======================================================================== A REVIVAL IN SHARING OUR FAITH by Edgar Reich ======================================================================== Summary: The sermon emphasizes the importance of sharing the gospel and being a witness to others, highlighting the power of the Holy Spirit in overcoming obstacles and being effective in sharing the gospel. Duration: 1:09:34 Topics: "Evangelism", "Discipleship" Scripture References: Acts 1:8 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DESCRIPTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This sermon by Edgar Reich emphasizes the importance of sharing one's faith and being a fisher of men as instructed by Jesus in Matthew 4:19. Reich challenges Christians to examine if they are truly following Jesus by actively sharing the good news of salvation. He shares powerful testimonies of individuals who chose to endure persecution and suffering rather than deny their faith, highlighting the impact of true revival in believers' lives. Reich urges Christians to overcome fear, pride, and complacency to fulfill the Great Commission of making disciples of all nations. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thank you for joining me. My name is Edgar Reich and I am called by the will of God for revival. Today's message is a revival in sharing our faith. Our scripture comes from the Bible, from the book of Matthew chapter 4 verse 19. And there Jesus said in Matthew chapter 4 verse 19, follow me, follow me and I will make you fishers of men. Follow me and I will make you fishers of men. May I ask you if you're following Jesus? You might answer, of course I do. Then may I ask you this question, are you fishing for men, women and children, telling them the good news that there is a future, that there is a hope through Jesus Christ. If you're not doing so, may I ask, has Jesus Christ failed you in some way to not follow this task? Is it his problem? I think we both agree, oh no, it's not his problem. Things have happened in the lives of Christians in the western civilization. I have wrestled much with this. Why am I so hesitant in sharing my faith? Why am I often embarrassed? Why do I have this terrible pride? Why do I have fear of men? If I'm not sharing my faith, am I really following Jesus? The hallmark of all true revivals is the awakening of the church to do the tasks the Lord Jesus has called us to do. Jesus said, go, go and make disciples of all nations. And now, right now, God has even reversed it for us in North America. He's sending nations to be with us right here where we can share our faith with them on a local basis. In other parts of the world, there are revivals. In Iran, revival is taking place in the underground church. Come with me to Evin Prison in Iran. It's one of the most notorious prisons in Iran. Christians are tortured, bones are broken, and they are in great pain. Women are regularly raped. The prison guards called a Christian leader in the prison and said to him, promise us that you will not share your Jesus and your faith on the outside, and we will let all of you Christians go. We will release all of you if you promise not to share your faith. The Christian answered and said, let me speak with my Christian brothers and sisters. He went back and he explained to the other Christians in the prison the offer that was made to them. They all prayed and decided. Then the Christian leader went back to the guards. He said, we have prayed and we have decided. He said, we cannot promise what you ask, for this salvation is so great and so wonderful, we cannot withhold it from anyone. We must share. We must share that Jesus Christ is the way to God, and we can have peace with God the Father through his Son. There is a hope and a future. And so the Christians in Evan prison chose torture, rape, and pain rather than not sharing Jesus. What about you and me? Where did these Iranians get their strength from? How is this possible? We have a wonderful scripture in Acts chapter 1 verse 8, and there it reads, 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. So often we see excesses in the Holy Spirit power where people want to fall to the floor, where they want to feel good, where they want to have their own way, where they shake, rattle, and roll. Is this what the power is for? Acts 1 verse 8 says, when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you shall be witnesses to me, said the Lord Jesus Christ. So if you say you're filled with his Holy Spirit, may I ask you whether you are sharing Christ wherever you go. In the Western world, 80 percent of Christians die without having shared their faith in Jesus. In the Western world, 90 to 95 percent of all Christians die without having brought a single person to Christ. Will that include you? Will that include me? Oh no, it must not. In the Western world, only one percent to three percent of Christians share their faith regularly. Other Christians say no, that's not my job. Because of this, Christianity is dying in North America. One website reports Christians declining by eight percent. When the gospel of Jesus Christ is no longer being shared, Christianity dies. Sheep are supposed to beget sheep. Another website reports that Christians have grown to over 80 percent of America, yet only 20 percent go to church, and that includes all faith. Do the 60 percent in between, do they live the word of God? Do they follow the Bible? Do they live a holy and acceptable lives unto God, which is our reasonable service? When I shared the gospel with three Muslim young men, their number one issue was, how can you call yourselves Christians? Most of you live a terrible, evil life. How can you call yourself Christians? Come with me to the Chinese Underground Church in China. They have had a continuous revival now for a number of years, and each day they bring 25,000 new Christians to their underground churches. They now number over 100 million believers in the underground churches. There are 25,000 new believers every day, not every week, not every month, but every day. Chinese underground Christians believe it is a sin not to share our faith. It is an instruction from Jesus to go and make disciples of all nations. If we don't act, are we in disobedience to Jesus? Is