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Your personality is absolutely essential to your
effectiveness as a soul winner!
1 Samuel 17:1-50
Saul’s Armor Didn’t Fit David
1 Samuel
17:38-39
“Then
Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and
a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic
and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. "I cannot go
in these," he said to Saul, "because I am not used to them." So he took
them off.”
David was not used to Saul’s Armor and had to take it off.
1 Samuel 17:40
“Then he took his staff in his hand, chose
five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's
bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.”
In place of Saul’s armor David took the weapons he was skilled in using.
Your personality is absolutely essential to your effectiveness as a
soul winner
You don’t need to change your personality to be an effective witness
for Jesus!
When we should be wearing the armor of God and doing battle for people’s
souls we are not used to that armor either!
The Armor of God
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Truth
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Righteousness
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Prepared with the Gospel of Peace
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Faith
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Salvation
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The Word of God
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Praying in the Spirit
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Intercessory Prayer
This armor does not depend on what kind of personality you have.
It is custom made to fit YOU!
Hebrews 5:14
“But solid food is for the mature, who by
constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”
We get used to the Armor of God the same way a soldier gets used to
his armor:
PRACTICE!!
I Corinthians 9:25
“Everyone who competes in the games goes into
strict training...”
Three Sources of Discouragement
The attempt to discourage you from sharing Jesus with others will come
from three sources
1. Our own families!
1 Samuel 17:28
“When Eliab, David's oldest brother, heard
him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, "Why
have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in
the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is;
you came down only to watch the battle."
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Family members may challenge your purpose in sharing Jesus
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Family members may challenge your character when you begin witnessing
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Family members may challenge your motives when you begin witnessing
Matt 10:32-39
"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will
also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me
before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven. "Do not suppose
that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace,
but a sword. For I have come to turn "'a man against his father, a daughter
against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law--a man's
enemies will be the members of his own household.' "Anyone who loves his
father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his
son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not
take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life
will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
2. Other believer’s comments!
1 Samuel 17:32-33
“David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart
on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him." Saul
replied, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight
him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth."
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Other believers will tell us that sharing our faith boldly is old fashioned,
not politically correct, or offensive.
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Other believers will argue that their faith is private between them and
God.
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Other believers say only overzealous fanatics share their faith with others.
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Other believers will tell you that you aren’t mature enough in the Lord.
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Other believers will tell you you don’t know enough of the Bible “yet.”
These arguments are actually an attempt to stop you from witnessing to
others so they won’t feel guilty for not witnessing.
Mark 3:1-6
“Another time he went into the synagogue,
and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for
a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would
heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand,
"Stand up in front of everyone." Then Jesus asked them, "Which is lawful
on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But
they remained silent. He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed
at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He
stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. Then the Pharisees
went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.”
Some of Jesus’ most severe critics were the most religious people of
the day!
3. The enemy’s comments
1 Samuel 17:41-44
“Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield
bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. He looked David over
and saw that he was only a boy, ruddy and handsome, and he despised him.
He said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?" And the
Philistine cursed David by his gods. "Come here," he said, "and I'll give
your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!"
The enemy will attempt to create FEAR in you to stop you from witnessing
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People will think you are stupid because you don’t know enough about the
Bible to be a good witness
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People you care about will reject you
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People you know and work with every day will laugh at you
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People will hate you and no one will want to be your friend
2 Tim 1:7
“For God hath not given us the spirit of
fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (KJV)
If God is not the source of our fear we can believe for what He has
given us - power, love, and a sound mind!
Matt 4:1-10
“ After fasting forty days and forty nights,
he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of
God, tell these stones to become bread...Then the devil took him to the
holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you
are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written:
"'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up
in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone...Again,
the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms
of the world and their splendor. "All this I will give you," he said, "if
you will bow down and worship me."
Three times Satan attempted to get Jesus to stop His journey to the
cross!
David’s Confidence Was In The Lord
1 Samuel 17:34-37
“...David said to Saul, "Your servant has
been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried
off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the
sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck
it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this
uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied
the armies of the living God. The LORD who delivered me from the paw of
the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this
Philistine."
David had faith in the Lord’s power from past experiences
Q: Are positive experiences you’ve had with the Lord giving you faith
today?
1 Samuel 17:45-47
“David said to the Philistine, "You come against
me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name
of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and
cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army
to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world
will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know
that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is
the LORD's, and he will give all of you into our hands."
David had faith in the Lord’s power from his present relationship with
Him
Q: Do you have faith in the present power of the Lord to use you as
one of His witnesses?
It will take FAITH to step out and share Jesus with people
around you!
Unique Weapons of War!
1 Samuel 17:4-7
“A champion named Goliath...came out of the
Philistine camp. He was over nine feet tall. He had a bronze helmet on
his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand
shekels; on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung
on his back. His spear shaft was like a weaver's rod, and its iron point
weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of him.”
Goliath came against David with incredibly superior weaponry!
1 Samuel 17:48-50
“As the Philistine moved closer to attack
him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. Reaching into
his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on
the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on
the ground. So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone;
without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.”
David’s weapons together with his personality were powerful!
· Our weapons, together with our personalities, are just as powerful
as David’s were!
2 Corinthians 10:4
“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons
of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”
From a human stand point our weapons are just as absurd as David’s were!
But our weapons also have divine power!
God made you just the way you are!
(shy, outgoing, playful, hardworking, etc.)
All the experiences in your past (good and bad) have come together to
make you who you are today.
There is no one else exactly like you.
God allowed everything you’ve experienced to come into your life to
make you the person you are.
Now He wants to use what He’s made (YOU) to reach others with His love.
You may be the only person who can reach the people you
know for Jesus! |
