DAY TWO, TALK ONE - FAITH AND WITNESSING

BR. BOBBY QUITAIN

As Catholics, we do not believe blindly we have rock solid reasons for what we believe in and why.  We also believe that we can do all things in Christ who strengthens us.

Witnessing is a willingness to be a fool for Christ. It is one of the craziest ways of showing our love for Christ because when we witness we risk rejection, we risk suffering, we risk being persecuted, we risk being laughed at but it is the best way to show we love Jesus.

We are all called to be witnesses.

Isaiah 43:10

You are my witnesses, says Yahweh,

you are my servant whom I have chosen,

that you may know and believe me

and understand that I am He.

Before me no God was formed,

neither will there be one after me.

In a court of law, a witness is a person who saw firsthand what happened.  None of us was alive in the time of Christ so we are not personal witnesses. So what does witness mean when we talk of witnessing as a Christian? It comes from the Greek word martyr, in the early Christian times came to mean one who attests to the truth by suffering.

A witness is a person who is willing to suffer for his faith.  In the book of Sirach it says, "My son if you come forward to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for trials." We will suffer for our faith.  That is why Jesus asked Peter repeatedly if he loved him. Jesus was telling Peter that if he chose to love Him then he would have to suffer. That is why we need faith. Faith and witnessing are interrelated because unless we believe we cannot witness.

One can only be an authentic witness if we believe in the message and have faith in Jesus.  Which of us is willing to suffer for the message of the Gospel?  All the Apostles with the exception of John the Evangelist died a violent death because they believed in the message. All except Judas died because they were convinced of their faith in Jesus Christ and they were willing to die for it.

Our faith in Jesus must be so strong that we are prepared to suffer for it and if necessary be willing to die. The world needs Jesus and the world cannot know Jesus unless we are willing to be His witnesses even to the ends of the earth. 

8 KEYS TO POWERFUL WITNESSING TO OUR FAITH

CHOOSE TO LIVE FOR A PURPOSE

AIM TO REJOICE ALWAYS

TAKE SPECIAL CARE OF THE POOR

HAVE A COMMITMENT IN YOUR LIFE

OFFER YOUR GIFT/S TO THE WORLD

LIVE WITH INTEGRITY

INSTIL DISCIPLINE IN DOING THE LITTLE THINGS

CARVE ETERNITY IN YOUR HEARTS

1)      CHOOSE TO LIVE FOR A PURPOSE

God created each one of us for a purpose. We are not accidents if we want to live well we must live with a purpose.

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know what my plans for you are, plans to save you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and to give you hope.”

God has a great plan for our lives. Even before we were born, God knew us and created us for good.

Jeremiah 1:5

“Even before I formed you in the womb I have known you; even before you were born I had set you apart, and appointed you a prophet to the nations!”

There is a reason for everything and as Catholics; we believe that we are where we are in order to fulfill a divine purpose. God has great plans for our lives and so we must believe that there is a reason for everything that happens in our lives. God created us for a purpose this is why we are alive and we are here. We will make the most of our life when we aim to fulfill God's purpose for our lives.

2)      AIM TO REJOICE ALWAYS

The power to smile is a God given gift and the joy of the Lord must emanate from us even when we go through difficult times. It is precisely during those times that we can witness most powerfully to our faith when we are joyful in the midst of our trials.  

Philippians 4:4

Rejoice in the Lord always. I say it again: rejoice.

Because we have faith, it is not impossible to rejoice in the midst of our sufferings. Rejoicing in tough times is an act of faith. To smile in the midst of sorrow, to rejoice in the midst of suffering is the best and most powerful way to witness to our faith. 

3)      TAKE SPECIAL CARE OF THE POOR

The Church has a preferential option for the poor and as Catholics; we too must have a special care for the poor.  People are not just financially poor there are many kinds of poverty. People who are in need of the Lord are the real poor.  Those who are imprisoned are poor, those who are suffering in bad marriages are poor, those who suffer from loneliness and insecurity are poor. Those who suffer from various kinds of addictions are poor.  People may live in nice houses and drive nice cars but they are often much poorer than those who do not have much materially.