that sin? In China, once a person becomes born again, he receives three days of training to understand basic doctrines of the Bible. Then they are told to go and share Jesus with their neighbors and in their city. They go from house to house and ask, can I pray for you sick? I am a Christian, but I want to pray for any sick in this house. And miracles follow them, and people are healed. The people that are safe in China, 80% of them, 80 million of the 100 million underground Chinese have experienced miracles, either directly in the way of healing or in their family. When you meet a Chinese underground Christian, you have to keep five points in mind. Number A, he or she only wants to talk about Jesus. They don't have time for politics. They don't have time for weather. They don't have time for sports. They don't have time for gossip. Number two, he will embarrass you as he will start to share Jesus. This also applies to women with people near you. The next point, he knows not everyone will love him. He's ready to die for Jesus. He will run when the police comes to be able to still share Christ elsewhere. He's also prepared to go to jail if necessary and witness in jail. What about you and me? The book of Acts in the Bible written by Dr. Luke is the story of the men and women who took the Great Commission from the Lord Jesus seriously. They began to spread the good news of a risen Savior in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria, and to the outermost parts of the world. They loved others. They were obedient, and they risked their lives. They turned the world upside down. Do you want to turn the world upside down, beloved? God has given us the way with this incredible good news, with this gospel of Jesus Christ. We can still turn the world upside down today, if you're willing. I must believe that God will help me. One of the great sins in our trying to share our faith is that we go and we try it. We fail. We are rejected. We're put down, and then we never try again. Why is that? The number one reason is because we're not asking the Lord for higher help. We need higher help, and that's what Acts 1.8 says, when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You say, well, I got the Holy Spirit when I was born again, but sin has deteriorated that presence of the Holy Spirit in you, and the Bible also says, be filled by the Holy Spirit. So we must go to the Father, and in Luke 11, verse 13, it says, how much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask? So we can ask. I was arguing with God while I was walking in a park across the street from here, and I prayed, Lord, Lord, I want to do your will. I want to share my faith. I ask for your cleansing. You see, before I can be filled with the Spirit, I must be cleansed anew, and so I asked for cleansing. I said, fill me with your Holy Spirit, then help me with the words. In Luke chapter 12, verse 12, he said, don't worry, I'll give you the words, and then I asked God to help me to open up my mouth, and nothing was happening, and I was angry, and I said, why? I don't understand. It's up to you now, God, to make this happen. Somehow I feel you're not doing your part, most high God. The leaves of the trees were rustling, and the sun was shining, yet I was in despair, and I was angry. I did realize that it's not God's fault, but mine, but I could not understand what I was doing wrong. Then a still small voice came in my mind about an hour later, and this still small voice said, the problem is that you don't believe that I, the Lord, have filled you with my Spirit and empowered you to do what you ask. You don't believe, and so unbelief is a great, great deterrent in our sharing our faith. A few days later, I was walking through the same park, and there was a man sitting on a park bench. He was well dressed. He seemed to be smiling. I walked by, and I thought, well, Lord, this man doesn't need a tract. This man doesn't need to hear about you. He's well, and I walked by, and that still small voice came and said, turn around. Give him a tract, and so I walked over to him, and I said, sir, it's a wonderful and lovely day. I don't want to disturb you, but I just want to tell you that God loves you incredibly, and there are no things that are too big in this world not to give to God and not to call on Him for help, and I said, we call for help on God through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and so I have a tract here which I want to share with you, and I want to give to you, and this man was sitting there. His eyes opened up wide. He listened to me. Tears burst into his eyes, and he said, how is this possible? I'm sitting here contemplating on how best to commit suicide. Who sent you? What happened? And so I was able to share with him the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and beloved, I didn't do that. God did that. We got to give God all the glory. When unusual things happen, then every good and every perfect thing is from above and from the Father, and we give Him the glory and honor, and now every time that I give a testimony, I pray this little prayer beforehand. It only has four steps, and the first one is, I ask Lord, cleanse me anew this day, and this is in accordance with 1st John 1 9, where God said, if you confess your sins, I am faithful and just to forgive your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness, and then I pray, Lord, fill me anew with your Holy Spirit. Lord, help me to believe that I'm filled, and give me the words in accordance with Luke 12 12, because there it says, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say, and then the fourth point is, Lord, help me to open up my mouth. So number one is, cleanse me, Lord. Number two, Lord, fill me anew with your Holy Spirit. Number three, help me to believe and give me the words, and number four, help me to open up my mouth. I was sitting next to a Catholic woman, and she was praying through her rosary, and so I prayed these four things, and I said, Lord, I don't know what to say to this lady, but I ought to talk with her. What should I do? Then I saw her finished, and the idea came, start out with a compliment, and that is always a good opener to start a conversation with a person. So I said, dear lady, I just saw you praying, and