Introduction: Many years ago I bought an old Mercedes as an
experiment. It was a beautiful car. The “experiment” was
whether I could drive it at a reasonable cost!

Just after I bought the Mercedes I was asked to help at a
church “work bee.” I needed to work on the Mercedes,
including changing the oil. But I went to the work bee
first.

When I returned and tried to change the oil, I found it
required an odd wrench of a size I had never seen, much less
owned. Discouraged and frustrated, I noticed in the tool
belt I brought back from the work bee an old “nail puller.”
It turned out the hexagonal end of the nail puller fit
perfectly as a substitute wrench! An ordinary tool, that I
rarely used, turned out to be a critical part in maintaining
my car. If I had not helped in the work bee first, I doubt I
would ever have noticed the potential of the nail puller.

This week our lesson is about the “tools for witnessing.” Do
we have critical tools for witnessing that we have never
noticed? Do we have in our possession ordinary tools that
can be used for extraordinary purposes? Let’s jump in and
find out.

  1. The “One on One” Tool


    1. Read Acts 8:26-28. What do we learn about Philip
      in these three verses? (That the Holy Spirit led
      him and he was willing to follow.)


      1. What do we learn about the eunuch in these
        verses? (That he was an important man
        (Secretary of the Treasury) that he was a Jew
        or a Jewish proselyte (Barne’s Notes) who had
        traveled to celebrate the Passover. A couple
        of commentaries I consulted indicated that he
        was probably not an actual eunuch. Instead,
        the word was used to indicate that he was an
        important “insider.” We also learn that he was
        studying the Bible.)



    1. Read Acts 8:29-31. Is there a lesson about the
      “tool” of personal witnessing in this story so
      far? What is it? (The importance of the leading of
      the Holy Spirit and the importance of following
      the Spirit’s directions exactly. The eunuch, as we
      will see next, was reading Isaiah 53 — a
      messianic prophecy! What could be a better
      circumstance for witnessing about Jesus?)


      1. Do you pray daily that the Holy Spirit will
        lead you to witness to the right person?


    2. Read Acts 8:32-35. Can we expect that the people
      that we witness to will be reading the Bible?
      What can we do to recreate this situation in our
      witnessing? (The eunuch had an interest in the
      subject. If the Holy Spirit inspires an interest
      in the heart of the individual, we can encourage
      them to read the Bible to trigger more questions.)


      1. Notice the sequence here. The eunuch is
        reading, Philip asks if he understands, and
        the eunuch then asks Philip for an
        explanation. Our lesson suggests that we:


        1. Have the “student” read the Bible texts;


        2. Ask them (like Philip) “Is this clear to
          you?”;


        3. Answer any questions of the student; and,


        4. Ask if they believe the doctrine.


      2. Do you agree with this sequence? Is this
        simple enough? Are you prepared to witness?


    3. Let’s read on. Read Acts 8:36-40.


      1. Who decided the appropriate time for baptism?


        1. Is this the way things should be?


        2. I hear about people not being “ready” to
          be baptized – although they want to be
          baptized. Should we insist they know all
          the “doctrines” before they are baptized?


      2. This story of Philip and the eunuch is an
        example of personal evangelism. What
        advantages or disadvantages does it have over
        big evangelistic series?


        1. Does your church have an evangelistic
          series each year?


        2. How many people are converted in these
          series?


        3. How many are still with your church after
          three months?


        4. Although it seems that you would convert
          more people with a big series, would that
          still be true if you had personal
          evangelism going on all year long with a
          committed group of members of the church?


    4. I asked you before about how to recreate this
      perfect situation with Philip and the eunuch. Are
      small group meetings one way to do this? A number
      of members meet to study the Bible. They invite
      friends to come and study with the group. As a
      result, they are all reading the Bible. Have you
      tried this?


  1. Your Testimony


    1. Let’s look at another “tool” — personal
      testimony. Read Acts 22:1-5 to discover Paul’s
      personal testimony. Why do you think Paul started
      out his testimony like this? What is his purpose?
      (He wants his listeners to identify with him. He
      was a model citizen, a very successful man, from
      their point of view. He was someone they could
      look up to, someone with whom they could
      identify.)


