HOW DO WE ADVERTISE HIM?

Ye are the light of theworld,…let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Matt. 5:14,16.

Some of the various ways by which we can advertise Jesus Christ to the world include:

• Having an admirable Christian lifestyle as a way of advertising Jesus Christ.
• Using prayer as a tool for advertising Jesus.
• Witnessing the word of God.
• Funding of soul-winning programmes.

Multimedia advertising of Jesus.

HAVING AN ADMIRABLE LIFESTYLE AS A WAY OF ADVERTISING JESUS CHRIST.

Every human being wants to be respected and accorded recognition. People are happy when we show kindness, solve a problem for them or give them gifts. These are the good works that must be easily noticeable in our lives as believers. Every child of God must primarily be a nice person manifesting all the fruits of the Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering, Gentleness, Goodness, Faith, Meekness and Temperance (Gal. 5:22). These good works would preach better salvation sermons to our neighbors, colleagues and friends, and this alone can attract them to the Christ in us. A woman who gossips and makes slanderous remarks about others, or a boss who will not pay his workers’ salaries cannot be said to be doing good works.

We also see from the scriptures that a good man shows favor to others; he is wise, diligent and handles his affairs with discretion. All these admirable qualities will indeed draw men to the child of God, and in the process, present an excellent opportunity to witness Jesus Christ.

PRAYER AS A TOOL FOR ADVERTISING JESUS

I traveled in a public vehicle sometimes ago from Lagos to Abuja; Just as the vehicle pulled out o the motor park, one of the passengers announced ‘Let us pray’ and she prayed in Jesus name. And as we were entering Abuja the same woman reminded us all that we have arrived Abuja safely because Jesus kept us. She then prayed another prayer of thanksgiving, and concluded that “The mission everyone in this bus came to pursue in Abuja shall be accomplished in Jesus name” and everybody said “Amen”. This woman had not only prayed, she had also advertised Jesus Christ, particularly to the unbelievers in the bus.

One of our senior partners shared with us how he never fails to pray before the commencement of a secular (professional) meeting that he is privileged to preside over regularly. This also, is one of his own practical ways of advertising Jesus.

To pray in Jesus name is an avenue to advertise Jesus. For instance, when a believer walks up to a sick person in a crowded room and declares ‘Let’s pray’, I believe that beside petitioning Heaven for intervention, he is also knowingly or unknowingly, informing all the people standing by, that Jesus Christ can provide the answer to all the questions of man’s life.

WITNESSING THE WORD OF GOD AS A WAY OF ADVERTISING JESUS.

This involves both the practical preaching of the word, and sharing testimonies of God’s faithfulness in our own lives. We must be persistent, both in preaching the word and praying for the salvation of the souls that we are targeting for Christ, until the souls are won.

Preaching of the word is not necessarily synonymous with the pulpit. Romans 10, verse 14 states: And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?

A preacher in the above context is one who causes others to hear the good news of salvation in Christ Jesus. And this is a ministry that every believer has been called into.  

The man with a legion of unclean spirits whom Jesus healed requested to be with Jesus but the Master turned down the request. He had another assignment for him:

Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. And he departed, and began to publish in the Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men marvel. Mark 5:19, 20

He instantly became an advertiser of Jesus.

The woman of Samaria after encountering Jesus at the well of Jacob went and announced to the men in her community “come and see”. This was advertising par excellence. The result of her advertising campaign was simply amazing, as the bible records in John 4:39 that “many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Jesus because of the woman’s testimony. ‘Getting others to see Jesus’ is a duty of all believers. We must be quick to share the testimony of His doings in our lives at every opportunity.

Also, we must always remember that the gospel means good news and this is what we are commanded to share with those we encounter:

That God can heal all their sicknesses including the so-called terminal diseases will be good news to the sick;

That witches and demons can be powerless over them and their household will be good news to those under the oppression of the devil.

That God can change their story and put fresh laughter in their mouth is good news to the poor.

As God’s children, we must learn how to weave the word of God into every conversation, and create opportunity to witness Christ out of every occasion. We must walk in the consciousness of this role: standing for Christ and witnessing Him at all times.