I want to tell you it's an honor for me to sit next to a woman of faith, and she smiled at me, and I said to her, now may I ask you a question, and she said, yes, go ahead, and I said, may I ask you what you were praying for, and this thought actually came from the Holy Spirit. What were you praying for? And she said, you know, I was praying that God would send an angel next to me to sit next to me. Are you an angel? And we both laughed, and I said, no, no, no, I'm not an angel. I'm just a singer saved by grace, and then I said to her, now could you tell me, in accordance with your faith, what do I need to do to make it to heaven? And she said, oh, I'm so glad to tell you. Yes, I want to tell you, and then she said, you must be a very good man. You must do good deeds, and then God will allow you into heaven, and so I asked her, may I ask you another question? She said, sure. I said, is that what the Bible teaches? Is that what the Bible says? And she looked at me in surprise, and she said, you know, I don't really know, and so I started to share with her from the Bible, and I shared with her from Ephesians chapter 2, verses 8 and 9, and there it says, by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourself. It is a gift of God, not of words, that anyone should boast, and I explained to her that God gave us his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, that we might be saved by faith, believing in him, that we could not work our way to heaven, and as I explained this to her, I saw that she understood. She leaned forward to her purse, and she went into her purse, and she brought out a tract, and she held up a tract to me, and she said, someone gave me this, and what you're talking about is all in this tract. It's all in this tract. It's all about the Bible. It's all about the Son of God, and that I can only make it to heaven through the Son of God, and then a little bit later on, she said to me, and when we parted, she said, from now on, I will believe that Christ Jesus is the only way, the only truth, the only life by which we can make it to heaven and have peace with God the Father. Now again, beloved, God did this. I didn't do that. You see, God uses ordinary men and women. If you want to change the world, where would you go to find good people? Would you go to universities? Would you go to think tanks? Would you go to the well- educated? Would you go to great speakers and motivators? Where did Jesus go to find people to change the world? Where did he go? In Mark chapter 1, verses 16 to 20, it tells us a little bit about this, and here it says in Scripture, and as he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. Then Jesus said to them, follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men. And immediately they left their nets and followed him. And when he had gone a little farther from there, he saw James, the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother, who also were in the boat, mending nets. And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and they went after Jesus. Now the question is, were these disciples, were these fishermen well- educated? They seem to know so much Scripture later on. How is that possible? Well, the answer is found in the book of Acts, in chapter 4, verse 13, and there it says, now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled, and they realized that they had been with Jesus. They were uneducated and untrained. God shows ordinary people. And so why did Jesus come into the world? Well, he came to seek and save that which was lost. And then he said to us, the Christians, now go and do the job. I started it. It's up to you. So did Jesus' instructions apply to all of us? And certainly Matthew chapter 18, verses 19 and 20, it says, go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen. Jesus left the job for you and for me. Are you following Jesus? Are you following what he told us to do? Now you say, well, I never really hear of ordinary Christians sharing Christ. Well, in Acts chapter 8, verses 1 to 4, it tells us that, in verse 1, that the apostles stayed in the city of Jerusalem, but persecution had started, and the other Christians were driven out of Jerusalem. They were driven into the countryside. They lost their jobs. They were scattered. And then in verse 4 of Acts chapter 8, Acts chapter 8, verse 4, it says, therefore those who were scattered when we were preaching the word. Beloved ordinary Christians like you and me, what a command. Is there an option? Is there a choice in this command by Jesus? And in Luke chapter 6, verse 46, Jesus asked the question, but why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do the things which I say? And John 14, verse 15 says, if you love me, and Jesus said these words, if you love me, keep my commandments. Would you feel it is a sin when you don't follow the command of Jesus? Jesus says it is. I know that you cannot do this work in your human strength. I cannot do this work in my own human strength. We need higher help, and this is our most greatest failing, not to ask for higher help. And so in 1 Corinthians chapter 1, verses 26 to 27, it says, for you see you're calling brethren, it also includes sisters, that not many are wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called, but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty. So Satan tells us a lie, and he says, you're an advert. You can't do this job. Do you listen to his lies? Don't listen to his lies. Actually, he's right. We can't do this job in our own personal strength. We need the power of the Holy Spirit, and in Acts chapter 1, verse 8, it says, but you shall, you shall, it's a certainty, 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. Now the Lord had called me for revival, and I got a phone call from a dear brother, Silas Titus, at that particular time point. I was in New Jersey. He was in Staten Island, and he called me, and he said, brother, we're going to go downtown New York. We're going to go to Ground Zero. We're going to share Christ there. Will you come? Will you share Christ? And so I said, well, dear brother Silas, I'm called for revival, and I'm not sure if I'm called for this work, and so I prayed, and to my surprise, God said in prayer very clearly, you must go. You must