First of all, we need to prepare by being dedicated to this work. If not, we will never don the footwear, as it were, of the Roman soldier. We have a solemn charge and commandment to make known Christ at every opportunity, to be on the offensive for the Lord. Are we dedicated to that? As I begin this day I commit it to the Lord to live a holy life for him and to represent him.
Secondly, we need a considerable amount of thoughtfulness for this. In this coming week who should I speak to? How would I go about it? What are the opportunities that are likely to be presented to me, and how will I express myself? From where will I get the power to make any impression upon a hardened and indifferent person? If we never think about it, it will never happen. Day after day passes and we can go to our place of business, or study, or in the family, and we have never thought, what might be my opportunity today?
Then we must pray about our witness. We are praying, and we must, for the family and for the children, that the Lord will enable us. We pray for our Sunday School class or for the visitation: what about the daily witness?
We must also pursue holiness: we must be striving for holiness of life because it is part of the terms and the conditions for ongoing blessing. Salvation is by faith alone; it is the gift of God, but the ongoing blessing of God is not portioned out to us without striving for holiness. Holiness is also necessary to commend the message. Am I holy enough in the office, in the place of business, in the family, for my message to be respected, for my children to listen to me, for my difficult teenager to always have that area of respect for my earnest words, or do I not have the holiness of life to commend the message? So holiness is necessary in order to give me the credibility to speak for Christ.
A fifth way of being prepared is to have good relations with people. How can I possibly witness to that person who I constantly fall out with, or clash with? Sometimes in your professional or working life, you must clash. It will be necessary for you to say, ‘No, it can't be this way; it has to be that way’, but your bearing must be unimpeachable. Your manner must never be ill-tempered or testy. You must have a basis for when the opportunity for witness comes.
My preparation also includes this: knowing what to say. What arguments do I use for this sort of person, or that sort of person? What opportunities should I look for? Are we preparing ourselves? This is what I ought to have said yesterday, and I’ll remember it for the future.
Another element is a readiness to suffer loss. You begin to witness at the right time and opportunity when you can, but nevertheless it may rebound. You may suffer disadvantage as a result; you may not be promoted because your line manager was offended at what you said. Are you ready for that? Part of the preparation to be a witness is to say, ‘Yes Lord, I'm ready for that.’ I am not going to be foolish or tactless, but if my witness results in some disadvantage to myself, that's my calling.
Do not instead put on the footwear of ease and comfort, doing very little for the Lord. Beware of the footwear of fame and notice, wanting the praise of men. Avoid the footwear of happiness and pleasure, so that you will never do anything that does not make you happy, or that is in any way uncomfortable.