The poor are everywhere and we must reach out to them.  Poverty comes in many disguises and we must learn to recognize them.  We have the Pearl of great price and we must take Him to those who are in need of His riches.

Luke 14:13-14

When you give a feast, invite instead the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. Fortunate are you then, because they can’t repay you; you will be repaid at the Resurrection of the upright.”

We welcome Jesus when we welcome those who are in need. They are out there waiting for us to bring the love of the Lord to them we must learn to recognize them and reach out to them.

4)      HAVE A COMMITMENT IN YOUR LIFE

Today many people make promises based on feelings. Many marriages fall apart because they base their promises on feelings.  If you want to be a good Christian, do not base your decisions on feelings and emotions. We have to base our promises on decision. "Do not make promises if you cannot commit but once you commit be prepared to die keeping it."  When you make a promise follow through on it until you fulfill it.  Our children too will learn the value of following through on a decision if they see us committed to keeping our promise. When we decide on something, we must follow through. 

Matthew 5:37

Say yes when you mean yes and say no when you mean no. Anything else you say comes from the devil.

The world is hungry for committed people and as Catholics; the world must see that we are committed to keeping our promises. 

If Jesus was not committed we would not have been saved.  Jesus obeyed the Father's will right to the end.  He followed through until His last breath.  We witness to a committed God.

5)      OFFER YOUR GIFTEDNESS TO THE WORLD

Matthew 25:14-30  'The Parable of the Talents

All of us have talents that God has given to us. These gifts may lie hidden waiting to be discovered but once we discover them, we must be use our gifts to bless the world and for God's glory. 

God has designed each one of us for a purpose and He has given us gifts in order to bless others.  When we use our gifts in the service of others only then will we experience true fulfillment. We ought to pray for gifts, discover them, nurture them and use them to bless others. 

We cannot bury our talents, as God will ask us to give an account of how well we used them or not.

Luke 25:24-25   Finally, the one who had received one talent came and said: ‘Master, I know that you are an exacting man. You reap what you have not sown and gather what you have not invested. 25 I was afraid, so I hid your money in the ground.

6)      LIVE WITH INTEGRITY

As Catholics, we must live a whole life. We must be who we are wherever we are.  We must have personal integrity.  We must be the same person in all the circumstances of our life.

"Integrity is who you are when nobody is watching the rest is reputation."

To be a genuine witness you must be the same person you are in public and in private.  The only one we must please is God who sees everything.

7)      INSTIL DISCIPLINE IN DOING THE LITTLE THINGS

The character of a person is not formed during the big crisis moments of our lives but in the little moments and it surfaces when the moment of crisis arrives.

We build character in the little things, praying daily, getting to work in time, not speaking ill of others, not gossiping, doing what's right, being respectful to others, being faithful to your spouse.

Luke 16:10

Whoever can be trusted in little things can also be trusted in great ones; whoever is dishonest in slight matters will also be dishonest in greater ones.

If we are in the habit of making little sacrifices when the time comes to make a big sacrifice, we will be able to make it. When we are faithful in little things then we will be faithful in great things as well.

8)      CARVE ETERNITY IN YOUR HEARTS

Heaven is real.  Our troubles on earth are nothing when compared to the joys of heaven. As committed Catholics, we are always in a win-win situation, if we live, we live for the Lord and if we die, we have the joyful hope of eternity in heaven.  We are created not only for this world but also more importantly, for the world to come.  Our momentary troubles in the world are nothing compared to the joys God has reserved for us in heaven.

Ecclesiastes 3:11

He made everything fitting in its time, but he also set eternity in their hearts, although man is not able to embrace the work of God from the beginning to the end.

John 14:3

 After I have gone and prepared a place for you, I shall come again and take you to me, so that where I am, you also may be.

God has planted eternity into our hearts.

ACTS 1:8

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the earth.”

With the help of the Holy Spirit we witness not only with our words but with our lives that we are Catholic.