share. You must share my son with everyone that you come in contact with, and so I called back Silas, and I asked him when, and he said, for three months, we're going to go downtown New York, and so I said, I will join you, and so the first day I went was on a Tuesday afternoon. We went to Ground Zero next to the train station, and thousands of people were rushing towards me. I was moved by the police time and again, and I felt very down and very, very unimportant and not very worthwhile, and then even as I passed out tracks, and I tried to share Christ with people, people were cursing at me, and all throughout this day, even as I passed out tracks, people were cursing at me, and that night, I went home, and I was deeply, deeply disturbed, and I asked the Lord, and I said, Lord, Lord, they don't want you. They don't want me. I'm not going to go back out there and go through that, and then on the weekend, the Lord just spoke to me time and again and said, you must go back. I asked Silas Titus whether the others had a lot of cursing at them, and he said, no, none of us, and so what was really happening was that Satan knew about my pride. Satan knew about my selfishness, and so he tried to have people discourage me that I would not go back out on the streets. That weekend, I prayed much, and I said, Lord, you have a broken heart for the lost. I don't have a broken heart. I don't weep for the people, and I have a hard heart, Lord. Please break my heart. Please help me, Lord. Please give me some of your love that I might love those, and I'll go back out, and yes, Lord, I will share Christ, and so I went back out, and it was around 4 30 on a Thursday afternoon, and there were 45,000 New Yorkers rushing towards the train station, and as I was looking, rushing at me, all of a sudden, all sound disappeared, and the people started to walk in slow motion like they were dead, and I could not hear any sound, and then I could read their faces, and in their faces, I read, I want to get home. I want to be with my family. I want dinner. I want my nice car that's parked on the other side of the train. I want to be with my children. I want to play golf. I want to watch a football game. I got to check out my money. My money bothers me. I want to swim in my pool, and I realized that none of them, none of them had time for God, and my heart started to get burdened, and my heart started to break inside of me. There were no tears yet in my eyes, but my heart started to break, and then came the still small voice of God, and He said, Yes, they disregard me, but I love them. I love them. I love them. Won't you tell them? By this time, I was weeping, and I realized that I had seen the walking dead in this vision, the walking dead. They had no future, no hope. There was no heaven for them, only hell. Oh, God, have mercy on my sisters, on my brothers, on my neighbors, on my family members who do not know Christ, and I was weeping, and then again came that still small voice, and that voice said, If you won't tell them, their blood will I require at your hand, and that's a scripture from the Old Testament, and beloved, I went back out, and my brother Silas Titus, he got a police permit, and we got a loudspeaker, and I shared my testimony of the loudspeaker. I preached to the crowds to the loudspeaker. A construction worker came running, and he ripped the mic out of my hand and made fun, and then a saxophone player was so upset because he was not allowed to play in that area, but we were allowed to speak the Word of God, and he took a run at me, and just before his nose almost touched mine, there seemed to be a glass wall protecting me, and beloved, three huge men, three 300-pound men came, and they started to laugh at me, and they were dancing like three big teddy bears. They were dancing in front of me, and people were laughing, but I had the certainty that I was in the will of God, that I was sharing that blessed Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, so why is it so difficult to witness while we have fear of what people will say, and it is pride. It is the old flesh. It is only the self that fears man. We are not to fear man. We are to fear God, and then we have a fear of what they might think of us, but Jesus said, if you deny me before man, I will deny you before my Father. Then another excuse is, my life is a mess. How can I share Christ, and that denies the help from the Lord Jesus to forgive you your sins, and that he's able to keep you from falling. It is unbelief. Some of you Christians are saying, I don't really need to do this. That's rebellion against Jesus. He said, do what I tell you to do, and then some might say, well, most other Christians don't like you said, 80% haven't even ever shared, so why should I do it? Well, beloved, it's humanism. It's following the crowd. It is rebellion against God, and so I ask you to repent of that. Then you might say, well, I'm not comfortable with this, and what is happening is that you're trusting the old flesh. You're trusting the self, and the self is not comfortable. You're not relying on the Holy Spirit power. You're not asking God to help you. You're not looking for higher help, and then you say, well, I just can't do it. It's not my skill set. God never, never equipped me for that. That's a lie. That's a lie from Satan. Don't believe it. You're denying God's help. The Holy Spirit is in you. Christ is in you. You're born again. You're an ambassador for Christ. Some might say, well, I sin regularly, so how can I witness? Well, get cleaned up. Ask Jesus to help you not to sin and share your faith. Well, what if people reject me? Well, it's better to be rejected by man than by God. Well, you might say, I don't know how to share my faith. I just told you about Chinese Christians. They're three days a Christian, and then they go and share Jesus. You can too, but you need higher help. You need help from the Holy Spirit, and he will help you, and you have a testimony. If God saved you, you can tell people that's how it was before. That's what happened when God saved me, and that's who I am now. I'm not perfect yet, but I am so new in so many different ways, and I'm asking God to complete his work in me. But I have seen change in my life, and I want you to experience change in your