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AUSTIN—The best-equipped disciple of Jesus Christ will accomplish very little in evangelism apart from the empowerment of the Spirit of God, according to Matt Queen, who addressed a Nov. 14 breakout session of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Bible Conference. The Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary evangelism professor called on the packed room full of church leaders to recover their dependence on the Holy Spirit when sharing their faith.
Calling Jesus’ apostles the most well-equipped disciples in the history of the world, Queen pointed to the instruction recorded in Acts 1:4-8 that they were to wait on the Holy Spirit in order to receive the power needed to witness.
“Spirit-filled witnesses require nothing more than the empowerment of the Spirit of God himself,” Queen said. “The early church didn’t have evangelism training,” he reminded, countering the excuse of not knowing what to say.
“If you know enough of the gospel to be saved by it, you know enough of the gospel to share it,” he insisted.
“Being a Spirit-filled witness entails nothing different than walking in the Spirit, living in the Spirit and being led by the Spirit,” he explained. “Sometimes the reason we tell ourselves we will not witness in the power of the Spirit is because we tell ourselves it’s something different than being filled by the Spirit of God.”
Queen encouraged believers to align their Christian walk with their profession of faith. “No one is going to listen to our message of the gospel if the way we walk is the opposite of the way we talk.” Furthermore, a believer’s countenance should give testimony to living in the Spirit, he said.
Just as the apostle Paul was led by the Spirit in knowing where to share his faith, Queen encouraged believers to be sensitive to opportunities to witness.
Various fears can cause believers to run from witnessing, Queen said, citing concern over the unknown, anxiety about safety, thoughts of rejection or failure, dread of past negative experiences, and worry over the perception of manipulation or fanaticism.
“Spirit-filled witnesses have nothing to fear, except for God, because of the boldness that the Holy Spirit gives to us,” he reminded. Even worry over being “brought up before magistrates” should not prevent giving a gospel witness since God has promised the Holy Spirit will provide the words for such a circumstance, he added.
“The same Spirit that fills and indwells you now is the same Spirit that can help you share the gospel,” Queen reiterated, warning against quenching the Holy Spirit.
“Spirit-filled witnesses experience nothing more joyous than Spirit-dependent evangelism,” he added, reminding believers that the gospel is not just for lost people. “Whenever you’re recounting it with your mouth, the Holy Spirit does something in your life that causes you to have joy again. You realize you’re not going to give up on God because God didn’t give up on you.”
