The Power of Three

And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken (Eccles. 4:12, English Standard Version).

Before I was a believer in Jesus, I had many different jobs in direct sales. I worked for a period with Mutual of Omaha, then sold Kirby vacuum cleaners, went on to Compact vacuum cleaners, tried my hand at door-to-door selling with waterless cookware, worked in a portrait photography studio selling graduation and wedding packets, and worked in several jewelry stores selling everything from costume jewelry to fine diamonds and watches.

While the products changed as I moved from position to position, the principles of sales remained the same:

1. Help the person identify their wants/needs.
2. Demonstrate the value of the product in fulfilling those wants and needs.
3. Ask the closing question and invite them to sign on the dotted line to seal the deal.
4. Deliver the product and confirm their satisfaction.
5. Ask for referrals to begin the cycle again with another potential customer.

When I received God’s gift of salvation in 1973 through the prayerful witness of Alan Rither, a longtime friend, I wanted to know how I might present the Gospel to others. One day I asked at the Lutheran Church I was attending this question: "If you have a friend who does not yet believe in Jesus, how do you start the conversation?" One of the members of that church stood and said, "Mr. Cohen, we are Lutherans, we do not do that sort of thing!"

I was shocked because it was a Lutheran who invited me to consider the case for Jesus being the Messiah. Since those early days I have been to dozens of seminars on faith sharing, and they all have a very common theme:

1. We must be acutely aware that unbelievers are facing hellfire and damnation because we are all born in that fallen state.
2. In the context of our relationship with others, it is wise to invite them into a personal evangelistic dialogue with the focus of Jesus being the one and only way for salvation.
3. In the context of that dialogue, we need to help them discover three vital truths:
   • There is a God who created everything, including us
   • We are separated from a living relationship with our God because of sin
   • God provided a solution through the death and resurrection of Jesus for all who will confess Him as the risen savior
4. It is urgent that we invest in the lives of others since life is short and there are no do-overs after we die.

We are never called to convert people, which is the sovereign realm of the Holy Spirit who convicts of sin and plants faith in the lives of sincere seekers of salvation. But we are commissioned by our Lord to go out into the world and tell others:

And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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 that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matt. 28:18-20, ESV)

Witness is not and never has been selling a product in the hopes that others will buy-in. Witnessing is a deeply personal activity in which we join together in a threefold cord:

1. The power of the Word of God.
2. The power of the Holy Spirit to change lives.
3. The power of prayer to keep us engaged in the lives of others in the midst of the intense spiritual battle by the enemy seeking to keep people from salvation.

While it may sound rough, I do believe that the absence of witness to others is tantamount to saying, “I do not care if you spend eternity in Hell.”

If you think that you do not know how to witness, I invite you to come to our website and view some of the great tools we have at our website at https://www.appleofhiseye.org/share/how-to-reach-out.

Finally, have your faith story in your mind as an elevator speech sharing briefly what the Lord has done in your life. And then end with sharing the Apostles Creed to confirm your faith in their heart and mind the power of three in one:

I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Steve Cohen is the founder of Apple of His Eye

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