life. Then people say, well, I don't have that spiritual gift. Again, that is a lie from Satan, because God instructed us all to follow him and to become fishers of men. And then some say, well, let pastors and missionaries do it. That's a lie from hell. You see sheep beget sheep. I'm not called to do this. It's a lie from hell. It's a disobedience to Jesus. It says in Scripture that the, you might answer again, that it doesn't say anywhere in Scripture that the ordinary people were witnessing. It's not true. I just gave you Acts chapter 8, verse 4. The ordinary people went out, and they changed the world. Later on in the book of Acts, it talks about a couple of these people, and even unbelievers said, those who are changing the world, they have come here. Are you a world changer? Are you busy with television, with the internet, with Facebook, with arguing? You don't have time to argue. You have this great gospel. Share it. You might say, I don't know enough Scripture. That's a lie from Satan. Do you know John chapter 3, verse 16? All you need to know is one verse. Well, suppose they ask me questions, you answer. In Luke chapter 12, 12, it says that the Holy Spirit will help you. The Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say. It's also okay to say, no, I don't know the answer to your question. It's a good question, but I promise to find out the answer, and I'll get back to you. You might answer me and say, it might cause opposition, and I get into trouble. Jesus says, take up your cross and follow me, or else you cannot be my disciple. Take up your cross and follow me. Well, I may lose my friends. Second Corinthians chapter 6, verse 14 says, get new friends. Don't be unequally yoked. Well, I don't want to be an extremist. Are Christians not supposed to share Jesus? Does that make you and me an extremist? Don't we have the most wonderful thing in the world to share and to give to others? Well, I'm not sure if I agree with you because I need to be respectful of other faith. Beloved, that's a terrible lie from hell. It is a terrible lie from Satan. Satan wants all of the humans in this world to be lost, to go to hell. Who will tell people the truth? Don't you have the good news and the answer? You see, we often don't understand how great our salvation is. Political correctness demands distance from other faith. You say, again, it is a lie by Satan and hell. You're sending many people to hell without giving them a chance to hear about Jesus. Well, you might say, I can't speak well. This relies on you. You deny the power of the Holy Spirit to help you. Then many say, oh, oh, I don't need to use my voice. I just witness with my life. It is necessary to witness with our lives too, but it is also absolutely essential that you use your voice. In Romans chapter 10, 10 it says, for with the heart one believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Revelation chapter 12, 11 says, and they overcame him by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony and they did not love their lives to the death. Note that part of overcoming Satan's attacks here is to use the word of their testimony. Speak up that you love Jesus. Speak up that you're right with God. Speak up that you're on your way to heaven. Well, I'm not prepared for the consequences you say it might cost me. And Jesus said in Luke chapter 14 verses 25 to 35, he spoke about four requirements for a disciple of Jesus. And one of them is, if you don't take up your cross to follow Jesus, you cannot be his disciple. So what are the next steps? Well, we need to walk following Jesus and we need higher help. And so the steps that I go through is number A, I pray, Lord, cleanse me anew. Lord, fill me anew with your Holy Spirit and give me words. Lord, help me to believe that I'm filled. Lord, help me to open up my mouth. Then look to open up a discussion with the person. Give a compliment. Smile at the person. Can you go to smile school? Are you so bitter at the world and even at your own faith that you can't even smile? Can you smile? Go to smile school. Smile school means you show your teeth. Smile. Smile at people. It makes a world of a difference if you smile at a person. Then have your testimony ready, how God saved you. How did he change your life? Do it in less than seven minutes. You've got to sit down, write it out and cut out a lot of the extra because people don't have that much time. They won't listen to you. So tell them how you were before you were saved by Jesus. Tell people what happened when you were born again and then tell people how you were changed afterwards. So I'll just give you a short example of that. I used to teach at the University of Toronto. I used to run a 900 million dollar company but I lived in great sin. I had left my wife and my children. I lived common law. I drank. I smoked. I was deep in sin and on my way to hell. On a morning in year 2004, in April, I woke up and I was in a vision. I was in an open grave lying in my back in that grave and I could not get out of that grave because I was bound by my sins and I started to call for help. Help! Help! Help! Someone help me and no one came and then worms came from the earth. They fed on my body and the flesh started to turn into dust and I realized that moment I was on my way to hell unless, unless someone helped me and I had been to church. I knew that Christ was the way and so I changed my call and I said, God if there's any mercy left for sinners such as myself, help me please. Help me please. Send your son Jesus and then I cried out to Jesus. Jesus please come. No one came for hours. I thought I was going to hell and then a person appeared at the bottom of the grave and he reached into the grave with his hand. He put his hand around my neck. He helped me to sit up. All of my sins snapped off my body as if they were thread and that moment I woke up. I had fallen out of my bed and I knelt and I prayed and I said, Lord Jesus, thank you for saving me, coming to my life. I give my life to you. I believe in you. I believe that you died, that you gave your life on the cross and that you rose again and now, Lord Jesus, if you save me, save me please. Have mercy on me. I'll give my life to you and that moment I was born again and then I raised my head and joy started to flood