Why does it seem that some believers suddenly turn away from God? I believe one of the biggest reasons Christians fall away from Jesus is because of un-confessed sin.

Without keeping a clear conscience before the Lord, it’s easy to drift away from the faith. You become hardened to the Spirit of God, and eventually you stop listening to His voice altogether. Sin blinds you and enslaves you. It’s a horrible place to be!

Perhaps this describes your situation. Are you struggling with a sin that’s keeping you from a right relationship with God? If so, Galatians 5 gives a very clear remedy. Verse 26 says, “Those who belong to Christ have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.”

If you belong to Jesus, then there’s only one thing to do with the flesh: Crucify it. Get rid of it. Be ruthless. Don’t play games. Deal with your sins once and for all by crucifying them on the cross.

That means you admit your sin to God, repent, ask forgiveness, and turn the other way. Ask the Holy Spirit for strength and He will help you! By crucifying the flesh, you will be empowered to live what Jesus calls the ’abundant life.’ Your life will be a powerful witness to your world of God’s forgiveness and grace.

The best example of witnessing is, of course, Jesus Christ Himself. In the Gospel of John, chapter 4, Jesus approaches a Samaritan woman at the well.

Now, remember, it was well known at that time that Jews and Samaritans did not speak to each other. But Jesus defied the cultural norms for the sake of the Good News. Obviously, the Samaritan woman was far from perfect – she had had 5 husbands! But instead of condemning her, Christ used his knowledge of her sin as a bridge to show how much He loved her.

Because of Jesus Christ’s initiative to engage this woman, she in turn spread the Good News throughout her town. She told them: “Come and see the man who told me everything I ever did!” And what a tremendous effect her testimony had on the town!

John 4:39 tells us that “Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of the woman’s testimony.”

What about you? Are you willing to leave your comfort zone for the Good News Gospel, as Jesus did with the Samaritan? It’s a good question to ask ourselves. Witnessing is rarely easy and comfortable. But Jesus commands us to do it. And if we’re faithful, you and I will see exciting results!

I truly believe that God talks through mothers. In my youth, I was waiting for my personal call from God, that moment when the Lord would tell me that evangelism would be my life’s work. Finally, my exasperated mother reminded me that “the call” was made 2000 years ago, and that the Lord was just waiting for my answer. She was right as usual.

Dr. Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade, once said that “an effective witness is someone who takes the initiative to present the claims of Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit- and leaves the results to God.”

As Christians, we’re all in the missions field. Some of us will travel to distant, often dangerous lands, but most of us will find people hungering for the Good News much closer to home. Either way, we stand in the gap, living out and proclaiming our faith and leaving the rest up to God.

The Apostle Paul was history’s greatest missionary, taking the Gospel to much of the known world before planes, trains and automobiles. As he told the Corinthians, “we are speaking for Christ, as though God Himself were making his appeal through us.” That is our task as missionaries, as Ambassadors for Christ, wherever we are.

Today once again I want to talk about all of us who get nervous when we have to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. Whether it’s preaching it to a group, doing a Bible Study, or one on one. I always remind myself that I have divine authority to share the Good News.

Remember Acts chapter 1 verse 8? Jesus said just before He ascended back to Heaven, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth.”

Authority- that’s what power is all about. And you know- the power that Jesus gives us, is the power that we know His will, we know His Word, we have the fire of the Holy Spirit who lives in us, and therefore when we open our mouth, and quote a Bible verse, and encourage the person you’re witnessing to, to surrender their heart to Christ, to be honest and admit that they’ve sinned against God, but that Jesus Christ on the cross gave His blood to purify us from our sins.

Remember you have authority that you’re not even aware of. It’s the authority of the Holy Spirit that is at work in you even though you sometimes don’t notice it.

So, go forward, and remember, you can share with authority because you have the power of the Holy Spirit.