Witnesses by Pastor Dolapo Lawal: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

The Doctrinal Distinction: Office of an Evangelist vs. Every Believer Evangelizing

Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:5: "Be watchful in all things, endure affliction, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of your ministry." He was not calling Timothy an evangelist. He was telling him that as a pastor, he must not only preach in the confines of believers — he must reach out. That is the heart of being evangelical.

There is an important distinction to understand:

• Being an evangelist is a calling and a gift to the body.
• Evangelizing is obedience and a duty for every believer.

Evangelists carry a particular burden for souls that is never satisfied. An evangelist placed within the confines of a church alone will feel something is missing — regardless of how large the congregation grows. The pull outward is part of the gifting.

Every Believer Evangelizing

Point 1: Evangelism for a believer is not optional

Look at Matthew 28:19–20: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you."

Mark's version in Mark 16:15–17: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues."

This is a direct command from Jesus to every follower — regardless of gift, office, or maturity level.

Point 2: It happens in everyday life

Evangelism is not a special-occasion activity. It happens in the workplace, the family, the neighbourhood. One of the things evangelism does is keep you grounded — when you are known in a place as someone who carries the name of Christ, it creates accountability for how you live.

When persecution scattered the early church, it was ordinary believers — not apostles — who went everywhere preaching. The apostles remained in Jerusalem. Look at Acts 8:1,4: those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the gospel. Normal, ordinary believers going up and down to preach.

Point 3: It does not require a special gift or title

Look at Acts 1:8: "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."

The Greek word for "witness" there is matis — from which we get the word Mataya (martyr).

What It Means to Be a Witness

1. A witness is a testifier of what they personally know

   In the Greek legal context, a witness gave firsthand testimony in court — not repeating what was heard from someone else, but someone who saw and heard it and could stand behind it with their life.

   When Jesus says "you will be my witness," he is talking about someone testifying of something experiential. This is why angels cannot preach the gospel. In Acts 10, an angel told Cornelius to send for Peter so that Peter could show him the way of salvation — the angel could not simply preach it. On the road to Damascus, Jesus met Paul — but Jesus did not preach to Paul. He sent Ananias. Jesus cannot witness himself.

   To be a witness means you saw something happen. Even John the Baptist had a role: in John 1:6–7, there was a man sent from God who came to bear witness of the light — he himself was not that light.

   Power is another form of witness. When the name of Jesus is called and there is power — that is testimony. No other religion makes claims to the miraculous the way Christianity does. The God of the Christians is the Creator of the universe. You can only fix what you created.

   Personal testimony is also a witness. Before, someone was very angry — and then something happened when they heard the gospel. That transformation, that new law at work in the members — that itself is testimony. And weakness is not disqualifying; it is an opportunity. Every struggle, once overcome, becomes another testimony of the changing power of Jesus.

2. The word "witness" carries the weight of personal cost

   By the time the early church began using the word matis, it had taken on another meaning: Matiah — martyr. In Acts 22:20, Paul spoke of "the blood of the Matias Stephen." The death of Stephen became a witness in itself.

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   Pastor Dolapo Lawal

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   When someone says they cannot evangelize because they are afraid of embarrassment or rejection — consider what they are preaching: a name that is the most popular name in the world, that has transformed over a billion people, that has pacified the hearts of mankind more than anything else in history. When the early church was preaching his name, it was called heretical. Their witness, if anything, demanded more cost than ours does today.

3. The Holy Spirit is the enabler of the witnessing

   Notice the structure in Acts 1:8: "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be my witnesses." The Holy Spirit is what enables the witness. This means evangelism must be prophetic in nature.

   The signs in Mark 16 — casting out devils, speaking in new tongues, healing the sick — are described as following those who believe in the world, not in the church. The arena for miracles is the world.

   This is why evangelists see more miracles than any other ministry gift. It is not because they are the deepest spiritually. It is because they are preaching Jesus to people who do not know him, and putting a demand on the name of Jesus. Miracles are signs to bring people to the destination — they point to the wonder.

   If you put Jesus in a situation where he must defend the integrity of his name, you will see his power. That place is in the world, among unbelievers.

   The way Jesus won the entire city of Samaria was through one interaction — a woman at a well. One word of knowledge: "You have had five husbands." She ran and brought the whole city. He penetrated through prophetic knowledge.

   God came to this world and did not come without miracles. If Jesus could not do ministry without miracles, neither can we do it with words alone.

Evangelism Is Planting, Watering, or Harvesting

In evangelism, at any moment you are doing one of three things:

• Planting — the person does not respond, but a seed has been placed.
• Watering — the person gives you an audience but does not commit. You have watered what was already planted.
• Harvesting — the person says yes within minutes. Often you are harvesting where others have already sown.

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And there is another dimension: on the day of judgment, those who were evangelized and rejected the gospel will have you as a witness — a witness that the message came and was refused.

Evangelism is a matter of life and death. That is the approach. That is the mindset.

Faith Is Action, Not Thought

Matthew 28:17 says that when the disciples saw the risen Christ, they worshipped him — but some doubted. Immediately in the next verse, Jesus gave them the Great Commission. He gave the command to go and make disciples to people who were doubting.

He gave the Great Commission to doubters.

In Hebrews 11, by faith Abraham offered Isaac. By faith Noah built an ark. Faith is in action. It is not in thought. If your thought says it won't work but your action puts it to work — that is faith. If your thought says the person will not be healed but you lay your hand anyway — that act of laying the hand is the faith. God judges faith by what you do.

• Doubt is to question what you believe. Unbelievers don't doubt — they are in unbelief. Believers doubt because they already believe. Doubt lives in the head. The heart still senses the truth.
• If you are following what you sense in your heart over what you think in your head, you are operating in faith — even if you feel afraid.

People get results doing it afraid. Do it afraid.

The Miraculous Has Been Decentralized

Steven was a normal church member when it was recognised that he was full of the Holy Ghost. Philip the evangelist teleported — and Luke trusted the account because Philip had already demonstrated power. The miraculous is not reserved for a hierarchy of spiritual rank.

The veil has been torn. God is not confined. He is everywhere.

• You do not need to wait until Sunday to see the pastor. Two or three people can hold hands and pray.
• Signs and wonders are supposed to follow believers — not precede them or validate them. You step out, and the signs follow.
• Healing can happen progressively. Jesus touched a man once, and the man said "I see men like trees." He touched him again, and full sight was restored. Persistence is not stubbornness — it is insistence that the word of God is true.

Practical Conversation Starters for Evangelism

• "What church do you attend?" — If the answer is "I don't attend church," ask why. Then go from there.
• "Can I pray for you briefly?" — People welcome prayer. As you pray, let your heart be open to what the Holy Spirit places in it — specific, targeted intercession becomes word of knowledge.
• "What are your thoughts on the afterlife?" — A deeper starter for the right moment.
• "What will it take for you to believe?" — Let them name the condition and respond to it.
• "Something happened to me that completely changed how I see life. Can I tell you about it briefly?" — An open door through personal testimony.
• You can enter from any conversation — stock exchange, success, wisdom, family — and trace the path back to Christ.

When someone declares themselves an atheist and is bold about it, you can be equally bold about what you believe. They are quick to tell you why they don't believe in God. You can be quick to tell them why you do.

Never Forget This

Even if you pray for someone and it does not work — that is not the end. Keep going back. One minister prayed for a man who could not walk and it did not work. God told him to return every day until the man walked. He went back for six months. Then the man walked.

Be stupid enough to take the word of God literally. He said signs follow those that believe. So believe — and do.