my soul. Heaven came down and glory filled my soul and from that day forward I have been changed. Not all at once. There have been issues in my life and you can listen to those issues in another tape but God, God is making me like himself step by step but I have to be willing. I have to follow Christ. I have to do what he tells me to do. I was sitting at the airport in Nairobi, Kenya and there was a Chinese man at the other part of the bench and he smiled at me. I smiled at him and he came over and he said, what's a white man doing here in Kenya? And I said, well, I've just been trying to help 181 children that live on top of a garbage hill and so he said to me, so you're something like a Christian? I said, yes, I am a Christian. Thank you for asking and I said, what do you believe? And he said, well, I'm a Buddhist and so we started to talk and we talked a little bit about nirvana and the state of nothingness and how a Buddhist must work very, very hard to get to this place of nirvana and he wasn't sure whether he would ever make it and so I started to share about Christianity and he wanted to understand what that meant and we read together John chapter 3, you must be born again. And then I asked him, what are you doing here in Kenya? He said, I'm here to see all of the animals out in the Maasai Mara. I want to see the elephants and the lions and the wildebeest and the buffalo. And then I said to him, well, before you go, I believe it's destiny that you should become a Christian because God has shown you from his own word that you should become a Christian. And that moment he got angry at me and he said, well, you can't prove that there is a God. And I said, yes, I believe I can. And so I started to talk to him about a book that I had read, which is called the language of God by Dr. Francis Collins. Dr. Francis Collins was the leader of the global DNA project where they accumulated 3.1 billion four letter DNA cells and sequenced them. And so I said to him, you know, there are 3.1 billion four letter DNA cells. If some of them are missing, then people are sick. If many are missing, people cannot live. And I said, now you're going to the Maasai Mara, everyone of the animals out there has a different DNA structure. And then he smiled at me and he said, maybe it is destiny that I should become a Christian. He said, you see, I am a DNA scientist. I splice genes and I know about Dr. Francis Collins. Beloved God did that. God used my knowledge to put me together with this man. And he drew it out of me to help this man. And so, beloved God is an incredible God. And I have also shared with him my testimony. And I was evil. Yes. Now, some of you might say, well, in my testimony, Jesus saved me as a child. I don't even remember when I was born again. But you should be able to see a difference before God saved you and now the life that you live. Are you following truly Christ? Are you born again? Is your walk different from the world? The Lord has great things in mind for you if you have not sinned as much as I did. Because you see, he used a young girl by the name of Mary and he gave her the son of God for her to give birth to. So he has great plans for you if you're a better person than I am. Praise God. But write down what happens in your Christian life, how you deal with issues and how God helps you. That's your testimony. And then God helps us and reminds us in 1 Peter 3, verse 15. And I am going to read from a newer version. It says, but in your hearts, revere Christ as Lord. We need him to help us. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that is in you. That's your testimony. So you got to prepare that. But do this with gentleness and respect. Now be ready to give a testimony. If you want to do a one mile race, you want to enter the Olympics, you have to train hard. So beloved, you got to take the time to write down your testimony. There's no way around it. And memorize it. Have it ready for God to use. And then if you don't know John chapter 3, verse 16, memorize that verse. It gives you the way of salvation. And it says, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. And then always have a gospel tract in your pocket or purse that will help you for this discussion to go to the next step. Like with the Catholic lady, like with the Chinese scientist, have a tract in your pocket, have a tract with you. I was in hospital and I had a very serious operation. I couldn't move. The night nurse came and the night nurse said, I'm going to take care of you for the night. And I said to her, what is your name? She gave me your name. And then I said, may I ask you a question? She said, of course. I said, do you believe in anything? Do you have any faith? And she said, of course I do. I believe in gods. And I said, oh, do you believe in gods? Can you tell me? It's an honor to speak to a person that believes in something. Which gods do you believe in? And she said, well, I believe in Buddha. I believe in Islam. I believe in Hare Krishna. I believe in the Hindu gods. I believe in the Christian faith. And I said to her, but how do you know which one tells you the truth? Have you read all of the writings? Have you proven the writings? She said, well, no, I really haven't. But I just believe there must be something good about every one of them. And I said, yeah, but which one is telling you the truth? And she said, I don't know. And I said, well, if there is a true God, wouldn't he help mankind to know the truth? And she said, yes, I believe you're right. God would tell us the truth. And I said, there was a river out in the land of Israel, a river called Jordan, and there was a man in the river being baptized. And then God opened up heaven, and he spoke by a voice from heaven and said, this is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased. And later on, God again opened up heaven and said, this is my beloved son, hear him. And I said, now I want to know from you, who was it in the river standing? Was it Buddha? And she said, I don't know. I asked her, was it Hare Krishna? And she said, I don't know. Was it someone from the Islamic faith? I don't know. Was it someone from the Christian faith? She said, I don't know. And I said to her, well, it was the Lord Jesus Christ, the only true, the living son of God