if he be but a holy man. I do not, of course, mean that God chooses fools to be His ministers; but let a man once become really holy, even though he has but the slenderest possible ability, he will be a more fit instrument in God’s hand than the man of gigantic acquirements, who is not obedient to the divine will, nor clean and pure in the sight of the Lord God Almighty. Dear brethren, I do beg you to attach the highest importance to your own personal holiness. Do live unto God. If you do not, your Lord will not be with you.”
Christlikeness. Personal holiness. Aren’t those synonymous?
Charles Spurgeon wrote his book decades ago, and what he said then, Pastor Ryan was saying to me again over 100 years later. Isn’t God good? I’m so glad He repeats Himself, aren’t you?
Back to Spurgeon’s book. Here’s the complete list of his seven characteristics of a soul winner:
1. Personal holiness
2. Spiritual life to a high degree
3. A humble spirit
4. A living faith
5. Thorough earnestness
6. A focus on the glory of God
7. A complete surrender of yourself to God
Isn’t this amazing? These qualities are all about our character – being like Christ — being holy and alive and humble, filled with faith and sincerity, focused on God’s glory and totally submissive to Him.
Oh my friend, do you see the point here? Do you want to lead people to Jesus? I do. Then the most important thing we can do is to pursue Christ and become like Him. When we follow Jesus, leading others to Him will be the natural result.
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