      1. When you witness to others, should you try to
        get them to identify with what you were
        before?


        1. If you think this is a good strategy,
          why?


    2. Let’s read on. Read Acts 22:6-10. You may have
      difficulty coming up with a story like this in
      your personal witnessing! What do you have in your
      life that is similar? (This is the conversion
      experience. The moment when you made the decision
      to turn away from your old ways.)


      1. I have been a Christian all of my life. What
        should you do, if you are like me, and do not
        have a “conversion experience” to relate? Is
        personal testimony a “tool” you do not have on
        your tool belt? (What makes you decide to
        continue to be a Christian? That should be
        your “experience.” What keeps me a Christian
        is logic. I believe there is a God who created
        us because man cannot, with all of his
        computers and knowledge, perfectly replicate
        something “simple” like my hand. If man cannot
        replicate a hand, what kind of an idiot
        believes that body functions much more complex
        than my hand (like my eye/mind function) not
        only evolved, but evolved into the complex
        total unit that is a human? Logic tells us
        only a Master Intelligence could create man.
        If you think chance is brighter than you are,
        then I invite you to quit your job and see how
        chance gets your job done!


The brightest minds are currently looking for a unified theory of the universe. I would be
delighted to cross-examine anyone who believed
in a unified theory without a Master
Designer.)



    1. Read Acts 22:11-16. What role did Ananias have in
      the conversion experience of Paul?


      1. Why did Paul tell about the role of Ananias in
        his testimony? (This seems important. Paul is
        telling his listeners that someone like them
        helped lead him to Christ. They not only can
        identify with who Paul used to be, they can
        also identify with those who helped bring him
        to the truth.)


        1. Who made the decision on baptizing here?


          1. How would you describe Ananias as a
            witness? (You might want to read
            Acts 9:10-15 for more background on
            Ananias.)


    2. Read Acts 22:17-20. Is Paul arguing with God? Why
      would he relate that as part of his testimony?
      (Once again, he is working on creating a bond with
      them. They would believe that Jerusalem was the
      center of the universe. They would believe that
      God would choose the Jews only for the message.
      But Paul wants to show them that God has corrected
      his thinking.)


    3. Read Acts 22:21-24. Now you know why they put a
      floor in your church — and why you should only
      witness indoors! What do you think about this
      system of justice?


      1. We have a story that is similar (in the end)
        to the Stephen story. Both Stephen and Paul
        gave a solid testimony. The result of their
        testimony is the intended converts thought
        they should be put to death. What does that
        teach us about testifying? That it is
        dangerous? That it is frustrating? That the
        quality of our witness is not always reflected
        in good results?


      2. Last week we noted that the last approach of a
        failed argument is violence. We see that
        again this week. Why do you think the crowd’s
        “argument” failed? Does it have anything to do
        with the nature of personal testimony? (One of
        the great things about personal testimony is
        that it is hard to argue against. How can
        someone refute your personal story of a
        changed life?)


  1. The Testimony of Healthy and Generous Lives


    1. While the Old Testament has quite a bit to say
      about diet and health, the New Testament focus is
      on what comes out of your mouth instead of what
      goes in it. See, e.g. Matthew 15:11. Given this

focus of the New Testament, do you agree with the
lesson that “health evangelism” is important. Why?
(Notice the quote(Tuesday’s lesson): “[T]he great
object of [health] reform … is to secure the
highest development of body, mind and soul.” E.G.
White, Evangelism, p. 525-26.)

    1. Read Acts 9:32-35. The healing of Aeneas caused
      the people in the area to convert. Were there
      already Christians in the area? Why hadn’t they
      converted the people before?


      1. Why do you think the healing converted people,
        but the witness of the other Christians did
        not? (Different things will convince different
        people. The reason why healings, an emphasis
        on a healthy lifestyle, and that kind of thing
        draw others to the gospel is because that is
        the area of practical interest for many. Many
        will initially say about the gospel, “What
        will this do for me?”)


    2. Let’s continue reading in this area. Read Acts
      9:36-39. What “tool” did Dorcas use in her
      witnessing?


      1. Is this similar to the tool of healing and
        health reform?



    1. Friend, what tools has God made available to you
      for witnessing? Have you carefully examined what
      you have and prayed about how you can use them to
      promote the gospel? I invite you to do that.


  1. Next Week: Approaches to Witnessing.