who makes a way for us to heaven. And she was overjoyed, and she accepted that faith, and she accepted that truth, and she accepted Christ. And she ran away from my bed, and I didn't know what happened. And she came back a little later, and she had bought a little angel for me. And she said, no one ever told me that. Thank you so much for telling me that. She said, I went to go and buy an angel for you, that you might share that with many. Would you share that with many? And I said, I will. And then she said goodbye, and I never saw her again. She was so overwhelmed, she couldn't deal with the truth. She quit her job, and she left right then and there. And so I don't know what happened to her, but I know she is in good hands. And so, beloved, everywhere in life, we have an opportunity to share our faith. I broke my hand, and the doctor was setting it. And I said, thank you so much, doctor, for your kindness, for setting my hand. You've been trained to heal my physical body, but I want you to know I have a spiritual body, and you have a spiritual body. That spiritual body needs healing, too. And there's only one person who can heal that for you. The doctor looked at me with great eyes, and he listened to me. And then I gave him a tract, and he promised me to read the tract about the Son of God, who will answer our questions. I went to an oculus, and two receptionists were there. And I asked the ladies, and I smiled, and I said, is this the right place for me to improve my vision? And they said, yes, you're in the right place. And I said, yes, but I have a bigger request than just the earthly vision. Can you also give me heavenly vision? Can you give me eternal vision? And they laughed, and they said, no, we cannot give you heavenly vision. We cannot give you eternal vision. And I said, well, I can. I can. Can I each give you a tract? It shows you the way to heaven. It shows you how to get there through the Son of God. But then each time I share the faith, I say, Lord, cleanse me new. Lord, fill me new with your Holy Spirit. Lord, help me to believe that I'm filled, and give me words. Lord, help me to open up my mouth. And so you can share with the waitress. The waitress gives you physical food, but she needs spiritual food. You can say the same in the grocery store. Thank you for helping, ringing up my groceries. I want to bring joy to you. Can I give you a tract to make sure that you're going to go to heaven? I shared a testimony with my sister in Germany, and she says she cannot believe in God because God kills people that won't believe in him. And she says, I will never believe in a God like that. I asked her, sister, do you have a clean house? She said, of course, I have a clean house. I hate dust. I don't want hate. I don't want dust in my house. It must go. It will be cleaned up. It must go. And I said, sister, you just talked about God. God has a great heaven, a wonderful, clean heaven. He cannot permit sin into heaven. We must be washed by the Son, by the Lord Jesus Christ. And if we don't follow him, then the responsibility is our own. I shared my testimony with three Muslim students, and they wanted a separate day to ask questions, and so I agreed to a separate day to answer their questions. And then I prayed, Lord, cleanse me anew. Lord, fill me anew with your Holy Spirit. Lord, help me to believe that I'm filled. Lord, help me to open up my mouth. And then I also said, Lord, help me to love people that are perhaps different, that have different opinions. Lord, how should I prepare? And then the Lord reminded me, be gentle and respectful, as 1 Peter 3 15 says. Go to smile school. Know the incredible gift of salvation. And then the Holy Spirit said during that prayer, concentrate on what is truth, and concentrate on whether they were witnesses. And so I was allowed to share with two of them. One did not come. Two Muslim students came that was in the United States, and I shared with them the truth about how God spoke from heaven. I shared with him the truth of witnesses being present when Christ did miracles of feeding 5,000. I shared with them Psalm 22 in the Old Testament, which gives a witness that Jesus is the Christ, because in Psalm 22 it tells us that he will be crucified, that Messiah. And so, beloved, wherever I go, the Lord opens doors for me. I don't have any special gift. I really don't. I'm so overcome sometimes with not wanting to do it, with looking upon it with dread, and then I repent. And I say, Lord, my flesh is taking over. It's the self taking over. Take it away, Lord. Fill me new with your Holy Spirit. You promised to do it. I was eating in a dining room where a hostess was present, and the hostess came to my table afterwards, and she said to me, now I have watched you, how you dealt with all of my help, with the lowest help, with the people that come to serve you. And she said, the way you treat them, I believe you are a Christian. And then she said to me, you know, I am living in sin. I'm living in great sin, and I want to know God. I want to know his Son. Will you help me? And later on that evening, I had a chance to meet with her in that same dining room, and it was empty. And later on, she said, I understand now that Christ died for me, that he gave his life on the cross for me. And I told her that repentance was essential, that it was necessary to turn around from her evil ways and to give them up, and to ask God and the Lord Jesus to help her to do so. And I told her that once you accept Christ, you ought to be a new creature. If you're not a new creature after Christ has come into your life, then you must question yourself, am I really saved? Because if you declare with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and if you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. And then later on, Jesus said, don't call me Lord, if you don't do the will of my Father, because I know you're not. Believing in Jesus Christ includes repentance. Perhaps you are a non-Christian, or you are a Christian in doubt, and you want to repent, you want to turn around, then beg God to save you to the uttermost, and to make you new. Kneel right there, right now, and pray with me, and we can pray together. You can follow the words that I'm saying. You can say, dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner, and I ask for your forgiveness. I repent of all of my sins. I want to turn around. I believe you died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from running my own life, and now I ask that you come into my life. Have mercy on me and save me. I will trust and follow you as my Lord and Savior. I believe you will do it, since I'm very sincere, and I ask you to help me, and I will not go back. Have mercy on me, Lord. Save me to the uttermost. In Jesus' name, amen. And so from time to time, I also go back on the streets, sharing Christ, and we went to the Bronx, out on the streets of the Bronx, and there was a gang leader leaning against the wall. All of his disciples and followers were around him, and I went over to give him a tract and talk to him about Jesus, and he said, I don't understand what you're talking about. And the Holy Spirit said, tell him about court. I asked him, have you been to court? And he said, yes, I have been to court. And I said, you see, later on, after you die, there is a day of judgment. God and his Son will judge Satan, the accuser, will come and say that you have sinned greatly. He's the crown attorney, and he will demand your death sentence. And in my case, also, I deserve death. But in my case, because I have asked Christ to save me, he has saved me, and I've given my life to him, Christ will be my advocate. He will be my lawyer. He will defend me, and he will say to the judge, yes, he's guilty, but I'm defending him, and I have paid his price. I have paid his death penalty for his sins, and he can come to heaven with me. And this gang leader said to me, no one has ever told me that. Why don't Christians share this? Why don't they tell the truth? And I said, well, it's all written here in these tracts. Please think about it, and then give your life to Christ. But you've got to turn around from the stuff that you're in, and he promised me to read the tracts. So here's a summary for Christians who want to share their faith. Number one, pray four points before witnessing. Lord, please cleanse me anew. Lord, please fill me anew with your Holy Spirit, and give me the words. Lord, please, please help me to believe that you have filled me, and that you will help me, and then open up your mouth. Those four steps are most important, beloved, and then write down your testimony in short form and practice it. Memorize John chapter three, verse 16, and then never go out without having tracts in your purse or in your pocket wherever you go. Now, may I ask you, if you could be certain that the Lord and the Holy Spirit will help you, would you be willing to share your faith? God is willing to help you. Now comes your part, and James chapter two, verse 20 says, faith without works is dead. But do you want to know, oh foolish man, that faith without works is dead? We must die to the old self, and let the word spoken through us come from higher hell, and come through the Lord Jesus. And so, beloved, in closing, I'm going to ask you to share your testimony. I'm going to ask you to witness, and if you have been disobedient to God, I ask you to repent. So, would you pray with me? Would you bow your head with me? Would you pray this prayer with me, and follow in quietness what I'm saying in the prayer? Lord, I come to you in Jesus' name. Forgive me, Lord, for not sharing my faith the way I should. Cleanse me anew in the precious blood of Jesus. Forgive me, Lord, I now understand my disobedience, Lord. Forgive me, Lord, for not understanding that Christianity will die unless we Christians do what you tell us to do. Lord, Lord, forgive me for fearing man and their rejection. Lord, forgive me for not understanding and not accepting that not all people will love me. Some will reject me because of the gospel. Forgive me, Lord, for not understanding your incredible and wonderful salvation. Forgive me, Lord, for not having the love for other people, to have mercy for them, and to give them the gospel. Lord, break my heart. Let me have some tears for my family, for my friends, for loved ones. Forgive me, Lord Jesus, for not loving enough to do your commandments. Forgive me, Lord, for denying your Holy Spirit to help me. Forgive me, Lord, for listening to my flesh, the world, and the devil. Cleanse me anew this day, dear Lord. Have mercy on me. Many souls are dying and going to hell, and I don't really care. Forgive me, Lord. Forgive me, Lord. I repent of trying to witness in my flesh and failing. Please fill me anew with your Holy Spirit. Then help me, please, to do and say your words that you put into my mind and my heart. Help me what to say, dear Lord. Help me to believe that you will fill me with your Holy Spirit and give me higher help, even as you confirm in Luke 11, verse 13. Please help me to open up my mouth. In Jesus' name, I pray, saying, amen and amen. Thank you, Lord, for forgiving me and for helping me. And so, beloved, if you're serious about following Jesus and doing his commands, remember the four steps. Remember to have your testimony ready. Remember to have some tracks in your pocket. Give God all the glory on what he's going to do, and great joy will come to you as you do God's will. In the beginning, I asked about the scripture, follow me and I will make you fishers of men. Are you following Jesus? Will you now follow Jesus? There's great reward in heaven if you share your testimony and your faith. God says so, and in Daniel chapter 12, verse 3, it says, those who are wise shall shine like the brightness, like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. You want to shine like a star on television? You want to shine like a star for God. Now here, the same verse in the Amplified Version says, those who are spiritually wise will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever. May I ask you, are you shining with the glory of God? You will if you do his will. Thank you for watching. The Lord bless you. ======================================================================== Audio: https://sermonindex1.b-cdn.net/25/SID25919.mp3 Video: https://sermonindex2.b-cdn.net/bA0zmq0NrJc.mp4 Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/edgar-reich/a-revival-in-sharing-our-faith/ ========================================================================